The Daughter of Ramon Godoy
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
He walked down the path to the servants' cottage at the bottom of the garden where he lived with his mother and sister. They only had one room, with a kitchenette in the corner and a small bathroom jutting out in back. Not much, but to them it was heaven when compared with wandering on the streets. The door was ajar. He pushed it open, stood frozen for a second, stunned by what he saw inside. Bernardo Marte, with his pants off, was in the bed, on top of his sister. She was moaning, calling for help. Pedro turned and ran to the big house, burst through the kitchen door, found no one there. He ran into the parlor screaming for his mother and for Señora Marté. His shouts bounced back to him off the walls of an empty house. He rushed back into the kitchen, grabbed a knife from the rack, and ran to the cottage. The horrible scene was the same. Maria moaning and crying. Bernardo's fat backsides moving up and down. Pedro didn't hesitate, even for a second. He went to the bed and with all his strength, drove the knife deep into one of the cheeks of Bernardo's buttocks. He wrenched the bloodied knife out, stepped back, stood with it in his hand, bracing himself for whatever was going to happen. Bernardo, screaming like a pig being slaughtered, rolled off the bed and jumped to his feet. When he saw Pedro, he charged him. Pedro's years in dangerous streets and his will to help his sister, made him stick where he was. He ducked in between Bernardo's long gorilla-like arms, stabbed him in his fat bare belly. Bernardo's rush towards him drove the knife in deep. He fell back onto the floor, roaring and swearing, but not for long. In a moment he became quiet, with the only sounds in the room being the gushing of his own blood and Maria's moaning. Pedro picked Maria up and carried her to the kitchen of the big house. He laid her down on a counter, wet a towel with cold water, and placed it between her legs. "Oh Pedro, Pedro, where is my mother?" She sobbed and sobbed, stopping every couple of minutes to cry out when sharp pains struck her. Pedro again went into the main part of the house, yelled for help. His only reply were the echoes off the walls. Then he remembered that Señora Marté was to leave that morning for Morelia to visit relatives there. But, where was his mother? Not to panic. Think. Find a way to help her somehow. He saw a telephone, went to it and dialed Ramon's store. Ramon answered.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Hal O'Meara, a young diplomat assigned to the American Embassy in Mexico City, finds that falling in love with Felicia, the beautiful daughter of a Mexican businessman, Ramon Godoy, leads him down a path of violence, passion, rape and death. In befriending a poor but smart street-boy, Pedro, they come in conflict with a corrupt police official. Can Hal and Felicia's love for one another save them from this official's brutal viciousness and also hold them together in the face of the murderous threats of one of Felicia's rejected suitors?
About the Author
Ken Byrns was born in North Dakota and spent most of his boyhood in Colorado and New Mexico. He attended San Diego State College and Northwestern University. He is a graduate of Colorado Northern University, the George Washington University Graduate School and the Canadian National Defence College. He is a Lieutenant Colonel, USAFR (Ret). He spent twenty-three years in the American Foreign Service. He started his diplomatic career in Mexico, which is the scene of THE DAUGHTER OF RAMON GODOY, and served in a half- dozen posts abroad, ranging from South Africa to Iceland, before ending up in Izmir, Turkey, where he was Consul General. He then took early retirement from the Foreign Service to go into the field of foreign trade and investment. His work took him allover the world. He has had short stories, poems and articles published. He and his wife, Ginny, now live in Powell, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.