Tyler did not answer.
Before Marcus could ask again, a police cruiser turned onto the street.
Officer Elena Martinez stepped out.
Marcus recognized her from previous neighborhood events.
She looked at the wreckage.
Then at Tyler.
Then at Marcus.
"Anybody hurt?"
"No," Marcus said.
Tyler shook his head.
Martinez approached the teenager.
"You were driving?"
"Yes."
"License."
Tyler handed it over.
She looked at the registration.
"Vehicle belongs to Brenda Whitmore?"
"My mom."
Martinez nodded.
"What happened?"
Tyler opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
"I accidentally accelerated."
Martinez looked toward the driveway.
"From where?"
"The road."
"You turned into the driveway?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Tyler stared at the pavement.
"I thought this was another house."
Marcus frowned.
"You thought my house was another house?"
Tyler said nothing.
Before Martinez could continue, another vehicle came rushing into the driveway.
A white SUV.
Brenda Whitmore stepped out.
Pink blouse.
White pants.
Large sunglasses.
Perfect blonde hair.
She hurried toward her son.
"Oh my God, Tyler!"
She wrapped her arms around him.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Did anyone examine you?"
"I'm fine, Mom."
Brenda turned toward the garage.
Her expression changed.
The concern disappeared.
Calculation replaced it.
She looked at the damaged structure.
Then at Marcus.
"How old is this garage?"
Marcus blinked.
"What?"
"The structure."
"Your son just drove through it."
"I'm aware of that."
"Then why are you asking how old it is?"
Brenda pointed toward the damaged frame.
"Because it obviously wasn't very strong."
Marcus stared at her.
Officer Martinez looked over.
"Ma'am, the fire department will assess the structure."
Brenda folded her arms.
"We should be careful before assigning blame."
Marcus almost laughed.
The car was still sitting inside his garage.
And Brenda was already preparing a different version of what had happened.
The firefighters arrived within minutes.
Two of them inspected the garage while another checked the vehicle.
The captain eventually approached Marcus.
"The structure is unstable around the front header."
"Can I go inside?"
"Not yet."
Marcus nodded.
Brenda stood several feet away listening.
The captain continued.
"The framing held better than I expected given the impact."
Marcus noticed Brenda's expression.
She did not like that sentence.
Not at all.
Officer Martinez asked Tyler to explain what happened again.
Tyler glanced at his mother.
Martinez noticed.
"Tyler, I need you to answer."
Brenda stepped forward.
"He's shaken."
"He can still describe the accident."
"I want counsel present."
Marcus looked at her.
Counsel?
For a teenager who had just driven a car into a garage?
Tyler suddenly spoke.
"Mom, stop."
Brenda turned.
"What?"
"I said stop."
Everyone became silent.
Tyler looked at the destroyed garage.
Then at Marcus.
"I messed up."
Brenda's jaw tightened.
"We'll discuss that later."
"No."
"Tyler."
"You told me to come here."
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
Brenda froze.
Officer Martinez immediately looked at Tyler.
"What does that mean?"
Tyler swallowed.
"I mean..."
He looked toward his mother.
Brenda stepped closer.
"He's confused."
Martinez did not respond.
The firefighters eventually cleared Marcus from entering the garage.
He spent the next hour documenting the damage from outside.
He photographed every visible tool.
Every broken cabinet.
Every damaged project.
Every section of the garage door.
He wrote down serial numbers.
He recorded the names of the firefighters.
He documented the police incident number.
Brenda watched him.
Finally, she approached.
"My insurance representative will contact you."
"Good."
"I would prefer all communication to go through them."
"Fine."
She looked toward the neighbors gathering along the sidewalks.
"And I strongly recommend you don't post anything online."
Marcus looked at her.
"I wasn't planning to."
"Good."
"Why?"
"Because these situations become ugly when people turn them into neighborhood gossip."
Marcus looked at the garage.
"Your son put a car through a building."
"Lower your voice."
"I'm talking normally."
"People are watching."
"People are watching because a car is inside my garage."
Brenda's expression hardened.
"You know what I mean."
"No, I don't."
She took a breath.
"I'm trying to keep this civil."
"Then start with one fact."
"What fact?"
"Your son damaged my property."
Brenda stared at him.
Then she said something Marcus would remember for years.
"Your property was already compromised."
Marcus slowly nodded.
"Okay."
She looked confused.
"Okay?"
"Yes."
Marcus took out his phone.
"What are you doing?"
"Writing down what you just said."
Her eyes sharpened.
"Don't record me."
"I'm not recording you."
"I'm making notes."
Brenda turned toward Officer Martinez.
The officer was standing nearby.
Listening.
Brenda walked away.
Marcus continued documenting.
He knew something had changed.
This was no longer simply an accident.
Someone was already trying to rewrite the facts.
By sunset, the silver sedan had been towed away.
The garage was boarded up.
Temporary plastic covered part of the opening.
Marcus stood outside staring at the destruction.
His brother Andre arrived carrying two coffees.
Andre looked at the garage.
Then at Marcus.
"Tell me you punched somebody."
"No."
"Disappointing."
Marcus took the coffee.
"Thanks."
Andre walked closer.
"That kid okay?"
"Yeah."
"Good."
Then he looked at the garage again.
"That's Brenda's son?"
"Yeah."
"The HOA woman?"
"Yeah."
"The same woman who fined you because a ladder was visible for one afternoon?"
Marcus nodded.
Andre whistled.
"And now she's blaming your garage?"
"Apparently."
Andre frowned.
"How do you know?"
Marcus hesitated.
"Tyler said she told him to come here."
Andre stopped.
"What?"
Marcus looked toward the house.
Then something occurred to him.
"Wait."
"What?"
"The cameras."
They hurried inside.
Marcus opened the security application on his laptop.