So they were able to appropriately express their true emotions without worrying about retaliation.
As for those who neither smiled nor spoke, they were the typical outsiders who had to tread carefully in this seemingly open and inclusive city, which sometimes might not accommodate an outsider!
Director Dale knew that all this had deeper puppeteers behind the scenes, including Poli's phone call saying the first bomb hadn't been set by him.
By now, he believed it.
But Poli had already died, severing many potential leads, and besides feeling frustrated, he almost had no other options.
As he pondered how to solve the situation, the telephone on his desk suddenly rang.
"This is Dale."
"Dale, it's me." He could still recognize the Mayor's voice—a competent politician should remember everyone's voice.
Some politicians, the big shots, had a perverse sense of humor; they liked everyone to respect them and sometimes jokingly asked over the phone if the other person knew who they were.
