“I’m hereby informing you that you have the right to remain silent. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you—”
“You don’t have to warn me, I know my rights. I’m Bennie Rosato. I’m a lawyer.”
“You have no ID. No proof.”
“Of course not, because she took it. She drugged me and tried to kill me, then stole my car and took my place.”
“How about your doctor? Your psychiatrist?” Officer Mora’s tone turned gentle. “Have you ever been hospitalized for a mental disorder?”
“Of course not.”
“Okay, stay calm.” Officer Mora glanced at Officer Vaz, and Bennie could see that they thought she was nuts. She would have tried to convince him that she was telling the truth, but being in that box had changed her. Now she wanted to get Alice, her own way. The criminal complaint didn’t matter. In fact, it helped. Now she didn’t have to hunt Alice down. She knew exactly where Alice was. At Rosato & Associates.
“You know, I think I understand what happened.” Bennie stood up, masking her emotions. “I want to call a lawyer. I want to exercise that right. He knows my doctor, too. They can help me.”
“This way, we can use my desk.” Officer Mora opened the door, Officer Vaz stood aside, and Bennie followed, apparently quietly. The cops led her into the cluttered squad room, which was empty, luckily, probably because of the vacation scheduling. The path to the door was clear. Nobody was at the front desk. Two uniformed cops stood at the back of the room, talking near the file cabinets. The cops led her toward the right, away from the exit, but suddenly she bolted left for the door.
“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.
Chapter Sixty-six
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.
Chapter Sixty-seven
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 clot
hes, 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.
“BENNIE! OVER HERE, BENNIE! NEED HELP?”
“Pop, no! That’s Bennie’s twin, not Bennie!” Mary shouted, too late.
“DiNunzio?” Alice struggled harder against the Rothman guards, kicking and biting so fiercely, she was able to move them closer to the building. “DiNunzio, it’s me, Bennie! That’s Alice up there! She tried to kill me!”
“Stay away from my family!” Mary held up a straight arm while Judy hustled her parents and Fiorella away.
“DiNunzio!” Alice shouted. “That was me who called you from the hospital! Remember, I wanted you to walk Bear!”
“You’re sick!” Mary got mad. “You know how much Bennie loved that dog, and the day he died, you called her about him! That’s disgusting!”
“Bear’s dead? What?”
“Help!” Mary shouted, and the Rothman guards regained control and dragged Alice backwards.
“Ms. Connelly, you’re not permitted within a hundred yards of Bennie Rosato, Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier, Grady Wells—”
“Grady?” Alice screamed. “DiNunzio, where’s Grady?”
Suddenly two Rothman guards appeared at Mary’s sides, took her by the elbows, and hurried her toward the building. She spotted another one helping her parents and Fiorella into a cab, and a third escorting Judy to the building. The Rothman guards left Mary in the lobby, and she joined Judy at the security desk, gathering with Steve and Herman. They were all catching their breath when they heard a new surge of noise from the crowd, and Mary turned around just in time to see Alice stick her splint into the eye of a Rothman guard, then break free and run off.
“She’s getting away!” Mary said, shocked. “They didn’t stop her!”
“They can’t.” Steve shook his head. “Rothman isn’t supposed to restrain, and the cops will pick her up in no time. She embarrassed them by escaping, and they’re not about to let that happen. You okay?”
“Fine. That Rothman guard will need a doctor. Should we call one?”
“We will, but they’re tough, those guys. Get ’em a bullet to bite on.”
Mary looked at Judy. “Did my parents get in the cab, safe and sound?”
“Yes.” Judy wiped her brow. “They were upset, though. You might want to call them when we get upstairs.”
“I will.” Mary managed a smile. “They’ll never come in town again. Sushi, and now this.”
“I know, right?” Judy smiled back. “Let’s go up and see how Bennie is. Thanks, everybody.”
“Yes, thanks, guys.” Mary walked Judy to the elevator bank, swiped her reader card, and hit the UP button. They went into the elevator, and when the doors closed, she rested against the side wall, decompressing. “That was a scene, huh?”
“Yeah, I’ll say.”
“I’m so glad we got that court order. It saved our asses, and Bennie’s.”
“You think?”
“I know. Don’t you?”
“Maybe.” Judy shot her a look, uncharacteristically grave. “I have a question for you.”
“What?”
“What if that was really Bennie, outside? And the woman upstairs is really Alice?”
“Huh?” Mary looked at her like she was crazy, because she was, if she thought that. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Not really.” Judy’s eyes were troubled, and her mouth formed an unsmiling line. “What if?”
“That’s absurd. Alice got to you with her mad scene. It’s like Bennie told me, she plays mind games.”
“It’s not what Alice said.” Judy’s tone grew quiet. “It’s what Fiorella said.”
“Please tell me this is a joke,” Mary said, incredulous. “Fiorella’s even nuttier than Alice. She’s a fake witch queen.”
“Fiorella said that Bennie was evil, the first time she met her.”
“For which she apologized, at lunch. Fiorella’s crazy, a drama queen.”
“Really? What if she called it? What if she had it right, the first time? What if that really is Alice, in our office, masquerading as Bennie?”
“Are you insane?” Mary stood up, recovering. “Then where’s Bennie? Is she that crazy lady outside, dressed exactly like Alice?”
“It’s possible.”
“No, it isn’t. Why? How? I was with Bennie on Saturday, and she didn’t look like that. She looked normal, like herself.”
“They’re identical, Mare. Maybe you were with Alice, and thought it was Bennie.”
“Judy.” Mary rolled her eyes. “Why are you saying this?”
“Because of something Fiorella said to me, before I put her in the cab.”
“What did she say?”
“Family meeting.” Judy pressed the red button with her thumb, and the elevator stopped.
Chapter Sixty-eight
Bennie barreled down the street, ignoring the pain in her feet. Sweat streaked her face. Her heart pounded hard. Her thighs pumped strong. She ran past a Burberrys, a Starbucks, a Kiehl’s. People on the sidewalk stopped talking, watching as she streaked past, driven by instinct. Her only thought was to escape. Police sirens blared in the distance, and she tore down the cross street, leaving Center City behind. She pounded past well-kept row houses to Lombard, then Bainbridge, Naudain, and beyond. The neighborhood changed, and the sidewalks emptied. The brick row houses became run-down, the parked cars broken down. Trash and garbage reeked in the heat. The sirens grew distant.
She took a left onto one of the narrow sidestreets, sprinting past boarded-up windows and lots strewn with rubble and glass. Her eyes swept right and left as she ran, looking for a place to hide. People could be calling 911 from the houses. She had to get off the street, fast. She spotted a corner tavern up ahead. It would do, for now. She slowed her pace to a fast walk, passing women drinking beer on a stoop. She had almost reached the tavern when she heard a shout.
“Yo, wait up, Al!” a woman called, from behind her.
Bennie kept walking.
“Hey, it’s me, Tiffany! Al! Alice!”
Alice? Bennie turned to see one of the women from the stoop hustling toward her, unsteady on Candies sandals.
“Yo, wait!” The woman reached Bennie, out of breath, and she had a sweet, almost deferential, manner. Her streaky brunette hair was cut in raggedy layers, and a fiery sunburn blanketed her turned-up nose. She had on a flowered camisole and shorts, and after she looked Bennie over, her small mouth formed a perfect circle of surprise. “Whoa, what the hell happened, Al? I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“I know, right?” Bennie decide to play it by ear. If Alice was pretending to be her, then she would pretend to be Alice.
“You get in a fight
or somethin’? Why you runnin’ like that?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Caitlin’s been lookin’ for you. Kendra, too. Where you been?”
“Around.” Bennie couldn’t risk being on the street. “Hey, can I get a drink at your place?”
“Sure.” Tiffany beamed. “I’m right around the corner. Let’s bounce.”
Chapter Sixty-nine
Alice was standing in the lobby with Grady and Marshall when the elevator doors opened on Mary and Judy, who entered the reception area. They seemed unusually quiet considering the ruckus, and Alice wondered what had happened to them outside. She had to keep them on the reservation.
“Are you guys okay?” she asked, going over. “DiNunzio, you all right?”
“Thanks, we’re fine.” Mary flashed a weak smile.
“We saw everything from the window. Way to go, out there. You really went toe-to-toe with Alice.”
“But she got away, did you see?”
“We did. I hope they get her quick. She’s obviously off the grid and she needs a shrink.”
“I know, right?” Mary glanced at Judy, who averted her eyes, a movement Alice didn’t miss.
“Carrier, how are you? You look upset.”
“I’m fine, too.”
Marshall gave Mary a sympathetic hug. “It looked like Alice was yelling at you. I thought she was going to attack you. What happened?”
“She was just ranting and raving. The Rothman guys had her.”
Alice sensed something was still bothering them, but she couldn’t defuse it until it was out in the open. “DiNunzio, what did Alice say to you?”
“Nothing, really.”
“Like what? Tell me.”
“What we discussed, like she’s Bennie and you’re really Alice. That she owns the building and we can’t keep her out, the whole nine.”