But she was detained.
And she was furious.
“This is abuse of power!” she shouted through the open window.
Ethan stood beside the workshop.
“No,” he said. “This is what happens when you finally meet a boundary you can’t bully.”
Brenda glared at him.
“You think you’ve won?”
Ethan looked at the welded gate.
“No.”
He paused.
“I think you’re scared of what’s inside.”
For the first time, Brenda’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Daniel saw it.
“Deputy,” he said.
The young officer stepped closer.
“Yes, Sheriff?”
“Stay with her.”
Daniel walked toward Ethan.
“What is inside the workshop?”
Ethan looked at him.
“Evidence.”
“Of what?”
“Why Brenda wants this land.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
Ethan led him around the side of the building to a smaller rear entrance.
Unlike the front gate, this door was locked normally.
Ethan pulled out a key.
Inside, the workshop smelled of oil, metal, and old wood.
Tools covered the walls.
A restored motorcycle stood beneath a canvas cover.
At the far end of the room was a steel filing cabinet.
Ethan opened it.
Inside were survey reports.
County maps.
Engineering documents.
Emails.
Daniel picked up one report.
“What is this?”
“An underground drainage assessment.”
Daniel read.
The planned Maple Ridge expansion had been built above an aging system of underground pipes.
The county had warned that the pipes required reinforcement before any heavy construction.
But according to another document, the HOA board had voted to delay the repairs.
Daniel turned another page.
Then stopped.
“Who signed this?”
Ethan pointed to the bottom.
Brenda Holloway.
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
There was more.
A second document showed that Brenda had privately contacted a developer.
She wanted to push the new construction through before the full drainage report became public.
And Ethan’s property stood directly in the way.
“She wanted access through my land,” Ethan said.
Daniel continued reading.
“Why not just negotiate with you?”
Ethan gave a humorless smile.
“Because buying the land would cost money.”
“And forcing you out would be cheaper.”
“Exactly.”
Daniel opened one of the printed emails.
His expression darkened.
In it, Brenda had instructed another board member not to mention Ethan’s property exemption during a planning meeting.
She had written:
If Walker believes he can block the project, make his position uncomfortable. He’ll cooperate eventually.
Daniel looked up.
“You found this how?”
“It was sent to the wrong email address.”
Ethan pulled out another page.
“The former HOA treasurer forwarded it to me.”
“Why?”
“Because he quit after Brenda threatened him.”
Daniel was silent.
Then he looked toward the front of the workshop.
Toward the welded gate.
“She thought the evidence was in here.”
Ethan nodded.
“That’s why she wanted the door opened so badly.”
“And you welded it shut?”
“Last night.”
Daniel almost smiled.
“You knew she was coming.”
“I knew she wouldn’t stop.”
Outside, Brenda began shouting again.
“You can’t keep me in here!”
Daniel walked toward the rear exit.
Ethan followed.
When they returned to the front yard, Brenda saw the papers in Daniel’s hands.
And suddenly, her anger disappeared.
“Where did you get those?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
Brenda’s face went pale.
“Give me those.”
Daniel kept walking.
“Sheriff!”
She grabbed the door handle from inside the patrol vehicle.
Locked.
“GIVE ME THOSE!”
Ethan looked at her.
There was no anger in his face now.
Only certainty.
“You didn’t come here for a gate.”
Brenda’s eyes locked on his.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You came for those files.”
“No.”
“You thought if you got inside before anyone else, you could take them.”