“Mr. Cole?”
“Yes.”
“Your neighbor let us through the front side after you called?”
“Yes.”
Vanessa's face transformed almost instantly.
The arrogance disappeared.
Concern took its place.
Then indignation.
She climbed completely out of the pool.
“Officer.”
The policeman looked toward her.
She pointed at Marcus.
“He threatened me.”
Marcus said nothing.
The officer looked back toward him.
Then toward Vanessa.
“Ma'am, I already watched the video on Mr. Cole's phone.”
Vanessa blinked.
“He edited it.”
Marcus almost responded.
The officer raised one hand.
“Let's keep everybody separated.”
Vanessa wrapped both arms around herself as though suddenly aware she was standing dripping wet in somebody else's backyard.
“I am the president of this homeowners association.”
The officer nodded.
“Okay.”
“I have official authority to access properties for inspection.”
“Do you have paperwork showing that?”
“Our CC&Rs.”
“Do they say you can climb a locked gate?”
Vanessa hesitated.
Marcus looked away to hide his expression.
She answered:
“They provide inspection rights.”
The officer glanced toward Marcus.
“Did she contact you before coming over?”
“No.”
“Did you authorize entry?”
“No.”
“Was the gate locked?”
“Yes.”
The officer looked toward Vanessa's shoes on the patio.
Then toward the top of the wooden gate.
Then back at her.
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“This homeowner has been hostile toward the board for months.”
The officer opened his citation pad.
Vanessa pointed toward Marcus again.
“You're letting him intimidate me.”
The officer wrote something.
Marcus remained quiet.
Vanessa's voice sharpened.
“Are you seriously going to do nothing?”
The officer looked up.
“I am doing something.”
“Then remove him.”
Marcus stared.
The officer looked toward Vanessa.
“From his own backyard?”
Vanessa realized how absurd it sounded.
She tried another direction.
“He was aggressive.”
The officer continued writing.
“He told you to leave.”
“He shouted.”
“His video has audio.”
“He came toward me.”
“He stayed more than six feet away until we arrived.”
Vanessa's face reddened.
She looked toward Marcus.
“You planned this.”
Marcus finally answered.
“I planned to drink coffee.”
The officer tore a page from the citation book.
Vanessa stared at it.
“What is that?”
The officer held it out.
“Citation.”
Her eyes moved immediately toward Marcus.
“I told you.”
The officer shook his head.
“Ma'am, this isn't for him.”
Silence.
He extended the paper.
“It’s for you.”
Vanessa's hand did not move.
The officer continued.
“Criminal trespass warning and municipal citation related to unlawful entry onto posted private property.”
Vanessa stared.
“You cannot cite the HOA.”
“I’m not.”
“I’m citing you.”
Something almost physical happened to the air in the backyard.
Marcus saw the moment Vanessa understood that the title she had used like a shield for six years had not followed her over his fence.