CHAPTER 1
GREGORY EVANS gently stroked his Colt 45 as he felt safe with it during the war. Since he was a little boy he was familiar with violence, having served in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam War at the age of eighteen and when he returned as a war hero, he joined the police and solved the mysterious death of his grandfather and discovered that he was his own father the murderer.
It was thanks to this familiarity and a keen sense of danger that he was awarded the Medal of Valor. During the Vietnam War, commanded by a young and inexperienced agent, his platoon was dislodging resisting Vietnamese forces in a field. Everyone's attention was focused on the fire coming from all sides.
Disobeying Lieutenant Hofma, Gregory Evans positioned himself a little further behind some rubble in order to have a complete view of the rear. Thanks to that, he was able to see, unlike the others, when a vehicle at high speed entered the conflict area advancing from the rear.
He suddenly stopped a hundred feet from the platoon, completely focused on firing at a building. It was then that a rocket launcher tube was projected out of the truck that had the windows down. Gregory Evans didn't think, he pointed his M-16 at the projectile about to be launched.
In a sequence of bursts, the bullets cut the air in a line of fire, reaching the other end: the explosion caused the fragments of the vehicle to fly in all directions, reaching close to the young agent who, terrified, turned around when he heard the deafening noise.
Gregory Evans looked once more at the vehicle in front of him,
Possibly armored, he thought, but where were the security guards?
It was then that he woke up from this dream.
THE SUN'S RAYS CAME THROUGH THE WINDOW. Gregory Evans stretched out on the bed, and when he opened his eyes, there she was, standing there with a tray, a real angel, he thought.
— I'm glad you woke up, I brought your coffee, you were sleeping like a child — he said smiling — I didn't have the courage to wake you up.
— What time is it?
The detective's face showed embarrassment over his wife's dependence.
— It's almost ten in the morning, but don't worry, your only obligation is to recover.
Elisa helped him sit back on the bed, handing him another pillow.
— These breads smell wonderful, were they made now? asked the detective in an attempt to overcome the very embarrassment that his wife had kindly inflicted on him for more than three decades.
Elisa understood and, with her wonderful smile, helped him:
— I made it myself, and you're lucky I'm a good Christian, otherwise there wouldn't be any left for you! —
Gregory Evans relaxed and continued the joke:
— Hmm! They really are divine — he said, tasting them — and ventured: they could only be made by the hands of a true angel.
Elisa Evans, as always, blushed with the praise of her husband who always made those jokes as if they were forever on their Honeymoon and, agitated, she went to the window and began to contemplate the people outside.
— This afternoon Senator Hofma will come to see you — he said without turning his head — you are, as always, a hero.
— It was just a coincidence.
— It always is, isn't it?
GREGORY EVANS was silent contemplating her in her fullness. The sun that reflected in her ebony black hair, God was also generous in enhancing the contours of her body, and how Greg loved that woman completely, discreetly hidden by a simple dress, devoid of any adornment.
The detective got worried and after biting his lips, without taking his eyes off Elisa, he shot:
— And you, also consider me a hero?
With a certain violence in her movements, she then turned around, her face completely flushed, perhaps by the sun, showing visible signs of annoyance. The angel of sweetness was gone, and in its place another angry, but equally beautiful being:
— Do I consider you a hero? — You acted like a madman, nearly losing your life for a pretentious act of bravery!
Gregory Evans swallowed, taken aback by the vehement reprimand.
— But that was 30 years ago, what fault do I have that he wanted to see me after all this time.
Looking into his startled eyes, Elisa continued:
— Life is the most important thing anyone has, and you cast it at random in a thoughtless act!
The detective, trying to recover from his astonishment and at the same time appease her, gave her a shy smile and asked:
— But wasn't it Jesus who gave his life for men? As the niece of a Baptist minister, you should know that. Would He then have acted thoughtlessly?
The annoyance was still stamped in the beautiful brown eyes, and she continued, while picking up the tray:
— It is different, the death of Christ was foreseen by God from the beginning, for the salvation of humanity. Now your act, it was pure madness, you already have too many medals hanging in our room, and I have no intention of having a Blood Cross there and a flag of our country gently folded by a soldier — he said quickly leaving from room.
Gregory Evans was stunned as he watched her leave, trying to figure out what he'd said wrong.