"Everything okay out here?" Mayor Sterling asked, finally noticing the tension in the air and the woman standing awkwardly by the property line.
Marcus sighed, setting his tongs down. "Well, Thomas, actually... our neighbor here just called 911 on us. Said our barbecue was a public menace and she felt 'threatened'."
Mayor Sterling's smile vanished. He turned slowly, his eyes locking onto Barbara. The warmth in his face was replaced by a cold, sharp political steel.
"Is this true?" the Mayor asked, his voice low and dangerous.
"I... well... the smoke," Barbara stammered, her face draining of all its previous red, replacing it with a sickly, terrified pale. "It's a violation of the—"
"I know the HOA president of Oakridge Estates very well, ma'am," the Mayor interrupted, walking toward her. "In fact, I helped draft some of the zoning laws for this district. There is absolutely no ordinance against a family having a barbecue in their own backyard on a Sunday afternoon."
At that exact moment, a standard black-and-white police cruiser finally rolled down the street, responding to the 911 call. It pulled up behind the Mayor's SUV. Two officers stepped out, looking confused by the scene: a quiet family barbecue, the Mayor of the city eating a rib, and a terrified woman on the sidewalk.
"Everything alright here, Mayor?" one of the officers asked, recognizing him immediately. "We got a call about an aggressive disturbance and an illegal fire."
Mayor Sterling pointed a rib bone toward Barbara. "Officers, this woman has just committed a crime. She filed a false police report and misused the 911 emergency system to harass this family."
The officers turned their stern gaze toward Barbara. "Ma'am, did you call 911 because of a barbecue?"
"I... I thought..." Barbara shrank back, looking for any avenue of escape. "I was just looking out for the neighborhood!"