“You got a problem with the tire?”

The woman came closer carefully. She was around sixty, maybe a little older. A well-made-up face, but stripped of defense now. Her hair had been carefully set, but the wind had undone it. She looked at him first, then at his car, then back at him, as if calculating risk.

“I think it blew,” she said. “I tried calling roadside assistance, but I don’t have any signal.”