Revenge is Necessary will publish December 6, 2020 and be available in paperback and eBook on all major online outlets. You can pre-order signed copies directly through Bill Mathis for $18.00 shipped. Use PayPal: http://paypal.me/WilliamRMathis
Connie sipped her coffee. “Like I said, he lost it this morning. I think he saw the boys kissing. They must have been standing in the bedroom, it’s got a bay window, and he noticed from his farm office. Anyway, he grabbed his shotgun, marched up there and ordered our son to leave. Yelled he was no son of his. He never said a word to the neighbor boy, Beany. Then, he followed our boy out on to the porch and shot at him as he ran down the drive. I think some birdshot hit him, not enough to do much damage. It was horrible. The kid was in his underwear, that’s what he sleeps in.” Connie wiped at her eyes. “He, my husband, started to aim the gun at me. I grabbed for it. It’s a double barrel, Coach-type of gun. I know he keeps birdshot in one and a slug in the other. Anyway, the porch was slippery. We both fell and the gun went off. The slug must have gone through his leg.”
The impact of everything that happened that morning hit her. She slumped back in her chair.
Cochran waited a minute. “Jesus, this story is crazy. Are you sure your son didn’t try to shoot his dad?”
Connie started to rub her right shoulder. “I’m positive he didn’t shoot his father. Give me a lie detector. All I was trying to do was get the gun away so my husband didn’t shoot at me. I have no idea what came over him.”
The sheriff seemed to think carefully. “Do you know where your son is? Where he would go? One of them big equipment sheds? Over to, what’s his name’s—Beany’s? Should I send someone to go look for him? He can’t be hard to find if he’s only wearing his underwear. Kid’s gotta be cold as hell, too.”
“My son is a long-distance runner. He ran the Twin Cities marathon last fall and plans to run it again this October. My guess is he will run for a while and come back home through the field trails, a few of them are passable. Wearing his underwear isn’t much different than his track outfit. He runs barefoot a lot around the farm.”
She thought fast. Which building would he run back home to? “He must have heard the sirens. He’d come in the side basement door of the house and listen to see if anyone was home. Anyway, so few people drive down our road, I doubt anyone will see him. Running is one way he deals with stress and conflict. His father is fifty-seven years older than him, so there’s never been a close, dad-son relationship. The older my husband gets, the more difficult he’s become to get along with.”
That wasn’t true. Until today, she could barely discern any emotional change in Shaw from year to year, day to day or hour to hour. She knew the officer wouldn’t be able to prove or disprove that. Even if Shaw fully recovered, what would his rationale be for shooting at his son? Senility? That’s the only thing she could think of. Or was it? Her cell phone lying on the kitchen table this morning flashed through her mind again…….
Watch for next Thursday’s excerpt!
Don’t miss the first virtual book launch or Revenge is Necessary. Thursday, December 10, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. Join through this Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82217853950. There will be prizes, several short readings and I will be interviewed by Kathie Giorgio, author, my writing coach and head of All Writers Workshop. Invite your friends!