Emma appeared at his elbow. Did you find the something? Yeah, he said. I think I did. " "Is it good something or bad something? " Cole looked at the burned wreck for a long moment. "I genuinely don't know yet. " The auction crowd gathered at 11:00.
Maybe 70 people, dealers, collectors, a handful of insurance reps with tablets and polo shirts. The kind of crowd that knew what things were worth and made decisions in increments of confidence. Cole had registered early and gotten paddle number 31. He stood in the second row with Emma beside him, her hand in his, the sun overhead going from warm to serious. Lot 47 came up 40 minutes into the session.
The auctioneer ran through the description in the flat rapid cadence of the profession. 2016 McLaren fire damage salvage title as is. Starting the bidding at $200. Do I have 200? And the room barely reacted.
Cole raised his paddle. A few heads turned toward him. A dealer, two rows back, raised his paddle at 300. Cole went to four. The dealer dropped out at four.
There was no viable return on a car this damaged, and the dealer knew it. Cole was at $400 alone, which should have ended it. Except that a woman in the third row raised her paddle at 500. And when Cole looked back to see who it was, he recognized her immediately. Victoria Hale was 30 years old and ran Hale Automotive Group, which was technically an investment and acquisition firm, but was known in the industry primarily for Victoria Hale's personal collection of significant and rare automobiles and her apparently limitless capital for expanding it.
Cole had seen her at two other auctions, never interacted, no reason to, and knew her by reputation the way every serious person in the car industry did. She was smart, she was fast, and she did not make impulsive purchases. He had no idea why she was bidding on a burned hulk. He He to 600, she went to seven, he went to 800. She went to 900.
He went to 1,000 and felt the number land in his stomach like a stone hitting water. Victoria turned and looked at him. She was wearing dark sunglasses and a linen blazer that probably cost more than his truck, and she had the expression of someone trying to decide if the person in front of her was serious or performing. Cole kept his paddle up. She dropped hers.
Sold. Paddle 31, $1,000. The crowd laughed. Not politely. Not under their breath.