indignation and thrilling purpose. The smell was definitely originating from behind the
great cedar wall at 442 Maple Drive. She could hear voices—deep, rumbling laughter, the
clinking of glass, and the unmistakable, rhythmic baseline of an old soul record playing at a
moderate volume.
"Unauthorized gathering," Brenda muttered to herself, her eyes darting around. She
approached the fence. She could hear the distinct sizzle of fat hitting hot coals. Someone
was barbecuing. In Oakridge Estates, barbecuing was generally tolerated, provided it was
done on a gas grill, produced minimal smoke, and concluded by 8:00 PM. But this smelled
like a real fire. Wood, charcoal, spices. It was aggressively aromatic. It was foreign to the
sterile scent profile of the neighborhood.
Brenda tried to peek through the slats, but the contractors had done an excellent job.
There were no gaps. She walked to the edge of the property where the fence met the house
and stood on her tiptoes, but she couldn't see over. The laughter grew louder. She heard
someone say, "Pass the ribs, Chief, these look incredible."
"Chief?" Brenda whispered. Her mind raced. Who were these people? David lived alone.
What kind of unsavory characters had he invited into their sanctuary? She scurried to the
side of her own house, dragged over a sturdy plastic step stool she used for pruning her
perfectly spherical bushes, and carried it back to David's fence line. She checked to ensure
no one was watching, placed the stool against the wood, and hoisted herself up.
Her eyes breached the top of the fence, giving her a clear, commanding view of David's
backyard patio.
There were four men. David was standing by a massive, custom-built offset smoker that
looked like a small locomotive, basting a rack of ribs. Sitting around a patio table were three
other men. They were casually dressed in shorts and t-shirts, drinking iced tea and laughing
uproariously. One was a broad-shouldered man with a booming laugh. Another was an
older, distinguished-looking gentleman with silver hair. The third was a fit, serious-looking
man who was currently holding a pair of heavy-duty barbecue tongs, gesturing with them
as he told a story.
To Brenda’s prejudiced and highly suspicious eyes, this was not a friendly Saturday
cookout. This was an invasion. These men didn't look like the golf-playing, khaki-wearing
executives of Oakridge Estates. They looked out of place. The smoker was producing a
steady stream of thin blue smoke that drifted over the fence. The tongs looked dangerous.
The laughter felt mocking.
"Excuse me!" Brenda shrieked over the fence, her voice piercing the air like a siren.
The music stopped. The laughter ceased immediately. Four pairs of eyes turned toward
the top of the cedar fence, where Brenda’s face hovered, red with fury, her blonde helmet of
hair perfectly rigid.
"Can I help you?" David asked, setting down his basting brush and wiping his hands on a
towel. He looked more confused than angry.
"What is the meaning of this?" Brenda demanded, pointing a trembling finger at the
smoker. "You are generating a massive fire hazard! The smoke is a nuisance! And who are
these... these people?"
The broad-shouldered man chuckled softly and took a sip of his tea. The silver-haired
man raised an eyebrow. The man with the tongs just stared at her.
"These are my friends, Brenda," David said, his voice remarkably calm. "We're having a
barbecue. It's Saturday afternoon. I believe there are no county ordinances against cooking
food on your own property."
"This is Oakridge Estates!" Brenda screamed. "We have standards! That contraption is
an eyesore and a danger! And I do not appreciate loud, rowdy gatherings of non-residents
causing a disturbance! You are violating Section 7 of the nuisance bylaws!"
"We aren't being loud, ma'am," the man with the tongs said calmly, his voice projecting a
natural, authoritative resonance. "We're just enjoying the afternoon."
"Do not speak to me!" Brenda snapped. "You don't even belong here! I want this fire
extinguished immediately, and I want you all to leave before I take further action. You are
trespassing on the peace and quiet of my neighborhood!"
David sighed, a deep, tired sound. "Brenda, please get off my fence. You're trespassing
on my property line, and frankly, you're invading my privacy. Have a good afternoon."
He turned his back on her and walked back to the smoker. The other three men quietly
went back to their conversation, deliberately ignoring the furious woman hovering above
them.
Brenda was apoplectic. She had never, in seven years, been ignored. She had never been
dismissed. Her face turned a dangerous shade of magenta. She hopped down from the step
stool, snatched it up, and practically sprinted back to her house. She slammed her front
door, locked it, and threw herself onto her floral sofa, her chest heaving.
They thought they could dismiss her. They thought they could bring their smoke, their
noise, and their intimidating presence into her domain and simply turn their backs on her.
She needed to escalate. She needed to show them the full, devastating force of her authority.
She grabbed her phone and dialed 911.
CHAPTER 5: THE EMERGENCY CALL
"911, what is your emergency?" the dispatcher's voice was calm and professional.
"Yes, hello, this is Brenda Vance, the President of the Oakridge Estates Homeowners
Association," she began, her voice quivering with manufactured panic. "I need officers
dispatched immediately to 442 Maple Drive. There is a deeply dangerous situation
unfolding."
"Okay, ma'am. What is the nature of the emergency?"
"My new neighbor has brought in a gang of men. They have built an massive,
uncontrolled fire in the backyard. The flames are huge, it's a massive fire hazard to the
entire block!" Brenda lied seamlessly, her own panic fueling the exaggeration. "There's thick
smoke everywhere, we can barely breathe!"
"Are they burning brush? Or is a structure on fire?"
"No, no, they have some sort of massive industrial incinerator! And that's not all. The
men are highly aggressive. I tried to politely ask them to extinguish the dangerous flames,
and they threatened me! One of them is brandishing a large metal weapon!" She thought of