Daniel frowned.
"What about it?"
Margaret glanced toward the clubhouse windows.
"Just look."
Then she walked away.
Daniel stood beneath the parking-lot lights.
For the first time, he wondered whether the barbecue had simply given Patricia an excuse.
Daniel checked his cameras again.
The backyard system had four cameras.
One covered the patio.
One covered the gate.
One watched the driveway.
The fourth faced the drainage canal.
At 2:13 a.m. on Tuesday, a white SUV stopped near the rear of Daniel's property.
A man got out.
He walked toward the fence.
Daniel watched the recording.
The man didn't knock.
He didn't ring a doorbell.
He stood there with a flashlight and took photographs.
Then he left.
Daniel froze the frame.
The vehicle had a logo on the door.
Guardian Ridge Compliance Services.
Daniel searched the name.
Guardian Ridge was a private company contracted by several HOAs in the county.
But something bothered him.
Why would an HOA compliance company inspect his backyard at two in the morning?
Daniel called Marcus.
"Can you do me a favor?"
"What kind?"
"Look into Guardian Ridge."
Marcus paused.
"How much?"
"Everything."
By lunch, Marcus called back.
"You're going to want to sit down."
Daniel sat.
"Go."
"Guardian Ridge was created four years ago."
"Okay."
"Guess who represented them during incorporation?"
Daniel waited.
"Victor Lane."
Daniel looked toward the window.
The canal ran behind the row of houses.
"What does Guardian Ridge actually do?"
"Mostly compliance inspections. Property documentation. Maintenance access."
"Maintenance access?"
"That's the interesting part."
Marcus sent him several documents.
Daniel opened them.
Guardian Ridge had been involved in obtaining easements from homeowners near the canal.
Not every homeowner.
Only certain properties.
The same properties that had later been sold.
Daniel opened county property records.
His stomach tightened.
Eight houses near the canal had changed ownership within five years.
Seven had been purchased through different LLCs.
But six of those LLCs listed the same registered agent.
Victor Lane.
Daniel leaned back.
The barbecue suddenly seemed very small.
He called the county planning department.
"Is there a development project near Cedar Grove?"
The clerk hesitated.
"There have been proposals."
"What kind?"
"Mixed-use development."
"How large?"
"About forty acres."
Daniel looked at his property map.
The proposed development corridor ran along the canal.
Right behind his fence.
His property sat directly in the middle of a gap between parcels already acquired.
Daniel opened his deed.
Then the survey.
Then the old development map.
A narrow strip at the rear of his property was clearly marked as privately owned.
Not common property.
Not HOA property.
His.
Daniel whispered:
"So that's what you want."
Someone wanted access to the land behind his house.
And apparently, Patricia Hale was helping them get it.
Patricia wasn't finished.
On Wednesday morning, Daniel received another letter.
This one demanded that he remove the cedar fence.
The reason?
The fence allegedly interfered with a "community maintenance corridor."
Daniel checked his deed.
No maintenance corridor existed.
He called the county.
The county confirmed it.
No public easement crossed his property.
Daniel called Patricia.
She answered on the third ring.
"You received the notice."
"I did."
"You need to comply."
"Can you show me the easement?"
"Victor has the documents."
"Then send them."
Silence.
"You're becoming unnecessarily difficult, Daniel."
"I'm asking for a document."
"The board doesn't have to justify every maintenance decision."
"Actually, if you're demanding that I remove my fence, I think you do."
Patricia hung up.
That afternoon, someone tried to open Daniel's backyard gate.
The camera caught the person.
It was a Guardian Ridge employee.
Daniel saved the footage.
Then he called the police.
Officer Reynolds arrived.
Daniel showed him everything.
The officer watched the video twice.
"Did you give this company permission to enter?"
"No."
"Did you authorize the HOA?"
"No."
Officer Reynolds wrote down the incident number.
"If they come again, call us."
Daniel nodded.
As the officer walked away, he said:
"Keep your recordings."
Daniel looked at him.