Moonlight Warriors: A Tale of Two Hit Men Read Online Free PDF

impression that Dennis was familiar with this place; Dennis moved with the decisiveness of a man who knew exactly where he was going.
    Numerous other persons were also heading in the same direction, apparently heading toward the same event.  As he came over the crest of a hill, Marcus saw that a priest had begun leading visitors along the fourteen Stations of the Cross.  Each station had a hand-painted background scene that provided a realistic, three-dimensional effect.
    Dennis and his son joined the other visitors as they followed the priest from station to station.  As the group proceeded down the path, at each station the priest would say some prayers, then provide some personal reflections.
    “Saint Alphonsus Liguori teaches us that ‘God is very ready to give us His help, but we must ask for it in prayer.  It is the lantern which lights our way to eternity.’
    “I recently read a book entitled The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander, who comments upon the Book of Revelation written by St. John the Evangelist.  Houselander writes that John saw Mary ‘standing in heaven, clothed in the sun and with her feet upon the moon.  Facing the sun, she received its light and gave it back as the moon does.’”
    “Using another image, Houselander writes that Mary ‘was a reed through which the Eternal Love was to be piped as a shepherd’s song.’ ” 
    When the group arrived at the station depicting Veronica wiping the face of Jesus, the priest said, “Just as the holy face of Jesus was imprinted onto Veronica’s cloth, we need to have his face imprinted upon our souls.”
    As they reached the final station in which Jesus was placed in the tomb, the priest said, “A couple of years ago I heard a Franciscan priest at St. Anthony of Padua parish in South St. Louis talk about a reverse Stations of the Cross.  This priest had once seen a nun do the stations in reverse order, beginning with this one.  He had never previously seen anyone do this and was fascinated.  When the priest asked the nun why she did the stations in reverse order, the nun replied that Mary had to walk home after watching her son be crucified.  In all likelihood, she walked back into Jerusalem along the same road that Jesus had carried the cross.  So this nun would reflect upon what Mary might have been thinking as she arrived at each station.”
    At the conclusion of the Stations of the Cross, Dennis and his son wandered the grounds for a few minutes, then returned to their car.  Apparently attending this religious ceremony was the main purpose for their visit here today, Marcus realized.
    He watched them drive away, but he did not follow.  There was no reason.  He was already fairly certain that he was not going to kill Dennis Sandhaven.  Perhaps I will test his character before I make a final decision, Marcus thought.  In any case, I will never again accept any assignment as a hit man.  I’m tired of all the killing.  I’m going to become just a regular private detective.
    Marcus sat in his car for another fifteen minutes, soaking in the peaceful atmosphere of the place. 
                 

Chapter 5
    The Defender
     
    Later that evening at about nine o’clock, Dennis Sandhaven emerged from a Walgreens on Grand Avenue, carrying his bag of purchases.
    An apparently-homeless man in a navy blue hoodie approached Dennis.  “Sir, could you spare a few dollars?”
    Dennis reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty dollar bill, which he handed to the man.  “Here you go.  Good luck to you.”
    “Thank you, sir.  I promise that I won’t spend the money on drugs or alcohol.  I’ve just had a bit of bad luck.”
    “I understand.  Life can be hard sometimes.”  Dennis took another twenty and gave it to the man.  “I hope that your luck gets better.  God bless you.”
    “God bless you, too, sir,” the man said as he and Dennis headed in opposite directions on the sidewalk.
    Almost as soon as he rounded the