“I read the declaration.”
Patricia frowned.
“And?”
“It doesn't say the HOA owns that property.”
“It gives us authority.”
“Over landscaping.”
“Among other things.”
“Where does it say we can enter a privately owned commercial parcel?”
Patricia's face tightened.
The board's treasurer, Elaine Porter, spoke.
“Patricia, we need to be careful.”
“I am being careful.”
“No.”
Elaine looked at the projector.
“We may have overreached.”
Patricia stared at her.
“What are you saying?”
“I'm saying we should let the attorneys handle it.”
Patricia shook her head.
“If we back down now, every homeowner will think the board is weak.”
A voice from the back answered.
“Maybe we should be more concerned about whether the board is right.”
Several people murmured.
Patricia slammed her hand on the table.
“This community cannot survive if individual property owners simply do whatever they want.”
A homeowner named James Carter stood.
“That's what property rights are.”
Silence.
Patricia's expression became cold.
“You're siding with him?”
“No.”
James shook his head.
“I'm siding with the documents.”
The phrase spread through the room.
Documents.
Within minutes, homeowners were asking questions Patricia could not answer.
Where was the recorded easement?
Where was the deed?
Where was the legal opinion?
Why had the board sent notices before obtaining a clear title interpretation?
And why had the president personally confronted the property owner?
Patricia ended the meeting early.
But the damage was already done.
The next morning, three homeowners requested copies of the HOA's financial records.
Two requested board correspondence concerning the commercial parcel.
And one homeowner filed a formal request for Patricia's resignation.
Patricia blamed Marcus.
She told herself he had manipulated everyone.
She did not understand that Marcus had done almost nothing.
The documents were doing the work.
The Second Camera
A week later, Marcus discovered something unexpected.
There was another camera.
He had known about the camera above the store entrance.
He had not known about the one mounted beneath the canopy.
It had been installed years earlier.
The system was old but still operational.
Marcus's contractor found the connection while replacing electrical wiring.
Marcus called Laura.
“Can you come over?”
She arrived that afternoon.
They accessed the archived footage.
Most recordings had been overwritten.
But the system retained older clips because of a storage malfunction.
One file was dated six days before the brick incident.
Marcus watched.
Patricia's SUV appeared in the parking lot.
She exited.
But she was not alone.
With her was a man Marcus recognized from HOA meetings.
Robert Sloan.
The HOA's maintenance contractor.
They walked around the property.
They inspected the side entrance.
Then Robert used a key to open the gate.
Marcus frowned.
“I never gave him a key.”
Laura stared at the screen.