Pinky knew what he had to do next. He had to try to get the tracking device removed without the help of the feds. But he had no idea who he could turn to. He thought about contacting Captain Spotty, but if his old mentor suspected him of being a rat then he might kill Pinky himself. He thought about asking his mother, but she wouldn’t know the first thing about removing such a thing. He didn’t want to go to a hospital. If he went to a doctor’s office telling them he had a tracking device swimming through his bloodstream, they’d probably send him to the funny farm.
There was only one option he could think of. Although the man wasn’t a real doctor, Earl Berryman—the Bozo Family veterinarian—could possibly help him out. Since Earl had little communication with members of the Bozo Family, he likely wouldn’t refuse assisting Pinky on account of him being a rat. Unfortunately, being only a veterinarian, the chance of him removing such a device was pretty slim. But Pinky didn’t have a whole lot of options.
When Pinky arrived at Earl’s apartment, he didn’t expect Vinnie Blue Nose to be the one to answer the door. The capo was in horrible shape. His clothes were filthy and covered in bloodstains. His nose and lips were cracked. Scabs had formed on the red and white parts of his skin.
“Mr. Blue Nose?” Pinky asked.
At first, he thought Vinnie was there to whack him. As his capo, it would have been Vinnie’s responsibility to make sure Pinky got what was coming to him. But nobody knew Pinky was going to Earl Berryman’s place, so it had to be a coincidence. The capo had to be there for some other reason.
“Hey, Smiles, how’s it been?” Vinnie opened the door all the way to let him inside. “Did Spotty send you?”
Pinky stepped into the apartment. “No, but he’s been looking for you. Is the vet around?”
“He’s with Jimmy,” Vinnie said.
Pinky Smiles looked around, not knowing where to sit. The place was covered in blood, and whichever surfaces weren’t covered in blood were used to hold houses of cards. Vinnie had built ten small card towers around the room, most likely out of nervousness, giving himself something to do while waiting to hear about his friend’s condition.
“What happened here?” Pinky asked.
Vinnie shrugged. “Jimmy and I got into a scrape. This is mostly his blood.”
Pinky looked at him with a concerned face. Even though he was in danger, he was more worried about Taffy’s cousin than himself. “Is he going to be okay?”
“He’ll be fine,” Vinnie said.
But Pinky still wanted to know every detail of what happened, just in case he could help in some way.
Vinnie said, “It’s a long story. Forget about it.”
Pinky nodded.
“So why are you here?” Vinnie asked.
“To see the doctor,” Pinky said. “I mean the vet. I need his help.”
“You know, a real doctor would probably be more effective than the vet. You want me to drive you to a hospital?”
Pinky shook his head.
“Why not?”
Pinky didn’t want to give him too many details. He was a dead clown if Vinnie suspected him of being a rat.
“I just want him to take a look at something,” Pinky said.
Vinnie pointed to the hallway. “He’s in the master bedroom. Why don’t you let him know you’re here.”
Pinky nodded.
Then Vinnie went for Earl’s phone. “I’m going to check in with the boss. He’s going to be pissed when he hears about what happened last night.”
As Vinnie entered the phone number, Pinky turned and walked down the hallway with every muscle in his body tightened. If Blue Nose didn’t already know about the hit on Pinky’s life, he was going to after that phone call with the boss. He wasn’t sure what to do.
Before he entered the master bedroom, Pinky saw a window at the end of the hallway that led to a fire escape. He paused for a moment, debating whether to enter the room or flee out the window.
In the next room, he thought he heard Vinnie say, “Yeah, Pinky’s here with me now. Why?”
And with that, Pinky’s panic made the choice for him. He crawled out the window and went down the fire escape.