“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.”

CHAPTER 4

March 4, 1997

7:00 P.M. New York City

Laurie finished preparing the salad greens, put a paper towel over the bowl, and slipped it into the refrigerator. Then she mixed the dressing, a simple combination of olive oil, fresh garlic, and white vinegar, with just a touch of balsamic. She put that in the refrigerator as well. Turning her attention to the lamb loin, she trimmed off the small amount of fat the butcher had left, put the meat into a marinade she’d made earlier, and then stuck it into the refrigerator with the other makings. The last chore was preparing the artichokes. It took only a moment to cut off the excess base and a few of the large, stringy leaves.

Wiping her hands on the dish towel, Laurie glanced up at the wall clock. Familiar with Jack’s schedule, she thought it was exactly the time to call. She used the wall phone next to the sink.

As the connection went through, she could imagine Jack coming up the cluttered stairwell in his dilapidated building. Although she thought she understood why he’d originally rented his apartment, she had trouble comprehending why he stayed. The building was so depressing. On the other hand, as she glanced around at her own flat, she had to admit, there wasn’t a lot of difference once Jack got inside his unit except he had almost double the space.

The phone rang at the other end. Laurie counted the rings. When she got to ten she began to doubt her familiarity with his schedule. She was about to hang up when Jack answered.