"We need you at the county administration building."
Frank asked why.
"Because the other homeowners are ready to talk."
Frank arrived at ten in the morning.
There were eight people in the conference room.
One elderly couple.
Two middle-aged women.
A retired firefighter.
A man who owned a landscaping company.
A young couple who had moved into Briarwood two years earlier.
And one woman who sat quietly in the corner with a stack of envelopes in her lap.
Frank recognized her.
"Linda?"
She nodded.
"I didn't know you were involved."
"I wasn't."
She looked down.
"Not until they came after my truck."
The state attorney entered.
He placed a box on the table.
"Every document in this box came from homeowners who agreed to cooperate."
He opened it.
There were letters.
Notices.
Invoices.
Photographs.
Emails.
And handwritten notes.
Frank looked around the room.
"What did they want from all of you?"
The retired firefighter answered first.
"My rear access."
The landscaping contractor said, "My side easement."
One of the women said, "My driveway."
The young husband said, "My backyard."
Frank looked at the attorney.
"Same corridor?"
"Same corridor."
The room fell silent.
Then Linda opened one envelope.
Inside was an HOA violation notice.
She slid it across the table.
"Look at the date."
Frank did.
It was from six months earlier.
"What does this have to do with your truck?"
"Nothing."
She smiled bitterly.
"That's the point."
The state attorney nodded.
"They used unrelated violations to create pressure."
"How?"
"Fines."
"Then liens."
"Then warnings."
"Then meetings."
"Then offers."
Frank frowned.
"Offers?"
Linda looked at him.
"To buy our property."
There it was.
The pattern.
First the HOA discovered a violation.
Then the fines.
Then the threat of enforcement.
Then the friendly conversation.
Then the developer appeared.
Then the offer.
Then the pressure.
Frank leaned back.
"And if someone refused?"
Linda looked at the floor.
"They increased the fines."
The retired firefighter said, "They threatened my pool."
The landscaping contractor said, "They threatened my business vehicle."
The young wife said, "They told us our house could become unsellable."
Frank's jaw tightened.
"Because of the HOA?"
She nodded.
The state attorney placed another document on the table.
"This is why we believe the pattern was coordinated."
It was a consulting agreement.
A company name appeared at the top.
Whitmore Community Consulting.
Frank stared.
"Patricia's company?"
"Yes."
"She owns it?"
"Through an LLC."
"What did the company do?"
"Consulting."