Then whispered to herself, “What have you done, Caroline?”
The next morning, she called the association's independent legal counsel.
Not the consultant Caroline usually invited to board meetings.
The attorney retained to advise the association as a legal entity.
Miriam asked for a review of the estate parcel's status and the proposed walkway agreements.
Then she requested the complete project file.
All versions of the maps.
The contractor selection documents.
The payment authorizations.
And any board approvals concerning access across the southern estate.
The property manager sounded surprised.
“Mrs. Chen, that's a lot of material.”
Miriam nodded.
“I know.”
“May I ask why you need it?”
She looked toward Caroline's email.
Then answered.
“Because I'm the treasurer. And I'd like to know what we're paying for.”
For the first time, the people responsible for Canyon Crest's money were beginning to examine the project Caroline had spent months presenting as a simple community improvement.
And they were about to discover that the private swimming pool wasn't the only thing she'd tried to claim without permission.
Miriam's first call was to Harold Bennett, the association secretary.
Harold was sixty-eight, a retired insurance administrator with a fondness for crossword puzzles and an almost unreasonable loyalty to meeting minutes.
He had served on the board for four years.
He liked being useful.
But he disliked conflict, and Caroline had learned to exploit that.
Whenever a disagreement arose, she would speak with enormous confidence, announce that the matter had already been settled, and move to the next item before anyone asked further questions.
Harold often recorded the motion and assumed the legal details had been handled elsewhere.
Now Miriam asked him to look through the board records for any approval granting an easement across my property.
He called back two hours later.
“I can't find one.”
Miriam looked toward the documents on her desk.
“Are you certain?”
“I checked every meeting since the pedestrian project was introduced.”
She took a breath.
“And?”
“We approved preliminary feasibility work. Then a budget for design. Then another motion allowing Caroline to negotiate with adjacent landowners.”
Miriam leaned forward.
“Negotiate?”
“Yes.”
“Did we authorize any agreement?”