The two women left the room and Julia waited while she went to get her bag. Claire went to reach for her laptop and some files to pack but Julia gently removed them.

‘You won’t be needing those. Take a break, Claire – we’ll handle everything,’ said Julia softly.

As Julia walked her to reception and called the lift, Claire felt the unease that she was being walked out. With a last hug, Claire watched the lift doors close on Julia’s retreating form.

*

She’d called Chris as soon as he got into the car. He’d listened in disbelief.

‘What will happen to Joshua?’ Chris had asked.

‘Hopefully nothing – it won’t get that far,’ replied Claire trying to sound more confident than she felt. ‘At the moment, his name is just on a list, nothing more.’

‘Should we not ask Joshua about this?’ asked Chris.

‘What good would that do?’ replied Claire. ‘It’s simply a mistake – he doesn’t even know who Rose is!’

Chris didn’t respond, and Claire waited for him to agree.

‘What?’ she asked when Chris didn’t say anything.

‘Nothing,’ replied Chris. ‘Where are you now?’

‘I’m in the car driving home. Shall I meet you there?’

‘I’ll be there in two hours.’

Two hours?

‘Chris – I…’

She’d wanted to tell him about the partners voting for her to take a leave of absence from the firm. That she wouldn’t be able to work until this was all over. How she had a really bad feeling about it all. How she didn’t know how she would cope being at home for two hours alone. How she was frightened.

But he had already hung up.

*

Two hours later and Chris still hadn’t turned up. She’d told Lucy to go home early and made arrangements for both boys to be collected by their grandparents after school and for them to stay the night. She’d put away the laundry, unloaded the dishwasher, and wiped down the bathrooms. She’d drunk endless cups of tea. She’d called Chris again to find out where he was, but he hadn’t picked up.

Eventually, she decided to call Julia to see if she had any more news. She’d been on hold for almost fifteen minutes. She realised then it had been a mistake to leave the office. Her fingers itched for the Rose Aiker file. In the absence of Chris, all she wanted was to go back to her own office where she could review everything and just have a few minutes to think. She knew that if she was alone with the file, she would work it out. She would discover what the hell had happened that had Rose accusing her son of sexually attacking her.