Unfinished Symphony (Logan 3)

"Hello," he said quickly and flashed a smile that

swept across his lips so fast, it was as if someone had

turned a light on and off.

"Just sit right there, dear," Dorothy said,

nodding at the seat across from her. She wore a black

evening dress with puffy sleeves and a frilly, square

collar, a pair of teardrop diamond earrings with a

matching necklace and bracelet, and at least two more

rings than she had on when I had first met her. I took my seat and Philip looked up instantly at

Alec. He moved quickly to begin serving us. "I told Philip all about your little episode

today," Dorothy continued, "and he made a wonderful

suggestion. Tell her, Philip," she said.

"You're doing fine," he replied, glancing at me

and then at his plate as he drummed his fingers on the

table. Alec began serving us bowls of what looked

like clear chicken broth with some rice and carrots. "Philip says this woman has to have a social

security number. Everyone has a social security

number. He will call the business manager at the

catalogue company and check the number to see if it's

under her name or your mother's name. Isn't that a

wonderful suggestion?"

I nodded and looked at Philip. He began eating

his soup.

"Just common sense," he muttered between

slurps.

Then he paused, his spoon perfectly still before

him, not a tremble in his hand. "Of course, people

have been known to produce phoney identification

and get a new social security number. We'll see," he

added.