“I never talked to you that morning,” I said.

“You were very confused that day, sir,” Valerie said, raising her voice just enough to carry down the main aisle.

“You told me yourself your memory had been spotty all week, and you asked me to clear the payroll file for you.”

One of the junior clerks dropped her pen on her blotter and stared at me.

“Print out the complete audit trail,” I said.

“The system locked that file five minutes ago,” Valerie said, her hands resting on the keyboard.