My Case Files: A Collection of Mystery & Crime Short Stories

⠀ CASE NO. 2: The Death of Samuel Townsend (pt. 2)⠀

Same day

Betty arrived at the police headquarters at last and was greeted by guards. They almost seemed rather too enthusiastic for her visit. The place had not improved much since the last time she had been there--which was during a field trip. The steel bars were rusty and some corners on the ceilings were peeling.

She saw the chief coming towards her. They shook hands and he began, "Good day, madam-- "

"Good day, may I speak to the inspector, please?" Betty said, without wasting a breath. She had no time to listen to the chief's blabber and false reassurance on her father's case.

"Ah, no worries. Please proceed into the inspector's office right ahead." The chief motioned towards the office door.

"Thank you," she said and strode to the door and knocked on it. There wasn't an immediate response but she opened it, nevertheless.

"Excuse me, mister inspector?" She stood by the door as the detective inspector spun his seat around to face her direction. "It is I, Betty Townsend," she introduced herself.

"Ms. Townsend, come in, come in," the man said with his high-pitched voice. "Please take a seat. I am Detective Inspector Dimka."

She then took a seat and gave a deep exhale. "I would like to... to see my father's crime scene photographs."

"Aren't you going to ask me about the case first?" he insisted in a questioning tone as he took the photographs from his drawer.

"I know all about it already," she stated.

"Right," he nodded as he slid the photographs across the table to her. "The forensics had explained it all, perhaps?"

Betty paid no mind and had already been analysing the photographs. "Mhm, they did," she nonchalantly responded while she carefully analysed each photograph. She'd seen the broken alcohol bottle by the table and the gun in her father's hand, so far. She never thought she'd see such a scene.

The man leaned forward. "You seem determined, madam," he deduced and her head snaps to his direction.

"I am. This is not what you all claim it to be," she then returned to the photo in her and switched to one that showed the chair tumbled side ways and parts of her father's legs and lower torso visible. She felt a lump forming in her throat.

The inspector gave an all-knowing chuckle and said, "We claim it to be what it looks to be-- "

"Looks can be deceiving!" she blurted out and faced him with a sturn look on her face. The inspector raised his chin and slowly rested on his seat.

"Please do explain further," he encouraged as he placed his clasped hands in front of his face.

"My father... " she started too aggressively but paused to compose herself and continued, "My father was expecting my daughter and I, the day before he died. He especially wanted to see his granddaughter in a very long time, so my husband and I had decided to fetch her. My father was even joyous as I announced my temporary departure just so I could fetch his grandchild--"

He nodded at her, about to speak. "It would be ill-timed for Mr. Townsend to take his own life," he finished for her.

"Exactly," she raised her hands to him then dropped them on her lap.

"Then again, Ms. Townsend... looks can be deceiving, right? He could have been pretending so to not alarm you," he remarked, which made Betty's brows furrow in confusion. "He could have had plans to kill himself around that time and wanted one last goodbye to his family, including his granddaughter. Yet she wasn't there and he knew it would take long for her to get there and... maybe he could not take it no more? Also, it must have been a lot easier for him to commit when his daughter wasn't present to be the one to discover his dead body..."