Lisa Scottoline - Dead Ringer

“Yes. She knows all of us but Murphy, and I bet she’s seen a picture of her on our website.”

“And she even knows your investigator. The one you mentioned, I forget his name.”

“Lou Jacobs. He’s sick anyway.”

“And you don’t have the money to rent a cop.”

“Not really.”

Bennie mulled it over. She didn’t have a lot of choices. And he did seem like a normal, sane man, acting selflessly. She’d just never met anyone like him. She really could use the help. It might be time to admit it. “Well, I do have an idea.”

“What is it?”

“The way I see, the problem is simple. Alice is following me, but I don’t know where she is.”

“True. I did some searching last night and she’s not listed anywhere in the city or the suburbs.”

“She’s made herself invisible, except that she’s following me. And that’s how I can find her. You follow her, following me.” Bennie tried to explain. She knew it sounded bizarre. Phones rang in the background. “Be my bodyguard, just like a rent-a-cop, but undercover. Sooner or later, she’s got to show herself. And you know what she looks like. Me.”

David was listening. “So I track you, that’s the plan?”

“Yes. It shouldn’t last too long, maybe three days at most. I hate to take so much of your time, but if you’re offering, it’s a plan.”

David nodded. “I have plenty of time, and it won’t take long. Then we turn her in and they question her for the murder of St. Amien, and prosecute her for the theft of your wallet and the diamonds. I assume once we have her out in the open, you can tie her up pretty good in legal red tape.”

“That would be my expertise.” Bennie smiled. She was feeling safer already, more in control of the situation, even if their arrangement was a little strange. If it worked, this nightmare would be over. Maybe the firm could stay afloat until then. The charges against her would be dropped, and people would know she wasn’t a thief or a drunk. She couldn’t wait for the day.

“One thing to note,” David said. “If you see me, don’t acknowledge me. No matter what. If you do, you’ll blow it, and I’ll be useless to you.”

“Pretend I don’t know you? That’s not hard. I don’t.”

David smiled. “From now on, we can’t be seen together, ever. I don’t want her to be able to connect us in any way. Anything you have to tell me, call me on the cell. Do you have a back way out of here?”

“Yes, through the alley. There’s a freight entrance.”

“Good. I’ll use it when I leave. I don’t think I was followed on the way here, I was checking. Also, you have to keep me informed at all times, of everything you do and everywhere you go. What’s your cell number?”

She told him.

“And you have mine, right?”

“On the message slip.” Bennie eyed the curled phone messages scattered across her desk. “Somewhere.”

“Last point. On the off-chance that I have on some kind of cover, don’t remark it.”

“You mean like camouflage? Or a disguise?”

“Yes.” David nodded, and Bennie burst into laughter.

“Like leaves and berries? Or devil’s horns? Or a G.I. Joe outfit?”

David grinned. “You think you’re pretty funny, don’t you?”

“Hoo- Ah! ” Bennie answered. But she was laughing too hard to pronounce it in French.

Just then the intercom buzzer beeped loudly on the telephone on her desk, which was Marshall’s signal for Bennie to pick up the intercom. Bennie excused herself and got out of the chair, with possibilities flashing through her mind. It could be Mort Abrams on the phone, her new best friend. Or Sam, her old best friend. She reached the desk, but there was no flashing light on line one, so there was no incoming call. She pressed the intercom button and picked up the receiver.

“Talk to me, Marsh,” Bennie said, and the receptionist snorted.

“Another guest for you. He’s on his way back.”

“I can’t see anyone now. I’m still with-”

“You don’t have a choice, and neither did I.”

Detective Needleman!” Bennie said in surprise, hanging up the phone. She straightened up behind her desk, and David stood up as if coming to attention. Maybe there had been a development in Robert’s murder. His mouth had a grim set to it, grimmer than last night at the crime scene. Bennie’s stomach tensed. “Find out anything new?”

“Yes. Definitely. Absolutely, I did find out something new.” His bright blue eyes pierced into Bennie, even from behind his glasses. Oddly, the detective seemed not to notice David towering like a lighthouse in the middle of the room. “I found out that you went and harassed Herman Mayer, a material witness, after I told you to stay out of police business.”

Oh. That. “Does this mean there are no new leads?” Bennie asked, and David glanced over. Oops . She had forgotten to fill him in on that point because of her estrogen haze.

“You went to Mayer’s house last night after you left me, and you accused him of murder. You had no business doing that.” His silver Phil Donahue hair looked clean and feathery, and his grayish suit caught the sunlight coming in from the office window, bringing out the houndstooth pattern. He pointed at her with a finger like the barrel of a Luger. “You are a private citizen, and you interfered with an ongoing investigation.”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. I know Mayer, and I knew Robert.”

“You interfered with my investigation. My interview of a material witness is an integral part of my investigation.”

“Well, you didn’t think Mayer was material last night.”

“Herman Mayer was the last person to see St. Amien alive.”

“There you go! That’s why I went over.” Bennie opened her palms, but Needleman’s mouth looked carved in granite.

“Rosato, I’m not going to argue with you. Your friend Brinkley, he’s a lot nicer guy than I am. If you pull anything like that again, I’m going to charge you with obstruction of justice, and I swear, I’ll make it stick.”

David shifted on his feet, and given his size, it got their attention. “She didn’t mean to interfere, Detective. She was just trying to help.”

“Who are you?” Needleman snapped, but Bennie didn’t miss a beat.

“My secretary,” she answered, and David almost gasped audibly. Well, she didn’t want to say his name, since they might match it from the night before with Officer Banneman, and David was supposed to be undercover anyway. What a unique camouflage. The SEAL as secretary. It was positively chameleonlike.

Detective Needleman raised a skeptical eyebrow but was too politically correct to say anything. He aimed his finger gun again. “The very next time, Rosato. You hear me?”

“Got it. Sorry. So you talked to Mayer?”

“Just now, at his office.”

“What did he say?”

Needleman snorted. “None of your business.”

“Did you learn anything?”

“That I shouldn’t have trusted you last night.”

Bennie took it on the chin. “Are there any new leads, though? I do have a right to ask that.”

“No, you don’t, and the answer is no. You have no rights. You’re not even victim’s family. You’re just his lawyer. You have no greater rights than his dentist.”

Ouch . The truth hurts. “Okay, I hear you. I’m sorry, I gave in, it was a moment of weakness and bad judgment. Come on, let’s be friends again. I said nice things about you to the family.”

“What are you talking about?” His icy gaze shifted from Bennie to David and back again.

“I called the brother to express my condolences, and he asked me what I thought of you. I told him you were wonderful in every way. Now, will you tell me, out of common courtesy, if you have any leads? They invited me over tonight. I’ll say more nice things. How cute you look today, for example.”