Paladin

I loved this as well @Anton_Cloche. Young children are often far more observant of things around them than we give them credit for.

Although Devin and Mac didn't organize for photos at the hospital there were plenty of people taking photos. Hope enough get back to them for the campus newspaper. I'm sure the people who donated money and toys would like to have some feedback.

Another excellent chapter. I'm also keen to find out what the project is, especially as it has to be more that an ordinary housing development with project homes. I really enjoy it when you include information about the lives and cultural environment in this vampire world. Also looking forward to the dinner.

Thank you @drsawzall for your supportive comment.

This is a hard one @drsawzall. Doctors (Medical Practitioners) in general seem to rank very high in suicide rates along with Veterinarians and dentists. Access to lethal drugs is a contributing factor. Other high rates are amongst farmers, responders (such as firemen, police and paramedics) and surprisingly ship deck workers (Cambridge study). I haven't seen any specific data on psychiatrists and psychologists. In Australia they are the group most often reported as being inappropriate with patients or clients.

Thank you @Ticklishboy30, @chris191070 and @akascrubber for reading and making encouraging comments.

Thanks for your comment @Ivor Slipper. TAFE is very Australian. It stands for Technical And Further Education. TAFE colleges are state government colleges and offer post high school courses in an amazingly wide range of areas including adult education, trade certificates and diplomas.

A very enjoyable chapter @chris191070 to wrap up this murder, or murders. I hope it is also about a change in Ken's life and that we will see some positive results of that change. I'm looking forward to the next murder, or murders.

Monday morning, eighteen year old Jason hurriedly placed his student Opal card on the round multi coloured card reader. The display showed his stored credit and the green tick that signalled the gate opening. Jason raced through the open barrier and down the stairs to the platform. At the bottom of the stairs he saw the automatic doors connect and pull back against the train. He watched the train pull away from the station. He slumped his shoulders. “Damn.” In the grand scheme of things thi

University student Jason misses a train and finds catching the next train totally changes his life.

OK Psychologist joke: How many psychologist do you need to change a light globe? One, but the light globe has to want to change.

This chapter raises two very serious concerns for psychologists and psychiatrists. Having a patient you are working with commit suicide and wondering if you could have prevented it and being accused of molesting a patient, especially a child patient. Both have been treated sensitively in this chapter and with a bit of humour involving Steve. Looking forward to find out what happens next.

With you @chris191070 I'm always patient. (Looks around) Where's my toast?

A well written, interwoven chapter. It looks like the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle are coming together, but is there only one jigsaw puzzle?

Please. The herrings are your making so why not the toast as well

What is going on here? We have multiple murders and an extra body in a freezer and we keep bouncing off suspects like a game of pool, leaving us guessing who is the black ball killer. At the moment I'm willing to believe anyone could be the killer, including Ken or Joe or even the school principal. Maybe Tom seduced the hapless Michael into giving him a crowbar to break in and commit murder so he could then pin the blame on Michael. Ooh my head is starting to hurt. I think I'll go and have some herrings on toast.

We will learn more about Ollie's mum in future chapters . Gees, @CincyKris and just when Chris becomes good at changing diapers Taking on a twelve year old could have its challenges.

Thanks @Cane23. Yes a lot is happening in their lives and much is potentially positive. We still have to see if they have any more hurdles.

Yes hopefully things will start to settle down a bit now @drsawzall. When Andre was telling Chris about his abuse he said Sometimes there was another man there and sometimes another boy or two. Let's hope the police can round those men up as well.

Yes @CincyKris Andre is showing courage and determination because of his emotional connect to Ollie. You'll have to wait for positive changes. Will the police keep Ollie away from them until after the trial? Will they be allowed to be foster parents? Stay tuned

Thank you @Summerabbacat for your kind and supportive comments.

@chris191070 and @VBlew you are not wrong. This abuse could have continued from possible before Andre up to Ollie. Hopefully that will sway a judge when handing down a sentence.

Outside the interview room Andre was stressed so I continued to hold him until he settled. He finally did. “Thanks Chris. I needed that.” While I was supporting Andre, I was a turmoil of concern for him. I gently asked, “What do you want to do now?” He took a deep breath and sighed. “I want to make a statement to the police.” A man, looking every inch a police detective, approached us. “I’m Detective Senior Sergeant David Jenkins. I was watching from the next room and saw wha

This story only gets better. We learnt about Phil and Colin's first gay sexual encounters and gay love. It really showed both differences and similarities. How much has really changed over the decades? The guys are bonding so we can expect their interaction to become more and more open and honest. Where will Stanley fit in? Only time will tell.

Another excellent chapter. It was terrific that Alex was able to look after himself in the locker room. It is interesting that bullies tend to pick on individuals in a pack. They like to have back up. Even while doing this they still refer to the person they are bullying as "weak". Here we had almost a full football team ready to attack one person. Typical. Greg is in a strange position. A Baron Vampire who was born a human but fated the be a vampire. And not just a vampire, but vampire nobility. In a sense he is a supernumerary Baron. This must make the other Barons wonder what the heck's going on and is one of them going to be displaced, or is another Barony going to be created for Greg. If so, where? That must resonate strongly for the Baron, in whose territory Greg lives. We can only assume that the fates that determine vampire nobility have something special in mind for Greg.