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matters. At least poor Amanda was getting a break from her bad attitude.
    Deciding to try to stop being grumpy, she waved a waitress over and ordered one of the extravagant chocolate creations from the menu. Just then, Roman joined her at the little table. Scanning the menu he prudently ordered coffee and a chocolate croissant. Once the waitress had gone he eyed Charlie over significantly.
    Pursing his lips, he said, “Mmmm,” his expression a mixture of disapproval and condescending solicitude.
    “What?” Charlie replied, immediately defensive.
    “Nothing,” he said sweetly as he eyed her chewed nails, battered handbag and scuffed shoes.
    “I’ve been busy, OK?”
    “I didn’t say a word,” he replied innocently.
    Deciding to let it go, she asked after a mutual friend. She was aware from long experience that once he started chatting, she need not say much. He would gladly fill her in on the affairs of everyone they knew. All she had to do was nod her head occasionally and make intermittent noises of shock or approval.
    Surprisingly, she enjoyed the monstrously rich chocolate extravaganza she had ordered. Negotiating her way through the complicated dish took some effort. Luckily Roman was still revealing a string of juicy details, so she could concentrate on her meal. She wasn’t paying close attention for much of the gossip anyway. That changed when he started regaling her with the tale of how his friend Phoebe fainted in the food court.
    Charlie laughed at the appropriate intervals and encouraged him to reveal more. Roman didn’t saying anything about Phoebe’s personal life, sticking to general comments about the ambulance ride and the hospital, much to Charlie’s disappointment. She got the distinct feeling he was protective of her, which she took as confirmation Phoebe was having some sort of difficulty. She didn’t press him. He was way too smart for that. He could spot digging a mile away.
    Roman asked after her. She explained she was still single and really not ready to dive back in.
    “So to speak,” he replied archly.
    Charlie gave him an evil glare for his cheekiness.
    “Come to my next dinner party,” he said.
    “I hate being the only single person on a table full of couples,” she complained.
    He smirked, “You’re in luck.” He declared. “The next one is mostly singles. I’m having an ‘odds and sods’ night.”
    “Charming,” she rolled her eyes at him, “So, now I’m an ‘odd’?”
    Undaunted, he teased her, “More of a sod. You’ll fit right in.”
     
    *****
     
    Amanda sent an appointment request for the following afternoon entitled, ‘Rawlins Investigation Results’ to Charlie via their calendar program. Charlie could accept or modify it when she got back from her lunch with Roman. Amanda couldn’t wait to share her information with Charlie but knew she was busy this afternoon. 
    Amanda had suborned her father, a Senior Sergeant in the Queensland Police Service, to do checks with some very interesting, if unofficial, results. It pays to have contacts , she thought, as she made some adjustments to one of Charlie’s typed advices, placing the revised version back in Charlie’s tray.
    Amanda’s email notification chimed. It was a message from Charlie’s iPhone. Short and sweet, the message accepted the calendar invitation. Clearly Charlie was interested in her work. Amanda happily set about organizing her documents for Charlie to examine the following afternoon.
     
    *****
     
    After a longer than usual day, Phoebe was relieved to finally be home. She opened the internal door from the garage to the house. Immediately, she felt that something wasn’t right. A slight breeze played against her skin where there should be none. The automatic light sensors were not working. The hall lights should have come on when she opened the door.
    Her hackles rose in an instinctive reaction and she stood stock still, frozen in indecision. A little voice inside her told her not to