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to guess.  The only reason she remembered them is they seemed standoffish when Gloria tried to make conversation.
    There was one more person who stuck out.  It was a rookie cop.  He was 100% gung ho, by the book, a stickler for rules, spouting off his list of accomplishments.  He rubbed Gloria the wrong way when he told her he was glad Paul was retiring, that there needed to be a “changing of the guard” as he put it.  Gloria did remember his name.  It was Alex and the only reason she remembered was she thought his name should have been Alec, as in smart aleck.
    Andrea pulled the truck into the diner parking lot.  The place was hopping at nine o’clock at night.  The majority of the vehicles were police cruisers. Gloria wondered how many times a week Paul had dropped by to talk to his fellow officers and grab a bite to eat. 
    Andrea led the way inside and Gloria trailed behind.  The sign just inside the door told them to seat themselves, which Andrea promptly did…right in the middle of the area filled with cops.
    Other restaurant patrons chose the other side of the restaurant but not Andrea.  Of course, that was the whole reason they were there.  To see if they could glean any information, eavesdrop on conversations, maybe chat with the waitress.
    Gloria quickly studied the faces before taking a seat in the booth across from Andrea.  She reached for the menu and opened the front flap as she pretended to peruse the menu items.  She had skipped dinner and realized the last time she had eaten was at the fancy seafood restaurant earlier in the day with the girls.
    It seemed so long ago now…like an eternity, not a few short hours. 
    Her stomach grumbled as she read the breakfast items.  This was definitely a bacon and eggs kind of night.  The waitress arrived with two cups of coffee.  She jotted the girls’ orders on her notepad and slipped it inside her apron.
    “I’ll get right on this,” she said.
    Andrea thanked the girl and then leaned back in an attempt to eavesdrop on the officers seated at the booth directly behind them.  She tilted her blonde head. 
    “…then when I turned around, he was face first in the toilet bowl, gulping yellow water.”
    She snapped her head upright and looked at Gloria.  “Too gross.  Let’s move.” Her eyes scanned the room.  She spotted another empty booth, right next to a booth with three officers. 
    She scrambled out of the seat and Gloria followed behind.  The table had been cleared but not cleaned.
    Gloria reached inside her purse, pulled out a clean tissue and swiped at the crumbs on the table.
    The waitress darted over when she noticed Gloria cleaning.  “You moved.”
    Andrea scrunched her nose and nodded.  “Yeah.  Uh, the conversation next to us was not conducive to eating, you could say.”
    The waitress leaned forward and took over for Gloria as she wiped the table with a clean, wet rag.  “Yeah.  They have some doozy conversations.  Guess it goes with the territory.”
    When she finished wiping, she whirled around and made her way back behind the diner counter.
    Andrea picked up the menu and focused her attention on the table behind her.  This time, she hit the jackpot.
    “…is gunning for his job, anyway.  Nice, cushy office and all.  Seems like those rumors swirling around for months now were true.”
    “You think Diane is gonna try and pull some strings to get this thing buried under the rug?” the cop on the other side asked.
    The officer across from him shrugged.  “Stone has been after Kennedy for months now.  Who knows? Maybe he’ll be willing to scratch her back if she scratches his.”
    The officer snickered and then changed the subject as they began to discuss a recent football game.
    Andrea prayed Gloria hadn’t overheard the part about the Diane woman but she had.
    The muscle in Gloria’s jaw twitched as she fought the urge to jump out of her seat, stomp over to the other booth and demand to know who Diane