Page 17 of Smitty

The kid didn’t appear to be hostile. He wasn’t yelling or threatening… but Dylan’s body language told me all I needed to know. I opened my door and climbed out. As I started toward them, I called out, “Dylan!”

My voice carried across the street, and both boys turned to face me. The older boy’s expression changed immediately. It wasn’t fear or panic. It was something closer to annoyance. He shook his head, and without a word, he turned and walked away.

I was about to cross the street when Dylan started walking toward me.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he answered, continuing toward his house.

It was the same, ‘I’m fine’, I’d heard countless times before. I wasn’t buying it, so I asked, “Who was that?”

“Nobody.”

“He didn’t look like nobody to me.”

“Just some guy.”

I followed him up to the house as I asked, “What’s his name?”

“I don’t know.”

“Dylan.”

His shoulders sagged. “What?”

“Is something wrong?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“I said, no.”

“Dylan, if this kid is giving you a hard time…”

“He’s not.”

“If you’re scared to…”

“I’m not. I said, I’m fine.”

He needed me to believe him and let it go.

So, he did the only thing he could. He turned and darted inside the house. As much as I hated it, I didn’t follow. I couldn’t. I had to wait for my escort. Thankfully, the patrol car pulled up just as I was about to head back to my car. Seconds later, the door opened, and relief washed over me when Officer Eubanks stepped out.

I’d worked with him on several cases, and he always struck me as a good guy. He was young, eager, nice to the kids, and genuinely cared about what was going on with them. He adjusted his belt and started over to me with a smile. “Sorry I’m late. I got stuck in traffic.”

“It’s okay. It happens.” I motioned my head toward the door. “You ready?”

“Sure thing.”

He followed me up to the door and waited as I knocked. A few moments later, the door opened, and Dylan’s mother appeared looking even more tired than usual. But that didn’t stop her from smiling when she saw me. “Hi, Ms. Hughes.”

“Hi, Melissa.” She stepped aside, giving us room to enter. “This is Officer Eubanks. He’s going to stand at the door, and he’ll only step in if we need him.”

“Hello, Officer Eubanks. Can I get you a drink or anything?”

“I’m good, but thank you, Mrs. Mercer. I appreciate the offer.”