She had apparently obtained a duplicate key.
She approached the pool.
Opened the container.
And poured gasoline into the water.
Not a little.
Nearly the entire container.
Then she stood there for approximately twenty seconds.
Looking at the pool.
She seemed satisfied.
Then she turned around.
And walked away.
I watched the footage twice.
Then a third time.
I called my attorney.
"I have a problem."
"What happened?"
"Vivian Caldwell poured gasoline into my pool."
Silence.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm looking at the video."
"Don't confront her."
"Why?"
"Because now we have evidence."
I stared at the screen.
"Evidence of what?"
"Potential criminal activity."
I looked at Vivian's frozen image.
Then I noticed something.
She wasn't alone.
A second person was standing near the gate.
I zoomed in.
A man.
Dark jacket.
Baseball cap.
He was holding a folder.
I had never seen him before.
My attorney went silent again.
"Who is that?"
"I don't know."
"Find out."
The police came that afternoon.
Two officers watched the footage.
One of them leaned forward.
"She entered through the side gate?"
"Yes."
"Did you give her permission?"
"No."
"Did she have any reason to be on your property?"
"Not that I know of."
The officer watched the video again.
Then looked at me.
"This is deliberate."
"Can she be arrested?"
"Not necessarily today."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"We need to establish what she intended."
My attorney nodded.
"Then let's establish it."
The next morning, Vivian sent me an official HOA notice.
It claimed my pool had become a "hazardous environmental condition."
I almost laughed.
She had poured gasoline into it.
Then accused me of creating the contamination.
The notice demanded that I drain and professionally remediate the pool at my expense.
Estimated cost:
$37,000.
I called my attorney.
He laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because he understood the game.
"She's trying to make you pay for the damage she caused."
"Can she do that?"
"Not if we can prove she caused it."
"I have the footage."
"Good."
"Should I send it to the HOA?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I think she wants you to."
That evening, I received another letter.
This one wasn't from the HOA.
It was from Caldwell Strategic Holdings.
The offer had increased.
$2.65 million.
There was a handwritten note attached.
Last offer.