“I don't know.”

“Phone number?”

“I don't have it.”

“Messages?”

Elaine hesitated.

The lieutenant noticed.

“You have messages.”

“No.”

“You hesitated.”

“I—”

“Show me your phone.”

Elaine stepped backward.

“I don't have to.”

The lieutenant didn't raise her voice.

“No. You don't have to.”

Then she looked at the other officer.

“But she also doesn't have to explain why the evidence-room key is on her keyring.”

Elaine stared at the ground.

For the first time that morning, she looked small.

The woman who had entered the yard with a smile now stood surrounded by police officers, neighbors, and evidence of her own actions.

Daniel continued recording.

CHAPTER FIVE

The Neighbors

The story spread through the neighborhood within minutes.

People who had been inside their homes began appearing at the sidewalk.

Someone had called a friend.

Someone else had posted a photograph.

By noon, there were already rumors.

Some said Daniel had been arrested.

Some said the HOA president had been arrested.

Some said there had been a burglary.

Others said the police had discovered stolen evidence.

Nobody knew the truth yet.

Daniel did.

He had the recording.

He had the pool.

He had the key.

And he had the lieutenant standing ten feet away.

One neighbor, Mrs. Harper, approached cautiously.

She had been one of Elaine's strongest supporters.

For years she had defended the HOA president.

But now she looked embarrassed.

“Daniel?”

He turned.

“Yes?”

“I saw her come through the gate.”

Daniel nodded.

“Did you?”

Mrs. Harper looked at the police.

“Yes.”

“What time?”

“About twenty minutes ago.”

“Did she say anything?”

“She said she had permission.”

Daniel looked at Elaine.

Elaine stared at the ground.

Another neighbor stepped forward.

“I have video too.”

The lieutenant turned.

“Of what?”

“The street camera.”

The neighbor pulled out his phone.

“It recorded her car arriving.”

The lieutenant asked him to preserve the video.

He agreed.

Then another person spoke.

“I saw her carrying that bucket.”

Another.

“She told me last week she was going to teach Daniel a lesson.”

Daniel closed his eyes for a second.

A year of small incidents suddenly began connecting.

The letters.

The complaints.

The inspections.

The threats.

The anonymous messages.

The attempts to force him to sell.

He had always thought Elaine was simply obsessed with control.

Now he wasn't sure.

Maybe someone had been encouraging her.

Maybe someone had been using her.

Maybe she had been using someone else.

The missing key suggested a much deeper problem.

The lieutenant seemed to realize the same thing.

She looked at Elaine.

“Who is Victor?”

Elaine whispered:

“I don't know.”

“You're going to have to do better than that.”

“He contacted me.”

“Why?”

“He said there were people watching this house.”

“Who?”

“I don't know.”