I nodded slowly.
He wasn't the person who entered my backyard.
But his company's willingness to rely on vague promises helped create the pressure the president used against me.
I didn't want a performance of guilt.
I wanted better decisions.
So I answered.
"Make sure the new route is based on the actual property records."
He agreed.
Then the call ended.
For the first time, it seemed possible that the development could continue without my home becoming the target of an invented emergency.
But the investigation into the pool incident wasn't finished.
The evidence showed that the president deliberately introduced material into the water and made a frightening claim about its contents.
The laboratory results didn't support the claim that she'd introduced a deadly biological organism.
That weakened the initial attempted-homicide theory.
Yet investigators were examining whether she'd planned to create fear as a means of obtaining property rights, and whether the associated documents reflected fraud, coercion, or other unlawful conduct.
The administrative assistant's messages became especially important.
She had saved a series of emails from the president concerning the draft contamination report.
One contained a phrase investigators highlighted.
Once the owner realizes the pool could be closed, he'll have every reason to sign the emergency agreement.
Another referred to the developer's approaching deadline.
A third discussed preparing a notice to residents before an inspection had taken place.
None of those messages, standing alone, proved every allegation.
But together with the video, the predated report, and the draft access agreement, they established a troubling sequence.
The president had a financial reason to obtain access.
She developed a plan involving a supposed pool safety emergency.
She prepared paperwork before the incident.
Then she entered the property and deliberately created the circumstances she claimed required emergency action.
I thought about the Saturday afternoon.
The sound of the gate.
The pink robe.
The blue bag.
And the words she shouted.
Enjoy your swim now.
For weeks, I assumed she wanted to destroy my pool.
Now I believed the more important target was my ability to say no.
My sister learned about the financial motive from me over dinner.
She listened while I explained the proposed access agreement and contingent consulting fee.
For several minutes, she stared at the documents.
Then she looked up.
"Two hundred and forty thousand dollars?"
I nodded.
Her expression changed.
"She frightened us about something that could've killed the children because she wanted money?"
I took a slow breath.
"That's one of the things investigators are examining."
She looked toward the photograph of her children on my refrigerator.
For a moment, her eyes filled.
Then she whispered.
"I don't care whether the bag was salt."
I nodded.