“Yes.”
“Then your bill increased.”
“For about two months.”
Daniel looked at the outlet.
“Did you ever see her?”
“Once.”
He looked up.
Linda appeared embarrassed.
“I thought I imagined it.”
“What did you see?”
“Her car parked along the side street.”
“Cable?”
“Maybe.”
“Why didn't you say anything?”
“Because I didn't want neighborhood drama.”
Daniel understood.
Karen benefited from that instinct.
People wanted peace.
So small violations remained small.
Until someone finally documented them.
Linda agreed to have an electrician inspect her outlet.
Two days later, she called Daniel.
Same basic issue.
Heat damage.
Less severe.
But visible.
Linda filed her own complaint with the association.
Then another neighbor came forward.
A man named Robert Ellis.
Karen had asked once whether she could use an exterior outlet during a power problem.
Robert agreed.
One time.
Months later, his security camera recorded her using it again without asking.
He had confronted her.
Karen told him:
“You said I could.”
Robert answered:
“Once.”
She had treated one permission as permanent access.
That story sounded familiar.
By the end of the week, Daniel understood the real scale.
Karen had not selected him randomly.
She had been moving through available outlets in the neighborhood whenever her own charging setup became inconvenient.
Some people refused.
Some agreed once.
Some never knew.
Daniel had simply been the first person to assemble records.
Chapter 9: The Second HOA Meeting
The clubhouse was full this time.
Karen arrived with a folder of her own.
Daniel wondered what she could possibly have inside.
The association president, Melissa Crane, opened the meeting.
“We are not here to discuss electric vehicles generally.”
That mattered because rumors had already transformed the issue into some bizarre debate over whether EV owners were welcome in the neighborhood.
Melissa continued.
“We are discussing unauthorized use of private electrical service and potential property damage.”
Karen immediately spoke.
“Nobody has proved I caused any damage.”
Daniel remained silent.
Melissa looked at him.
“Mr. Mercer?”
Daniel slid Victor’s report forward.
The electrician documented thermal damage consistent with prolonged electrical load through an aging receptacle.
It did not claim Karen alone caused it.
Daniel was careful about that.
“I am not saying she created every problem with the outlet.”
He looked around.
“I’m saying she repeatedly used it without permission after knowing her own charging equipment and home circuit were experiencing heat and breaker issues.”
Karen interrupted.
“You can't prove I knew the charger was bad.”
Daniel opened another page.
A screenshot.
The dealership diagnostic report from Karen’s SUV had been shared with the association because Karen herself submitted it while arguing the vehicle was defective.
One line mattered.
Customer reports portable charging connector has shown intermittent overheating for approximately six weeks.
Karen stared at the document.
Daniel continued.
“You told the dealership.”
Silence.
“So yes.”
“You knew.”
The room changed.
Karen’s attorney was not present.
She had apparently expected another neighborhood argument.
Instead, she was facing her own words.
Linda spoke next.
Then Robert.