The quick and the dead

2/8/2005 Correction: The person described in this post did not die. I repeat, did not die. I was wrong. What happened according to a neighbor who lives closer and who actually found the woman on the side walk, she was bleeding from her head and mouth and was unresponsive. The people in the house where the trail of blood began had locked her out and were inside when the police came and knocked on the door, but they did not answer. It is possible that she could have died from her injuries, but as far as we know, she’s still alive.

I was planning on writing about my exciting morning shopping at National Warehouse Liquidators and spending way too much money at a garden store on seeds, seeds! Yet apparently something far more interesting has happened on my block. One of my neighbors found a dead body lying on the sidewalk.

What do I know about the body?

I know Jack squat. I didn’t know there was a problem until I noticed the flashing lights outside my window. Even then I didn’t give it too much thought. For the past month the fire department and EMS van have been on my street for one thing or another. Usually carting off some talking, breathing resident for one age related ailment or another. Seeing where the truck and van parked themselves on the street I figured a) domestic disturbance b) chemical OD or c)sickness due to unhealthy living. So I didn’t really think anything was that amiss when there was a crowd of paramedics and cops around the person lying on the sidewalk.

I am about 5-6 doors down from the body so as far I could tell they could have been talking to and treating the person. Nope. I knew there was something wrong when the 5th cop car drove up and when the paramedic came out with a huge jug of bleach (I could smell it) and poured it over the sidewalk and hosed it down.

The police interviewed some of the neighbors who came out (flashing lights can do that). My interview was short.

Policeman: Did you hear or see anything?

Me: No. I must have been in the basement.

That was it. I am a worthless witness. I was in the basement and when I was upstairs I was on the phone, if I did hear anything I ignored it along with the hammering from the illegal contract work in the alley.

The police did knock on the door of the house where the dead person may have been visiting, but no one answered the door.

The body couldn’t have been out there long. I was over near that house just 2 hours before, chatting with neighbors and joking about being an axe murderer (if anyone want to check my hatchet, knock yourself out). After not being to do any digging in the yard because the ground is still frozen I came back into the house. A couple of hours later, body.

How do I feel? Eh. I’m alive. Until I hear otherwise, it could be one of those killings where the victim knew their killer. So I don’t feel any sense of fear or anxiety. Also I didn’t discover the body. That helps. My mom who works in an old folks home, where because of their age, old folks die, is still bothered by finding a dead patient she found last week. It may have been a different story if I found the body.