Marcus felt something cold in his chest.
“The first?”
“Others had police called.”
“How many?”
Lena swallowed.
“Since I started?”
“Eleven.”
Evelyn stared.
“Eleven police calls?”
“Yes.”
“Inside a residential building?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
Lena looked ashamed.
“Delivery workers.”
“Contractors.”
“Guests.”
“One resident’s boyfriend.”
“A home health aide.”
Marcus asked:
“Demographics?”
Lena looked at him.
He immediately regretted the clinical phrasing.
She understood anyway.
“Nine were Black or Latino.”
Silence.
Evelyn sat back.
Marcus kept his voice neutral.
“Were all calls made by Diane?”
“Nine.”
“Other two?”
“Security staff.”
“Outcome?”
“None resulted in charges.”
Marcus looked down.
Lena continued:
“One person was detained.”
“Who?”
“Dr. Thomas Bell.”
“Resident?”
“Guest.”
“Cardiologist.”
“Visiting another resident after surgery.”
“What happened?”
“Diane said he was trying vehicle doors.”
“Was he?”
“No.”
“Video?”
“Yes.”
“Police?”
“Released him after twenty minutes.”
“Complaint?”
“He threatened to sue.”
“Did he?”
“No.”
“He stopped visiting.”
Evelyn looked toward Marcus.
“Pattern.”
He nodded slowly.
But he would not say more.
Not yet.
Lena pulled out another folder.
“Then there are the access suspensions.”
“How many?”
“Thirty-four.”
Marcus stared.
“Thirty-four emergency suspensions?”
“Over two years.”
“For actual emergencies?”
“Six.”
“And the rest?”
“Board disputes.”
“Late fees.”
“Contractor disagreements.”
“Guest complaints.”
“Residents Diane believed were violating policy.”
Evelyn’s face hardened.
“She used the security system as punishment.”
Lena nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t management stop her?”
Lena’s eyes filled.
“I tried.”
“What happened?”
“The management company told me board governance was the client’s responsibility.”
Marcus almost laughed.
The phrase was so familiar.
Institutions had endless vocabulary for deciding a problem belonged to somebody else.
Evelyn asked:
“Why are you speaking now?”
Lena looked at Marcus.
“Because I watched the video.”
“Your son kept asking for me.”
“I was upstairs in a vendor meeting.”
“My phone was on silent.”
“When I came down…”
Her voice broke.
“I saw the cuffs.”
Marcus said:
“That wasn’t your fault.”