Andrea pointed to the map.
“Then explain why every camera covering an entrance, utility junction, or alley was targeted.”
“Coincidence.”
Someone laughed.
Karen slammed her hand against the table.
“This is exactly why boards can't function.”
A voice from the back answered:
“No. Boards can't function when the president pays her brother's company without telling anyone.”
Silence followed.
Andrea displayed the invoices.
Karen's face drained of color.
The Evidence
The independent audit found more problems.
Whitmore Community Services had billed the HOA for work that appeared to have been performed by Karen herself.
Several security reports contained photographs of residents' cameras.
Those same photographs had been sent to Derek Harper.
Investigators eventually determined that Karen had been supplying information about Cedar Grove.
Which homes had cameras.
Which residents traveled.
Which houses were vacant.
Which utility technicians entered the neighborhood.
Which cameras covered the entrances.
At first, she may have believed Harper was simply providing private security advice.
Then the requests became increasingly suspicious.
Move this camera.
Complain about that one.
Tell me whether this resident works nights.
Check how many Internet lines enter Cole's property.
Karen kept helping.
Why?
Money was part of it.
But there was something else.
Power.
Karen loved knowing things other people didn't know.
She loved being able to say:
I can handle it.
One message from Harper asked whether residents would challenge her camera complaints.
Karen replied:
They all complain at first. Eventually they learn I can make living here unpleasant.
That sentence became infamous in Cedar Grove.
The Camera Strikes Back
Then Derek Harper disappeared.