One man said Jim had borrowed his pressure washer and returned it damaged while denying responsibility.
Another neighbor said she had repeatedly discovered signs that Jim had been using her driveway when she wasn’t home.
Then I received a private message from a woman named Diane who lived three streets away.
Her message said:
What I know may be bigger than the hot tub. Can we meet privately?
We met for coffee the following Saturday.
Diane explained that she helped manage a short-term rental property for her sister.
Months earlier, while learning how the booking platform worked, she had searched nearby addresses out of curiosity.
That was when she found Jim’s house.
There was nothing unusual about him renting out his property.
The unusual part was the list of amenities.
It advertised:
Private hot tub access.
Jim didn’t own a hot tub.
Then Diane showed me the listing photograph.
I immediately recognized it.
It was our backyard.
Our hot tub.
Our deck.
