"The records were obtained through a certified public records request via the state registry, Mrs. Calloway," Marcus said, his voice echoing off the walls.
The room ignited. It wasn't chaotic shouting; it was a wave of controlled, furious realization as neighbors flipped through the transactions. Mutters turned into open statements.
A man near the front stood up, slamming his binder down. "I paid $1,200 for a structural deck violation that doesn't even exist in our charter code!"
A woman behind him shouted, "She threatened to call Child Protective Services over an unapproved fence line fine when I asked for an itemized receipt!"
The floodgates broke wide open. More voices, more stories echoed through the hall. The undecided middle rows were no longer undecided—they were completely furious. Deandra was backed against the front wall, her face crimson, her eyes wild, her authority completely shattered.
Suddenly, her cell phone began buzzing loudly on the table. She glanced down at the screen, her fingers twitching, and ignored it. It rang again instantly. Then a third time.
"Aren't you going to answer that, Deandra?" I asked quietly from my seat in the back row.
Every head turned to look at me. She stared back with a look of pure, unadulterated hatred.
The phone kept ringing. Finally, she snatched it up, stepped into the side hallway, and through the thin door pane, we could hear her voice rising into a panic. "What do you mean the *Star* is calling the office? Who authorized... No! Do not comment on the records! Don't say a single word!"
She walked back into the room, her face now a paper gray instead of red.
Sloan Beckett stood up from the rear row, her press badge fully visible against her blazer. "Mrs. Calloway, can you comment on the record right now regarding the allegations of corporate embezzlement and targeted member harassment? Our front-page investigative piece runs in the Sunday morning edition."
Deandra's mouth opened, closed, and opened again. No sound came out. And we still hadn't served the primary papers.
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