The Grandfather Clause
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. . . Mrs. Wilkins looked down at her patient. She knew all too well of his reputation but had become familiar with him as just another old man, failing from age, bad lungs, and weak heart muscles, bound to his wheelchair, lest a few dozen steps sap the day’s strength from him. But now, as she listened to his voice and looked past his tired, watery eyes she sensed the capacities of a younger and stronger man. A man of serious intent. A man capable of the things she had heard. “I understand, but I still think you should rest.” Fabrizio Benedetto shook his head at her persistence. “I have to go to the park. I need you to take me there. Will that make you afraid?” “Should I be?” “Maybe.” “Are you?” “A little.” “Then why are you going.” “Because I have to. I have no choice. But my men will be watching and they’ll protect us, if they have to.” “I’m just a fat old lady. Why would anyone want to hurt me?” Benedetto’s eyes twinkled. “I could give them plenty of reasons.” Mrs. Wilkins laughed. Benedetto became serious again. “The newspapers and TV will be waiting for me downstairs. That will help to make it safer. But they’ll be asking questions and taking my picture and you’ll be on the front page with me. Does that bother you?” Mrs. Wilkins shrugged. “My grandchildren will probably think it’s cool or whatever they say now. But why are you going out? Why are you letting them do this?” “I need to show my enemies and my friends that I am not afraid, that I will not hide, that I am still strong. I need to carry on, like I am expected to.” Looking away. “And I need to meet someone in the elevator, to talk in private, when we come back.” “Okay, Mr. Benedetto, let’s go for a walk. I’ll get a blanket for your lap.” “No. Just my brown jacket, please. We’ll leave the wheelchair in the lobby.”
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About the Book
AWARDS for THE GRANDFATHER CLAUSE
FIRST PRIZE WINNER FOR FICTION
Santa Fe Trail Creative Arts Council Fiction Book Award
SEMI-FINALIST FOR FICTION, SUSPENSE/THRILLER CATEGORY
The Eric Hoffer Award
HONORABLE MENTION FOR GENERAL FICTION
The Los Angeles Book Festival
It's March of 1963 in a quiet New Jersey shore community. Joseph Napolo is a young boy who cherishes his Pop Pop Carmine's Sunday visits to his parents’ home. Joseph has come to understand that there is something special about his grandfather - the stories he tells, his friends that visit after dinner, how some kiss his ring and call him Don Carmine. This Sunday, however, Joseph is the sole witness to sinister and dramatic events. Young Joseph and his grandfather pledge to keep a dark secret. It is also the last time he will see his grandfather.
Over time, Joseph learns his grandfather had been the boss of one of the five New York crime families, which still bears his name and continues to be illuminated as the most powerful Mafia organization in the country. Joseph has shunned his grandfather's ways but he will forever share the family name. He understands that fame is fickle and fleeting. Infamy is not.
Now Spring 2001, Joseph is a husband, father, and with his best friend, Michael Cogan, co-owner of a successful trucking company. However, trouble with the Teamsters Union, Cogan's gambling debts, and a hijacking that is much more than it appears to be, create a scenario where the past and the present reconvene. During this one week in May, these ostensibly unconnected events toss together several nefarious entities. A high-tech defense contractor, a treacherous ex-US intelligence operative, the Napolo Crime Family, and Teamster officials collude and collide, taking Joseph on a wild and deadly ride, racing toward a Friday deadline. Reluctantly, Joseph must penetrate his grandfather's world to protect his family and to save his friend, only to find himself a key player in a conspiracy which distorts the concept of patriotism and redefines his grandfather's role in history.
Please visit philgenovese.com for more information.
About the Author
Philip A. Genovese, Jr. was born in Newark, New Jersey. He was raised on the Jersey Shore, attended Christian Brothers Academy, and graduated Villanova University with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature. He is the grandson of the late Vito Genovese, namesake of one of the five New York Mafia crime families. Mr. Genovese is currently developing several fiction and non-fiction projects, including his next novel, The Termination Clause. Learn more at philgenovese.com