Karen looked down.
"No."
"Any threat?"
"No."
"Property damage?"
"No."
"Noise beyond neighborhood limits?"
"I don't know."
Linda sighed.
"Then what exactly are we addressing?"
Karen's eyes filled with frustration.
"I don't feel safe."
The room went silent.
Marcus looked at her.
For the first time, he saw something beyond anger.
Fear.
But he also understood that fear did not automatically make an accusation true.
He spoke carefully.
"Karen, if I have done something that frightened you, tell me specifically."
She looked at him.
"I don't know how to explain it."
"Then try."
Karen struggled.
Finally she said, "There are always people at your house."
Marcus almost laughed.
"That's because people live here."
A few residents smiled.
Karen didn't.
Charles leaned forward.
"Maybe this isn't about the Johnson family."
Everyone turned.
"What do you mean?" Linda asked.
Charles opened another folder.
"We traced several of the complaints."
He placed printed records on the table.
"The anonymous reports came from different email accounts."
Marcus frowned.
"Different people?"
"Not exactly."
Charles pointed to the records.
"They were created within minutes of one another."
Linda looked confused.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning someone may have submitted multiple complaints while pretending they came from different residents."
The room erupted in whispers.
Karen stared at the documents.
Marcus looked at Charles.
"Can you prove who did it?"
"Not yet."
"But you have a lead."
Charles nodded.
"Yes."
He turned toward the door.
At that exact moment, Officer Reed entered.
He carried a thin folder.
"Marcus," he said.
Marcus stood.
"What's going on?"
Daniel looked at everyone.
"We traced the white sedan."
Karen's face went pale.
Daniel continued.
"It belongs to a private security contractor."
Marcus stared.
"Who hired them?"
Daniel looked down at the folder.
Then back up.
"That's the question."
The security company was called Northgate Property Services.
Marcus had never heard of it.
Neither had Tasha.
But Charles discovered that Northgate had been contracted by a development company that owned several properties nearby.
One of those properties was the vacant lot behind Willow Creek Drive.
The company planned to build a new commercial complex.
And there was a problem.
Several residents opposed the development.
The Johnson family was among them.
Marcus had attended a neighborhood meeting months earlier where residents discussed traffic, drainage, and construction noise.
He hadn't organized the opposition.
He hadn't led protests.
But his name appeared on a petition.
So did Tasha's.
That was enough to make him a person of interest.
Charles explained that companies sometimes hired private investigators during disputes.
"But why the false complaints?"
"We don't know."
Daniel added, "That's what we're trying to determine."
Marcus felt anger rising.
His family had been turned into a convenient target.
The barbecue had been the excuse.
The complaints were the weapon.
But Karen was still involved.
Marcus couldn't understand why.
He decided to speak with her directly.
He knocked on her door.
Karen opened it cautiously.
"Marcus."
"We need to talk."
She looked nervous.
"About what?"
"About the complaints."
Karen looked away.
"I already explained myself."
"No."
Marcus kept his voice calm.
"You told people you were afraid. You said you didn't know why. But somebody has been photographing my house."
Karen swallowed.
"I didn't hire anyone."
"I didn't say you did."
She looked at him.
Marcus continued.
"I just want to know why you called 911."
Karen was silent.
Finally she said, "Because I thought something bad might happen."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Marcus waited.
Karen's expression softened.
"I made assumptions."
Marcus nodded.
"About us?"
"Yes."
The honesty surprised him.
Karen continued.
"I had never lived around a family like yours."
Marcus looked at her.
"Like ours?"
She closed her eyes.
"I know how that sounds."
"It sounds like you're admitting you judged us before knowing us."
Karen didn't defend herself.
"Yes."
Marcus took a breath.
"That call could have gone very differently."
"I know."
"My children were outside."
"I know."
"You could have caused something terrible."
Karen's eyes filled with tears.
"I'm sorry."
Marcus wasn't ready to forgive her.
But he appreciated the truth.
Then Karen said something unexpected.
"Someone contacted me."
Marcus frowned.
"Who?"
"A man from the development company."
"Which man?"
"I don't know his name."
"What did he want?"
"He asked questions about your family."
Marcus stared.
"What kind?"
"Whether you had visitors. Whether you opposed the construction. Whether you were planning a neighborhood meeting."
Marcus's expression hardened.