Chapter: Author's NotesThis book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, except as noted below, and actual events is entirely coincidental. Some real people, such as radio personalities appear as actual persons in the book by their oral or written permission. Others appear as characters and events in the book to give a sense of historical accuracy; however specific incidents are entirely fictitious and should not be considered real or factual. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
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Chapter: Chapter Forty-EightThe station was quiet when Jenny arrived at five-thirty. Johnny was still asleep when she left and she didn’t see any reason to wake him since their shift didn’t begin for another three hours.The studio felt a bit strange to Jenny after being away for an entire week. With all that transpired, and her decision to leave, KKTM didn’t feel like home to her anymore.She went into her office and mentally figured out how many boxes she would need to pack the few things that belonged to her. She went through her desk and started throwing away papers she had collected over the years. She was reading though some of them and didn’t see Brian standing in the doorway.“Spring cleaning?” He asked. “Must be that time of the month or maybe something else. You’re not pregnant, are you?”“Dammit, Brian. Why is it that whenever a woman does something a little out of character men all assume she’s either got
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Chapter: Chapter Forty-SevenTemple Adat Elohim was located in a small section of Sherman Oaks, not far from Jenny’s apartment. Johnny met her at the front of her building and they arrived about fifteen minutes before the ceremony started.“Isn’t this beautiful.” Jenny said. “Here, you need to wear one of these.”“A yamaka?.”“You know what it is?” Jenny was surprised.“All the guys I worked with in Canada were Jewish. Didn’t I tell you? I was invited to weddings and even attended a bris. I went to so many Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs, everyone thought I was Jewish because I knew the words to the prayers and the songs. I was actually thinking about converting, but when I moved back to the States, I never found the right Temple.“I never knew that.”“My engineer’s birthday was in December, so every year we’d combine all the holidays and celebrate Chanubirthdaymas. I nev
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Chapter: Chapter Forty-SixJohnny looked around his apartment. It seemed to him as if someone else had been living there. He was confused and more than a bit concerned about Jenny and how he was going to tell her that he was leaving KKTM.After Jenny had left the party, he tried to talk to Brian about the station and what Johnny planned to do when they returned to Los Angeles. Brian had laughed at him, calling him Denise’s albatross and telling Johnny that if it weren’t for his sister, Jenny would have sole ownership of Red Wine. Johnny nearly hit him, but he realized that Brian was drunk. He also realized that there was no way he could continue at KKTM.Johnny hadn’t spent all his time at the slot machines while he was in Vegas. He began formulating the first part of his plan early in the week. He made the right contacts, made the right moves, and finally hit the jackpot during the awards presentation.He put together the second part of his plan at the party wh
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Chapter: Chapter Forty-FiveJohnny parked the car in front of Jenny’s apartment and opened the trunk to get her luggage. She hadn’t spoken more than a few words on the flight or during the drive from the airport. Johnny thought she might be angry at him for keeping the party going till three a.m., but she’d told him she was just tired, so he let it go.Jenny was tired, but it wasn’t only fatigue that was causing her silence. Her decision to leave KKTM and the repercussions that she knew would follow, were draining all her energy.“Want me to come up?” He asked as he helped her take her things into the building.“No. You have to get home and unpack and I still have to get a gift for Ann and Don. Why don’t you pick me up tomorrow and we’ll go to the wedding together.”“Tomorrow?” He sounded disappointed. “What about later tonight?”“Johnny, we just spent a wonderful and exhausting
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Chapter: Chapter Forty-FourThere was a brief, deafening silence followed by subdued clapping as Melody bounded onto the stage to accept her award. She held the acrylic pillar over her head in victory and shot a triumphant glare towards Jenny who was having difficulty joining in the congratulatory applause.“Sorry, Jen,” Johnny said. “I really thought you were going to win.”“To tell you the truth, so did I.” She tried to hide the disappointment in her voice. “Ya know, up until they announced Melody as the winner, I didn’t know how much I wanted that stupid award. Oh well, there’s always next year. But it would have been nice.”She smiled weakly and tried to listen to Melody’s acceptance speech, but there was a loud commotion in the back of the room that was making it difficult to hear. Everyone turned to the back of the room to see Melody’s husband, Ned, obviously drunk, trying to make his way to the stage with two se
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Chapter: Part IV - Chapter 7Alex woke the next morning, expecting to find Rachel’s warm body cuddled next to him, but when he stretched his arm over the cold mattress, he discovered he was alone in the king size bed.An annoying tapping sound, coming from the far corner of the bedroom, irritated his semi-conscious nerves. Bewildered, he opened his eyes a slit and scanned the room until he located the source of the noise.Seated at the faux antique desk, Rachel was vigorously hitting the laptop keyboard, her attention fixed intently on the screen. Alex sighed and rolled over to glance at the clock on the end table. He was surprised to read a single-digit hour and even more surprised to see that the hour was a six.Not wanting to interrupt her concentration, he propped himself up on his elbow and silently watched as she typed. He could only imagine the words flowing from her delicate, sensuous fingers, the same fingers that had made several painful indentations in his back the night be
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Chapter: Part IV - Chapter 6The Catskill Mountain region of upstate New York was in the middle of an Indian summer. Although the calendar read October, the temperature was a blissful seventy-five degrees. Perfect climate for an outdoor wedding.Rachel and Alex walked through the opulent glass entranceway and into a Victorian setting alive with color and beauty. The lobby was decorated in vibrant tones of mauve, olive, and gold, as brilliant as the fall foliage of the countryside.Rachel was amazed to find herself in such an elegant setting in what she considered to be the middle of nowhere. The gothic pillars, mahogany registration desk, and the full crystal chandelier reminded her of some of the best European hotels she had visited on her book tour. She couldn’t think of a better atmosphere for a wedding.“I see Brad at the bar,” Alex said, looking toward his left. “Mind if I join him?”“Not at all. I’ll get our room key and meet you in a f
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Chapter: Part IV - Chapter 5For the next six weeks, Rachel devoted herself to her extensive promotional schedule. She traveled the European Book Festival circuit, making personal appearances at every small town throughout Scotland and Germany and attended numerous booksigning events in London and Paris.She returned to the States as guest speaker at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, then flew on to personally meet booksellers at Chicago’s BookExpo America and represent Prelude Press at the American Booksellers Association Convention.During the final conference presentations, it was announced that Legal Briefs had received the National Book Foundation’s award in New Fiction. She flew to New York City on the next flight to attend the awards banquet, which took place the night before Brad and Tanya’s wedding.The moment her plane landed in Newark, Rachel called Alex on her cell phone, but the line was busy. She tried the number a few more times before giving
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Chapter: Part IV - Chapter 4“Actually, Mr. Williams, I was surprised to receive your phone call this morning, but I’m very glad to be here,”Cynthia had just finished breakfast when Peter called, requesting a meeting in his office at three thirty to discuss her contract. Feeling the rush of future wealth, she immediately took a cab downtown and treated herself to a manicure, pedicure, facial, hair style and entirely new wardrobe.“You presented a very convincing case, Ms. Anderson. We usually don’t sign contracts directly with authors, which is why I also invited Ms. Glickman here. She’ll be acting as your agent on the contract negotiations and Joan will be your editor,”Cynthia ignored the introductions as she waited impatiently for Peter to hand her the contract and her check.“You were Rachel’s, I mean Ms. Clark’s agent, weren’t you?” she asked Sandra haughtily.“Yes,” Sandra said through c
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Chapter: Part IV - Chapter 3 A melancholy drizzle fell over the Postal Headquarters Building at eight-thirty Wednesday morning. From the plush leather chair in his office, Alex solemnly watched the drops of rain trickle down the windows. It looked to him as if the heavens were crying tears of disappointment over his recent betrayal.He spent most of the previous night with a glass of bourbon in one hand and the remote control in the other, his guilt not allowing him the freedom of sleep. At four in the morning, he made a decision. After finishing his drink, he put on an old pair of jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers and spent the next four hours transporting his belongings from the Voorheesville apartment to his car.He drove to the Albany office under a dark and dismal sky. After signaling the security guard to open the front door, he entered the empty building and took the stairs to his office. He purposefully arrived long before the rest of the staff. He needed uninterrupted time alone to write his r
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Chapter: Part IV - Chapter 2A thick fog forced Alex to drive slowly through the streets of Albany. The occasional green traffic light shining through the haze reminded him of the pleading look in Rachel’s eyes when he’d left her at the curb.Once the fog cleared, Alex turned on the cruise control and let his thoughts wander. While his hands directed the car straight toward Voorheesville, his mind returned him to the scene in the lobby of the Prelude Press office hours earlier.The phones rang constantly, keeping Allison distracted as Alex wandered around. He watched with amusement as a short hefty woman about fifty-ish, stormed through the lobby doors like a hurricane, interrupting Allison’s phone call and demanding, in a voice that nearly shook the windows, to see Mr. Williams immediately. Allison started to hit the intercom, but the woman refused to wait, blowing past Alex and disappearing down the hallway.He checked his watch, wondering how long Rachel’
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Chapter: Acknowledgements and ReferencesJessica Price -Why Can’t Vashti And Esther Both Be Purim Heroines? Alma.com, March 2019Walter Semkiw, MD, - Author - Born Again: Reincarnation Cases Involving Evidence of Past Lives, Cases Researched by Ian Stevenson, MD – President Board of Directors of the Reincarnation ResearchProfessor Jim B. Tucker, M.D. is Bonner-Lowry Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia. He is Director of the UVA Division of Perceptual Studies - Author - Life Before Life: A Scientific Investigation of Children's Memories of Previous Lives Michelle W. Malkin, MPA, MAJNM - What does it mean to me to be Jewish?Michael Shapiro – Author - Jewish Pride: 101 Reasons to Be Proud You're Jewis
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Chapter: EpilogueEpilogue It was a perfect Sunday afternoon for the annual Ojai wine festival at Lake Casitas. Anna and Nate had attended the event every June since they were married. Three years ago, they were joined by their baby daughter Melody, making the event a special Braverman family outing. From the time Melody was six months old, she was completely mesmerized by the live performances. Melody’s little feet began dancing to the music even before she could walk. When she was older, she would kick and squirm in time to the music, creating quite a show for any passerby to admire. This year, instead of being confined in a stroller, Nate held Melody in his lap. Anna sat on the blanket next to them, sipping wine while they waited for the next show to beg
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Chapter: Chapter Thirty-SixNate and Anna followed Bibi out of the cabin as the others stayed behind busy carefully removing the paintings and crating the other artifacts in the cave. Anna held the precious book under her shirt to protect it from the elements. She hadn’t noticed that Nate had pocketed the rings that were in the box along with the hair samples Bibi had taken to the portable lab for DNA analysis. As they walked across the desert to the other side where once had been a flowing river, Anna’s mind was rerunning all the scenes she had experienced as Adara. Despite all the evidence that had just uncovered, the further she walked away from the uncovered cabin, the less she felt the connection to Adara. The one thing she did not lose was the overwhelming compulsion to keep the promise to Queen Esther that the truth about Vashti would be revealed to the world. Now that she had Vashti’s journal in hand, she needed to find a way to
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Chapter: Chapter Thirty-FiveFor the next hour, Anna and Nate escaped the devastation of the past week, deeply involved with the passionate joys of the present. It wasn’t until they were basking in the afterglow that they allowed conversation to intercede. Lying with her head on his chest, his fingers gently caressing her back, Anna listened to Nate’s calm voice recite every detail that had kept him away from answering his messages over the past few weeks. Her emotions flew the gambit of shock, anger and disbelief. That Monday morning following their stroll on the pier, Nate was just about to leave for his tenure interview when he’d received a call from the NCAA head office. The head of the Syracuse investigation committee had seen the C-Span program where Henry had accused Nate of being involved with the events when he was on the basketball team and demanded he fly to Indianapolis to attend an emergency meeting.
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Chapter: Chapter Thirty-FourIf Anna had any idea what was waiting for her on Monday morning, she would have stayed in bed. The early morning June gloom enveloped the view on her drive to her office, filling her with a foreboding sense of impending disaster. Even though she knew the fog would soon burn off, revealing the clear blue sky and golden sun later that day, Anna just wanted to escape the depressing scene as quickly as she could.To put herself in a more positive mood, Anna turned up the volume on the radio and sang along with her favorite hit from the 80s; The Eye of the Tiger. She always thought it ironic that a song about fighting to overcome overwhelming defeat was written by a band called Survivor. Feeling re-energized, Anna walked out of the elevator ready, expecting to see her staff busy at their desks with compiling the data from the weekend’s book festival. What greeted her instead on her arrival was an uncha
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Chapter: Chapter Thirty-ThreeSunday afternoon on a warm spring day was the perfect way to experience the magic of the Santa Monica Pier. From the moment Anna walked under the welcome sign, the dark foreboding shadow of Henry’s broadcast was left on the other side. Walking with Nate by her side, she could feel the tension he had felt earlier fade as well. They bought a gigantic ball of cotton candy and rode the carousel like a couple of teenagers on their first date. Anna couldn’t remember the last time she had enjoyed an afternoon of simple pleasures and she was grateful for the opportunity to share it with Nate, who seemed to be enjoying the mini-vacation as much as she was. “Would you believe I’ve lived in California for over ten years and have never been to Santa Monica?”&
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Undercover Reunion
A struggling Internet entrepreneur, a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, a wife of an impressionable state senator, and a famous voice over actress find themselves caught in a web of espionage and intrigue that threatens their lives and those of everyone they know.
When the undercover agents first approached Melanie Tyler and Kathleen O=Brian the night of their 30th high school reunion, the women could never have imagined that their innocent game of playing spies from a 60=s television show would become a real life confrontation with one of the most insidious criminal minds of their generation.
Melanie "Mel" Tyler and Kathleen "Katie" Conner have been best friends since kindergarten. As teenagers, their favorite television show was The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The girls even had a hidden room where they kept files on various schoolmates. But after graduating from high school, everyone in the graduating class went their separate ways. Mel's voice-over talent landed her a high-paying job in Los Angeles while Katie married her high school sweetheart, James O'Brien, now the youngest member of the Minnesota State Senate.
Mel and Katie find it difficult to believe that they are about to attend Abbeyville High School's thirtieth reunion. Seeing most of their former classmates should be fun, but there are a few that the ladies hoped would not attend. Unfortunately, the three worst do make an appearance. Charles Haussman and Eric Kramer were bullies back in school and they have not forgotten how the ladies once bested them. Then there is Wyatt Gaynes, the jock that Melanie had a crush on - along with many other female students.
A novel of romance and adventure for Baby Boomers, fans of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and anyone who has ever attended their high school reunion!
Lire
Chapter: EpilogueThe obituary that appeared in the Abbeyville Newspress reported that the brother of Jack Gaynes, Wyatt William Gaynes, was killed in an accidental fire at his downtown stationery store.Even after his supposed death, Jack received top billing, and Wyatt's name was mentioned second. Jack led the memorial service which was short and sparsely attended. Brenda chose to stay home.James O'Brien turned over all of his financial statements to the FEC, and after paying several thousands in fines, was completely exonerated. He re-introduced the bill to ban the toxic dye, which pasted unanimously, and his continued work on environmental issues further helped his political career.James was offered the choice of running for Governor or U.S. Senate, but Katie made it quite clear that she neither wanted to move to Washington, nor have a part-time long distance husband. Eighteen months later, she and her family moved into the Governor's mansion in St. Paul.Charles Hau
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Chapter: Chapter Twenty-EightBack at U.N.C.L.E. headquarters, Don was able to find Melanie a blouse from the undercover agent's wardrobe. She changed her top and waited, alone, as Don took Wyatt into the interrogation room. Whenever the front door opened, she half expected to see Stuart walk in, then she sadly remembered that he wasn't going to be walking into any room ever again. She hoped that someone from the agency would contact his sister and brothers and that they would tell them that he died saving her life and omit the part about him being the one who had put that life, and others, in jeopardy in the first place.Melanie was exhausted. Even though it was just past nine, she felt her eyes close. Just as she began to doze off, Don entered the room. In spite of what they had shared on the boat, Melanie couldn't read anything in his expression. She had no doubt that he was well trained in concealing his emotions, even from himself."What's going to happen to Wyatt?" Melanie asked
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Chapter: Chapter Twenty-SevenWhen Melanie saw Don's face, it was all she could do not to jump straight into his arms. Instead, she calmly took hold of his outstretched hand, climbed out of the sub and onto the deck of the speedboat."How did you find us?"She said, once she was safely on his boat."I followed the signal from your communicator pen. Once I saw the sub surface, I hit the gas, so to speak.""Just like my knight in shining armor on the white horse I dreamed about, only your white horse is a white speed boat.""Horses don't do that well on a lake, don't cha know," Don laughed. "I'd love to hear the rest of that dream, Mel, but right now I have a big fish to pull out of that little submarine."Don reached into the hatch for Wyatt's hand, but Wyatt didn't move."I'm not going anywhere with you, Mr. U.N.C.L.E. agent," Wyatt said."That's fine with me. I'm more than happy to leave you here to wait for your friends to catch up with you."Don p
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Chapter: Chapter Twenty-SixFive nautical miles from where Melanie and Wyatt were submerged, emergency sensors at U.N.C.L.E. headquarters were tracking their route. The moment he had received the signal from Stuart's communicator pen, Don immediately called his team to inform them that "Sunday in the park" with their families was cancelled.Alarms were going off in every corner of U.N.C.L.E. headquarters. Every agent within a twenty mile radius had responded to the emergency call. Not a single one complained about having to cut short their one day off. The U.N.C.L.E. network was stronger than any other ties. Nothing, not family, not friends, not even the birth of a child, was more important than the life of a fellow agent. They all knew that if any one of them were in a similar situation, every other agent would do the same for them.No matter his suspicions, if Stuart was in trouble, Don was going to do whatever was necessary to come to his assistance. As soon as he received the signal from Stua
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Chapter: Chapter Twenty-FiveWyatt, took hold of Melanie's hand and the two started moving toward the rear exit. With their backs turned they didn't see one of the wounded T.H.R.U.S.H. agents lift his arm off the floor, pick up a gun and aim it directly at Melanie's back.With no time to warn her, Stuart jumped in-between the bullet and its intended target. Wyatt pulled out his weapon and got off one more shot, ending the threat of the wounded assailant right after the bullet entered Stuart's solar plexus."Stuart, NO!"Melanie screamed and ran to where Stuart had fallen. His shirt was already covered with a deep red stain that was growing larger by the second. Knowing he didn't have more than a few moments of life, Stuart reached into his shirt pocket and handed Melanie his communicator pen."It's working now," he coughed slightly. "Call Don. And tell him I'm sorry."Melanie took the pen from Stuart. Her tears streamed down her face, landing on Stuart's lifeless body. W
Dernière mise à jour: 2021-09-20
Chapter: Chapter Twenty-FourMelanie entered her birthday code into the touch pad on the side of the door leading to the Wyatt's base of operations. She cautiously removed her heels, so her footsteps wouldn't make any sound just in case he wasn't alone. She found him in the control room, his back toward her. He was talking on the phone and didn't hear her enter. Once she noticed that he was alone, she began to run toward him. Startled, Wyatt grabbed his gun, but when he saw who it was, put it back in his holster and put his finger to his lips in a motion to signal her to be quiet, then motioned that he'd be off the phone in a second."Mel? What on earth are you doing here?" he asked when the call ended. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again after what you said at the brunch. I guess I was right about us.""Wyatt, listen to me!" Melanie yelled, "This has nothing to do with us, or not us. DAMMIT, Wyatt there is no us!"Ignoring her, Wyatt moved to pick up the phone."Mel, as much as I
Dernière mise à jour: 2021-09-20
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