God Notice: The Messenger Series, #1

By Dr. Kim Gebrosky, B.S., D.C.

A robbery victim perpetrating forgiveness, a Wolf of Wall Street type swindler finding last minute redemption and an expectant mother rejecting the aborting of her little girl despite significant pressures.....all tough predicaments with the characters choosing the less traveled path forward.

 

What is it compelling them that they could all have in common?

• Language: English
• Publisher: kim gebrosky
• Release date: Dec 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201509170

Dr. Kim Gebrosky, B.S., D.C.

Kim is a former chiropractor and entreprenuer.  One night he awoke with the inspiration for a future film and over the following months revealed the story first, in this book.

Book preview

God Notice

(The Messenger Series)

It was just another typical Monday morning as Kevin sipped his coffee at his favorite café in beautiful, downtown Manhattan Beach. His usual seat in the back had been open and he couldn’t help but glance out the window once again to the pristine, blue ocean. The million-dollar ocean view and the advertisement of world’s best coffee, were hardly the only reasons that he chose to spend his Monday mornings here though.

Looking away from the window and towards the kitchen, he saw the main reason hustling over in his direction.

Hi Kev, the waitress said quickly as she walked over and filled his half empty cup with her own, half empty pot. Sorry that I’m late. I got stuck in traffic. What a mess!

The vivacious, middle-aged woman had been waiting on Kevin for what seemed like, for both, a very long time. Her big, blue eyes surrounded by a backdrop of flowing blonde hair and a slim, yet curvy figure, would be considered quite a catch for most men, but for him, it was the friendship that had developed over the years that was valued the most. She had become quite a rock of stability. Through the good and the bad times that seem to always ebb and flow through life, Stacy had been the constant in Kevin’s hectic life. At least, recently.

I can’t believe that you weren’t here to greet me this morning, Stacy. I thought the world may be coming to an end. Kevin said chuckling. Smiling, he pointed to his mug, and said, I am on my third cup already and to be honest, it just doesn’t taste the same as when you are serving it up! The first two were definitely in the world’s second-best coffee, category.

Stacy’s eyes gleamed even brighter and bluer as she took in the welcomed compliment. To her, Kevin was a bright beacon in her life that directed her when life got foggy. Many times, she had shared with her co-workers how much she looked forward to their early morning conversations, no matter how brief they often could be.

So, Kev?  I have been working here for over ten years now and I know that you were a regular even then. How long have you been coming in here?

Too long, Kevin replied, without really answering the question. Smiling, he added, But hey, who’s counting?

Although Kevin had grown up and gone to college on the east coast, he had moved to LA to begin his career as an investigative journalist. At least that is what he had called himself back then.

His first writing gig had started with a small newspaper where he had worked his way up to the official title of what he had, from the beginning, called his occupation. Kevin had worked hard, gotten a few breaks, and then a huge opportunity was set to punch his ticket to stardom in the investigative journalist field. At least that was what he had thought at the time.

Suddenly, there was a random rush to the lone TV that the café had conspicuously positioned in the corner just above the window seal. People were getting up from their seats around the restaurant and migrating to the tiny TV in groups of twos and threes.

Almost in a panic, one of the customers cried out, Turn the sound up. Hurry!

What’s going on? Another shouted from the back of the cafe.

That’s Randolph Farnsworth. The famous banker! Another man, sitting at a table in front of the TV, answered back. Raising his voice even more, he turned around and said, "Apparently, he rushed back into a burning building next to the Empire State Building while trying to rescue some people. It looks like he didn’t make it out.

Stacy watched Kevin study the scene around the TV and leaned into him as if to find some sort of calm in all the chaos. She had grown to look to him as her safe place. What in the world would cause a man who has so much to live for, risk his own life like this? If anybody had a reason to live, it was him.

Fame and fortune were only the beginning of the list of accomplishments that Mr. Randolph Farnsworth was known for. His famous family was always making the national news in high society for what seemed like their endless philanthropy.

I honestly don’t know, Kevin answered as he took a sip. "I have certainly wondered what I might do in a similar situation, but never would have thought that I was capable of doing that. I guess he must have had his reasons. Who knows, maybe he was just tired of living?"

Meeting Kevin’s eyes, Stacy hesitantly asked, "Are you talking about what happened to you?

Kevin’s green eyes lost its normal emerald luster and there was silence. Stacy knew that she had mentioned something very painful in his past and apparently it was still too soon. Looking away, she said, I had better check on my other tables, and as she walked away, couldn’t help but look over her shoulder one last time before he left.

It was still early morning on the West Coast and, as usual, the walk back from the café was almost as long as the wait for the elevator. Kevin stepped off the elevator and turned right towards the conference room. With it being time for the magazine’s weekly briefing meeting, they surely would have the SCOOP on what had just happened in New York, he thought to himself as he stepped through the open conference door.

If you haven’t ever attended a high-powered meeting with a bunch of suits and even more, ultra-aggressive journalist types, well, maybe you really haven’t lived.  Kevin’s employer, Crime Watch Magazine, certainly wasn’t the biggest news media icon on the coast, but he still felt fortunate to have the opportunity.  Although the years and experiences had worn Kevin down, he had still hoped he could rekindle the fire inside once again.  The fire that he was witnessing at that very moment all around him as he perused the meeting room was but a reminder.  A reminder of one of his greatest fears at this point.

Instead of his fire burning bright, it was burning out.

Now HEADS UP everyone! We have a lot to cover this morning, the editor-in-chief shouted.

Peter Tao, Editor-In-Chief of Crime Watch Magazine, was a longtime and gracious friend of Kevin’s. Even at some of Kevin’s lowest moments, Peter was always there for him. Kevin often touted him as a man who never turned his back on a friend. Given the environment of running a successful magazine, and being in LA of all places, that was quite an accolade. Without Peter Tao, Kevin would not be working at Crime Watch, if even at all.

By now, I’m sure most every one of you has heard about the tragic loss that’s just taken place out East. Yes, I am referring, of course, to the tragic demise of Mr. Randolph Farnsworth, Peter explained to the group. I am sending Adams and Razien out there immediately after this meeting to try and dig up what they can, if anything. Now, let’s get to the other stories we are working on.

The meetings at the magazine usually ran hot and fast, which is somewhat ironic, since some stories can take months or even decades to develop.  Over the years, Kevin has seen his share of both.

The meeting was coming to a close when Peter suddenly yelled out, One of our reporters is out sick and we need someone to sit in on the Maddox case over at the main courthouse. ANY TAKERS? He asked. Well, okay then. Kevin, looks like you just got volunteered.

Kevin, from the far back of the room, simply nodded.  Why not? The case with Maddox had been going on for months now, and he knew it was about to wrap up and go to jury.  After all, he could use a few paid weeks sitting in a cushy chair in the journalist box at the courthouse.  Getting a press pass to one of the highest profile cases in recent memory reminded him of some of his good ole days.  And yes, he still had a few of those in his distant memory to look back on.

Barney Maddox was a cheat, a scoundrel and a master manipulator - and those were just some of his good points.  He had been on trial for one of the biggest white collar stock manipulations in quite a while.  Had he not ripped off many famous people of LA, it might not even have come to light.  That wasn’t really his biggest offense though.  It was the countless others that he had managed to separate from their life savings.  Hard working, everyday people were on the list, and too many, unfortunately, to count.  It was even found out that Barney was handling the money for his own mother’s estate and successfully swindled the entire rest of the family out of any chance of getting their rightful inheritance.  One of the biggest testaments to what a low life Barney truly was came from a certain well-known orphanage.  Yes, an orphanage.  Apparently, a friend of a friend had introduced the head of the home for wayward children to Mr. Maddox.  After courting him and selling the guy on how great it would be to set up a financial endowment for the kids, the head of the orphanage happily handed over all of their money and donations to Barney.  From what was later stated, the amount of money given to Barney was in the millions.  That was the last of his relations with Maddox and after the number cruncher made a few legal manipulations, Barney made off with it all.  The kids were left high and dry, and the orphanage was forced to close.  All of that had made for great TV coverage and had meant the end of the road for Barney. 

Kevin wasn’t exactly looking forward to the story but wasn’t exactly dreading it either.

The Bank

One of the stories Kevin was assigned to cover besides the Maddox case, was the peculiar happening at a bank over on Wilshire St. in downtown LA. Apparently, two-armed bank robbers had burst into the bank with guns drawn and started demanding that everyone hit the ground and for the bank tellers to hand over the money.  Since the robbers were heavily armed, everyone complied - or almost everyone. 

A bank employee had walked straight up to a robber holding a shotgun and told him that they should both stop immediately, and that this was the wrong thing for them to be doing.  The robber with the shotgun pointed both barrels straight at the man's face and told him that if he didn’t hit the floor, he wouldn’t be making it home for dinner.  According to bystanders, the employee calmly looked at the robber and said, This is not my day to die. 

Perplexed, and after offering a few gratuitous vulgarities, the robber stuck the shotgun right in the bank employee’s face, and yelling at the top of his lungs, said, You are a dead man, Sukkah! 

Click!

The robber’s trigger finger wrapped around the curved metal, and he smiled as he squeezed. The smile faltered and nothing happened as he pulled the trigger once again. Another jam.

The second robber immediately came around from behind the teller window with an Uzi from what the official report had said.

He began screaming profanities at his partner, asking why he hadn’t offed this punk?  The robber with the shotgun replied that his gun had jammed.  Then, the robber with the Uzi yelled back, Well, we’ll fix that mo-fo! and squeezed the trigger. 

Again, nothing happened but a click.  Amazed and astonished, both robbers ran out the door after hearing police sirens, without any of the loot.

After reading over the basics of the story, Kevin decided to interview the bank teller at his home to see exactly what had happened from his point of view, and to confirm if any of this malarky was actually true?

Kevin knocked on the front door and after waiting for only a few seconds, the door was opened slowly. In front of him was a middle-aged Latino man who looked none too happy about being interrupted. "I’m with Crime Watch Magazine.  Are you the Fernando Rodriquez who was on the news the other day? Kevin asked. 

"Yes sir, I