Think Twice

“Not so fast. I understand if you don’t like Bennie. My mother didn’t either, the first time she saw her.” Mary turned to her. “Remember, Ma? You called her evil, too.”

Her mother nodded, chuckling. “Si, si, e vero. I no like Benedetta. She work Maria too hard. Alla time, work, work, work.”

Mary smiled, turning back to Fiorella. “Bennie is really a good person. She taught me everything, and even though she didn’t make it easy on me, I’m a better lawyer for knowing her. I’m a better person for knowing her.”

Fiorella sniffed. “You are naive.”

“You don’t know her. Or me.”

“Perhaps we can agree to disagree.”

“Fine,” Mary said, stiffly, and Judy picked up her water glass.

“Now, for a toast to our girl Mary, who made partner today! Congratulations!”

“CENT ANN’.” Her father raised his glass, and her mother did the same, smiling sweetly at her.

“Cent ann’, Maria, te amo.”

“I love you guys.” Mary raised her glass. She wasn’t about to let Fiorella ruin this day, for any of them. “Thank you all very much, for everything. This wouldn’t have happened without my wonderful family or my best friend.”

“Brava!” Judy said, and they all took a sip.

Mary looked over at her mother, who was shifting uncomfortably in her chair. It was on the small side, and with the bunchy coat, she was wedged inside its arms. “Ma, why don’t you take your coat off?”

“No, is h’okay.”

“You’ll feel better, don’t you think?”

“Si, Maria, h’okay.” Her mother stood up and shrugged off the coat, surprising all of them. She wasn’t wearing her usual flowered dress or the blue one she wore to Mass. Instead, she had on an obvious knockoff of Fiorella’s sexy black Armani. Unfortunately, she was shaped like a meatball, with breasts. She modeled the dress, flushing red, then sat down.

“Ma!” Mary said, quickly. “Wow! You look so nice! Where did you get that dress?”

“Grazie, Maria, I made.”

“You did a great job!” Mary should have guessed as much. She looked over at her father and flared her eyes meaningfully.

“YOU LOOK SO GOOD, VEET!”

“Mrs. D, you’re awesome!” Judy grinned, and her mother smiled happily, which was reward enough for Mary.

Nobody but Mary noticed that Fiorella said nothing.

Chapter Sixty-five

Bennie sat in her second interview room of the day, across from another set of odd-couple cops, the husky Officer Pete Mora, who took her statement on an IBM Selectric typewriter, and the gaunt Officer Kevin Vaz, who gazed at her from behind his aviator glasses.

“So that’s it,” Bennie said, finishing her saga. If they thought she was crazy, they didn’t let it show. “They’re busy investigating the fire in Cambridge County, and your Deputy Johnson says you don’t have jurisdiction to help me find Alice Connelly.”

“He’s correct. We don’t.”

“Do you know Azzic and Holland?”

“No, we’re just humble uniforms.” Officer Mora shifted forward. He was about thirty years old, with large brown eyes, a smooth chin, and a wide nose. His shoulders were broad, pulling at the seams of his summer uniform. “What about our friend the cabbie? That is our jurisdiction.”

“I would have paid him when I got into my house. Do you know anybody on the job in Cambridge County?”

“No, but given the fire, I’m sure the county will make it a priority.”

“It’s a question of their effectiveness, not their will.”

“I never second-guess other departments.” Officer Mora unrolled the statement from the typewriter. “Now, as for the cab driver, you say you can get the money and you’ll also produce proof that it was your house you were breaking into.”

“I have a copy of my deed at the office and I can have it messengered here.” Bennie took a sip of vending- machine coffee, holding the cup with two hands. “The Cambridge County police said they put an APB out on my car, a Lexus, but can you check into that?”

“I’ll do that for you.” Officer Vaz stood up wearily and stretched. He was the older of the two, with a graying mustache, but was trim as a marathoner, with lean limbs and a black runner’s watch that slid around on his wrist. “I gotta check the front desk, anyway. I’m expecting a message. My first grandchild.”

Officer Mora nodded. “Don’t count on Mike to bring it to you. He’s back and forth to the can, on those meds again.”

“They ain’t gonna help.” Officer Vaz’s gaze shifted to Bennie. “What kind of car did you say it was, again?”

“Burgundy Lexus, last year. I don’t know the plate.”

“Be right back.” Officer Vaz left, and Officer Mora handed her the statement, with a Bic ballpoint.

“Your autograph, please.”

“Sure, thanks.” Bennie read and scribbled her name on the statement, then handed it back to Officer Mora. He was stapling the papers together when the door opened and Officer Vaz stuck his head inside, motioning.

“C’mere a sec, would you, Pete?”

Mora turned. “You a grandpop yet?”

“No, c’mere.”

“Sure.” Officer Mora rose and left, and Bennie stood up, tugging down her shorts. She was almost glad the cops hadn’t recognized her because she’d never live it down. Her breasts were practically falling out of the glittery top, and she hadn’t waited around for the social worker to find her panties. Not only was she dressed like a hooker, she was undressed like one.

Officers Mora and Vaz reentered, but something was wrong. Concern crossed Officer Mora’s eyes, and Officer Vaz’s ennui had vanished.

“Why don’t you take a seat, Ms. Rosato?” Officer Mora retook his seat with a sheaf of new papers, while Officer Vaz stood in front of the door.

“What’s the matter?” Bennie sat down, and her shorts rode up.

“We have a few more questions.” Officer Mora held the papers in his hand, close to his chest. “Did you call a lawyer named Mary DiNunzio from a hospital in Pellesburg, in Cambridge County?”

“Yes, why. How do you know that I called DiNunzio?”

“Did you identify yourself to her as Bennie Rosato?”

“Yes, of course, in the message I left for her.” Bennie didn’t like the way this was going. She’d been in enough interviews to know when they turned into custodial interrogation. “Is there a problem?”

“Ms. DiNunzio has filed a complaint against you, for criminal impersonation.”

“What are you talking about? You must be mistaken.”

“Here’s a copy, filed this morning.” Officer Mora glanced back at Officer Vaz, then handed over the papers, and Bennie read the complaint, incredulous. It was all there, the message she left for DiNunzio, as well as a sworn statement that the woman DiNunzio heard from was Alice Connelly.

“This is crazy. It was me, not Alice.”

“Ms. DiNunzio’s statement is that she worked with Ms. Rosato at the office on Saturday.”

“I wasn’t at the office on Saturday. I was buried in a box in Cambridge County.”

“Ms. DiNunzio says that Ms. Rosato-”

“I’m Ms. Rosato. I’m Bennie Rosato.”

“You’ll see a supporting statement there, filed later by Ms. Rosato.”