Sometimes it’s the little things that trip a fellow up.

Last year, Governor McCrory called a routine meeting so two of his supporters could sit down with state officials to discuss their contract with the Department of Prisons. But then right in the middle of the meeting one of the Governor’s supporters, Graeme Keith, Sr., let fly saying he’d made a lot of contributions and now it was time he got something in return.

Like having his contracts renewed.

When the story landed in the News and Observer the Governor said he never heard Keith say anything like that – and added that Secretary of Prison’s Frank Perry had told him he (McCrory) was having a ‘side conversation’ at the time.

After that, for weeks, the Governor’s press aides hammered away at the same point – they wrote the newspaper, “It was Perry who described the Governor as being distracted when Keith, Sr. talked about wanting something in return… You might want to reflect in your story that Secretary Perry confirmed he noted the Governor was in a side conversation…The Governor never directly said he was in a side conversation, that was attributed to Secretary Perry.”

Of course, the reporters beat a path straight to Perry’s door but he gave them the slip for two months – until a reporter caught up with him outside a hearing in the state legislature and asked, Did you tell the Governor he didn’t hear Graeme Keith because he was having a side conversation?

Perry said: “I don’t recall that.”

Which set the cat among the canaries.

But, as soon as the reporter’s story hit the Internet, Perry did an about face and this time he stated: “My recollection is exactly the same as the Governor’s.”

It’s a devilish mess.

The Governor said Perry told him.

Perry said he didn’t.

Perry said he did.

Frank Perry ought to clear the air: Now that he’s certain the Governor was having a side conversation, maybe he ought to say who the conversation was with.