hours a day, and they have a uniformed security man on duty at all
times.’
‘This isn’t necessary,’ Raymond said. ‘I’d rather not be privy to the
details, but I’m very appreciative of your efforts.’
‘Be quiet, Dr. Lyons, and listen!’ Vinnie said. He paused for a moment
to organize his thoughts. ‘We were lucky because Angelo here knows a kid
named Vinnie Amendola, who works in the morgue. This kid was beholden to
Pauli Cerino, a guy Angelo used to work for but who is currently in
jail. Angelo now works for me, and knowing what he knows, he was able to
convince the kid to tell us exactly where Mr. Franconi’s remains were
stored. The kid was also able to tell us some other information so we’d
have some reason to be there in the middle of the night.’
At that moment the expresses arrived. They were brought in by Darlene
Poison, whom Raymond introduced as his assistant. As soon as the coffees
were distributed, Darlene left.
‘Good-looking assistant,’ Vinnie said.
‘She’s very efficient,’ Raymond commented. Unconsciously, he wiped his
brow.
‘I hope we’re not making you feel uncomfortable,’ Vinnie said.
‘No, not at all,’ Raymond said a bit too quickly.
‘So we got the body out okay,’ Vinnie said. ‘And we disposed of it so it
is gone. But as you can understand, it was not a walk in the park. In
fact it was one big pain in the ass since we had so little time to plan
it.’
‘Well, if there is ever some favor I can do for you,’ Raymond commented
after an uncomfortable pause in the conversation.
‘Thank you, Doctor,’ Vinnie said. He polished off his expresso like he
was drinking a shot. He put the cup and saucer on the corner of the
desk. ‘You’ve said exactly what I was hoping you’d say, which brings me
to why I’m here. Now, you probably know I’m a client just like Franconi
was. More important, my eleven-year-old son, Vinnie Junior, is also a
client. In fact, he’s more apt to need your services than I am. So we’re
facing two tuitions, as you people call it. What I’d like to propose is
that I don’t pay anything this year. What do you say?’
Raymond’s eyes dropped to his desk surface.
‘What we’re talking about is a favor for a favor,’ Vinnie said. ‘It’s
only fair.’
Raymond cleared his throat. ‘I’ll have to talk to the powers that be,’
he said.
‘Now, that’s the first unfriendly thing you’ve said,’ Vinnie added. ‘My
information is that you are the so-called ‘powers that be.’ So I find
this foot-dragging insulting. I’ll change my offer. I won’t pay any
tuition this year or next year. I hope you comprehend the direction this
conversation is taking.’
‘I understand,’ Raymond said. He swallowed with obvious effort. ‘I’ll
take care of it.’
Vinnie stood up. Franco and Angelo did likewise. ‘That’s the spirit,’
Vinnie said. ‘So I’ll count on your talking with Dr. Daniel Levitz and
let him know about our understanding.’
‘Of course,’ Raymond said. He got to his feet.
‘Thank you for the coffee,’ Vinnie said. ‘It hit the spot. My
compliments to your assistant.’
Raymond closed the apartment door after the hoodlums had left and leaned
against it. His pulse was racing. Darlene appeared in the doorway
leading to the kitchen.
‘Was it as bad as you feared?’ she asked.
‘Worse!’ Raymond said. ‘They behaved perfectly in character. Now I’ve
got to deal with petty mobsters demanding a free ride. I tell you, what
else can go wrong?’
Raymond pushed off the door and started toward his study. After only two
steps he wobbled. Darlene reached out and supported his arm.
‘Are you okay?’ she demanded.
Raymond waited for a moment before nodding. ‘Yeah, I’m all right,’ he
said. ‘Just a bit dizzy. Thanks to this Franconi flap, I didn’t sleep a
wink last night.’
‘Maybe you should put off the meeting you’ve planned with the new
prospective doctor,’ Darlene suggested.
‘I think you’re right,’ Raymond said. ‘In this state, I probably
couldn’t convince anyone to join our group even if they were on their
way to bankruptcy court.’