"I know her, we were best friends in kindergarten," the first boy said, followed by something I couldn't quite make out. "I shook her dad's hand at Halloween. Gross."

The two boys, age 9 or so, were sitting on their bikes in the middle of the road looking at the house contained by crime scene tape, the house where a woman was murdered early this morning. Trixie and I were out for a walk when we passed the house and the two boys talking.

"Cool," the second boy said, in the way that a 9 or 10 year old boy might say that about shaking hands with a killer. 

"No, it's disgusting," the first boy replied, without any anger or reproach, understanding where his friend was coming from. Chances are that he might have had the same reaction if he didn't know someone who was involved. "Her life is ruined," he continued, "this will be with her forever."

"Yeah, I guess so."

The boys looked at the house for a couple moments more and then, after some silent agreement, rode off down the hill away from the house.