Gemotions

Brenda stared at the empty space in her driveway. The asphalt was still slightly damp from the morning sprinklers, but the familiar outline of her Corolla was conspicuously absent. She double-checked the address on the tow-away sign posted by the curb, then re-read the notice tacked to her front door. Both matched. But this… this made no sense. Why would her car have been removed?

Her palms felt slick. She touched her throat, felt the thump of her pulse hammering a frantic rhythm. She paced the length of the driveway, the crunch of gravel under her sandals the only sound breaking the silence of the suburban morning. She couldn’t shake the sense of unreality that had begun to settle over her.

She called the local police, her voice tight and questioning as she described the situation. The officer on the other end gave curt answers. No reports of theft. No accidents. Just a tow. A legitimate tow. Brenda hung up the phone feeling as if she'd been plunged into icy water.