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!”
“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.”
“Nice try.” Alice fake-laughed. “More mind games, eh?”
“Exactly.”
Marshall laughed. “You’d think if she was going to try to be Bennie, she’d at least dress the part.”
Grady nodded, smiling crookedly. “What, you never saw my girl in a bra, in public?”
They all laughed, including Mary. “Grady, she went ballistic when she heard you were up here. She must think you’re hot.”
Grady nodded. “Of course she does. She has good taste. It’s in the DNA.”
“Very funny.” Alice faked a final smile. “As if she could fool you, or any of you, for that matter.”
“Not me, I’m smarter than I look.” Mary squared her shoulders, and Alice gave her a pat.
“DiNunzio, it’s just what you said. She’s trying to run a scam that she’s me, and your restraining order worked like a charm. Thanks, partner.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Now let’s go get ready for Rexco. They’ll be here in twenty minutes. We have a big client to reel in, yes?” Alice got Mary moving toward the offices, with Grady following. Marshall went to the reception desk to answer a ringing phone.
Judy brought up the rear, dragging her feet. “The only thing I don’t get is what Alice gains by making a scene in front of our building.”
“You’re right, Carrier.” Alice kept moving, her tone casual. “She gains nothing.”
“Then why does she do it?”
“She just wants to jerk me around, and that’s enough for her. She’s so jealous, she can’t control herself or forward her own agenda, like find a job on her own, or get a life. She thinks everything I have, I got at her expense.”
Mary shook her head. “Plus, it does hurt us. Wait until what happened out there hits the TV news and the Internet. It’s such bad publicity for the firm. I bet we get calls from the clients.”
“You’re right.” Alice gave her another pat on the back. “But don’t worry about it, DiNunzio. She can’t keep us down. Let’s go get ready for Rexco.”
“Let’s do it!”
Alice could feel everybody cheer up as they walked back to their offices.
Everybody, that is, except Judy.
Chapter Seventy
Mary went back to her office with Judy on her heels, closing the door behind them. She had a million things to do and they had discussed this already in the elevator, but Judy stood in front of her desk like a dog with a bone.
“Mare, don’t you get it? Fiorella said, ‘
“No, like I said, Fiorella’s Italian. She’s dramatic. Ever hear of Verdi? Rossini? Puccini? See a pattern? I should know, I have the same infection.”
“No.” Judy shook her head. “It’s amazing that she said that, and she was looking right at Alice, or Bennie.
