Mrs.
Rhode looked down at the pages.
“What are they?”
“Routine management forms.”
“They transfer my financial power to you.”
Vanessa’s pleasant expression disappeared.
“You’re eighty-five.
You fall down.
You forget things.
Someone has to protect what will eventually be mine.”
Mrs.
Rhode leaned back in her chair.
“Nothing is eventually yours unless I choose to give it to you.”
Vanessa slapped the papers onto the desk.
“You’re giving a diner to that waiter, aren’t you?”
Mrs.
Rhode said nothing.
Vanessa moved closer.
“He is using you.”
“No,” Mrs.
Rhode replied.
“You are.”
The clip ended.
For several seconds, the only sound in the basement was the hum of the refrigerator pipes overhead.
Mr.
Palmer opened the first ledger.
It contained dates, check numbers, and transfers from Mrs.
Rhode’s accounts.
Several withdrawals had been marked in red.
“Vanessa had limited access to one household account,” he said.
“Mrs.
Rhode discovered unauthorized payments totaling nearly eighty thousand dollars.”
Joe whistled softly.
“Why didn’t she call the police?” I asked.
“She intended to give Vanessa one opportunity to return the money.
Instead, Vanessa tried to have her declared incompetent.”
My phone rang.
The caller was an unknown number.
Mr.
Palmer told me to put it on speaker.
Vanessa’s voice filled the basement.
“You have something that belongs to me.”
“The deed is recorded,” Mr.
Palmer said.
“The building belongs to James.”
“I’m not talking about the deed.”
Her answer made all three of us look at the video camera.
Vanessa continued.
“James, you don’t understand business.
You don’t understand taxes, lawsuits, maintenance, or tenants.
That building will ruin you.
Give me the drive and sign the property over.
I’ll pay you fifty thousand dollars.”
Joe’s eyebrows rose.
I thought of Mrs.
