“They’re in public view!”
Mark, meanwhile, had his own habits. He was obsessed with the “Front Porch” camera. He’d watch the teenager across the street, Jeremy, who had a habit of loitering near their hedge. “Something’s off about that kid,” Mark would mutter. He compiled clips: Jeremy dropping a soda can, Jeremy looking at his phone while standing near their driveway, Jeremy once – just once – leaning over to peer at the doorbell camera itself. Mark showed Laura a montage one night. “See? He’s casing the place.”
“That’s not the point, Mark,” Laura said, exhausted. “We’re filming them. Without asking.”
She thought of the raccoon. She thought of her mother’s sad song. She thought of Jeremy, who she later learned had been diagnosed with autism and found the blinking red light of the doorbell camera soothing to look at. She thought of Mrs. Gable, now avoiding her gaze. Village girl bathing hidden cam
“Their hot tub is not public view! It’s behind a six-foot fence!”
Laura thought Jeremy looked like a bored, lonely teenager. But she said nothing.
She packed all the pieces into the original sleek white box, printed out the return label, and drove it to the UPS store. On the way back, she saw Mark sitting on the front porch. He wasn’t on his phone. He was just sitting, watching the actual street with his actual eyes. A kid on a bike rode by – Jeremy. He waved. Mark waved back, a small, awkward gesture. “They’re in public view
The police sergeant, a tired woman named Delgado, watched the clip on Laura’s phone. “We’ll take a copy,” she said. “But to be honest, this is grainy. Could be anyone. Could be a kid playing a prank.” She looked at Laura. “Good thing you had the cameras. I’d suggest a floodlight back there, too.”
The real trouble began with a notification. A soft ping on her phone, 2:17 AM. “Motion detected – Back Yard.” Laura, groggy, opened the feed. The infrared night vision painted the world in shades of ghostly green. There was nothing. Just the oak tree, the fence, the faint shimmer of dew on the grass. Then she saw it: a shape, low to the ground, moving along the fence line. Not a raccoon. Too big. A person. Someone in a dark hoodie, crouching, moving with a horrible, deliberate slowness.
Mark nodded. “I saw Mrs. Gable today. I apologized.” “Something’s off about that kid,” Mark would mutter
“My husband went out to get the paper this morning,” Mrs. Gable said, her voice trembling, “and he noticed a little red light on that new camera of yours. He got a ladder. He can see the lens. And from that angle, Laura, it looks directly over the fence into our hot tub.”
“We’ve become the neighborhood watch from hell,” Laura whispered.
Mrs. Gable nodded, but her eyes were cold. “It’s not just you, dear. It’s everyone. The Hendersons have one pointing at our driveway. The young couple in the blue house have one that catches our front window. It feels like… like living in a fishbowl. But we didn’t agree to it.”