“Mr. Cramer? What happened was… the customer? She’s extremely interested in the car. I talked to her at length and she as good as said she’d be buying it. She even went so far as to mention an all-cash deal. So when she asked for a test drive, I explained for sure that I couldn’t leave the lot, and she said that was fine-she didn’t need my help, because all she was going to do was drive around the block and she’d be right back.”

Chet turned and stared. He felt his heart give a thump, as though someone had punched him, boom boom, in the chest-blows that pumped a thick, cold liquid through his veins. He must have misunderstood, because what he heard Winston say simply couldn’t be true. Cora Padgett was the only woman in town who had the wherewithal to walk into a dealership, take a car off the floor, and pay cash on the spot. But Tom had told him over lunch that she was out of town. Cora had gone to Napa to tour the wineries with her sister, Margaret, who lived in Walnut Creek. She wouldn’t be back until Wednesday of the following week-unless this was meant as a surprise and she’d told Tom a story so she could buy the car without his knowing in advance. “What are you talking about? What customer?”

“Mrs. Sullivan.”

“Sullivan?”

“Yes, sir. Violet Sullivan came in. She’s in the market for a car-”

“You let Violet Sullivan take that car out by herself? What’s the matter with you?”

“I’m sorry. I can see how it might look, what with company policy and everything like that. I told her to come right back, you know, that it wasn’t a good idea-”

“How long has she been gone?” His voice sounded shrill and he knew he was losing control. He made a point of never speaking to an underling in anything other than a civil tone. But the enormity of the error, the possible consequences…

“I didn’t check the time-”

“Approximately, you dolt!”

“I’d say sometime around noon. Well, I don’t know, maybe a little bit before then, but close enough.”

Assume he minimized and what were we talking about here, four hours? Five? Chet closed his eyes and his voice dropped. “You’re fired. Get out.”

“But sir. I can explain.”

“Get off the lot. Right now. I want you out of my sight or I’m calling the police.”

The boy’s cheeks flamed with embarrassment, and the look Winston pinned on him was bleak.