Page 65 of Mission: Possible

"Did you bring a card with you?"

"I can buy one in the gift shop. Then I'm going to locate all of her colleagues, ask them to sign it, and question them at the same time."

"I wonder if Sophie knows what's going on around her. I've heard that sometimes people in comas can hear and understand conversations."

"Her husband talks to her. He barely leaves her side."

"He must be worried sick."

"He is. The nurses have to force him to go home every so often."

Humor left Lily's eyes. "That's really sad," she sighed, reaching for my hand and squeezing it. I didn't need to ask what she was thinking. I knew she flashed back to the time Solomon was rendered unconscious too.

"Let's go," I told her.

The museum was built more than a hundred and fifty years ago and famous for being one of the oldest buildings in Montgomery. The foyer was big and square with a stunning tiled floor and a horseshoe-shaped desk in the center. We paid our entry fee and walked into the main hall where several corridors led to rooms that opened into each other. As a kid, my parents brought me here often and I clearly remembered starting at one side, skipping through all the rooms, and eventually arriving at the other side. Then we took the grand sweeping staircase, lit by a huge glass dome ceiling, to the upper level and repeated the process. Part of me wanted to take the time to walk around and admire the familiar building but I had an important job to do.

"This way," I said, turning toward the gift shop, which occupied one of the long rooms at the front of the museum.

"The gift shop is my favorite part in the whole museum," said Lily.

"What about the dinosaur exhibit?" I asked. Lily shook her head. "The Fashion Through the Ages room?" I asked. Every time we visited, which wasn't very often now, we gravitated there.

"Nope."

"The butterfly room?"

"Pretty, but sad."

"The chocolate room?"

Lily paused and unfolded the map we received with the tickets, her eyes searching. "There's really a chocolate room?"

I bit back a smile. "Nope."

She stuffed the map in her pocket. "Then the gift shop is my favorite part."

Instead of heading directly for the cashier's desk, we browsed the cards and magnets and fripperies lining the thick shelves that spanned the walls. I briefly contemplated buying a few items from the bargain display for my nieces and nephews, then decided it would be nicer to bring them along for the afternoon and let them choose their own inexpensive trinkets. My oldest nephew, Patrick, would probably think it was lame but perhaps I could persuade him to come to the gaming exhibition scheduled for later in the year. At one of the rotating card displays, I selected a pretty card for Sophie and walked over to the desk.

"Is that everything?" asked the cashier when I slid it towards him. He had large, brown spectacles, a flop of unruly hair and his shirt was so appallingly awful that I figured it was probably in style.

"Actually, I'm buying this for a friend who used to work here," I explained as I paid. "She had a terrible accident and I thought it would be nice to ask her former colleagues to sign it. Her name is Sophie Takahashi. You probably knew her as Sophie Gallo."

"Sophie? Oh, gosh, yes, she used to work right here in the gift shop!"

"You must be Brian?" I asked.

He nodded, smiling as he slid the card into a paper wrapper and handed me my change. "That's right. An accident, you say? That's terrible. What happened?"

"She fell from a second-floor balcony."

His jaw dropped. "How awful. Was she badly injured?"

I nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. She's been unconscious for a week. It would be great if she knew how many people were thinking of her when she wakes up. Would you please sign this card for her?"

"Of course! Let me find a pen... Poor Sophie! She was such a darling when she worked here. We all miss her."

"She left right after she got married, is that correct?"