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Garden Party
A line of cars waited to use the valet service in the circular driveway in front of Carole’s home. Vivian drove a little further and pulled into the grassy lot that was designated for parking. Before she got out of the car, she took the handgun out of her purse and stuck it underneath the front seat for safekeeping.
Then she and Bella headed for the side door of the house. Suzanne greeted them, and Vivian spoke with her for a few minutes. She thanked her for watching the pups and walked along the slate path to the yard behind the home. Along the way, Vivian could hear soft background music playing and the low roar of people talking and laughing.
She smiled when she saw the meticulously tended yard and beautiful gardens. In true Carole fashion, everything looked breathtaking, the tasteful decorations, lovely floral arrangements, and the elegantly dressed staff she’d hired to pass around food and drink. The four-piece band was set up on the patio. Long tables covered with white tablecloths lined the lattice fence edging a portion of the yard. Two were for the appetizers and canapés, another served as a makeshift bar, and a smaller table at the end held a decorative box for donations.
As Vivian expected, she knew quite a few of the guests in attendance, including current customers of hers and those in the acting business who were either customers or acquaintances she’d met through Carole. So, she spent a good amount of time chatting with several people as she slowly made her way through the crowd. She even ran into Wanda Schwinn, a very sweet woman who had worked with George at the bank, and they talked for quite a while.
Vivian finally spotted Carole standing by one of the buffet tables, talking with Myrna Loy. She didn’t want to interrupt them, but as soon as Carole saw her, she excused herself and hurried over. “What took you so long?”
“You’ve outdone yourself, Carole,” Vivian said. “Everything looks beautiful, and what a wonderful turnout.”
Carole clutched her arm. “Yes, it’s lovely, but listen to me. You’ll never guess who’s here.”
Clark suddenly walked over to them, wrapped his arm around Carole, and flashed Vivian a dashing grin. “Hello, Vivian, don’t you look pretty as a peach today?”
“Thank you, Clark.”
Carole glanced up at him. “Did you mend fences with Spencer? Myrna said the two of you haven’t spoken since you finished filming Test Pilots with her back in March.”
“Naw, he’s still sore at me. I tried to smooth things over with him, but he’s stubborn as a mule. He’ll get over it. I ran into Selznick and his wife. He’s trying to twist my arm about accepting the role in that Civil War film, the part that Gary Cooper turned down. I guess they have fourteen hundred women auditioning for the female lead.”
“I told you that you should take the part,” Carole said. “I even bought the book for you, but you didn’t even look at it.” She turned to Vivian. “They’re making a movie based on Margaret Mitchell’s novel, Gone With the Wind, and they want Clark to play Rhett Butler. You read the book, didn’t you? I thought it was fantastic.”
“It’s one of my favorites,” Vivian agreed.
Clark laughed. “Yeah, well, Coop swears it’s going to bomb at the box office, but I’ll think about it.”
“Clark, would you mind getting us both a glass of champagne?” Carole asked.
He looked at the two of them and lifted a brow. “I can take a hint, ladies. You’re trying to get rid of me, aren’t you?”
“Just for a few minutes.”
He laughed. “Okay, honey, I’ll take my time.”
Carole waited until he was out of earshot. “Vivian, that no good David is here. Can you believe it?”
“George’s friend? Why would he be invited to this?”
“I wondered about that, too, and found out he came with his boss who owns the real estate company. He’s standing right over there at the first buffet table.”
“Is Preston here?” Vivian asked as he was the one person she wanted to avoid at all costs.
“I saw him earlier, but we didn’t have a chance to talk. I’ve been keeping a lookout for Gary Rutherford, but no sign of him.”
“Did I hear someone mention my name?” Gary asked as he joined them. “Good afternoon, ladies. This is quite an elaborate event. Thank you for inviting me, Carole. It’s good to see you, Vivian. You look lovely this afternoon.”
Clark returned with their drinks, and Carole introduced him to Gary. The four of them talked for a while, but soon, the director of the children’s charity stood on the patio. She asked the band to stop playing and quieted everyone down so she could say a few words. Her speech included a brief description of their organization, and she explained how the donations would be distributed. She finished by thanking all the guests for coming, and she asked for a round of applause for Carole for her generosity in hosting the event.
As soon as the band resumed playing and guests went back to socializing, Vivian noticed Preston heading their way. Carole noticed him, too, and nudged her. “Viv, why don’t you take Gary over to the buffet table for something to eat?”
Gladly, Vivian left with Gary and, for the next hour, the two of them had quite an enjoyable time together. They sampled a few of the delicious appetizers, including pineapple-ginger shrimp cocktail, oysters on the half shell, crab salad, and strawberry tortes. Afterward, they took their drinks and slowly strolled along the stone pathway through the gardens.
On their way back, they stopped at the edge of the path before joining the others. “So, tell me, Gary, how did you become a wholesale buyer?” Vivian asked.
He chuckled. “It’s a pretty humorous story since I never had any interest in fashion in my younger years. My heart was set on following in my father’s footsteps by becoming a lawyer. As soon as I graduated high school, I applied to the University at Berkeley and...”
Vivian listened intently to Gary at first, but she became distracted by one of the waiters who was walking around the side of the house to the backyard. The young man was buttoning his white shirt and tying a black apron around his waist as though he’d just arrived. He went over to the bar and grabbed one of the serving trays. Then he set a single glass of champagne on it. All the while, he was acting strangely and frequently glanced around.
“I couldn’t refuse the owner’s offer,” Gary went on. “So, I quit college and started working as a salesman in his store. Within months, he opened another shop in the city and promoted me to manager. It just kept escalating from there.”
“Buchmann’s is a very elite men’s shop,” Vivian muttered.
As Gary finished the rest of his story, Vivian continued watching the waiter and couldn’t believe her eyes. The young man pulled something out of his pants pocket. After taking another look around, he poured the contents of it into the champagne glass and carried the single glass on the tray through the crowd.
“When did you get into fashion design?” Gary asked.
“What? Oh, I’m sorry, Gary. I...I think Carole needs my help with something. I’ll be right back.”
She left his side and walked over to find the waiter. She caught sight of him making his way through the crowd. He headed toward Preston, who was talking with a few other guests, but instead of passing by him, the young man deliberately poked his elbow out and knocked Preston’s arm hard enough to send his drink flying into the air and landing on the ground.
Vivian couldn’t hear what the waiter said to Preston, but he was obviously apologizing profusely while Preston laughed it off and assured him that he was fine. Then the waiter handed Preston the glass of champagne from his tray. He apologized again and disappeared into the crowd.
Vivian stood there another moment in disbelief, then she hurried over to Preston and roped her arm through his, surprising the daylights out of him. She smiled at the other guests. “Excuse us. I’m going to steal Preston away for just a minute.” She yanked on his arm and dragged him with her. As they went, she snatched the glass out of his hand.
“What’s going on, Vivian?”
She set the glass on the bar and led him a couple of feet away. “Your champagne is spiked with something.”
He scowled at her. “What are you talking about?”
“That waiter poured some sort of liquid or powder into it, and he purposely bumped into you, so you’d drop your glass.”
It took Preston a moment to comprehend what she’d said. “Where did he go?”
“He’s long gone by now. Don’t ask me why, but I was more concerned with stopping you from drinking the champagne than trying to stop him from leaving.”
“What did he look like?” Preston asked, glancing around.
“Early twenties, sandy blonde hair, five foot ten, maybe, and skinny as a rail. I’ll let you deal with it. I’ve got to get back to the other guests.”
“Hold on, Vivian. We need to talk.”
She glared at him. “About what?”
“I know what you’re thinking, but I didn’t have anything to do with that movie.”
“That’s not what I heard,” she said, straightening her back. “I talked to the manager, and he said you rented the theater for the afternoon. I don’t know what the blazes you’re up to, Preston, or who you’re working for, but I don’t want any part of it. Just leave me alone.” Vivian turned around to leave, but an older man was standing behind her at the bar now, and he picked up the glass of champagne to drink it. She panicked, dove forward, and snatched it out of his hand. “Excuse me, sir! This is my drink.”
“Geez, pardon me, lady.” The man grumbled something and left.
“I’ll take the glass,” Preston told her. “I want to find out what the waiter put in it.”
Vivian handed it to him. “How are you going to do that?”
He leaned over the bar, poured the champagne into one of the sterling silver cocktail shakers, and put the top on. “Thanks for your help.”
She watched him for another moment then walked away.
“Vivian!” Preston called out. He waited for her to turn around. “Where are the coins?”
She stood there, staring at him.
“You don’t know anything about them, do you?” he asked as he approached her. “That’s what I thought. Okay, now I’m going to insist that we go someplace private to talk. Did you tell Carole about the movie?”
Vivian shook her head.
“Good. Why don’t we wrap things up here, make our excuses, and you can follow me back to my parents’ estate? Or better yet, leave your car here and ride with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Oh, give it a rest, Vivian.” He held up the cocktail shaker. “You might be next. We’re both in danger. Do you want to know why?”
