David kissed Katie once more before the movie started. They were seeing the newest Harry Potter film at midnight. They went to the IMAX theatre in Rockaway. David knew that Katie liked everything bigger. He would often make sexual related jokes about this liking of hers, and she would smile politely.

He was madly in love with her. They had been dating only for seven months, but it was enough time for him to see that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Although they never actually discussed the subject, he could see it in her eyes. As the lights started to fade, David adjusted his glasses right before he made himself comfortable putting his arm around Katie. Katie also adjusted to the new setting by placing her hand gently on David’s knee.

Normally, David Murphy liked to let his mind enter the movie. It was different this time. All David could think about was the ring in his pocket. He planned this moment for about a month. David must have looked within half of New Jersey to find the perfect engagement ring. He finally made his decision earlier that day when he bought it at a jewelry store in the Short Hills mall. Although costing him more than he expected to pay, he could not resist it, for it would fit Katie beautifully.

David was the kind of person who didn’t care about money. All that he cared about was Katie. With her in his life, he would be happy no matter what. The past seven months have been the best of David’s twenty-eight years living. Together, they traveled the world, saw Broadway shows on a regular basis, and pleasured each other in more ways than imaginable. They were both finally happy.

As the movie was ending and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was capturing the elder wand, a chill crept up David’s body.

“What if she has doubts?” he thought to himself. “What if she says she’s not ready to make that commitment?” David then relaxed himself. It was what it was. The proposal he was about to make could go great or horribly. Either way, he tried hard.



Katie was enjoying the movie. Her life was perfect in every way. She was beautiful, healthy, and had the most loving boyfriend a girl could ever ask for. Katie was not like other girls. She never drank or did drugs in her life. She was also a virgin. She once talked it over with David, and he admitted that he was, as well.

Katie put her head on David and noticed that he looked more nervous than normal. She wondered what was wrong. She thought about what was going on inside of his head, but quickly ignored any thought of a dilemma in their lives.

Once the movie started, Katie could not really get into it. She loved Harry Potter, but today she was more focused on her life with David. He was her first boyfriend. They met at a StarBucks. She found love at the most random place. She went in the coffee store to get an iced mocha latte, and she came out with her destined husband.

Katie thought about marriage. She wanted it more than anything. Her parents did, as well. She wanted to live in a big house with the love of her life. She wanted to have children, and her parents wanted grandchildren. These were the best times of Katie’s existence. Throughout her life, she usually worked hard in school, being valedictorian for not only middle school and high school, but also college. She was finally settling down and having fun now. These were the days she would remember for the rest of her life.



The movie let out and the sold-out IMAX theatre had people dispersing everywhere. David told Katie to follow his lead, and he took her hand more than gently and led her to the back door. They walked out of the theatre and into the balcony of the building. There were more people there than usual because it was such a crowded night, but there was still plenty of room for David to do what he needed to get done. They made their way to a spot on the balcony that gave a perfect view of the crystal clear night and sparkling chandelier.

“That was so much fun, David! Did you like the movie?” Katie asked in a voice that was made for a Goddess. David would not be able to tell the difference.

“Loved it, if you will.” He responded. David always had a way with words. After all, he was an editor. He looked out the balcony past the chandelier into the crystal night sky. “Katie, are you happy?”

“What kind of question is that? Of course I’m happy!” She answered him with such delight that it filled his soul with hope. At that moment, David dropped to one knee. For once in his life, he was nervous. His blood pressure rose.

“Katherine Gail Sexton, there are so few days we really have in life. I want to spend the rest of my life with you! The time I have with you now is precious. The past seven months have been, without a doubt, the best days of my life. I have gained so much happiness and confidence with you that I only dreamed about having as a child. When with you, I feel like I am living my dream. When we are together, nothing else matters in the world. It’s just us, and that’s the way I like it. When I stare deep into your beautiful blue eyes, I not only see the most beautiful girl in the entire world, I see a soul longing for someone. I can be that someone. Katie, will you marry me?”

She was in tears. It was the nicest thing that she ever heard about herself. She would have to be a fool to say no, and Katie Sexton was not a fool.

“Yes. Of course I will marry you!” David took the ring out of the box and placed it on her finger. He got up and she kissed him passionately while sharing a sweet embrace that not even the National Guard could separate. They heard awes and moans of affection by the people in the background. Their new life had officially begun.



David drove Katie home that night. They were both chattering the whole time. Katie was accompanied up to her apartment by David. It was on the seventh floor of her dwelling in East Hanover. Katie unlocked her door with a radiant smile. She planned on taking a shower and going to sleep. She would call all of her relatives in the morning and tell them the good news.

“I love you.” David kissed her hard and then left more content than ever. Katie went inside and turned on the lights. All was perfect for her. She went to get ready for her shower. It was 3:30 a.m. and Katie was in fact tired. She didn’t want to go to sleep, though. She was too blissful.

While going into the bathroom, Katie heard a slight crack at her door. She went to check it. There was nothing out of the ordinary, according to her. She went back into the bathroom and took off her clothes, hopping in the shower.

Right before Katie turned on the water, she heard something move outside of the bathroom. She was convinced her imagination was running wild.

She turned on the water and started her shower. Soaping herself up, Katie closed her eyes and relaxed. She thought about all of the wonderful things she had going for her. She would not want to be any other person right now except for her plain self.

Katie heard the door open to the bathroom, putting her in shock for a moment. She then figured that it was David. He probably wanted to join her.

“Why, would you care to come in?” She said to David even though she could not see him. She turned the water off, dried her face with a towel, and then opened the curtain.

“Why, yes I would.” Said a man. It wasn’t David’s voice. Katie could tell. She looked up and saw a figure that seemed familiar to her. She dropped her towel. Katie was completely nude.

The interloper in Katie’s bathroom was not particularly muscular, but he looked very athletic. A glaze of shock then came into Katie’s eyes.

“Oh my God, it’s you!” She started, but before she could continue, the mysterious man cut her off.

“Yeah, it’s me.” At that moment, he tackled Katie against her toilet. She screamed in agonizing pain. The man quickly took out duck tape from his back pocket. He slapped her hard and then pulled her hair. He punched his fist in her mouth and then wrapped several layers of tape around her face so she could not speak. Katie was defenseless.

“You’re going to pay for all of that s*** you put me through,” he told her in a sorrowful voice. Tears rolled down Katie’s face and she tried to put her head down. The interloper made her look at him by raising her head. He then taped her head to the toilet seat, wrapping the roll around the seat and Katie’s head until he was out of tape.

The man pulled down his pants. Snot came out of Katie’s nose. He entered her. All what could be heard from Katie were tiny muffles that were barely audible. The man groaned. He went in her repeatedly several times. He was in a different position each time.

When the intruder was done raping Katie, he went to grab his backpack from the other side of the bathroom. Katie just noticed the bag for the first time. He took a pouch out of the bag and un-zippered it. Inside the pouch was the biggest pocket knife that Katie had ever seen.

The man went over to Katie and un-taped her mouth. He looked at her for quite some time. He then started to move the knife towards Katie’s body.

“Please. Please don’t. Why are you doing this to me?” Katie cried.

“You broke my heart, you b****.” The man then slowly entered the knife into the side of Katie’s neck. He moved it clockwise until he cut her throat one-hundred-eighty degrees. Throughout the process, the intruder heard Katie gasp and screech. He was getting pleasure out of it.

The interloper put the knife away and went in the shower. He washed himself off and wet the tiles a little to spread the dark blood around the floor. He then exited the apartment.






David woke up that morning with great excitement. Last night was the happiest moment of his life. He proposed to the love of his life and she accepted. David was more content than ever. He ate breakfast and left his apartment complex he shared with another 199 people.

David drove his blue Nissan Maxima into New York City. Yesterday was fun but now he had to go to work. He had a job at the New York Times. David was an entertainment editor. He loved working in entertainment. For a while, it was the only thing that he loved. Then he met Katie. He parked his car in a lot for a hefty price and put his sharp key in his pocket. David swore that the key to his Maxima was so big and sharp; he could use it as a weapon and win the battle.
Editors of David’s status only had to “go” to work the first and third Wednesday of every month. Following this further, David did most of his work from home. He liked not having permanent hours. David could edit articles any time of day, just as long as he made his deadline. He was more than passing by, with a salary of just under $100,000 a year. David preferred working at night, for it was when his best ideas were at hand. He also was busy during the day with Katie. Even when he wasn’t with her, he would write love poems about her. Katie thought it was sweet.
“David, you’re looking like Sean Penn winning his second Oscar.” Randy Anderson, the editor-in-chief of the paper, told him with a quirky smile on his face. David laughed light-heartedly and gave a polite smile.
The meeting started. There were about fifty people there in all. The discussion was about the future articles that were needed and the style of writing the managers wanted for the upcoming holiday season.
“We’re here to discuss our advertising in the Arts and Leisure section.” Randy was speaking, trying to make the dull topic for many amusing. He was failing. “If there’s anyone who has any suitable ideas, let’s hear them.” No one spoke.
David did not really care about this, for he did not write articles but merely edited them. He always found it interesting, though. David would get more active in the discussion once it was focused on theatre and film. Those were David’s strong points in entertainment.
David tried to pay attention for the ninety minute meeting, but he couldn’t get Katie’s majestic body out of his mind. She was his girl. When it was over, he thought he should be given a medal for not having a seizure during the meeting. He walked out of the building and saw Bernadette Peters looking at him on a billboard for “A Little Night Music.” David walked to the box office at the Walter Kerr Theatre and bought tickets for him and Katie to see the show. It was just one of the many surprises he would have in store for her throughout their marriage.



Directly below Katie’s apartment was where Molly Palmer was situated. She was divorced and in her mid thirties. Molly was a big-breasted brunette and the kind of girl that a nineteen year old would want to hook up with during spring break. She woke up and went into her kitchen to make herself breakfast. As soon as she got in the kitchen, she slipped on a liquid substance, landing on the floor. It was not a hard fall, but it was enough to give her back pain for a few minutes. As Molly was lying on her kitchen floor in light pain, she noticed that she slipped on what appeared to be blood.
“What the hell?” she said to herself. Miss. Palmer looked up to see a spread of what appeared to be blood dropping down from the ceiling of the seventh floor. She knew that Katie Sexton’s apartment was right above hers. She didn’t know what to think.
Molly called the lobby and told them what she saw. A baggage carrier went up to the seventh floor to see if Katie was okay and sane. When he knocked, the door was not answered. When called, the phone was not answered.
The receptionist at the lobby called the police. Four officers came within ten minutes and broke down Katie Sexton’s apartment door. They went in followed by Molly Palmer and the valet.
They all went in and looked around the apartment. Katie was nowhere to be found within her kitchen, living room, and bedroom. The only place left to look was the bathroom. Molly opened the bathroom door while the other five men were still snooping around the house. Went she looked in, her eyes widened.
“Dear God!” She said. The officers and the valet came quickly to find Katie’s naked, gory body wrapped around the toilet seat. The spectators saw right away that her throat was cut.

When David got home from the city, he immediately went to sleep. Normally he would call Katie and have a long talk about life with her, but he was too tired. Besides, she was probably busy calling all of her family about the wedding.
That late afternoon, David dreamed about Katie. Dreams were where David escaped. He imagined he would hardly dream when he was married because it would now be reality. He dreamt that he was on his honeymoon with her. They were in London, seeing all of the shows they always wanted to see in the West End. David had a random stranger take a picture of them next to Her Majesty’s theater, where they saw “The Phantom of the Opera” three times over their stay. David adored Katie’s smile in that picture so much, he set it as his profile picture on Facebook and also his wallpaper for his computer. Soon they got back to New Jersey, and waiting for them there was a house with everything they could ever ask for.
David woke up more content than ever. Everything in his life was perfect. He was going to get married to the perfect girl. Katie Sexton had eyes as beautiful as the ocean, hair as royal as a queen, and a body as striking as a movie actress.
Thinking about it more, David smiled. It was now 7:00 pm and he thought he would check in on Katie. He also intended to make other phone calls to his parents and friends. He had to inform them about his wedding.
David would do all of those things but first, he felt ravenous. He grabbed his cell phone and walked into the kitchen. There were no new text messages. He found this slightly odd, considering he hadn’t heard from his fiancé in roughly 14 hours. David started to think of her having regrets and not wanting to marry him. It was very abnormal that Katie did not at least text him. Before today, Katie texted David almost every hour of the day when she was not busy. David started to feel nervous again.
As he was fixing up a meal of cheerios, his phone started vibrating. Someone was calling him. David did not recognize the number on the screen, but decided to answer it anyway. It was the police. They asked him if he had any relation or connection to Katie Sexton. His heart skipped a beat.
“Yes…she’s my fiancée. Why? What’s wrong?” The officer told him to come down to the local police station as soon as possible, and then hung up. When the officer was finished speaking, David was silent. He rushed to the police station to find out what was wrong.
David ran into the gloomy police station and identified himself. He told the officers that he received a phone call about his fiancée, Katie.
“I’m sorry to inform you, but Katie Sexton is deceased. She has been found tied up in her bathroom with her throat cut. There is also evidence that she was raped.” One of the officers told David this in a monotone voice. David was in shock.
In the next second, David was on the floor. He had fainted. His head hit the hard tile on the police floor at full speed, knocking him out and giving him a concussion.


He woke up in a hospital. He had a blood clot in his head. The doctor told him that he was going to be fine within a period of two weeks, and that it could have been a lot worse. He remembered the words of the officer in the police station.
David was in total disbelief. It hadn’t been 24 hours since he last saw her…alive. Why would anyone want to kill the most beautifully charming Katherine Sexton? There was a part of him that believed everyone was playing a joke on him. Then he realized he was in the hospital. There was no joke. The girl he proposed to last night was murdered. He would have to accept it.
Maybe it happened right after I dropped her off. A man broke into her house and threatened my love with a knife. He probably told her to get on the ground if she wanted to live. David could feel his face turning bright red. Then it happened. He entered her and probably got even more pleasure out of her innocent moans for help. And while this was going on, I was driving home in my car as happy as I could be!
David was discharged from the hospital after giving the receptionist his insurance information, and had a police officer take him home. He was confused but sure of one thing: he wanted vengeance on the man that killed his one true love.

Once David entered his apartment building, he let it all out. He screamed louder than ever before, and ran over to a wall and started punching and kicking it. He made several dents in it, and one big hole. He didn’t think for a second of how he would repair that, but he did think of what his neighbors must be thinking of him, and he suddenly stopped. He went into his living room and sat down on his scarlet chair. He was thinking. He stroked his hands through his hair, staring blankly out the window. He had the expression of sorrow. Silence surrounded him.
David went to his computer, which was on the entire time he was at the hospital, showing all of the articles he would eventually have to edit. Without Katie, though, David’s life was not worth living. He closed all of the documents without saving them, went to yahoo, and searched Katie’s full name. More than enough results came up. David procrastinated, and then clicked on the first link. He read it with tears making their way down his eyes. By the time he was done, his favorite scarlet chair was scattered with drips of tears.
He found the official police report. It was unbearable. It was on the night of their last date. There wasn’t as much detail as he predicted, but it was still enough to make him throw-up only fluids (he hadn’t eaten anything in the last 24 hours. He was too excited about the wedding). It stated that Katie had been found tied to her bathroom seat with her throat cut in two places with proof of her being raped. It went on to say that she was found with no clothes on. That part really upset David. Just imagining someone else examining her without any clothes on was enough to make him put another hole in the wall. Life without Katie Sexton was like the Earth without the sun. David was going to get revenge, but first, he had a very important thing to do.


David parked outside the beautifully ancient Victorian house. The house belonged to Katie’s parents. Mr. and Mrs. Sexton. He had only met them on four occasions, and one was extremely brief. As he was walking up the pavement into the doorway, the door opened, revealing two police officers that were exiting the house. David looked them straight in the eye and noticed that they gave him an unfriendly look back.
He got to the door and rang the doorbell. No more than five seconds later, Katie’s mother, Alaina, answered the door with a surprised look. David could tell that she had been crying by her smeared make-up.
“Hello. I…” Before David could finish, Alaina gave him a big hug.
“Please come in, David. We need you.”
David entered the house. It was neatly organized and had a nice look in it. It reminded him of Katie.
“My daughter was having the time of her life when she was with you.” Alaina fiercely told David. He tried to smile. He wondered if Katie ever told her parents about their engagement before she was killed. Probably not. “Katie was always talking about you within the past months. She kept on telling us how nice you were and how kind you were to her. She said you were different…in a good way, of course.”
David was about to speak, but he fell into an emotional thought of despair. This was proof that Katie cared about him, but he did not want proof.
“I loved her.” David cried once more. “I proposed to her on the night she was murdered. Did she tell you?”
She shook her head. David looked down. Now Katie’s father was coming in. He looked tough, but had softness to him.
“Things aren’t fair in life.” Paul said in grief. “Katie had the world at her feet, and that sick son of a b**** murdered her. My daughter! My kid! I raised her. She was mine and he took her from me. He’s going to die, and then he’s going straight to hell!”
David was surprised at how calm Katie’s mother was and how emotional her father was. They shared an embrace. It reminded David of when Katie shared a warm hug with him after he won a writing award at a local college. He wanted to be with her for an eternity. Next to her is where he felt truly alive. She was gone and he had to get used to it.

Alaina and Paul had been married for twenty-three years. They were good to the community by constantly volunteering for events, and both majored in computer science. David had met them on occasions, such as award ceremonies, dinners, and just to say hi. Never, though, did he ever converse with them about such a depressing event.
“My daughter was dazzling,” explained Alaina. “She was so good at so many things. She had the potential to go so far in life.”
David could not agree more. “She had the perfect smile,” he added. “When we were holding hands, I used to look into her light blue eyes, and it would feel like everything else would vanish on Earth. Nothing else mattered in the world. It was just us. Those were the best moments of my life.” He was quoting from his proposal speech. It made him feel light-headed.
Just then, a knock came at the door. The father went to answer it. It was the two police men that David saw leaving the house. Now they were back.
“We found him,” said the uniformed man. David fell unconscious.


He awoke a couple of minutes later. The officers held off what they had to say until David regained full consciousness. The police officer spoke in a deep voice as the other one just listened.
“A man that goes by the name of Chris Lessard. Forensic chemists found evidence inside Katie’s body. We traced it back to the guy. Also, his fingerprints were all over the tape he used to tie the victim. I’m guessing it was a place he forgot to clean off.”
The parents and David were frozen in shock. None of them could believe a single word that the cop was saying. Finally, David spoke up.
“Do you have this murderer in custody?”
“Not at the moment, but it shouldn’t take long at all. I’d say within the next 60 minutes or so, he’ll be at the police station.”
For the first time within hours, Paul let out a smile.
“I can give you a ride to the police station right now!” David yelled more than excited.
The officers left. Shortly after, David left too. Katie’s mother and father followed him.


David arrived at the police station as dawn was hitting. Alaina and Paul were sitting patiently in chairs as David was pacing around the lobby.
“I can’t wait to get my hands on that sorry little…”
“Not unless I finish him before you do!” Paul interrupted David.
Suddenly, throughout the silhouette of the door, a couple figures approached. David started to squint, and made the people out to be about four or five police officers handling a person in rags. They were about to enter the door.
“That’s him! I can tell! I know it’s him!” yelled the mother in an unyielding tone.
Two officers walked through the door. Two more followed carrying Chris Lessard. Paul Sexton jumped up with bulging eyes.
“Did you kill my daughter?” asked the father almost screaming at the top of his lungs. Chris looked at him blankly. “DID YOU KILL MY DAUGHTER?” Chris now started laughing under his breath. He thought that this situation was hilarious. How could he not? When in doubt, laugh, right?
Paul saw that Lessard was laughing and exploded in anger. He ran over and tackled him faster than a bullet. Chris Lessard was trying to fight back, but it was as if Paul had been preparing for this moment his whole life. The police officers started pulling them apart, but that did not stop the father from punching him repeatedly in the face, making his nose bleed dark blood. David recognized the color of the blood to be identical to his scarlet chair.
“You can hurt me. You can even kill me! See to it that it brings your daughter back.” Chris Lessard said this with a sinister smile on his face. This made David furious. His face was as bright as a tomato. He was standing this whole time, not moving a muscle. Faster than the speed of light, David took his car key out of his pocket, ran over to Chris Lessard, and started jabbing his keys in his face. Chris was trying to fight it, but he had no strength to get David off him after the attack that Paul made. It seemed pointless at first until David stabbed his giant Nissan car key in Chris Lessard’s eye. This made him stop putting up a fight as he fell back with blood pouring out of his left eye socket. David saw this as an opportunity to permanently damage Katie’s murderer. He heard Paul cheer him on in the background. All what he saw was blood pouring out of this unblessed man’s face. David continued to punch and jab his key in him until there were more police officers in the room to hold him back.
When David finally pulled off, there was a large diameter of blood surrounding Chris Lessard’s head. Mr. and Mrs. Sexton heard him moaning. One of his eyes was closed and the other was torn apart. Pieces of it were left jammed in his socket or scattered throughout the upper part of his face.
“That was for Katie.” David cried.


David was released that night on $100,000 bail for assault. It would have been way higher if the officers didn’t know the reason why he was a “danger to society.” It also helped that David did not have a criminal history. As far as the officers looked back, they could see that he never even received a speeding ticket in his life. He would still have to go to court in the near future. He had a cousin who was a talented lawyer, though. He thought he would be okay. Alaina, Paul, David, and the two police officers stood outside the station talking.
“It was worth it.” He told Alaina.
“I know.” She replied.
They met up with Paul.
“What goes on now?” he asked one of the officers.
“Right now? Right now, you all go home and get some rest. Come back tomorrow morning and we’ll discuss what happens to Chris Lessard then.” The police officer seemed tired and eager to get out of the station. David wanted to stay the whole night but realized that it would not be a good idea for him both physically and mentally. He took Katie’s parents home. Before they left him, they shared another embrace. They thanked him for everything and told him that they’d see him tomorrow morning.
When David got home, he dropped to the floor and buried his face in his hands. He could not believe what had happened today. He actually touched Katie’s killer. He might have permanently damaged Katie’s killer, and he felt proud of that. He went to bed and brought Katie back to life through his dreams.
David dreamt that it was Thanksgiving, and he and Katie were married. They had one child. Her name was Sally Jean Murphy. The two of them were hosting a Thanksgiving dinner that night. David’s parents arrived early in the morning, and Katie answered the door in her pajamas as David was just waking up. Katie and David’s parents shared a kiss and a hug before they entered. Katie and David then kissed in front of his parents. They felt proud.
David woke up more disheartened than ever before. He wanted to share the rest of his days with Katie. It was impossible now. At least in this life, that is. He started to stare out the window. He thought about ending all of the agony and suffering by jumping. Maybe it was a way to be with Katie again. He then thought about her more deeply. Katie wouldn’t want him to jump. She wasn’t like that. Katie wanted the best for David. He then thought about her parents. He couldn’t leave them. Not now, anyway. He went away from the window and got dressed.


David went back to the police station with Katie’s parents. The car ride was practically silent. They were all thinking about Katie. The way she used to smile when one told her a joke. Her athletic abilities at every sport. Her intelligent answers to all historic questions. The way she used to blush when one talked kindly to her. They all missed those things.
“Chris Lessard refuses to speak until his lawyer gets here.” The officer said.
“Oh brother. Does that mean we need to get a lawyer?” asked Katie’s father. Everyone could tell that Paul was not pleased with the decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States by his pissed off facial expression. He always thought that the Miranda rights were in favor of the criminals and enforcing them was a mistake. Never for a second did Paul think that he would be involved in the implementation of the rights.
“Unless you plan on representing yourself in court, I’m afraid so.”
The parents looked confused and didn’t know what they were going to do until David spoke up.
“That’s no problem. I have a cousin who happens to be a lawyer of the criminal defense. Her name is Margaret. She can bring Chris Lessard to justice.”
At that moment, Katie’s parent’s eyes filled with hope for the first time in ages.


“I can be there in half an hour.” Margaret told David after he explained everything that happened in the past few days over a cell phone.
A few minutes later, Chris Lessard’s lawyer entered the police station. An officer directed him to his client and they talked privately for about ten minutes behind a closed door. When Lessard’s lawyer came out to tell them that they were ready to talk, David refused to go in until his lawyer arrived. The parents quickly backed him up. About 40 minutes later, Margaret arrived.
Margaret Murphy was David’s second cousin. She was 45 years of age and was one of the top criminal defense lawyers in the state. She was calm and warm-hearted to her clients. She never lost a trial.
“Sorry I’m late. I was stuck in traffic. “She started to explain. “You know the deal.”
“Don’t worry about it.” David sighed. “Are you ready to talk to the bastard?”
Margaret nodded and then David introduced her to Katie’s parents. They were very courteous to each other. They all went into the small room where Chris and his lawyer awaited. Behind the one-way glass was a group of police officers watching, eager to see what was going to happen.
Once they were all seated, David was just a table length away from his love’s killer. He imagined himself jumping over the table and strangling him as Paul held his lawyer back while Margaret and Alaina made sure no one entered through the door. He wanted to feel the life escape from Chris Lessard’s body with his bare hands.
David felt too weak to do that. He barely had enough strength to stay awake. He waited for the conversation to start.
“Mr. Lessard, are you aware that there is not only evidence inside our victim’s body that you raped her, but there are also finger prints all over the tape you used to attach her to her own toilet seat?” Margaret asked with great curiosity. “Did you forget to wipe that part of the evidence clean?”
Chris Lessard and his lawyer were talking privately for what seemed like an eternity. The parents looked concerned. David looked anxious, and Margaret was as calm as could be. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime of mumbling, Chris Lessard spoke up.
“I want a deal.” That was all what he had to say.
“I’ll have to go through the paperwork. Chances are, though, you’ll spend all of your life behind bars.”
“What happens if I go to court?” He asked. His lawyer immediately told him to be quiet.
“If you go to court, you can and will be condemned to many other charges than what you are facing at the moment.” Margaret went on. “To put it simply, if you choose to go to court, you may get a sentence worse than prison. I’m not sure what it may be, but I can promise you that it will not be enjoyable and it will not be in your favor.”
David was wondering if Margaret was telling the full truth. He certainly hoped so. If he could, David would come down to the local police station every day for the rest of his life and watch Chris Lessard suffer.
There was silence in the room. For Katie’s parents, it seemed to last an epoch. Finally, Chris made a decision.
“I don’t want to go to court.”
“Chris, don’t make any final decisions without consulting me!” His lawyer told him.
“You’re not the boss of me.” He responded. “I’ll do whatever I want when I want. I wanted to have sex with Katherine Grace Sexton the other day. I wanted to laugh at her parents. Now, I want to avoid court. So you just stay out of it.”
At that moment a chill crept up David’s veins. How did this man know Katie’s full name? He looked straight at the wall with a deadly grin on his face, yet continued to stay silent. He did not want to mess-up the trap that Margaret was creating.
“As your lawyer, I have to advise you that you’re making a huge mistake!”
“I’m avoiding going to court in every way possible.” He said. No one could change his mind. Only one person in that room wanted to. As of right now, Margaret had him where she wanted him.
“You’re a very smart man to avoid court, Mr. Lessard.” She told him. “It’s too bad you did a stupid thing.”
“Excuse me?” he replied. “What did I exactly do that was stupid?”
“You brutally raped and killed my daughter,” replied Paul.
“Oh you mean that.” His face started to form an eccentric smile. “I don’t think that I did a stupid thing. A voice in my head told me to do it. She ruined my life so I thought it would only be fair if I ruin hers as well.”
“Huh?” It was the first time David spoke since he entered the room with Margaret.
“You knew the victim?” Margaret was now getting curious. She felt in her body that the case was going to get interesting.
“Well since I’m going to prison no matter what, I might as well confess, I guess.”
“Yes. Confessing makes everything easier for you! If you confess, you’ll receive sympathy.” Margaret was trying to convince the killer to tell his side of the story. She wanted to know what happened. She wanted to hear his story.
“Chris, don’t say another word!”His lawyer was trying to get him out of the room. We’ll see you in court.”
“Be quiet.” The murderer spoke in a calm voice and pushed his own lawyer aside. He was now looking at Katie’s parents. “Your daughter…she was beautiful. I used to think of her all night in high school.” Chris Lessard was now tearing. “I loved her more than anything. When I was in 10th grade, I couldn’t focus on anything else besides her. She was in four of my classes. I was madly in love with her.”
David could not believe what he was hearing. He was close to screaming. He looked at Alaina and Paul and saw the horrid shock on their faces.
“So one day, I approach Katie, and I tell her how I really feel. Her friends start to laugh at me, but she has a blank expression on her face. She then takes me to the side of the hallway and tells me that she doesn’t feel that way at all about me. She said that she could never think of me as anything more than a friend and that she would love to start there if that was alright with me.”
The room went silent.
“I was never the same after that moment. The person I was madly in love with would not even take a chance and go on a date with me. She made a fool out of me. From that point on, I avoided her as much as I could in school. I started not to speak. I graduated high school with no friends and the only cheer at graduation was from my father.”
As David looked around the room, he could see Paul’s hands shaking in his pocket. His face was red with anger. Alaina was crying silently.
“I dropped out of college. I couldn’t take it anymore. At that point, I did not love Katie any more. I hated her. I wanted revenge on her. I wanted her dead. I wanted to f*** her and hear her moan right before ending her life. The life that made me miserable. I never thought I would actually go through with my plan. Frankly, I never thought I would see her again. Then I saw her as happy as could be at the Harry Potter premiere with…with you!” He looked at David. “Were you her boyfriend or something?”
“We were engaged.” David spoke under his breath. Chris Lessard’s eyes widened. He could not believe that Katie would be engaged to someone. There was a long silence.
“Wow. I noticed she seemed as happy as could be with you. Anyway, I followed her home. I followed you up the apartment, and then I waited in a corner at the end of the hallway until you were gone. I then picked the lock into her apartment, and crept in on her while she was taking a shower. I took out electric tape from my back pocket, and yeah. I’m sure you all heard about the rest.”
Hearing this made David weep. This lunatic was referring to the sweetest girl on the planet as if she was nothing. He was nothing.
“How does it feel?” Chris was now staring directly into Alaina Sexton’s eyes. “How does it feel that you spent all of those years raising your little girl to become something great, and now she’s dead? She’ll never be anything ever again. The only thing she’ll be is six feet under.”
This was enough for David. He stood up. He started to leave. He then heard a sound that will be imprinted in his mind for the rest of eternity.


“Ahhhhhh” was the sound Chris Lessard made after Katie’s father brutally, but proudly, stabbed him in the heart with what appeared to be a five-inch kitchen knife. Blood was pouring down Chris Lessard’s shirt as David was watching him lose the light in his eye. All that David could do was stand still.
“You think you could touch my Katie!” Her father yelled. He jammed the knife in him once more. This only made him cough up more blood. “Did you really think that you could put your hands on my little girl and I wouldn’t find you and kill you myself? You took my heart, so now I’m taking yours.” Chris Lessard was now far from laughing. It was quite the opposite. Blood was everywhere. One could see tears coming out from his one eye that wasn’t bandaged up. He was getting what he deserved.
Police officers came, taking Katie’s father into custody. They were in no rush to get him off of Chris Lessard. If there’s one thing cops hated, it was a rapist of innocent victims. Once they finally pulled him off, they dragged him away.
“Now that was worth it!” He yelled as Chris Lessard spent his final moments on Earth.
David couldn’t really believe what just happened. He thought that it was all a dream. It wasn’t a dream. It was real. He just witnessed a murder.


“Was it really worth it?” David was talking to Katie’s mother outside of the police station.
“It was for my husband. He knew what he was getting himself into, and is fully aware that he will have to pay the consequences.” David could tell that Alaina knew of Paul’s plan. He hoped she had a plan for what was going to come in the future. She had a great chance of being husbandless for a while. David wondered how she will survive.
“I can try making a deal with the police.” Explained Margaret. “Mentally, he was provoked. Usually, though, murderers have minimum sentencing of 20 years without any chance of parole. Under the circumstances, I’m sure I can lower that. This is a pure example of Second Degree Murder. It is a class one felony which means that your husband can spend anywhere in between a few years to life in prison. When and if he gets out, he’ll have to help the community in one way or another. “
“It’s worth it for redemption for Katie.”
David wasn’t sure she was right. Was it worth it? This isn’t what Katie would want. Killing Katie’s murderer would not bring her back to life.
“So what happens now?” he asked.
“We wait.” Margaret responded. “He had perfect reasoning. I’ll take him to court. The jury will understand.”
The three of them could only hope for the best. They were denied access to visit Paul at the moment. Margaret went off. David drove Katie’s mother home. Just like the ride to the police station in the distant morning, they hardly spoke to one another. David kissed Alaina Sexton good-bye and went home.


When David got home, he went to his window and looked blankly out of it once more. This was life. He had an unexpected tragedy happen to him. He would have to get over it sooner or later. It’s what Katie would want him to do. Life gets in the way of things. He would have to learn to let go. He would have to forget about Katie’s stunning brown hair and aquarium blue eyes. He would have to abandon the thought of her perfect silhouette and smile. Sooner or later, David would get over it. It was human nature.
He went to sleep and thought of Katie. Just as he was about to dream of her, he felt really depressed. He wanted to be happy again. He got up, turned on the lights, flipped open his laptop, and started editing some entertainment articles.