Murders at Westfield High

Chapter 20

I sat next to Julia in English class and met her at lunch.

“I can’t believe that you drove all the way to Fairfax to see me,” she said, her eyes exuding genuine joy.

“What can I say,” I said, holding my arms out as if surrendering. “I can’t get enough of you.”

She beamed with affection. I liked that because it showed me that she cared. I certainly didn’t want to cause her any anxiety. “How about a movie tonight?”

She frowned. “I can’t. I have cheerleader practice tonight.”

“I thought that basketball season was over?”

“Westfield hosts the third team in the league tomorrow night. They’re fighting for second place because both Madison and Westfield have identical records.”

I chuckled. “I suppose that means that I’ll have to attend another basketball game.”

She gave me a placating smile. “At least you won’t have to pay to get in.”

“Yeah, that’s a plus. They charged a whole dollar at the Fairfax game.”

“That’s too much,” she said, feigning shock.

I took advantage of the fact that I couldn’t go out with Julia to attend another swimming makeup class. It was just Neil, Nelson, Stan, Josh, Barry and I.

“Hey, Inspector Kramer,” Nelson yelled. “Have you solved the Westfield High murders yet?”

I waved a dismissive hand at him. “Unfortunately, it’s not elementary, dear Nelson.”

They laughed, but their laughter morphed into gasps when they saw a young woman descend the stairs that led to the girls’ showers. She was younger than Victoria, a curvaceous blond with beautiful eyes and a more flirtatious personality. She was dressed in a white tee and shorts and wearing white socks and tennis shoes. Her shapely legs caught our attention and made us forget that we were naked.

“I’m Heather Williams,” she said with a sly smile. “Miss Gains couldn’t make it tonight. I’m her assistant. Line up and I’ll take attendance.”

Her sexy toned voice reminded me of a young Lauren Bacall. In fact, she looked a lot like her. She had the same bedroom eyes, the luscious lips and the left parted hair that gently curled down around her face. She had a sophisticated, almost sultry look that exuded innate sexuality.

When she called our name, we raised our hand. When she was finished, she didn’t blow her whistle. “I think I’ll just have you dive off the mid-level board.”

We lined up, and I was the first to climb the ladder and make a dive. I tried to knife into the water without causing too much splash. I surfaced, swam to the side of the pool, climbed out and strolled back to the diving board ladder. The other guys were just as brazen in the way they exhibited their bodies to her. Maybe it was the fact that she was an incredibly beautiful young woman and we had a primal urge to impress her with our manly attributes.

The reality was that we were living a fantasy.

“You boys can continue,” she said after a half dozen dives. “I’ll be up in the office.” She smiled “If you want to take a rest, I won’t tell anyone.” She added an ornery smile as punctuation.

We watched her turn and ascend the stairs. Our young male eyes followed her every erotic move as if she were a Greek goddess ascending into heaven. Most of it was fantasy fueled by hormones.

We saw her enter the doorway to the girls’ showers, and after a few minutes, we could see her in the open window that looked down on the pool from the girls’ athletic office.