"Tell me about that... about your relationship."

"Let's see. Just after we met, I wanted to go for a promotion that I was really nervous about. I had to give a presentation to the big boss and Juliet helped me study for it and I aced it! I got the promotion and a big pay raise. More responsibility. I don't know I could have done that without her help. She's so supportive and encouraging in every aspect of my life. She never tries to hold me back, or guilt trip me. She's generous in ways other than giving her time too. I mentioned once that I always wanted to try skiing and she surprised me with a ski trip for my birthday. We had the best week and I learned how to do something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid. I even quit smoking! I... I can't believe I'm telling you this... but I want to do romantic things for her all the time, and she loves the things I do so much that it encourages me to do more. I have never been in a relationship like ours before."

"Not even with your son's mom?"

"No, that was kind of doomed from the start. Let me be honest, Lexi, even though it sounds awful. I never really expected we would be a couple; it kind of just happened. And then she got pregnant and... we had such a volatile relationship. I was never truly happy, and I don't think she was either. Things kind of settled down when our son was born, but it never improved or became what I wanted it to be. In the end, we realized we were just kidding ourselves and both agreed to end it. Robbie was only three years old."

"Was it an acrimonious split?"

"No. I moved out and it soon became all about Robbie. We play our parts well. I make sure to contribute financially, and she never messes around with my visitation. She was a stay-at-home mom for a long time, and I'm really grateful she's such a good mom to our son. We get on well now. Much better now than when we were together."

"How does your ex feel about Juliet?"

"Oh, she thinks Juliet is great. I'll admit it was a little awkward at first. I kind of bungled the introduction. I wish I'd told her before we ran into her; but we were on a date and we all just rose above that initial awkwardness; and now we're all friends," said Rob with the easy-breeziness of a man who did not understand women. I hoped he was right, but I had to wonder if everything was quite as peachy as he made it out to be.

"When Juliet came to me, she said you've been really supportive, but you weren't convinced about the stalker. I'd like to know what you really think."

"Truthfully, I don't know what to think. I can see why someone might be jealous of Juliet, but to stalk her? It seems so crazy. Like, that happens to famous people, but not to us."

"But you installed the security system?"

"For her security as well as ours. Just in case. Look, maybe she is being stalked and she's right, weird things have happened, but I can rationalize them to all kinds of things. It doesn't mean there's some creep out there targeting her."

"Juliet mentioned various wedding orders that she hadn't made..." I trailed off, waiting for Rob to fill in the blanks.

"Okay, yeah, that stuff is weird. Expensive, too."

"Have you ever seen anyone hanging around the house, or getting too close, or randomly appearing multiple times when you've been out? Someone who seemed to be taking a lot of interest in Juliet in particular?"

"No, and I've been thinking about it a lot. I just can't think of a time like that, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe someone is watching her. Juliet thought you could find out whom, or at least, put her mind at rest. She has no problem being wrong. She just needs to know if she is. We both do."

"After saying all that, with all the good things you know about Juliet, is she the type of person to fall foul of insider trading? Or make something like this up?"

Rob shook his head just as the phone rang, causing us both to jump. I hadn't realized how tense our conversation had become, but now I could feel the hairs on my arms were raised, and my posture was one of someone who was anything but calm. I couldn't imagine how Juliet must be feeling. "No, she isn't."

He grabbed the phone, raising it to his ears. I couldn't make out what the other person was saying, but Rob suddenly relaxed and smiled. "That's great news!" he said. "You'll be here soon? Okay. Yes. Great. Thank you!" Placing the phone on the coffee table, he gave me a bright look, the worry lines around his eyes fading. "That was our lawyer. He got Juliet out on bail. They weren't too keen to release her, but they managed to arrange an ex parte hearing in front of the judge based on compassionate grounds. She's coming home now."

"Compassionate grounds?"

"Juliet didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Juliet's pregnant."

I nodded, remembering Juliet's happiness at her news. "Yes, she mentioned it was supposed to be a secret for now."

"We were planning a dinner party soon to tell our families."

"Do you think they'll be pleased for you?"

"Ecstatic. And Robbie is thrilled to finally get a little sister or brother."

"I'll bet. When do you plan on telling other people?"

"After we tell our families. We agreed we wouldn't tell anyone at work yet because Juliet was worried about losing clients."

"Is that likely?"

"Well, a couple of Juliet's peers at her office have recently had babies, and they were all fine, but you hear stories about pregnant women getting sidelined at work... She just wanted to be cautious."

"Sounds like a good idea."

"You see what I mean about our charmed life? We have everything; we have the dream! And now we're getting a baby too. The icing on the cake. We could lose everything and Juliet could lose her freedom."

I wanted to reassure him that they wouldn't, and nice people like Rob and Juliet didn't work that hard just to lose everything, but it seemed futile to offer bland platitudes and I didn't know if I could keep her out of jail. So instead, I asked to wait until Juliet arrived home. When talking with Rob began to go around in circles, I filled in the time with simple conversations about their lives. By the time Juliet arrived, her lawyer in tow, I had a good picture of the couple; and it was a happy one.

"I can't believe I'm home!" Juliet said, her voice muffled against Rob's chest as she clung to him. She wore yesterday's clothing but her hair was brushed, and she obviously wanted to keep herself looking smart. "I thought they would keep me there until my trial."

"Trial?" I asked the lawyer, reaching a hand over to shake his.

"Looks that way. Trial is set a month from now and there's plenty of evidence from what Detective Donahue produced. Allan Dale of White and Dale. Call me Allan," he added, shaking my hand in a firm grip. I'd heard of the firm. They had expensive offices a few blocks from Solomon's agency, but I never conducted any business with them. For Juliet to have called in one of those partners, she had to be paying top dollar.

"I didn't do it," Juliet sniffed as Rob led her to the couch, sitting beside her, their hands entwined. "But everything says I did. All the online trades have my access codes and there's paperwork with my signature on it. You have to believe me that I didn't do it."

"We do, honey," said Rob as Juliet shook her head, looking miserable.

"And you?" she said, lifting her eyes to me.

I didn't hesitate before answering. "I think you're being set up."