"I am," Cole replied evenly. "That's why I'm enforcing the law, not HOA fantasies."
Her jaw worked like she was chewing invisible gum. She opened her mouth to speak again, but before she could, someone approached Cole—one of the HOA board members, a soft-spoken older man named Henry who looked like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in years.
"Sheriff," Henry said nervously. "I think... I think Beverly may be acting outside the board's approval."
That sentence hit Beverly harder than anything I'd ever seen. "Henry!" she snapped. "You will not embarrass the HOA like this!"
He stepped back, startled. "But you never called a vote."
"I don't need a vote!" she screamed.
The mayor raised a brow. "Yes, Beverly, actually, you do."
The tension snapped like a rubber band. Several other HOA members suddenly found their voices.
"We didn't agree to any of this," a woman admitted.
"She told us the gas station committed a hate crime," another whispered.
"I thought there was a safety issue," someone added. "She said there was an explosion."
The crowd murmured. Tessa elbowed me lightly. "She said what?"
Even Sheriff Cole couldn't help but let out a disbelieving scoff. "Beverly, there was no explosion."
She dug her nails into her clipboard. "I was making a point—"
"A false point," the mayor clarified. "One that caused panic, disrupted traffic, wasted law enforcement time, and created a disturbance."
Beverly's eyes darted wildly. She was unraveling. "No," she hissed. "No, this is not how this ends. You don't get to embarrass me. I am the HOA president. I represent this community."