"You think this is bigger?"
"I don't know."
He paused.
"But I'm going to find out."
The next morning, Daniel went to his company office.
Carter Recovery operated from a large industrial property on the edge of town.
There were eighteen tow trucks.
Six flatbeds.
A fleet of roadside-assistance vehicles.
A repair bay.
A dispatch center.
And a small office where Daniel had spent countless nights building the company from nothing.
He walked into the dispatch room.
Marcus was waiting.
He handed Daniel a folder.
"This is what we have."
Daniel opened it.
The first work order was six months old.
A black pickup truck.
HOA authorization.
Violation: excessive commercial appearance.
Vehicle removed.
The second was a white SUV.
Violation: driveway obstruction.
The third was a motorcycle.
Violation: unauthorized parking.
The fourth was a boat trailer.
Violation: aesthetic incompatibility.
Daniel kept reading.
Every order carried the same structure.
HOA authorization.
Immediate removal.
Storage fees.
Administrative fees.
Daniel looked at Marcus.
"How many?"
"Thirty-seven."
"Thirty-seven?"
"That's what we found."
Daniel turned another page.
"How many owners disputed them?"
"Eight."
"And?"
"Most paid."
"Why?"
"Because storage charges kept increasing."
Daniel leaned back.
"Who paid us?"
"The HOA."
"And who paid the HOA?"
"The homeowners."
Daniel looked at the paperwork.
Something cold settled in his stomach.
"Pull every invoice."
Marcus nodded.
Daniel spent the next six hours reviewing records.
By sunset, he had a stack of documents nearly six inches high.
There were patterns.
The same violations.
The same towing instructions.
The same urgency.
And something else.
The HOA was not merely using towing as enforcement.
It was using towing as pressure.
One homeowner had refused to sell a narrow strip of land behind his house.
Three weeks later, his work truck was towed.
Another had declined an easement request.
Two months later, his son's pickup was towed for a parking violation.
A third had complained about a proposed development.
Her husband's classic Mustang was removed for "visual inconsistency."
Daniel looked at Marcus.
"Who signs these?"
"Usually Patricia Whitmore."
"Usually?"
"Sometimes another board member."
"Who?"
Marcus gave him a name.
Daniel wrote it down.
Then he looked at the dates.
"These towing orders aren't random."
"No."
"What do you mean?"
Marcus pointed at the paperwork.
"Look at the timing."
Daniel did.
He saw it.
Every towing incident happened shortly after a homeowner rejected something.
A landscaping change.
An easement.
A development proposal.
A private access agreement.
A property inspection.
A purchase offer.
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"She's not towing cars."
Marcus looked at him.