I opened it to find a uniformed officer standing on my porch.
« Ma’am, I’m sorry to bother you. We received a complaint about a dog barking continuously for over an hour. »
« We received a complaint. »
I blinked at him.
« An hour? Officer, we just got back from the park. Our dog has barely been outside. »
He shifted his weight.
« The caller was very specific. She said the barking started around two o’clock and hasn’t stopped since. »
I pulled out my phone.
Then I opened the sprinkler system app.
« Officer, we just got back from the park. »
The timestamps glowed bright on the screen.
« Look at this. The sprinklers ran until two forty-three. We didn’t step outside until three. That’s seventeen minutes ago. »
The officer studied the screen, then let out a quiet sigh.
« I appreciate you showing me this, ma’am. I’m sorry for the interruption. It looks like there may have been a misunderstanding. »
I closed the door slowly, my hand lingering on the knob.
The timestamps glowed bright on the screen.
My husband walked up behind me, drying his hands on a dish towel.
« Who was that? »
« The police. Someone said our dog was barking for an hour. »
He raised his eyebrows. « We just got home. »
« I know. I showed him the sprinkler log. »
He shook his head and chuckled.
« Who was that? »
« Welcome to the neighborhood, I guess. Probably just a grumpy retiree. It’ll blow over. »
I wanted to believe him.
I really did.
***
Later that afternoon, I carried a basket of laundry outside to hang on the line.
The breeze was warm, and I could hear my kids giggling near the swing set.
As I reached up to pin a towel, something made me pause.
I wanted to believe him.
A prickle across the back of my neck.
I turned my head slowly toward the fence.
