Susan wasn’t defending Karen. She was simply trying to understand how someone could behave that way.
Daniel understood something else.
If he wanted the situation resolved, he needed facts rather than another argument.
So he started keeping records.
He photographed the meter.
He photographed the outlet.
He noted the dates and times.
And he began checking the driveway camera.
Their camera system wasn’t sophisticated. It had been installed mostly because packages occasionally disappeared from porches.
Daniel reviewed several days of footage.
Most of it was ordinary.
Cars.
Dog walkers.
Delivery drivers.
Neighbors coming and going.
Then, late one afternoon, he saw Karen.
She pulled her SUV into the edge of the driveway while Daniel and Susan were away.
She looked around.
She walked toward the garage.
And she disappeared from the camera’s view.
A few minutes later, she returned carrying the charging cable.
Daniel leaned closer to the screen.
The footage showed her doing the same thing again.
And again.
Not once.
Not twice.
Several times.
He kept watching.
There were days when she stayed connected for more than an hour.
On one occasion, she remained there nearly three hours.
Daniel sat back in his chair.
The problem wasn’t a few dollars.
The problem was that Karen had apparently decided that because something was available, she was entitled to use it.
Susan looked at the screen.
“How long has this been happening?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Daniel continued scrolling.
Then he found something that made him stop.
There was footage from the previous week.
Karen had connected the cable late at night.
Daniel had been asleep.
Susan hadn’t known.
Neither had the rest of the household.
For the first time, Daniel felt something more personal than anger.
He felt violated.
Someone had been entering the edge of their property and taking something from their home while they were asleep.
It wasn’t the electricity.
It was the assumption that they wouldn’t notice.
Chapter 3: Karen Changes the Story
Karen returned two days later.
This time, she didn’t bring the charging cable.
She came on foot.
Daniel was trimming a hedge when he saw her approaching.
She stopped at the edge of his driveway.
“You’ve been telling people I stole from you.”
Daniel lowered the hedge trimmer.
“I told Susan what happened.”
“You made it sound like I committed some crime.”
“I said you used our electricity without permission.”
Karen crossed her arms.
“You’re making this much bigger than it is.”
Daniel didn’t respond immediately.
That irritated her more than an argument would have.
“I offered to pay you,” she continued.
“You didn’t.”
“I was going to.”
“When?”
Karen stared at him.
She didn’t have an answer.
Daniel set the trimmer down.
“I checked the camera.”
Her expression changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
Her shoulders stiffened.
Daniel told her he had footage of her connecting the charger on multiple occasions.
Karen immediately shifted tactics.
“You were spying on me?”
“The camera covers my driveway.”
“You shouldn’t be recording people.”
“It records my property.”
Karen shook her head.
“This neighborhood has become ridiculous.”
Daniel remained calm.
He didn’t raise his voice.
He didn’t call her names.
He simply stated what he knew.