Patricia whispered something to her son.
Ethan nodded.
Then he spoke louder.
"He is refusing to surrender an HOA-seized vehicle."
Frank's eyebrows rose.
"HOA-seized?"
Patricia smiled.
"Yes."
"You haven't seized anything."
"We are in the process."
"You are standing in my driveway."
"Exactly."
"You have no court order."
"We don't need one."
"You have no sheriff's order."
"We don't need one."
"You have no lien judgment."
Patricia's expression flickered.
"You don't understand how community enforcement works."
Frank looked past her.
"Apparently neither do you."
He didn't raise his voice.
He didn't argue.
He didn't reach for his phone.
Instead, he looked toward the open garage.
And waited.
Patricia noticed.
"What are you looking at?"
Frank said nothing.
Ethan continued talking to the dispatcher.
"My mother is the HOA president. The homeowner is refusing to cooperate and became aggressive when I attempted to secure the vehicle."
Frank almost smiled.
"Secure."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Then Frank heard footsteps.
Not hurried.
Not uncertain.
Measured.
A man stepped out from behind the open garage door.
He was in his early fifties, perhaps, with silver at his temples and a dark suit that looked completely out of place among Frank's motorcycle tools and shelves of oil cans.
He carried a thick legal folder.
He had been standing inside the garage the entire time.
Patricia froze.
Ethan lowered the phone slightly.
Frank didn't move.
The man walked directly into the sunlight.
Patricia recognized him.
Her face changed.
"No."
The man opened the folder.
"Hello, Patricia."
Ethan looked between them.
"Who are you?"
The man didn't answer him.
Instead, he looked at Frank.
"Mr. Dalton."
Frank nodded.
"Counselor."
Patricia's face had gone pale beneath her makeup.
"You said you were meeting him tomorrow."
The man looked at her.
"I said I was meeting Mr. Dalton."
"You told me the investigation wasn't active."
"I never told you that."
"You told the boardβ"
"I told the board the investigation was ongoing."
Ethan frowned.
"What investigation?"
The man finally looked at him.
Then at the phone in Ethan's hand.
"Perfect."
He opened the folder.
"I was hoping you'd call them."
Patricia whispered, "Don't."
The man spoke clearly.
"I've been investigating your HOA's illegal property seizures for three months."
The words seemed to change the temperature of the driveway.
Ethan slowly lowered his phone.
Frank looked toward the street.
A police cruiser had just turned into the neighborhood.
Patricia's shoulders straightened.
"Officer," she called.
The cruiser rolled toward them.
Patricia immediately stepped forward.
"This man is trespassing."
The attorney closed the folder.
"No, Patricia."
She turned.
"What?"
"You might want to be careful about what you say next."
She stared at him.
"Are you threatening me?"