He remembered the sound of the gate.
Then a metallic clatter.
“Maybe.”
“What kind?”
“Like something hitting metal.”
“Where?”
“Near the shed.”
Maya wrote it down.
Daniel continued.
“I thought she had seen Cooper from her yard.”
“Could she?”
“Not clearly.”
Maya looked toward the fence.
The two yards were separated by a wooden fence nearly six feet tall.
“Then how did she know?”
Daniel didn't answer.
Maya did.
“That's what we need to determine.”
Across the street, Tom Parker stepped outside.
“Daniel?”
Daniel turned.
Tom approached slowly.
“I saw something.”
Maya looked at him.
“What?”
Tom rubbed the back of his neck.
“Yesterday evening.”
Daniel frowned.
“What did you see?”
“Someone near your shed.”
“Who?”
“I couldn't tell.”
“Man or woman?”
“Woman.”
Daniel's heart skipped.
“Did you see her face?”
“No.”
“Was it Linda?”
“I don't know.”
Maya asked:
“What time?”
“About eleven.”
“Why didn't you report it?”
Tom shrugged.
“I thought it was Linda.”
Daniel stared at him.
“Why?”
“She walks over there sometimes.”
“Without asking?”
Tom nodded.
Maya wrote everything down.
Then Mrs. Bennett appeared.
“I saw her too.”
Daniel turned.
“Who?”
“Linda.”
Maya asked:
“When?”
“Last night.”
Daniel's stomach tightened.
“What was she doing?”
“She was carrying something.”
“What?”
“I don't know.”
“Bucket?”
“Maybe.”
“Where?”
Mrs. Bennett pointed toward Daniel's yard.
“Near the gate.”
Silence.
Daniel looked toward Linda's house.
The upstairs curtain moved.
Then stopped.
Maya saw it.
“Mr. Hayes,” she said quietly.
“Yes?”
“Until we know what happened, don't confront Linda.”
Daniel nodded.
“I won't.”
But that night, he couldn't sleep.
At two in the morning, his phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
Stop digging into this.
Daniel stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
Your dog got sick once. Don't make someone else get hurt.
Daniel sat upright.
He showed Megan.
She read the messages twice.
“Who is this?”
“I don't know.”
“Call the police.”
Daniel did.
Within twenty minutes, an officer arrived.
The messages were photographed.
The number was documented.
But there was no immediate way to identify the sender.
At 3:17 a.m., the veterinarian called.
“Mr. Hayes?”
Daniel answered immediately.
“Yes.”
“We have preliminary toxicology results.”
Daniel stood.
“What did you find?”
The veterinarian paused.
“The substance wasn't something you'd normally find in dog food.”
Daniel's throat tightened.
“Was it deliberate?”
“We can't say that yet.”
“What is it?”
“A chemical compound associated with certain pest-control products.”
Daniel looked at Megan.
“And the meat?”
“We found traces on it.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Someone had poisoned the food.
But the more frightening question was becoming clearer.
Who had put it there?
And why had Linda been so eager to accuse him?
The next morning, Maya returned to Daniel's property.
She arrived with Detective Eric Lawson.
Daniel had never met him before.
Eric was quiet and methodical.
He examined the shed, the fence and the gate.
“Where was the bucket?”
Daniel pointed.
“Here.”
Eric crouched.
“Any cameras?”
“One.”
“Where?”
Daniel pointed toward the garage.
The camera faced the driveway.
Eric shook his head.
“Doesn't cover the shed.”
“No.”
“Neighbors have cameras?”
“Tom might.”
Maya nodded.
“We'll ask.”
Eric looked at Daniel.
“Did you change anything after Cooper became sick?”
“No.”
“Move the bucket?”
“No.”
“Touch the meat?”
“No.”
“Did Linda?”
“She was holding a container.”
“Did she touch the bucket?”
“I don't know.”
Maya answered.
“She didn't touch it while I was there.”
Eric stood.
“That's useful.”
Daniel frowned.
“Why?”
“Because whoever placed the food may have been careful not to leave fingerprints.”
Daniel stared at him.
“So you think someone planted it?”
“We're investigating that possibility.”
“What about Linda?”
“We're not accusing anyone yet.”
Daniel understood.
They needed evidence.
Not suspicion.
Not anger.
Evidence.
Later that morning, Tom gave detectives his security footage.
The camera covered his driveway and part of the street.
At 10:42 p.m., a dark SUV passed.
At 10:48, a person walked along the sidewalk.
At 10:51, someone disappeared behind the line of trees between the houses.
At 11:07, the person returned.
Tom zoomed in.
The figure was wearing a gray hoodie.
Eric paused the video.
“Can you enhance this?”
Tom nodded.
But the face remained unclear.
Then something caught Daniel's attention.
The person's left hand.
There was a bright red strip around the wrist.
Daniel leaned forward.
“That's tape.”
Eric looked at him.
“Maybe.”
Maya shook her head.
“Could be reflective material.”
Daniel wasn't convinced.
Neither was Eric.
The footage continued.
At 11:12, the figure entered a dark SUV.
The vehicle drove away.
Detectives ran the license plate.
It was registered to a local animal transport company.
That company had no connection to Linda.
At least, not officially.
Daniel returned home.
Megan was sitting on the porch.
“How is Cooper?”
“Still stable.”
She smiled faintly.
“That's good.”
Daniel sat beside her.
“I keep thinking about the bucket.”
“What about it?”
“Why would someone put poison in my bucket?”
“Maybe they wanted Cooper to eat it.”
“Then why plant the container beside the fence?”
Megan thought for a moment.
“To make it look like someone else did it?”
“Exactly.”
She looked toward Linda's house.
“Do you think she did it?”
“I don't know.”
“You suspect her.”
“I suspect everyone who had access.”