“Okay.”

“Be up at six. Call me then. If she tries to call you, don’t answer. She’s playing mind games with you.” Alice paused, for effect. “And DiNunzio, I’d like you to be my partner.”

“Thank you so much!” Mary practically cheered. “My God, it’s so hard to believe that this is finally happening, after so many years, starting way back before I even came to work for you, way back to law school. I never thought I’d see this day, but it’s really here!”

“Congratulations. From now on, we’re Rosato & DiNunzio.”

“I’m so honored! I know I’m not the lawyer you are, but you’ve taught me everything I know. I owe it all to you.”

Whatever. “Way to go.”

“Thanks again, so much, Bennie.”

“Thanks, to you.” Alice hung up as she walked back to the bedroom, where Grady was out cold, his head to the side. She couldn’t kill him now, with Bennie on the loose. It was too risky, and she had bigger problems.

She had to cover her tracks before it was too late. If she moved fast, she could get it done and be back at the house before Grady woke up. She was still on track to take the money and get out of the country, and nothing could stop her, not even Bennie. She couldn’t let anything stop her, because if she did, Q would find her and kill her.

She ran downstairs, took the messenger bag, and flew out the front door.

Mary worked bent over her laptop on her bed, powered by an adrenaline tsunami. She was a partner now! She’d have her name on a law firm. She’d own something other than a blow dryer. She felt so charged up, she worked in fast forward. She’d called the police about the criminal complaint, but she’d have to go in the next morning to file it formally, so she’d redrafted the brief, adding the new facts about the fake phone call from Pellesburg Hospital, which strengthened their case. She’d tried to find precedent on point, but couldn’t. Still, what they lacked in authority would be made up by the equities, and she knew they had a winner.

She went onto the court’s website, pressed a button to file the papers electronically, then hit PRINT. She stretched, surprised to see it was already getting light, then checked the bedside clock-5:30 A.M. She had to call Bennie by six. She pulled off her McNabb jersey and gym shorts, then went to the bathroom, jumped into the shower, and shampooed quickly. She didn’t have time to shave her legs.

Partners don’t waste time on dumb stuff.

She finished up and dried off quickly. She combed out her hair, ran for the BlackBerry, and called the chambers of the emergency judge, where she left a message requesting a hearing. Then she called Bennie and filled her in, her heart pumping.

“Well done,” Bennie said. “Call me when you have the hearing time, and I’ll see you in the office when I get there. If you see Alice anywhere near the building, avoid her.”

“Don’t you think we should hire extra security? You know Meyers, that security firm we use? I bet we could get the same guys.”

“No, find a new one instead. The old ones weren’t the best in town, and we need heavy artillery.”

“I’ll get on it and see you at work. Bye.” Mary hung up, happy. She was actually influencing Bennie. Maybe this would be the shape of things to come. She went to her closet to get dressed for court. She flashed-forward to standing up for her partner, as a partner, for the first time ever.

But not before she ran back to the bathroom, to shave her legs.

Bennie woke up to the sounds of people talking in the hospital hallway. It was bright outside the window on the far wall, so it must be morning. She still felt different inside, though she knew what she had to do. She sat up, shifted over, and picked up the receiver from the bedside phone. When the operator answered, she said, “Can you tell me the number of the local police, or connect me?”

“I’m sorry, we’re not permitted to make such calls.”

“Can I call 911 from this phone?”

“No.”

“Then will you call for me, please?”

“I’m sorry, we’re not permitted to contact 911, either. If there’s a problem on your floor, you can contact the nurse.”

“How about the Philadelphia police?” Bennie had a homicide detective on her speed dial, but she didn’t have her cell phone. “You can call information for the number of the detective division-”

“Sorry, but I’m not permitted to place any such calls. Please tell your nurse the problem, and she can help you.”

Bennie hung up, tried a different tack, and called her office. It went to voicemail, which surprised her. It seemed late enough for Marshall to be at her desk, and when the voicemail beep sounded, she left a message: “I’m going to be in late today, and we have a problem. Alice has reared her ugly head and she has my wallet. DiNunzio, please take care of Bear, and Marshall, please cancel my credit cards. Talk to you later.”

Bennie hung up, threw off the covers, and put the guardrail down. It wasn’t easy with the splint on her hand but she managed to peel off the cloth tape holding her IV, pull the needle from her vein, and stop the bleeding with her bandaged left hand. She was swinging her feet out of bed when a nurse walked by, then hurried in to stop her.

“My goodness! You-”

“Don’t even say it. I’m discharging myself. Do you know where I can get some clothes?” Bennie hobbled to the door, but the nurse stood in the way, folding her arms. She was different from the one last night, heavyset with short black hair, a pinched look around her mouth, and a businesslike manner.

“Your social worker will be up any minute. Once you speak with her-”

“You can help me get clothes, or you can move out of my way.”

“If you would just wait-”

“No more waiting.” Bennie tried to get around the nurse, but another woman came out of nowhere and blocked the threshold. The woman was thin and little, lost in a voluminous denim dress, and she had an officially sympathetic smile as she extended a hand.

“Hello, I’m your caseworker, Melissa. I heard you wanted to leave, but you can’t until we speak.”

“If you lend me clothes, I’ll speak to you.”

“Fine. Please, sit down, and we can have a chat, Ms. Arzado.” The social worker gestured to a nearby chair, and Bennie sat down.

“My name is Bennie Rosato, not whatever you called me, and I have to see the police.”

There was a commotion behind them in the hallway, and two uniformed cops appeared at the nurses’ station. The social worker and the nurse turned around, and Bennie stood up, gathering her gown behind her.

“Come in, gentlemen!” she called out, relieved. She didn’t have any more time to lose, and fifteen minutes later, she had finished an egg burrito and had given a statement to Officers Villarreal and Dayne, who sat in chairs opposite her.

“A wolf?” Officer Villarreal repeated, raising a thick black eyebrow. He was about thirty years old, with a wide, fleshy face, dark brown eyes and a ready, if skeptical, smile.

“I think it was, a wolf or a coyote. Do you have them around here?”

“Probably.”

“So I saw one.”

“We understand that you were drunk when you came in.”

“The pickup driver gave me whiskey.”

“He says he found you that way.”

“So he lied, but it doesn’t matter. The issue is attempted murder. My sister tried to kill me. She has my car, my wallet. I want to prosecute her.”

“And she’s your identical twin?”

“Yes, and her name is Alice Connelly.” Bennie knew it sounded nuts. If she hadn’t lived it, she wouldn’t have believed it, either. “Please, get me to a computer and we can verify this easily. You’ll see that I’m a trial lawyer, and she was a defendant in a murder case I tried.” The cops looked at each other, but Bennie rose, covered her butt, and went to the door. “There has to be a computer somewhere.”