Diaries of the Dead

17 | Mirrored Image

unedited. it's very important to read the author's note at the end of this chapter. 

17 | M i r r o r e d  I m a g e 

        Detective Dave Johnson sat at his desk, flipping through the file folder, wishing he could find something that would lead to the culprit. It was days like these he loathed. Rescuing a cat from a tree or directing traffic was much more calming than a murder.

           Despite his complaints, it was what he signed up for and he would do anything to protect his town.

            “Johnson, you have visitors,” a receptionist called from the front desk.

            He peered from behind his desk, a courteous smile forming as the two persons approached him.

            “Agent Lance,” he addressed the male.

            “Good afternoon Detective Johnson,” Lance greeted. “This is Kari Vu from our forensics unit. She has some information to share with you.”

            Johnson’s gaze shifted to the Asian woman standing just a few feet away from him. She held a file folder of her own and wore a weak smile. The dark lines underneath her eyes proved she had a long night.

            “We ran a trace on semen found in the victim’s body and traced it back to a young man.” She tossed the folder on her desk and interlaced her fingers. As Johnson opened the folder, Kari continued. “Mitch Byron. Caucasian, early 30s, highly intelligent—a graduate from Harvard. He seems to be the outgoing type. His good looks are undeniable so it’s no doubt that he’s quite a charmer. He is the current owner of the Byron security enterprise; he inherited ownership considering it is a family business. He has had several run-ins with the law, a couple DUI’s and assaults of police officers,” she finished.

            Johnson flicked his golden eyes upwards for a moment, and then glanced down at the folder again. “Do we think this young man is the murderer?”

            “There is no way to find out based on this information alone. We cannot tell when the semen was entered into the body, or if it was anywhere near time of death. But, we can hook this guy up to a lie detector and see what results we get.”

            The detective nodded as he stared at the photo of Mitch. “And Lance? How did interrogating go?”

            Lance cleared his throat and forced a professional smile. “Her alibi checks out. Grace isn’t involved.”

            Johnson’s hard brows tensed. “Grace?”

            “Ms. Hughes,” he corrected himself.

            Johnson sighed and tossed his creased leather jacket aside. He laid back into the chair and replied coolly, “Guess we will be paying Mr. Byron a visit.”

*       *       *       *

            The party was tonight.

            Perhaps, it was a little too soon considering they had just found Jessica’s body, but she didn’t care. At this point, moving on meant the world to her and she’d do anything to get it.

            The wind blew harshly. She couldn’t feel it but she could hear the swooshing sound as it passed her.

            Jessica glanced behind her at Aiden’s house. She wanted to go in, but she decided against it. Thoughts of Vanessa and him together clouded her mind and suddenly she couldn’t think straight. She didn’t actually believe that Aiden really liked her. After what? A month?