The first was that arrests were coming and that the timeline was days, not weeks, and that they would not tell me when.

The second was a request, made twice, in language that was almost formal.

“We are asking you not to do anything at that event,” Halloran said.

“Not to say anything, not to show anything, not to confront him, not to speak to a journalist.

I want to explain why, because I’d rather you agreed than complied.

“If you stand up in a ballroom and accuse that man of attempted murder in front of two hundred people, four things happen.

He runs, or he moves money in the eleven hours before we can get there.