Chapter 1: Caught at the Garage
Karen was halfway through pulling the charging connector from the outlet when the garage door behind her opened.
She froze.
For a second, she remained crouched beside the dark crossover SUV, one hand wrapped around the thick charging cable and the other braced against her knee. The cable stretched several feet behind her, disappearing into an exterior outlet mounted beside her neighbor’s garage.
Then she heard his voice.
“Hey! What the hell are you plugging into my house?”
Karen slowly turned her head.
The homeowner, a sixty-two-year-old man named Daniel Mercer, stood in the garage doorway wearing a light-blue polo shirt and khaki pants. His gray hair was still slightly flattened on one side, as though he had been working inside and had only just stepped out.
His eyes went from Karen to the cable.
Then to the outlet.
Then to the SUV.
There was no confusion anymore.
Daniel knew exactly what he was looking at.
Karen stood abruptly, pulling the cable toward herself.
“It’s just electricity,” she snapped. “Don’t make such a damn scene.”
Daniel walked down the driveway.
“That’s my electricity.”
“You’ve got plenty of it.”
“That isn’t the point.”
Karen gave him a contemptuous little smile behind her oversized purple sunglasses.
“I’m not hurting you.”
Daniel stopped beside the garage wall and pointed at the outlet.
“You plugged your car into my power without asking.”
Karen folded her arms.
“It’s a few dollars.”
Daniel looked at the cable again.
Then at the meter.
The expression on his face changed.
He had noticed something Karen hadn’t.
The outdoor outlet was connected to the house, and the electrical meter was still running faster than it normally did.
Daniel stepped toward the cable.
“Unplug it.”
Karen immediately moved sideways, blocking his path.
“I said I’m using it.”
“No. You’re not.”
She tightened her grip on the charging cable.
Daniel reached for the connector.
Karen pulled backward.
For a moment, the cable stretched between them.
Neither moved.
Then Daniel firmly pulled the garage-side connector free.
The charging indicator on Karen’s SUV went dark.
Karen stared at the vehicle.
Her mouth opened slightly.
The surprise lasted only a second before anger returned.
“You’ll regret treating me like this.”
Daniel held the unplugged connector at his side.
“I’ll regret not checking that outlet sooner.”
Karen’s expression flickered.
It was the first moment she looked genuinely uncomfortable.
She glanced toward the electrical meter.
Then quickly looked away.
Daniel noticed.
And suddenly, the question was no longer how much electricity she had taken that afternoon.
It was how many times she had done it before.
