Death by Association Read online

  “Hawkeye Haven used to be such a pleasant place to live, but now that Victor and Patty have taken over, it’s just not the same,” Liz commented sadly.

  “I know. Every time I teach a class, I hear stories about the HOA’s unreasonable demands.”

  “Half the people I know here have received citations in the past few months. Have you heard from the HOA, Laurel?”

  “Not yet, but I’m afraid I could become Patty’s next target. She didn’t like it when I asked about Bessie yesterday, and then she made a point of kicking me out of my classroom when I stayed late to talk to a student.”

  “Do you remember that I wondered why Victor wouldn’t even talk to me the other day?”

  “Yes,” I nodded. “It seems very odd considering that you were such good friends with his wife.”

  “That’s what I thought, too, but a little birdie told me something that might explain it.”

  I grinned. I knew that the “little birdie” must have been her bridge partner Linda, who just happened to be a part-time receptionist at the community center as well as a resident of Hawkeye Haven.

  “What did Linda tell you?”

  Liz put her finger to her lips in a shushing motion. “Patty used to work for Victor at IFI.”

  It sounded as though Liz had said, “eye, fie.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Iowa Fidelity Insurance Company. They were both executives there.”

  “Oh, I get it. It sounds as though they’re in cahoots, all right. So you think that’s the reason Victor wouldn’t talk to you?”

  “I sure do. From what Linda told me, those two are as thick as thieves.”

  “No wonder Victor wanted to get rid of the old management company and hire Patty. He wanted someone he could control to have the contract.”

  “Mark my words,” Liz sighed. “Those two are up to no good.”

  We had arrived at the community center, where we joined a group of people entering the large meeting room. There were probably about sixty folding chairs arranged in rows facing a long table at the front. As we took our seats, we could see Victor sitting next to Patty in the middle, and the pair was flanked by three board members on either side, three women on Victor’s side and three men on Patty’s side.

  There was only one board member I knew—Edna Elkins, a retired nurse, whom I’d met when she had taken several of my DIY home decorating classes. She waved at me as Liz and I took seats in the front row. Liz scowled at Patty and Victor, but they both ignored her.

  I’d looked for the colonel as we entered the meeting room, but I hadn’t spotted him. I knew that he wouldn’t miss the meeting, though, so I set my handbag on the vacant chair next to me to save him a seat. A moment later, I saw him standing at the back of the room, and I gestured for him to join us.

  “Colonel, I saved you a seat in case you’d like to join us.”

  “Yes, indeed,” he said, taking the seat beside me.

  “Liz, this is Colonel Gable. Colonel, my friend and neighbor, Liz Dawson.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Dawson.” Although the colonel didn’t attempt to shake Liz’s hand, since I was sitting between them, he stood and bowed, rather formally.

  “Liz, please, Colonel,” Liz gushed. “I haven’t been a Mrs. for years,” she added, none too subtly.

  “Delighted, and I’m Bobby,” the colonel declared, a smile softening his usually stern expression.

  Oh. My. Goodness. The air crackled with electricity. Had a romance just begun to bud? I didn’t have time to consider it further because the meeting was about to begin.

  My attention turned to the front of the room as Victor, in a no-nonsense voice, called the meeting to order with a sharp crack of his gavel. In an efficient manner, he began methodically leading the other board members through a discussion of the items that were listed on the agenda, most of which consisted of routine business. I stifled a yawn. This was going to be slow going, as the agenda didn’t allow for residents to speak until the end of the meeting, and even then each resident was limited to a time slot of two minutes. No doubt Victor and Patty had deliberately set up the agenda to discourage residents from bringing their complaints before the board.

  After an hour and a half, all the items on the agenda had been covered, and the time had come for the residents to address the board. Another surprise was in store for us, though. Referring to the HOA’s rules, Victor announced that the total time period allotted for the residents to speak was half an hour (HOA Regulation 133 states that, “the president of the Hawkeye Haven HOA may limit the amount of time spent on any board meeting agenda item.”). An angry murmur rippled through the crowd, most of whom had attended the meeting so that they could air a grievance in public. Victor quickly quelled the noise with another sharp rap of his gavel.

  “Now to be fair, we’ll simply do this by the numbers.” Victor glanced at Liz and the colonel. “We’ll start with residents sitting in the back row and work our way forward until we run out of time. Remember that you each have two minutes. Patty, could you please time each speaker?”

  Patty reached into her black Gucci handbag and pulled out a stopwatch. Obviously, Victor and Patty meant to time each speaker to the second. The colonel’s face contorted with anger, but he held himself in check, although I could only imagine that it was with great difficulty. Liz, on the other hand, had no such compunctions about controlling herself.

  Shaking her fist at Victor, she stood and yelled, “Victor Eberhart, you should be ashamed of yourself. Didn’t you ever hear of the First Amendment? We all have a right to speak! You were elected board president, not king.”

  “You’re out of order, Ms. Dawson. Please be seated.”

  “I certainly will not. I came here to have my say, and so did all these other people. We demand to be heard.” Applause rippled through the audience and came to a loud crescendo. Patty shot Liz a withering look, but Victor appeared unperturbed.

  “Ms. Dawson, be seated, or I will be forced to have you removed,” Victor said calmly.

  “We elected you, Victor, and the rest of you board members, too. You’re supposed to represent us.” Liz began chanting, “Let us speak!” Soon, most of the other people attending the meeting had joined in, and the noise level in the room rose several decibels.

  Victor pounded the gavel. “Quiet!” he roared. “There will be silence, or I’ll adjourn this meeting right now. Luke, remove Ms. Dawson.”

  I turned around and saw Luke standing by the door. He hesitated momentarily.

  “Now!” Victor commanded.

  Luke looked uncomfortable as he made his way to Liz and said politely, “Ma’am, will you please come with me?”

  Her head held high, Liz surprised me by docilely taking the arm Luke offered her and regally marching from the room. I stood to follow her, but she motioned for me to stay. I figured that she probably wanted me to keep tabs on the rest of the meeting, so I took my seat.

  “Okay, let’s get on with it.” Victor looked at his pricey Rolex watch. “Now we only have twenty-five minutes left, and we’re sticking to our schedule.” Despite a disapproving murmur throughout the room, Victor pressed on. “The chair recognizes Mr. Alleman.”

  A man in the back row stood and came forward to the podium that had been placed in the front of the room facing the board members. He cleared his throat and announced, “I yield the floor to Colonel Gable.”

  “The rules don’t permit that,” Victor snarled. “Do you want to speak, or don’t you?”

  “Mr. Chairman, I yield to Colonel Gable,” the man repeated.

  “Sit down. You’re out of order.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” the colonel shouted. “You can’t avoid the issue forever. This is supposed to be an open meeting, and I should be able to fly the flag of my country as high as I wish without any interference from you.” He looked at Victor. “Or you,” he glared at Patty, “or any of you other board members. This is a free country!”

  Loud
applause broke out, which made Victor even angrier than he already was. He’d been banging his gavel since the colonel began shouting, and now he called Luke to come forward again, this time to remove the colonel.

  Reluctantly, Luke made his way once more to the front row and politely asked the colonel to leave. He reached down as if to take the colonel by the arm, but the colonel twisted away from his grasp.

  “I’m quite capable of leaving on my own, young man. I realize you have a job to do, but please stay out of my way.” The colonel stormed to the back of the room so quickly that Luke trailed several feet behind him.

  Standing in the doorway, the colonel yelled, “You haven’t heard the last of me, Victor Eberhart. You’re going to regret the day you ever tried to have me remove my flagpole.” With that declaration, the colonel departed.

  Rising, I slipped past Luke and left the room, too. There didn’t seem to be much point in my staying for the rest of the meeting since it was clear that Victor maintained tight control over the gathering and its agenda, and he had no intention of allowing anyone who disagreed with him to speak. I was somewhat surprised that none of the other six board members had objected to Victor’s high-handed tactics. Certainly Edna Elkins, the only board member I knew, had never been shy about expressing herself, yet she and the other board member had sat passively while Victor played dictator and Patty looked on with approval. What kind of strange power did Victor have over these people?

  The colonel was nowhere in sight when I reached the hallway, but I caught up with him and Liz as I neared the main door of the community center. The colonel didn’t look nearly as upset as he had a few minutes earlier, and it was easy to tell that he was looking at the reason for his calmer demeanor—Liz. Although they seemed an unlikely pair—the stern retired military officer and the flamboyant charmer—I hadn’t been wrong about their instant attraction to each other. At least some good had come from the evening’s meeting. They were so busy talking to each other that neither one of them noticed that I had joined them.

  I cleared my throat and observed, “That didn’t go too well, did it?”

  “It certainly didn’t, but after all the harassment I’ve endured from the HOA, I can’t say that I’m too surprised. My lawyer was right; I should let her handle it, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

  “Perhaps I should do the same,” Liz said. “I thought that these people would listen to reason, but they won’t, and I don’t really want to spend a lot of time worrying about what they’re going to do next. Not when there are more important things in life.” She batted her eyes at the colonel, and I knew for sure that he was a goner. No wonder she’d been married four times. Men had always found her difficult to resist.

  “You’re right, Liz,” the colonel agreed, smiling broadly.

  “Would you like to join Liz and me for a drink, colonel?” I asked.

  “Certainly; lead on, ladies.”

  “I thought maybe we could go over to Alberto’s next door, if that’s okay with both of you.”

  “Fine,” the colonel agreed, and Liz nodded her assent.

  I led the way across the sidewalk that connected the two buildings, with Liz and the colonel following behind me. I glanced back and noticed that the colonel had offered Liz his arm, and Liz was holding it as they followed me to the little restaurant situated in the same building that housed the pro shop for the golf course.

  When we arrived at Alberto’s, there were only a few other patrons, most of whom sat at the bar, although a few were scattered throughout the large dining room.

  “Table for three?” the host queried.

  “Yes, please,” Liz piped up. “I’d rather not sit in the bar.” The young man, who sported a diamond stud earring in one ear, long hair, and tattooed forearms, led us to a table on the other side of the room, far away from the bar. Staring at the host, the colonel raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

  “How’s this table, folks?”

  “Great,” I said, allowing him to seat me as the colonel pulled out a chair next to me for Liz. We scanned the menus the host had handed us.

  “I think I’ll just stick with decaf and dessert,” I said, suddenly realizing how tired I was. It had been a long day, and I wanted to be able to get some sleep when I went home.

  “Dessert sounds good,” Liz said, “but I think I’ll have a glass of wine with mine. How about you, Bobby?” It sounded strange to hear Liz call the colonel Bobby, even though it was his idea. Somehow, he seemed more dignified than the nickname implied, and I knew that I would continue to think of him as the colonel. I’d continue to call him colonel, too. Come to think of it, he’d never invited me to call him Bobby, anyway.

  “I’ll make dessert unanimous, and I’ll join you in having a glass of wine, Liz. By the way, did either of you happen to watch the news on Channel 3 today?” Liz and I both shook our heads, and the colonel continued. “It seems that the mystery of our mountain lion has been solved. We weren’t the only ones to see that big cat this morning. After it leaped over the wall at the golf course, several other people reported seeing it, and animal control finally caught up with it about two miles from here. They managed to subdue it with a tranquilizer dart. Evidently, someone had been keeping it in their backyard.”

  “That’s an awfully big kitty cat to keep as a pet,” I said with a shudder.

  “It’s crazy, but Center City actually allows exotic pets within the city limits as long as the owners have a permit,” Liz said. “A few years ago, I read an article in the paper about a man who kept three pythons in his bedroom.”

  “Yes, but now city officials want to crack down on permitting exotic pets in residential neighborhoods. In any case, the mountain lion’s owners didn’t have a permit to keep the animal. According to the news, it’s going to be transported to an animal sanctuary in Utah sometime next week.”

  “That’s good. I’m relieved to hear that it’s not still on the loose,” Liz commented. I had told her all about my run-in with the mountain lion when we’d met for a late morning cup of coffee. “Laurel, what a terrible experience for you! I worry about you walking Bear all alone so early in the morning.”

  The colonel patted Liz’s hand. “Don’t worry, Liz. I doubt that we’ll be seeing any more mountain lions in Hawkeye Haven.”

  “You’re right, colonel,” I agreed. “We’re more likely to run into problems with the humans who are running the place, I’m afraid.”

  Chapter 4

  With some trepidation, I set out the following morning with Bear beside me. After the events of the past two days—the attack on Bessie, the threat of the mountain lion, and the meeting of the HOA—I felt wary and on edge. Although walking Bear in the darkness had never bothered me before, I’d waited until sunrise before leaving the house. Even Bear hadn’t seemed quite as eager to embark on his daily walk as he normally did.

  Walking in the daylight, rather than in the dark, definitely had its benefits. I began to relax somewhat as we passed neighbors’ yards, planted with flourishing flowers, shrubbery, and trees.

  After strolling for a few blocks, I felt my anxiety waning a bit. I hoped things would settle back into a calmer routine soon, although with Victor and Patty in charge of the homeowners’ association, it didn’t seem likely that there would be much relief from the HOA’s harassment and unreasonable demands. It wouldn’t surprise me if I were Patty’s next target. The woman certainly disliked me, and she enjoyed wielding her power far too much to suit me.

  When Bear pulled at his leash and turned in the direction of the back gate, I knew he wanted to take our regular weekday route. After the mountain lion incident, I wasn’t too eager to retrace yesterday’s steps, so I acquiesced, and we turned right. I had slipped a snack into my jeans’ pocket before we left the house because I knew that Bear would be disappointed not to find Bessie waiting at the back gate for him with his usual treat. Although the store-bought dog biscuit I toted couldn’t compare to Bessie’s homemade treat, at
least it would mollify Bear, but I knew that he’d be looking not only for his treat, but also for Bessie, who might never return to her post.

  The previous afternoon, I’d called the hospital to check on Bessie’s condition, and her son had informed me that she’d had a mild stroke, which had produced some numbness in her right arm. Despite the doctor’s assurance that the stroke had been minor and was easily treated, the news worried me, and I wondered whether Bessie would ever be able to return to work at Hawkeye Haven. This afternoon, I planned to visit her and see for myself how she was doing. I wished that the hospital’s rules permitted pets to visit the patients because I knew Bessie would perk up if she could see Bear, but somebody on the hospital staff would be sure to notice if I tried to sneak an eighty-pound Labrador retriever into Bessie’s room, so Bear would have to stay home.

  We’d almost arrived at the guardhouse at the back gate, but rather than approaching it, I just waved to the on-duty guard, a middle-aged man who stood outside smoking a cigarette. Confused, Bear looked at me. I pulled the treat from my pocket. “Catch,” I said, tossing it to him, and he opened his mouth just in time to snag the snack. He chomped the dog biscuit a couple of times, swallowed, and wagged his tail. We were continuing on our way when I heard a low wail of sirens.

  Since the fire station was close to Hawkeye Haven, and the residents could hear the sirens every time the firefighters were called out, I didn’t pay much attention, but as the sirens screamed more loudly, it became evident that they were headed for Hawkeye Haven. Turning, I saw a rescue unit and a fire engine entering the back gate, followed by a couple of police cars. What now? The Center City police wouldn’t normally respond to a routine fire or a medical call. Curious, I decided to follow the emergency vehicles, which had turned left onto Lily-of-the-Valley Lane after proceeding a couple of blocks on Hawkeye Haven Drive, the main road that ran through the community, connecting the front and back gates. The moaning sirens stopped abruptly, and when I reached the intersection where the vehicles had turned, I could see them, lights flashing, parked a couple of blocks down the street. My cousin and best friend Tracey lived on Lily-of-the-Valley Lane, as did my friends Amy and Cynthia, so I was familiar with the neighborhood. I would have stopped by Tracey’s house to see if she wanted to join me in finding out what was happening, but my cousin had been out of town on a vacation for several days and wasn’t due back home until the next evening, so I’d have to investigate on my own.