If you'd rather place an order by talking to one of our cheerful order desk clerks, please call 1-888-232-4444 (USA and Canada only) or 250-383-6864. From Europe, ring our UK order desk clerk at local rate number 0845 230 9601 (UK only) or 44 (0)1865 722 113.

The Alumni Six

by J. P. Tacconi

165 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-1239; ISBN 1-4120-3411-6; US$21.95, C$28.00, EUR18.20, £12.61

Upon finishing this book you will want to read it again to get more acquainted with its characters. Play detective as you read.

Read more!

about the book      about the author      excerpts      catalogue info

About the Book Six good friends go from college to New York and become sales executives for Investment Corporation. Just as they begin to enjoy their success, a murder occurs. Follow the characters as the mystery unravels.

---

About the Author J. P. Tacconi is an avid reader and retired design engineer. This superbly-designed murder mystery is his first attempt at writing a book. He resides in Niagara Falls, NY.

---

Excerpts

The rain wasn't letting up as Jack got off the elevator inside the lobby of the Templar Building. He waved to some of the people who worked for him at Invest-a-Tech Corp. as they left the new glass, steel, and concrete highrise for the weekend. The Templar Building looked like many other office buildings in the city, but to Jack it was important because his company, Invest-a-Tech Corp., and it's 900 employees occupied the fifth through eighth floors. ITC was successful, and their work with stocks, bonds, and insurance were as profitable as the investments in properties.

"Hey, Jack, you coming with us, or are we going to have a few rounds without you?"

Jack grinned at the five guys standing there waiting for him. "You gotta' be kidding. Dry and Thirsty's Bar would go out of business if the six of us didn't go there together." The others' smiles matched his, and together they headed towards the bar.

The six of them, Jack, Joe Beltraz, Frank Dulac, Tony Simian, Pete Petrov, and Nick Mantare, had been together for years since their days of playing football at Alabama State University. The corporation had started with Jack's money and leadership. Actually, he had started it with a loan from his wife at the time, Mayrose, whose family had interests in cotton fields, oil wells, and good sound investments in the stock market. But it had been Jack who had used his skills he had learned as ASU's starting quarterback and his academic success * a 4.0 GPA * to grow the corporation.

Frank glanced at the others sitting around the table.

"God, it's hard to believe that four of us are divorced or single, and only Pete and I are still married. Seems like just a couple of years ago we were young studs, just graduating from college."

Jack nodded silently, thinking to himself, "Mayrose and I only lasted two years, but at least we have Bobby-Jack and aren't at each other's throats." As Jack listened to the others talking, he had the urge to tell them that he and Mayrose still got together weekly, Wednesday afternoons at the old Waldorf-Astoria to do a repeat of their honeymoon, followed by dinner in the suite. They had done it for years since they'd gotten divorced.

Frank smiled at Jack. "It's hard to believe you are now one of the most powerful businessmen in the world, isn't it Jack? Who would of ever thought when we were at ASU that we all would be working together and becoming wealthy men?"

Jack smiled. "And who would have thought that five years ago we would own some of the best high rise buildings in New York and that we'd be bringing in a lot of money for the corporation?" As the rest of the guys laughed, Jack waved to the waitress, signaling for another drink. He had anticipated all of it, and that was part of the reason they had been able to accomplish their goals (along with Mayrose's family money). The meetings at Dry and Thirsty's Bar continued, with the Alumni Six attending faithfully. That night, Jack had come in with an idea, and he wanted to get the other's reaction to it. He said, "Inflation has caused the cost of the medical and dental plan, retirement plan, and paid vacations to escalate to some very large numbers for the 900 employees' benefit fund. Joe, give me a quick estimate of investors with ITC."

"I would say 40,000, Jack, which includes the insurance policy holders."

"My plan, gentlemen, is to help defray expenses for the corporation by raising the handling fees of the investors. We can charge an extra $300.00 per quarter to the people in the 30- to 40-year-old age bracket." Frank Dulac's reaction was, "Is this legal with the Federal Trades Commission?"

---

Catalogue Information

---