Carmichael

Silk scarf and a napkin hidden in a drawer
Two hundred bucks in an envelope labeled Lenore

"Maybe she shouldn't see this
She should never know"
Said the widow's best friend Ann
"I'll just take it and go
I'll give it her the money later
Say it was in his shoe
That way she'll never find out
That'll do"

"Carmichael was a credit to the force
In everything he did
It's like we've got a big hole in our side
Where he fit
If any of you officers would like to say a word
Now would be the time to be heard"
"Thank you chief, I sure would
He was a partner of mine
He was always very careful
Played it straight down the line"

One by one the officers spoke
And the service drew to a close
He had no living relatives but his wife-who never showed
She just couldn't face the men--they all understood
They got in their cars and drove home
As directly as they could

"Carmichael, you asshole!"
The new widow sobbed beneath her vale
"Shot down in the line of duty
Is this how justice never fails?
I wish that things were better
When we said goodbye today
But we had our share of good times though along the way

Remember 'Hey mister Las Vegas-You used to be so cool!'?
We met Wayne Newton down on Pebble Beach and you acted like a fool
But we both just couldn't stop laughing-it seemed so funny to us
We left our luggage back in the room and almost missed the bus
That was a great vacation--maybe the best of all
But goddamn it, Carmichael, you're dead now and I'm talking to the wall"

The force got back to normal
Carmichael was replaced
For one year nobody parked a car in Carmichael's space