The Swarm...

It felt bizarre, surreal, and completely out of place to be packing up bags in the hotel room knowing that 50 miles or so away there was a buzz of commotion happening that day. Pulling out and driving east and north to head home when all the action was west of where we'd been. It was as if we were leaving before our job was done. Granted, we'd be back. I knew that much for a fact. I glanced at the police station on my way past and started to feel that hole that had suddenly been created in my heart.

I've wondered now for three years how anyone could have search warrants presented and their house and cars gone through and not know that the gig was up? How could anyone with half a conscious sit there and pretend they didn't already know he was dead? How could they pretend they'd driven as far as Texas Creek to look for Jim but never as far as Canon City again? And yet his car had been found in the Lone Pine pull out... in plain view. Some questions I'll never have answers to.

Some I understand a little more with each passing day. I've done a lot of reading in the last year about individuals who could do that. If anyone is interested in trying to understand just how a person could sit there and try to play the authorities after such a brutal event might I suggest checking out "The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us" by Martha Stout. It helped to know we hadn't been alone in dealing with people with that type of mentality.