"What?"
The woman shook her head.
"That's unnecessary."
His wife looked at her.
"Why?"
"It's going to make a huge issue out of nothing."
The homeowner stepped closer.
"You're worried."
"I'm annoyed."
"No."
He watched her.
"You're worried."
The woman looked toward the sidewalk.
The Police Chief's voice became quieter.
"What exactly are you worried we'll find?"
That was the moment everything changed.
The neighbor's anger disappeared.
Her shoulders dropped.
She looked older suddenly.
The Officer saw it too.
The woman finally said:
"I didn't access anything illegally."
Nobody had accused her of doing so.
The Chief stared.
"Nobody said you did."
The neighbor realized the mistake.
She looked away.
The Officer wrote something down.
The homeowner crossed his arms.
His wife remained calm.
"How did you get the information?"
The woman said nothing.
The Chief waited.
Eventually:
"The association president showed me."
The homeowner frowned.
"Why?"
The woman swallowed.
"There had been complaints."
The Chief's face changed.
"Complaints about what?"
The woman looked toward the hedge.
"The property."
The homeowner laughed in disbelief.
"What property complaint?"
She said nothing.
The Chief stepped closer.
"What complaints?"
The woman finally answered.
"Parking."
The homeowner stared.
"We park inside the garage."
"Sometimes your husband's truck is outside."
The homeowner looked toward the empty driveway.
He did not own a truck.
The Chief's eyes narrowed.
"My husband doesn't have a truck."
The woman went pale.
The Officer stopped writing.
The homeowner stared at her.
"Whose house do you think this is?"
The woman looked toward the number above the garage.
Then at her phone.
Then back.
Something was wrong.
The Chief noticed.
"What address did the association president give you?"
The neighbor's lips parted.
No answer.
The homeowner stepped onto the driveway.
He looked across the street.
Two houses down sat another large cream-colored house.
Similar stonework.
Similar shutters.
A contractor's white pickup was parked outside.
He suddenly understood.
"You were watching the wrong house."
The woman's face collapsed.
The Chief looked toward him.
He continued.
"Somebody complained about another property."
He pointed down the street.
"You decided it was ours."
The neighbor looked toward the other house.
The Officer followed.
The Chief's expression became cold.
The homeowner asked:
"Was the complaint about a contractor?"
The woman said nothing.
That was enough.
The Chief turned toward her.
"You called police on my husband because you mixed up two addresses."