I Came Home Early From Columbus and Found a Deed With My Name Signed on It

I picked up a ballpoint pen and pulled a yellow legal pad to the middle of the desk.

On the top line I wrote three thousand dollars.

I tucked the yellow pad into my leather bag and walked out to Main Street to catch the eleven o’clock bus to Evelyn’s office.

The air in Evelyn’s third-floor conference room smelled of old paper and lemon furniture polish.

Evelyn sat at the head of the dark mahogany table with her yellow legal pad open in front of her.

Frank sat across from us in a tailored gray suit, his forearms resting flat on the polished wood.