Marcus looked at her.
“I said one at a time.”
Karen’s mouth closed.
Daniel continued.
“The clubhouse parking lot, clubhouse building, pool, and part of the eastern tennis court are located on Parcel 118-C.”
Marcus looked toward the building.
Then back at Daniel.
“And you’re claiming you own that parcel?”
“Yes.”
“HOA says they own it.”
“Yes.”
“You have paperwork?”
“That envelope.”
Marcus opened it.
Recorded warranty deed.
Probate order.
County appraisal map.
Certified survey from 1999.
Ground lease.
Current title commitment Daniel had ordered the previous month.
Deputy Ruiz joined him.
They read quietly.
Karen lasted maybe forty seconds.
“These are not current.”
Daniel said:
“The title commitment is twelve days old.”
“The association map shows the clubhouse inside common property.”
Daniel pulled another sheet from the envelope.
“That map is an internal HOA exhibit.”
“This is the recorded county plat.”
Marcus placed the two side by side on the hood of the patrol SUV.
The difference was immediately visible.
The Willow Creek HOA map had shaded the clubhouse parcel the same pale green as other common areas.
The recorded plat did not.
Parcel 118-C had its own legal description.
Separate parcel number.
Separate ownership line.
Marcus pointed.
“This boundary here?”
Daniel nodded.
“That is the western edge.”
“And this?”
“Northern line.”
Ruiz looked at Karen.
“Do you have a deed conveying 118-C to the HOA?”
Karen opened her folder.
“I have association records.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
Karen pulled out a community map.
Marcus looked at it.
“Same internal map.”
“It has been used for twenty years.”
“That doesn’t make it a deed.”
Karen’s voice sharpened.
“You don’t understand. The clubhouse was conveyed to the HOA when the developer completed the community.”
Marcus asked:
“Do you have the conveyance?”
Karen flipped pages.
Rules.
Pool policy.
Common area schedule.
Insurance summary.
Management agreement.
No deed.
She looked at Harold.
“Where’s the developer transfer package?”
Harold shifted.
“I thought management had it.”
“You’re the treasurer.”
“I handle current financial records.”
Patricia stepped closer.
“I’ve never seen a clubhouse deed.”
Karen turned.
“What do you mean you’ve never seen it?”
“I mean I’ve never seen one.”
“Because nobody asked for it.”
“That’s exactly the problem,” Daniel said.
Karen glared at him.
Marcus looked toward Daniel.
“What is your purpose here today?”
“To attend the meeting long enough to discuss the expired lease.”
Karen threw up her hands.
“There is no lease.”
Daniel pulled the original recorded memorandum of ground lease.
Marcus read the first page.
Then another.
Ruiz leaned beside him.
“Twenty-year term.”
“Yes.”