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Gloria, not surprised at all by the request, kept a straight but compassionate case. “Mrs. Cowling I want you to understand the possible outcome of such a job before sanctioning it-”
“Oh money is not a problem. I’ll pay whatever you want.” Mrs. Cowling said cutting her off.
“I’m grateful Mrs. Cowling.” Gloria continued patiently, hating herself for being punctilious and secretly hoping that the following advice was ignored, “but I hope you are prepared for the results of any such investigation; you will have to steel your mind. I mean I’m not saying your husband is up to anything-don’t misunderstand please-“
“That bastard is up to something- I just know it!” Mrs. Cowling announced, slamming her fist on her lap. Her previously pale, hard-set jaw was flushed red for a moment, “Thirty-five years of my life! And this is how he treats me?!”
“How far are you sure that he is playing around? Has he been acting strangely lately? Maybe you got another woman’s perfume on his clothes- or you saw a condom in his wallet when you were cleaning up….”
“Cleaning up?! Gosh no! I don’t clean up-never have, never will. He has been keeping late nights and been skipping meals lately which he never does. We are old school; always shared everything together. So forgive me if I feel suspicious if he shows up, after breaking a routine spanning several decades, looking as excited as a fourteen-year-old who has just had his first kiss on the porch with the girl he liked! He never keeps secrets from me, and I am too timid to ask-or maybe too scared of the answer.”
“Could it be work?” Gloria persisted for ethics sake.
“Do you want the job or not?! Can I trust you to do it?!”
Mrs. Cowling’s footsteps were still audible clicking down the hallway when Gladys stepped in gingerly into the office to find Gloria with her forehead against the desk.
“What? She signed us up; why are you curled up like a mole in a rain storm?” she demanded.
“Well, funny as this might sound, I am worried because she signed up.” Gloria said without raising her head from the desk.
“What are you crazy? Why would you be worried?”
Gloria looked up, “Well maybe because she already has her husband tried and judged and basically wants me to come up with enough evidence to support his execution. The problem with that kind of client is that if you don’t come up with want they want to see, then they make a fuss and that is the last thing our firm needs right now, especially from somebody who has the ear of the clients that we want. What if the husband is really innocent?”
“Don’t worry if he is innocent we’ll prove that too; detailed proof of his whereabouts for a week should suffice, I hope. Besides if a woman says a man is getting a little on the side, then the chances are high that he is; women’s intuition-we just know these things.”
Gloria’s brows came together in a speculative frown; unconvinced. They could not dwell on it for long however, the phone was soon ringing, pushing life further on.
By 5pm, their entire week was loaded with appointments, some of whom called on referrals from people who had possessed Patton and Patton complimentary cards. “Remind me to send Uncle Bill a bottle of wine during the weekend; that party idea was genius!” Gloria remarked as they locked up. “In the meantime, i better go freshen up. According to his schedule given, Mrs. Cowling’s husband should be of work in about two hours.”
Chapter 4
Gloria lay in wait, camera ready, at the other end of the road that passed across the glass windows and sliding doors of the headquarters of Crystallyne; a precious stone retailer with offices all over the Eastern United States. More and more shops were popping up across the country like weeds, making it one of the fastest growing franchises in the country; several girls had found their best friends in the glass displays of Crystallyne who retailed everything from Diamonds to Amethysts-precious metals as well. According to newspaper reports, Ryan Cowling, the founder, and CEO of Crystallyne was a real rags to riches story, growing a run-down jewelry store he had won in a card game to the empire the world knew today. His wife Ludmilla had a slightly altered version of events:
