Never Goodbye

by Adam Mitzner

  “Dad, do you remember Gabriel Velasquez?”

  My father shakes Gabriel’s hand and offers him a big smile. “Of course I do. So nice to see you under better circumstances. Ella has told me so much about you.”

  “She speaks of you all the time too, sir.”

  My father laughs. “Sir? No, that will not do. Clint, please.” To me he says, “Ella, after you finish up here, I’d like very much to take you and Gabriel out to celebrate. Would you both do me that honor?”

  When he’s nervous, my father can be overly formal. Do me that honor? I find it sweet that being around Gabriel makes him uneasy. I don’t recall him ever acting that way around Jeffrey or my other boyfriends. There must have been something in the way I’ve described my life with Gabriel that has given my father reason to believe this relationship has legs.

  There actually isn’t much for me to finish up after court. In my prior life as a prosecutor, other cases piled up while I was on trial, so as soon as one verdict was rendered, I was right back in the salt mine. But this time, I have no other cases. I have no job, in fact. I chuckle to myself that the only post-trial things I have to do are to reach out to Karen and get another spot at Lava and make sure that Allison hasn’t given away my Wednesday and Thursday appointment slots.

  “Yes,” I say to my father, “Gabriel and I would be happy to do you that honor.”

  “Great. Per Se at one?”

  “Dad, not Per Se. Please.”

  “My treat, my choice,” he says.

  Per Se is probably the last place on earth I’d ever take Gabriel for a meal. Not only because of the $375-per-person price tag—before alcohol, tax and tip, so it’s closer to $500, all in. I’m also relatively certain that if they have beef on the menu, the chef will refuse to cook it more done than medium, no matter how much we’re paying for the privilege.

  I prepare Gabriel for the fact that it’s not going to be a burger-and-fries situation. In fact, he’s not going to be able to order at all. Per Se serves only a nine-course tasting menu. It changes every day, and no single ingredient is ever repeated throughout the meal.

  “Fantastic,” Gabriel says. “Is there a McDonald’s close by, in case I get, you know, hungry?”

  “You’ll eat your five-hundred-dollar lunch like a man,” I say back. “Oh, and you need to wear a suit jacket, I think. Do you have one in your office?”

  “This keeps getting better and better,” he says. But he’s smiling.

  Needless to say, my father gets a prime table, even though I’m certain he made the reservation earlier today. Despite its astronomical price tag, Per Se is among the toughest reservations to secure in the whole city. The room befits a restaurant of grandeur. Not only is every last detail attended to, but also nearly two hundred feet of the eastern wall is glass, providing a view out over Columbus Circle to Central Park.

  My father has taken the liberty of ordering champagne. As soon as we’re seated, a waiter attentively fills each of our flutes.

  “To . . . justice being done, and to those who did it,” my father says, his glass raised.

  After completing the toast, we each take a sip of the champagne. I know it’s not Gabriel’s favorite alcoholic beverage, but he plays along.

  The first course arrives with much fanfare, as no fewer than four waiters accompany the three dishes. They are placed before us simultaneously, with the odd man out describing what’s on the plate.

  “The title of this dish is Oysters and Pearls,” he says. “It is sabayon of pearl tapioca with Island Creek oysters and sterling white sturgeon caviar.”

  I catch Gabriel’s sidelong glance, and it makes me giggle like a girl.

  “What?” my father says.

  “Nothing,” I say. Then to change the subject, “So, do you think I’m the only unemployed singer in the restaurant?”

  My father glances around at the other tables. Nearly all of them are occupied by men, no doubt on expense accounts.

  “I’d say the odds are even higher that I’m the only cop here,” Gabriel says. Despite the remark, I can tell that Gabriel is enjoying this.

  “Well, I have some news I think you’ll find very interesting about your employment status, Ella,” my father says. “I had a conversation with Richard Trofino after court today. I’ve known Richard through the years professionally, and he said that the most fitting tribute he could make to Lauren’s memory would be to see you installed as her successor as the bureau chief of Special Victims.”

  I laugh. If there’s one thing that I am certain about after today, it’s that my career as a prosecutor is over. Making an enemy of the sitting District Attorney is never the road to advancement.

  “Does Richard also plan on becoming District Attorney? Because I’m pretty sure that after today, that’s the only way I’m ever going to get that post.”

  “There’s another way,” my father says. “He’s going to suggest to Drake McKenney that, if you’re appointed, the mayor will support McKenney’s reelection bid. If not, the DA will find himself running against a very well-financed primary challenger next year.”

  “Really? He’d do that for me?”

  “Well, not entirely for you. I suspect that, in exchange for backing McKenney, the mayor will require McKenney’s support for his own reelection. But Richard said that he’s vetted the plan with the mayor, and he’s on board.”

  I look at Gabriel. He’s all smiles. I know that he’s thinking that I can have it all. Chief of the Special Victims Bureau by day, rock-star Cassidy by night.

  “That is certainly exciting,” I say, “but it pales in comparison to the news I’m about to share.”

  “What’s that?” Gabriel says before my father can inquire.

  “About our moving in together,” I tell him. “Although the address has yet to be determined.”

  “Well, then,” says Gabriel, “I guess you’re not the only one at the table who’s getting what they’ve always wanted.” He’s beaming, which makes me beam right back at him.

  My father reaches for his champagne. Raising his flute once again, he says, “To getting what you’ve always wanted.”

  “Hear, hear,” I say.

  We touch glasses as one to complete the toast.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  You’ve made it this far, why not go a little farther?

  Please send me an e-mail at adam@adammitzner.com and tell me what you thought of Never Goodbye. I truly love to hear from readers, and I always—ALWAYS—write back.

  After you’ve told me what you think, please tell the world by posting a review on your favorite site. Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari, your own blog: they’re all good places to let your opinions be known.

  Never Goodbye is the first time I’ve attempted a sequel. I had previously resisted because I thought the stories in my prior books had reached a natural conclusion, but with Ella Broden I knew that there was more story to tell when I finished Dead Certain. I suspect that Never Goodbye will not be the last you’ve read of Ella’s pursuits.

  But before looking to the future, I need to thank all of those who have done so much so that you could experience Never Goodbye. In no particular order, my most sincere heartfelt thanks go to Jessica and Kevin Shacter, Jodi (Shmodie) Siskind, Clint Broden (yes, there is a real person with that name and he’s even an extremely well-regarded criminal-defense lawyer!), Bonnie Rubin, Beth Miller, Matt Brooks, Ellice Schwab, Lily Weitzner Icikson (for giving her name), Joseph Icikson (for giving his name), Silvia Serpe (for giving her name), Abby Doft, Rita DeSapio (for giving her name), Sara Sadinoff (for giving her name), Jane Goldman, Gregg Goldman, Maeve and Grant Goldman (for giving the name of Mr. Big Tiger), Leslie Wright (for giving her name), Margaret Martin, Ted Quinn, and my parents, Linda and Milton Mitzner, and our dog, Onyx (for giving her name).

  The people at Thomas & Mercer have absolutely been incredible, and the best publishers/partners an author could have. Special thanks to Liz Pearsons and Ed Stackler, who provide invaluable cri
ticism and support, which made Never Goodbye better than I could have hoped. There are many people behind the scenes at Thomas & Mercer, nearly all of whom I’ve never met or spoken to, but I know that they contribute on so many levels, from proofreading to cover to design to marketing, and so a huge thank-you goes out to them as well.

  Special thanks to Scott Miller, my agent at Trident Publishing since my first book. Also thanks to Jon Cassir at CAA, and Emily Siegel and Jessica Varney, all of whom are working hard to bring my books to film. And to the people at Audible, who make it possible to listen to my books.

  My law firm, Pavia & Harcourt LLP, has been nothing but supportive of my writing, and I am thankful to everyone there, but especially George Garcia.

  Last and certainly most, is my family. Each and every member contributes in so many ways to my writing. My daughter, Rebecca, replies “Yay!” when I text her something about the book, and her sister, Emily, will discuss any plot point with me and provide me her unique insight into the world. My stepson, Michael Plevin, provides me with interesting tidbits about the world at large, and his brother, Benjamin Plevin, is usually my first reader and offers what he calls “constructive complaints” throughout the writing process.

  My greatest thanks go to my wife, Susan Steinthal. She not only edits the manuscript multiple times, saving me from embarrassment with each critique, but encourages me when I’ve hit a wall. She doesn’t gloat too much when readers render criticisms that she made long before and that I wrongly ignored. But, of course, my real thanks to her have nothing to do with my writing at all, but are for being my partner, my friend, my everything.

  Never Goodbye is my sixth book, and I am incredibly blessed to be able to share what I love to do with so many people. So my final, but extremely heartfelt, thank-you is to you—the people who read and listen to my books. Thank you.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Photo © 2016 Matthew Simpkins Photography

  Adam Mitzner is a practicing attorney in a Manhattan law firm and the author of several acclaimed novels including the #1 Kindle bestseller Dead Certain; as well as A Conflict of Interest, A Case of Redemption, Losing Faith, and The Girl from Home. Suspense Magazine named A Conflict of Interest one of the best books of 2012; and in 2014, the American Bar Association nominated A Case of Redemption for a Silver Gavel Award. Mitzner and his family live in New York City. Visit him at www.adammitzner.com.