The Restaurant (A Contemporary Novella)

By Antony W.F. Chow

What will you do to uncover the truth? When a reporter's girlfriend goes missing, Alexander Barone finds himself resorting to any and all means necessary to discover the truth behind Betsy Gordon's disappearance. The Restaurant is the fifth and final volume in a Contemporary Novella series, where ordinary New Yorkers living ordinary lives end up facing extraordinary circumstances. Other volumes include NO GOOD DEED, The Winner, INSEPARABLE, and VENGEANCE: DIARY OF A MURDERER.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Antony W.F. Chow
• Release date: Mar 17, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301779994

Antony W.F. Chow

Calling himself a "literary chameleon," Antony W.F. Chow is an experimental writer who enjoys the intellectual challenge of writing in a wide variety of genres. His latest book is a platonic, Christian romance novel titled "My Date With Eric (A Sweet Romance Novel)." He is a longtime resident in the hometown of the New York Mets MLB team. He is best known for his online article on spotting counterfeit Japanese anime figures. He is also known as the author of Broken Hearted: A 9/11 Story, available for PC, Mac, and Linux. An unauthorized webcomic version is available on Google Play.

Book preview

The Restaurant

(A Contemporary Novella)

By Antony W.F. Chow

Smashwords Edition. Copyright (c) 2012 by Antony W.F. Chow, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior written permission of the author. Book cover by Antony W.F. Chow, based on stock photo ID 14460208 (Interior of a restaurant) at Dreamstime.com, and copyrighted by Photosphobos. The image is used under the Royalty Free license. Book formatted by Jesse Gordon.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters and events portrayed in this work are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgment

Prologue

Chapter 1 – Dinner at Lulu's Diner

Chapter 2 – Early wake up call

Chapter 3 – The den of evil

Chapter 4 – The newsroom

Chapter 5 – Seduction

Chapter 6 – The bachelor pad

Chapter 7 – Lunch date

Chapter 8 – New job

Chapter 9 – Rejection

Chapter 10 – Disappearance

Chapter 11 – Dismissed

Chapter 12 – Private investigator

Chapter 13 – Investigation and discovery

Chapter 14 – Abduction

Chapter 15 – Truth

Chapter 16 – Disposal

Chapter 17 – Closure

Epilogue

Afterword

About the Author

Foreword

The Restaurant is the fifth and final book in A Contemporary Novella series, where each story explores the lives of ordinary New Yorkers facing extraordinary circumstances. The Restaurant follows a newspaper reporter and considers the lengths to which he would go to discover the truth behind his girlfriend's disappearance. Please note that The Restaurant is a horror-action-romance cross genre story, with EXTREMELY gory and violent scenes. Reader discretion is advised.

Other books in A Contemporary Novella series include NO GOOD DEED, THE WINNER, INSEPARABLE, and VENGEANCE: DIARY OF A MURDERER.

Acknowledgment

The author wishes to credit the assistance of Michael Stark, author of The Island (Fallen Earth) serial, for helping the author understand ethical and professional considerations in journalism.

This book is dedicated to Ken, for being there from day one.

Prologue

It was a dark and stormy night. BOOOOOMMM! BOOMM--BOOOM! CLADDD! PITA-PITA-PITA

Thunder roars as big rain drops relentlessly splatter on the window, creating a natural nocturnal symphony. But the man is still asleep in bed, blissfully oblivious to nature's fireworks right outside the window this evening.

RRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNGGGGGGG!

The sound of the phone ringing interrupts the man's sleep, and instantly he awakes.

Stifling a yawn, he reaches over to the nightstand to his right, and opens his mobile phone.

Hello? the man said, while trying to temper his annoyance at the interruption of his restful sleep.

Wassup, dude! Enjoy the thunder and lightning? Wakie, wakie! Bye now! a young sounding, male stranger said on the other end of the line.

Resisting the urge to throw the mobile phone against the wall, Alexander Barone turns off his mobile phone, and turns on the lights. He notes that it is 3 o'clock in the morning. He has been getting a prank call from the same caller every night for the past two weeks.

Asshole, the man mutters as he goes back to sleep for a few more hours.

Chapter 1 – Dinner at Lulu's Diner

Alexander Barone is sitting in his usual spot in Lulu's Diner, at the very end of a inverted L shaped counter. He is busy making last minute changes on his netbook to his article about the journal of Jason Spielman, the young former law student who was shot and killed by his uncle in a suicide by cop plot.

Next to the computer is a dish of meatloaf with gravy, and mashed potatoes on the side. The meat on the meatloaf has a dark brown color, but charred at the end. It cannot be helped, as the customer himself requested his meat be well done. The mashed potatoes is mushy and sticky. If someone tosses it up to the ceiling, you may expect it to stay up above people's heads.

The untouched dish had long grown cold. Alex looks up as he hears his glass of water being refilled. The annoyance on his face for the interruption to his work is quickly replaced by a smile when he sees a young lady with neon pink hair, and wearing a white blouse and jeans, and a black waitress apron refilling his glass of water.

The young waitress' name is Betsy Gordon, formerly from Georgia who was lured to the Big Apple by the possibility of being cast in a Broadway show, or a movie, or any number of entertainment related projects always happening in the City. The five foot three inches tall waitress has clear skin, emerald green eyes, and an infectious smile and personality to match. She is somewhat of a groupie, always curious to know what the reporter is working on, and to get a heads up on tomorrow's top story in The New York City Daily, where Alexander Barone is admittedly one of the best reporters they have.

Is that the kid who killed his daddy's killer? Betsy Gordon asks as she sets the reporter's refilled glass of water next to the untouched meatloaf, away from Alexander's hand. She has a delicate, girlish voice, and listeners often mistake her for a teenager, despite Betsy's vehement insistence that she is twenty one years of age.

Yup, Alex replies nonchalantly. Normally he