It’s not her office, it’s her shrine.
She went around the desk, dropped the messenger bag on the rug, and sat down in the black mesh chair. On the left was a Filofax open to Monday, and the day’s only appointment was in the afternoon with Rexco, a potential client she had read about in the email last night. She’d cancel the meeting to avoid any chance to slip up. Suddenly, Bennie’s cell phone started ringing in her messenger bag, and Alice dug it out and checked the screen, recognizing the phone number. It was her old boss, Karen Wise, the director at PLG.
Well, how-dee-doo. “Hello, Karen,” Alice said into the phone, as Bennie.
“Bennie, how have you been?”
“Great, thanks.”
“Sorry to bother you on the weekend, but I left a message last night and didn’t hear back from you, and it’s kind of important. I won’t keep you, but I wanted to let you know that Alice quit on us last week, out of the blue. Just up and left.”
“Oh, no.” Do tell.
“I didn’t think you knew. I gather you two haven’t spoken recently.”
“No, I’m just so busy.” And important. You should see my awards.
“I thought as much. Alice worked hard and showed such an eagerness to learn, in the beginning. She seemed to lose interest, in time. She started coming in late and her attitude changed.”
What a bad puppy!
“She’s naturally intelligent and she has a fine legal mind. If she wanted, she could be a great lawyer, like you.”
We’re about to find out.
“Anyway, here’s why I called. There’s a problem. I hesitate to even say this, but we think that she might have taken some money from petty cash. It was about four hundred dollars and as you know, it’s not as if we have the money to spare, after the last funding cut.”
And you didn’t notice I embezzled about $1,500?
“One of our other employees saw her leaving the room last, and with her sudden disappearance, well, it seems sort of damning, doesn’t it?”
“How terrible, really. Karen, let me send you a check, and please accept my apologies.”
“Thank you, Bennie. Again, I’m so sorry about this.”
“As am I, but I have to go. Good-bye,” Alice said, pressing END. She set the phone down, then heard someone clearing their throat.
She looked up, and standing in the doorway was her toughest test yet.
Chapter Nineteen
Mary stood in the threshold of Bennie’s office, trying not to be insecure. The boss owned a coffee mug that read I CAN SMELL FEAR, and she hated it when Mary was insecure. Unfortunately, it only made Mary more insecure, and blotches would bloom on her neck like roses in her own little garden of anxiety.
“DiNunzio, what do you want?” Bennie looked up with her usual businesslike smile.
“Uh, do you have a minute to talk?”
“Only just.” Bennie pointed to one of the chairs opposite her desk. “Sit. Talk. Then go.”
“Thanks.” Mary entered the office, sat down, and crossed her legs, which was when it struck her that it was a huge deal to ask someone to make you a partner, and she hadn’t said anything yet, so she could just keep it to herself, for several years.
“DiNunzio, what is it?”
“How are you?”
Bennie frowned. “Fine. How are you?”
“Good. Where’s Bear?”
“Home.”
“Why?”
“What do you want, DiNunzio?”
Mary found her voice. “I was wondering if you’d made your decision yet, about making me a partner.”
“No.”
“The answer is no, or you haven’t decided yet?”
“No, I haven’t decided. I’ll think about it and get back to you.”
Mary thought the boss was being a little, well, bossy. “We agreed that you’d make your decision by September.”
“It’s still August. Don’t jump the gun.”
Mary flashed on what Anthony had said about showing initiative, but it turned out that initiative was overrated. Still, she deserved the promotion, even if she wasn’t jerky enough to say so. “I’d like to know more about what you’re thinking about it and—”
“Quiet.” Bennie raised a palm like a traffic cop. “I can’t talk right now. If I said I’ll get to it in September, I will.”
Mary felt nonplussed. Bennie wasn’t usually this abrupt, and she sensed that something was wrong, though she wasn’t about to ask. She rose and walked to the door. “Okay, well, I guess we’ll talk next month.”
“Wait. DiNunzio?”
“Yes?” Mary turned back, and Bennie’s expression had changed, her features softening.
“Listen, I hate to get personal, but I should mention that I just heard from Karen Wise that Alice Connelly—you know, my twin—quit her job at PLG. It’s just bothersome. I’m so disappointed in her.”
“I see,” Mary said, concerned. “I knew something was bothering you.”
“You did? How?”
“I could just tell. I’ve worked for you for a long time now.”
“Worked with me, not for me.”
Mary blushed. Maybe she really would make partner. “So, do you think you’ll hear from her? If she has no job, she’ll be needing money.”
“That may be true, but it’s not my problem, anymore. I haven’t seen her in a year or so, and I’m so tired of her expecting me to put her life back together, after she messes it up.”
“Remember, she gave you trouble before and she may do it again. She’s resentful of you, and you’re so successful now.”
“I didn’t think of that.” Bennie looked concerned. “You know, Karen told me that she stole money from petty cash.”
“She stole from a nonprofit? That’s low.” Mary was a twin herself, and she knew from experience that being one wasn’t always easy. She and her sister Angie loved each other, but it could be tricky to establish your own identity when somebody else was wearing your face. “Remember, I’m a twin, even though we haven’t really talked about it much. So I’ve been there, to a certain extent.”
“Right. I had forgotten.”
“People do, since Angie’s off always doing missionary work, now that she left the convent.” Mary didn’t add that she’d never talked to Bennie about her twin because the boss wasn’t exactly down with girl talk. “Anyway, I noticed that, in the past, Alice seems to come to you when she needs money, help, or a favor. If she came by on Monday with Rexco here, it might be a problem.”
“Then let’s cancel the meeting.”
“We can’t. It took three weeks to get it scheduled. You should see the emails I had to send, back and forth.” Mary hesitated, then went for it. She was showing initiative all over the place. “Can I make a suggestion?”
“Sure.”
“Maybe we should tell building security to call you if she wants to come upstairs?”
“Do you really think that’s necessary?”
“Yes. I’ll call Steve and tell him to let us know if Alice shows up, and he’ll tell the other guys.” Mary felt good, advising Bennie instead of always the other way around. “And, since Alice has been known to be a little . . . rough around the edges, shall we say, maybe you should get a restraining order, just in case.”
“Against her?” Bennie scoffed. “Aren’t you overreacting?”
“Better to be safe than sorry, that’s what you always say.”
“But she hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“She has in the past.”
“But she’s changed. She’s at PLG now and—” Bennie’s face fell, and Mary realized that the boss wasn’t so different from her, after all. They both tended to see the best in people.
“Let me draft the papers. You’ll be good to go, if she acts up. You have to let people take care of you, instead of taking care of them all the time.”
“I’ll call Steve. I don’t need taking care of.”
“Don’t worry.” Mary knew Bennie would s
ay that. “I got your back.”
“I’m counting on that, DiNunzio.” Bennie smiled. “I don’t say it enough, but I really do appreciate you.”
“Back at you.” Mary turned and left, before she got choked up or otherwise leaked estrogen. It was as if she was seeing her boss with new eyes, understanding her not as a superior, but as another woman.
And on the walk back to her office, she felt, for the first time, that she and Bennie could be partners.
Chapter Twenty
Bennie opened her eyes into pitch blackness. The vision was gone. Her mother had vanished. The good feeling had evaporated. She wasn’t sure if she was alive or dead. She felt sick, broken, confused, like she was falling to pieces, her very self shattering and splintering, the center flying apart. There was no sound. The blackness around her was as empty as space. She would have imagined she was floating but for the pain in her body and the stench that brought her back to earth.
She moved her hands, and they hit something hard. She moaned. She was alive and back inside the box. She felt for the wood sides, and they were still there. She was dizzy and faint. Her chest heaved, and a weird sound came out of her, emitted from starved lungs, and she was hiccupping, then spasming until she finally got a breath.
She had to get out of here. She had to save her own life. She slammed the lid with her palm, but it felt different. She raked it with her fingertips and touched something new. There was a ridge in the wood of the lid, that hadn’t been there before.
She ran her index finger along the line, tracing it like a route on a map, her sense of touch more acute because of the dark, the pain in her raw finger making it more sensitive. The lid now had a definite crack, running lengthwise, maybe from the shaking. She started banging on it with all her might, and she didn’t stop, even when the scratching noise started again.
Chapter Twenty-one
Alice kicked off her sandals, crossed her legs, and took a sip of Diet Coke, which she had with a turkey sandwich from the office refrigerator. Things were going better than she expected, and she could see Mary would be a useful ally. The associate had such an obvious girl crush on Bennie that she could be made to do anything. Mary craved approval, so all Alice had to do to manipulate her was to give her some, but a little at a time. Even now the girl was slaving away on the brief that they’d never need, because Bennie was probably dead by now.
Alice picked up Bennie’s phone, skimmed the address list for Building Security, and pressed CALL, which was answered immediately, “Front desk. Hey, Bennie.”
“Hi, Steve.” Alice remembered how Mary had said the name. “My twin Alice Connelly might come around the office, sometime in the next few days. Let me know if she shows up, would you?”
“Mary already told me, and I sent an email to the guys, and if we see her, we’ll call. Too bad Lou’s on vacation.”
“I know, right?” Alice guessed he meant Lou Jacobs, the firm’s investigator, whom she remembered from the trial. Good thing he was out of town, because she didn’t need another problem. “Okay, I gotta go.”
“You worry about the law, and let us worry about the order.” Steve laughed, then they hung up.
Now it was time to set her plan in motion. She hit a key on Bennie’s laptop, and it came to life, asking for the password. She took a quick look at the Rolodex card in her bag, found the right password under Office Laptop, and opened Bennie’s email. She remembered the name of Bennie’s private banker at USABank, Marla Stone, which she’d come across in the email last night, so she clicked CREATE EMAIL and typed in the first few letters. The program filled in the rest of the email address, and she typed EMERGENCY, CONFIDENTIAL in the re line and continued:
Dear Marla,
We have an emergency situation. My identical twin, Alice Connelly, has quit her job, stolen money, and may try to impersonate me in order to withdraw money from my accounts when the bank opens on Monday. Of course, she has none of my ID or authority. I want my money transferred immediately to an offshore bank, to preempt any misdeeds. Give me a call on my cell as soon as you get this email. Thank you.
Best,
Bennie
She proofread the email, clicked SEND, and counted down five, four, three, two, one, then the cell phone rang. She picked it up, checking the display. “Marla?”
“Bennie, I got your email. I’m calling from my cell. Goodness, this is bad news, and I assure you that in Wealth Development, our paramount concern is your security and privacy. We would never permit any unauthorized withdrawals from your accounts.”
“I wanted to stay ahead of the curve on this. Prepare for the worst and all that.”
“Of course, you must!” Marla cleared her throat. “We should transfer your funds to a new temporary account we’ll open for you with one of our offshore partners. This way, USABank retains you as a client, until this bad patch is over. We work with the best banks in the Caymans, Singapore, Belize, Andorra, and the Bahamas. This will be easy and quick, too. It’s not as if you’re seeking to avoid taxes.”
Not yet. “So where should we send the money?”
“I favor the Bahamas, since there’s been trouble with bank closures in the Caymans, of late. I use Swiss and other European banks when a client has a child in boarding school, for example, in Scotland or at the Sorbonne.”
“Could I withdraw from the Bahamas account, as I wish? I have a business to run.”
“Yes, easily. You can authorize withdrawals just as you do now, by phone or by calling me and following up with an email or letter, or online. They’d set you up with an online password, too, if you wish. How does that sound?”
Like three million bucks. “Perfect.”
“I’ll get in touch with the lawyer we use, and he can set that up for you on Monday, when the Bahamas bank is open. Our partner is BSB bank, in Nassau. On Monday, I’ll messenger you the paperwork and the signature cards to open the account.”
“You can’t do it today?”
“Unfortunately, no. I’m in New York today with my family, and the office is closed.”
“Understood. How long will this take?”
“Three business days. BSB won’t be able to let you use the account until they receive the signature cards with your original signature, but they can open the account as soon as you fax or scan them to me. So I’ll send you the cards, and you messenger them back to me. I’ll overnight them to Nassau on Tuesday, and BSB will get them on Wednesday. The account will be ready for use first thing Wednesday morning.”
“I’d like this done sooner. What if I sent the signature cards to the BSB directly? Then couldn’t it open the account a day earlier, on Tuesday morning?”
“Why, yes. I suppose that’s more efficient.” Marla sounded disappointed at being left out of the loop. “When I send you the cards, I’ll include a DHL package addressed and ready to go. We’ll wire your funds into the new account as soon as you scan or fax me the signature cards, and you’ll be official first thing Tuesday morning.”
“Great, thanks.”
“My pleasure. Will there be anything else?”
“Not at all. Thanks again.” Alice hung up, pleased. All she had to do was play Bennie on Monday and she could be on a plane to Nassau Monday night. She could pull it off, especially for one business day. She had para legal training, and she was a scam artist, which was a lawyer without the student loans.
She skimmed Bennie’s Filofax, and saw that other than Rexco, there were no meetings, depositions, or other proceedings scheduled for Monday. Alice would sit behind the desk, move papers around, and duck most of the phone calls. She’d have to go through with the Rexco meeting, but it shouldn’t be too hard to get up to speed. There would be a case file, and she had read plenty of those. She had drafted pleadings, briefs, and done legal research. Hell, people faked being doctors, and this wasn’t brain surgery.
She turned around and opened the file drawer, which was jammed with red accordion files, just like they used at PLG. She checked t
he first few labels, Alpha Electronics v. Bersne, Amaryllis Computer v. Ward, Inc., and Babson Metrics v. Teelerson et al., then skimmed the case names until she got to Rexco v. Pattison Dalheimer, Inc.
She pulled the file, took a slug of warm soda, and got to work.
Chapter Twenty-two
Mary was on the phone, telling Anthony about her conversation with Bennie, but he was sounding less than enthusiastic.
“Honey,” he said, “let me get this straight. Bennie turned you down for a partnership, and you feel more like her partner?”
“She didn’t turn me down.”
“She did, for now.”
“Only for a week or so.”
“Okay, so why do you feel more like her partner? Isn’t that ironic?”
“Not really.” Mary sipped her coffee, but it was cold.
“Why can’t she decide now?”
“Because we said September.”
“She’s stalling you.”
“No, she’s not.” Mary’s good mood wilted. The sun was defeating the air-conditioning in her office, and her gaze flitted over her desk cluttered with Xeroxed cases, empty coffee cups, and the elbow end of a cheese hoagie. “She said she appreciated me.”
“But what did she say about partnership?”
Mary wanted to hang up. She’d called him for a break, but she should have called Judy. Sometimes it was hard to choose between best friend and boyfriend, and she should have gone with the ovaries. “Don’t be so hard on her.”
“I’m not being hard on her.”
“Yes, you are. She has things on her mind, problems like everybody else, she just doesn’t let it show. She takes care of everybody else instead of taking care of herself.” Mary wasn’t sure if she was talking about Bennie, herself, her mother, Judy, or all four. Maybe she was talking about every woman she had ever known, or maybe every woman ever born. In the world. And galaxy.