Reinforced frame.
New locks.
New camera.
Fresh paint.
My neighbor Mark helped.
While we worked, he held up his new key.
“Know who has a spare?”
“Elise?”
“My sister.”
“Good.”
“Know who doesn’t?”
I smiled.
“HOA.”
He laughed.
Then became serious.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I gave in.”
“You didn’t do anything to me.”
“I helped normalize it.”
I set down the drill.
“Mark, you were trying to live your life.”
“I should have backed you earlier.”
“Then back the next person earlier.”
He nodded.
That was enough.
The criminal case took months.
During that time, more information surfaced.
Brenda had not only invented the key policy.
She had created a series of “executive enforcement directives” without board approval.
Parking.
Exterior access.
Emergency inspections.
Some were never used.
Others had been used to threaten residents.
She altered draft meeting minutes to make informal discussions look like approved policies.
