Chapter 41A pinprick of sunlight emerged over a range of rocky hills to the east. Seconds later, a wider ray followed it across the land, exposing the terrain’s orange, rugged tone. A couple of tumbleweeds skipped along in the breeze, crashing into the bumper and undercarriage of a mid-nineties Honda Accord as it drove along a weathered road.
Cold air rushed in through the vehicle’s open driver-side window, lowered down to hide the fact that its glass had been broken for entry. The rest of the shards were hidden under the floormat a couple of feet below a busted open steering column where the ends of stripped wires were twisted together. Local news radio played on an a.m. station.
The large man behind the wheel dropped a dry cough, his face refusing to register the pain it brought him. W
