My mother had used a stolen stamp, or an impression copied from that store visit, to drain forty-five thousand dollars from my hazardous duty account while I was stationed overseas.

“Can you print me a certified copy of this logbook page and your lost stamp affidavit?” I asked.

“I’ll make two copies right now,” the clerk said.

He went to the copier by the back wall, laid the ledger face down on the glass, and pressed the print button.

At three o’clock I went back to Dalton’s downtown office and put the manila envelope on his desk.

Dalton took out the certified logbook page and laid it next to the bank’s wire transfer records.