Lisa Scottoline - Think Twice

“Tell you another time.”

“We sold out this weekend, but we had a problem with Q.”

“So I heard.”

“Can you hook us up with somebody new?”

“Yes, I have it covered.”

“Hey, I saw you on TV at the gym, when I was with a client. What were you doing at your sister’s office? I missed what you said. We had it on mute, and I couldn’t stop to read the closed captioning.”

Caitlin turned around, surprised. “You were at your sister’s?”

Bennie shrugged if off. “I asked her for a loan and she said no, so I embarrassed the hell out of her.”

“I’ll say.” Kendra waved a key. “Your super would do anything for me. Whose apartment do you want to see next?”

“Let’s go.” Bennie fell into step behind Kendra and Caitlin, so they wouldn’t realize that she didn’t recognize her own apartment, and they entered the lobby, let themselves into the main door, then walked beyond the elevator bank and down a plush carpeted hallway, passing 1-C, 1-E, 1-G, and stopping at 1-I, where Kendra slid a key into the doorknob and twisted the lock.

Bennie figured it was Alice’s, so she pushed on the door, and it swung open into the apartment.

The women froze at the sight.

Alice grabbed the messenger bag, tucked the bright yellow DHL envelope inside, and hurried around her desk. She had to get that envelope to the Bahamas, and according to the DHL website, the closest drop-off box was in the lobby of Mellon Center, eight blocks away. She checked her watch. It was three thirty, and the last pickup was four. She’d have to hustle.

She left her office, glancing over her shoulder, but Grady wasn’t at his desk. She hurried ahead and heard talking in the coffee room, so she avoided that doorway, jogged toward reception, and gave Marshall the high sign.

“Be right back,” Alice said, then punched the elevator button and ducked inside when the doors slid open. They were almost closed when a hand popped between them and bounced off the black safety bumpers. The doors sprang back immediately, and Judy was standing there, out of breath.

“I caught you!” Judy pushed her way into the elevator, and Alice tensed as the doors closed, with the associate inside.

“What do you want, Carrier?”

“Where are you going?”

“I have to run an errand. What is it?”

“Mind if I go along? I want to talk to you.”

“About what?” Alice asked, as the elevator slid downward.

“A case I’m working on.”

“Let’s talk when I get back.”

“I can go with you. I’d like to.”

Alice started to wonder what was up. The kid was never this pushy, and her tone of voice sounded higher and thinner, like she was nervous. “I’d rather you stayed at the office. It’s bad enough that I have to run out.”

“But I can use some fresh air, after today.”

The elevator reached the lobby, the doors slid open, and Alice stepped off the elevator, blocking the way. “Carrier, go back upstairs and mind the fort.”

“The fort is fine.”

“Then mind my boyfriend.”

“I want to go with you.” Judy didn’t budge. The security guards looked over, starting to eavesdrop.

“I don’t want you to. Mommy needs some me time, got it?”

“Okay, but before you go, I want to ask you something, for this brief I need to finish right away.” Judy’s forehead wrinkled. “Remember when we were working on that case with Marta Richter? We were of counsel? It was winter, during a blizzard, a couple of years ago? I forget the case name. Do you remember it?”

Alice had no idea what she was talking about. It seemed like an odd question. “How can it matter what the case name was?”

“I guess it doesn’t, I was just thinking, oh, right, I remember now, it was Steere, that was the defendant’s name. Elliott Steere.” Judy nodded. “Anyway, you told Marta that she was in breach of, like, five ethical canons under the CPR.”

Alice tried to remember what CPR stood for.

“Remember that?”

“Hardly.” Alice checked the ornate clock on the lobby wall-3:45. Now she’d have to run.

“I was wondering if you ever reported Marta to the Disciplinary Board. I wanted to cite you as precedent.”

“That’s hardly good precedent.”

“It’s good enough for me. Did you report her?” Judy looked at her directly, with her clear blue eyes, and Alice realized it wasn’t a question. It was a test, and she was about to fail.

“Carrier, what case are you working on, that you want to know this?”

“Cypress Construction. I have a similar situation. Kind of.”

“Did you check the Steere file?”

“Why? Don’t you remember?”

“Sue me, but I don’t, and I’ve got other things on my mind. We can discuss it later.” Alice crossed the lobby to the exit, but Judy dogged her steps.

“Where are you going? What’s the mystery? You always tell us where you’re going, so we can find you.”

“No I don’t. You just think I do.” Alice was getting worried. The guards were listening. “Now get back to work.”

“Okay,” Judy answered uncertainly, then turned and went back to the elevator bank.

Alice blew out of the building, passed the Rothman guards, and hurried up the street, her thoughts churning. She had to get out of town as Bennie, especially after that scene on the sidewalk, and Judy was starting to be more of a problem than Grady. It was only a few hours until her flight, but one phone call could blow her cover. And Q would put all the pieces together.

Alice picked up the pace, running like it was a matter of life and death.

Because it was.

Mary walked into the reception area, looking for Judy. She hated being in a fight and she had to set it right. She asked Marshall, “Did you see Judy?”

“Yes. She just went down the elevator with Bennie.”

Uh-oh. “Where were they going?”

“I don’t know, I was on the phone. It’s been crazy, between reporters and clients. All I know is I saw Bennie leave and Judy go after her.”

“Were they fighting?”

“No, why would they be?” Marshall answered, with a frown. “No reason.” Mary was already heading for the elevator bank and punching the DOWN button. “I’ll be right back.”

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing, really.”

“So where are you going?”

“To get them.” Mary jiggled the button, impatient.

“Sheesh. This is the strangest day ever.” Marshall answered a ringing phone, and Mary gave up on the elevator. She bolted for the exit stairway, pushed open the door, and ran down the stairs, hitting landing after landing. She was out of breath by the time she reached the first floor and pushed through the door that dumped her into the lobby.

“Did you see Bennie and Judy?” Mary called to Steve, who looked up from his newspaper.

“Yeah. Bennie told Judy to go back up to the office, and Judy got in the elevator. But then she came back down again and went after her.”

“Which way did they go?”

“That way.” Steve pointed, and Mary ran for the door and hustled outside the building and onto the crowded sidewalk. Pewter gray clouds cloaked the sun, and humidity thickened the air. Rush hour was starting, and people streamed toward the subway, PATCO, and suburban trains.

She jogged past the Rothman guards, hurrying down the street and threading her way through the crowd, scanning right and left. Judy was tall and her hair cherry red, so she should be easy to find. Mary was on the lookout for a walking ice cream sundae.

She saw bald heads, fauxhawks, and weaves. Blondes, brunettes, and cornrows, but no Judy. She darted across the street and looked to the right, then spotted a head as red and round as a Tootsie Roll pop. It was Judy, two blocks down the street, waiting at a traffic light as a SEPTA bus rumbled through an intersection. Mary looked one block farther and spied Bennie, who was the only person running through the crowd. From the looks of it, Judy was stalking Bennie.