“You can climb back out.”
“I’m sixty-one years old.”
“You were sixty-one five minutes ago.”
The homeowner almost regretted the line.
Almost.
The HOA president looked murderous.
Then her eyes dropped toward the syringe.
The homeowner followed.
“Put that on the ground.”
“You don’t give me orders.”
“Then take it with you and explain it to the police.”
Her face went pale.
He had already called.
She realized.
“When?”
“Before you tried to grab my phone.”
“You’re lying.”
The homeowner’s security app showed another notification.
AUTOMATED EMERGENCY ALERT SENT.
He had configured the backyard system months earlier after repeated gate incidents.
Forced gate movement while the alarm was armed triggered the security service.
He showed her.
“No.”
she whispered.
“Yes.”
The HOA president looked toward the street.
No sirens yet.
She looked back at him.
“You don’t understand what you’re doing.”
The homeowner’s expression hardened.
“That sentence belongs to you.”
She stepped closer.
“Do you know what happens if the county finds your pool contaminated?”
He stared.
There.
Not hypothetical.
Not “if the HOA suspects.”
If the county finds.
His voice became very quiet.
“What did you bring into my yard?”
She realized she had said too much.
“Nothing.”
“What’s in the syringe?”
“Nothing dangerous.”
That answer was worse.
The homeowner’s stomach turned.
“If it’s not dangerous, put it down.”
She closed her hand around it.
He stepped back again.
Not because he feared she would attack him.
Because he no longer trusted what she might do with it.
“Do not come near me.”
She laughed nervously.
“Please.”
“You think I’m going to inject you?”
“I think you climbed over my fence carrying something you won’t identify.”
The sound of a siren appeared in the distance.
The HOA president turned.
Then did something he did not expect.
She threw the syringe.
Not at him.
Toward the landscaping bed.
It disappeared into thick shrubs.
The homeowner stared.
“Seriously?”
She moved toward the fence.
He said:
“Don’t touch anything.”
She ignored him.
Her hands reached the top board.
She started climbing.
The homeowner did not stop her.