She turned to Daniel.
"Has the HOA done this before?"
Daniel hesitated.
"Not exactly."
Claire noticed the hesitation.
"Then we should probably look at the records."
Evelyn's expression tightened.
"You're not a resident."
Claire smiled politely.
"That doesn't prevent me from recognizing a bad paper trail."
Chapter 3 — The HOA's File
Daniel had always followed the neighborhood rules, even when he disliked them.
Claire asked him to collect every HOA notice he had received.
Within an hour, they had a stack of documents.
Several notices contained inconsistent vehicle descriptions. Two warnings referred to photographs Daniel had never seen. One fine listed a plate belonging to a completely different car.
Claire studied the pages.
"This isn't one mistake."
Daniel frowned. "What do you mean?"
"The errors follow a pattern."
Evelyn appeared at the doorway.
"You are not authorized to inspect association records."
Claire held up the papers.
"These are documents sent to the homeowners."