Think Twice

“But I didn’t file anything,” Bennie said, but it was already beginning to dawn on her what was going on. She had assumed that Alice would run away, after trying to kill her. Instead, she was trying to take Bennie’s place. It was inconceivable.

“See for yourself.” Officer Mora reached over, flipped to the back page, and pointed with a thick finger. “Here’s Ms. Rosato’s statement, saying that she worked with Mary DiNunzio, at the offices of Rosato & Associates, and that she didn’t call Mary DiNunzio on the evening in question.” Officer Mora looked up, his eyes cool. “You called this Mary DiNunzio, pretending to be Bennie Rosato. You also represented to us that you were Bennie Rosato. That’s criminal impersonation, Ms. Connelly.”

“No, it isn’t. I’m Bennie Rosato. She’s the fraud. She’s impersonating me.”

“Do you have someone we could call, to verify what you’re telling us?”

“No.” Bennie flipped through the possibilities. Her closest friend, Sam Freminet, was in Hawaii on vacation. DiNunzio and Carrier had been fooled, and Lou was gone, too. None of her clients knew her personally.

“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.