39

Yeah!” “Hurray!” “Welcome back, Bennie!” came the shouts as Bennie stepped off the elevator into the reception area and a very happy crowd. They were all there: Carrier, DiNunzio, and Murphy in front, then David, Sam, and even Julien, all surging toward her, shouting and calling.

“Boss! You’re back!” Carrier yelled, and Murphy was right behind her.

“Bennie, you look awesome!” Murphy squealed. “And no pantyhose! You’re learning, girl!”

DiNunzio was wet-eyed. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Bennie!” The associate hugged Bennie so hard it should have made her wince, but she felt too good to be back. It had been a month since the shooting, but right now it seemed like years ago.

“Thanks, DiNunzio,” Bennie said, and patted her little back. “It’s all right now, kiddo.” As soon as DiNunzio released her, David stepped forward, took her in his arms, and gave her a distinctly wonderful kiss.

“Wow!” Bennie said, when he put her back on her feet. “Was that your tongue?”

“That was a sneak preview. I don’t go back for another week,” David answered with a laugh, and Julien stepped forward and gave Bennie a light hug.

“I am so sorry,” Julien said into her ear, and she hugged him back.

“Forget it, and remember your promise, right? One year?”

Julien released her. “Six months, you got it.”

Suddenly Julien was pushed aside by Sam, who held two huge bouquets, one of red roses and another of white sweethearts. “Honey, you’re home! Take these!”

“Flowers?” Bennie asked, delighted. “From you, the red and the white?”

“Please.” Sam sniffed. “The red dozen are mine. The sweethearts are from Chief Judge Kolbert.”

“The chief?” Bennie plucked the florist’s card from the bouquet, opened it, and read it aloud with glee. “’Sorry I misjudged you. Lunch on me. Best, Kate.’ Wow!”

“And that’s not all, folks!” Sam extracted an envelope from the inside pocket of his custom blazer and handed it to Bennie. “Check this out.”

“What?” Bennie tucked the flowers into one arm, opened the envelope, and slid out some thick folded papers, then read them with amazement. “You paid off my mortgage? How did you do that?”

“Ask the femmes,” Sam answered, pointing at the associates.

Carrier gestured behind her, to a wall of boxes. “Well, those boxes are the new documents and files from St. Amien & Fils, and those next to it are from LensCo, and next to those are files from Tumflex, and the four on top are from FitCo.” She took a breath, and Murphy took over.

“The boxes against the wall are from Reiss, Inc., those by the coffee table are from CoreMed, and the last two are from MedLens and Cho & Company. They overflowed both conference rooms and all of our offices, so that’s why they’re here.” Murphy grinned. In the background, telephones were ringing and fax machines were zz-zzting. “Bottom line is, they’re all documents from all of our new and improved class-action clients. We got business coming out the wazoo!”

Bennie blinked. “You guys are working the cases yourselves?”

“Sure,” Murphy answered. “Just like you taught us. We’ve prepared fifty-five complaints for the class-action plaintiffs, all waiting for your signature. And in two weeks, with your approval, we file a motion to be appointed as lead plaintiff. We’re a shoo-in.”

“We’re on the move!” Carrier joined in. “And we need Marie back and two more secretaries and at least another investigator until Lou gets well. We need staff! Warm bodies! Help!”

Mary nodded beside them. “I hired a contract paralegal on Brandolini, but it will take me months to read through all the documents I got from the War Department. And the Circolo raised twenty-five grand in donations, a big hunk from a car dealership in South Philly. So now we’re paying for ourselves and then some!”

Bennie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She didn’t know what to say. This was her dream, and she hadn’t even realized it until this very moment, when it came true. Phones that rang off the hook, faxes that never stopped coming, and E-mail that busted the server. And associates who grew up to be real lawyers in their own right. Bennie felt a wrench in her chest, but it had to be her stitches. Okay, maybe it wasn’t.

“Bennie, did you forget about me?” came a shout from behind the boxes, and Bennie looked up to see Marshall coming around the box.

“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. Bennie swallowed the lump in her throat and held her out to look at her. “You came to say hi?”

“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 beginning. This joint is jumpin’, just like old times. No, better than old times!”

“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.

Bennie burst into surprised laughter. “Mrs. DiNunzio is going to be your sitter? How great!” She caught Mary’s eye. “Why do I think you had something to do with this, girl?”

“I plead the Fifth,” the associate answered, holding up a testimonial hand, and Mrs. DiNunzio leaned over the baby.

“Bennie! Bennie! See the baby!” Mrs. DiNunzio cried, dabbing at the baby’s mouth with Kleenex. “I just feed her the bottle! See her, so sweet! See Gabrielle!”

“Gabrielle, welcome to Rosato & Associates!” Bennie said, giving the infant’s impossibly soft cheek a stroke with her finger. The baby gurgled adorably in response, with bright blue eyes peeking from her blanket, a nose like a pink button, and a mouth that formed a seraph’s smile. Even Bennie had to admit, she was even cuter than a puppy. “Gabrielle, did you get that present I sent you?”

“The laptop?” Marshall laughed. “It’s a little early, don’t you think?”

“It was either that or a chew toy,” Bennie answered, and they all laughed. She looked at Mrs. DiNunzio, obviously in her glory. “You got a baby again, huh?”

“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.”

Bennie blinked, astonished. “Really? Alice is here? Here?” She and David exchanged looks.

“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!”

Bennie smiled, but she couldn’t deny it. Alice was a devil. But she was a devil Bennie couldn’t ignore any longer. So she said good-bye to all of them, steeled herself, and went to her office. She had wondered what would happen if ever she saw Alice again, and so far it wasn’t going the way she’d planned.

For one thing, she didn’t have a flamethrower.