Murders at Westfield High

Chapter 21

I assumed that I had died and gone to heaven because I was seeing an angel’s face.

“It’s about time you woke up,” the angel said. “I was worried that you wouldn’t gain consciousness.” She leaned over and kissed my forehead.

I was hooked to IV’s and a catheter. The knife wound was tightly bandaged and I had tape all over me. A nearby monitor was displaying my heart rate and blood pressure.

“You nearly bled to death,” Julia said. “And guess whose blood they used to replenish what you lost.”

“Thank you,” I said in a raspy whisper.

“No, thank you! You saved my life.”

“I suppose we’re bonded now for sure,” I said in a rough voice. “Your blood is mixed with mine.”

“You and I will never part, Jay. I own my life to you and I love you.”

I could see a tear travel slowly down her cheek. “I love you,” I said as I reached up and caught her tear on my finger and then tasted it.

She put a hand on my chest and leaned over to kiss me. “Take it easy. You need to conserve your strength.”

Mrs. Wells came over to the other side of my bed. “You were right after all, Mr. Kramer. It turned out that Lester was the murderer. The police found pictures of the girls that he killed in his house. He had taken hundreds of them without their knowing it.  He’s charged with at least two counts of murder in the first degree.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I said. “It means that Carrie’s ghost can rest in peace.”

Wells sighed. “I won’t be using the paddle anymore. To think that my actions had something to do with those girls dying makes me sick.”

“It looks like I killed two birds with one stone; although, it nearly got me killed.”

Wells did something that I’ve never seen; she laughed, but it was laughter modified by relief.

I turned my head to see two buddies come into my room

“Hey, Kramer,” Nelson said. “You were right about those murders.”

“Yeah,” Neil said. “All this time we thought you were nuts.” He held up a paper. “Look, you’ve made the headlines.

I looked at the paper that he held up and smiled. ‘Senior stops another murder at Westfield High.’ ‘Jay Kramer suffered critical injuries in preventing the murder of Julia Adler. The suspect, Lester Jones, has been charged with attempted murder. He is also implicated in the murder of Julia’s sister, Carrie, and possibly three other murders.’

“Hopefully, someone hasn’t stolen my car,” I said after looking at my two buddies.

“Look at this guy,” Neil said, pointing to me and looking at Nelson. “He nearly died, and he’s worried about his car.”

“That makes him a true motor head,” Nelson said, smiling

“Your mother moved your car, dude,” Neil said. “It’s back at your place.”

I smiled weakly.

They laughed.

I turned to Julia. “It looks like I have two scars now.”

“Your scars will be permanent reminders to me of your bravery and the fact that you saved me. They are your badges of courage.”

Her statement was a testimony of her dedication to me, and I was glad to hear it. I was just happy to have been able to save her. I would have gladly given my life to do that, and I sensed that she realized that.

Julia helped me in my recovery. I was soon walking on my own and we were able to continue our relationship. I owed her a lot.

I had recovered enough to go to the prom with her. She looked so beautiful in her light blue prom dress. I was dressed in a tux, something that I had never worn. We were the hit of the prom. Everybody applauded when we danced by ourselves. It seems that I was a hero and Julia and I had become the most recognized couple at Westfield High.

I gave her my class ring when I received it. She put it on a necklace and wore it as a proud declaration that we were a couple. Little did she realize that I would give her a different ring after graduation and ask for her hand in matrimony.

But, maybe she sensed that I would make that big move. I didn’t care if she knew. I just wanted to make her happy. She certainly deserves it. What a lucky guy I am to have found a girl like her. It’s like a dream come true.

Thank you, Carrie, I said in my mind. You evidently still loved you sister enough to make me save her life. I hope that you can rest in peace now, and tell the other girls that they can also rest. Their murderer has been brought to justice.

Long live love!

Amen.

A big thanks to all those who chose to read this ancient history lesson. In case you thought that the swimming class incidents were made up, I can assure you that this kind of thing happened back then. I actually experienced it. Don’t take my word for it. There’s a good scholarly discussion of this issue on YouTube titled - Naked Swimming in School Parts 1, 2 and 3. This series sums up what happened back there, including some incidents like the one I describe. In addition, there were many forums dedicated to discussions on this issue. It seems that many men had similar experiences and had suppressed their feelings about it for a long time.