An Unhealthy Death

by Michael Bracken

About the Author: Michael Bracken is the author of several books, including the private eye novel All White Girls, and more than 1,100 short stories, including crime fiction published in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Espionage Magazine, Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, Mystery Weekly Magazine, and many other anthologies and periodicals. He lives and writes in Texas.

Excerpt

The seven of us had been challenging one another every week, letting the data uploaded from our wrist-worn fitness trackers determine each week’s winner. There was no prize beyond the knowledge that we were all improving our health. Even so, I had taken more steps than the other six group members for three consecutive weeks. My only real competition was Chad Parker, a man I had never met, but who had out-walked all of us more weeks than not since Sylvia Featherstone invited him to join our group. So, I was surprised when the challenge week ended and his numbers had not been updated since the previous day.

I was eager to learn if I had bested everyone again, so I sent Chad a reminder that the week had ended and that he needed to synch his fitness tracker. He did not respond.

The next day, when his numbers still had not changed, I sent a message to Sylvia, asking if she had heard from him recently.

When she said she hadn’t, I suggested she contact Chad and find out what had happened.

An hour later my cell phone rang. When I answered it, Sylvia said, “You need to get over here.”

“Where’s here?”

“Chad’s.”

She gave me the address and I drove across town to a bungalow at the edge of Rainy Park, a neighborhood in the process of gentrification. Sylvia was standing on the porch, her face the color of chalk.

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