Enemy Combatant
Page 30
There’s a corporal in my unit who has a very interesting religious philosophy. He believes that before souls are born, they all attend a kind of eternally ongoing, cosmic social mixer. And the idea of the event is for the souls to choose each other for companionship when they ultimately inhabit human bodies on earth. Whether as family members, or spouses, or teammates, or whatever.
I don’t know whether the corporal is right, of course. But on the off chance that he is, I wanted to make sure that I got a chance to tell you how truly grateful I am that out of a universe of souls, you chose me.
Dale
I’ve always valued my brother’s opinion, but he definitely turned that last thing upside down. I’m the one who will always be grateful for his presence in my life. Any implication in Dale’s letter that I am somehow special is simply wrong. I am only a flawed lawyer, working in a flawed legal system, living in a flawed country, run by flawed politicians. I have been criticized for undervaluing my contribution in the Juan Gomez matter. But I contend that it was only the most bizarre set of coincidences that propelled me into temporary notoriety, not anything extraordinary about myself.
The fact is, the headline-grabbing events of that tumultuous week don’t hold the smallest flickering candle to the dozens of truly special moments I now am blessed with every day. Amy still teases me about that—she thinks I attach way too much importance to occurrences that everyone else in the world would see as mundane.
Like right now. My heart-stoppingly beautiful wife is watching from the kitchen window as Erica, Chloe, and Will emerge from the house, giggling, hand-in-hand-in-hand. Amy laughingly tells them to remind me that it’s time for me to come inside.
Thanks to her grandfather, Erica has recently become enamored of the music of Diana Ross and the Supremes. And she sees it as her solemn, sisterly duty to impart everything she learns to her little siblings. So now the youngest blue-eyed soul trio in music history stands before me, belting out an exuberant, if undisciplined, rendition of “Stop in the Name of Love.”
My soul is so filled with joy that I sit here like a grinning fool, wondering how I could be so lucky to have this life.
Amy would say that what just happened was nothing more than three kids running across the yard, rather ineffectively calling their father in to dinner.
But with all due respect, I disagree.
Because I know the voice of God when I hear it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ED GAFFNEY took ten years of work as a criminal lawyer, added an overactive imagination, and came up with a new career as a novelist.
He lives west of Boston with his wife, New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann.
Ed is shamelessly proud of their two children, Melanie, who is also a writer, and Jason, who is a stage actor. Enemy Combatant is Ed’s fourth novel, and he is currently at work on his fifth.
Also by Ed Gaffney
PREMEDITATED MURDER
SUFFERING FOOLS
DIARY OF A SERIAL KILLER
ENEMY COMBATANT
A Dell Book/March 2008
Published by Bantam Dell
A Division of Random House, Inc.
New York, New York
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2008 by Edward B. Gaffney
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Dell is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
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www.bantamdell.com
eISBN: 978-0-440-33747-8
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