Headcase: The Inevitable Table of Contents
The Inevitable is the second book in the Headcase series. Click the links below to read the chapter you are looking for.
Headcase: Shock & Denial (Book 1) - Summary and book trailer
Character Backstories:
Season 1
Tuesday, 04/16/2019—Operation Phoenix—Fergus Mackenzie, our villain, a new prisoner awaiting arraignment at Rikers Island, secretly communicates using a burner phone by calling his protégé, Lorry James. She activates "Operation Phoenix" at their underground club: The Five Iron. He also orders her to take revenge on the man who got him arrested—our hero, Dr. Andrew Beck.
Tuesday 04/16/2019—Walk The Walk—Dr. Andrew Beck sits in the Central Park South Penthouse office of Beck Sports Psychology. He admits his gambling problem to his wary assistant, Gina Perez, a former World Cup Soccer Team Co-Captian and recovering alcoholic. Gina wants to know who the man was that she watched Andrew help get arrested. Andrew is reluctant but tells her the gangster’s name: Fergus Mackenzie. And then his tearful confessions emerge of their dubious relationship.
Tuesday 04/16/2019—Sandra Has A Moment—Sandra Wells, Andrew’s wife of seven years and public relations executive, is on the phone with Union Boss Anthony Corravallo, who was released after being falsely accused of the murder Fergus was arrested for. Andrew wants to tell Sandra about his trouble and gambling problem, but a tender but tense moment between them makes Andrew lose his nerve.
Wednesday 04/17/2019—“The Putt”—When Andrew heads to his childhood home in Greenwich, Connecticut, he finds his recently widowed mother, Helena, painting a reproduction of an iconic picture of her husband, Ted, after he sunk a putt to be the 1988 Masters Golf champion. She is painting it for her husband's memorial ceremony, which will take place in a few days. The picture began a traumatic period for Andrew and his father that continued to his death just a few days ago.
Wednesday 04/17/2019—Old Wounds—Andrew’s visit to his home pulls back painful memories of his childhood under Ted’s relentless drive to become the first-ever father-son golf champions. Andrew confronts his mother, Helena, on why she is painting a replica of one of Ted’s crowning golf moments that led to his brutal childhood. Andrew tries to look to his older brother and Ted’s lawyer and manager, Brandon, for support. He gets nothing from Brandon, who still carries the anger of being ignored throughout childhood because he could not play golf. Helen asks Andrew to give a speech at the memorial for his father, and he reluctantly agrees.
Wednesday 04/17/2019—Two For Flinching—Raid at The Five Iron! Lorry holds off the NYPD SWAT Team, and they are surprised at what they find two stories below the ground on Mercer Street. Fergus schemes Andrew’s demise with his henchmen from prison. Police intimidation tactics on Lorry backfire, as she simultaneously deflects the cop's search of The Five Iron and when Fergus’ henchmen call about Andrew’s location.
Wednesday 04/17/2019—Stimulus and Response— Andrew counsels hockey player Vladimir “The Russian Bear” Poplov after a one-game suspension for an excessive beating he gave an opponent. Andrew also counsels Vladimir on his tumultuous marriage to a Russian ex-supermodel, who provokes him. Andrew teaches Vladimir about the benefits of living in the space between stimulus and response. Andrew is still struggling with his strained relationship with recovering drug addict pitcher John Palmer, who he fears may be heading down a dark path.
Wednesday 04/17/2019—A Slice of Humble Pie Covered in Hard Truths—Andrew is desperate to bring John Palmer back to therapy, for John’s benefit, for Andrew’s practice, but also for the guilt and shame he feels for lying to John that he flew down to Miami to watch him pitch. Super Agent Stephen Gotski, a long-time friend with who they share several clients together, including John, gives Andrew some hard truths but says he will try to get John back to therapy.
Wednesday 04/17/2019—It Feels Better When I Hate Them—Andrew counsels Robbie Owen, “The Bad Girl of Tennis,” before her next match in the Miami Open. She faces an opponent with a history of aggravating and distracting her with yells and screams, which made Robbie lose her temper. Andrew gives her a “game within a game” technique to help her rein in her anger and frustration to get this crucial win that she needs if she wants to win the Miami Open and several other spring tournaments be in the top four when she plays at Wimbledon in July.
Wednesday 04/17/2019—You Know All My Secrets—Andrew prepares New York Black Knight Basketball Star Lamar Hayes for his first playoff game on Saturday. Lamar has a history with one of the referees and has gotten fined for comments to him. He struggles with communication issues with his new girlfriend and famous actress, Janice Cooper, while she is going off to Europe for her next film and will not be around for the playoffs. Lamar flips the tables on Andrew and presses him to talk about Ted’s death and how it has affected him. Andrew feels he has revealed too much and gets nervous, but Lamar comforts him while teasing his doctor.
Wednesday 04/17/2019—Take Me Out To The Ballgame—With John Palmer refusing to return to therapy or take Andrew’s calls, Andrew takes matters into his own hands and attends a Tides baseball game when John is pitching. Accompanying Andrew is his best friend and noted pediatric surgeon, Dr. Marcus Carr. Marcus, a former college star baseball player, relives his glory days while confronting Andrew in his preparation for the speech he has to give at Ted Beck’s memorial on Saturday. Marcus reminds him to put his harsh feelings for his dad aside and remember who he is doing this for.
Wednesday 04/17/2019—John Has A Meltdown…Again—New York Tides Pitching Ace John Palmer is pitching great against the Nashville Ramblers, but after an insult from Ramblers slugger Gareth Woods, John retaliates, throwing the next pitch at his head. He misses Woods but is ejected from the game, and Andrew and Marcus bluff their way into the locker room to find a seething John. Andrew is the last person he wants to talk to. Andrew promises Tides GM Rothstein that he can limit John’s suspension, but John is still apoplectic and storms out of the locker room with Andrew giving chase.
Wednesday 04/17/2019—Deja Vou All Over Again—New York Tides Pitching Ace John Palmer is pitching great against the Nashville Ramblers, but after an insult from Ramblers slugger Gareth Woods, John retaliates, throwing the next pitch at his head. He misses Woods but is ejected from the game, and Andrew and Marcus bluff their way into the locker room to find a seething John. Andrew is the last person he wants to talk to. Andrew promises Tides GM Rothstein that he can limit John’s suspension, but John is still apoplectic and storms out of the locker room with Andrew giving chase.
Wednesday 04/17/2019—Andrew’s Life Goes Boom!—Andrew implores John’s Super Agent Steve Gotski to try to talk reason to John Palmer to not only come back to therapy but to reveal where he is getting drugs from and stop using them. John’s career is in the balance, but he is so upset at Andrew that he cannot see it. As Andrew leaves Empire Field to head back to Greenwich, he is followed by Fergus’ thugs in a black Suburban. Andrew watches his volatile tennis star Robbie Owen’s match while he drives. He is oblivious to the men following him. His distraction almost makes him miss his exit, and he executes a dangerous maneuver over four lanes of traffic and a dirt median, losing his tail in the process. The henchmen call Fergus, and he changes the plan; no longer does he want to kill Andrew; instead, he enlists Lorry to set in motion a plot to ruin Andrew’s life and bring him to his knees, and then Fergus will, in an act of mercy, end his life.
Enjoying The Inevitable? Paid subscribers get a free ebook of the first book in the Headcase series, the award-winning Shock & Denial.
Good episode, Chris! Now that Ted's dead, it's too bad the family can't come together and support each other. There's some quote I've heard that goes something like "Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word."