Imitation of Life

Chapter Two

The news of Jonathan Walters' murder spread round Chesterfield Springs faster than wildfire in autumn. Being the small town that it was, nothing as grave as a murder could be kept as a secret for long without someone finding out about it somehow. And when they did, they made sure everyone else found out as well.

It was soon the number one item in the local news channel, found it's way into the front pages of the newspapers, and was being broadcasted by radio stations.

Before noon, a day after the incident, everyone in Chesterfield Springs knew about Jonathan Walters' sudden passing.

Joshua turned off his car radio after hearing the name 'Johnathan Walters' for the 5th time in the past hour. He shook his head as he pulled up in the parking lot of the Chesterfield Springs police department.

He had no idea how things were being run here, he only got transferred in a couple of weeks ago. The request for more 'seasoned' crime detectives had prompted his abrupt arrival to the little town. One would have expected an experienced expert in his prime, like he was, to be filled with aghast and anger when taken from a bubbly city like New York to a sleepy little town like Chesterfield Springs that couldn't be found on the map without a little struggle. Surprisingly, he wasn't. He'd grown sick of the big city life, the everyday stress and trauma it threw at unsuspecting people. Despite being sent here for work, Joshua saw it as his little get away. He'd done enough for the big boys, now it was time to help the little guys steady their ship.

So far, he'd been involved in meagre tasks: a missing person's case (which was actually a missing cat), two robbery attempts at a grocery store, and an attempted kidnap case.

Otherwise, it was rather peaceful in Chesterfield.

This was the first serious case he'd been assigned to since he arrived, and from the looks of things, this seemed like the first time the inhabitants of Chesterfield had such a case.

"Heh, no." Tracy swivelled round on her seat and rolled it closer to her table. She rested her elbow on it and propped her head up with her hand.

"This isn't Chesterfield's first murder case." She smirked at the surprised young man at her desk.

The sweet scent of brewed coffee hung low and thick within the walls of Tracy's office. It was a small, neat space that suited her style and preference. Brown was the dominant colour, with the cabinet, table, chairs and the wooden coat rack on the wall all bearing the resemblance. The walls wore a lemon coat of paint, making sure the room had more than a boring uniform look to it.

Her waxed oak table bore some neatly stacked files, an open journal with black cursive penmanship, two plastic cups of coffee, and a small frame holding the black-and-white picture of a smiling young man. Behind her grand chair was a large window that generously occupied the space between the ceiling and the tiled floor. The curtains were laid back, blinds were flipped open, allowing rich sunlight to illuminate the room.

Joshua sat on a brown metal-framed chair, staring at Tracy's smug face. She was definitely in a better mood than last night.

"What do you mean by 'not Chesterfield's first murder'?" As glad as he was that she woke up on the good side of the bed, he couldn't comprehend why she spoke about people getting away with murder with so much ease.

"What I mean is people have been killed in several, and sometimes more gruesome, ways in this town. At least, that's what the records say. The police usually try to investigate such matters the moment they arise, but due to lack of evidence and sometimes uncooperative witnesses and suspects, the case usually develops to a cold lead before long."

Joshua sat up in his seat suddenly. He gave Tracy looks so weird that she began to squirm in her seat.

"What?" She asked defensively.

"What the records say." Joshua repeated. "So, you're not from around here?"

Tracy's laugh reminded Joshua of an innocent teenage girl. Highly pitched and completely adorable. She fell back on her seat and continued to release pearls of laughter. Even Joshua began to grin.

"I'm . . . I'm sorry," she was still chuckling. When the laughter finally subsided, she looked at Joshua with laughter still in her eyes.

"You actually thought you were the only one brought in from the city. Shame." She chuckled again and reached for a cup of coffee.

"Huh." Joshua began to see her differently following her revelation. He now understood why she wanted to wait by the roadside for a taxi after they'd left the crime scene. Only after he convinced her that she wouldn't see any until dawn that she agreed to ride with him.

She was an outsider, like he was. Only he'd been in Chesterfield a couple of weeks longer. Despite that, she thought it wise to go through the past records. Funny how he never thought of that, he'd instinctively coined the town as peaceful and quiet.

Oh, well.

Never judge the taste of the melon by the size. Or whatever Barack Obama said.

"The reports from the forensic team came in this morning." Tracy lifted a brown box from the ground and placed it on the table.

"Well, that was quick." Joshua remarked.

"The data from the blood analysis and fingerprint tracing might take a little longer."

"Spoke too soon." Joshua plopped back on his seat.

Tracy smiled as she rummaged through the box. "The autopsy report came back ready, though." She handed a sheet of paper to Joshua. He took it and quickly scanned through.

"Died from medication misuse and possible overdose?" Joshua read aloud in disbelief. He waved the paper at Tracy.

"How does this explain the strangulation marks we saw?" He demanded.

"Strangulation was part of the reason he died, but it wasn't the original instigator. The doses were already deep into his system, causing serious damage. He would've died with or without being strangled." Tracy only answered absentmindedly. She was trying to offload an item carefully from the box.

"Still doesn't explain why he was choked to death," retorted Joshua.

"Well, that's why they brought us here. Right? To find out the why's and how's."

She finally pulled out what she'd been struggling with. Tracy placed the silver laptop on the table, in front of Joshua. She dropped the box back on the ground and stood with both palms faced down on the table.

"Remember the laptop we found under the mattress?"

Joshua sat forward and opened it slowly. It was already switched on, with the desktop icons scattered all over the screen. The background image was a beach with ocean waves lapping on it.

"I thought they'd also analyse this for evidence." Joshua said.

"They actually did. Sorta."

Tracy went round the table to Joshua's end, and bent into the laptop. Struggling to ignore her perfume, he watched as she navigated her way into one of the numerous icons.

"After cracking the lock code, they proceeded to look through everything in the system," she explained.

"Turns out Johnathan was a writer. He had copies of several e-books that were saved in virtual files. Funny enough, these were never submitted for publishing. Seems like he was just the kind who wrote leisurely."

Tracy tapped away at the keys while Joshua just stared at the screen. Inside the icon, she scrolled through what looked like hundreds of files until she stopped at one. She clicked on it and the screen went blank for a second. Then it came back to life, revealing a long text of typed words arranged in paragraphs.

"Each of the files have a time stamp on them, showing the date and time they were saved." Tracy continued.

She stood up straight and pointed at the screen. "This one was saved at 7:56pm, on the 15th of July, 2021."

Joshua's brows knitted together. Then his eyes widened.

"That was yesterday! Hours before his death!"

"Exactly." Tracy walked back to her seat with a triumphant look.

Joshua could feel his heart racing already. Their first real clue! Surely something in that laptop could point them in the direction they needed to go. They just needed to find it.

Just then, his phone buzzed with an alarm.

"We've got to go see the family of Johnathan Walters." He said, without looking up from his phone. He stood up watching Tracy's expression change to confusion.

"Just basic questioning. Nothing serious." He explained. "We can check this out on the way," he added as grabbed the laptop from her table.

★

"We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but we do have a few questions to ask, regarding your son's death."

They sat at the back porch of the white Southern themed bungalow, overlooking a backyard of neatly trimmed carpet grass and a peach tree.

The lady seated before them simply dabbed her eyes repeatedly with tissue, cleared her throat, and responded with a nod.

"Now, we never really had a chance to meet Johnathan when he was alive. So, could you kindly tell us what he was like? The kind of job he did? The people he was involved with?"

The lady shivered at the questions. She looked like she approached her mid-seventies, with her snow white hair getting tussled by the wind. Her aged features surprisingly showed little wrinkles, presumably the effects of a super attentive skin care routine. Although Joshua could still spot the dark circles under her dim blue eyes. It'd be impossible to stay glamorous after hearing about the death of your first child.

"John was different," she began, while staring into space.

"Right from his childhood, his area of interests differed from the rest of his peers. From his siblings as well. Most parents in Chesterfield pressure their kids to aim for the big important professions, just so that they can have the opportunity to leave this town. While a few return to pay service to their homeland, others decide to stay in the big cities and only decide to visit occasionally.

"John was the kind that returned fully to live and work here. The only one of my children that decided to do that."

"Sorry to interrupt you, ma'am." Joshua cut in. "But how many kids do you have?"

"Three boys, two girls." She answered swiftly. She sipped tea from her porcelain cup and placed it back on the saucer resting on her lap. All while looking into space.

"And where are they now, Mrs. Walters?"

"Who knows these days?" She asked back with a little shrug. "Last I recall, Michael was having a little getaway at an island somewhere in the Caribbean. He'd always complained of how strenuous his job could be and how he needed to recharge his batteries."

"And what exactly does he do?" Tracy was leaving no stone unturned.

"Affiliate marketing." Her tone had a hint of pride in it. "He often remarks on how profitable it is. Pays for all his "toys" and some of mine."

"Huh." Tracy's hand moved with agility as she scribbled in her notepad.

"How about your other children?" Joshua pressed. "Any idea as to where they could be?"

Margaret Walters tilted her head slightly to one side, appearing to be in deep thought.

"Jennifer works as a surgical consultant for a private hospital in the UK. Martha, my second daughter, lives in Brazil with her husband who's a civil engineer. My last child, Daniel, is a movie producer working on a project in Maldives." Mrs. Walters rose from her chair and walked to the edge of the porch. She stood with her manicured hands placed behind her, staring ahead into nothingness.

"Like I said, John was the only one who decided to come back here to settle down. And now . . ." She made a small choking sound, which tore at Joshua's heart.

"Now look at what my boy has become."