He looked like a character in a horror movie. She swallowed; her throat
had gone dry. Incapable of speech, all she could do was shake her head.
‘No?’ Franco questioned. ‘Doctor, I’m afraid you are going to hurt
Angelo’s feelings and, under the circumstances, that’s a dangerous thing
to do.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Laurie squeaked. But no sooner had the words come out, then
Laurie associated the name with the fact that the man standing in front
of her had been burned. It was Angelo Facciolo, Cerino’s main hit man,
now obviously out of jail.
‘I’ve been waiting five years,’ Angelo snarled. Then he struck Laurie
again, half knocking her off the chair. She ended up with her head down.
There was more blood. This time it came from her nose and soaked into
the carpet.
‘Okay, Angelo!’ Franco said. ‘Remember! We’ve got to talk with her.’
Angelo trembled for a moment over Laurie, as if struggling to restrain
himself. Abruptly, he went back to the couch and sat down. He picked the
cat back up and began roughly petting it. Tom didn’t mind and began to
purr.
Laurie managed to right herself. With her hand, she felt both her lip
and her nose. Her lip was already beginning to swell. She pinched her
nose to halt the bleeding.
‘Listen, Doctor Montgomery,’ Franco said. ‘As you might imagine, it was
very easy for us to come in here. I say this so you will comprehend how
vulnerable you are. You see, we have a problem that you can help us
with. We’re here to ask you nicely to leave the Franconi thing alone. Am
I making myself clear?’
Laurie nodded. She was afraid not to.
‘Good,’ Franco said. ‘Now, we are very reasonable people. We’ll consider
this a favor on your part, and we’re willing to do a favor in return. We
happen to know who killed Mr. Franconi, and we’re willing to pass that
information on to you. You see, Mr. Franconi wasn’t a nice man, so he
was killed. End of story. Are you still with me?’
Laurie nodded again. She glanced at Angelo but quickly averted her eyes.
‘The killer’s name is Vido Delbario,’ Franco continued. ‘He’s not a nice
person, either, although he did do the world a favor in getting rid of
Franconi. I’ve even taken the trouble to write the name down.’ Franco
leaned forward and put a piece of paper on the coffee table. ‘So, a
favor for a favor.’
Franco paused and looked expectantly at Laurie.
‘You do understand what I’m saying, don’t you?’ Franco asked after a
moment of silence.
Laurie nodded for the third time.
‘I mean, we’re not asking much,’ Franco said. ‘To be blunt, Franconi was
a bad guy. He killed a bunch of people and deserved to die himself. Now,
as far as you are concerned, I hope you will be sensible because in a
city this size there’s no way to protect yourself, and Angelo here would
like no better than have his way with you. Lucky for you, our boss is
not heavy-handed. He’s a negotiator. Do you understand?’
Franco paused again. Laurie felt compelled to respond. With difficulty,
she managed to say she understood.
‘Wonderful!’ Franco said. He slapped his knees and stood up. ‘When I
heard how intelligent and resourceful you are, Doc, I was confident we
could see eye to eye.’
Franco slipped his handgun into his shoulder holster and put on his
Ferragamo coat. ‘Come on, Angelo,’ he said. ‘I’m sure the doctor wants
to shower and have her dinner. She looks kind’a tired to me.’
Angelo got up, took a step in Laurie’s direction, and then viciously
wrenched the cat’s neck. There was a sickening snap, and Tom went limp
without a sound. Angelo dumped the dead cat in Laurie’s lap, and
followed Franco out the front door.
‘Oh, no!’ Laurie whimpered as she cradled her pet of six years. She knew
its neck had been cruelly broken. She stood up on rubbery legs. Out in
the hall, she heard the elevator arrive and then descend.
With sudden panic she rushed to the front door and relocked all the
locks while still clutching Tom’s body. Then, realizing the intruders