“I see.” The nurse cocked her head, eyeing her watch and listening for the telltale tick, then she released the bulb and the cuff deflated. “Your blood pressure is quite high. Did you use any drugs of any kind, whether prescription or street?”

“As I said, my sister drugged my wine, without my knowledge. I don’t know what she gave me, but it knocked me out. She’s my twin and she’s jealous and resentful of me.” Bennie could see the nurse didn’t believe her, but was too polite to say so. “When can I get out of here? I need to see the police. I really am a crime victim. This was attempted murder. She stole my car and my wallet, too.”

“You will not be released tonight. Doctor’s orders. You’re under observation until we have your vitals back to normal and you’re stabilized.” The nurse tried to press her down toward the pillow, but Bennie stayed sitting up.

“I want to leave. I can discharge myself.”

“Please, if you try to get out of bed again, I’ll have to call security.” The nurse pursed her lips. “Please, cooperate. We already called the police. They’ll be here as soon as possible.”

“I have a better idea.” Bennie picked up the telephone receiver, but there was no dial tone and she hung up. “What’s the matter with the phone?”

“Calls are not permitted after ten o’clock.”

“But I just called one of my associates.”

“Then you got your call in under the wire. Now, please, if you would cooperate, you’ll be discharged a lot sooner. We have you scheduled in the morning with a social worker, for an evaluation.”

“I don’t need an evaluation!” Bennie couldn’t help but raise her voice. “I need the police!”

“An evaluation is routine in a case like yours.”

“There is no case like mine!” Bennie tried to get up, but the IV stalk started to fall over and while she went to catch it, the nurse was taking the plastic top off a syringe and inserting its needle into the IV tube.

“Please, remain calm. I’ll speak to my supervisor and I’ll make sure she calls the authorities again. Now you just get some rest, you hear?”

“No, stop! What are you doing? What is that?” Bennie got the answer in a minute. She felt as if snow were suddenly falling on her brain.

“It’s a light sedative to help you sleep. It was ordered by your doctor in case you became agitated. Please, try to rest.”

“I didn’t see a doctor! I have to get Alice!” Bennie tried to remember a doctor, but her thoughts were adrift. Her body relaxed, and the nurse was already lifting her legs back into bed, tucking her in, and putting up the guardrail.

“We’ll get that all taken care of for you, you’ll see,” she said, turning away and leaving the room.

Alice was sitting in bed with Grady, clothed and fake-reading the Rexco Complaint. It was time to put boyfriend to sleep, so she set down the correspondence file. “You know, I could really use a drink. How about a nightcap?”

“What would you like?” He looked over the top of the Sunday newspaper. “I’ll get it for you.”

“No, I’ll go.” Alice rose, stretching her arms. “It’ll do me some good to get up. What can I get you?”

“Nothing, I’m fine.”

No, you’re not. “Join me. I’m having wine.”

“Okay, wine, if you can find it. Water, if not. You sure you don’t want me to go?”

“No, thanks. Let me. You were so great today.”

“You, too. You’re the trouper.”

“Thanks.” Alice flashed him a smile, left the bedroom, and padded downstairs. She searched the cabinets until she found a bottle of merlot and went digging for a corkscrew. She found one, opened the bottle, grabbed two glasses, and poured the wine about halfway.

She checked behind her to make sure she was alone, then took the roofie from her pocket, broke the pill into two halves, and dropped them into the glass on the right. She grabbed a spoon, stirred the wine to dissolve the roofie, then took both glasses upstairs. She would wait until Grady had passed out to go back for a knife. She didn’t want to risk being caught with a knife on her, if something went wrong.

“That was fast,” Grady said, looking up with a smile.

“The brownies called to me but I resisted.” Alice handed him his glass, and they raised it in a toast.

“To the end of a truly terrible day.”

“To the end.” Alice sipped the wine, while Grady did the same.

“Nice. Dry.”

“Agree.”

“Well.” Grady set down the paper. “I’m beat.”

“Want to turn in?”

“It’s kind of early, isn’t it?”

“Not really.” Alice leaned over and gave him a soft kiss, pressing her breast into his side.

“Whoa. Smooth move.” Grady reached for her and kissed her, sending a warm rush through her body. His hand slipped under her T-shirt and slid over her breast, caressing it in his warm palm. She was about to catch fire when he turned into a dead weight.

“Grady?”

“Wha?” He tried to lift himself up on his hands, but he was already halfway asleep. “I’m sorry.”

“Sure, that’s okay. You look sleepy.” Alice eased him back onto the pillow, took off his glasses like a good girlfriend, and watched his eyes close.

Suddenly the cell phone rang on the night table, and she jumped for it, annoyed. The screen read Mary DiNunzio, and Alice walked out of the room with the phone. “DiNunzio, what’s up? I’m busy.”

“Oh, sorry. I’m calling you back.”

“I didn’t call you.”

“Yes, you did. You called me from the hospital. I just got your message.”

Uh-oh. “My what?”

“You left a message. You asked me to call you back at the hospital, and I did, but they wouldn’t let me speak with you. They said they didn’t have a patient by that name. What’s going on?”

Alice’s thoughts raced ahead. Did Bennie get out of the box? How did she live? “DiNunzio, I’m home. I didn’t call you or leave a message. It must have been Alice, posing as me.”

“Oh my God, how could I have been so stupid?”

“You’re not. We sound exactly alike.”

“You know, I thought her voice sounded funny. I assumed she was just upset or sick. She said she was in Pellesburg Hospital.”

Alice suppressed a bolt of anger. She should have put a bullet in Bennie’s brain. Pellesburg was near where she had buried the box. Between Grady dropping in and Bennie coming back from the dead, Alice needed a Plan B.

“She said that I shouldn’t worry, and that I should get your house key from the neighbor with the red shutters and go in and walk the dog.”

“That’s her idea of a funny joke, but it’s not mine, not today. I had to put Bear down today.”

“That’s terrible.” Mary moaned. “You must be so upset.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, and I wonder how she knew. I hope she isn’t stalking me, the freak. What else did she say?”

“That I should call Marshall to cancel the credit cards.”

“Obviously, don’t do that. She must be trying to screw me up.”

“Of course.” Mary paused. “But why would she call me, instead of you?”

“She’s pretending to be me, so she can’t call me, right? She’s underestimating you, DiNunzio.”

“I wonder what her game is.”

“Criminal impersonation, right? She called you pretending to be me, so I bet she’s about to try and keep that up. It’s a good thing you were heads-up enough to draft a restraining order. She’s playing into our hands.”

“Right! You think she’ll show up at the office, pretending to be you?”

“She might, but we’re ready for her.” Alice was already seeing a way to work this to her advantage. “We should file a complaint for criminal impersonation with the police. It should come from you, since she spoke to you, and I can make a statement if they need it.”

“Will do.”

“Good, now, here’s what else I need you to do. Get the restraining order brief in final, sign and file the papers, then call the court in the morning and ask for an emergency hearing.”