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Chromosome 6 by Robin Cook. Chapter 13, 14

Jack Stapleton and Dr. Laurie Montgomery.’

Raymond raised his eyebrows expectantly.

‘As I already told you, Doc,’ Vinnie continued. ‘If it weren’t for

Vinnie Junior and his bum kidneys, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in

all this. The fact that I’ve since gotten my wife’s brother into this

situation compounds my problem. Now that I got him involved I can’t

leave him dangling, you see what I’m saying? So, here’s what I’m

thinking. I’ll have Angelo and Franco pay a visit to these two doctors

and take care of things. Would you mind that, Angelo?’

Raymond looked hopefully at Angelo, and for the first time since Raymond

had seen Angelo, Angelo smiled. It wasn’t much of a smile because all

the scar tissue precluded most facial movement, but it was a smile

nonetheless.

‘I’ve been looking forward to meeting Laurie Montgomery for five years,’

Angelo said.

‘I suspected as much,’ Vinnie said. ‘Can you get their addresses from

Vinnie Amendola?’

‘I’m sure he’ll be happy to give us Dr. Stapleton’s,’ Angelo said. ‘He

wants this messy situation cleared up as much as anybody. As far as

Laurie Montgomery is concerned, I already know her address.’

Vinnie stubbed out his cigarette and raised his own eyebrows. ‘So, Doc,

what do you think of the idea of Angelo and Franco visiting the two

pesky medical examiners and convincing them to see things our way? They

have to be convinced that they are causing us considerable

inconvenience, if you know what I mean.’ A wry smile appeared on his

face, and he winked.

Raymond let out a little laugh of relief. ‘I can’t think of a better

solution.’ He worked his way along the curved, velvet banquette seat and

stood up. ‘Thank you, Mr. Dominick. I’m much obliged, and apologize

again for my thoughtless outburst when I first arrived.’

‘Hold on, Doc,’ Vinnie said. ‘We haven’t discussed compensation yet.’

‘I thought this would be covered under the rubric of our prior

agreement,’ Raymond said, trying to sound businesslike without offending

Vinnie. ‘After all, Franconi’s body was not supposed to reappear.’

‘That’s not the way I see it,’ Vinnie said. ‘This is an extra. Since

you’ve already bargained away the tuition issue, I’m afraid we’re now

talking about recouping some of my initiation fee. What about twenty

thousand? That sounds like a nice round figure.’

Raymond was outraged, but he managed to stifle a response. He also

remembered what happened the last time he tried to bargain with Vinnie

Dominick: the cost doubled.

‘It might take me a little time to get that kind of money together,’

Raymond said.

‘That’s fine, Doc,’ Vinnie said. ‘Just as long as we have an agreement.

From my end, I’ll get Angelo and Franco right on it.’

‘Wonderful,’ Raymond managed to say before leaving.

‘Are you serious about this?’ Angelo asked Vinnie.

‘I’m afraid so,’ Vinnie said. ‘I guess it wasn’t such a smart idea to

get my brother-in-law involved in all this, although at the time we

didn’t have much choice. One way or the other, I got to clean it up

otherwise my wife will have my balls. The only good part is that I was

able to get the good doc to pay for what I’d have to do anyway.’

‘When do you want us to take care of those two?’ Angelo asked.

‘The sooner the better,’ Vinnie said. ‘In fact, you’d better do it

tonight!’

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