September.
Sandra entering through damaged fence.
Children.
Guests.
Night access.
One clip showed Sandra pausing and looking toward my dark windows before climbing through.
Officer Chen watched.
“Was she told no before this?”
“Yes.”
I opened the certified letter.
Signed receipt.
Date.
Sandra Fielding.
Officer Martinez read every line.
Then:
“She signed this?”
“Yes.”
“Any permission granted afterward?”
“No.”
“Any messages suggesting permission?”
“No.”
I opened our text thread.
Nothing after revocation inviting use.
Then police report.
Officer Price’s incident number.
Date.
Officer Martinez called dispatch from the kitchen.
Confirmed.
Then the maintenance.
Pool draining scheduled.
Contractor.
Invoice.
Inspection.
Resurfacing.
“Why did you drain it?”
She asked.
“End-of-season maintenance.”
“Chemistry had been unstable.”
“Surface work was due.”
“I had already been quoted for the work.”
“Any relation to Sandra?”
“The timing was convenient because I was done with the season.”
“But the work was legitimate maintenance.”
“Not an attempt to damage anything she owns because she owns none of it.”
Martinez nodded.
“Understood.”
From the hallway, we heard Officer Chen speaking with Sandra.
“Do you own 14 Cloverfield?”
“No.”
“Which property do you own?”
“Sixteen.”
“Is the pool physically located at sixteen?”
“No.”
“Did you pay to build it?”
“No.”
“Do you have any written ownership agreement?”
“It was an informal arrangement.”
“What was informal?”
“We shared it.”
“You used it?”
“Yes.”
“For years.”
“Use and ownership are different.”
Sandra’s voice tightened.
“I maintained it too.”
“How?”
“I bought floats.”
“I bought a pool brush.”
“I kept an eye on things.”
Officer Chen asked:
“Did you pay the pool service?”
“No.”
“Insurance?”
“No.”
“Chemicals?”
“Not formally.”
“What does that mean?”
“I sometimes brought supplies.”
“Did Ms. Pemberton request those supplies?”
“No.”
“Did she transfer any ownership to you because of them?”
“Not in writing.”
There was a pause.
Sandra continued.
“But everybody understood it was shared.”
I closed my eyes.
Everybody.
Two households.
One of which had repeatedly said no.
Officer Martinez stepped into the hallway.
“Ms. Fielding.”
Sandra looked toward her.
“I need to clarify.”
“Ms. Pemberton has provided a permit, contract, property survey, insurance records, maintenance invoices, written revocation of your permission to use the pool, certified receipt signed by you, security footage of subsequent entries, and a previous police incident in which you were advised not to enter.”
Sandra’s face changed.
“She has files for everything.”
Martinez said:
“That is not the issue.”
“The issue is whether you own the pool.”
Sandra crossed her arms.
“We treated it as a shared space for two summers.”
“Did Rachel agree it was a shared space?”
“She agreed we could use it.”
“Permission to use is not ownership.”
Sandra looked toward me.
“You let us treat it like ours.”
“No.”
I said.
“I let you swim.”
“Then I told you to stop.”
Officer Martinez held up one hand.
“Let’s keep this calm.”
Sandra looked frustrated.
“My children became attached to it.”
Martinez responded:
“I understand.”
“That does not create property rights.”
“What she did was spiteful.”