Crime Writer Margot Kinberg

‘I like it a lot,’ Tom said. He turned to his husband. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s great.’ Kevin smiled a little. Tom always got enthusiastic when he was into something.
Now Tom turned to the sales rep. ‘Can I test drive it?’
‘Of course,’ Ben said. ‘Let me just make a copy of your ID, get the key, and I’ll be right back.’ He went back inside the dealership building.

As soon as Ben was out of earshot, Tom murmured, ‘I cannot believe this deal! This is a nice car for what it costs.’
‘It really is. I wonder what’s wrong with it,’ Kevin joked.
‘You have a good point, Kev. Maybe I’ll take it to Moe to look it over. Make sure it’s running OK.’
‘That’s a good idea.’

Just then, Ben came back. ‘Here you go.’ He passed the key fob to Tom. ‘Enjoy the drive.’
And they did. The car ran well, and Kevin fiddled with all the dashboard controls to see if they worked. Everything did just what it was supposed to do. By the time they got back from their test drive, Tom was sold.
‘How’d it go?’ Ben asked as they got out of the car.
‘Great!’ Tom told him. Then he remembered. ‘It’s not a new car, so I do want to take it to our mechanic to have it checked over before I sign. But if it looks good to him, too, you’ve made a sale.’
‘Fabulous. We can keep it on hold for you while you have that done. But only for 48 hours.’
‘Not a problem. We’ll call and see if he can check out the car today.’

That night after dinner, Tom looked out the front window of their apartment at his Toyota gleaming under the streetlamp. ‘I really did get a good deal on my car,’ he commented as he turned around to look at Kevin.
‘You did.’ Kevin yawned as he spoke. ‘Sorry, I’m beat. I’m going to bed.’
‘Be there soon.’ Tom took one more look at the car. ‘Hey, Kev,’ he suddenly said. ‘I think I see someone by my car!’
Kevin hurried over. ‘I don’t see anyone,’ he said after a minute.
‘I did. I know I did.’
‘Maybe it was just a shadow.’
‘Yeah, maybe.’ Tom didn’t agree, but it wasn’t worth an argument. Besides, there was nobody there now.

Liam checked his text messages as soon as he’d gotten a good look at the Toyota. Yup, it was the same one he’d been told to find, right down to the license plate. He’d followed the car here from the dealership, so it had to be the guy he was looking for. He texted back that he’d found the car.

The next morning, Tom got the creepy feeling he was being followed as he drove to work. The same dark blue Honda kept ending up at the same intersections and made the same turns. The driver didn’t do anything, but it still made Tom uneasy. He tried his best to shake off his nerves when he got to his office, but he was still a little spooked. It happened again after work when Tom made a quick stop at the grocery store. He told Kevin about it when he got home.
‘He didn’t really look at me or gesture or anything. He just followed me.’
‘Could’ve been going to the same place.’
‘After work, too? To the grocery store?’
Kevin saw Tom’s point. ‘If it happens again, maybe we should call the police.’
‘So they can do what? There haven’t been any threats or anything. It’s just creepy.’
‘Hopefully that was just a coincidence.’

It wasn’t. Three other times, Tom saw the same car wherever he happened to be. Once he even managed to get a picture of it. Soon Kevin agreed that someone was following him. They’d have to do something about it.

Tonight was the night, Liam decided. He’d got the right guy, and he’d picked out the right place, too. The guy had a habit of going to the gym after work twice a week. The place had a dark enough parking lot that Liam would be able to take care of things without being seen, so at six-thirty, he was waiting at the corner of the lot where the Toyota was usually parked. There it was. Liam parked beside it and waited. After thirty minutes, the guy he was looking for came out and headed towards his car. Liam rolled his window down and got ready.

A tap on the passenger side window distracted him. He dropped his gun beside him, turned, and glared at the man standing there. He waved a hand to shoo the intruder away, but all he got for it was another tap. He rolled the passenger side window down a crack. ‘What?’ he barked. He was going to lose his chance.
‘I don’t think you want to do that,’ the man told him.
‘Get the hell out of here!’
‘If you say so.’ The man slowly moved away. He went around behind Liam’s car just as a police cruiser pulled up next to it.

It was an hour later, and Tom and Kevin had finally finished giving their statements. ‘You OK?’ Kevin asked as they got into Tom’s Toyota.
‘Yeah, I think so. You?’
Kevin nodded.
‘You were a real hero to distract that guy the way you did. He could have killed you.’
‘But he didn’t.’
‘We were lucky,’ Tom patted Kevin’s arm. ‘What I can’t figure out, though, is why that guy was after me.’

‘What the hell?’ Carl couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. ‘That idiot had one goddamned job! He was supposed to get the guy who killed Shawn! The one who works at the dealership! Now he’s in custody? What happened?’
‘Guess he didn’t know Ben put his own car out for sale.’ Manny shrugged. Then he smiled. ‘But don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.’