blue lights

the crime spike i was worried about over the holidays is apparently on a time delay. i think it was two weeks ago that i slowly realized, at 3 or 4 am, that the flickering lights on my wall were not just from the candle & tv, but also from several cop cars and a paddy wagon blocking the corner nearest my building-- no lights, no commotion. now, tonight, about 1:50am, i was watching tv, with the air purifier running, so plenty of noise both white and otherwise, when i heard voices that seemed to be too loud. i paused the show, listened for a minute to see if they sounded menacing. i'd usually ignore it, given the time frame on a saturday night, but i'd heard some popping earlier that i assumed to be leftover fireworks but couldn't be sure. next thing i hear is a car going WAY too fast, but before i could even wonder where i'd left my phone, the car got close & turned abruptly into the alley across the street, and i could see the blue lights. so, i figured whatever it was, somebody was on it. not five minutes later, i realize there's blue on my wall again, look out, and again several cop cars, lights on, blocking the corner. huh. a few minutes after that, i hear another sound, a louder idle, and it's parked in the middle of the street in such a way that i can only see the front, but it's either the paddy wagon again or an ambulance. just then more lights arrive, park directly across the street from my building, cop gets out on foot and heads down the alley (not looking in much of a hurry, but appears to be reaching for something else on his belt). and in the time it took me to write this, a full 25 mins after i first heard the noise, another cop truck of some sort (with blue lights) just drove down the alley, tho i can hear that the first one is still idling at the corner. as if my anxiety levels weren't high enough.