Tower of Northwest Power/Downtown/Fri July 21/3 pm: Officer Leslie reports: "The victim was working at her law office on the 39th floor of the Columbia Tower when she observed a black male in a small kitchen area. She had not seen this man before but assumed he was part of the janitorial staff. At approximately 3:06 p.m., the victim noticed her wallet was missing from her desk. She checked with the receptionist, who saw the suspect leave but never saw him come in. Victim said the office had been leaving the back entrance unlocked and believed that to be how the suspect entered. The door is now being kept locked." It is the Columbia Tower itself, and not the crime, that is the substance of this report. The tower is the tallest building in Seattle; it anchors the city's skyline, gives it muscle, and arrogance.

While stealing the lawyer's wallet, there must have been a moment when the thief paused, looked out of the window, and was immediately moved by all that makes up the mighty city—its civic and private buildings, its bodies of water, its big transportation systems. After a second or so of this soaring and soul-swelling, he got hold of himself, remembered he was committing a crime, entered the elevator, and returned to earth.

The Lifeguard/First Hill/Fri July 28/2 am: Officer Cole reports: "At approximately 2:15 am, the victim [white female, 53] was spotted by the witness lying face down in a planting strip between the sidewalk and a parking lot. The witness was walking eastbound on the sidewalk, on the north side of East Jefferson Street. Witness stated that initially he thought the woman was merely a transient sleeping, but as he looked closer he sensed something was wrong, and, being trained as a lifeguard, he checked her pulse by placing his fingers on the side of her neck. The witness did not feel a pulse so he called 911.

SFD Medic 10 also responded to the scene and attempted to resuscitate her for 30 minutes. Rigor had not set in yet."

What makes this report special is the detail of the lifeguard touching with his fingers the neck of a stranger. What if she hadn't been dead? What if she looked up and saw his approaching fingers? She would have screamed; and he would have been in the awkward position of explaining that he was a lifeguard. He was only trying to save her life. And she would have called him a creep and told him to fuck off. And he would have walked away feeling guilty, despite his noble intentions.