That configuration would later explain why Marissa's takeover did not trigger an immediate alarm. The loading dock could fill with people without the system notifying him so long as they stayed away from the office windows. Duncan considered adding more sensitive alerts before leaving for an upcoming assignment, then decided it was unnecessary. The dispute was irritating, but he still did not imagine anyone would physically occupy the building.
Before traveling, he walked the perimeter with Calvin Drayton, who owned the machine shop across the road. Calvin was sixty, narrow-waisted despite age, hands permanently marked by metalwork, and so observant that he could identify which employee had used a lathe by the chips left in the tray.
"You expecting trouble?" Calvin asked.
"Expecting paperwork. Preparing for stupidity."
Calvin looked toward Stonebridge Ridge. "That Crowley woman came by Tuesday."
Duncan stopped. "Here?"
"Sat in her SUV by the fence ten minutes. Never got out."
"Did she talk to anyone?"
"No. Took pictures."
Duncan glanced at the new camera above the loading bay. "If anything strange happens while I am gone, call me."
"What counts as strange?"
"Anybody cutting my gate would qualify."
Calvin laughed. "If somebody cuts your gate in daylight, I am filming it before I call you."
"Good."
It was a joke until Tuesday morning.
At 9:18 a.m., Marissa arrived in her white SUV and parked across from the gate. Trent Barlo pulled in three minutes later with another man in the passenger seat. The camera recorded them standing outside the fence for nineteen minutes. Marissa pointed to the gate latch, the loading dock, the office windows, and the service road. Trent walked the perimeter twice and photographed the camera mounted nearest the bay.
On Wednesday at 10:06, a locksmith van arrived.
The locksmith, later identified as Aaron Vick, would testify that he had been told Stonebridge Ridge had lawfully acquired the property and needed emergency access because the former owner had failed to surrender keys. Marissa showed him a packet bearing the association seal and a page that looked enough like a court notice to satisfy someone who had no reason to inspect it closely. Aaron cut the chain because Trent said the existing lock had to be removed before a new electronic system could be installed.
Calvin saw the bolt cutters from across the road.
He stepped into his office, pulled out his phone, and began recording through the glass. Then he walked outside casually, phone in his shirt pocket with the camera lens facing forward.
"Everything all right over here?" he asked.
Marissa turned toward him. "Yes. Association business."
"Duncan know you are changing his lock?"
"Mr. Vale no longer controls the property."
Calvin stopped two steps inside the road shoulder. "Since when?"