One investigator showed her a warrant.
"We have permission."
She stared at it.
"What are you looking for?"
"Financial records."
"We have nothing to hide."
The investigator smiled.
"Then this should be easy."
Meanwhile, Marcus stood across the street.
He watched boxes being carried from the HOA office.
Then his phone rang.
It was his former colleague, Agent Thomas Keller.
"We found something."
"What?"
"An account."
"Whose?"
"Technically, the HOA's."
Marcus waited.
"But the account is registered to a company called Oak Valley Community Services."
Marcus frowned.
"That's not an HOA account."
"No."
"Who owns it?"
Thomas paused.
"That's the problem."
"Why?"
"The owner is listed as Victoria Harrington."
Marcus closed his eyes.
"How much?"
"Seven hundred and forty thousand dollars."
Marcus looked at the broken window.
Suddenly, the brick made sense.
Victoria hadn't been trying to protect the neighborhood.
She had been protecting a business.
The emergency HOA meeting was packed.
Residents filled every chair.
Victoria stood at the front.
"This is a coordinated attack against me."
Someone shouted:
"Where is our money?"
Another voice:
"Why did we pay commercial-property fees?"
Victoria raised her hands.
"Everyone calm down."
Marcus sat in the back.
A resident recognized him.
"That's the man whose window she broke."
Another whispered:
"He's the owner."
Victoria saw him.
"You!"
Marcus stood.
She pointed.
"You have been manipulating these residents!"
Marcus looked around.
"No."
He raised a folder.
"I'm showing them records."
He handed copies to the residents.
They read.
One woman gasped.
"I paid $4,800 in commercial assessments."
A man beside her said:
"I paid too."
Another shouted:
"Where did the money go?"
Victoria's voice rose.
"Those documents are being misinterpreted!"
Marcus answered:
"Then explain them."
She couldn't.
The room erupted.
For the first time, Victoria had no control over the room.
The biggest discovery came from an old contract.
It involved a private security company.
The HOA had paid the company more than $300,000 over four years.
But there was almost no evidence that the company had provided services.
Marcus recognized the company name.
It belonged to Victoria's brother.
He looked at the investigators.
"This is the missing piece."
They examined the contract.
Fake patrol logs.
Fake invoices.
Fake signatures.
The HOA had been paying for security services that barely existed.
And Victoria had been receiving part of the money.
When confronted, she finally admitted it.
But she insisted:
"I only did what everyone else was doing."
Marcus looked at her.
"That's not a defense."
She stared at him.
"You think you're better than me?"
"No."