Prologue

PROLOGUE

This book includes a touchy subject, one I refuse to shy away from. I live in far western Kentucky, and in an area this small and rural, it was unthinkable that this could happen once, much less twice.

We’ve experienced two school shootings.

The first occurred on December 1, 1997, at Heath High School (my alma mater), when a 14-year-old boy opened fire on a prayer circle. Three girls lost their lives, and five kids were wounded, all by a shooter who couldn’t tell police why he did what he did. It was later revealed that bullying and the (untrue) belief that his parents did not love him contributed to his psychosis. He was diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder and dysthymia. Later diagnoses while in prison revealed paranoid schizophrenia. He has been through many parole hearings, but at his last one in 2022, his parole was permanently denied, with mental health officials reporting that his prognosis was “poor” and he still experiences “paranoid thoughts with violent imagery,” even though he takes his medications regularly. Michael Carneal will live out his life in prison for what he did that day.

Then, on January 23, 2018, a surreal situation unfolded in Marshall County (12 miles from here) when a 15-year-old student opened fire, killing two students and injuring 18 others. The shooter had a copy of the Communist Manifesto in his backpack, and also had a copy of Mein Kampf at his home. Although he planned the theft of his stepfather’s pistol and also what he would do with it, when questioned by police, he claimed that his only motivation was to “see what would happen.” Witnesses reported that his demeanor during the shooting was detached and his eyes were “lifeless.” Interestingly, he would not claim an insanity defense, which would’ve required the release of his mental health records and most likely jeopardized the freedom of his mother and stepfather due to their knowledge of… well, we can only speculate. In April 2020, he pled guilty to murder, and was then sentenced in June of that year to two life terms plus 70 years, eligible for parole after serving 20 years. At the time of this writing, Gabriel Ross Parker is currently housed at the Southeast State Correctional Complex in Wheelwright, Kentucky.

A visitor would never guess that our area has been marred by such violence. People wave to you when you pass in a vehicle. We routinely speak to strangers in stores. Churches and benevolent organizations are abundant here. And yet, evil finds us. It’s everywhere. To think that it would never touch our children is a fool’s folly.

And so I approached the situation Aggie found herself in with great caution, but also with hope. We survived the violence here. Does Aggie? There’s only one way you can find out, but if you know me, you already have a pretty good idea.

On a brighter, lighter note, there’s a scene in this book between Aggie, Priest, and Bulldog, and I laughed the whole time I was writing it. I want to thank Dr.Ted, my former orthopedic surgeon, for the inspiration. Dr.Ted’s commercials always included him saying, “And remember, you’ll see me every time.” He wasn’t kidding. I saw him at every appointment―his wife too, as she is his nurse―and we’d laugh and swap stories. But the tales of things he’d seen in the emergency department were legendary, and you’ll see what I mean.

I hope you enjoy reading this installation of the Appalachian STAR series as much as I enjoyed writing it. Happy reading!