“Vince, was it?” David asked, turning his piercing gaze onto the greasy driver.
Vince swallowed hard, his eyes wide with panic. “Listen, man... I just got a call. She told me it was an abandoned vehicle violation.”
“She told you to impound a seventy-thousand-dollar asset against the owner’s will, on private property, to extort a forced sale,” David corrected him, his voice booming with legal precision. “That is conspiracy to commit grand theft auto. Now, I suggest you take your hooks off my Investigator’s truck, get in your cab, and pray I don’t decide to subpoena your company’s dispatch logs on Monday morning.”
Vince didn’t say a single word. He didn’t look at Susan. He grabbed his heavy steel chain, yanked it out from under my bumper, threw it violently onto the bed of his flatbed, and sprinted for the driver's door. The heavy diesel engine roared, and the tow truck sped out of the neighborhood, tires squealing as it rounded the corner.
Susan watched her muscle abandon her, leaving her utterly exposed.
“Now,” David said, turning back to Sergeant Miller. “Let’s review the criminal violations that just occurred on my property.”
David pointed a finger at Susan. “Mrs. Vance just submitted a sworn written statement alleging a violent assault that did not happen. That is a violation of State Statute 837.05, False Report to Law Enforcement. Because her intent was to facilitate the theft of a motor vehicle valued over fifty thousand dollars, her false report elevates to a felony.”
Susan began to hyperventilate. Her hands fluttered wildly in front of her. “No... no, it was a misunderstanding! I’m the HOA President! I have aesthetic jurisdiction! Tyler, tell them! Tell them it was a misunderstanding!”
Tyler practically climbed over the manicured hedges trying to back away from his mother. “Don’t look at me!” he shouted, his voice cracking with panic. “I didn’t do anything! She called the tow truck! She told me I could have the truck!”
He threw her under the bus without a second thought. Susan stared at her son in absolute horror.
“Furthermore,” David continued, his voice cold and merciless. “I was standing on my porch when she offered to withhold criminal assault charges if Investigator Reed signed over the title of his vehicle for five hundred dollars. That is Extortion. Which is a second-degree felony in this state.”
David looked at Sergeant Miller. “You have the extortion on your body cameras. You have the false report in your hand. I am officially requesting that you place Susan Vance under arrest.”
“Wait! Please!” Susan shrieked, the reality of her shattered little empire finally crashing down on her. “I didn’t know who you were! I didn’t know! We can work this out! I’ll waive your HOA dues! I won’t issue any citations!”
She thought her petty power could still buy her a way out. She thought she was negotiating a parking ticket.
“Turn around and put your hands behind your back, ma’am,” Sergeant Miller said, pulling the metal handcuffs from his belt.