The first thing Daniel Reed noticed was the orange inflatable swan floating beside his diving board.
He had never bought an inflatable swan.
The second thing he noticed was the woman leaning against the steps of his private swimming pool with a plastic drink in her hand.
Brenda Collins raised her sunglasses as though she had been expecting him to arrive.
Daniel set his grocery bags on the patio table and stared across the blue water.
Three strangers stood in the shallow end behind her.
Two children were throwing a beach ball near the ladder.
A portable speaker blasted music from a chair that belonged to Daniel’s late father.
The gate at the rear of the yard stood open.
Daniel had locked it before leaving for work that morning.
“Get out of my pool!” he shouted.
Brenda lifted her glass in a careless salute.
“Relax, Daniel, nobody cares about your rules.”
“You climbed my locked gate again.”
He pointed toward the damaged latch.
“How many times do I have to tell you this is private property?”
Brenda laughed and turned to the strangers.
“He’s the neighbor I mentioned.”
Daniel saw the embarrassment spread across a younger man’s face.
The man immediately reached for the child closest to him.
“We were told this was a rental,” the man said.
Daniel looked directly at Brenda.
“You told them that?”
“Call the police,” Brenda replied.
She took another sip of her drink.
“I’ll tell them you invited me.”
For three months, Daniel had come home to wet towels, empty bottles, and muddy footprints beside the pool.
He had replaced two locks and photographed a broken fence panel.
Brenda had denied everything even when one of her earrings turned up in the pool skimmer.
His homeowners insurance agent had recommended cameras.
Daniel installed three, and for two weeks, the recordings had changed his understanding of his neighbor completely.
He had seen Brenda greet families at the gate.
He had seen strangers carry coolers and party decorations into his yard.
He had seen Brenda accept folded bills near the hydrangeas.
He had also seen something that made his hands turn cold every time he watched it.
“You’ve got five minutes,” Daniel said.
“Or what?” Brenda challenged.
“You’ll cry to the homeowners association?”
Daniel pointed at the camera over his patio.
“I checked the recordings.”
Brenda shrugged.
“So you caught me swimming.”
“Not just swimming,” Daniel said.
“I watched you let people through my gate and collect cash from them.”
