Champagne for One

"You notice," Cecil told them, "that he knows where the dictionary is and where the liquor store is. Detectives know everything." He turned to me. "By the way, speaking of detectives, are you here professionally?"

Not caring much for his tone, I raised my brows. "If I were, what would I say?"

"Why-I suppose you’d say you weren’t."

"And if I weren’t what would I say?"

Robert Robilotti let out a snort. "Touchй, Cece. Try another one." He pronounced it "Seese". Cecil’s mother called him "Sessel", and his sister called him "Sesse".

Cecil ignored his father-in-law. "I was just asking," he told me. "I shouldn’t ask?"

"Sure, why not? I was just answering." I moved my head right and left. "Since the question has been asked, it may be in all your minds. If I were here professionally I would let it stand on my answer to Grantham, but since I’m not, you might as well know it. Austin Byne phoned this morning and asked me to take his place. If any of you are bothered enough you can check with him."

"I think," Robilotti said, "that it is none of our business. I know it is none of my business."

"Nor mine," Schuster agreed.

"Oh, forget it," Cecil snapped. "What the hell, I was just curious. Shall we join the mothers?"

Robilotti darted a glance at him, not friendly. After all, who was the host? "I was about to ask," he said, "if anyone wants more coffee. No?" He left his chair. "We will join them in the music room and escort them downstairs and it is understood that each of us will dance first with his dinner partner. If you please, gentlemen?"

I got up and shook my pants legs down.

Chapter Three

I’ll be darned if there wasn’t a live band in the alcove-piano, sax, two violins, clarinet, and traps. A record player and speaker might have been expected, but for the mothers, spare no expense. Of course, in the matter of expense, the fee for the band was about balanced by the saving on liquids-the soda water in the cocktails, the pink stuff passing for wine at the dinner table, and the brandy ban-so it wasn’t too extravagant. The one all-out splurge on liquids came after we had been dancing an hour or so, when Hackett appeared at the bar and began opening champagne, Cordon Rouge, and poured it straight, no dilution or adulteration. With only an hour to go, apparently Mrs Robilotti had decided to take a calculated risk.