“But I just called one of my associates.”
“Then you got your call in under the wire. Now, please, if you would cooperate, you’ll be discharged a lot sooner. We have you scheduled in the morning with a social worker, for an evaluation.”
“I don’t need an evaluation!” Bennie couldn’t help but raise her voice. “I need the police!”
“An evaluation is routine in a case like yours.”
“There is no case like mine!” Bennie tried to get up, but the IV stalk started to fall over and while she went to catch it, the nurse was taking the plastic top off a syringe and inserting its needle into the IV tube.
“Please, remain calm. I’ll speak to my supervisor and I’ll make sure she calls the authorities again. Now you just get some rest, you hear?”
“No, stop! What are you doing? What is that?” Bennie got the answer in a minute. She felt as if snow were suddenly falling on her brain.
“It’s a light sedative to help you sleep. It was ordered by your doctor in case you became agitated. Please, try to rest.”
“I didn’t see a doctor! I have to get Alice!” Bennie tried to remember a doctor, but her thoughts were adrift. Her body relaxed, and the nurse was already lifting her legs back into bed, tucking her in, and putting up the guardrail.
“We’ll get that all taken care of for you, you’ll see,” she said, turning away and leaving the room.
Chapter Fifty-one
Alice was sitting in bed with Grady, clothed and fake-reading the Rexco Complaint. It was time to put boyfriend to sleep, so she set down the correspondence file. “You know, I could really use a drink. How about a nightcap?”
“What would you like?” He looked over the top of the Sunday newspaper. “I’ll get it for you.”
“No, I’ll go.” Alice rose, stretching her arms. “It’ll do me some good to get up. What can I get you?”
“Nothing, I’m fine.”
No, you’re not. “Join me. I’m having wine.”
“Okay, wine, if you can find it. Water, if not. You sure you don’t want me to go?”
“No, thanks. Let me. You were so great today.”
“You, too. You’re the trouper.”
“Thanks.” Alice flashed him a smile, left the bedroom, and padded downstairs. She searched the cabinets until she found a bottle of merlot and went digging for a corkscrew. She found one, opened the bottle, grabbed two glasses, and poured the wine about halfway.
She checked behind her to make sure she was alone, then took the roofie from her pocket, broke the pill into two halves, and dropped them into the glass on the right. She grabbed a spoon, stirred the wine to dissolve the roofie, then took both glasses upstairs. She would wait until Grady had passed out to go back for a knife. She didn’t want to risk being caught with a knife on her, if something went wrong.
“That was fast,” Grady said, looking up with a smile.
“The brownies called to me but I resisted.” Alice handed him his glass, and they raised it in a toast.
“To the end of a truly terrible day.”
“To the end.” Alice sipped the wine, while Grady did the same.
“Nice. Dry.”
“Agree.”
“Well.” Grady set down the paper. “I’m beat.”
“Want to turn in?”
“It’s kind of early, isn’t it?”
“Not really.” Alice leaned over and gave him a soft kiss, pressing her breast into his side.
“Whoa. Smooth move.” Grady reached for her and kissed her, sending a warm rush through her body. His hand slipped under her T-shirt and slid over her breast, caressing it in his warm palm. She was about to catch fire when he turned into a dead weight.
“Grady?”
“Wha?” He tried to lift himself up on his hands, but he was already halfway asleep. “I’m sorry.”
“Sure, that’s okay. You look sleepy.” Alice eased him back onto the pillow, took off his glasses like a good girlfriend, and watched his eyes close.
Suddenly the cell phone rang on the night table, and she jumped for it, annoyed. The screen read Mary DiNunzio, and Alice walked out of the room with the phone. “DiNunzio, what’s up? I’m busy.”
“Oh, sorry. I’m calling you back.”
“I didn’t call you.”
“Yes, you did. You called me from the hospital. I just got your message.”
Uh-oh. “My what?”
“You left a message. You asked me to call you back at the hospital, and I did, but they wouldn’t let me speak with you. They said they didn’t have a patient by that name. What’s going on?”
Alice’s thoughts raced ahead. Did Bennie get out of the box? How did she live? “DiNunzio, I’m home. I didn’t call you or leave a message. It must have been Alice, posing as me.”
“Oh my God, how could I have been so stupid?”
“You’re not. We sound exactly alike.”
“You know, I thought her voice sounded funny. I assumed she was just upset or sick. She said she was in Pellesburg Hospital.”
Alice suppressed a bolt of anger. She should have put a bullet in Bennie’s brain. Pellesburg was near where she had buried the box. Between Grady dropping in and Bennie coming back from the dead, Alice needed a Plan B.
“She said that I shouldn’t worry, and that I should get your house key from the neighbor with the red shutters and go in and walk the dog.”
“That’s her idea of a funny joke, but it’s not mine, not today. I had to put Bear down today.”
“That’s terrible.” Mary moaned. “You must be so upset.”
“I don’t want to talk about it, and I wonder how she knew. I hope she isn’t stalking me, the freak. What else did she say?”
“That I should call Marshall to cancel the credit cards.”
“Obviously, don’t do that. She must be trying to screw me up.”
“Of course.” Mary paused. “But why would she call me, instead of you?”
“She’s pretending to be me, so she can’t call me, right? She’s underestimating you, DiNunzio.”
“I wonder what her game is.”
“Criminal impersonation, right? She called you pretending to be me, so I bet she’s about to try and keep that up. It’s a good thing you were heads-up enough to draft a restraining order. She’s playing into our hands.”
“Right! You think she’ll show up at the office, pretending to be you?”
“She might, but we’re ready for her.” Alice was already seeing a way to work this to her advantage. “We should file a complaint for criminal impersonation with the police. It should come from you, since she spoke to you, and I can make a statement if they need it.”
“Will do.”
“Good, now, here’s what else I need you to do. Get the restraining order brief in final, sign and file the papers, then call the court in the morning and ask for an emergency hearing.”
“Okay.”
“Be up at six. Call me then. If she tries to call you, don’t answer. She’s playing mind games with you.” Alice paused, for effect. “And DiNunzio, I’d like you to be my partner.”
“Thank you so much!” Mary practically cheered. “My God, it’s so hard to believe that this is finally happening, after so many years, starting way back before I even came to work for you, way back to law school. I never thought I’d see this day, but it’s really here!”
“Congratulations. From now on, we’re Rosato & DiNunzio.”
“I’m so honored! I know I’m not the lawyer you are, but you’ve taught me everything I know. I owe it all to you.”
Whatever. “Way to go.”
“Thanks again, so much, Bennie.”
“Thanks, to you.” Alice hung up as she walked back to the bedroom, where Grady was out cold, his head to the side. She couldn’t kill him now, with Bennie on the loose. It was too risky, and she had bigger problems.
She had to cover her tracks before it was too late. If she moved fast, she could get it done and be
back at the house before Grady woke up. She was still on track to take the money and get out of the country, and nothing could stop her, not even Bennie. She couldn’t let anything stop her, because if she did, Q would find her and kill her.
She ran downstairs, took the messenger bag, and flew out the front door.
Chapter Fifty-two
Mary worked bent over her laptop on her bed, powered by an adrenaline tsunami. She was a partner now! She’d have her name on a law firm. She’d own something other than a blow dryer. She felt so charged up, she worked in fast forward. She’d called the police about the criminal complaint, but she’d have to go in the next morning to file it formally, so she’d redrafted the brief, adding the new facts about the fake phone call from Pellesburg Hospital, which strengthened their case. She’d tried to find precedent on point, but couldn’t. Still, what they lacked in authority would be made up by the equities, and she knew they had a winner.
She went onto the court’s website, pressed a button to file the papers electronically, then hit PRINT. She stretched, surprised to see it was already getting light, then checked the bedside clock—5:30 A.M. She had to call Bennie by six. She pulled off her McNabb jersey and gym shorts, then went to the bathroom, jumped into the shower, and shampooed quickly. She didn’t have time to shave her legs.
Partners don’t waste time on dumb stuff.
She finished up and dried off quickly. She combed out her hair, ran for the BlackBerry, and called the chambers of the emergency judge, where she left a message requesting a hearing. Then she called Bennie and filled her in, her heart pumping.
“Well done,” Bennie said. “Call me when you have the hearing time, and I’ll see you in the office when I get there. If you see Alice anywhere near the building, avoid her.”
“Don’t you think we should hire extra security? You know Meyers, that security firm we use? I bet we could get the same guys.”
“No, find a new one instead. The old ones weren’t the best in town, and we need heavy artillery.”
“I’ll get on it and see you at work. Bye.” Mary hung up, happy. She was actually influencing Bennie. Maybe this would be the shape of things to come. She went to her closet to get dressed for court. She flashed-forward to standing up for her partner, as a partner, for the first time ever.
But not before she ran back to the bathroom, to shave her legs.
Chapter Fifty-three
Bennie woke up to the sounds of people talking in the hospital hallway. It was bright outside the window on the far wall, so it must be morning. She still felt different inside, though she knew what she had to do. She sat up, shifted over, and picked up the receiver from the bedside phone. When the operator answered, she said, “Can you tell me the number of the local police, or connect me?”
“I’m sorry, we’re not permitted to make such calls.”
“Can I call 911 from this phone?”
“No.”
“Then will you call for me, please?”
“I’m sorry, we’re not permitted to contact 911, either. If there’s a problem on your floor, you can contact the nurse.”
“How about the Philadelphia police?” Bennie had a homicide detective on her speed dial, but she didn’t have her cell phone. “You can call information for the number of the detective division—”
“Sorry, but I’m not permitted to place any such calls. Please tell your nurse the problem, and she can help you.”
Bennie hung up, tried a different tack, and called her office. It went to voicemail, which surprised her. It seemed late enough for Marshall to be at her desk, and when the voicemail beep sounded, she left a message: “I’m going to be in late today, and we have a problem. Alice has reared her ugly head and she has my wallet. DiNunzio, please take care of Bear, and Marshall, please cancel my credit cards. Talk to you later.”
Bennie hung up, threw off the covers, and put the guardrail down. It wasn’t easy with the splint on her hand but she managed to peel off the cloth tape holding her IV, pull the needle from her vein, and stop the bleeding with her bandaged left hand. She was swinging her feet out of bed when a nurse walked by, then hurried in to stop her.
“My goodness! You—”
“Don’t even say it. I’m discharging myself. Do you know where I can get some clothes?” Bennie hobbled to the door, but the nurse stood in the way, folding her arms. She was different from the one last night, heavyset with short black hair, a pinched look around her mouth, and a businesslike manner.
“Your social worker will be up any minute. Once you speak with her—”
“You can help me get clothes, or you can move out of my way.”
“If you would just wait—”
“No more waiting.” Bennie tried to get around the nurse, but another woman came out of nowhere and blocked the threshold. The woman was thin and little, lost in a voluminous denim dress, and she had an officially sympathetic smile as she extended a hand.
“Hello, I’m your caseworker, Melissa. I heard you wanted to leave, but you can’t until we speak.”
“If you lend me clothes, I’ll speak to you.”
“Fine. Please, sit down, and we can have a chat, Ms. Arzado.” The social worker gestured to a nearby chair, and Bennie sat down.
“My name is Bennie Rosato, not whatever you called me, and I have to see the police.”
There was a commotion behind them in the hallway, and two uniformed cops appeared at the nurses’ station. The social worker and the nurse turned around, and Bennie stood up, gathering her gown behind her.
“Come in, gentlemen!” she called out, relieved. She didn’t have any more time to lose, and fifteen minutes later, she had finished an egg burrito and had given a statement to Officers Villarreal and Dayne, who sat in chairs opposite her.
“A wolf?” Officer Villarreal repeated, raising a thick black eyebrow. He was about thirty years old, with a wide, fleshy face, dark brown eyes and a ready, if skeptical, smile.
“I think it was, a wolf or a coyote. Do you have them around here?”
“Probably.”
“So I saw one.”
“We understand that you were drunk when you came in.”
“The pickup driver gave me whiskey.”
“He says he found you that way.”
“So he lied, but it doesn’t matter. The issue is attempted murder. My sister tried to kill me. She has my car, my wallet. I want to prosecute her.”
“And she’s your identical twin?”
“Yes, and her name is Alice Connelly.” Bennie knew it sounded nuts. If she hadn’t lived it, she wouldn’t have believed it, either. “Please, get me to a computer and we can verify this easily. You’ll see that I’m a trial lawyer, and she was a defendant in a murder case I tried.” The cops looked at each other, but Bennie rose, covered her butt, and went to the door. “There has to be a computer somewhere.”
The social worker hurried after her. “I suppose we could look at one at the nurses’ station.”
Bennie was already heading towards the nurses’ station, ignoring the other nurses and orderlies, looking at her funny. She walked around the high counter to an empty computer and was about to hit the computer keys with her splint when the social worker stepped in front of her.
“Please, allow me. Do you want to get on the Internet?”
“Yes. Please. Google my name and Alice Connelly.” Bennie spelled her name, the social worker plugged it in, and a long list of blue links appeared. Bennie pointed to the top one. “Try that.”
“Let’s see.” The social worker clicked the link, and Bennie couldn’t have asked for more. Side-by-side were pictures of her and Alice, looking identically happy, under the headline, TWINS WIN. The social worker gasped. “My, my!”
“How about that?” Officer Villarreal smiled, but Officer Dayne remained reserved, saying nothing.
Bennie looked over at the social worker. “Can you lend me some clothes, please? Now?”
Chapter Fifty-four
Alice twisted her hair into a topknot, then clicked the barrette into place while Grady slept like the dead. She slipped into a khaki suit, white cotton shirt, and brown shoes with low heels, then checked her reflection in the bedroom mirror. She looked like Bennie, no makeup, no frills. It was almost criminal for a lawyer to go to court this way.
She got the messenger bag from the chair, then went under the bed and pulled out the cloth bag. She unzipped it and transferred as much money to the bag as she could carry without it looking suspicious. She shoved the gym bag back under the bed, went to Bennie’s jewelry box, took her passport, and stowed that in the messenger bag, too.
Grady was finally waking up, even though he’d conked out in his clothes. She couldn’t leave him here, now that Bennie was alive, so she squeezed his shoulder. “Grady? Grady? Time to get up.”
“What?” His eyelids fluttered, and Alice turned on the bedside lamp.
“Wake up. We have to get ready. I need your help, with Alice.”
“What’s going on?” Grady opened his eyes and shifted upward onto his elbows. “Is she here?”
“No. I’ll fill you in on the way to the courthouse.”
“Man, did I conk or what?” Grady sat up, shaking his head. “I fell asleep in my clothes?”
“Sorry to rush you around, but I figured you’d want to come to court.”
“Sure, yes, I’m up.” Grady slipped on his glasses and got out of bed as the BlackBerry rang.
“Excuse me a sec.” Alice went to the messenger bag and found the phone. It was DiNunzio. “What’s happening?” she asked.
“I’m on my way back from the Roundhouse.” Mary sounded excited. “I filed the complaint for criminal impersonation, and they didn’t need your statement. We have an emergency hearing on the restraining order set for eight o’clock.”
“Good girl.” Alice watched Grady stumble around the bed, stepping over the discarded Birks.
“Should I meet you there or pick you up in a cab?”
Think Twice Page 13
