Kill the Ones You Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

admired this aspect of what I was doing.”
    During this period of time, Gabe had a renewed respect and love for his mother as well. John Lindgren noted later, “They had a very close relationship. She would have done anything for Gabe, and Gabe would have done anything for her.” In fact, Gabe could be very affectionate at times. He’d go out of his way to tell his mom how much he loved and appreciated her.
    Gabe enjoyed martial arts and would eventually gain a black belt in karate. Karate became another one of those subjects where Gabe was obsessive. Despite this, John said that Gabe was not an aggressive kid. “If pushed into a corner, he would fight back, but he did not pick fights.”
    Gabe coasted along in high school, but mainly he wanted to get high. With this yen for substance abuse, his choice of a girlfriend was very unusual. He didn’t pick some rebel or druggie. Instead, he started dating a Mormon girl named Esther Eschler. This was particularly strange, since the Mormon belief allowed no consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs.
    But there was always a strange dichotomy to Gabe: brilliant and motivated when interested and challenged, as well as a lazy, dope-smoking slacker. He seemed constantly balanced on a high wire between these two characteristics of his personality. And there was another aspect about Gabe: he constantly seemed to be reaching for things that might seem unobtainable to others.
    To date Esther, Gabe had to convince her and her family that he was a “straight-arrow” guy, not a teen who drank an occasional beer and smoked marijuana. And apparently being with Esther made him stop doing those things. Whenever Gabe got some new idea into his head, he didn’t go about it in a halfhearted manner. He threw his whole spirit into the endeavor.
    Fred Eschler, Esther’s father, recalled, “I first knew about Gabe because my wife taught in the school system. I formally met him when my daughter brought him home for dinner. They became boyfriend and girlfriend, and he had a good relationship with all my kids. I had five daughters, and I knew you can’t pick who your daughters will pick as a boyfriend. I tried to be friendly as I could be with the boys they brought home. With Gabe, that was not hard at all. He was personable, friendly and easy to talk to.
    â€œI felt that he went out of his way to be nice to me whenever we met. It was just part of who he was. Eventually Gabe went on vacations with me and my family. He was essentially part of the family. I can’t think of a time when I didn’t like Gabe. He had free run of the house, and he came and went when he wanted to. Esther didn’t even have to be there. He was friends with all my kids. Gabe was confident, but quiet. While seeing Esther, Gabe decided to convert to the LDS Church. I was the one who actually baptized him.”
    There was a flip side to Gabe, however. It always seemed that Esther had to dance along to his tune. At his beck and call, she was the one who made him meals; she was the one who often paid for their dates. If Gabe wanted to do a particular thing, then that was what they would generally end up doing. Gabe would force her into situations she was not comfortable with. If she didn’t comply, he would tell her she didn’t love him. It was not always easy for Esther to be with Gabe.

CHAPTER 7
    All throughout high school, Gabe dated Esther, off and on, over the years. And through Esther and her family, he was introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), more commonly known to outsiders as the Mormon Church. Before long, Gabe absolutely believed in the tenets of the faith. His mother, Robin, did not, but she had no problem with him being a member of that faith.
    Despite being very bright, Gabe barely graduated Coquille High School. When Gabe and Esther’s senior year was over, she left the area to attend Brigham Young University (BYU) in