“If your neighbor cut the line because she disliked visible wiring, that's still serious.”
“But it is different from somebody targeting you because of your employer.”
“Exactly.”
“We document first.”
By ten, my driveway contained:
One provider truck.
One police cruiser.
One corporate security sedan.
My own car.
It looked dramatic enough.
That was when Linda appeared.
Clipboard.
Of course.
She walked toward Officer Martinez.
“Good morning.”
“I’m Linda Carver, HOA president.”
Officer Martinez looked up.
“Okay.”
“Is there a neighborhood safety issue?”
“We're investigating property damage.”
“I reported concerns about that wiring previously.”
Officer Martinez asked:
“When did you first see the damage?”
Linda hesitated just enough for me to notice.
“Yesterday morning.”
“What time?”
“Very early.”
“Approximate.”
“Seven-thirty.”
Officer Martinez wrote it down.
“You contacted anyone?”
“The HOA management company.”
“At what time?”
“I don't remember.”
“Did you contact the service provider?”
“No.”
“Mr. Whitaker?”
“I spoke with him later.”
Officer Martinez looked toward me.
Then back at Linda.
“Were you in the rear alley around ten-thirty yesterday morning?”
Linda’s face changed.
Tiny.
Then recovered.
“I walk throughout the neighborhood.”
“So that's possible?”
“Yes.”
“Did you approach this utility line?”
“I may have inspected the area.”
“Touched it?”
“No.”
“Cut it?”
“Absolutely not.”
Officer Martinez nodded.
No accusation.
“Thank you.”
Linda looked toward the corporate security employees.
“Who are these people?”
Rachel answered:
“Mr. Whitaker’s employer.”
Linda looked at me.
“Your company is investigating an HOA matter?”
I said:
“My company is documenting loss of a managed business connection.”
“This is not an HOA matter.”
Her jaw tightened.
Then Mark’s supervisor arrived.
Another truck.
More neighbors appeared behind curtains.
At 10:25, a second police officer came to collect a copy of Tom’s original export directly from his system.
That was when the neighborhood app exploded.
Is Aaron’s internet really a police case?
Why is corporate security there?
Did someone damage utility equipment?
Linda posted nothing.
At 11:10, Rachel took a phone call.
Walked away.
Returned.
“Our contracts security office has notified the appropriate government program security contact as required.”
I stared.
“Does that mean people are coming here?”
“Probably not.”
She smiled.
“This is primarily a vandalism investigation unless evidence shows intent related to the contract.”
That was much more reasonable than the version neighbors invented fifteen minutes later.
By noon, someone posted:
FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS ARE ON ALDER RIDGE.
They were not.
Not yet.
At 12:18, however, a government sedan did arrive.
One.
Not six.
The man who stepped out introduced himself as Michael Reyes, a federal security liaison assigned to contractor incident coordination.
He was not there to arrest Linda.
He did not wear an earpiece.
He did not dramatically inspect the street.
He carried a laptop bag and asked for coffee.
He reviewed the facts with Rachel.
Confirmed no classified system had been accessed.