“Really?” Mary was starting to wonder if the world had gone nuts.

“It’s like when someone asks you if you hear water dripping, and you don’t. But then, after they mention it, it’s all you hear. You’re listening for it, then. You understand?”

“You mean you agree with Judy now? You said you didn’t.”

“I know, I didn’t.” Grady’s brow knit in confusion. “But now I’m thinking about it.”

“Why?”

“Because of some things that happened last night, between Bennie and me. Little things, like she gave me a glass of milk and she knows I hate milk.”

“Not a smoking gun.”

“But it was an old joke between us, because she loves milk so much.”

“So she forgot. You haven’t seen her in a couple of years. Do you remember which drink she absolutely hates? There is one.”

Grady’s expression went blank. “Uh, no.”

“Root beer.”

“Touché.”

“Plus, you surprised her with your visit, didn’t you? Your coming in probably threw her for a loop.” Mary was thinking about the man who worked at Mellon Center. “She’s just off her game.”

“Possibly.”

“Definitely.”

“So Judy’s completely wrong?”

“Yes.” Mary’s cell phone rang and she checked the display screen, hoping again for Anthony, but no luck. “Excuse me, it’s my parents. I’ll just be a minute.” She pressed the green button and said, “Hi.”

“Maria, Maria!” It was her mother, in tears.

“Ma, what’s the matter?”

“Your father, he’s a cheat with Fiorella!”

“What?” Mary asked, shocked.

“He’s a with Fiorella! Come home, per favore, Maria! Tornare a casa!”

“I’m on my way,” Mary said, springing to her feet.

Chapter Eighty

Bennie’s heart stopped when she saw the gun, but Kendra turned it around and handed it over.

“Take this, Alice,” she said, her tone softer. “You need it more than I do right now. Sorry about what I said. You’re right. We were being selfish.”

Caitlin looked over. “Ken, you have a gun? Why?”

“Protection,” Kendra answered. “The gym’s open late and sometimes I have to lock up.”

Bennie examined the gun, a new Beretta, sized for women. It was a peace offering, and even Alice would have shown some remorse in the circumstances. “Sorry I did the freak, guys. I’m a little jumpy, with the apartment and all.”

“I’m sorry, too.” Caitlin dug in her purse and came out with a baggie full of white capsules. “Here. Take your chill pill. You’ll feel better.”

Whoa. “Not in the mood.”

“Come on, we know how you get. Take the bag.”

Bennie felt them watching her, waiting. She had never taken a drug in her life, but she didn’t want them to doubt her. She put the gun in her pocket, plucked the bag from Caitlin’s hand, and popped a capsule in her mouth, swallowing it dry.

“Just the one?”

“Listen, you guys should go. I’ll call you as soon as I have another supplier.”

“Please don’t wait too long,” Caitlin said, and Kendra nodded.

“Alice, seriously, I rely on the extra income. I’ve lost clients because of the economy. I need to make up the difference.”

“I hear you.” Bennie walked to the door, opened it, and gestured them out to the hallway. “I’ll be in touch. Don’t worry.”

They left together, and Bennie closed the door, her gaze traveling over the disarray. The shattered lamp, the strewn papers. It felt strange, standing in Alice’s place as Alice, having drugs and a loaded gun. She imagined Alice in her place, as her. And now they had switched businesses, too.

Her gaze fell on something bright amid the debris near the desk, a red book sliding out of a thick manila envelope. She went over, picked up the envelope, and looked inside. It wasn’t like the bills and printed papers; next to the book was a packet of letters. She slid out the book, which turned out to be Alice’s college yearbook, her name stamped in fake gold on its pebbled cover. Papers were wedged inside like a bookmark, and she opened the yearbook to the page, moving them aside.

Senior Class Monster Mash, read the top, above photos of couples slow-dancing, in Halloween costumes. Her eyes went immediately to Alice, drawn there because it was like looking at a photo of herself, in costume. Alice was dressed as Alice in Wonderland, in a blue smock with a white pinafore, and was dancing with a tall boy in a rabbit outfit, complete with top hat. He was handsome, very tall, with dark, lively eyes and a wide smile, though he had a jagged scar on his right cheek. Under the photo, the caption read ALICE AND HER MAD HATTER.

Bennie sat down on the couch with the yearbook. She had never seen a photo of Alice from her college days and flipped through the yearbook for more candids. There were none, so she went to the senior pictures in the back, finding Alice in the C’s. Again, her face was exactly Bennie’s, and under the picture, the caption listed no activities, though there was a personal note that read “Hugs and kisses to Biggest Dave, TLF.”

True love forever?

Bennie paged through the senior pictures, starting back at the A’s, looking for Biggest Dave. It took her until she got to the G’s, when she found a senior photo of the Mad Hatter, recognizable because of the scar. His name was David Gamil, and he’d played Intramural basketball and been in ROTC. Under his photo, the caption said, “Alice, you are my wonderland, TLF.” In the margin of the page, he had written, All my love always and forevermore, in neat printing.

She blinked, surprised that Alice was capable of a normal love relationship. She paged idly through the book, noticing something else. There were no other handwritten notes from friends with their pictures. She turned to the inside front cover, then the inside back cover. There were no written notes by friends, anywhere. She thought a minute, then looked up from the yearbook and scanned the tables and shelves in the living room. There were no photographs, even on the floor, and there hadn’t been any in the bedroom. Alice had no friends, and neither of them had any family, except each other.

Bennie thought of her own house. She didn’t have any photos of anybody else around, either, except Bear. That was why Alice could so completely take over her life, with nobody the wiser. Because nobody really knew Bennie that well at all. She looked down at the yearbook in her hands and noticed the blood drying on her hand, where she’d taken the bandage off. She wished she could see it at cell-level, down to her very twisted DNA. It was Alice’s DNA, too. They both had good blood and bad blood, but how much of each?

She pressed the thought aside and went to the packet of letters, which looked like ten of them in a thick rubber band. She tugged the first letter from the pack, and the envelope was addressed to Alice, at this address. The postmark was foreign, with Arabic writing. She slid out the single page of notebook paper, which read:

Dear Alice, It’s so great that you got back in touch with me, even though I’m deployed here, on my third tour. The military lets us have a Facebook page, but we have to keep it PG- 13. Ha! I thought about you a lot over the years and am so happy you have a new job, and came through everything okay…

Bennie’s eyes skipped to the bottom of the letter, and it was signed, Love, Dave. So Alice had gotten back in touch with Dave Gamil, from college. Surprised, Bennie checked the date on the letter. It was two years ago, about the time Alice had started at PLG. She thumbed through the rest of the envelopes, and they were saved in chronological order. She went to the second letter, which was dated two months after the first.

Dear Alice, I love your letters and packages, they remind me of home, college days, and mostly you, and how happy we were. All the guys are jealous that I get such great cookies, too, but you’re not supposed to send the Playboys. I gave them away, because I’m thinking of you more and more…