“Would you mind if I took a look at his car?” “Why would you want to do that? And why are you so interested?” “It used to be my job,” he said. “And now?” He looked at her, and she felt the full force of his gaze. “Call it my vocation,” he said. “I’m out of practice. Indulge me, Chief Bloom. After all, what harm can it do?” But those last five words came back to Cory Bloom later, as it all blew up, as she felt her life draining away, and she knew that she would take them to her grave.
