“No, I don’t,” Raymond said. He swallowed loudly.

“Hey, Angelo, come over here!” Vinnie called out.

Angelo slid off his bar stool and came to the table.

“Sit down, Angelo,” Vinnie said. “I want you to tell the good doctor here about Laurie Montgomery.”

Raymond had to move farther into the booth to give room for Angelo. He felt distinctly uncomfortable being sandwiched between the two men.

“Laurie Montgomery is a smart, persistent individual,” Angelo said with his husky voice. “To put it bluntly, she’s a pain in the ass.”

Raymond avoided looking at Angelo. His face was mostly scar tissue. Since his eyes didn’t close properly, they were red and rheumy.

“Angelo had an unfortunate run-in with Laurie Montgomery a few years back,” Vinnie explained. “Angelo, tell Raymond what you learned today after we heard from the funeral home.”

“I called Vinnie Amendola, our contact in the morgue,” Angelo said. “He told me that Laurie Montgomery specifically said that she was going to make it her personal business to find out how Franconi’s body disappeared. Needless to say he’s very concerned.”

“See what I mean,” Vinnie said. “We got a potential problem here just because we did you a favor.”

“I’m very sorry,” Raymond said lamely. He couldn’t think of any other response.

“It brings us back to this tuition issue,” Vinnie said. “Under the circumstances I think the tuition should just be waived. In other words, no tuition for me or Vinnie Junior forever.”

“I do have to answer to the parent corporation,” Raymond squeaked. He cleared his throat.

“Fine,” Vinnie said. “Doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Explain to them it’s a valid business expense. Hey, maybe you could even use it as a deduction on your taxes.” Vinnie laughed heartily.

Raymond shuddered imperceptibly. He knew he was being unfairly muscled, yet he had little choice. “Okay,” he managed.

“Thank you,” Vinnie said. “Gosh, I guess this is going to work out after all. We’ve become sort’a business partners. Now I trust you have Cindy Carlson’s address?”

Raymond fumbled in his pocket and produced Dr. Levitz’s business card. Vinnie took it, copied down the address from the back, and handed it back. Vinnie gave the address to Angelo.

“Englewood, New Jersey,” Angelo said, reading aloud.

“Is that a problem?” Vinnie asked.

Angelo shook his head.

“Then, it’s arranged,” Vinnie said, looking back at Raymond. “So much for your latest problem. But I advise you not to come up with any more. With our current tuition understanding it seems to me you’re out of bargaining chips.”

A few minutes later, Raymond was out on the street. He realized he was shaking as he looked at his watch. It was close to five and getting dark. Stepping off the curb, he raised his hand to flag a cab. What a disaster! he thought. Somehow he would have to absorb the cost of maintaining Vinnie Dominick’s and his son’s doubles for the rest of their lives.

A cab pulled over. Raymond climbed in and gave his home address. As he sped away from the Neopolitan Restaurant, he began to feel better. The actual cost of maintaining the two doubles was minuscule, since the animals lived in isolation on a deserted island. So the situation wasn’t that bad, especially since the potential problem with Cindy Carlson was now solved.