Assassin by D.A.Sanford - HTML preview

Dark loses to light

It was a good day. I got to help the neighbors. It is fall and we all went to the old couples home and had a clean up day. There was a list of items that they needed to have done. Even though it was a new home, dirt accumulated everywhere, leaves fall in copious amounts. That final mow, then clean the mower for winter storage.

It is always a delight when I see what good does for the street. I wish that this was a common occurrence everywhere but it isn’t. Someday, I hope, it will be different.

This street is just a loop of maybe a hundred or so houses. By a loop, I mean, the first entrance is only five hundred feet down from the other end of the street. Coming through the town is Main Street. Our entrances are both on the same side of Main Street. A loop.

We are a close knit group. No home owner’s association. Don’t need someone lauding their power over us. There are attempts from the association that governs a few streets down from us. Even to the extent of sending letters on what they consider violations. Driving through and trying to intimidate. Collection bills for dues.

The thing is we prosper and they are not. The family in charge of that association never realized who lives here. We are proud of our street and they did not know what I was.

One day after I received a letter from the town notifying that a lean has been filed against my property by that association, did I feel that they need to know me. I seldom use my formal garb of my office. It, to me, is too gaudy.

But.

My teacher and I ring the bell on that families house and wait. The door is opened by the man, the president of the association. No better way to describe his reaction other than it was an “Oh shit” moment.

He was extremely cordial and invited us in. For the same size and style as our homes, this house was lavishly furnished. Best of everything. The living room that we were guided into was very formal. The type that did remind me of my mother’s special room.

Mother was one that always wanted to be of higher status than what we were. She was not a snob, not in the least. She had a very bad case of envy. In our house we had a normal living room but there was the special parlor.

It had a French glass door so you could see that room. Like a museum display. Nice imitation of a Duncan fife sofa. High back single elegant chairs. End tables with special glass objects on display.

This room was not to be entered by us. Only when special visitors came. Only the fifteen minutes of the winter gift day would we be allowed to enter. With our own small garbage bag in hand, we had to carefully unwrap our present as it was handed to us from under that perfectly decorated tree. We had to place the spent wrapping papers into our garbage bag and put it in the outside trash bin. After that, we had to leave the room and she would spend hours cleaning and adjusting.

We children always slightly moved things just to give her something to do in there. We knew. It was her dream room. She finished her run, living in my sisters in law room. Her precious items wrapped in paper and stored in the upper room of their garage.

This man’s room far exceeded that room. The whole house is like this. We know because we told them that we required them to show us each room. They needed a dose of what they inflicted on others.

In that room, we have not indicated why we are here. Now in the most formal tone we speak.

I inform them that our office has received complaints from other areas outside this association’s boundaries. “Even to the point of attaching leans on people’s properties. I need you to show me the map of your association’s boundary. He informs us that there is no such map.

My teacher now speaks. “Then you must have it written in your charter. I require you to get that right now. That is vital to show that you even have authorization to exist.” We both have crossed arms. We are sitting on the good sofa while the couple stand.

Now he is very nervous. He goes to his elaborate office but after a while he comes back and tells us that he cannot find it. “I will go to the town hall and get a copy. If you would be so kind as to come back.”

I stop him right there. I know when someone is panicking. “Do you even think that we have not done our research. As adjudicators, we are the top ones. We only report to this world’s chief adjudicator. We do our research.”

My teacher takes over, “There is no charter. You two are here by accused of extortion. Looking around, we see where those dues have been spent. You now are going to be restrained in the custody of the guard while we search all your records.”

Their door opens and a group of the guard come in and takes them into custody. All we find is a list of the people on more than a few streets. What they did or did not pay. Sure enough, there were streets like ours that had leans put on them.

Many have been settled when a house was sold. There was fake invoices from fictitious companies for improvements or repairs. Quite an elaborate scheme. One company kept popping up. Each time it was for the same monthly amount.

Looking up that company, we saw that it really did not even have an office. The owner , the real owner, had to be traced back through quite a few dummy corporations. It was a county politician.

This just got interesting.

Now in their separate cells, each were brought out to be questioned by us. They now, mysteriously, had one of the best lawyers in this country. He tried to throw around big names and positions all to intimidate us. That lawyer realized, a little too late, just who he was facing and who he just really gave incriminating evidence to.

My teacher summons the guards and gives them a document. She says, This is a arrest and search warrant for these people.”

Now here before the guards, the lawyer and his client, appears the woman. She looks at the lawyer and the man. The guards and the two of us are kneeling. This is out of respect of her position and the occasion.

The woman looks at the guards. “That order comes directly from me. You are to arrest all of them. They are to be delivered to my jail. Those records are to be searched by my investigators.”

She smiles at us but gets formal, “I thank you both for finding this out. I am taking this lawyer with me.”

We bow as she and that lawyer vanish.

Now we return our attention to the passed out man. I feel his neck and he still is among the living. Just to see if he is really out or just faking it, I ask my teacher, “What do you think. I say that we release to the media that these two had a change of heart. That they saw the light and ran from their dark hearts.”

She says to me, “Then we will need to appear with them at a press conference applauding their courage to give up all they know from their illegal contacts.”

That woke him up, “They will kill us! Please I confess that we have been scamming this town. I throw us at the mercy of you both.” He tells us of the several bank accounts they have. He and his wife sign a confession that gives all the details of that scam.

In return, they are being sent to another country and will be watched. All their assets have been liquidated and, even though it will never make them whole, the money was dispersed to all those who were harmed. All leans have been expunged from the records.

We, as adjudicators, have made our decision. There is to be strict oversite of all such associations in the world. It will be a crime for anyone claiming to be an association without the proper paperwork displayed for all to see on demand. Criminals are subject to the decisions of the adjudicators, not the judicial branch of any government.

Meaning, no politician can line their pockets with this and try to stop investigations. As far as the ones the lawyer spouted, those arrested brought down more with them. All are now doing domestic projects that road gangs do for the country. They will be doing it for life.

People in power that break public trust are finding that they are not above the law. The light is making a big dent into the dark’s realm.