"I hope I haven't come at a bad time," she said.
"That depends on whether you're bringing more fish."
She laughed once, reluctantly, then looked serious. "I heard Karen is suing you. Some of us aren't comfortable with what she's telling the neighborhood."
I invited her into the kitchen and made tea. Evelyn explained that homeowners had received a notice describing me as an uncooperative landowner who was preventing the association from resolving an environmental problem. The notice warned that failure to remove the fish could delay improvements, affect insurance costs, and threaten the value of the new development. It did not mention that Karen had authorized the transfer onto my property.
"The email made it sound as though you were refusing to help with a spill," Evelyn said. "But if they put the fish there themselves, that's a very different matter."
I showed her the contractor invoice, with Daniel's permission to provide the nonconfidential copy. She looked at the entry carrying my supposed authorization initials and shook her head. "Our board was told the relocation was routine," she said. "We weren't asked to approve an extraordinary transfer onto somebody else's land."
"Do you know anything about the expansion plan?" I asked.
She hesitated. "I know homeowners were told it would bring revenue and improve roads without raising dues. Karen says the developer has commitments from investors. They keep treating it as settled, even though nobody has shown us the final permits."
I thanked her for coming and explained that the dispute was in court, where unsupported accusations could do more harm than good. She said she understood. Before leaving, she placed a copy of the neighborhood notice on my table and asked whether Daniel would be willing to speak at a homeowners' information session once the immediate hearing was over. It was the first sign that Karen's version of the story was no longer the only version being heard.
That night I walked out to the pond while the stars were clear and cold above the ridge. The water had settled somewhat after Tom's temporary recommendations and the county's oversight, but I could still see too many shapes moving along the shallow edges. I thought about the people living in those two hundred houses, most of whom probably wanted nothing more complicated than functioning roads and reasonable fees. Karen had claimed to act on their behalf, yet she was using their association to fight over a decision many of them apparently hadn't even known existed.
The emergency hearing was set for Friday morning. Daniel had a stack of exhibits, Leah had agreed to explain the fish registrations and immediate husbandry concerns, and Martin was ready to identify the original program records. Karen's attorneys were asking a judge to order removal. We were asking the judge to prevent further unauthorized interference while the agencies and rightful owners sorted out what needed to happen.