The Beginning of the End      

Can we see the beginning of the end at the beginning or only later, at the end? Can the epilogue of one story be the prologue of another? Are the first few lines or the first thought that crossed our mind the starting point? And if so, what prompted us to entertain such a thought?

There is more to this story than the simple murder case nobody wants to talk about and the authorities wouldn’t want to investigate. This is more about you and me and the impact of politics on our daily lives, which we are seldom aware of but which Proffey often talked about. By aware I mean understanding the things that go on behind the curtains that those in power pull in front of our eyes so that we can see only what’s in front and not what’s behind.

The hope that one day I'll find out the whole truth is still strong in my heart, but even though I was with him, I don’t know what really happened at La Rueda, a sleepy café on the road leading to the international bridge over the Paraná River, on the Eastern border of Brazil, on the early morning of Saturday, October 31, 2009.

My best friend, Proffey, was shot dead right in front of me.

As expected, the news of his sudden death received a lot more publicity than any other story I can remember, although it only lasted until the criminals were caught and killed a few days later. These two connecting stories, his death and the killing of his alleged assassins, became the most sensational news items in Paraguay since the days of the dictator, General Fernando Gregorio, but not for long. Before I returned to Australia both cases were officially closed. The more I thought of those events months later, the less I could believe that they were connected. The hope I have that someone will come up with the truth one day is as strong now as it was the day he died.

A few months before the president