Over the years, David Winter’s seen his share of pain. Everything from arsenic laced potato soup to exploding outhouses. The latter wounded him and draped him in nightmares. He wanted to sell his firm and do nothing more than chase down dead-beat husbands for back alimony and live out his life in Florida, but fate turned him to Arizona.

A Mister Fulton pleaded with David to investigate his nieces death as murder and not as a drunken driving accident. What Fulton failed to mention was some missing money, ten-million dollars’ worth. From there, disaster followed.

A deserted historic fortress, complete with four-man gallows and occupied by a band of Mexican cartels called the Libertad, becomes the center point in a whirlwind adventure into the desert near Black Canyon, Arizona.

In the land of stars and stripes so bold,

Where stories of freedom and courage are told,

A tapestry woven with threads of dreams,

A place where nothing is quite as it seems.

From bustling cities to quiet towns,

A mosaic of faces, of smiles and frowns,

A nation of voices, diverse and strong,

Each one contributing to a vast, vibrant song.

Mountains that touch the azure sky,

Rivers that whisper as they flow by,

Prairies that stretch in an endless embrace,

Deserts that hold a timeless grace.

Innovations that push the bounds of the known,

In a land where seeds of progress are sown,

Yet shadows exist amidst the light,

Struggles persist in the dawn and the night.

A country of plenty, with hope and strife,

Balancing the scales of modern life,

Where justice and liberty are sought every day,

In the myriad paths that the people lay.

From the halls of power to the hearts of the meek,

The American spirit is bold and unique,

Dreaming of futures, near and far,

Guided by the light of the North Star.

So here’s to America, complex and grand,

A realm of beauty, a challenging land,

Forever evolving, with each passing day,

In the ever-bright glow of the American way.

The Death of an Honest Heart

In a world where shadows dance and play,

An honest heart did lose its way.

It beat with truth, so pure, so bright,

But found its end in darkest night.

Betrayed by whispers, lies untold,

A story of a heart grown cold.

It sought the light, it spoke the truth,

But met betrayal in its youth.

With every beat, it gave its all,

Yet faced a world that built its wall.

The gentle words, the kindest deeds,

Were met with scorn, unheeded pleas.

A heart so true, so rare to find,

Crushed beneath a world unkind.

Its trust was met with harsh deceit,

Its courage trampled under feet.

Yet even as it breathed its last,

Its legacy won’t soon be passed.

For in the echoes of its beat,

Resides a love, a hope so sweet.

Though honesty was met with pain,

Its spirit rises once again.

For every heart that feels its loss,

Will carry forth that noble cross.

So mourn the death of such pure grace,

But know it leaves a sacred trace.

An honest heart may fade away,

But truth and love will find their way.

David Winter