She borrowed first and asked later.
But now, standing in my kitchen with a $227 electricity bill in my hand, something felt different.
This wasn’t a garden gnome.
This wasn’t a lawn mower.
This was my home.
My electricity.
My money.
Something was using enough power to nearly double my bill.
And I was going to find out what.
That night, I couldn’t sleep.
I kept thinking about the bill.
About the strange feeling in my stomach.
About how many times I had ignored things because I didn’t want to seem difficult.
Around midnight, I finally gave up trying to sleep.
I opened the bedroom window slightly, hoping the cool night air would help.
That was when I heard it.
A faint humming sound.
At first, I thought it was coming from somewhere else.
A neighbor’s air conditioner.
A passing car.
Anything.
But then I heard it again.
