The room quieted.
She held a folder.
“I want an answer to that too.”
Trish stared at her.
“Linda, sit down.”
“I served as treasurer for four years.”
“You are out of order.”
“There were transfers from the reserve account.”
Bradley leaned toward his microphone.
“This isn’t the appropriate forum for—”
Linda raised her voice.
“Two hundred and seventy thousand dollars.”
The clubhouse exploded.
Trish stood.
“Turn off the livestream.”
The video ended.
Rachel and I looked at each other.
“Corn maze?” I said.
She shook her head.
“No.”
The doorbell rang.
Ben Holloway stood outside.
He wasn’t smiling.
“I need to show you something.”
We went to the porch.
He handed me a photocopy of a sheriff’s incident report.
“Deputies responded to Cedar Ridge about thirty minutes ago.”
“Fight?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Linda Price says someone broke into her house.”
My stomach tightened.
“When?”
“Sometime during the HOA meeting.”
“What was taken?”
“Laptop.”
“Anything else?”
“Printer.”
That was strange.
“Jewelry?”
“No.”
“Cash?”
“No.”
“Just electronics?”
“Not exactly.”
He looked at Rachel.
“She says a file box is missing.”
I already knew.
“The emails.”
Ben nodded.
“She told you?”
“She came here this morning.”
“I need a statement.”
I gave him one.
Every word.
Exactly as it happened.
Ben wrote carefully.
When he finished, Rachel asked, “Any forced entry?”
“Back window.”
“Cameras?”
“Doorbell camera disconnected at 7:14.”
“Before the meeting?”
“Yeah.”
Rachel crossed her arms.
“Professional?”
Ben shook his head.
“Too early.”
He looked toward Cedar Ridge.
“But somebody knew what they wanted.”
Friday
