"So where are you off to now then?" Stuart asked as him and Charlotte walked down the street side by side.
"I'm off to the nearest pub to drown my sorrows, care to join me?"
"Sure, beats going back to an empty house."
"Oh, so your not seeing anyone then?" Charlotte asked subtly
"No, my girlfriend dumped me for another bloke a few days ago" Stuart realised that saying these words out loud did not hurt as much as he thought they would.
"Really? My boyfriend did the same to me"
"Yeah? Well screw them, lets go get slaughtered!"
"Sounds like a plan"
They walked into the nearest pub which happened to be on the corner of the street and Stuart ordered two vodka and cokes while Charlotte found them a table.
"So...erm...what happened between you and your boyfriend?" Stuart asked as he slid into the seat next to Charlotte and passed her a drink.
"I'd rather not talk about him"
"Why? Was it a messy split?" he asked nosily.
"You could say that"
"Come on, tell me about him and I'll tell you about my ex." Stuart badgered
"Ok...ok, If you buy me another drink"
"Deal" he replied instantly then went off to the bar to order the drinks. When he got back he passed Charlotte her drink and looked at her expectantly.
"He already had a girlfriend when I met him" She sighed "But she wasn't well. She'd had an accident and was in a coma. Had been for six months. He was devoted to her, he visited her everyday. Anyway...one night he agreed to go out for a drink with me, one thing led to another and our relationship blossomed from there." Stuarts eyes widened and a look of recognition dawned on his face as he listened to the familiar story. " Everything was going really well, I really liked him and I thought we were getting serious but then his girlfriend woke up and he went back to her. I'm not really sure what happened when he went to see her but he turned up on my doorstep about an hour later in pieces, saying she didn't remember him and there was some other bloke involved somehow. Anyway, he came back to me but he kept fighting for her even though this other bloke had managed to convince her he was her boyfriend and I got insanely jealous of her and...and I did something terrible." she finished meekly. Charlotte looked at her feet, ashamed of herself, not sure whether to tell Stuart what happened next or not.
"Charlotte" Stuart said, his eyes very round. He wondered if there was any chance that this was all a strange coincidence."...was this boyfriend by any chance Phil Hunter?"
Charlotte looked up in surprise
"How do you know?"
"Because Samantha Nixon was my girlfriend. I was the other bloke but she left me for Hunter a few days ago."
"Really? Wow, thats wierd. Strange coincidence that we bumped into each other then."
"Yeah, so this terrible thing you did...did you do something to Phil?" Stuart asked with laughter in his voice
"No, it was Sam...but I guess you already know what I did." Charlotte said in a small voice knowing there was no way she could keep it secret now. Stuart looked confused for a second then his face hardened as he realised what she meant.
"You mean...it was you...you poisoned Sam?"
"I'm really sorry Stuart, I didn't want to hurt her...I just wanted to split them up." Stuart looked shocked for a second then his expression turned thoughtful.
"Charlotte..."
"Please dont be mad" she begged quietly.
"I'm not mad" Stuart said slowly "If I'd heard all this a few days ago I'd have been furious and I'd have arrested you on the spot...but now...I just don't care" he concluded. He raised his third glass to Charlotte. "I'll drink to splitting them up" He downed the rest of the drink in one. "Another?" he asked, standing up and swaying slightly as the alcohol began to take effect. "I definately need one after that revelation"
"Yeah sure"
Stuart came back from the bar with the fourth drinks and sat down in silence.
"Are you angry at me Stuart?" She asked timidly, slurring her words.
"No" he said truthfully " I thought I would be but I'm not. I'm more angry at them for messing us around"
Charlotte looked relieved for a second then an evil grin spread across her face.
"You wanna get revenge on them for leaving us?" Stuarts eyes narrowed and a small smirk appeared on his face.
"What did you have in mind?" he asked.
Charlotte looked thoughtful for a moment before replying.
"Your a copper aren't you?" She asked vaguely, still deep in thought. Stuart nodded, wondering what her scheming mind was coming up with. Suddenly she snapped out of her trance like state and her face lit up. "You must know that the CCTV tape from the hospital went missing?"
"Yeah, how can that help us? I assume you have that and it'll only show you on it."
"I tried to keep my back to the camera at all times so my face wasn't revealed just in case. I didn't actually watch the video but I'm pretty sure noone could tell it's me."
"I don't see what your getting at"
"The reason Phil left me was he found the tape in my house. He was furious at me but he let it drop and left me. I think he just wanted things to quiet down for a while to give Sam a better chance of recovery. Anyway the point is...when he left me, he took the tape with him and he was intending on keeping it incase I ever showed my face again."
"So...your saying we should arrest him for perverting the course of justice?"
"No much better than that. The tape will have his prints all over it and he's hiding it. We both know what that looks like Stuart. I'm saying search his house, find the tape and get him done for attempted murder..."