Marcus finished the shelves, checked their stability, and accepted a plate of homemade cookies as payment.
Emily was delighted.
For a brief afternoon, the problems with Deborah and the HOA felt far away.
Deborah saw Marcus leaving Daniel's house that day.
He carried a toolbox in one hand and a small bag of leftover hardware in the other.
Daniel stood on the porch thanking him.
Emily waved from the doorway.
Deborah watched from her white SUV as she drove past.
She noticed Marcus's company logo on the pickup.
She noticed the front window he'd recently helped repair.
And she noticed that the driveway sometimes contained vehicles registered to different people.
She interpreted the scene according to the story she'd already constructed.
Marcus must be managing the property.
Perhaps he purchased it through a trust.
Perhaps he was using it for his business.
Perhaps he intended to rent it out.
Instead of checking the association's records carefully, she began referring to the cream-colored house as Marcus's second property.
The association database still contained incomplete owner information following the recent transfer from Margaret Sullivan's family.
Deborah didn't bother requesting verification.
She believed what she wanted to believe.
And as her frustration with Marcus grew, the address became another target in her mind.
She began telling Martin that Marcus appeared to own two homes on the street.
That he was expanding his influence.
And that someone needed to make him understand he couldn't control the association through technical objections.
Martin warned her to stop focusing on the homeowner.
But Deborah had moved beyond ordinary frustration.
She felt humiliated.
She felt threatened.
And increasingly, she believed intimidation was the only way to silence Marcus before the financial review reached conclusions she feared.
The independent review began in early October.
The HOA retained an outside accounting firm after Helen persuaded a majority of the board that the questions could no longer be resolved through informal explanations.
The accountants requested original invoices, proof of payment, contracts, change orders, and documents supporting completed drainage work.
Oakridge initially provided summaries.
Then revised summaries.
Then additional records that still didn't reconcile every discrepancy.
The accountants continued asking questions.
Some projects appeared properly documented.
Others didn't.
One set of invoices showed similar work descriptions charged against separate budgets.
Another involved a subcontractor whose business registration records didn't match the dates of certain claimed services.
The findings required further examination before anyone could determine the full financial consequences.
But they were serious enough that the board postponed approving the next phase of work.
Deborah was furious.
At a special meeting, she accused Helen of destroying the association's reputation.
Helen listened quietly.