The homeowner nodded.
“Good.”
“You should be nervous.”
“I’m not.”
“You could be facing charges.”
“For collecting my mail?”
“For interfering with association property.”
He stared.
“My mailbox is not association property.”
“It conforms to association design.”
“That is not the same thing.”
She waved the envelope.
“And this?”
“My letter.”
“It doesn't look like a utility bill.”
He almost smiled.
“You think mail belongs to me only if you understand it?”
The HOA President folded her arms.
“You always do this.”
“Do what?”
“Turn everything into an argument.”
The homeowner looked toward his house.
He could walk inside.
Lock the door.
Let police deal with her.
But she still held the report.
And something strange had entered his anger.
Anticipation.
The report in her hand might contain the fact that changed her entire life.
She had no idea.
Neither did he.
Not completely.
The Officer arrived seven minutes later.
White male officer.
Mid-forties.
Calm posture.
Body camera active.
He parked near the curb and approached.
The HOA President immediately raised one hand.
“Officer.”
The homeowner almost rolled his eyes.
The Officer looked from her to him.
Then to the papers on the ground.
“What's happening?”
The HOA President pointed.
“I caught him taking mail.”
The Officer looked toward the homeowner.
“From where?”
“Our neighborhood mailbox.”
The homeowner said:
“My mailbox.”
The Officer looked toward the curb.
The house number on the box matched the house.
He turned back.
“Whose property is this?”
“Mine.”
The HOA President interrupted.
“He’s manipulating the situation.”
The Officer raised one hand.
“Ma’am.”
She stopped.
He looked toward the homeowner.
“Your identification address match this house?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have ID?”
“Inside.”
The Officer nodded.
“Okay.”
The HOA President looked frustrated.
“That’s not the issue.”
“What is the issue?”
“He had letters that may not belong to him.”
The Officer looked toward the letters in her hand.
“Why are you holding them?”
She paused.
“I took them for verification.”
The Officer’s expression changed slightly.
“You took his mail?”
“He was behaving suspiciously.”
The Black Homeowner laughed once.
The Officer looked at him.
“Sir.”