A woman named Denise Harper called to say her teenage daughter had been questioned about visiting my house.
Karen had asked the girl whether she had seen anyone carrying boxes out of my garage.
The girl was frightened because Karen told her that lying could interfere with a police investigation.
There was no police investigation being conducted by my department.
I told Denise to document the conversation and speak with Nora if she wished.
I also informed the town manager that Karen had been invoking my official position in a personal dispute.
The manager asked whether I wanted a public statement.
I said that any statement should come from the town attorney and address only the separation between my private matter and department business.
I wanted the community to understand that my badge did not make me untouchable.
I also wanted Karen to understand that it did not make me defenseless.
Chapter 16: The Missing Signature
Nora obtained the association’s governing documents through a records request to the board’s management company.
The documents were ordinary until she reached a resolution supposedly adopted six weeks earlier.
It authorized the president to remove vehicles considered historically disputed assets.
The phrase was strange enough to make Nora stop reading.
Most neighborhood rules concerned parking, landscaping, or exterior maintenance.
This one seemed written for my Mustang.
The resolution carried three signatures.
Karen’s name appeared at the top.
The second belonged to the association treasurer, Miriam Shaw.
The third belonged to a board member named Peter Weller.
Nora contacted Miriam through her attorney.
Miriam said she had never seen the resolution.
She had been recovering from knee surgery on the date of the supposed vote.
Peter had been visiting his daughter in Oregon.
He provided airline receipts and a photograph taken at the airport.
Nora asked whether either person recognized the signatures.
Both said they did not.
Miriam sounded especially angry.
She said Karen had told her the board was postponing meetings until spring.
She had trusted Karen to handle routine correspondence.
She had not authorized towing cars or hiring lawyers.
The management company supplied a second document.
It was an invoice for legal consultation paid from the association’s reserve account.
The invoice identified the client as Karen Bellamy, acting for the board.
Miriam said the board had never approved the payment.
The amount was not enormous, but the principle was serious.
Association funds belonged to the residents.
