Turning by Dawn Kirby

Changing of the Guard

“Ma’am, they say our resources are being wasted here,” the lieutenant said regretfully. He believed the son of a bitch was coming for her, but without so much as a sighting it was getting harder and harder to convince his superiors. “I’d rather not leave until he’s found believe me.”

“Its fine,” Alana said smiling nervously. “I didn’t expect y’all to hang out here forever. I’m sure if Ben had any intention of coming back here, he would’ve done it already. Please don’t worry about me. Y’all have a whole city to protect.”

“Your friend’s death doesn’t scare you?” another officer asked.

“Dude! Really?” Matt shouted. He got up from the couch and went to stand beside his sister. Only recently had she stopped openly blaming herself for Jennifer’s murder. “Damn man. Have you lost your mind or something?”

“Not at all,” he said. “It just strikes me a little odd that her best friend is laid out in the cold, hard ground yet she’s not concerned about how she got there.”

“Who says she’s not?” Matt seethed.

“Do you see tears?”

Matt never wanted to hit a man so bad in his life. “I’ve seen ‘em more than I care to. Most nights they’re non-stop.”

“Are they shed for the friend or for herself?”

“For Jennifer,” Alana said softly. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Always for Jennifer.”

“Pardon me if I don’t believe that.” He looked Matt up and down. She could see the wheels turning in his head. “What about you, Bubba? Weren’t you her roommate?”

“Going on four years now,” Matt answered through gritted teeth. “What of it?”

“Maybe you got jealous? Maybe you made some kind of advance at some point and she pushed you away. This whole thing with Ben gives you both a window to take out just about anybody you want to.”

“You think I’d kill one of my closest friends?” Matt asked incredulously. Oh this was too much.

“That’s enough, Chris,” the lieutenant said.

“Maybe for you,” Chris snorted. “There’s something going on here. More than they’re saying and I’m gonna find out what it is.”

“I said that’s enough. You’ll have to excuse him,” the lieutenant said shaking his head. “He obviously has no couth.” He turned to the man and gestured towards the car parked across the street. “Why don’t you go wait in the car before you say something that borders on harassment.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “He’s only doing his job.”

“Like hell,” Matt mumbled.

“He should have read Ben’s file a little more closely,” the officer said. “If he had a problem with his detail, he should have spoken up.”

“Why would he need to do that?” Matt asked. “He’s already made up his mind. He’s just gotta try to figure out which one of us gets the blame.”

“Again, I apologize. He’s younger. Not as experienced as the rest of us. The fact that he needs to prove himself is a lot of what drives him,” the officers said. “Still he shouldn’t throw accusations like that around without some kind of evidence. We’ll be going now. If you need anything don’t hesitate to call.”

As he turned to leave he breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe now Nicholas could take care of Ben in his own way. It was becoming clear to her that human means of protection weren’t gonna cut it…Ever.