Page 16 of Wild Wolf

Carolyn nodded. “They were upstairs when it happened.”

“Were you here?”

“No. James called me, crying. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. I came right over.”

James was a little small for his age. He had short brown hair and brown eyes that were now red, weepy slits.

“James, did you see anyone else in the house?”

He shook his head.

“Do you know if your mom had any visitors?”

He shook his head again.

I asked Carolyn to have a word in private. She took the kids upstairs to the rec room and told them to stay put, then returned to the living room.

“Where is their father?” I asked.

Her face tightened. “That’s a good question. I think that son of a bitch finally did it.”

I shared a look with JD.

“Tell me about that situation,” I said to her.

10

“Ithink he felt like he lost control of the situation, and he killed her,” Carolyn said. “It’s obvious.”

“Who?”

“Her ex-husband, Grant Peterson. They were fighting over custody of the kids. Now that son of a bitch is going to get them.” She shook her head in disbelief.

“Was there a history of violence?” I asked.

Carolyn’s eyes rounded. “Oh, yeah. He would just fly into a rage. There were times when she had bruises on her arms. One time, she had a black eye. She tried to tell me she fell, but I knew better.”

“Did she ever make a police report?”

“No. I think she was scared to. Grant would have flipped out. She’d finally had enough and gotten a divorce. Grant still tried to control her. He’s not the type of guy that likes to lose. But he lost her. That’s for sure.”

“When did you arrive?”

She shrugged. “I’m not really sure. James called. I told him to take his sister to the neighbors, just in case the killer was still in the house. I got here maybe 5 minutes later, waited for the county to arrive, then got the kids.”

“Did you see anyone in the area when you first arrived?”

Carolyn shook her head.

“Did you come into the kitchen?”

She sniffled and nodded, and her eyes welled. “My heart stopped when I saw her like that. We were always like this,” she said, crossing her fingers. “I felt gutted.”

“What did you do next?”

"I hoped that she was still alive. I'm sure I was just in denial. I walked across the kitchen, knelt down beside her, and felt for a pulse. She was cold.” Tears spilled over her lids again.

"What did you do after that?”