PART 2 — THE STRONG WIND
The recording showed everything.
At 12:47 in the morning, Ryan climbed over my fence carrying a fruit picker and two buckets.
He stripped apples from the branches, shook the smaller limbs and climbed into the tree when some fruit would not come loose. Several branches snapped beneath his weight.
Then he carried the apples to my front garden and dumped them across the grass.
He made six trips.
During the final trip, he stopped directly in front of the hidden camera to catch his breath.
His face was perfectly visible.
I watched the video twice.
Then I began planning.
I collected every apple that remained whole and left the damaged branches untouched. At two in the morning, I carried paper tags, string, gloves, a wheelbarrow and a large sign into my garden.
For the next three hours, I attached a numbered tag to each usable apple.
Every tag read:
“Removed from Sloane’s tree without permission.”
There were 245 apples.
I carried them carefully to Ryan’s garden and arranged them in perfect rows. I did not throw them, damage his plants or touch his house.
In the centre of the display, I placed a sign:
“Strong wind appears to blow both ways.”
Then I returned home and made coffee.
Ryan discovered the apples at sunrise.
His shouting woke half the street.
“What is this?” he yelled.
I stepped onto my porch.
“The wind must have been especially strong last night.”
“You did this!”
“I have no idea what you mean.”
“I’m reporting you to the homeowners’ association.”
“Go ahead.”
He had walked directly into the trap.
Mira arrived twenty minutes later. Ryan rushed toward her, claiming that I had covered his property with rubbish.
She examined the numbered rows and read the sign.
“Sloane, did you place these here?”
“Yes,” I answered. “I also have video showing how they were removed from my tree and scattered across my garden.”
The colour disappeared from Ryan’s face.
Mira turned toward him.
“Did you enter her property?”
“No.”
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