She warned me against jumping to conclusions from curtains and a van.

“What concerns me is the bell,” I admitted.

“And the way Vivian seems desperate to block my view.”

Erin was quiet for a moment.

“If you suspect neglect or confinement, call adult protective services and describe only what you actually observed.”

I wrote that instruction on a sticky note and placed it beside my keyboard.

I did not make the call that evening.

I wish I had.

At nine fifteen, while I was helping Lucy finish a science worksheet, another bag landed in the pool.

This one contained dirty towels, a cracked picture frame, and a folded envelope soaked through with pool water.

I ran outside and found Vivian standing on her back porch.

She held a phone up like she had been waiting for me.

“There he is,” she said into it.

“He’s screaming again.”

I had not spoken yet.

“You need to stop coming onto my property,” I called.

Vivian smiled toward the glowing screen.

“He’s threatening me now.”

I backed away from the fence.

I was not going to provide the scene she wanted.

When I returned inside, Lucy was standing by the sliding door.

“Dad, the white paper is there again.”

I looked across the yard.

The upstairs window was illuminated, and a pale rectangle rested against the glass.

Three dark letters were visible before the curtain snapped shut.

I could not make out the entire word.

I could make out HELP.

I locked the door and called the county’s adult protective services reporting line.

I gave the address, the van schedule, the bell, and the sign at the window.

I described Vivian’s attempts to have my backyard screened from view.

The intake worker asked whether I believed anyone was in immediate danger.

I said that I did not know, but somebody seemed to be asking for help.

She thanked me for reporting and said the information would be evaluated.

I wanted certainty.

All I received was a case reference number.

I wrote it down anyway.

The next morning, a white envelope appeared beneath my front door.

Inside was a notice headed COMMUNITY HEALTH CONCERNS.

It was not on county letterhead.

The letter said that my pool was a public nuisance and that continued noncompliance could lead to significant fines.

It offered a simple solution.

I could build a solid privacy fence along the Sloane property line and sign an agreement keeping cameras away from Vivian’s house.