Lisa Scottoline - Think Twice

“No, stop!” Officer Mora shouted.

“Freeze!” Officer Vaz yelled, but Bennie was already out of the room and slamming the door behind her. She slipped off a flipflop, folded it in half, and shoved it under the door, ignoring the pain in her hand. The flip-flop wouldn’t hold forever, but it would for now.

She took off, barreling down the hallway, full bore. She knew the Roundhouse like the back of her hand. She bolted down the exit stair, losing the other flip-flop as she raced downstairs. She half-sprinted, half-tumbled down the flights, taking the stairs three at a time, hitting the landing.

She banged through to the lobby, where she caught her breath. There were a few cops and administrative staff going this way and that, and they’d stop her if she ran. She sashayed through the lobby, swinging her hips like a hooker who’d been upstairs for questioning. Nobody noticed that she was barefoot because their eyes never left her glitter.

The exit was only ten feet away. She prayed she’d make it to the door before Mora called down to the security desk, which was staffed by a female cop behind bulletproof glass.

She flashed a grin at a young male cop, who smiled back. She twitched her hip at another male cop, who acknowledged her with a nod.

Suddenly the phone on the security desk started ringing, the female cop picked it up, and Bennie was out of time.

She sprinted for the door, darted out, and bounded like a wolf through the parking lot to the street.

A split-second later, police sirens exploded into sound.

Alice kissed Grady in the desk chair, straddling him. His fingers found the buttons on her blouse, undoing the first, the second, and the third, then he slipped his hand inside her shirt and underneath her bra again, teasing her breast with his thumb. Her cell phone rang, bringing Alice back to earth, and she shifted off his lap.

Grady moaned. “Can’t you let it go to voicemail?”

“No, it could be Rexco.” Alice recognized the number on the display as the TV station’s main number, so she climbed off and walked over to her door. “Hello?”

“Bennie, it’s Emily. A stringer I use just called me. The police scanner is reporting that your sister escaped from the Roundhouse.”

Shit! “Alice got away from the cops, when?” Alice repeated, for Grady’s benefit, and he jumped to his feet, adjusting his pants around the crotch.

“Probably fifteen minutes ago. She might be heading your way, and I was worried about you.”

“And you wanted to make sure I’m here, so you can send a camera.”

Emily chuckled. “A girl’s gotta make a living. See you in five minutes. I’m on my way.”

Grady walked over. “Who was that?”

“A reporter.” Alice hung up and buttoned her blouse. “Alice might be coming this way.”

“Don’t worry.” Grady touched her arm. “We’ve got her stopped six ways from Sunday.”

“Will you go tell Marshall? I’ll call security downstairs.”

“Sure.” Grady tucked in his shirt, opened the door, and left while Alice called the Rothman security detail on the number Mary had emailed her.

“Bennie Rosato here,” she said, when a man picked up. She went to her office window and looked down at the sidewalk in front of the building, where she saw a burly guy in a suit, answering a cell phone. “Are you out front, wearing a gray suit?”

“Yes. Name’s Bob Taylor. How can I help you?”

“We have a problem.” Alice scanned the traffic below, but didn’t see Bennie. It was almost lunch hour, and the street was clogged with traffic and the sidewalk with businesspeople. “I got word that my twin sister Alice Connelly escaped from the police about fifteen minutes ago. She might be headed this way. Your job is to keep her away from me, my people, and my building.”

“We will, ma’am. We have five men here, and more coming. We can handle her.”

“Call me the moment you see her. Serve her with the court order.”

“Will do, ma’am.”

“Thanks. Bye.” Alice hung up and called the security desk downstairs.

“She escaped from the Roundhouse?” Steve said, astounded, after she’d told him. “That never woulda happened in my day.”

“Stay inside and keep order in the lobby. Make sure the tenants or clients can come and go. If she gets through the Rothman guys, call me immediately.”

“Nobody’s getting through them, they’re a defensive line. One played for Penn State.”

“Thanks, bye.” Alice kept looking out the window, her eyes sweeping the street. The only good thing about this development was that it would make everybody forget about that crazy Fiorella. Suddenly Marshall came up behind her, then Grady, who pointed to the far right.

“There she is!” he said, and they all turned.

“That’s her ?” Alice couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Bennie was hurrying toward the building, her expression deranged, her blond hair flying in all directions. She had on a blue top that barely fit and tiny shorts. Both her hands were bandaged, and she was barefoot. Nobody would believe her now. She really was playing right into Alice’s hands.

Marshall gasped. “Alice looks totally crazy. Is she crazy now?”

Grady shook his head. “That’s a yes.”

Alice hid her delight. “I guess she always was, I just didn’t want to see her that way.”

They all watched as the Rothman guards surrounded Bennie, penning her like a stray dog. She gestured wildly, trying to push past them, but they closed the circle swiftly. People on the street reacted by scattering, or laughing. Suddenly a white TV newsvan pulled up, its doors slid open, and a crew jumped out with videocameras on their shoulders. Emily Barry emerged from the front seat, smoothing her red hair.

“Here comes Film at 11,” Marshall said, but Grady pointed to the right.

“Forget the TV people. Look who’s coming, over there.”

Alice looked over, cursing silently.

Mary was walking back to the office with her parents, Fiorella, and Judy, when their way was blocked by a growing mob, gawking at a homeless person making a fuss on the sidewalk. She led them around the crowd toward the building, but when she got closer, she did a double-take. The homeless person was Alice Connelly, raving like a lunatic. She was dressed in her usual skimpy clothes, but she had bruises all over and her hands were bandaged. Rothman security guards surrounded her like a forest of Sequoias.

“Judy, that’s Alice!” Mary pointed.

“Oh my God!” Judy’s mouth fell open. “What happened to her?”

“Let’s get my parents out of here. They never met Alice, and I don’t want them to.”

Ten feet away, Alice yelled at the top of her lungs. “ I’m Bennie Rosato! This is my building! I own it! She can’t keep me out of my own building!”

“Ms. Connelly!” boomed a huge Rothman guard. “You’re being served with a court order, requiring you to remain a hundred yards away, at all times.” He pressed the order into her hand, but Alice threw it back in his face, and still he kept talking. “We have informed the police that you’re attempting to enter the premises unlawfully, and they should be here any minute.”

“She will not get away with this! Not while I draw breath!”

The crowd surged forward, gawking and laughing. TV cameras kept rolling. Police sirens blared in the distance. Mary’s mother was too short to see what was going on, and her father shielded her and Fiorella with his arm, shocked.

“YO, AIN’T THAT BENNIE? MARE, WHAT THE HELL’S SHE DOIN’?”

“No, Pop, come this way.” Mary tugged him by his arm, but he couldn’t hear her over the noise.