naturally anyone in herr halsas position who had once been a service mechanic would hesitate before spending too much work time in the presence of a man who might , just by his rough familiarity , remind people where the boss had started out , so , pulling his suit jacket from the back of his chair , herr halsa excused alan freedmanall right , all right , go back to your phone calls ! and closed the door on his friend helmut schall .