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I'd barely made it back into the complex when the director dropped a dead dog at my feet.
Before I could react, she'd penned me into the middle of the plaza with a wall of security guards and residents.
Director Lambert pointed at me. "You couldn't get the parking spot you wanted, so you poisoned Mrs. Chavez's dog, and then the dog bit her grandson! You're signing this settlement today, no arguments!"
I opened my mouth to fire back, and a row of scrolling text drifted across my vision.
【She forged the surveillance footage and bought off the security staff. She's just waiting for you to deny it.】
【The second you explain yourself, the residents' group will accuse you of attempted murder!】
【They force you to hand over your school-district spot, get you evicted, and it ends with you going off a building.】
【The dog was strangled by her grandson, but you go ahead and admit it yourself, right here in front of everyone!】
【Then call the police on yourself as the poisoner!】
I raised my phone and gave a small smile.
"Fine. Yes. I poisoned that dog."
The smugness on the director's face froze solid.
Then I dialed 911.
...
"I'd like to turn myself in."
"I'm suspected of releasing a hazardous substance."
"Here's my location. There's a dog carcass on the ground that's part of the case."
Director Lambert's hand shot out toward my phone.
I stepped to the side and dodged it.
She stared, wide-eyed, and dropped her voice.
"Hester Fox, have you lost your mind?"
"We can settle this inside the community. Don't waste police resources."
I looked at her.
"Director, you're the one who said I poisoned it, and you're the one who pulled out a settlement agreement."
"There's a hazardous substance sitting in the complex. How exactly is that something you settle internally?"
The dispatcher told me not to touch the body and to protect the scene.
I said I would, then turned to Director Lambert. "Didn't you want justice?"
"The police coming to handle it isn't justice enough for you?"
She pulled her hand back and turned to Zane Lawrence.
"Clear the crowd out first. Don't let her keep making a scene."
Mrs. Chavez shoved her way to the dog's body and grabbed a hind leg, stuffing it into a bag.
"Forget it, forget it, the dog's dead already, just pay a little and we're done."
"We're neighbors. No need for anyone to end up with a record."
I planted my foot on the edge of the reusable bag.
"You can't take it."
She tugged twice and couldn't budge it, then swiped a hand up at my face.
"This is my dog. I'll bury it if I want to."
"Who are you, a dog-killer, to stop me?"
I stepped back half a pace and swung the camera on her.
"You said the dog was poisoned."
"If the poison's on the bag and it gets on your grandson, who's responsible for that?"
The residents up front scattered back at once.
Someone asked, "Director Lambert, wasn't Hunter bitten by the dog?"
"So is there poison or isn't there?"
Director Lambert pointed at me. "There is. She admitted it herself."
I lifted the phone higher.
"All the more reason to wait for the police."
Zane came over with a broom and a dustpan.
"Everybody move. A dead dog on the plaza is a health hazard."
"Let me get it into the security office first."
I hit the record button.
"Zane, the moment you touch that, I hand this video straight to the police."
"You tamper with a suspected poisoning scene, and your name goes on it."
His broom stopped, hovering over the dog's body.
Director Lambert said, "Clean it up, now. This is a community order."
Zane turned his head and looked at her.
"Director Lambert, didn't you say all you needed was for that stretch of surveillance to—"
Director Lambert snatched the broom out of his hands and threw it on the ground.
"Shut up! If you can't talk right, don't talk."
Mrs. Chavez came back for the bag again. I kept my foot on it, not letting up.
She lowered her voice. "Hester, the police can't help you either."
"You're some out-of-town single mom. What have you got to fight us with?"
"Then let the police hear it."
I turned the phone on her.
She let go, dropped to the ground, and started crying.
"Everybody look, she killed my dog and now she's bullying a poor old woman."
"If she doesn't pay for a house today, I'll die right here."
The sirens grew louder, closing in.
Director Lambert walked quickly over to Zane.
"Get your story straight on the surveillance. Say the line was down for maintenance last night."
Director Lambert's voice cut off mid-sentence, her eyes landing on my phone.
