“To Brenda.”
“And?”
“Brenda said Tyler was helping with inspections.”
There.
Marcus felt anger return.
Not because Brenda lied.
Because she had normalized it.
“How many?”
George shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“More than one.”
Marcus looked toward Brenda's house at the end of the street.
“What happened at compliance meetings?”
George sighed.
“Brenda would bring photos.”
“Say a homeowner had a violation.”
“Most of us assumed she took them from public areas.”
“Then Tyler started helping.”
“Why?”
“She said younger eyes catch things.”
Marcus stared.
George shrugged helplessly.
“I thought he was walking sidewalks.”
“Not opening gates.”
“No.”
Marcus said:
“You realize he's sixteen.”
“Yes.”
“And the HOA has been using him for property inspections.”
George's face tightened.
“When you say it like that…”
“How should I say it?”
George nodded.
Fair.
That night, Marcus sent Maya another email.
The situation changed from annoying to serious.
Maya issued a formal demand the next morning.
No more entry.
No minor performing inspections.
No use of photographs taken from private areas without lawful authorization.
Preservation of all communications involving Tyler and Marcus's property.
Brenda replied personally.
Not through counsel.
Mistake.
Her email said Tyler acted under her “direct delegated authority.”
Maya called Marcus immediately.
“She put it in writing.”
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
“She actually wrote that.”
“Yes.”
“Is that good?”
“For us?”
“Very.”
“For common sense?”
“Terrible.”
The HOA board called an emergency meeting.
Marcus attended.
Not because he enjoyed HOA meetings.
Because he had learned absence allowed Brenda to narrate.
The clubhouse was full.
Tyler sat in the back beside his father, Robert Whitmore, who had rarely attended association meetings.
Robert looked tired.
Brenda sat at the center table.
Pink blazer.
Pearls.
Binder.
Always binder.
Martin Hale opened the meeting.
“We are here to address concerns regarding unauthorized inspection activity.”
Brenda interrupted.
“Let's avoid inflammatory terminology.”
Martin looked at her.
“Unauthorized is the question being investigated.”
Brenda's jaw tightened.
Marcus sat beside Maya.
Maya whispered:
“She doesn't like nouns she can't control.”
Marcus almost laughed.
Board attorney Laura Kim stood.
“The association has authority to inspect certain exterior conditions from common areas and, under limited circumstances, to seek access to private property after notice.”
She paused.
“It does not authorize unrestricted entry into fenced yards.”
People murmured.
Laura continued.
“The governing documents also provide no mechanism allowing minor children of board members to conduct independent inspections.”
Tyler looked toward the floor.
Brenda raised one hand.
“He was not independent.”
Laura looked at her.
“That does not improve the issue.”
A few residents laughed.
Brenda flushed.
Marcus watched Tyler.
Not Brenda.
The teenager looked miserable.
Marcus almost felt sorry for him.
Then the security video played.
Maya had requested it be shown.
The room watched Tyler enter Marcus's yard.
Watched him walk toward the pool.
Heard:
Get out. My mom runs this HOA.
Several people shifted.
Then:
You can't tell me to leave.
Robert Whitmore closed his eyes.
Tyler stared at his shoes.
Then came Major Cole's arrival.