Chapter 1: The Hammer Came Down
“You should have listened to me!”
Marjorie Dalton raised the soft theatrical mallet and brought it down against the fake utility meter mounted on the exterior wall.
Crack.
The lightweight plastic enclosure fractured.
She struck it again.
The prop broke apart, its detached face and casing tumbling onto the driveway. Small plastic pieces scattered across the concrete with a harmless clatter.
Marjorie stood over the debris, breathing heavily.
“There! Now you’ll pay attention!”
Above the driveway, the residential security camera continued recording.
The real utility equipment was mounted separately a few feet away. It remained untouched, fully intact, and connected to the home as normal.
The broken object was only a theatrical prop.
But Marjorie was not treating the moment like theater.
She had come outside angry, carrying her oversized fluorescent-orange handbag and wearing a bright scarlet blouse, orange jacket, hot-pink trousers, and glossy yellow platform shoes. Her red-and-yellow hair made her easy to spot even before the camera caught her face.
She looked toward the house.
Then she heard footsteps.
Daniel Brooks, the neighbor, hurried into the driveway and stopped when he saw the broken pieces.
“Marjorie! Did you just smash that?”
She turned sharply.
“You weren’t listening!”
Daniel looked at the mallet in her hand.
Then at the broken prop.
Then up at the security camera.
The camera had captured everything.
Marjorie followed his gaze.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Daniel pulled out his phone.
Marjorie’s expression hardened.
“You wouldn’t.”
Daniel stepped several feet away from her.
“I don’t want this to get worse.”
She pointed the mallet toward him.
“You think that camera is going to prove anything?”
Daniel looked at the recording light.
Then back at her.
He made the call.
And while Marjorie was still standing beside the broken prop, police were already on their way.
