“I used to think quiet meant respect,” he said.

“Now I wonder how many people were simply waiting for me to leave.”

He paid for his tea and departed without trying to settle my problems.

I watched him go with an unfamiliar feeling: relief that he had finally understood the difference.

PART 16

The legal notice arrived in an ordinary envelope with an ordinary postmark.

A grand jury had returned charges against Dennis Hale and two associates in connection with evidence tampering and obstruction.

Simon Vale faced separate charges arising from financial transactions, with the investigation into the restaurant incident continuing.