He simply shook his head.
That somehow looked more devastating.
Sergeant Keller approached Bliss.
“Ms. Phillips, I need you to come with us to provide a formal statement.”
Her composure returned just enough for arrogance.
“Am I under arrest?”
“Not at this moment.”
“I have rights.”
“Yes.”
“That is why I am explaining the process.”
“I want Rick.”
Keller glanced toward the sidewalk.
“Mr. Dawson has already left.”
Bliss turned.
Rick was gone.
Later we learned he walked home and immediately called his own lawyer.
Not the HOA attorney.
His own.
Susan Higgins did the same thirty minutes later.
That was the moment the board stopped being a government in their minds and became three individuals asking what they had personally authorized.
Power restoration took most of the night.
Cascade established temporary configuration for part of the neighborhood by 10:30.
The remaining homes regained service after 1:00 a.m.
A permanent repair took longer.
Crews worked beneath portable lights.
Excavation equipment arrived.
Damaged components were removed.
Cable sections tested.
Transformer and switching equipment inspected.
I stayed until Barnaby could return home.
Leah brought him over around midnight.
He immediately tried to greet Mike.
Mike, covered in dirt and wearing arc-rated work gear, crouched and scratched his ears.
“Best person on this street.”
“By far.”
I stood beside my driveway at 1:38 a.m. as lights returned house by house.
Porch.
Kitchen.
Streetlamp.
Garage.
Whispering Pines slowly illuminated against the foothills.
Arthur came outside.
His flag was visible beneath a landscape light.
“Pretty.”
He said.
“The electricity?”
“No.”
“The irony.”
I laughed for the first time all day.
The criminal investigation did not resolve overnight.
That is one part neighborhood legends later simplified.
Nobody slapped five felony charges on Bliss before sunrise.
The sheriff’s office took statements.
Cascade submitted video and operational records.
Investigators documented the damaged utility assets.
The district attorney reviewed potential charges under Colorado criminal statutes dealing with criminal mischief, trespass, reckless conduct, theft or misuse of funds where applicable, and interference with utility property.
Tommy’s lack of electrical licensing and the nature of the work triggered separate regulatory scrutiny.
Tommy cooperated almost immediately.
He provided texts.
Invoices.
The work order Bliss signed.
Voice messages.
One message became especially important.
Bliss’s voice:
The homeowner has been formally ordered to remove the unauthorized connections. The HOA controls the common utility corridor. You have full authority to disconnect what he refuses to remove.
False.
Every sentence.
Tommy admitted he should have verified.
He admitted accepting electrical-adjacent work beyond his qualifications.
He admitted assuming “HOA president” meant legal authority.
But he also had evidence that Bliss materially misrepresented the situation.
Prosecutors treated those distinctions seriously.
Meanwhile, Cascade pursued civil recovery.
The initial direct repair cost exceeded $130,000 by the time labor, equipment replacement, emergency dispatch, testing, excavation, and temporary restoration were included.
Indirect losses were more complicated.
We did not simply invent a massive number for every refrigerator that lost power.
Utility tariffs, insurance, outage rules, and causation all mattered.
David refused to exaggerate.
“Actual damages are enough.”
He told me.
“We do not need fiction.”
The bigger problem was insurance.
Whispering Pines HOA carried general liability and directors-and-officers policies.
Its insurer immediately issued a reservation-of-rights letter.
Intentional property destruction performed outside board authority might not be covered.
Negligent governance could be treated differently.
Every distinction mattered.
Then discovery began.
And the power-line case stopped being only about power lines.
Susan Higgins contacted David through her attorney.
She wanted to cooperate.
We met in a conference room.