and the taxi behind them was honking insistently.
‘Park!’ Vinnie said.
Franco drove ahead until he came to a fire hydrant. He pulled to the
curb. The taxi went past, the driver frantically giving them the finger.
Angelo Facciolo shook his head and made a disparaging comment about
expatriate Russian taxi drivers. Angelo was sitting in the front
passenger seat.
Vinnie climbed out of the car. Franco and Angelo quickly followed suit.
All three men were impeccably dressed in long, Salvatore Ferragamo
overcoats in varying shades of gray.
‘You think the car will be okay?’ Franco asked.
‘I anticipate this will be a short meeting,’ Vinnie said. ‘But put the
Police Benevolent Association Commendation on the dash. Might as well
save fifty bucks.’
Vinnie walked back to number 126. Franco and Angelo trailed in their
perpetually vigilant style. Vinnie looked at the door intercom. ‘It’s a
duplex,’ Vinnie said. ‘I guess the doctor isn’t doing quite as well as I
thought.’ Vinnie pressed the button for Dr. Raymond Lyons and waited.
‘Hello?’ a feminine voice inquired.
‘I’m here to see the doctor,’ Vinnie said. ‘My name is Vinnie Dominick.’
There was a pause. Vinnie played with a bottle cap with the tip of his
Gucci loafer. Franco and Angelo looked up and down the street.
The intercom crackled back to life. ‘Hello, this is Dr. Lyons. Can I
help you?’
‘I believe so,’ Vinnie said. ‘I need about fifteen minutes of your
time.’
‘I’m not sure I know you, Mr. Dominick,’ Raymond said. ‘Could you tell
me what this is in reference to?’
‘It’s in reference to a favor I did for you last night,’ Vinnie said.
‘The request had come through a mutual acquaintance, Dr. Daniel Levitz.’
There was a pause.
‘I trust you are still there, Doctor,’ Vinnie said.
‘Yes, of course,’ Raymond said. A raucous buzzing sounded. Vinnie pushed
open the heavy door and entered. His minions followed.
‘I don’t think the good doctor is terribly excited to see us,’ Vinnie
quipped as they rode up in the small elevator. The three men were
pressed together like cigars in a triple pack.
Raymond met his visitors as they exited the lift. He was obviously
nervous as he shook hands with all three after the introductions. He
gestured for them to enter his apartment and then showed them into a
small, mahogany-paneled study.
‘Coffee anyone?’ Raymond asked.
Franco and Angelo looked at Vinnie.
‘I wouldn’t turn down an expresso if it’s not too much trouble,’ Vinnie
said. Franco and Angelo said they’d have the same.
Raymond used his desk phone to place the order.
Raymond’s worst fears had materialized the moment he’d caught sight of
his uninvited guests. From his perspective they appeared like
stereotypes from a grade-B movie. Vinnie was about five-ten, darkly
complected and handsome, with full features and slicked-back hair. He
was obviously the boss. The other two men were both over six feet and
gaunt. Their noses and lips were thin and their eyes were beady and
deeply set. They could have been brothers. The main difference in their
appearance was the condition of Angelo’s skin. Raymond thought it looked
like the far side of the moon.
‘Can I take your coats?’ Raymond asked.
‘We don’t intend on staying too long,’ Vinnie said.
‘At least sit down,’ Raymond said.
Vinnie relaxed into a leather armchair. Franco and Angelo sat stiffly on
a velvet-covered settee. Raymond sat behind his desk.
‘What can I do for you gentlemen?’ Raymond said, trying to assume a
confident air.
‘The favor we did for you last night was not easy to pull off,’ Vinnie
said. ‘We thought you’d like to know how it was arranged.’
Raymond let out a little, mirthless laugh through a weak smile. He held
up his hands as if to ward off something coming his way. ‘That’s not
necessary. I’m certain you . . .’
‘We insist,’ Vinnie interrupted. ‘It makes good business sense. You see,
we wouldn’t like you to think that we didn’t make a significant effort
on your behalf.’
‘I wouldn’t think that for a moment,’ Raymond said.
‘Well, just to be sure,’ Vinnie said. ‘You see, getting a body out of
the morgue is no easy task, since they are open for business twenty-four