The Party Game

A party in a highrise apartment was suddenly interrupted when a ravishingly beautiful woman in her early thirties fumbled in her purse , screamed and announced that her Gold cigarette case was missing.

Her Husband, a corporate executive, immediately took over and addressed the stunned guests and hosts. “Ladies & Gentlemen” He assured them, “There’s no cause for alarm. I’m sure our hosts won’t mind if we put our heads together and solve this whodunit like a game”. Reassured by nods of approval, he went on. ”In our midst, we have eminent Doctors, lawyers, psychiatrists, policemen & even politicians. So let’s play the game!’

While everyone cheerfully agreed and began rearranging chairs in a circle, the host couple wondered uneasily if their party would be ruined.

The industrialist, invited to begin, declared that the culprit, when caught, would be boycotted from the group in the interest of the group. The politician disagreed, pointing out that the culprit could form a rival group and strike back at their group. The Superintendent of Police wanted the culprit to be punished, the psychiatrist wanted to examine the culprit’s mind & The columnist was excited at the prospect of a new juicy story cum gossip beginning to take shape. The Ladies chipped in. “Let’s find him or her first!” They reminded their men. And so the game began.

The Doctor was invited to begin and began checking everyone’s Blood Pressure & Pulse. He got a large variation in results, pored over his data and finally admitted defeat. The Police SP conducted an investigation and finally concluded there was only a harmless kleptomaniac within the group, possibly one of the ladies. That irked the ladies and they began accusing the Policeman of a gender bias. The Psychiatrist offered to help and began examining everyone’s eyes, taking a shade longer with the ladies. The men, watching the psychiatrist’s antics, began to murmur angrily that the psychiatrist was using this opportunity to flirt with their wives. Amidst the melee that followed, the ravishingly beautiful woman quietly reminded the house that her cigarette case still hadn’t been found and everyone promptly went back into the game again.

The columnist was invited to try his hand but he carefully announced that his work could begin only after everything was over and he would write about it. The financial analyst offered to investigate everyone’s financial standing. The Policeman laughed at him and reminded him such a long investigation would take time and everyone would be going home soon. Asked for a solution, the Politician said he suspected a sinister motive and that a sinister “external hand” was trying to sabotage and break up their group. When questioned further, he grinned sheepishly and admitted he didn’t know whose motive it was.

By then, the party atmosphere was getting tense as everyone was regarding each other suspiciously. The hosts, by now visibly uncomfortable, requested his guests to stop the game, offering to replace the lost Gold cigarette case themselves. Everyone protested at this and offered to begin the game again.

The ravishingly beautiful lady then got up and revealed that she had fabricated the whole drama in order to bring some life into the party. She voiced her frustration at these mundane corporate parties when the men talked shop in one corner and ladies gossiped in another corner. She criticized the men for not even asking where she’d lost her case. She reprimanded her corporate executive husband for forgetting that she had given up smoking years ago and that she did not even have a cigarette case. She reminded the house that their respective professions had dulled and channelised their minds.

Everyone was tickled and though it was a great joke. The hosts were relieved when peace was finally restored.

Thereafter, the party was a great success and everyone went home a shade wiser.