Chapter 60

That evening, in yet another break with the normal practice in her social circle where studied informality was the rule, Vangie set up a receiving line for her guests. She was at the head of the line with Janice Stewart standing beside her. Jan was succeeded by Pete, then Henry Hall, followed by Ed Bradley and finally, Kristin.

One of the first people to arrive was Carrie Smith, the woman who had called her attention to the TV piece on Cathy in the Super Bowl show. When Carrie first saw Vangie, she stopped dead in her tracks. Then she rushed to her and exclaimed, "My God, Vangie! What happened to you? You're... You're exquisite! Let me look at you."

Vangie just stood there for her inspection, moving a knee to one side. Because of the slit sides of the gown, her bare leg and magnificent thigh were revealed all the way up to her hip in its golden beauty. In addition to her gown, all Vangie was wearing was her gold collar and her engagement ring.

Carrie carefully touched Vangie's hair and realized it was holding itself in place with no sprays or anything else. Finally she said, "Darling, I have never seen your hair look so marvelous! And the color! What's its name and who made it?"

"It's name is Vangie's, and I made it myself," Vangie replied with a grin. "I'm so pleased that you like it." She then introduced Carrie to Jan, saying, "Carrie, I would like you to meet my best friend, Janice Stewart. Although Jan is expecting her first child next month, I prevailed on her to come out from Chicago for this party."

Jan looked utterly gorgeous. Henry had worked on her hair. It had taken him only a few minutes to trim it and comb it out into its golden brilliance.

Carrie looked at the woman and said, "Vangie got it wrong didn't she? Or maybe I didn't hear her correctly. Did she say you're expecting next month?"

"Actually, Carrie, it's the end of this month or early next. Neither Pete nor I care enough to find out more precisely."

Carrie just looked at her beautifully rounded abdomen and then touched it. As she did, she felt a kick from the baby inside and yanked her hand away in shock. "My God! You really are, aren't you?" she exclaimed. "I ... I just felt your passenger making his presence felt. Is it a boy or girl, by the way?"

"I have no idea," Jan replied with a very warm smile. "It will be a surprise to us, too. My bet is it's a boy, but whichever it is, it's going to be a very active little thing!"

Carrie returned her smile and went down the line, finally reaching Kristin.

Ed Bradley introduced her and she just gaped. "Good heavens! You ... You're going to be Vangie's daughter!?"

"I certainly hope so, Mrs. Smith," Kris replied with a warm smile.

The woman just shook her head at Kris's revealed beauty. Then she said, "I have a son who is about to graduate from Harvard. I would love to have him meet you, Kris. You ... You're not engaged, or anything, are you?"

"No, Mrs. Smith, I'm not. And thank you so much for the compliment. But I really don't think your son would be interested in me. You see, I'm only fourteen. The fact is, not only am I not engaged, I've never even had a date!"

With the revelation, Carrie's jaw dropped and she just stood flatfooted.

Then Kris continued, "You see, Mrs. Smith, I spent all of last year in the hospital. I was in a serious automobile accident a couple of months after my thirteenth birthday and I guess I never thought of boys back then." She explained to her about meeting Cathy and Ken when she was only a few days short of death.

When she finished, Carrie was holding both of her hands and tears were flowing from the older woman's eyes. She finally just shook her head and said, "Kristin, I think the whole world may owe a debt of gratitude to Cathy and Ken, then. The thought of losing such incredible beauty is terrible."

Then she brightened and added, "But you look so happy now!"

Then she looked down the receiving line at Vangie and then back at Kris, realizing for the first time that their dresses were identical and their hairdos were nearly so. "Kristin, you look like your mother's younger sister." Then she laughed and said, "She looks like she's about twenty-five and you look like you're about twenty! You're both looking incredibly beautiful tonight."

Kris just beamed at the compliment.

The evening developed the way Vangie had foreseen. Repeatedly, a woman saw her and stopped short, utterly shocked at the change in her appearance. She told anyone who cared to listen that her hairdo was by Henry Hall, the famous Hollywood stylist. From their surreptitious motions several of her friends were giving serious thought to changing their hair style to match hers.

Vangie greeted a woman she knew only slightly, Sonia Strong, who arrived with her husband. When she turned, she instantly saw the coldness in Jan's eyes and the fact that she kept her hands at her sides.

Janice said coolly, "Sonia and I know one another, Vangie," she said softly. Then to the woman she asked, "Have you lost any weight, Sonia? Looking at you it doesn't appear that you have. Frankly, you have the most atrocious thighs I've ever seen on a woman — and that hay field that passes for your pubic patch is utterly disgusting!"

Then to Vangie she said, "Sonia was one of my customers. Thinking about it, though, perhaps I'm being harsh. Had it not been for the beating to which she contributed, I might never have run away from Hugo Bingham. Had that not happened, the events that ultimately brought me here tonight would never have occurred."

Turning back to Sonia — who, after her earlier remarks looked like she would like to disappear into a crack in the floor — she extended her hand and said, "I think I owe you my thanks, Sonia."

The woman seemed to be frozen in place, unable to move. When she was first introduced, she hadn't recognized Jan, but did instantly when she mentioned Bingham. Tentatively, she extended her hand and Jan took it this time. Then she turned to the woman's husband and said, "Henry, how have you been? Have you seen your dear friend, Hugo Bingham, lately? You and he were such friends, I'd expect you to see him on visiting days. Of course, I guess he's now doing twenty-to-life at hard, isn't he?

"He didn't qualify for one of the Federal country clubs. Extortion and white slavery don't come under the current definition of white-collar crimes, do they?"

Peter Stewart had been watching and listening to the exchange. As he did, his eyes had grown cold. He knew that these were some of the people who had tortured Janice without mercy when she was a prostitute. As a result, he was prepared when Henry Strong screamed and swung at her. Moving quick as a cat, Pete put himself in front of his wife, blocked the wild swing and then leveled the man with a single short punch.