Another guest lowered his drink.
“You told us you owned this place.”
Melissa looked horrified.
“I can explain.”
“No,” I said firmly. “You really can’t.”
By then, several neighbors had gathered at the ends of their driveways.
Some stood with folded arms.
Others whispered to each other.
Everyone on the street knew Melissa had been house-sitting for me.
Now they were watching the truth unfold in real time.
Jake stepped forward.
“It’s not what it looks like.”
I almost laughed.
“It is exactly what it looks like.”
The officer turned to me.
“Would you like to explain what happened?”
I nodded.
“I left for a two-week vacation. Melissa agreed to feed my cat and water my plants. I paid her to do it.”
Several people frowned.
I continued.
“Instead, she moved into my house with her boyfriend. They’ve been living here for days.”
The backyard fell silent.
Melissa stared at the ground.
I pulled out my phone.
“And I have security footage.”
Her head snapped up.
“You have cameras?”
“Yes.”
The panic on her face told me everything.
I opened the video I had saved.
Jake’s voice came through first.
“Did Anna text?”
Then Melissa’s.
“Yep.”
“And?”
“She asked about the cat.”
