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Listen. The morning of New Year's Day 2021 was a cool one in Salana Beach, California,

with temperatures in the low 60s and not a cloud in the sky.

The sun was peeking over the trees as officers with the SBPD were dispatched on a

welfare check for a man named Tom Merriman. What prompted the response was a

strange call to 911 claiming Tom had been murdered. What was unusual about this call was that the man reporting the death

had never met Tom and hadn't seen the body. Seagulls called overhead and a slight breeze could be felt off the ocean, only half a mile away as officers turned onto South Nardo Avenue.

An unofficial street sign that said happy place marked the end of the long driveway,

framed in trees and hedges. The driveway led to a two-car garage and a walkway to the front door of a modest gray house trimmed in white.

All seemed quiet. Everything seemed normal except maybe the pile of trash in front of the garage.

The neighbors were close, but the rust-colored fence that skirted the property mostly hid the home from their view.

They left their patrol car in the driveway and walked toward the front door.

They passed the pile of cardboard boxes and trash as they approached.

Their boot-laden feet resounded on the wooden walkway leading to the front door.

...