Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN NEXT DOORJune began crying before she finished talking.
"Your mother used to bring me tomatoes every July," she said. "Then she stopped coming outside. Lorena said she was senile. I wanted to believe there was a medical reason."
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
"I tried. Last month I called you. Lorena answered and said your unit had restricted family contact."
I remembered that day. Lorena had texted that Mom was too tired to talk.
June handed Chen three dated video files. In one, Mom stood on the porch without a coat in the rain. Lorena pulled her inside by the elbow. In another, Carlos removed a box labeled TAX RECORDS. The third contained their Friday conversation.
"Your footage may be important," Chen told her. "Please preserve the originals."
By morning, attorney Eleanor Price returned my call. She had handled Dad's estate and still remembered Mom's favorite lemon cake. She agreed to meet at her office with the trust records.
"Do not sign anything Lorena puts in front of you," she said. "And don't go back to that house alone."
At noon, the hospital physician spoke with Mom privately, then invited me in with her permission. Some tests suggested medication effects; he wouldn't speculate about deliberate dosing without more evidence. He also explained that her confusion could improve once medications were reviewed.
Mom held up a shaky hand. "I told them the truth."
"That's enough," I said.
"No, Danny. It isn't."
She drew a breath. "Carlos brought a man to the house. A man with a stamp. They told me if I wouldn't sign, they'd tell the state you couldn't care for me."
"Do you know his name?"
"I heard Lorena call him Mr. Bell."
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Eleanor called while we were speaking. Her voice was tight.
"Daniel, somebody used my firm's name to request the original trust file. They picked it up yesterday with an authorization letter bearing your signature."
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