A few avoided discussing the case even when it appeared on the news.
I could not blame them.
A chief who expects the public to trust investigations must accept scrutiny himself.
The review eventually found no evidence that I had directed police resources for personal benefit.
It recommended clearer procedures for conflicts involving senior officers.
I accepted the recommendation and asked Andrea to draft the policy.
I did not celebrate the finding.
I went home, washed my hands at the kitchen sink, and sat quietly until the room stopped feeling like an office.
Chapter 33: A Second Set of Keys
The temporary HOA board discovered that Karen still possessed keys to the association office after her removal.
A maintenance worker reported seeing lights in the building late on a Sunday night.
The board checked the access records and found that the electronic entry system had logged an old administrator code.
Karen denied entering the office.
The board contacted its attorney and requested an independent inventory of the files.
Several folders were missing from the cabinets.
The missing material included invoices from Victor’s company and correspondence about vehicle enforcement.
The board reported the discrepancy to county investigators.
I learned about it only after the board issued a public notice.
Nora advised me not to speculate about who had removed the documents.
The access code had been shared by more than one former officer.
The records did not identify the person who used it.
Then a volunteer named Marjorie found a sealed envelope inside the association’s old printer cabinet.
The envelope contained a flash drive and a handwritten note.
The note said the files were copied before the office changed hands.
It did not name the person who made the copy.
Investigators examined the drive and found spreadsheets listing enforcement charges over several years.
The spreadsheets showed that some payments had been directed to a business account controlled by Victor.
The entries also contained handwritten comments about homeowners who were likely to pay without contesting a notice.
One comment described an elderly resident as unlikely to hire counsel.
Another called a young couple financially vulnerable.
I felt sick when Nora showed me the portions that had become part of the civil discovery record.
Those comments revealed a calculation more deliberate than simple arrogance.
Somebody had treated ordinary families as opportunities for revenue.
The question was whether the records could be authenticated and who had authorized the scheme.
