As a reward for good grades, Angela’s parents helped her buy her first car. The faded red VW bug she got needed some TLC, but with a little elbow grease and some help from her dad in the form of a tune-up, they had it running and looking good in no time. The only thing they couldn’t get to the bottom of was a strange smell coming from the interior. Her dad said it was just old car smell, so they doused the carpet with febreeze. Even then it didn’t quite mask the odor. On warm days it was especially bad, to the point that Angie’s friends didn’t want to ride in it. Even with the windows down and sunroof open, you could still catch a whiff of it.

Her dad had actually bought the car for her, using the babysitting money she had made over the summer, and paying the balance himself. When she asked where the car had come from, he revealed he had gotten it from an auction. When pressed, Angie’s dad did a little investigating on the car’s history. In those days you could still run a vehicle’s VIN and get a list of previous owners. A friend of Angie’s dad was a police officer, and promised he’d look into it. A few days later, the phone call came. “I don’t know if you’re going to want to reveal this to your daughter, that’s your choice.” He began. “What do you mean? What’s wrong?”

“Well…prior to going through the auction, that car came from police impound…” He hesitated.

“Okay, and?” Angie’s dad pressed.

“The last owner of that Bug…killed himself in it. Ran the car in a closed garage and died from the exhaust fumes.”

“Oh my god!”

“Yeah, but that’s not the worst part. He was somewhat of a recluse. Nobody realized he was gone for several months. I’m sorry, this isn’t a pretty subject, but this was during the summer. By the time he was discovered he had…decomposed into the seat.”