Hey there, guys! I'm back with another new chapter of LOM! This will involve the guys thinking about the recent murders, and guessing possible subjects, along with another murder being committed. Let's see how it all goes down.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 6: Who Could it Be?
The next day seemed like a normal day... but it sure didn't feel like it. Not with all the recent events going on. Both Rudy and Russell had visited Melba just to make sure she was doing well after what happened to her brother. From what they know, there will be a memorial service for Devery, and he's most likely to be cremated due to the damage on his body.
Whether or not the gang would attend, they weren't sure. But it would only be fair... and nice of them.
But right now, all eight of them were gathered in the clubhouse, hoping to talk about this issue. An emergency meeting was called that evening.
"Alright, dudes. This meeting will come to order." Albert announced, getting everyone's attention, "As you all know, North Philly has been hit with a bunch of murders happening within the same week. The first victim was Bobby Hanson, then Elaine Withrow, then Tommy Camden's parents, and now, Devery Suter. Someone is killing these people. Whoever it is, they keep leaving anonymous notes at the scene of the crime."
"So, are we trying to figure out who's been killing everybody?" Rudy asked.
"Well, maybe not exactly, but we can at least try to understand their motives..."
Albert walked over to a wall with a poster. On it was pictures of the victims at the top, and below were pictures of the boys in a line, "Bill and I came up with this chart. With it, we can hopefully make some connections. Let's start with Bobby."
"Oh, I know! He ran over Rudy's bike with his car." Donald pointed out.
Using a marker, Albert drew a line from Bobby's picture to Rudy's, much to the rich boy's dismay, "I sincerely hope none of you think I'm the killer..." He muttered.
"Don't worry, we know it wasn't you..." Albert assured him, "So... Bobby is connected to us because of Rudy. What about Elaine?"
"She dated Donald," Harold spoke up.
A line from Elaine's picture was drawn to Donald's. That was two connections made, "Now, we're all friends with Tommy." Albert said as he started to draw a line for everyone, "Though... I suppose I'm closer to her, and I've spoken to his parents before."
"And Devery... I was close to him..." Rudy mentioned.
"Right..."
A line connected those two boys. As soon as that was done, the boys observed the chart and realized that Albert was right. All the victims seemed to have a connection to one or all of them in one way or another. What did this mean?
"Maybe theb killber knowsb whob web areb?" Mush innocently suggested.
...
Everyone looked at the Ubbi Dubbi boy and realized...
"Mushmouth... you might have a point..." Albert spoke.
"Really...?" Russell asked.
The fat boy nodded, "Yep. I may be wrong... I hope I'm wrong... but I have a feeling... that whoever the killer is... they know who we are... and are out to get us... I think we're in trouble."
The gang was starting to understand what Albert was talking about as Bill spoke, "Yeah. I don't think it's the actual victims they're after... it's us for some reason. Someone who must really hate us enough, that they want us to witness our close friends and such die."
"This makes so much sense..." Rudy added, "But... why? And who?"
"It has to be someone we know..." Harold answered, "Someone we've met and pissed off somehow... how about Franny Bates? He was pretty pissed after Albert got his brother in jail."
Albert shook his head, "I doubt it. Franny and I are still somewhat on good terms. He resents me, but he doesn't resent me that much."
Bucky had a suggestion, "What about that Melvin dude? The one stealing from the gym. Almost got Teddy in trouble."
"Isn't he on probation?" Harold asked.
"Yeah, but..."
"I bet it's actually that Arnie douchebag." Rudy wondered, "He seems like the sleazy type of guy. He and his goons almost attacked me too."
"How about Jerry?" Russell suggested, "The guy at Tommy's party. He's on probation too, but..."
"Or Larry?" Donald spoke up, "Oh wait, he's still in jail..."
Albert held his hands up to get everyone's attention, "Those are some interesting suspects, dudes. But let's take into account something. Even if one of them is the killer, how would they know so much about us already? How would they know about the bike incident? Or Elaine and Hammerhead? Or Tommy's party? Or Devery playing tricks on Halloween? How would they know any of that unless someone told them?"
Bill nodded, "You got a point there, Fat Albert. The killer has to be someone who really knew us pretty well."
"Exactly. Especially if they were able to write out notes that specifically mentioned certain events that relate to the victims..."
Unfortunately, even with these clues... the boys were still confused and rather clueless as to who the killer really is. Any possible suspects that they thought of, they immediately debunked due to the impossibility and unsureness. There just weren't any possible ideas.
"I guess this ends our investigation for now..." Albert concluded, "If we discover something else, we'll come back to it."
Everyone agreed.
"And we'll continue being there for the victims' families... let's all go for a walk... I think we need it.."
Yet another agreement. A simple walk around town sounds heavenly at this point. With that, the boys walked out of the clubhouse, out of the junkyard, and down the street. At first, it was silent between them, but then Donald spoke up, "U-Um... I heard that Elaine's, uh, funeral... is on Monday. Anybody goin'? I want to go, but at the same time, I don't... I wouldn't stand seeing her... in..."
The dimwit trailed off. The mere thought of seeing the girl he loved in a casket was too much. Rudy put a hand on his shoulder, "I know, dude. You don't have to go if you don't want to... and if you do... you know you don't have to look at her..."
"B-But I feel like I should... you know, to say goodbye one last time..."
"Just do what you feel is comfortable," Albert assured him, "No person wants to put themselves in that position. It's hard. As for Elaine's funeral... I guess I'll go."
"Do you think Hammerhead will be there?" Bucky wondered.
"I hope not." Donald frowned, "He's already sore with me enough..."
Before anything else could be said, the gang jumped at the sound of screaming. What was going on? It sounded like whoever was screaming... they were in pain. And whoever it was... sounded like a woman.
"Someone is in trouble!" Russell whimpered as he clung to his brother.
"What do we do?" Donald asked.
Albert felt conflicted, "Maybe... we can try to help... maybe..."
Scared, worried, and curious, the boys began to run in the direction of the screamer. As much as they didn't want to admit it, they knew right away that someone was getting attacked by the killer. Maybe... there was a chance to save that person before it was too late.
Soon, they were able to reach the house... but the screaming had stopped. All was silent. The front door was wide open. The boys had no idea of who this house belonged to, but they were prepared to help in one way or another.
With Albert leading the way, the eight of them slowly approached the door, with him opening it slightly. They hoped that the killer was gone and wouldn't attack them. But would it matter? As they peeked inside the house, the sight before them left them speechless.
The living room was trashed all over. Things knocked over, broken, or simply destroyed. But what scared the boys most was what was in the middle? Lying face down on a shattered coffee table was a bruised and bloody body.
"Oh god..." Rudy muttered to himself.
Gulping, Albert slowly approached the woman and turned her around. The boys shouted out in shock at the sight. Not only was there a large knife sticking out of her forehead... but they recognized her all too well.
"Dudes... that's... that's Miss Johnson!" Harold realized.
Indeed, it was the boys' substitute teacher that they had for a few weeks while Ms. Breyfogle was on leave at their old school. At first, the boys (Rudy especially) didn't like her so much, but they eventually warmed up to her. While she wasn't their teacher right now, she still taught younger kids at the elementary class.
Russell immediately buried his face in Bill's shirt and started sobbing. Donald covered his face in his sleeves to avoid seeing the scene. Rudy felt sick and vomited on the floor. Harold, Bucky, and Mush looked away. Albert, however, while horrified, also noticed something else.
"A note..."
Beside Miss Johnson's body was a folded piece of paper. Picking it up, he unfolded it, and as expected... there was something written.
'You deserved better, Miss Johnson. You could've had much better students.'
"Dudes... we better get help. Someone call 911... and, let's step out..."
Bucky was the one to do that. And in five minutes, the police and ambulance were here. Miss Johnson's body was covered as the cops investigated the scene, with Officer Jackson and Officer Gomez talking to the boys.
"So you say that you heard screaming, and came to investigate?" Jackson asked.
Albert nodded, "That's right. I guess we were hoping to help the person... but we were too late."
"I'll admit. You boys are very brave." Gomez spoke, "But here's some advice for the future. If you hear screaming from inside a house and fear it's trouble, make sure to call from a distance, and simply don't run inside the house. The killer could have still been there. You boys are lucky."
The gang realized the officer was right. By going inside the house, they risked walking into their own deaths. So they simply nodded at the advice, "Speaking of the killer... do you have any leads or ideas on who it might be?" Rudy couldn't help but ask.
The two officers looked at each other, before Jackson spoke again, "Not exactly. It seems that whoever it is... they are erasing evidence. There's no sign of fingerprints on weapons or anything. Not even the notes we've been finding seem to hint at anything. But believe me when I say we're trying our hardest to seek out the criminal. The city has been fearful this past week."
Not surprising at all... Was what was on all the boys' minds right back.
After a few more questions, the boys were able to leave. They were still in shock from what they witness. Miss Johnson, one of the nicest teachers, was gone...
"I can't believe it... they got Miss Johnson..." Russell sniffled.
"She was always so nice..." Bucky added sadly.
"I... I wish I wasn't such a jackass when she taught our class..." Rudy admitted.
"Y'know... I'm starting to see a pattern now, Albert. Everyone who's been killed really is connected to all of us in some way." Harold pointed out, "And in this case, it's a teacher."
Albert nodded, "That's true... which means that we have to figure this out soon... before anybody else we know is a goner..."
The boys agreed to that.
Little did they know... was that they were being watched. The killer saw the boys walking down the street as he chuckled to himself, "Poor Junkyard Gang... so many lives lost... and you assholes only have yourselves to blame... and unfortunately, the night isn't over yet. One more will perish. And I have a feeling this will be another that will shake one of those dudes up..."
So not only are the boys trying to figure out what's going on, but now their teacher, Miss Johnson (from the episode 'Readin', Writin', and Rudy) is gone from a stab in the head. And the killer won't stop there this night. Next chapter will have another murder, as well as reactions and feelings for Miss Johnson. Until then, I'll see you guys later. And as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you.
