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Jenna nodded, looking around again and then glanced at Dan for confirmation. “Maybe.”
“I have Ray here, my personal bodyguard, and there is one man on the front door, but that might be all until we can get two more back here who Ray just called,” the senator said.
Dan pointed to the large number of guests still wandering around the room. “Not enough. Lots of ladies wearing lots of jewelry are wandering around. No one seems especially upset about the alarm.”
The senator shook his head. “No, they wouldn’t be. They are all used to security situations, and besides, they think the threat is elsewhere, not here in this room.”
“But you think it’s here?” Marta looked from Dan to Jenna.
Jenna had no time to reply before a piercing scream filtered across the room. This was followed by panic among the other guests.
Dan turned to the senator and shouted to be heard over the noise. “It came from the other side of the ballroom. Call your team leader for backup, senator. Tell him the thief might be here and not at your house.”
Dan and Jenna ran toward the scream at the other end of the room, weaving their way through the crowd.
A small group gathered around a woman who looked to be in her sixties. She shook and still clutched at her throat, seemingly on the verge of hyperventilating. A red mark was on her neck where someone put pressure to get the necklace off. She was supported by her husband, who looked on the verge of fainting himself.
Jenna took the lead and got the woman to a chair, while Dan cleared the crowd out of the way. Someone brought a glass of water, and Jenna handed it to the woman, but her hands were still trembling too much to hold it. “Hi, I’m Jenna. Can you take some deep breaths?”
The woman nodded and took a few breaths. “I’m Doreen, Doreen Stanford. I can take a bit of that water now, please.”
Her husband hovered over her shoulder.
Jenna looked at Mr. Stanford. “Can you tell me what happened? What do you remember? Take your time.”
Mr. Stanford shook his head. “No, was on the way back from the men’s room.”
Doreen closed her eyes. “In the ladies’ room, I was in there alone. Well, of course, I was alone.” She let out a hysterical giggle. She clutched the now-empty glass, opened her eyes, and looked around the room, wild-eyed. “A hand, an arm, came through the bathroom door, a hand, oh God, that hand.”
Jenna took the empty glass. “That’s good, take your time. What else do you remember? Did they say anything?”
Doreen hesitated and seemed about to respond when she was distracted by two of her friends rushing up to find out what happened.
Jenna watched Dan go into his old cop mode and take charge.
He asked the others to step away, and they did, without question. “Please, try to relax and take a deep breath, Mrs…sorry, what is your name?” Dan asked the woman.
“Doreen Stanford.” The woman now began to shake again.
Dan got down on one knee beside her chair. “Breath normally. Your husband is here with some more water. Can you get her something sweet to eat, Mr. Stanford? We don’t want her going into shock.”
Mr. Stanford went off again, still looking pale himself. With Jenna on one side of her and Dan on the other, Doreen began to calm down and stopped shaking. She took her hands from around her neck to reveal more of the red mark, a half circle, where her diamond necklace used to be.
Mr. Stanford came back with what looked to be some sort of tart.
Dan stood and took the pastry from Mr. Stanford. “Okay, now, your husband has brought you something here that looks pretty good. Have a couple of bites, and we’ll continue on. The sugar will help, and then take a few more sips of water. Don’t hurry, we have time. The security people are already looking for the thief.”
Jenna was impressed by how Dan was handling the situation, and could see why he had been a good detective.
Mrs. Stanford did as she was instructed.
Jenna saw her steal a few looks at Dan, who was looking more and more like a sexy James Bond with his tie now loose and his hair over his brow.
Dan patted Mrs. Stanford’s hand and went back into detective mode. “Do you think you can tell us what happened now?”
Mrs. Stanford smiled at Dan, nodded, and took another drink of water. “I was in the ladies’ room, alone. It’s the small one with two stalls. I heard someone else come in. Oh, can I have a real drink Steve, maybe a little bourbon?” She handed the now-empty glass to her husband.
Jenna was determined to keep her talking before she forgot what she saw and heard. “Are you thinking one person or more, Doreen?”
