“Because there is a camera underneath panel number six.”
I let out a short, harsh laugh because the accusation sounded physically impossible. “My panels are on my roof.”
“The camera is pointed at my house,” Helen countered firmly.
She explained that she had first noticed a small, unnatural reflection beneath the solar array eight weeks earlier. Before her retirement, Helen had spent thirty-four years working as a communications technician for a regional telephone company, repairing complex relay systems and identifying unauthorized signals.
At night, using her professional background, she began detecting short wireless transmissions originating directly from my roof. The signal activated only when the solar array reached a specific electrical output threshold, moving data through an encrypted cellular relay every afternoon between three and five o'clock.
Helen had reported the anomaly to BrightCurrent Solar. A technician arrived within twenty minutes to inspect the site, but by the time police and technicians inspected the roof, nothing suspicious remained. The following day, however, the unauthorized transmissions returned.
“So you covered the panels with tar?” June asked, trying to piece together the bizarre timeline.
“I reduced their output enough to shut down the transmitter,” Helen explained.
“You could have told me,” I said, frustration flaring up again.
“I did.”