Notice of Default has been released and is currently available on Amazon. It is included with Kindle Unlimited. Normally, $0.99 for the story, the story is free to download October 4-5, 2026.
In this section of Chapter 2, Cal is responding to an anonymous caller asking him to visit a house as soon as possible. He’s doesn’t know anything about the house and the caller may—or may not—have not given a real name. But this is routine for a real estate agents. They often respond immediately without enough information. As the Great Recession roared, Cal Brink was no different.
Notice of Default Excerpt from Chapter 2
My next decision was a tripwire, and I knew it. Do I move along and go about my day? Or do I break the law and enter the house? I had no legal standing to enter. Just that whisper that told me this was why I was here.
If I got caught, I could always use my “I’m a real estate agent,” excuse. It had worked before.
Crouching down in front of the sliding glass door, I used my fingers to move the door a little to its left so that I could get my hand on the side and pull the door open about two feet. I did not want to use the handle in case fingerprints came into play.
After transferring the Maglite to my right hand, I took two steps inside. “Realtor!”
There was no return call. No sound from any kind of movement. I took three more steps forward so that I could see around the corner and into the hallway.
“Realtor!”
Nothing.
Walking a few steps down the hallway, I looked through the doorway and saw a bathroom with a shower stall as well as a washer and dryer. The tile was clean and well grouted. The glass on the shower was crystal clear. The HVAC unit and water heater had dates written in black Sharpie. Both had been installed just a few months ago.
This homeowner had clearly taken advantage of the sudden drop of business for nearly every home contractor I knew. “I’ll give you a great price,” they would solicit. Only six months ago they had been so busy they had all the leverage. Then Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and all hell broke loose, financially speaking.
The door in front of me to the garage was closed. I decided to leave it be, for the time being. I walked up the two sets of steps that created a U-shaped path to the main living floor. The kitchen was right in front of me. As I ascended the stairs, I was looking at updated cabinets and a stainless steel refrigerator.
On the floor was a woman who looked to be in her fifties. But it was hard to tell with the blood on her blouse and the knife in her chest.
Predatory Lending
Notice of Default is a real estate mystery set in 2009. I was an active real estate agent on the front lines of both wealth creation and greed.
I’ve sat at kitchen tables and watched people realize they were going to lose their homes. I could help them to an extent, but ultimately, they would be packing up everything and would be moving to a smaller house or apartment that they didn’t own.
Their American dream had become an embarrassing nightmare.
The worst part? Much of this was by design.
Lenders created more sales through relaxed mortgage lending standards: lower credit-score requirements and little to no documentation. Wall Street packaged those loans into securities, many rated AAA as bait. The early success, of course, created more demand for risky loans.
Then time, the economy and the slow build of mortgage defaults began to do their thing. The equity that had been tapped was gone and the wolf came knocking.
As homeowners struggled to make their house payments, they began to turn to local help. Family, friends and even employers would help where they could. Too often, a private lender or finance company would offer rescue loans with dubious terms and conditions.
Desperate people do desperate things.
Cal Brink reflects my lingering anger at the whole situation. He’s a former private investigator turned real estate agent who could see what was happening. Cal could take chances on the gray side of the law.
Maybe he could help someone in some way.
Or, maybe not.
Tell Your Story
The Great Recession was painful for a lot of people. Feel free to tell your story here. You are not alone.
A Chris Writes, LLC Publication
Not legal advice / not professional guidance / do not imitate tactics
Fictionalized/composite/altered details + no identification intended
© 2026 Chris Writes, LLC. All Rights Reserved.