Chapter 1 — The Wrong Plate
At 8:11 on a bright Monday morning, Daniel Mercer heard metal scrape against concrete.
He looked through the kitchen window and saw a contractor kneeling beside the dark SUV parked in his driveway. A yellow wheel boot was being fitted around the front tire.
Beside the contractor stood Evelyn Hart, president of the neighborhood homeowners association.
Daniel opened the front door.
"What are you doing?"
Evelyn lifted her clipboard. "Enforcing the parking rules."
"On my driveway?"
"On an unauthorized vehicle."
Daniel looked at the SUV. "That vehicle belongs to my sister. She's staying with us."
Evelyn pointed to her paperwork. "Plate ending in 381. That's the vehicle listed in the violation."
Daniel walked around the SUV and read the plate aloud. "318."
The contractor stopped. He checked the work order, then the SUV again.
"Ma'am, the order says 381."
Evelyn frowned.
Daniel took out his phone. "You booted the wrong car."
"It is a clerical error," Evelyn said.
"It is the wrong plate."
Before Evelyn could answer, the front door opened again.
A woman in a navy suit stepped onto the porch. She carried a briefcase and a folder marked with the seal of the county.
Her name was Claire Morgan.
She looked at the boot, then at Evelyn's paperwork.
"Would someone like to explain why my vehicle is being immobilized?"
Evelyn's confidence disappeared.