Alice accepted the pen from the guard while he watched her, his cop eyes narrowing. Her hand hovered over the log, then she said, “Between you and me, what time did the associates leave last night?”
“Don’t know. I wasn’t here. Herm was.”
“Let’s see.” Alice flipped the page backwards and ran her finger down the signatures. Her finger stopped at Judy Carrier’s signature but she glanced a few lines up at Bennie’s, took a mental snapshot, then flipped the page back and scribbled a decent forgery. “When the cat’s away, the mice will play.”
“The kids work hard, Bennie, and you know Mary’s shootin’ for partnership. She always comes in on Saturday.”
“I know.” Alice handed him the pen. “But I gotta whine about something, don’t I?”
“Don’t we all, Cinderella?” the guard said, and they both laughed as she told him good-bye, walked through the turnstile, and headed for the elevator bank. She found a swipe card in Bennie’s wallet and used it over the electronic reader, then glanced quickly at the building directory for ROSATO & ASSOCIATES.
Third floor.
She got inside, and when the elevator doors slid open, she exited and walked through a reception area stuffed with hotel art, blue chairs, shining tables, and a stack of fancy magazines. She came upon a hallway that opened onto a conference room with a table made from a single slab of wood, its edges rough, black bark. It must have cost a fortune, and it was surrounded by soft navy blue swivel chairs, a walnut entertainment center, a plasma TV, and a mini-kitchen in matching walnut. It was classy down to the tartan dog bed that read BEAR, which reminded her to get the dog’s body out of the basement before it started to stink.
There were four offices off the conference room area, each with a shiny nameplate: MARY DINUNZIO, JUDY CARRIER, and ANNE MURPHY, and at the end, BENNIE ROSATO. She went into the office, where sunlight streamed through the tall window onto a nubby tan rug, walnut desk, and matching credenza with files. Bronze plaques covered the walls, and the end tables were blanketed with crystal bowls and engraved Lucite.
It’s not her office, it’s her shrine.
She went around the desk, dropped the messenger bag on the rug, and sat down in the black mesh chair. On the left was a Filofax open to Monday, and the day’s only appointment was in the afternoon with Rexco, a potential client she had read about in the email last night. She’d cancel the meeting to avoid any chance to slip up. Suddenly, Bennie’s cell phone started ringing in her messenger bag, and Alice dug it out and checked the screen, recognizing the phone number. It was her old boss, Karen Wise, the director at PLG.
Well, how-dee-doo. “Hello, Karen,” Alice said into the phone, as Bennie.
“Bennie, how have you been?”
“Great, thanks.”
“Sorry to bother you on the weekend, but I left a message last night and didn’t hear back from you, and it’s kind of important. I won’t keep you, but I wanted to let you know that Alice quit on us last week, out of the blue. Just up and left.”
“Oh, no.” Do tell.
“I didn’t think you knew. I gather you two haven’t spoken recently.”
“No, I’m just so busy.” And important. You should see my awards.
“I thought as much. Alice worked hard and showed such an eagerness to learn, in the beginning. She seemed to lose interest, in time. She started coming in late and her attitude changed.”
What a bad puppy!
“She’s naturally intelligent and she has a fine legal mind. If she wanted, she could be a great lawyer, like you.”
We’re about to find out.
“Anyway, here’s why I called. There’s a problem. I hesitate to even say this, but we think that she might have taken some money from petty cash. It was about four hundred dollars and as you know, it’s not as if we have the money to spare, after the last funding cut.”
And you didn’t notice I embezzled about $1,500?
“One of our other employees saw her leaving the room last, and with her sudden disappearance, well, it seems sort of damning, doesn’t it?”
“How terrible, really. Karen, let me send you a check, and please accept my apologies.”
“Thank you, Bennie. Again, I’m so sorry about this.”
“As am I, but I have to go. Good-bye,” Alice said, pressing END. She set the phone down, then heard someone clearing their throat.
She looked up, and standing in the doorway was her toughest test yet.