He swung.
The baton hit my shoulder.
My left leg folded.
I dropped to one knee.
Before I recovered, another guard fired his Taser.
The probes struck high along my side.
Every muscle locked.
I hit the grass.
Someone grabbed my wrist.
Another man moved toward my other arm.
Then a voice thundered from Bayou Drive.
“FEDERAL AGENTS!”
Everything changed.
Real federal agents entered the property.
Clear credentials.
Marked tactical vests.
Clear commands.
“Drop the baton.”
“Step away from him.”
“Hands where we can see them.”
“Do not reach.”
Curtis froze.
The other guards complied.
There was no gunfight.
No heroic shootout.
No sixty-three-year-old retired agent suddenly becoming twenty-five again.
I stayed on the ground.
Federal agents handled the scene.
Paramedics removed the Taser probes.
Examined my shoulder.
Nothing broken.
Deep contusion.
Muscle strain.
Painful enough.
Denise arrived on the porch while agents photographed the yard.
“You look awful.”
“I feel younger already.”
“You are a terrible liar.”
“Yes.”
She sat beside me.
For several minutes, neither of us said anything.
Then Kayla arrived with Derek.
She ran across the yard.
Stopped just before hitting my injured shoulder.
Then hugged me carefully.
“You got Tased.”
“Yes.”
“That was stupid.”
“Yes.”
“You’re agreeing too much.”
“I’m injured.”
She looked toward federal vehicles parked down the street.
“Is it over?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“But they arrested them.”
“That isn’t the end.”
“What is?”
“Evidence.”
“Charges.”
“Trials.”
“Answers.”
Federal warrants were executed elsewhere that morning.
Grant Mercer was taken into custody on charges arising from the investigation already underway.
Victoria was arrested separately.
Other Palmetto employees were charged or detained according to their own conduct.
Computers were seized.
Financial records.
Phones.
Contract files.
Licensing documents.
The medical investigation involving Dr. Thomas Mercer remained separate.
That mattered.
One dramatic incident did not magically prove every suspicion.
The following year was slow.
Complicated.
Often frustrating.
Not every person connected to Palmetto became a defendant.
Some guards turned out to be employees following instructions without knowledge of the financial scheme.
Some HOA board members had approved contracts in good faith.
Others had financial ties prosecutors could document.
Investigators separated roles carefully.
Followed money.
Compared emails.
Reviewed videos.
Interviewed victims.
The six deaths Raymond had documented received renewed forensic attention.
Some remained medically ambiguous.
Others did not.
One case involved a seventy-six-year-old man who suffered cardiac arrest after being restrained face-down during an HOA parking dispute.