‘Are you all right, Vinnie?’ Laurie called out.
‘I’m okay,’ Vinnie said. He walked stiff-legged over to the coffeepot to
get some paper towels.
‘I’m a little confused,’ Jack said to Laurie. ‘Why does Franconi’s
return make you more interested in his disappearance?’
‘Mainly because of what you found during the autopsy,’ Laurie said. ‘At
first I thought that whoever stole the body had done it out of pure
spite, like the killer wanted to deny the man a proper funeral,
something like that. But now it seems that the body was taken to destroy
the liver. That’s weird. Initially I thought that solving the riddle of
how the body disappeared was simply a challenge. Now I think if I can
figure out how the body disappeared, we might be able to find out who
did it.’
‘I’m beginning to understand what Lou said about feeling stupid about
your ability to make associations,’ Jack said. ‘With Franconi’s
disappearance I always thought the `why’ was more important than the
`how.’ You’re suggesting they are related.’
‘Exactly,’ Laurie said. ‘The `how’ will lead to the `who,’ and the `who’
will explain the `why.’ ‘
‘And you think someone who works here is involved,’ Jack said.
‘I’m afraid I do,’ Laurie said. ‘I don’t see how they could have pulled
it off without someone on the inside. But I still have no clue how it
happened.’
After his call to Siegfried, Raymond’s brain had finally succumbed to
the high levels of hypnotic medication circulating in his bloodstream
from the two sleeping pills. He slept soundly through the remaining
early hours. The next thing he was aware of was Darlene opening the
curtains to let in the daylight. It was almost eight o’clock, the time
he’d asked to be awakened.
‘Feel better, dear?’ Darlene asked. She made Raymond sit forward so she
could fluff up his pillow.
‘I do,’ Raymond admitted, although his mind was fuzzy from the sleeping
pills.
‘I even made you your favorite breakfast,’ Darlene said. She went over
to the bureau and lifted a wicker tray. She carried it over to the bed
and placed it across Raymond’s lap.
Raymond’s eyes traveled around the tray. There was fresh-squeezed orange
juice, two strips of bacon, a single-egg omelette, toast, and fresh
coffee. In a side pocket was the morning paper.
‘How’s that?’ Darlene asked proudly.
‘Perfect,’ Raymond said. He reached up and gave her a kiss.
‘Let me know when you want more coffee,’ Darlene said. Then she left the
room.
With childlike pleasure Raymond buttered his toast and sipped his orange
juice. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing quite so wonderful
as the smell of coffee and bacon in the morning.
Taking a bite of both bacon and omelette at the same time to savor the
combined tastes, Raymond lifted the paper, opened it, and glanced at the
headlines.
He gasped, inadvertently inhaling some of his food. He coughed so hard,
he bucked the wicker tray off the bed. It crashed upside down on the
carpet.
Darlene came running into the room and stood wringing her hands, while
Raymond went through series of coughing jags that turned him tomato red.
‘Water!’ he squeaked between fits.
Darlene dashed into the bathroom and returned with a glass. Raymond
clutched it and managed to drink a small amount. The bacon and egg that
he’d had in his mouth was now distributed in an arc around the bed.
‘Are you all right?’ Darlene asked. ‘Should I call 911?’
‘The wrong way down,’ Raymond croaked. He pointed to his Adam’s apple.
It took Raymond five minutes to recover. By that time, his throat was
sore and his voice hoarse. Darlene had cleaned up most of the mess he’d
caused except for the coffee stain on the white carpet.
‘Did you see the paper?’ Raymond asked Darlene.
She shook her head, so Raymond spread it out for her.
‘Oh, my,’ she said.
‘Oh, my!’ Raymond repeated sarcastically. ‘And you were wondering why I
was still worried about Franconi!’ Raymond forcibly crumpled the paper.
‘What are you going to do?’ Darlene asked.
‘I suppose I have to go back and see Vinnie Dominick,’ Raymond said. ‘He