And now somebody who had never read a single page of the file had thrown a brick at my mailbox because Karen looked convincing on television.
I carried it inside.
Set it beside the certified plat.
At 2:20 Monday afternoon, a process server arrived.
Forty-one pages.
Cedar Ridge HOA versus owner of Parcel 7A.
Damages sought:
$2.1 million.
Flood losses.
Loss of use.
Emotional distress.
Negligent maintenance.
Reckless endangerment.
They attached photographs.
Karen’s orange notice.
The courtesy reclassification letter.
HOA invoices.
They did not attach the certified plat.
They did not attach my refusal of membership.
They did not attach the state permit.
They did not attach Diane’s minutes.
They did not attach Frank’s drainage warning.
They did not attach the demolition footage.
Wendell Hayes knew the story Karen had given him.
He did not yet know the documents.
Rachel called.
“Dad.”
“I know.”
“You have a lawyer now?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Why tomorrow?”
“The county public meeting is tonight.”
She went quiet.
“What meeting?”
“Emergency flood review.”
“Who’s attending?”
“County attorney.”
“County engineer.”
“HOA.”
“State water resources.”
Another pause.
“Karen knows?”
“Yes.”
“Does she know you worked for water resources?”
“I don’t think she understands what I did there.”
Rachel exhaled.
“Please tell me you still own a suit.”
“One.”
“Iron it.”
Already done.
By six forty, the high-school gym was full.
The county placed a long table at center court.
County Attorney Rebecca Choy sat in the middle.
Curtis Lynn beside her.
Emergency-management director on the other side.
At the far end sat Daniel Reyes, regional enforcement director for the State Water Resources Commission.
He carried a thick agency envelope.
Two hundred chairs were filled.
Another sixty residents stood against the wall.
I sat in the second row.
Gray suit.
Folder on my lap.
Cardboard document tube across my knees.
Diane sat two seats away.
Margaret Foley behind her.
Frank at the aisle.
Mrs. Alvarez had brought the shoe box.
Of course she had.
Karen entered at 6:50.
Navy blazer.
Wendell Hayes beside her.
Tom and Brad behind them.
She walked past me.
Did not look down.
The meeting began at seven.
Rebecca summarized the flood.
Then invited HOA counsel to speak.
Wendell stood.
He was polished.
Measured.
Professional.
“The Cedar Ridge association acted in good faith after repeated concerns regarding an unstable upstream private structure maintained by a nonmember landowner who refused reasonable community oversight.”
I watched Daniel Reyes.
No reaction.
Wendell continued.
“The board relied upon its governing authority and retained a licensed contractor to remove what it understood to be an unauthorized obstruction.”
Then came the sentence that ended the usefulness of his statement.
“The subsequent flooding demonstrates the instability of the structure itself.”
Curtis reached toward the projector remote.
“Counselor.”
Wendell stopped.
Curtis put a document on screen.
STATE WATER RESOURCES COMMISSION.