“Ivan.” Arthur’s voice was steady.
“We need to talk.”
“You should have called.”
“You weren’t answering.”
I stepped into the hallway and pulled the door mostly closed behind me.
“She’s sleeping,” I said.
“Then we’ll talk quietly.” He looked at me directly.
“I know how this looks.
I understand that.
But you’re operating on incomplete information, and before this goes any further, I need to explain some things.”
“Go ahead.”
He glanced at Wendy.
She gave a small nod.
“Your grandmother has been showing signs of cognitive decline for over a year,” he said.
“Forgetting appointments.
Leaving the stove on.
Getting confused about dates.
We’ve been managing it quietly because she didn’t want anyone to know.”
“Did she ask you to manage it?”
“She didn’t have to.
She’s my mother.”
“She revoked your power of attorney,” I said.
“Three days before you used it to transfer her house.”
Arthur’s jaw tightened.
“The revocation wasn’t valid.
She wasn’t in a competent state when she signed it.
I have a physician’s statement.”
“From which physician?”
Another glance at Wendy.
“Dr.
Raymond Coyle.
He evaluated her in March.”
“I’ve never heard her mention him.”
“She doesn’t remember the appointment,” Arthur said.
“That’s the point.”
I looked at him for a long moment.
He held my gaze.
He was good at that.
“The fifty-five thousand dollars,” I said.
“Where is it?”
“In a trust account.
For her care.”
“Whose name is on the trust?”
“Mine, as trustee.
That’s how a trust works, Ivan.”
“I’d like to see the trust documents.”
“I’ll have Gerald send them over.”
“Gerald Holt,” I said.
“The man who was at her house yesterday morning with a briefcase.”
Arthur didn’t answer immediately.
“Gerald handles my legal affairs.
He was there to assess the property for insurance purposes.”
“While a moving truck emptied the dining room.”
“Those items are in storage.
For safekeeping.”
“Whose storage?”
“Ivan.” His voice dropped.
“I know you love her.
So do I.
But you are twenty-eight years old and you don’t understand what it takes to manage an elderly parent’s affairs.
