Алан Баттерсби (Alan Battersby)No Place to Hide
Battersby Alan
(Adapted book. Pre-Intermediate level)
Characters:
Nat Marley - a New York private investigator;
Stella Delgado - Nat Marley’s personal assistant;
Patrick O’Neill - an accountant at Ocean Star Finance;
Joyce O’Neill - Patrick O’Neill’s wife;
Julia O’Neill - Patrick and Joyce O’Neills daughter;
Ronald Steinmann - Patrick O’Neill’s head of department;
Lorraine Houston - the president of Ocean Star Finance;
Ed Winchester - a reporter on the Daily News;
Brett Johnson - a financial reporter on the Daily News;
Captain Oldenberg - a detective with the New York Police Department (NYPD);
Joe Blaney - a colleague of Nat Marley, ex-NYPD;
Frank Van Zandt - the owner of Frankie’s Cocktail Lounge;
Gina - a receptionist at the Metro Hotel.
Chapter 1. New York City in fall
Monday, October 4th. A cool, clear morning with the promise of a fine day ahead. Fall is my favorite season in this city - the break between summer heat and winter cold. It’s a time when you’re not trying to escape the worst of New York’s weather. In the city parks, leaves on the trees were just beginning to turn red and gold.
The name’s Nat Marley, licensed private investigator. Before I became an investigator, I used to be a police officer - a cop with the NYPD, the New York Police Department. Since then, I’ve worked for myself. So what does “private investigator” make you think of? A cool handsome guy with an exciting, sometimes dangerous, job? Think again. Some of the time I’m looking for missing persons. Or maybe I’m watching a husband to find out if he’s seeing another woman. And when I look in the mirror, I see an ordinary guy in his forties who’s losing his hair.
As usual, I caught the number seven subway train from my home in Flushing Main Street, Queens, to Midtown Manhattan.
Through Queens, the subway runs above the streets. Below you can see different areas, each home to people from around the world - Flushing: Chinese and Koreans, Corona Heights: Central and South Americans. At Grand Central Station I picked up two coffees. Crowds of New Yorkers were hurrying out onto 42nd Street. Then, like any other day, I walked the couple of blocks to my office at 220, East 43rd Street.