Dead Ringer

best baby-sitter ever!”

“She sure does,” Mary chimed in, throwing an arm around Marshall’s shoulders. “Hey, baby-sitter!” she shouted, and from behind the boxes, cuddling a newborn baby girl in acres of receiving blanket, came Vita DiNunzio.

Bennie burst into surprised laughter. “Mrs. DiNunzio is going to be your sitter? How great!” She caught Mary’s eye. “Why do I think you had something to do with this, girl?”

“I plead the Fifth,” the associate answered, holding up a testimonial hand, and Mrs. DiNunzio leaned over the baby.

“Bennie! Bennie! See the baby!” Mrs. DiNunzio cried, dabbing at the baby’s mouth with Kleenex. “I just feed her the bottle! See her, so sweet! See Gabrielle!”

“Gabrielle, welcome to Rosato amp; Associates!” Bennie said, giving the infant’s impossibly soft cheek a stroke with her finger. The baby gurgled adorably in response, with bright blue eyes peeking from her blanket, a nose like a pink button, and a mouth that formed a seraph’s smile. Even Bennie had to admit, she was even cuter than a puppy. “Gabrielle, did you get that present I sent you?”

“The laptop?” Marshall laughed. “It’s a little early, don’t you think?”

“It was either that or a chew toy,” Bennie answered, and they all laughed. She looked at Mrs. DiNunzio, obviously in her glory. “You got a baby again, huh?”

“Yes, yes, s?! She’s a good baby, a beautiful baby!” Mrs. DiNunzio beamed behind thick glasses that magnified eyes full of happiness. She wore a flowered housedress and had shed her winter coat for the occasion. “I take care of her, me and my husband. He helps, too, while Marshall work!”

“Wonderful!”

“Benedetta,” Mrs. DiNunzio whispered, beckoning her closer with her finger. “Your sister, she’sa here. To see you, in your office. She says she wants to talk to you.”

Bennie blinked, astonished. “Really? Alice is here? Here?” She and David exchanged looks.

“I think it’s safe, if you want to talk to her,” he said. “If you don’t, I’ll throw her out. We’ll call the cops when you give the word.”

The associates nodded unhappily. Carrier said, “We called security, too, and David’s here, and we’re all standing by, just in case. We thought you might want to see her.”

“I thought you might like to speak to her,” Mary said.

“I didn’t think you would,” Murphy chimed in, “not after what she’s done to you.”

“Me, either.” Marshall nodded, folding her arms, next to a scowling Sam, and Mrs. DiNunzio was beside herself, even with the baby in her arms.

“She’s a devil! A devil! I tell her to go home! She don’t listen! She don’t care about you! She don’t care about anybody but herself!”

Bennie smiled, but she couldn’t deny it. Alice was a devil. But she was a devil Bennie couldn’t ignore any longer. So she said good-bye to all of them, steeled herself, and went to her office. She had wondered what would happen if ever she saw Alice again, and so far it wasn’t going the way she’d planned.

For one thing, she didn’t have a flamethrower.

40

Bennie opened her office door into the aroma of brewing coffee, and Alice turned from the credenza. She looked better than she had behind a loaded Beretta. The hardness had gone from her expression, and her eyes were a clear blue and softly made-up. Her hair curled to her shoulders, and her lips were slick with a fresh peachy gloss. She wore jeans too low for most jurisdictions, with a smallish white T-shirt that showed her curves to advantage. Bennie was looking at herself, with a beauty makeover. And a black heart.

“Want some coffee?” Alice poured the fresh brew into a Styrofoam cup and held it out.

“I’ll get it myself,” Bennie said. She set down her bouquets, briefcase, and purse on the conference table, crossed to the credenza, and chose the perfect mug for her mood. HEAD BITCH. She poured herself some coffee, avoiding eye contact. “So, Alice, come to turn yourself in?”

“Yes.”

Huh? Bennie’s chest tightened, but she got over it by shaking sugar and fake creamer into her coffee and watching with unusual interest as they dissolved. “You’re kidding.”

“No, I mean it. I’m turning myself in. I thought I should call the cops from here, to clear up the confusion, with the theft charges and all. And I wanted to see how you felt, if you’re all healed.”

Bennie was so astounded that she didn’t know what to say. She was still getting used to the sound of her own voice coming out of someone else.

“So, how do you feel?”

“Alive. Thanks for asking.” Bennie turned her back and went over to her desk with her coffee. She always felt in control there, at least she had before she’d played hostess to the twin who tried to kill her.

“Look, I know this is totally weird, but I am very sorry.” Alice went to the chair on the other side of the desk and sat down with her cup of coffee. “I’m sorry for everything I did to you.”

“’I’m sorry’?” Anger flared like a flame in Bennie’s chest. “’I’m sorry,’ doesn’t cut it, Alice. You tried to kill me.”

“No I didn’t. I could have shot you and I didn’t. I’ll tell the cops the way it went down, and they can charge me if they want to.” Alice’s tone was urgent, if oddly reasonable. “But I want you to know, I would not have killed you.”

“Bullshit!” Yet another exception to the curse diet. Bennie set her mug down. “You were going to, I saw it in your eyes. You planned to kill me. You even bought the gun in my name.”

“I couldn’t have gone through with it.”

“Of course you could! You’ve killed before, haven’t you?”

“Only in self-defense.”

Bennie wasn’t asking for details. “What about Georges? You tried to kill him!”

“No I didn’t. I aimed for his shoulder.”

“Oh, come on, Alice!” Bennie shot back, raising her voice. “The bullet went astray because I knocked you when you were shooting.”

“I’m a better shot than that. I wanted to disarm him. Girl, if I’d wanted to kill him, he’d be dead.”

The coldness in Alice’s tone chilled Bennie. She didn’t believe her for a minute, and she couldn’t process the distinction anyway. Shooting another human being wasn’t approved behavior, no matter where the bullet landed, and she felt ridiculous arguing over it. It wasn’t the kind of thing the other kids fought about.

“I did have a plan, but I swear, I couldn’t have gone through with it. And all that was before, anyway.”

“Before what?”

“Before I knew that Dad had died.”

“So what?”

“So that meant you were all I had left. It hit me, when you told me.” A thoughtful expression crossed Alice’s face, as if she were reflecting on the moment of her decision. “It struck me, caught me up short, that we were it.”

“Oh, please.”

“It’s the truth. Think about it.” Alice blinked. “Now that Dad is gone, we’re the only family we have left.”

“We’re not family!” Bennie snorted. “But for some tenuous connection of bad blood and a very twisted strand of DNA, we don’t even know each other. I haven’t even heard from you in two years. And let’s get real, it’s not like you made any effort to stay in touch. I got you off on a murder charge and never heard from you again.”