“You can’t do that!” a teenager in the back of the room yelled what most of the crowd was thinking.
“Watch us.” Harry’s evil grin distorted his face. “Also, if you owe money, you cannot use guest parking for your visitors. In fact, you cannot drive your vehicles over the roads paved by the association.”
“Then how are we going to get home?” Roxie yelled.
“Drop your car from the sky onto your driveway for all I care.” Harry narrowed his gaze at Meg. “If you owe money, your code will be removed from the entrance gate.”
Anger turned Meg’s face scarlet. She gripped her soda can, wound up like a baseball player, and threw it straight toward his forehead. He ducked just in time. The caramel-colored soda splattered against the library’s faded white wall.
Andi’s stomach clenched as she watched the turmoil percolate.
Harry laughed like Santa’s evil twin. Valerie peered over her shoulder at the mess on the wall, then at the threatening crowd rising to its feet. She quickly slipped out the side door. The security guard followed. Andi hoped he intended to get backup and not flee the scene like a coward.
Watching his girlfriend abandon him, Harry stopped laughing and clenched his fists again. “If you park in your driveway, instead of the garage like you’re supposed to, your car will be towed at your own expense.”
Roxie screamed obscenities and grabbed a skein of yarn from the lap of the woman sitting next to her. With perfect aim, she tossed it to the cowboy. “Hog-tie him!”
The cowboy tugged long strands out of the skein and wrapped each loop around his leathery hands. Pulling it taught, he threatened bodily harm with each silent move.
The board president backed away from the table. When his shoulders bumped into the soda-splattered wall, he turned to Luke.
“Do something!”
“Who, me?” Luke answered calmly.
“You still work for me for thirty days.”
“No, I don’t. I quit this account hours ago.” Luke wasted no time reaching Andi. He gently held her hand and guided her toward the aisle. “Let’s get out of here.”
Andi had seen friendlier crowds in zombie movies. A sense of urgency took over. They needed to get out of the library before a riot broke out.
“Come on!” She urged Meg to join them.
Meg followed reluctantly. “Roxie, we’re leaving!”
“Not me! We’re going to have ourselves a lynching.”
* * *
Luke followed Andi back to Euphoria. He wanted to make sure she arrived home safely after the heated meeting, and he wanted to sit and talk about their relationship. Now that he was no longer working for the board, he could date her without worrying about the complications.
He watched Andi ease her Mustang up to the gate and punch in her code. She waited a moment and tried again. Suspecting the worst, Luke climbed out of his convertible. He hurried up to the gate and read the rectangular screen, “Access Denied.”
“Harry removed my gate code before the meeting even began,” she spat.
He entered his own code. “Access Denied. Harry erased my code, too. So much for the thirty days’ notice.”
“That evil little man!” Andi slammed her car door and rushed up to the metal gate door available for walkers. She tried her key. It slipped in, but wouldn’t turn. “He rekeyed the lock. I can’t even get in on foot!”
“I’ll take care of this,” Luke said. “He can’t lock people out. There are children who live in this complex. They need access to their homes regardless of whether their parents pay their dues.”
Andi stood on the sidewalk as he popped open his trunk. Meg crawled out of the backseat of the Mustang and joined her. Both women exchanged surprised looks when he revealed a crowbar. He pushed it beneath the gate, then scaled over the top and jumped to the asphalt ground on the other side. His knee ached on impact. Ignoring the pain, he marched on.
Within minutes, other homeowners arrived and parked behind them. All of their codes had been removed as well. The gate wouldn’t open for anyone. The growing crowd reminded him of why they left the library. He needed to get that gate opened before the mob took control of the situation. Luke examined the box containing the gate’s motor. He inserted one end of the crowbar into the slight opening behind the lock and pulled.
Mr. Decker, the cowboy, kicked the pole holding up the keypad with the heel of his boot. It barely budged. He turned to a tall man about twenty years his junior. “You should have let me hog-tie that weasel back at the library.”
“Next time.” The man patted him on the back and pointed to Luke. They both scaled the gate to join him. The cowboy needed less help over than one would have expected for a man his age.
When Luke finished prying open the box, he noticed that the cowboy’s friend held a pair of wire cutters in his hand. He stepped back to let the man do his thing. He watched him snip away the way a beautician would with scissors, but nothing opened the gate.
Ready to lend a hand, several men said they’d be right back and scaled the gate as well. They returned shortly from their homes with blowtorches, sledgehammers, and drills. They ran an orange electrical cord from the closest neighbor’s porch and strung it over the wall for any tools that needed to be plugged in to obtain electric power. The small army of men not only managed to remove the gates from their hinges but totally destroyed them. Harry should be thankful he hadn’t shown up before the task was complete. They might not have stopped at destroying metal.
The cowboy eyed the mangled mess. “Maybe we should put it back on the hinges and tie that varmint up to it spread-eagle. The kids could take turns pushing the gate back and forth like one of them there amusement rides.”
“The older kids could throw tomatoes at him,” his friend added. “Or baseballs.”
“It would be better if we find a nonviolent way of dealing with Harry—and one that doesn’t involve children,” Andi said, the protective teacher in her taking over.
“Missy, you do things your way and I’ll do things mine,” the cowboy snarled.
Luke thought about his way of doing things. “I was impressed with the way you scaled the gate,” he told the older man. “I almost took out my knee on the landing.”
Andi studied Mr. Decker. “How’s your back feeling?”
“I was so mad, I didn’t even think about my back.” The cowboy stretched and groaned. “To tell you the truth, I wish you hadn’t reminded me. It feels like nails stabbing at me again.”
Luke watched Andi. Something was going on in that pretty head of hers. He made a mental note to ask about it later.
The group headed back to their cars at a leisurely, content pace—the way dockworkers might after putting in a long day.
After parking in her garage, Andi leaned toward his open car window. “Are you going to be okay? I feel bad that you lost the account.”
“Don’t. I already feel like a boulder has been lifted off my back.” He glanced up at the night sky. The expanse of tranquil blue reflected his mood. “Whatever life has in store for me, it has to be better than working for Harry.”
“I hope I’m going to be a part of that future.”
“The best and biggest part of my life.” He touched her cheek with the palm of his hand and then kissed her full on the mouth. “It’s been an interesting night. I better let you get a good night’s sleep. Your fight with Harry isn’t over yet.”
“True,” she answered, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
“How about dinner tomorrow night?”
He wanted to cheer when her face lit up like the stars above.
FIFTEEN
Still unable to sleep, Andi stayed up watching television. The late-night movie, Harper Valley P.T.A., reminded her of the anti-board and the Euphoria Homeowners’ Association. In the movie, a single mother sought revenge against the school board that treated her and her daughter unfairly because she dressed provocatively. Harry treated her and her sister unfairly because he a
ssumed Jessie was a drug-dealing hooker. He had appointed himself the morality police of Euphoria at the same time he was pursuing a married woman.
“About time!” Andi shouted when Jessie entered the kitchen through the garage.
Her sister strolled through the condo to the living room. Old movies must have been on the minds of many: the theme at the restaurant that night was Star Wars. Jessie wore a short white dress with gold ribbon trim, white go-go boots, and the famous Princess Leia hairdo with buns pinned over each ear.
“I noticed the front gate. Looks like a tornado hit the complex.”
Andi recounted the events of the evening, starting with the homeowners’ meeting and ending with the rougher men in the neighborhood waiting out front of Harry’s condo with wrenches ready.
Jessie shook her head. “If he’s smart, he’ll stay away until things calm down around here.” She plucked the pins from her hairdo. “Did you tell Valerie her man is not a Rockefeller?”
“I let her know he’s been playing her for a fool. If she cares, she’ll try to find out what he’s been lying about.”
“I have more information,” Jessie said. “I made a call and discovered Harry’s credit cards are maxed out. He also applied for a loan using the equity in his condo. Other than what the man receives from his retirement account, he’s broke.”
“Great detective work.” While Andi watched her sister yank off another boot, her thoughts turned back to Tess and the reverend. “Speaking of detective work, when are you going to wrap up your undercover case so you can run your newly acquired agency?”
The reverend needs a professional to prove his innocence.
“We finally found a hooker at the restaurant who is ready to talk. With her help, we can catch the owner in the act of pimping out the girls. We haven’t been able to tie him to the drugs yet, but if we can make a prostitution arrest, he might hand over his drug connections for a deal. If all goes well, we should make an arrest within the next day or two.”
“That means Harry can’t discover the truth between now and then.” Still sitting on the sofa, Andi pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
“I forgot to tell you—the guys arrested the bookie. Turns out he had an outstanding warrant. He won’t be digging up dirt on anyone as long as he’s in jail. That means Harry isn’t going to find out anything about my undercover work until the job is done.”
Andi felt a wave of relief rush over her. “Anything new on the reverend?”
“Sorry, no. The evidence keeps pointing to him.”
Andi checked her watch. “It’s after three. I guess you want to go to bed.”
“I’m not totally exhausted,” Jessie answered. “I wouldn’t mind watching TV with you until I pass out. If you’ll make hot chocolate and bring out a plate of those sugar cookies, I’ll change out of this ridiculous outfit.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Andi shuffled toward the kitchen.
“Do you have any lotion?” Jessie asked, rubbing her elbow. “I’m as dry as the Sahara.”
“Under the sink in my bathroom.”
“Thanks.”
Andi opened the kitchen cupboard and found two dark-blue ceramic mugs. She filled them both with water and placed them inside the microwave.
“Andi!” Jessie’s voice, coming from a back room, sounded terse.
“What did Harry do now?” Rage started to build in her gut. If he left another violation letter already she was going to . . .
“Grab a knife from the drawer and stay put.”
What?
“Grab a what?”
“You heard me. Grab a knife and stay put!” There was no mistaking that the barked order came from Jessie the police officer, not Jessie the sister wanting her hot chocolate.
Andi silently slid open the drawer and selected the biggest butcher knife she could find. Touching the weapon brought images from slasher flicks to mind. Listening intently, she heard her sister opening and shutting doors in the bedrooms. Not knowing whether she should speak, she stood, leaning against a counter, holding the knife, blade out, in front of her body.
Please don’t let anything bad happen.
She repeated the half plea, half prayer over and over again.
After what seemed like an eternity, her sister emerged from the bedroom holding the backup pistol she kept in her dresser. “It’s clear,” Jessie reported flatly. “Whoever was here is gone now. You can put the knife away.”
“Someone was here?” Andi squeezed the handle of the butcher knife.
Jessie gently took the weapon away with her free hand. “It’s okay. But you need to come take a look.”
Andi followed her sister into the master bathroom. A message had been left in red lipstick on the mirror. “I told you to stop. You better watch your back,” she read, then dragged in a much-needed breath. Searching the area for signs of Tess, she felt faint. “That woman was in our home, in my bathroom.”
For some inexplicable reason, she was glad she had cleaned the tub that morning. She assumed the reasoning fell along the lines of making sure you had clean underwear on in case you ever had an automobile accident. Not that her granny panties would stay clean if she were ever in a head-on collision.
Was there a saying about making sure your house was clean in case you were burglarized or threatened with lipstick on the bathroom mirror?
Knowing she might be losing her grip on sanity, she turned to her sister. “How did Tess get in?”
“I don’t know, but we’re getting an alarm tomorrow.” Jessie kept the gun in her hand at her side. “And you’re assuming it was Tess. You stopped working for her husband and she would have no way of knowing Dad is working for me. I told him to stay away from our condo until this is over. I don’t want anyone connecting the dots.”
“Who else could it be? Reverend Nichols is in jail. I don’t understand why she thinks I’m still working the case. I haven’t spoken to her husband since . . .”
When was it?
She thought back to the board meeting. She hadn’t said anything to him there. Earlier, she saw him in front of Harry’s condo, but she hadn’t spoken to him because she was spying on him.
“Oh, no.”
“What?”
“Meg and I were testing a listening device in front of Harry’s place and the doctor was there with the bookie. You don’t suppose Tess saw us and thinks we were spying on her husband and trying to find her, do you?”
“Where were you when you were playing with this device?”
She hesitated before answering. “Hiding behind a car.”
“Andi. . .”
“I looked around first. There wasn’t anyone around to catch us.”
“So you thought. Leave the spying to the professionals. It’s what we get paid for.”
“I am a professional. Sort of.”
Jessie rolled her eyes.
* * *
Alone in her condo the next morning, Andi double-checked her bedroom window to make sure it was shut and locked. The night before, the police determined that’s how the intruder had entered. Embarrassment had washed over her when the officer, one she hadn’t met before, said the window hadn’t been shut all the way.
Live and learn.
Andi shuffled into the living room and slid open the blinds covering the sliding-glass door. She breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t find trash or birdseed covering her porch. The cameras Luke had installed had done little to prevent Harry’s shenanigans, but. . . She turned toward the laptop she had left on her coffee table. She hadn’t thought about the cameras the night before because the intruder, Tess, had climbed in through her window. But there was a possibility Luke’s second camera caught her sneaking toward their condo.
She sat on the sofa and booted up the computer. Within minutes, she had the monitoring site up and running. With a click of a few keys, she rewound the feed to the previous night. She pushed “Pause” when she spotted someone in a black sweat suit jog
ging around the back corner of the building. Strands of blonde hair protruded from the black hood that conveniently hid the jogger’s face.
Leaning back against the sofa, she studied the picture on the screen. The blonde hair had to be Tess’s. Andi spent the next few minutes watching the footage again and again. Something didn’t feel right, but she couldn’t place her finger on what bothered her.
Finally giving up, Andi closed the site and thought over the events of the past few days.
“Harry, you went too far when you locked everyone out of the community.”
She typed “AZ Homeowners’ Associations” into her search engine and waited.
Scanning the results of her search, she found, “Homeowners Associations adversely affect real estate sales.” She clicked on the link and waited. An article dated 2009 appeared. “Realtors report lower sales in locations where neighbors report problems with their homeowners’ associations.” Andi scoffed as she read. “Problems? Try an outright war.”
After printing a copy of the report, she jotted down the name of the reporter and dialed Information. She had promised her new friends she would find a way to solve their problems that did not involve vandalism. After several calls, she was given the number for the reporter’s voice mail.
“My name is Andi Stevenson, and I have a follow-up story for you.”
* * *
Luke arrived at Andi’s during his lunch break. “I brought burgers and shakes. You interested?”
“A handsome man bearing gifts.” She stepped aside. “Do enter, sir.”
Placing the food on the dining room table, he caught the scent of her strawberry shampoo. Before she could reach for her lunch, he pulled her into a full embrace. She felt so good in his arms, he couldn’t let go.
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