Several documents contained approvals she'd obtained through informal email exchanges.
Others were forms that had been revised after homeowners received earlier versions.
The notice used at my property was one of them.
The auditors would soon discover that the additional language claiming emergency entry authority had been added after the original notice was issued.
That difference had nothing to do with an innocent printing error.
The records showed that the revised version was generated shortly before Patricia entered my backyard.
And there was no properly documented board action granting her the authority she claimed.
Detective Ortega was examining a parallel set of evidence.
Her investigation concerned the property damage and the suspected connection between the vandalism incidents.
The financial audit belonged to the association and its independent advisers.
The police weren't simply taking the HOA's books because homeowners disliked the president.
But evidence of possible fraud was referred to the appropriate authorities for lawful examination.
Over time, the separate processes began producing information that supported one another.
The auditors identified questionable payments.
The criminal investigators examined the damaged properties and witness statements.
And the homeowners' attorneys reviewed civil claims arising from the allegedly unsupported fines and contractor charges.
Nobody had the entire picture at first.
But every verified document made the outline clearer.
CanyonMark's operations manager, Eric Madden, became a central figure.
He was forty-seven, a former landscaping salesman who had become wealthy by managing large residential service contracts.
He liked expensive watches, luxury trucks, and telling people that most businesses failed because their owners lacked the courage to expand.
Under his leadership, CanyonMark had pursued exclusive relationships with homeowners associations.
The contracts were lucrative.
A single neighborhood could provide a steady stream of inspection and maintenance work.
And if the association promoted extensive equipment upgrades, the potential revenue was even larger.
There was nothing inherently wrong with a contractor offering such services.
The problem was how CanyonMark appeared to have created demand.