Lisa Scottoline - Think Twice

“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.

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.

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?”