Crime Writer Margot Kinberg

Curtis knew there was a problem when he saw Amber’s face as she handed him the letter. “It looks serious,” she warned him. “It’s from the police department.” Curtis read the letter, murmuring parts of it out loud.
“It says here I owe almost five hundred bucks for a parking violation!”
“What?”
“According to their records, I got a ticket and didn’t pay it, so they’ve added fines to the whole thing.”
“You never told me about a ticket.”
“I never got one!”
Amber took the letter and read it slowly. “Oh, you know what? The original date was the end of April. I think that was when we met Alan at that winery.”
“Of course!” Curtis’ face cleared. Then it clouded over again. “I don’t remember getting a parking ticket that night, though.”
“I don’t, either and I was with you. But we did have a few glasses of wine.”
Curtis sighed. “Yeah, we did. OK, I guess I’d better pay this. It says if I don’t, I have to attend a hearing, the whole thing. Sorry, Hon.”

Three days later, a loud knock interrupted Curtis’ after-dinner nap. He stumbled towards the door, rubbing his eyes. Through the screen, he could see Tony, who lived in the next-door condo. “What’s up, Tony?” he mumbled.
“This.” Tony held up a small green dog waste bag. “I found this right in front of my door. I almost stepped on it! Could you please throw the bag away when you walk Marlon?”
“I – I – sorry,” Curtis stumbled through his apology. “Won’t happen again.”
Somewhat mollified, Tony dropped the bag, wiped his hands on his pants, and left.
“What was that about?” Amber came up behind Curtis.
“It was Tony.” Curtis shook his head. “Guess I forgot to throw away the bag when I walked Marlon. I’ll do it now.”
“Yeah, we don’t need an HOA violation. Oh, and don’t forget,” she added as Curtis put his shoes on, “Alan’ll be here in about half an hour for your cards night.”

Usually, Curtis liked having his brother over. He and Alan had always had a good relationship. This time, though, he was too distracted to enjoy himself. “I’m going to get us a refill,” he said, pointing to the empty beer bottles.
“I’ll get the snacks,” Alan stood up and followed Curtis into the kitchen.
“What’s up with you tonight?” Alan asked.
“Nothing, why?”
“Come off it, Curtis. You’re barely talking, you’re not concentrating on the game. What’s the matter? Are you and Amber fighting?”
“No, no, it’s not that.”
Alan waited while Curtis got some beer. Finally, he spoke. “It’s just – some things have been happening. I’ve been forgetting things maybe?” He told Alan about the ticket and about his conversation with Tony. “It’s just not like me,” he finished.
“Could be anything,” Alan reassured Curtis. “Work stress or whatever. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Two days later, Tony was at the door again, holding another dog waste bag. “I thought we talked about this,” he snapped when he saw Curtis. “Why do you keep leaving your bags by my door?”
“I don’t. I didn’t. I throw them away every time.”
“Obviously you don’t! Just so you know, I took a picture and I’m sending it to the HOA!” He dropped the bag and stalked off.
It wasn’t long before Curtis and Amber got the notice from the HOA. “What the hell, Curtis?” Amber glared at him. “Now we’re being fined! Can’t you throw Marlon’s bags away?”
“I do!”
“Yeah, well, that’s not what this says.”
Then something occurred to Curtis. “Amber,” he looked at her closely. “You walk Marlon, too.”
“Me? You think I did that? Really? I don’t believe you!” She whirled around and practically stamped out of the room.

After that, life fogged up for Curtis. He and Amber made up, but he could tell she didn’t quite trust him. He didn’t trust himself. He did less and less, didn’t leave the house except for work, and asked Amber to take care of Marlon. At least he couldn’t do any damage by staring at the TV. Amber asked Alan to give him a pep talk.

“I can’t seem to think straight,” Curtis shook his head. “The ticket, the whole thing with the HOA, and just yesterday, I found a big dent in my car. I don’t remember getting in an accident. So where did it come from?”
“It’s not the end of the world,” Alan tried to bolster his brother. “People forget things. I do. I keep telling you, no big deal. Maybe you need to, you know, see a doctor or something.”
“A shrink? You think I’m losing it? Hell, maybe I am.”
“I’m not saying you’re losing it. Just…maybe you need a break is all.”

Curtis took a long look at his brother. “Wait a minute,” he said slowly. “You were with us at the winery. You could have taken the ticket from my window.  You came over just after Tony complained. And you know where I park.” He glared at Alan. “You’ve been doing all this, haven’t you?”
“Me?” Curtis moved closer to Alan. “Hey, wait, bro, it’s me. I didn’t do anything!” Alan pleaded. In a second, Curtis had his hands around Alan’s neck. Just before Alan blacked out, he heard Amber scream.

Two days later, Alan sat at the police station, giving his statement. “Then he just came at me,” he finished.
“Thanks, that’s all we need for now,” the officer said. “You’ll need to sign your statement, and we may need you to testify at his trial.”

Alan nodded. He smiled to himself as he got up to leave the room. His neck hurt, but that was a small price to pay. Curtis would be in psychiatric evaluation and could get a long sentence for attempted murder. Plenty of time for Alan to comfort Amber and then move into that nice house. When he was ready, he’d take care of her, too.  It’d be perfect.