It was like a carnival grounds, the way it was lit up. The bright yellow porch light glared out across the soaking front lawn. A harness cop leaned against the door of a cruiser by the curb, talking and waving one arm. Two cops stood on the porch. As I watched from the shrubbery-shrouded alley across the street, I saw a plain-clothes man hurry out of the house, skip down the steps, and walk fast toward the curb. “Douse ‘em!” All the windows in the house showed lights. Suddenly the lights went out, fast. The cops on the porch turned the porch light off and the door closed from inside. The cops ran down the porch steps and around the side of the house. The cruisers out front drew away. I watched them. They drifted quietly down to the middle of the next block, and parked just around the corner. They had a fine view. A black and white cat moseyed across the front lawn from the house opposite and sat down on the front walk in a dry spot. The cat meowed plaintively, then began licking one paw.
