______________________________________________________
"It's all yours, miss," the man said with a smile. He gestured to the four-year-old black Toyota Camry Amy had just purchased.
"Thank you, Mr. Heyman," she said gratefully, and the portly used car salesman handed her back the credit card.
"Call me Paul."
Followed by the salesman, the redhead stepped through the glass door to the outside to the lot area where her new car was located, along with lots of other vehicles. She had taken the Camry on a test drive two days prior and had decided she would take it. It was in prime shape, and she'd wondered why the original owner had sold it in the first place. Paul Heyman had remembered the situation with that particular car quite well - the woman had come into a bit of money and had opted for a more extravagant ride.
Heyman held the door open for her in a gentlemanly gesture, and she got in. Amy hefted her bag of photography equipment over her shoulder to the backseat. Then, she faced forward again, and the man closed the door for her.
She rolled the window down halfway.
"If you experience any problems, you come right back," he said. "Though I don't think you should. This baby is good as new."
"I'll do that," she assured him with a smile. "Thanks again."
Paul stepped back and smiled as he held a hand up in a goodbye wave and nodded. The young woman waved back as she backed out of the space and drove out of the lot.
She was relieved. She'd really hit the jackpot finding Heyman's used car dealership. She'd done her research online, and he seemed favorable to customers, received decent ratings. Upon actually seeing the man, she'd initially thought he would be a slippery character who would try to cheat her, but it hadn't been the case. The vehicle ran nearly as good as new, and he'd given her a very fair deal on it.
Amy sighed contentedly as she felt the wind ruffle her hair. She didn't have an assignment until a few hours later, so she decided to just drive around and enjoy the morning and her new car.
She drove into the small town, her thoughts shifting to the mysterious man she'd so recently met. What was his story? She really wondered about Adam Copeland.
Amy was still thinking about the man several minutes later when she stopped for a red light. Situated behind a silver two-seater Lexus, she gazed around, her eyes catching the reflection of the driver...
... It was *him*.
Her heartbeat quickened at the recognition. Her breath caught in her throat. Barely able to swallow, she raised her left hand to wave it outside the window, but she got no reaction in response. Should she honk her horn? Obviously, *that* would have to get his attention.
Amy's mouth ran dry as she made up her mind. Lightly honking the horn with her right hand, she again waved out the driver's side window with her left.
The light suddenly went green, and although the blond man seemed to glance at her through his rearview and driver's side mirrors alternately, the Lexus sped off. Aside from that, there was no reaction.
The redhead winced. He had to have seen her and known it was her. What was his problem? Had she really made that poor of an impression on the day they'd met? Certainly, he couldn't blame her. After all, she was a single woman in a strange new town. Her reaction had been only natural.
Copeland was speeding way ahead of her. And although it was quite irrational and even stalkerish, she wanted to follow him. What was he up to? More importantly, who was that mysterious, handsome man?
Her curiosity getting the better of her, Amy pressed her foot hard on the accelerator of her new car. She put
the pedal to the metal and shot down the road after the silver Lexus.