Chapter 41 Chapter 39 UACV Headquarters

Paula looks everywhere for Anthony.It didn't surprise Paula, it turned out, that he was in the basement.Gun in hand, sleeves rolled up, Anthony's black coat neatly folded on a chair, clergyman's collar hanging from a coat hook on the wall, earphones over his ears.Paula wanted to wait for him to complete a set before calling him.Paula was drawn to Anthony's concentration, his entire body in a ready-to-shoot position.Although he was 50 years old, his hands were strong, and his gun was pointed straight ahead without any movement. Paula watched him go through three sets of shooting practice.He fired without haste, his eyes slightly down, his head slightly on one side, and finally Anthony found Paula in the training room, separated from him by five firing bays, all of them made of thick Made of wood with wires attached to the target.The target can be shot to a maximum distance of 40 yards through the pulley on the system.

"Good evening, Dr. Paula." "It's a weird time to practice shooting, isn't it?" "I don't want to go back to the hotel. I know I can't sleep." Paula understood Anthony's feelings very well.Attending the Pope's funeral was bad enough, but the night would never bring him peace.Paula was going crazy trying to find something to do. "Where is our beloved deputy detective?" "Oh, he got an emergency call when we were working on Cardoso's autopsy report and he ran away." "It's a lot like him." "Of course, let's not talk about him now. See what the military taught you?"

Paula pressed the button, and a paper target appeared in front of him, which was just hit by Anthony.There was a silhouette of a man in black drawn on it, and the target moved very close in front of Paula.This simple portrait has a white circle in the middle of the chest, and the machine moves for a while, bringing the target into range.Anthony placed the target at the farthest point.It didn't surprise Paula to see that nearly all the holes in the top were inside the white circle, but she was surprised that the final shot was outside the circle.The result disappointed Paula, like a leading man in an action movie disappoints her.

But he's not the main character in an action movie, she thought.He is flesh and blood, witty, educated, and he is also very accurate with a gun.In a way, his missed shot made him more like a real person. Anthony looked at the target and laughed, amused by his own mistake. "I haven't practiced for a long time, but I still like shooting. It's an unusual sport." "If only it was exercise." "You still don't believe me?" Paula didn't answer.She liked to see Anthony the way he was now, without the clerical collar, in just a shirt, sleeves rolled up, and a pair of black slacks.But the pictures Dante showed her in El Aguacate still haunted her, like a drunk monkey bouncing up and down in a bathtub.

"No, Father, I don't quite believe you yet. But I would like to. Is this conclusion satisfactory to you?" "Let's take a look." "Where did you get the gun? The warehouse should be closed at this time." "Troy lent me. His gun. He told me he hadn't used it in a long time." "It's true, it's a pity. You should have known him three years ago. He was a real expert, the best evidence analyst. He is now, but back then his eyes were always full of curiosity, and now that That look is gone, replaced by a look that yearns for the job."

"Is your tone bitter or nostalgic, Dr. Paula?" "There are some." "Won't it take a long time to forget him?" Paula was taken aback. "What did you just say?" "Forget it, don't act like you're offended. I can already see the solid wall he's built between the two of you. Troy is very careful to keep his distance." "He does it on purpose, it's something he's good at." Paula hesitated before saying the following.She felt a void again, the feeling of looking at Anthony.That feeling is like riding a Ferris wheel to the highest point.Should you trust him?He had, she thought, a melancholy and fleeting biting sarcasm, saying and doing what a priest would say and do, who was used to seeing people at their worst.For Paula, however, this was a very unusual encounter.

"Troy and I had a romance, a lightning bolt. I don't know if he just stopped liking me or if his zeal for a promotion got the best of him." "But you hope it's the second reason." "I like to deceive myself. I always tell myself that I live with my mother to protect her, but the truth is that I need protection. I think this is why I look strong but I am very immature. I never Sharing my life with men." Anthony said nothing.She has made it very clear.They are standing very close now, looking at each other.Time seemed to stop. Paula stared into Anthony's green eyes, and she read his thoughts.She thought she heard a very quiet "hmmm", and at the same time there was some noise that she didn't notice.It was Anthony who spoke first.

"You'd better answer the phone." Only then did Paula realize that it was her cell phone that was making the sound, and now it was ringing like crazy.She picked it up and immediately concentrated.Forgot to say goodbye when I hung up the phone. "Let's go, Father. It's from the laboratory. Someone sent a package this afternoon. It was sent by a courier company. The sender on the envelope is Muriz Pondiro."