Return To Go
by
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Return To Go
Chapter One
An ambulance races through the city street, sirens blaring and lights flashing. Inside, Nicholas kneels near his mother as the paramedics feed her oxygen. He watches the heart monitor screen. Nervously, he dabs a handkerchief at the roots of her wiry white hair.
“You’ll be fine, Mama. We’ll be at the hospital soon. You’ll be fine, just like the other times.”
The heart monitor goes into a frenzy of beeps rivaling the ambulance siren. A paramedic jumps on the old lady’s frail chest and pounds on it as the ambulance swerves around a street corner. The monitor continues its furious beeping. Another paramedic thrusts two paddles on Mama’s chest and the old lady’s body convulses on the gurney. Again and again. The line on the monitor screen goes flat and Nicholas hears the beeping flatten to an endless whistling sound.
“I’m sorry,” a paramedic says to him. “We’ve lost her.”
Tears washing through his fingers, Nicholas gurgles “It’s over. Thank God, it’s finally over! …Oh, dear God, forgive me.”
*
Nicholas closes the door of his second floor apartment behind him and bolts just two of the four locks, then flops down on his bed. The clock on the table tells him it’s ten minutes after six o’clock. Just thirty-five minutes until the alarm is set to awaken him for a day’s work. He leans toward it, pauses thoughtfully, and flips the alarm switch to off. He dials his department phone number, waits for the voice mail greeting and then speaks. “This is Nick. I won’t be at work today. Mama died last night… I’ll be off today.”
He sits at the foot of the bed, wondering what he should be feeling. Numbness and despair have been his primary feelings for the past twenty-two years.
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About the Book
Eighteen million dollars has been embezzled from Continental Industrial. Unbeknownst to Nicholas Powlowski, the Cost Accounting Manager, he is the prime suspect. The Company hopes that an undisclosed review of its records, and a watchful eye on Nick, will provide evidence leading to his conviction, as well as discovery of co-conspirators and recovery of the stolen money.
After 20 sheltered years caring for his widowed, immigrant mother, in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen, 42-year old Nick’s experiences have not prepared him for what he’ll encounter as he embarks on an attempt to make up for lost time and reclaim his life. Humorously grumpy Nick finds a confidant in Lanette Carlson, an earthy, vivacious young girl who left Kansas for the lure of the fashion world, and works as a stripper. Lanette has a strong will to succeed, but she often succumbs to the manipulation of her domineering family.
When Nick discovers a secret family fortune, he begins living an extravagant life that includes sexual escapades with a variety of women, which increases suspicion of him as the mastermind behind the embezzlement. During this period, Nick begins to overcome his lack of social skills to live the life he’s regretted missing; but his new uninhibited life isn’t bringing him happiness.
As the FBI closes in to make an arrest, Nick is desperate to find out who is framing him, and why. He enlists the help of a powerful underworld figure with the connections to obtain inside information. But will the price of what Nick is about to discover be too costly, and in more ways than one?
“Return to Go is a psychological portrait, colored with lust, exploitation, and enigmatic friendships; and painted with broad strokes of humor over a canvass of corruption and deceit.”
About the Author
Mitchell Graye was raised and still lives in the New York City Metropolitan area where he has held a variety of positions during his career in the financial community. At one such post, he discovered and ‘blew the whistle’ on a series of questionable financial transactions and reports.
When not applying his analytical skills, Mitchell enjoys being a people watcher and has been a student in various psychology courses because he is intensely curious about what makes people tick.
Graye draws upon his knowledge of the financial world in presenting the backdrop of cutthroat corporate politics and corruption in Return to Go. His keen observation of human behavior and smart sense of humor come into play in developing the interactions between his compelling characters.
Mitchell Graye has also written numerous short stories, essays, a sitcom pilot; and a novella, which is set for publication in 2007. He is an author from whom we will undoubtedly hear much more.