Day 12: Heartsick

I got home about 6:20 from a hair appointment to see a police car sitting in front of the house across the street from me. I know it had just arrived since I'd seen it go up Academy just a bit ahead of me. Mrs. Kravitz that I am, I wandered out to the mailbox (which I actually would have done anyway) to see if the cop happened out of his car so I could talk to him or if something else happened. My initial worry was that something had happened to the neighbor across the street because she lives alone. Shortly after I got back inside, I called Paul to tell him that there were now five police cars sitting on the street and two ambulances had just arrived, all without lights and sirens. They were going into the garage of the house three doors down. I waited out in the driveway for a bit to see if a police officer came out so I could ask if everything was OK. Another neighbor, the next-door neighbor to where all the happenings were going on, saw me and stopped to asked if I knew anything.

No one came out during the time I was outside so I went back inside to call Paul to tell him what was happening in the neighborhood. When I went back out (yes, I'm nosy but this just didn't seem to bode well since no police were milling about outside), I saw Ronald and Lee Ann getting home so I walked down to chat. She has just started a new job so even if there weren't all the extra excitement, I would have wanted to talk with her. I saw him as I was heading to their house at the other end of my block. He stopped one of the police officers on his way to the mailbox and was able to ask what was happening. He was told that it was a crime scene but the neighborhood was secure.

A random mix of neighbors wandered out to stand in Ronald and Lee Ann's driveway for a good hour, speculating what had happened, retelling what we knew, talking about the few times we did share with them. Both ambulances left empty, which we agreed was a bad thing. A few more police cars came including a sergeant and a crime scene van. We saw the police looking into the man of the house's vehicle. We saw a police officer go to another neighbor's house--the one that I'd spoken with just a bit ago--to talk with the husband there. We all agreed that this didn't bode well for what was happening. After a bit, another neighbor, who'd been out with us earlier, came out to tell us that the neighbor who had been visited by the police had called them to let them know what was going on. The police had asked if they had heard anything--any arguing, anything suspicious--and confirmed that she (the woman in the house) was deceased.

We were all completely gobsmacked. Things like this don't happen in our neighborhood. We'd all speculated the worst but to have it actually confirmed--even third-hand--wasn't what we'd expected. Definitely not what we'd been hoping or praying to hear about. Paul arrived a little later and wandered down to the driveway where we'd convened so we caught him up on the news. Some other neighbors came out and we let them know what was going on, careful not to spread gossip, just telling what we'd been told. I guess it could be considered gossip since none of us actually know firsthand but there was a little we knew for certain. One neighbor, who we just met tonight, was a bit more for the sensationalism and pointed out when there was crying coming from the house. There was but we don't know from whom or why. About that time, Paul suggested, and I agreed, that it was time to head home. We knew enough and the rest was going into gossip.

As we got to our house, we saw a neighbor trying to get home. His driveway was blocked by a police car so we motioned for him to park in our driveway for as long as needed. About that same time, our next-door neighbor arrived so we caught them both up on what we knew, again trying not to spread gossip but simply the facts. Stuff like this isn't a frequent accurance so it is unnerving to arrive home to seven police cars lining your street.

None of us know these neighbors particularly well. They moved in a bit before we did eight years ago. Paul and I have spoken with them a few times, she came to the first open house party we had for neighbors a few months after we moved in, but mostly we just waved to them when we would see them from time to time. They are probably in their early 40's. We know he was an FBI agent and she worked for the police department. I know they had parrots. That's it.

We still haven't heard anything about him.

I went outside again about 30 minutes ago. It seems like our neighborhood--quiet and calm. Dark. Sleepy. Except it's not. The police cars were still outside, the garage door still open, police officers still coming and going.

My heart is absolutely broken. I don't know what to think. I'm saddened, I'm perplexed. I've drank a couple of beers tonight, unusual for me on a school night, because I just needed something. Another neighbor had offered a glass of wine when we were outside because she felt the same way. We'll watch the news tonight and read the paper tomorrow, trying to find out something else. Some little something to let us know about what was happening behind the door. It definitely shows that you just never know.