QR Code Murders: Iffy

The duo stopped at a Chick-fil-A one Thursday afternoon.

“Get whatever you want,” Kim told Yawquisha.

“I’m not hungry.”

“What do you weigh? ninety pounds. You’ll waste away,” Kim observed.

“I’ll pay for your meal but I don’t want anything,” Yawquisha insisted.

“Well excuse me, little Miss big-time vlogger,” Kim laughed.

Yawquisha cracked a little smile.

“I think I can manage a chicken sandwich and a shake. Waffle fries, too. Even if they’re not for free!” Kim cajole. She looked at her passenger. “You don’t remember ‘Unforgivable’ or the…nevermind. Fine, don’t eat. Just remember, this is the last meal time for the shift.”

“I know.”

She received the food and they headed to the North Side of Wilmington. This business district sat in stark contrast to the depressed other locations of Wilmington. Yawquisha actually frequented this area to shop and get her hair and nails done.

“How many times have you been to the ‘Vuh’?” Yawquisha asked.

“The what?” Kim asked.

“The VA.”

“Oh, when I first got back, I needed some pills to help me go to sleep. That was over a decade ago. I haven’t been back since,” she related.

“My grandfather worked and died at the one down the road, too. He was a janitor with a great pension. He died of cancer.”

“Sorry.”

“You didn’t kill him! You don’t have to apologize,” Yawquisha explained.

“I know, it’s just….”

“Protocol.”

“Exactly.”

“So what was the highest rank you achieved before you got out?”

“I was a captain. I actually resigned my commission to become a cop. My whole family runs blue. Uncles, cousins, nephews, they all decided to walk the beat.”

“Do you miss being in the Marines?”

“Sometimes. I don’t like all that comes with it: paperwork, backbiting, careering, paperwork. Hell, it sometimes reminds me of the Corps whenever I have to fill out documents or hear two cops bickering at each other. Then I’m right back.”

“You lost someone over there you told me?”

“Yeah, my LT. I was a corporal, then. He was great. One of the best silver bars ever. He knew his work and took care of his Marines, even when they didn’t want to take care of themselves.”

“And when you switched over to the O-side, did you understand what it was like for him to care for all those Marines?”

“Yes. I guess. I think I just blocked out everything that happened that day and just threw myself into school work until I got pinned with my second lieutenant bars.”

Yawquisha grew quiet for a moment.

“Did you ever think about joining?” Kim asked.

“No.”

“You would have either been an asset to Combat Camera or intelligence, both. You should really reconsider school.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

Kim shrugged. She sipped on her milkshake.

“This thing is still thick. Salute to Chick-fil-A,” Kim pointed out.

They walked down the street, two women of color just trying to make sense of it all. Kim felt the pangs by just bringing up her time in the service. She wished to go back to prove something, anything.

Yawquisha had a complete understanding of her role as the ride along. She got good footage and her subscribers swelled to nearly four hundred thousand. With Kim, she had an experienced sister to shelter her and safeguard her just in case things got iffy.

“You should really get some sleep if you’re not going to eat. Recharge if you don’t want to rebuild.”

“No. I’m riding with you. That’s the whole ideal. If you don’t want me—”

“I’m not saying that and you know it….” Kim replied.

“I know. I’m just testing you.”

“Quit with the mind games. You don’t have to test me.”

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