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Be
“Be
“Marshall!” she shouted, and they embraced. The receptionist smelled like fresh Ivory soap and felt strong and healthy, almost back to her normal weight despite the hell she’d been through. Be
“Are you kidding? I came to work!” Marshall answered, beaming. “This is my first day back, too, and boy, do you need me! I’ll start part-time, and share with Marie, in the begi
“But what about-”
“The baby?” Marshall waved her off. “She’s fine. She still has some delays, but she’ll catch up, and I got the best baby-sitter ever!”
“She sure does,” Mary chimed in, throwing an arm around Marshall’s shoulders. “Hey, baby-sitter!” she shouted, and from behind the boxes, cuddling a newborn baby girl in acres of receiving blanket, came Vita DiNunzio.
Be
“I plead the Fifth,” the associate answered, holding up a testimonial hand, and Mrs. DiNunzio leaned over the baby.
“Be
“Gabrielle, welcome to Rosato amp; Associates!” Be
“The laptop?” Marshall laughed. “It’s a little early, don’t you think?”
“It was either that or a chew toy,” Be
“Yes, yes, sى! She’s a good baby, a beautiful baby!” Mrs. DiNunzio beamed behind thick glasses that magnified eyes full of happiness. She wore a flowered housedress and had shed her winter coat for the occasion. “I take care of her, me and my husband. He helps, too, while Marshall work!”
“Wonderful!”
“Benedetta,” Mrs. DiNunzio whispered, beckoning her closer with her finger. “Your sister, she’sa here. To see you, in your office. She says she wants to talk to you.”
Be
“I think it’s safe, if you want to talk to her,” he said. “If you don’t, I’ll throw her out. We’ll call the cops when you give the word.”
The associates nodded unhappily. Carrier said, “We called security, too, and David’s here, and we’re all standing by, just in case. We thought you might want to see her.”
“I thought you might like to speak to her,” Mary said.
“I didn’t think you would,” Murphy chimed in, “not after what she’s done to you.”
“Me, either.” Marshall nodded, folding her arms, next to a scowling Sam, and Mrs. DiNunzio was beside herself, even with the baby in her arms.
“She’s a devil! A devil! I tell her to go home! She don’t listen! She don’t care about you! She don’t care about anybody but herself!”
Be
For one thing, she didn’t have a flamethrower.
40
Be
“Want some coffee?” Alice poured the fresh brew into a Styrofoam cup and held it out.
“I’ll get it myself,” Be
“Yes.”
Huh? Be
“No, I mean it. I’m turning myself in. I thought I should call the cops from here, to clear up the confusion, with the theft charges and all. And I wanted to see how you felt, if you’re all healed.”
Be
“So, how do you feel?”
“Alive. Thanks for asking.” Be
“Look, I know this is totally weird, but I am very sorry.” Alice went to the chair on the other side of the desk and sat down with her cup of coffee. “I’m sorry for everything I did to you.”
“’I’m sorry’?” Anger flared like a flame in Be
“No I didn’t. I could have shot you and I didn’t. I’ll tell the cops the way it went down, and they can charge me if they want to.” Alice’s tone was urgent, if oddly reasonable. “But I want you to know, I would not have killed you.”
“Bullshit!” Yet another exception to the curse diet. Be
“I couldn’t have gone through with it.”
“Of course you could! You’ve killed before, haven’t you?”
“Only in self-defense.”
Be
“No I didn’t. I aimed for his shoulder.”
“Oh, come on, Alice!” Be
“I’m a better shot than that. I wanted to disarm him. Girl, if I’d wanted to kill him, he’d be dead.”
The coldness in Alice’s tone chilled Be
“I did have a plan, but I swear, I couldn’t have gone through with it. And all that was before, anyway.”
“Before what?”
“Before I knew that Dad had died.”
“So what?”
“So that meant you were all I had left. It hit me, when you told me.” A thoughtful expression crossed Alice’s face, as if she were reflecting on the moment of her decision. “It struck me, caught me up short, that we were it.”