The first clear image arrived eleven days later.
The engineer was attending a two-day water-infrastructure conference when his phone displayed a motion notification shortly after ten at night.
He had installed independent cameras covering the side gate, pool deck, and patio.
The system recorded locally and maintained secured remote backups.
He had also configured alerts for movement after the pool area should have been empty.
When the notification appeared, he opened the camera feed.
Three people stood beside his pool.
Women.
One blonde.
One with reddish hair.
One brunette.
At first, he wondered whether he was looking at old footage.
Then he checked the timestamp.
It was live.
The women were carrying towels and drinks.
The blonde wore a white cover-up over a pink swimsuit.
The red-haired woman had a large insulated bag.
And the brunette was holding what appeared to be a metal key.
They walked straight toward the water.
The engineer stared.
For several seconds, he genuinely could not believe it.
He enlarged the image.
The blonde woman turned toward the camera.
Her face was clear.
The HOA president.
She laughed at something one of her friends said.
Then placed her belongings on his lounge chair.
The engineer felt anger rise.
He called the local police non-emergency number to report people apparently trespassing in his locked backyard while he was away.
He explained that he could observe them on live security footage and that they had no permission to enter.
An officer eventually attended the property.
By then, the women had left.
The officer documented the complaint.
There was no forced damage visible at the newly replaced gate.
And without immediate contact with the women, further investigation would be required to establish exactly how they entered.
The engineer preserved the original camera recording.
The following morning, he reviewed it carefully.
The footage showed the brunette approaching the gate with a key.