Extended Capacity (Hobbs Book 10) by Elena Graf

Author:Elena Graf [Graf, Elena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literary Fiction, Lesbian Fiction, LGBT Fiction, Women&#39, s Fiction, s Religious Fiction
Publisher: Purple Hand Press
Published: 2023-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Cherie sat across from the woman whose son had killed a teacher and nine kids. Many people thought he’d gotten what he deserved, but like the parents of the victims, Renee Langdon had also lost a child.

She looked like any other worn-out single mother you might meet on the checkout line at the supermarket or filling up her car with gas on her way to work. Her diminutive stature made her seem fragile. She had warm brown eyes, but there were dark circles around them from worry or lack of sleep. There was nothing special about her to suggest she could raise a killer.

“Mother Lucy said I had to see you, Mrs. Harrison, because she’s married to Dr. Stolz.”

“Please call me Cherie, and yes, it’s probably better that you talk to me than Lucy. She’s too close to the situation.”

“I hope Mother Lucy doesn’t hate me now.”

“Why should she hate you?” asked Cherie with surprise.

“Pete made Dr. Stolz shoot him.”

Cherie hadn’t expected that answer. “Are you angry that she shot him?”

“Honestly, I don’t know how I feel,” admitted Renee, inspecting her open palms as if they held the answer. It seemed strange that she wouldn’t be angry and full of hate. Cherie still hated the trooper who’d killed her sister.

“Trauma can take a while to sink in,” Cherie said gently.

“I’m sure Dr. Stolz never wanted to hurt him. She really liked Pete. She kept in touch after that gun class. She’d call him. They’d sit on the porch and drink a beer. She really tried to help him, got him that job with Sam McKinnon. They all tried to help him. They didn’t know he was beyond help.”

“Did you?”

Renee shook her head. “How much did Mother Lucy tell you about my situation?”

“Not much. She passed along her notes to me. I read that Pete had uncontrollable anger.”

Renee frowned and reflected, as if she wasn’t sure. “He once ripped the door off a kitchen cabinet because it bounced back and hit him. When he was high, he’d scream and smash dishes if he didn’t like what I cooked. He had a bad temper like his father.”

“Is your husband still in the picture?”

“God, no. He’s been gone for years. I don’t even know where he is. I think he’s still alive…just dropped out of sight, so he doesn’t have to pay child support for the younger kids.”

Cherie scribbled some notes into her tablet with the stylus: “absent father…uncontrolled rages…possible domestic abuse.”

“Did you know Peter was being abused by a teacher?”

“I knew he hated gym. Made up any excuse to get out of that class.”

“Do you remember the night your husband threw Peter out?”

Mrs. Langdon sighed and nodded. “Bill was so drunk. I was afraid to go near him, but I knew Pete was smart and would find someplace safe to hide until morning. My second son was just a baby. I couldn’t leave him.”

“How are you doing? Do you feel safe? No thoughts of self-harm?” Asking about suicidal ideation was tricky. Cherie knew how important it was, but she didn’t want to plant the idea, either.

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