‘Last time we didn’t make it as far as we should have, did we?’ Carl surveyed her world, the posters of beautiful nature scenes, palms, mountains and the like. Bright, sun-splashed colours. Two chairs made of precious wood, wispy plants. Such astonishing tidiness. There were no accidental elements here. No small thingamajigs to distract. And still, lying on the sofa with his mind opening up, there was this enormous distraction that made him able to think only about tearing the woman’s clothes off. ‘I will try,’ he said. He would do everything she asked of him. He wasn’t that busy. ‘You assaulted a man yesterday. Can you explain why?’ He protested, as was to be expected. Proclaimed his innocence. Still, she looked at him as if he were lying. ‘We probably won’t get anywhere unless we go backwards a little in the sequence of events. It may make you uncomfortable, but it’s what we need to do.’ ‘Shoot,’ he said, eyes squinting just enough so he could watch what her breathing did to her breasts.
