QR Code Murders: The Coolness of the Day

Blogs and vlogs were all frenzied with new information pouring out of the streets of Wilmington. Yawquisha obstructed. She rammed against the hearsay and the whoshotjohn. All she did was stick to the facts and govern her interviews with directness, truth.

She still did the ride-along thing with Kim, but this time it was something different. There seemed to be a stronger bond between the two women. They knew that both of them could be snuffed like a candle any time, but in the suburbs of Greenville, that seemed unlikely. There were murders both mostly home invasions and robberies. They still clicked on the level that surpassed most relationships between cop and civilian. Once Yawquisha had known Kim long enough, she could sense when the veteran detective was breathing mad or just seething or actually taking in the coolness of the day.

“Are there any more bodies?” Yawquisha asked.

“Just one. Compared to the forty or so in the city this month, I’d say that’s progress,” Kim said drolly. “You getting anywhere with your posts?”

“I crossed fifty million views and ten thousand dollars in donations,” Yawquisha said with a smile.

Kim raised her eyebrows. “That many? Make sure the tax men know all about it.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to end up with a sad story: the vlogger who couldn’t pay her taxes.”

“I hear you, sister.”

“Don’t call me sister, please.”

“I know, you don’t subscribe to the tribe. Pardon me,” Kim replied.

The two of them got out of the car. Once they were in the house, a woman dabbed her eyes.

“It was two of them. They came in this side door and ran out the back. Before I knew it, my Charlie was down on the ground bleeding from the head. I didn’t know what to do. I just panicked. I actually ran or tried to run after them, actually. It was like nothing I had experienced in my life.”

“Miss Russ, I’m sorry for your loss. It is tragic and we never tell you to find closure or get over it. Now, in order to catch these assailants, we need you to identify suspects. Would you mind coming down to the station?”

“No.”

During the car ride, a chauffeur drove for Miss Tabitha Russ.

“It’s a shame what happened to the lady. I mean for someone to just come in and murder her husband in this posh side of the world. It’s mind blowing. Yet, I’m not completely surprised,” Kim said.

“No?”

“I've had this kind of thing before. Early in my career. Sometimes it was domestic stuff in these huge habits and regal estates. Murder suicides and stuff like that. Executives, women and men, who’ve lost everything in their firm or embezzled money or just outright stole it, snatched the lives of their families before offing themselves. It’s mean around here, too.”

Yawquisha videoed each and every word Kim spoke. She knew that she would be able to use this footage adjacent to the kind she shot back on the block. There was no trouble in trying to find the stride and maybe even a link between the murders in the city and Greenville. She felt like she could be the shining star for justice by using her camera. Like a lamppost illuminating the dingy corners and the manicured lawns, she found a thread that existed between the disparate realities.

Upon reaching the department, Miss Russ shook her head. She couldn’t make sense of any of it. In a flash, she had seen figures in the night. She pointed her finger at suspect number three.