She didn't make immediate conclusions.
Instead, she asked several questions.
When had the moisture appeared?
Did it correlate with rainfall?
Had any nearby construction been performed?
Were there visible changes in the drainage system?
Andre answered carefully.
Then he mentioned the guesthouse renovation next door.
Rosa made a note.
“Do you know whether the work included plumbing?”
Andre shook his head.
“I heard construction. I don't know the scope.”
She nodded.
“That's useful to distinguish.”
For a moment, she looked toward Cynthia's property.
Then back at the drainage structure.
“We'll review the available permits and utility records.”
Andre nodded.
“Thank you.”
Rosa smiled.
“That's what we're here for.”
Before leaving, she added something Andre would remember.
“Mr. Walker, if you see an active discharge or a condition that could expose people to wastewater, keep everyone away and report it. Don't try to handle or trace it yourself.”
Andre nodded.
“Understood.”
At the time, he thought she was giving standard advice.
He didn't know that three months later, he'd be standing beside his swimming pool watching the HOA president deliberately discharge wastewater into it.
And that Rosa Alvarez would arrive with the police already knowing far more about Cynthia's plumbing than Cynthia realized.
By late January, Cynthia's attitude toward Andre had changed from irritation to open hostility.
She stopped pretending that their disagreements concerned ordinary neighborhood appearance.
Instead, she began sending formal notices almost every week.
One accused him of creating an unauthorized public recreation facility.
Another alleged that his swimming pool generated excessive water consumption.
A third claimed that the persistent moisture near his eastern boundary proved he had failed to maintain his property.
Andre read each notice.
Saved a copy.
And replied through the established channels.
He asked for evidence.
Specific rules.
Dates.
And descriptions of the alleged violations.
Cynthia rarely provided what he requested.
Instead, she escalated.
At a February HOA meeting, she stood before the board wearing an expensive coral blazer and announced that Magnolia Ridge was facing growing drainage and sanitation concerns.
She displayed photographs of damp grass, discolored water near the creek, and a drainage grate behind the eastern properties.
Andre recognized one photograph immediately.
It showed the boundary beside his house.
Cynthia pointed toward the screen.
“Certain homeowners have repeatedly refused association cooperation requests.”
Several directors turned toward Andre.
He was sitting in the second row.
For a moment, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Cynthia continued.
“These delays are preventing us from implementing necessary corrective action.”
Andre raised his hand.
She ignored him.
He waited.
Then raised it again.
Finally, the meeting secretary acknowledged him.
“Mr. Walker?”