“Is she?”
“My father died. She’s been unstable. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
I felt something cold move through me.
Not shock.
Confirmation.
The second envelope grew heavier in my hand.
Melissa stepped beside him.
“We have been trying to help her for months. She’s been resistant. Secretive. Paranoid, frankly. Selling a house without telling your only child is not normal.”
I looked at the officer.
“May I?”
She nodded.
I reached into the folder and took out the transcript.
Then I read aloud.
“She’s a burden, Mel. She just doesn’t see it. We’ve held our lives back long enough.”
The rain seemed louder after that.
Daniel looked away.
Melissa’s face hardened.
“That was a private conversation taken out of context.”
“Was once the house is sorted out also out of context?” I asked.
The younger officer glanced down.
