Daniel raised his hand.
"I was."
The technician looked at him carefully.
"Did you swallow any?"
"No."
"Any cuts or open wounds?"
Daniel thought.
"No."
"Any irritation?"
"None."
The technician nodded.
"That's fortunate."
Daniel looked at the black water.
"What is it?"
The man didn't answer immediately.
"We don't know yet."
Marjorie interrupted.
"It isn't dangerous."
The hazmat technician looked at her.
"How do you know?"
She didn't respond.
He turned back to Daniel.
"Who gave this woman permission to enter your property?"
"She says the HOA."
The technician looked at Marjorie.
"Do you have documentation?"
"I don't need documentation for an emergency inspection."
"Actually, you do."
Marjorie crossed her arms.
"You don't understand how our association works."
The technician stared at her.
"I understand hazardous-material protocols."
That ended the argument.
A second technician entered the pool area.
He walked toward the drain.
Then stopped.
"There's something down there."
Daniel nodded.
"I know."
The technician examined the object through the water.
"Don't touch it."
"We weren't going to."
He called his supervisor.
Within minutes, the entire atmosphere changed.
More equipment arrived.
The county environmental director came.
Then a state investigator.
Then two men who did not wear uniforms.
Daniel recognized the look immediately.
Federal.
One of them approached him.
"Mr. Brooks?"
"Yes."
"I'm Special Agent Noah Grant."
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
"FBI?"
"Yes."
"What does the FBI want with my pool?"
Grant glanced toward the water.
"We're not interested in your pool."
"Then what are you interested in?"
Grant lowered his voice.
"What's underneath it."
Daniel stared.
"You knew something was here?"
"We suspected."
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Because until this morning, we couldn't prove it."
Daniel felt anger rising.
"So someone poured an unknown chemical into my pool to trigger something?"
Grant didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Daniel pointed toward Marjorie.
"She did it."
Grant looked at her.
"We know."
Marjorie suddenly stepped backward.
"Wait."
Grant approached.
"Mrs. Caldwell, where did you get the container?"
"I told you."
"From a contractor."
"Name?"
"I don't remember."
"Company?"
Silence.
Grant's expression hardened.
"Then let's try another question."
Marjorie swallowed.
"Who told you to perform the test?"
"I was following instructions."
"Whose?"
She looked around.
Neighbors were watching.
Daniel was watching.
Her own board members were watching.
Finally she whispered:
"Leonard Pike."
Grant's eyes narrowed.
"Who's Leonard Pike?"
"The developer."
Daniel felt a chill.
Briarwood Estates had been built by a company called Pike Development.
But Leonard Pike had supposedly retired twelve years earlier.
Grant looked at Daniel.
"Have you ever heard of him?"
Daniel nodded.
"Only from the neighborhood records."
Grant looked toward the ground.
"Then you should know something."
"What?"
"This neighborhood wasn't supposed to have houses here."
Daniel frowned.
"What?"
Grant continued.
"Before Briarwood Estates was built, this land was used for industrial storage."
Rachel stepped forward.
"Storage of what?"
Grant looked at the black pool.
"We're still finding that out."
A hazmat worker suddenly shouted.
"Agent Grant!"
Everyone turned.
The worker had removed the metal box from the pool.
Its lid had opened.
Inside was a plastic identification card.
The worker handed it to Grant.
Grant read it.
His face became expressionless.
Daniel asked:
"What?"
Grant turned the card over.
There was a faded government seal.
And beneath it, one sentence:
SITE 4 — RESTRICTED REMEDIATION ZONE.
Daniel stared.
"That's impossible."
Grant looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because this neighborhood was approved for residential development."
Grant nodded.
"That's the problem."
By afternoon, Briarwood Estates was under partial evacuation.
Nobody was allowed to use the pools.
Nobody was allowed to dig.
And nobody was permitted to enter the drainage corridor behind the homes.
News crews arrived before sunset.
The story spread quickly.
HOA president accused of contaminating homeowner's swimming pool.
Hazmat team investigates mysterious black substance.
Possible environmental contamination discovered beneath luxury neighborhood.
Marjorie Caldwell stopped speaking to reporters.
Daniel sat on his porch with Rachel while investigators worked behind yellow tape.
Their daughter Ava sat beside them.