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!’