“Sir, set the table down on the driveway,” Hale said away from the phone, his voice rising in authority.

“Don’t bring any more items across that threshold until we sort this out.”

I heard Mark laugh through the phone, a dry, condescending chuckle that turned my stomach.

“Officer, my ex-wife gets confused about paperwork,” Mark said in the background, his voice carrying clearly across the yard.

“Check the lease in my folder.

It’s dated September fourteenth.”

“What September fourteenth lease?” I asked, but Hale was already talking to Mark.

“Ms.