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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.
Our hedge.
Even part of our garage roof was visible.
I stared at the screen.
Jim hadn’t merely been using our hot tub with his family.
He had been advertising it to paying guests.
“How long has this listing been active?” I asked.
“About fourteen months.”
Almost exactly as long as Lisa said the noise had been happening.
Diane showed me reviews.
Several guests specifically praised the hot tub.
One called the backyard the highlight of their stay.
Another review had been posted eight months earlier.
“He’s been sending strangers into our yard,” I said.
“It certainly looks that way.”
Suddenly, the situation became much bigger.
Jim had been earning rental income partly by advertising an amenity he didn’t own.
We paid for the water.
The chemicals.
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