Murder Next Door

I bet it comes as no surprise that I am NOT happy with my current domicile. I could list all of the things I hate, but that would take hours, and it would probably make me very upset. (I don't like to stir up anger-inducing thoughts when it's not absolutely necessary.) Anyway, a proverbial cherry plopped onto my hate sundae a couple of Fridays ago - March 26th, 2010 to be exact. Kai and I had spent that evening at his parents' house celebrating my birthday. I got lots of cool stuff, which I'll save for another "happier" post. We ate dinner, had cake, and watched New Moon (don't waste your time - it so wasn't worth it). Upon returning home, we pulled into one of the parking lots at our complex at 10:27pm (I looked at the clock, so I remember!) to find about 15 police cars, 20 or so cops, and crime scene tape draped on the stairs to our apartment. Much to Kai's dismay, I freaked out. My dogs were in the apartment, and I was concerned for their safety! Kai made a u-turn and parked in the next parking lot. I rushed out of the car and saw that the crime scene tape extended to my neighbor's entrance, but not mine. I found my dogs safe and sound inside of my apartment. Whew!

I took Xerxes outside to pee, and I tried as hard as I could to figure out what was going on behind that tape without looking nosey. I suppose I could have walked over and asked, but I doubt anyone would have told me anything. I took Xerxes back inside and brought Darby out for her turn. Immediately she gave me that "I'm-not-going-past-the-door-there-are-people-and-scary-lights" look. I dragged her out anyway. When I made it to the grass, a girl approached me and asked me what had happened. I told her I didn't know, and she then informed me that she lived in the apartment that had garnered so much attention. (Is it a shock that I don't know what my neighbors look like?) She walked over to the police officers, and I overheard them interrogating her. They wanted to know who she was, where she was coming from, and everything she could possibly tell them about her roommate. I went back inside after about 5 minutes. I couldn't pretend that I was out there so that Darby could pee anymore. It was pretty obvious she wanted nothing more than to go back inside.

I spent about half an hour looking up news stories and searching police blotters via the internet. The sheer amount of police officers told me that something really bad had taken place. I found nothing on the internet, and nothing played on the news that night. I woke up the next morning desperate to know what had happened. A neighbor that I sometimes chat with was outside with her dog, so I walked out to see if she'd heard anything. She's always full of information, and I knew that if anyone could tell me anything, it would be her. Luckily, she knew exactly what happened. In fact, she'd heard it! She said that a girl had been shot in the head around 10:15pm, and that the assailant was on the loose. (Her description was a bit more detailed and gruesome, but I'll spare you the details.) Boy did I feel better. Not only was he on the loose, but he had run right through the area that I would have been standing with one of my dogs had I gotten home ten minutes earlier! At this point more witnesses showed up to join in on the conversation. They saw everything unfold - the assailant jumping from the shadows, the shooting, and the escape.

As we all went our separate ways, I saw that a crime scene cleaning crew had arrived. They stayed for most of the day, removing what was left of the poor girl. As night fell, it was like nothing had ever happened. I saw no flowers, no mourners, no nothing. I couldn't help but think about how strange it was that not a shred of evidence was left where a girl had lived and died not 24 hours ago.

I can't get out fast enough...