I said, ignoring her excuse. “Why?”“Under the circumstances, we felt completely justified,” Ms. Blum replied defensively. “It’s terrible what happened to them, though. I heard about it on the news.”“Yes, ma’am. What circumstances?”“For one thing, Mrs. Larson said in her claim that a man named Ron Phillips damaged her car.”“You said your insured’s name is Tenaka.”“Right. According to Mrs. Larson’s claim, Mr. Phillips, who was driving a white van, told her he was covered by Twentieth Century Insurance.”“A white van?” I said, my pulse quickening. “Did you get a make on it?”“No.”“How about a license number?”“Yes, that was included on the claim. When I found we had no one named Ron Phillips as an insured, I ran a DMV trace.”“And?”“The owner of the plates proved to be a Mr. James Tenaka of El Monte, who is, coincidentally, covered by Twentieth. But his vehicle is a red ’99 Ford sedan, not a white van. Furthermore, Mr.
