Stunned beyond words Scott thought, ‘My God Johnny, how have you managed to survive?’  He placed the Pinkerton report on the desk and looked at his father.

Murdoch watched the emotions flicker across his older son’s face and he wondered if maybe he had made a mistake letting Scott read the report.

Scott was having trouble erasing the images of Johnny Madrid as written in that awful report.  He saw a small boy, dirty, abandoned, and beaten because he was of mixed races.  Later a teenager who turned into a gunfighter just to live, and the final shock…rescued as he stood before a firing squad.

Yet Johnny never felt sorry for himself, never made excuses, and lived life with such gusto.  Johnny had a wonderful sense of humor, loyal to a fault, and a unique code of ethics.  Yes…his little brother was an amazing man.

When Scott was finally able to speak he looked at Murdoch, “You know what Johnny would say?”

“C’est la vie.”

EJ 2011