"Matt, Ronnie, so glad you could join us. This shouldn't take very long. Alesha you have the case file, lets convene in my office" James said as he grabbed his coffee mug and headed back into the room adjacent to Alesha's desk.

James knew something was up between Matt and Alesha, but he couldn't pinpoint it. He'd have to ask her about it later, he thought to himself.

Ronnie strategically placed himself in the chair furthest to the left, forcing Alesha and Matt to sit next to each other. He knew in that instant that whatever had Matt looking like the walking dead had to do with a certain junior crown prosecutor.

James and Ronnie watched with bemused expressions as their 2 younger colleagues, awkwardly tried to move their seats further apart, without making it obvious. It was a failed attempt.

When Alesha and Matt finally sat down, it was to utter silence. Ronnie and James were staring at them with suspicious expressions. "perhaps we should have made this meeting, a conference call" James said trying to lighten the mood. Ronnie guffawed while Matt and Alesha looked positively mortified.

Alesha was the first to break the silence "So in the case of Christopher Vaughan vs Jasmine Harrington, let's clarify the facts. He broke into her house and attempted to burgle it, when she attacked him with a piece of plywood, rendering him unconscious. Now He wants to press charges..." she looked at James pointedly to continue...


The meeting couldn't have ended sooner for everyone involved. It was very professional, with Ronnie and James doing most of the talking, but the unusual silence coming from Matt and Alesha did not go unnoticed. It was like a giant elephant in the room. The words unsaid were of the all encompassing variety. it sucked all the humor out of the room.

Even James and Ronnie couldn't wait to get out of there. There was no way these two could go on like this. Something had to be done. so Ronnie took it upon himself to be the sacrificial lamb.

" So, Alesha luv, what'd you and our Matt get up to after we left the pub? " he asked bluntly.

Alesha,taken aback by Ronnie's question, stopped in her tracks. Her back to him, she quickly regained her composure and continued towards her desk as she said " nothing much, Ron. just this and that. we didn't even stay on that long after you all left."

She sat down calmly and smiled up at 2 of the 3 men in the room.

The older detective took note of this, before pressing the issue again. " oh really? well how much longer did you and MATT stay then? "

Alesha's smile faltered for half a second, at the sound of Matt's name. " I can't remember, I was drinking remember? what's with the 20 questions?" she asked rather crossly.

but Ronnie continued with his take no prisoners interrogation, because he now noticed how silent Matt was.

"Well, I'm asking because Matt here, came in looking like the something the cat hacked up, this morning. apparently he didn't sleep all weekend..." He turned to look at Matt as he said this part, before going on, "so I wondered if you knew why?".

He stared at Matt, feeling guilty but knowing he had to trudge on, forcing his friend to deal with things head on as soon as possible.

So Ronnie didn't see Alesha's face when he heard her say in a casual tone " I haven't the foggiest, Ronnie"

But James did. While Ronnie was looking at his partner, James was also looking at his. He saw her feign nonchalance, even as her eyes gave everything away. He saw the hurt in her eyes and knew that Matt must have had something to do with it.

James smirked when he saw the expression of surprise on Matt's face when he heard Alesha's tone and statement. He was thoroughly impressed with her aloof tactic. He must have rubbed off on her a bit.

Matt twisted his head to look at her as if for the first time. How could she be so cool and collected? it was almost as if she really didn't know what happened that night? the only thing that gave it away was her refusal to make eye contact with him.

" I must have hurt her more than I realized if She's reacting like this. She's my friend,we need to sort this out" Matt thought to himself. He knew how stubborn Alesha could be, so he was well aware he was in for another rough night .