Gloria was sure there had to be at least fifty people in the foyer, the low buzz belying the number, but also an indication of the class of people now spaced about in the large room. These were the movers and shakers of the city, the crème de la crème.
Gladys was immediately sucked into the mix, her short-sleeved, pink ball gown, designed to hug her in all the right places, and replete with edges that shone in the glittering lights above, caused her honey brown skin to assume an inner glow- or maybe it was just her sparkling personality that drew the attention of at least five distinguished looking gentlemen in the crowd. Gloria stayed back, wanting to admire the foyer which she thought showed great taste in its furnishing. She stuck to the edges of the room, keeping a friendly smile on her face, and nodding whenever appropriate, but she observed, and admired everything from the sparkling chandelier to the drapes that weighed a ton, and covered windows that stretched upwards at least twice her height. She grabbed a glass of wine from a passing tray, and stood to sip as she continued to observe.
She was especially impressed by the crowd in attendance, and agreed inwardly that therein indeed, did lie, like gold amongst sand, the sort of clientele that private investigators day dreamed about. She mused about the income bracket of the party’s host, but quickly made up her mind that this was most likely a fund-raiser by some organization for some cause or the other. That would certainly explain the guests.
She raised her glass at a few prominent police captains, and tolerated the police chief, smiling and nodding understandably when he came over; Uncle Bill would have fitted quite well into the crowd. She stifled a giggle by quickly taking a sip when she spotted Gladys in a circle of men, all eating out of the palm of her hand, and laughing at her every joke. You had better be handing out complimentary cards Gloria thought jovially, raising a glass in salute. She slowly shook her head as an aversion at one of the poor chaps who up until then had not been able to break into the inner circle around Gladys, but had followed her gaze to quite unexpectedly discover an identical copy on the not so far end of the room; quickly summing it up in his wine-doused mind as a welcome dose of serendipity. She stifled another laugh in her wine glass at the sight of confusion on his flushed face. It was either he had not understood that she was not interested or had thought her nay as yay in reverse, for he started coming over, flush faced and sure-footed.
Gloria made a speedy escape further down the room, stopping to shake hands with the mayor; a matriarch of the town, before pausing to savor the exquisite aromas pervading a lavishly furnished table. Satisfied that she was out of trouble, she set her glass down on the table and picked up a pea balanced on a toothpick from the table. She took a deep breath, as well as another passing glass, and then entered the distinguished crowd. Almost every wrist oozed something sparkly or glittering in the bright lights, and it was hard to imagine how she was exactly supposed to mingle with such a crowd.
Pull yourself together Gloria she thought fiercely to herself; it’s either this or the workhouse for you. She kept her glass close to her cleavage; wanting to make herself smaller in a sense, intending to eavesdrop. She was going to catch up on the gossip that was bound to exist within such a crowd. There was no better friend than a friend in need and that was how she intended to play this game. A suspicion you say? Allow me to introduce myself. You don’t need the publicity? Did I mention the strict confidentiality we at Patton and Patton employ?
It did not make for a pretty, nor honorable evening, but it beat standing around and doing nothing. She sipped from her glass, and pretended the appreciative stares aimed her way from men with ring-laden fingers were not meant for her; potential subjects perhaps- who knew? She peeled her ears, and stayed focused on her mission.
Ten minutes later she had come up dry. Either she was off her game or there was nothing juicy simmering underneath this smooth façade. The latter was impossible, so Gloria decided to take a two minute breather before heading back into the mix. Yet twenty minutes later all she had were tit-bits painting a most colorful portrait of the host-it was not an organization after all. As of then