This weekend, Police Beat had the unexpected opportunity to watch a sly spider catch a whole bee and devour it. Impressed by this tiny drama, which took place outside our living room window, Police Beat has decided to make the very structure of that spider's silvery stratagem the structure and obsession of this week's column.

Bamboo Killer/Capitol Hill/Fri Sept 28/1 pm: As Officer Osborne inspected dead bamboo plants, he listened to the worried citizen, who had planted the bamboo in her yard late last year. On August 25, 2001, she noticed that her bamboo plants had been poisoned; a month later, they were as dead as stones. She knew the killer. She directed Officer Osborne to the killer's home, and Osborne knocked on his door. The killer didn't answer the door. Officer Osborne could do nothing more, and so he left the scene with the crime unpunished.

Boyland Vibrations/Sand Point/Fri Oct 4/ 9:40 am: Today, Detective J. Frese received information from a confidential source that a three-year-old Sand Point boy was possibly touched in a sexual manner by an eight-year-old boy who lives on the same block. Boyland transgressions are not taken lightly by the SPD; a seemingly innocuous game of doctor or "curdled milk" will transmit strong vibrations across its web of authority. Detective Frese documented the delicate piece of Boyland information, and referred it to the juvenile department for a follow-up.

Watching Windows/Central District/Fri Oct 5/10:45 pm: Christopher and Bruce are neighbors who thoroughly loathe each other. Christopher stands at his window often, and glares at Bruce. Bruce glares back. They no longer exchange words. This is the condition of war--a war whose terrain is leveled grass, a chain-link fence, and a number of round trees whose bright falling leaves are reflected on the window panes of the disputing homes. Something is bound to break... and then blood.

You may wonder, what has brought these men to this dismal point? It was a disagreement over the property line. The matter went to court, and was resolved by the law on August 21, 2001. Christopher, however, was not pleased with the judge's decision; and so now he stands at the window glaring at Bruce. Bruce glares back.

Recently, Bruce was in his front yard, on his sidewalk, when Christopher brushed past him. Bruce looked over his shoulder and saw Christopher glaring at him. Bruce stood up and glared back. The glaring lasted for three minutes. Bruce--the complainant in this report--understands that at this time, no crime has been committed. But he wants to document the fact that he is "well aware of the difference between a stare and a glare."

Domesticate Me!/Downtown/Fri Oct 5/2:34 pm: A man arrived at the 12th floor of the Municipal Building and handed a missive to the mayor's receptionist. The note was addressed to the mayor, the city attorney, the police chief, and the Seattle City Council. In so many words, the author, who is in his 30s, threatened to instigate "low-level domestic terrorism" if the city did not provide him with a home. The letter was registered as a police concern.

Backyard Bone/Capitol Hill/Fri Oct 5/4:00 pm: This afternoon, a woman walked into the East Precinct with a large bone in her hands, and told Officer Toman that she found it in her backyard. She was concerned that the bone once belonged to a human. "The bone was grooved," reports Officer Toman, "and looked like a large joint bone." After close inspection, the bone was submitted into evidence.