Then she said:
“Good news.”
Darnell raised an eyebrow.
“You found something?”
“I found several things.”
The fine schedule was questionable.
The proposed property-audit procedure exceeded the language of the declaration.
And then there was Whitmore Property Support LLC.
The HOA had paid the company more than $9,000.
The company belonged to Bettina.
Cecily checked the records.
The association's conflict-of-interest policy required disclosure and abstention when board members had financial interests.
The minutes contained no clear disclosure.
Darnell stared at the documents.
“Are you saying she stole money?”
“No.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“I'm saying we don't accuse her of theft.”
Cecily tapped the papers.
“We ask for an accounting.”
That distinction mattered.
Darnell had spent his career watching people destroy good cases by deciding conclusions before collecting evidence.
He wasn't going to make that mistake now.
The Petition
Cecily recommended a special membership meeting.
The bylaws required twenty signatures.
Darnell collected twenty-seven.
Everett signed first.
Marcus signed second.
Millicent Vance signed beneath the wind chimes she had once been warned to remove.
The Osay family signed.
Nine households provided documents.
Others shared information anonymously.
Darnell did not ask anyone to exaggerate.
He did not ask them to hate Bettina.
He told everyone the same thing:
“Bring documents.”