When She Was Bad

5

The girl was waiting with Patty Benoit at the same table as before, her back to the roomful of loonies and staff and her creamy dark hair all tumbled down over her shoulders.

As Max limped toward them carrying his lunch tray, his features arranged into Lyssy’s chuckleheaded grin, suddenly it struck him, with a sense of irony about as subtle as a bowling ball, that he had no idea whether this was Lily, the simpering original personality, or Lilith, the alter he’d met a few hours ago. And when she looked up and met his eyes, he realized-here came that bowling ball again-that she must be wondering the same thing about him.

“We probably should have worked out a password,” he whispered, a good deal more casually than he felt, as soon as they were alone-Patty had joined Wally at a nearby table to give them their privacy.

Whoosh. The tension left her body like air rushing out of a punctured balloon. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

“Did you hear? Corder gave the okay for you to come to my party tonight.”

“I heard. The bad news is, Mullet Woman there is coming with me.”

“You think you can handle her?”

“If I could handle Swervin’ Mervin, I can handle her. But we won’t have much time for pin the tail on the donkey. According to Patty, we’re only gonna be there two hours, tops, and the way I figure, we’re gonna need most of that for a head start.” Lilith glanced over to the psych techs’ table to see how closely they were being watched, then took a big, two-handed bite out of her juicy-rare cheeseburger. “What’s the matter? You look disappointed,” she said with her mouth full.

“I’ve been looking forward to my payback for years,” he replied. “There is no conceivable way I’m going to rush it, head start or no head start.”

Lilith looked him in the eye-not the easiest thing to do. “Maybe you ought to rethink your priorities.”

“Revenge is the priority,” Max whispered, leaning across the table-they were sitting catty-corner from each other-and dabbing a spot of ketchup from the corner of her mouth with his own napkin.

At the neighboring table, the burly psych techs exchanged knowing glances. “Don’t they make a cute couple?” said Wally.

Patty grinned. “Multiples in love,” she said. “Imagine the possibilities.”