The Fifteen Minute Novel is an attempt to take a single prompt and use the last sentence written each day as a start for the next day. This year I had several prompts circling around a similar story, so I have combined them. However, the story starts the same way each day, with the last line from the day before and a timer set for fifteen minutes. The hope is to end up with a complete, if very rough draft by the end of the year. Some stories are better than others, but I always learn a whole lot about my own writing when I do this so for me it is not only a nice way to work out a story, but it is a tool for helping my writing get better. And so, we continue this story for 2024 with…
Day 222: “The clunk?” the man asked.
“The clunk?” the man asked. Sophie nodded.
“I was on my way home from work yesterday and when I bumped over the line that separates the apartment complex drive from the street there was a clunk. It reminded me that I hadn’t winterized my car. Which is why I brought it in.”
The two men exchanged glances. “That might have knocked it loose,” the mechanic told the other man.
“Knocked what loose?” Sophie asked.
“Are you having problems with anyone?” the man asked.
Beside her, Janine snorted. Sophie frowned and looked over at her friend who shrugged. Then two men watched the exchange. “She’s been gone for months,” Sophie reminded Janine.
“Who is this,” the man asked. He took out a note pad and pen. Sophie sighed.
“There was a woman at work who didn’t like me,” Sophie explained. “Well she didn’t like much of anyone actually. She slashed tires and well she was fired a few months ago and didn’t take it well. She damaged a co-workers car but I think she meant to damage mine.”
“Kristen set the parking lot on fire,” Janine added. “She’s crazy.”
The man with the notepad lifted an eyebrow. “This was the incident at Havers?” he asked.
Sophie nodded. “But Kristen has been gone for a few months,” Sophie added as he began making notes. “And I haven’t seen her since.”
“But you were out of the country,” Janine pointed out.
“My car was at the apartment building though, not at work. I don’t think she knows where I live even if she did want to come after me.” Sophie added.
She looked at the man as he took notes. “You’re with the police,” Sophie said as things clicked in her mind. She was certain she should have known that earlier, but didn’t.
He nodded. “I am,” he said. He handed her his card. “We were called when the canister was found.”
“What would it do?” Janine asked.
“We will be taking it in for testing. There is a company logo on it and it was rigged to the vents so when you tured the heater on the gas would be dispensed.”
Sophie stared at him. She opened her mouth to ask something but found she had no idea what to ask.
“And you don’t know what the gas is?” Janine asked. She sounded breathless.
“No, I am afraid not,” the man said. “I will be checking it out and we will proceed from there.”
“I doubt it is air freshener,” Janine said.
Sophie nodded. She felt cold and shivered a little. There were more questions of course. Sophie was asked about her apartment building and her travel plans. She understood why. He wanted to know when her car was unsupervised long enough for someone to rig something to the air vents.
She answered the questions and found herself feeling distant from herself. It was as though she was somehow detached from her own skin.
Ten til Midnight 