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“What’s up?”
“I’ve had reports that someone calling himself John Collins has been seen on Islesboro.”
“Yes, Mr. Collins seems pretty active for a dead man,” Stone replied.
“I thought that, too. Have you heard anything about this?”
“I’ve heard from two people who ought to know thatthey’ve received phone calls from him and were convinced that the caller was real.”
“Real what?”
“Real alive.”
“And the real John Collins?”
“Yes.”
“Have you spoken to this man?”
“No, but if he should call me, I have no means of contradicting him. We never met, until he was dead.”
“Was one of these persons you talked to Lance Cabot?”
“I’m afraid I can’t confirm or deny that, but the other person was Collins’s widow, so to speak.”
“And she was convinced he was the real McCoy?”
“No, just the real John Collins. Both the people who heard from him say that he had information known only to the person who called.”
“I see,” Young said, though he clearly did not.
“Have you heard from someone claiming to be Collins?” Stone asked.
“Not yet, but the way things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if I did.”
“If it’s any help, his description of his... Well, of the attack on him, matched the bruises on your ME’s report. How many people, to your knowledge, have seen the ME’s report?”
“I don’t know,” Young said. “Half a dozen had cause to see it, I suppose, but after it was filed, it became a public record, and anyone could have seen it.”
“You might ask the person in charge of records how many people have asked for it, and their names.”
“Mmmm, yes.” Young didn’t sound very interested in knowing.
“Let’s put it this way: Who would have something to gain by reading the report?”
“How about whoever is pretending to be John Collins?”
“I’ll buy that, but tell me: Why is that person so good at pretending to be Collins that he is able to fool his boss and his wife?”
“I think I’m just going to have to accept that it’s the real Collins, until somebody proves me wrong.”
“I think that’s a sensible approach to the problem,” Stone said. “If he contacts you, try to arrange a meeting and photograph him and/or get his fingerprints on something.”
“I don’t think I could recognize him if I met him,” Young said. “After all, the only time I’ve seen him was after he was dead.”
“Do you have a record of any of his IDs?”
“No, they were either taken by the Agency or missing.”
