“...Walking along the corridor, he heard one bored female voice in the once noisy ladies' room. When he turned towards the bar, he measured the remaining 20 steps to the bar, according to old habit, looking at the green carpet. And then, finding reliable support with his feet at the bottom of the bar counter, he raised his head and looked around the room. In the corner he saw only one pair of eyes, fussily running across the newspaper pages. Charlie asked to speak to the head bartender, Paul, who in the old days of the market boom would come to work in his own custom car, but, the modest fellow, would drop off at the corner of the building. Unfortunately, Paul was not there, and Alix told him the latest news...”