"What had Mr. Dalton repeatedly violated at the time you said that?"
"The dog rule."
"The dog was leashed," Emily said.
"And the grilling," Linda continued.
Susan touched the document in front of her. "The first grilling issue ended with the grill being removed and no formal violation. The later grilling was on municipal property, and police found no apparent violation. So what specific repeated offense are you referring to?"
Linda's face colored. "He was obviously trying to provoke me."
"That may be your interpretation," Susan replied. "I'm asking which violations justified singling out his unit for monitoring."
Richard leaned forward. "Let's not turn this into a cross-examination of one volunteer."
"We're holding a hearing about whether a resident harassed that volunteer," Susan said. "Her stated reason for additional enforcement attention is directly relevant."
The other board members were no longer looking at Richard for every cue. One reread the notice. Another wrote something in the margin. Linda seemed to notice the shift, because she reached for her folder as though there might be a sentence inside that could restore the room to the way it had felt when she was making her prepared statement.
I moved to the final section of the recording. We heard Linda describe the cooler as an item she intended to remove. We heard her approach, my warning for her to stop, and the exact words: "Don't touch my property." Then came her accusation that I'd threatened her. There was no shouted promise of violence, no profanity, and no physical contact audible in the recording.
I stopped playback.
"That's the incident," I said. "I asked her not to take or move my belongings. I didn't threaten to hurt her."
"It was his tone," Linda insisted.
From the back of the room Gary said, "Oh, come on."
Richard pointed toward him. "Gary, public comment isn't open."
Gary held up both hands. "I heard it. So did everybody else."
I didn't turn around to encourage him. I wanted the board to reach its conclusion without the hearing becoming a competition between different sets of shouting voices. Susan picked up the police report again.
"Richard, were you present when the alleged threat occurred?" she asked.
"No. I arrived later."
"So you didn't hear the words firsthand?"
"No."
"Did any board member besides Linda hear them firsthand?"
There was no answer. The other directors looked toward one another, and Linda shifted in her chair.
Susan set down the page. "Then this notice appears to rely on an account contradicted by the only contemporaneous recording we've been shown. That's something the board needs to examine carefully."
Linda leaned forward. "Are you calling me a liar?"
"I'm saying the evidence does not support the stated threat," Susan replied.
"You weren't there."
"That's why we're reviewing the recording."
For the first time, Linda seemed to understand that nine years of service would not automatically decide how her colleagues interpreted evidence. Her face flushed, and she turned toward Richard, expecting him to end the exchange. He looked down at his notes instead.