A reporter called out, "Did Duncan Vale call the federal marshals?"
Marissa hesitated.
Another reporter answered from the public record before she could. "The security contractor called them, according to testimony."
Shaw touched Marissa's elbow. "We're done."
They left.
That evening, the Stonebridge Ridge clubhouse filled beyond its legal seating capacity. Residents stood along the walls, crowded the doorway, and watched through windows from outside. Six years earlier, Marissa had been elected association president because almost no one else wanted the work. Now nearly everyone wanted to know what she had been doing with it.
The meeting began badly.
Marissa tried to control the agenda as she always had. She opened with a prepared statement blaming incomplete legal advice, an unusually aggressive property owner, and miscommunication between contractors.
A resident named Peter Langston raised his hand. "Did our attorney tell you not to enter the warehouse?"
"We received evolving advice."
"That is not yes or no."
A woman near the back called, "The email is public now. He told you not to go in."
Marissa struck the gavel. "There will be order."
The room laughed.
It was not kind laughter. It was the sound of authority losing its assumption that everyone would cooperate with the performance of authority.
Laurel sat at the side table with Monica beside her. She had not planned to speak until residents began asking where the money came from for Barlo Protective Services.
"Sixty-eight thousand dollars was paid from association funds," Laurel said.
The room erupted.
Marissa hit the gavel again.
"Those funds were authorized for security."
Laurel looked at her. "The full board never approved the final contract language."
Neal Foster stood from the board table. "I was told counsel had reviewed it."
Gareth, who attended as association counsel rather than Marissa's lawyer, spoke from the first row. "I did not review or approve the Barlo contract."
That changed the room again.
Paul Wexler opened his binder. "I want my executive committee notes entered into the meeting record."