They were not a private account for the president’s arguments.
Nora asked the management company to preserve every email and electronic record associated with the resolution.
She also notified Karen’s attorney that the signatures were disputed.
That afternoon, Karen arrived at my front door with a smile I had not seen since the tow truck incident.
She held a folder and said she wanted to settle matters privately.
I told her to contact Nora.
Karen said lawyers only made simple problems expensive.
She offered to withdraw the complaint if I sold the Mustang to Victor at his original price.
I asked why her brother wanted my car so badly.
Karen said he was a collector and that the car had sentimental value to him.
I asked whether he had ever owned it.
She said no.
I asked what memory could make it sentimental.
Her smile disappeared.
She said I was being difficult because I enjoyed humiliating her.
I told her I was not discussing the car without counsel.
She leaned closer and lowered her voice.
She said I should think carefully about what might happen if the vehicle’s history became public.
I asked whether she was threatening me.
She said she was offering friendly advice.
Then she walked away without leaving the folder.
I watched her car disappear around the corner and understood that she was afraid of something inside my garage.
Chapter 17: The Night the Lights Went Out
The first attempted break-in happened during a thunderstorm.
Rain hammered the garage roof so loudly that I almost missed the metallic sound at the side door.
I was upstairs reading when the security system sent an alert to my phone.
The garage motion sensor had detected movement.
I looked at the camera feed and saw a hooded figure standing beside the service entrance.
The person carried a narrow flashlight and a dark tool bag.
I called the county dispatch center through the ordinary emergency line and identified myself as the homeowner.
I asked for a patrol response and explained that I was involved in a conflict requiring outside handling.
Then I stayed inside the house.
The figure worked at the lock for several seconds.
The camera showed the person stopping whenever headlights passed on the street.
I could not see a face.
I could see a bright orange stripe on the left sleeve.
The person eventually stepped away from the door and moved behind the hedge.
