'Chloe...' I replied, floundering for words.'Oh my god Chloe!' Rachel exclaimed as she saw her friend at the doorway, 'you are not going to believe wh...t has happened here!' And that was it, Rachel explained the situation, Chloe giggled, then chuckled and then laughed out loud. Rachel joined in and pretty soon both girls were rolling around, laughing at Rachel's clumsiness and the mess that had been made in the living room. At this point I made my excuses and retired to the front room to try and. .. well ... let's not go there shall we?"Both women handed over their handbags and Mike tossed them in the far corner of the room. They begrudgingly went about their tasks and then sat back down on the couch. Mike topped off their glasses again; as well as the wine, Nadine had bought in a bottle of Bourbon and a shot glass. Michele gave her a filthy look but Nadine just shrugged back as her as if to say 'what the fuck?' Nadine who was not used to drinking this much was now quiet tipsy and. I heard nothing from her bedroom so I turned my attention back to my wife. "Ben, I listened to what you said today. I really did. You could have used that during trial and there is no way we'd have convicted Huntley. It made sense – all of it, even the part you didn't say then but just told me now. I actually thought of that while I was considering things. So I pulled the department logs for that day. If you were right, I was going to help you as much as I could." And you trust the department. Your mind is buzzing as you apologise for the delay and try to continue the conversation.We carry on the day as if nothing has happened. As 5 p.m. approaches, I know that you are in a staff meeting but that I must wait before heading home in case you need anything done afterwards. As the meeting ends and the people drift away, you ask to see me in your office and now I cannot but think that I'm in trouble for what I did. I walk in behind you and you turn and wait for me to close the door. Then.