Gary Watson

Gabriel's Covenant Gary Watson

Forensic anthropologist Erica Braxton, Joshua?s daughter and a quadriplegic, downs a lethal barbituate in the opening scene of Gabriel?s Covenant. Forty-five minutes later Frau Schroder, a registered anesthetist in Zurich, pronounces her dead. Joshua could have stopped the killing . . . her assisted suicide. He chooses not to. Why? There is an answer. It's buried inside Joshua and becomes curiously tangled in the history of Gabriel?s Crossing, a rural town in central Oregon. Joshua and his lifelong friend, Norm MacAllaster quickly discover it's a Thornton Wilder, Grover?s Corners kind of place where the living and the dead are sometimes not remembered, for reasons buried deep within the collective conscience of one family, the Armstrongs.   Following Joshua and Norm as they unwind the mystery behind why a mummified, nameless child was killed, is a chilling, heartfelt journey touching on the timeless fear people have of dying and the turmoil end-of-life circumstances present. Both the fear and turmoil felt by the principle characters is dramatically explored with deserved frankness, touching insight, humor, and empathy for their shared vulnerabilities.