Think Twice

The social worker hurried after her. “I suppose we could look at one at the nurses’ station.”

Be

“Please, allow me. Do you want to get on the Internet?”

“Yes. Please. Google my name and Alice Co

“Let’s see.” The social worker clicked the link, and Be

“How about that?” Officer Villarreal smiled, but Officer Dayne remained reserved, saying nothing.

Be

Chapter Fifty-four

Alice twisted her hair into a topknot, then clicked the barrette into place while Grady slept like the dead. She slipped into a khaki suit, white cotton shirt, and brown shoes with low heels, then checked her reflection in the bedroom mirror. She looked like Be

She got the messenger bag from the chair, then went under the bed and pulled out the cloth bag. She unzipped it and transferred as much money to the bag as she could carry without it looking suspicious. She shoved the gym bag back under the bed, went to Be

Grady was finally waking up, even though he’d conked out in his clothes. She couldn’t leave him here, now that Be

“What?” His eyelids fluttered, and Alice turned on the bedside lamp.

“Wake up. We have to get ready. I need your help, with Alice.”

“What’s going on?” Grady opened his eyes and shifted upward onto his elbows. “Is she here?”

“No. I’ll fill you in on the way to the courthouse.”

“Man, did I conk or what?” Grady sat up, shaking his head. “I fell asleep in my clothes?”

“Sorry to rush you around, but I figured you’d want to come to court.”

“Sure, yes, I’m up.” Grady slipped on his glasses and got out of bed as the BlackBerry rang.

“Excuse me a sec.” Alice went to the messenger bag and found the phone. It was DiNunzio. “What’s happening?” she asked.

“I’m on my way back from the Roundhouse.” Mary sounded excited. “I filed the complaint for criminal impersonation, and they didn’t need your statement. We have an emergency hearing on the restraining order set for eight o’clock.”

“Good girl.” Alice watched Grady stumble around the bed, stepping over the discarded Birks.

“Should I meet you there or pick you up in a cab?”

“Pick us up, but not in a cab.” Alice would have to leave the money bag in the car. She couldn’t take it into the courthouse, through security. “Call a hired car, and it can wait for us after court.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. But who’s ‘us’? You said ‘us.’ ”

“We’ll have co-counsel today.”

“What? Who?”

“My other partner,” she said, smiling at Grady.

Chapter Fifty-five

Mary had to pretend she wasn’t nervous, so she couldn’t scratch the blotches under her high-necked white blouse. She sat in the second pew of the packed gallery with Be

The Honorable Francis X. McKe

The courtroom was old, with a dull gray marble bench, high ceilings painted a fading cerulean blue, and a brown Emerson air conditioner that rattled in a tall, mullioned window. The bar of court was made of dull mahogany, its top rail supported by ornately carved spindles, and behind it were the mismatched wooden desks of the law clerk, court crier, and court reporter, who went about their business, filing papers and tapping away on the stenography machine, their faces professional masks. Suddenly, the judge ruled, and the court crier rose and called for case number 53263, which was one away from theirs.

Mary watched as one restraining order after another was issued to the women and children of the City of Philadelphia, each one telling its own horror story of fathers attacking children, boyfriends stalking girlfriends, and grudges taken out on beloved pets. It made her feel even worse, but she told herself that they were getting what little justice the law could offer.

She glanced over at Be

“DiNunzio,” Be

Mary felt a surge of gratitude, and when the court crier called out their case number, she felt taller than she ever had before. She went to the podium, stood before the judge, and said, with pride:

“May it please the Court, I’m Mary DiNunzio, of Rosato & DiNunzio.”

Chapter Fifty-six

Be

Be

The cops emerged, Officer Villarreal frowning in the sunlight and Officer Dayne behind him. He was the older of the two, thin and taciturn, playing up his elder-statesman role. They walked to the cruiser, and Officer Villarreal went to see her in the backseat, since he was the nice one, who did all the talking.

Be

“Not exactly.” Officer Villarreal eased the brim of his cap upward on his forehead. “Alice Co

“That’s not possible.” Be

“You’re confused.”

“No, I’m not,” Be