It was the first uncomplicated laughter I’d had in weeks.

PART 18

I saw Simon Vale in person for the first time at a preliminary hearing.

He wore a dark suit and walked between his attorneys without looking at the reporters.

His face was narrower than I remembered from the newspaper.

One silver cufflink flashed when he adjusted his jacket.

I felt a jolt of recognition, but I did not mistake it for evidence.

The person I had glimpsed in the corridor might have been him or someone else dressed similarly.