Chapter 2

A knock came on Bill Maxwell's apartment door. Bill answered to find a nice-looking young man standing before the door.

He asked, "Are you, William Maxwell?"

Bill answered, "Yeah, what do you want, kid?"

The process server handed him the lawsuit papers and said, "Jennifer Collins is suing you for the willful destruction of her personal property," and turned and walked away.

Bill stood with the envelope in his hand and watched as the man walked away. He slammed the door and mumbled, "What in the Sam Hill is this all about? Who is Jennifer Collins?" He opened the envelope and read the documents. Ralph's next-door neighbor was suing him for destroying trees in her yard. He immediately called Ralph Hinkley, his superhero partner.

Ralph's flip phone rang, and he answered immediately, seeing that Bill was listed on the tiny screen. "Hi, Bill, what's up?"

Bill immediately started shouting about somebody suing him for stupid trees over the phone. Ralph couldn't understand what he was talking about. "What do you mean you are being sued? By whom?"

"By your neighbor, Jennifer Collins, she is saying that I willfully destroyed her trees!" Bill yelled.

Ralph calmly said, "Calm down, Bill. Take it slow. Jenny is suing you for trees. Why don't you come over here and show the documents to Pam? Okay, see you in a while," and flipped the phone closed.

Pam heard part of the conversation and asked Ralph, "What is Bill being sued for?"

"For trees," Ralph answered.

"Trees?" she asked, confused.

"That is what he said. Jenny next door is suing him for trees. I told him to come over so you can look at the complaint."

Bill rushed over to Ralph's house and burst through the front door.

Pam sat down and studied the documents. "Well, these say that you drove over her Japanese Maple trees and part of her picket fence and refused to pay for their replacement."

Bill answered, "Well, yes, but that was six months ago. The brakes and steering went out on my car because the lines were shot during that shootout in Pasadena. You remember that, don't you, Ralph?"

"Was that when you plowed into the back end of my car?" Ralph asked sarcastically, knowing that it was.

"Yeah, that was the day. I also hit a couple of stupid trees and the end of that silly white fence," he said as if it was nothing even to be concerned about.

"Your nosey neighbor came out yelling at me, and I told her it was all government business," Bill explained.

Pam said, "The complaint says that she tried contacting the FBI about the tree and fence replacement but was told that there was no record of official FBI operations in that area. So, she is suing you personally for the trees and fence replacement."

Bill yelled, "Well, I'm not paying for her stupid trees and that ugly fence! Did you see how much she wants for those things? Trees can't possibly cost that much."

Pam said, "Certain types of Japanese Maples can cost a lot. The complaint says that she had attempted to speak to you about the trees and fence replacement several times when she saw your car in the driveway, but you always ignored her."

Bill replied, "Well, yeah, I just thought she was ridiculous and figured she would go away eventually."

Pam stated, "She's not going away, and now this has been officially recorded with the courts. You'll have to go to small claims court for this, Bill, or be held in contempt."

Bill groused, "I need this like a hole in the head. Counselor, can you help me out on this?"

"I don't know, Bill; you don't seem to have a good defense. She's got pictures of the damage to the trees, fence, your car, and Ralph's car. The case isn't scheduled for a few months, so we can see what we can put together."