Wednesday morning I was running early for a change. As the elevator arrived, I could hear the voices of people riding down. Probably neighbors heading off to work. Or workmen, maybe. The door opened and I saw two strangers carrying boxes, bags, and an what looked like an old computer hard drive. I didn't recognize them, but they clearly weren't workmen. I looked more closely and noticed one was wearing an unusual vest. A dusty green canvas material, with lots of straps. The guy looked very lean and strong. Why was he wearing such a thick vest?  Very neat and tidy, but not really a fashion statement. Wait. Why were both men wearing them? They were bullet-proof vests and not blue police vests or black FBI vests. They were green. And these guys were in street clothes. I looked away from the vests at the little brown paper bag on top of the hard drive. "EVIDENCE" was handwritten across it in black sharpie. I looked down at my feet and saw a small black gun holstered on the hip of the guy standing next to me. 

Get me out of this elevator. As I stared at the gun, the other guy explained they were executing a federal search warrant. Federal?!  It was a long ride down, and when the door finally opened, I hurried out of the elevator. Which apartment did they come from? Was it the criminal defense lawyer's? The age of the hard drive might point to him, but he seems much too savvy to be involved. What about the new neighbor who seems to be an entrepreneur? Maybe he had stepped over a line.

When I e-mailed the condo management office, the manager identified the apartment--the one directly above mine--and said federal agents had arrested the owner early Wednesday morning.

On Sunday one of the owners e-mailed her concern and identified the charge. What?! The quiet musician? He seemed to be the voice of reason on the few occasions I had spoken to him. As it turns out the news radio station and city and local newspapers had stories on him, naming him, giving his address, and identifying the charges. The FBI also had a press release with the details "minimum five-year prison sentence" and "fine of up to a quarter million dollars." 

Now I'm that person in the sound bite saying ,"He seems like such a nice guy."