CSI in the Neighborhood

This is REALLY a Sunday post. I awakened at 5:30 this morning with a cat meowing very loudly in my ear and lights flashing through my windows. And when I peered out the door, I saw 8 police cars with their lights flashing and crime scene tape strung out everywhere but especially around my next door neighbor's front yard. An officer assured me that they were ok, but that "a gentleman driving the pickup parked in front of their house was dead". And that's all he would tell me. other than that the ME had been called and that the victim had already been put in the funeral home limo.
I guess I was supposed to go back inside but instead I sat on my porch swing in my tshirt and pj pants and watched everyone. I found out later from my neighbor that they had been there since at least 3:30 AM. Most of the officers seemed to be just walking around and talking quietly but there was a small group of people wearing chinos and long sleeved tshirts with POLICE in large very bright letters down the sleeves and across their backs. I've never seen anyone in this sort of uniform here in town. There was a young looking woman writing a lot of a tablet and looking in the truck. Dummy me thought perhaps they were police cadets who would get regular uniforms once they completed training.

So, because I just kept thinking about them, I called the police dept on the non-emergency line this afternoon and asked about them. The person who answered the phone said they weren't our police and where and when had I seen them. I gave her my address and the time and she told me they were OSBI people. So they called in the state criminalists, and maybe someday I'll actually know what happened.

Several years ago, a lady down at the end of the block was having a bunch of work done in her yard and also had a new driveway poured. There was yellow caution tape across the front of it. At that time, I went out and walked every morning with a friend and she asked me about the tape. I told her about the driveway and we went on about our business. Later as I left for work, I realized that the caution tape had been replaced by crime scene tape and there was a police officer sitting in his vehicle outside. I stopped to talk to him and he told me that she had been murdered. One of my coworkers was married to a cop and she thought it was hysterical that I knew nothing about it. Apparently it had been discovered just as it got dark and they'd set up big halogen lights so they could see to investigate and they lit up most of the block. At least this time, I did notice something was going on.

And tonight, I'll try to remember to check and make sure the door is closed before I go to bed.