“I traveled frequently for work.”
“That was not my question.”
Vanessa’s jaw tightened.
“Three or four.”
Hospital records showed one visit.
Phone records showed that Mrs.
Rhode had called Vanessa twenty-seven times during that year.
Vanessa answered twice.
Mr.
Palmer displayed the competency assessments from the two physicians who had actually examined her.
Both testified that she was alert, informed, and decisive when she signed the beneficiary deed.
Then Joe took the stand.
He described my schedule at the diner, the nights I left during breaks to check Mrs.
Rhode’s furnace, and the morning I returned from the hospital wearing the same clothes as the day before.
“Did James ever tell you Mrs.
Rhode planned to give him the building?” Vanessa’s attorney asked.
“No.”
“Did he ever discuss her money?”
“Only when he was worried she’d overpaid him by six dollars.”
A few people in the courtroom laughed.
Joe did not.
“He drove back to her house during a snowstorm to return it.”
The church representative testified next.
She described Vanessa’s demand that the charities support her claim.
Finally, Mr.
Palmer asked permission to play Mrs.
Rhode’s recorded statement.
Vanessa’s attorney objected, but the judge allowed it after reviewing the authentication records.
Mrs.
Rhode appeared on the courtroom monitor.
Vanessa stopped moving.
The room watched as Mrs.
Rhode explained the deed, the diner, and Vanessa’s attempts to seize control of her finances.
Then the study footage played.
“You’re giving a diner to that waiter, aren’t you?” Vanessa demanded on the screen.
“He is using you.”
“No,” Mrs.
Rhode answered.
“You are.”
Vanessa’s face lost all color.
Her attorney leaned toward her and whispered urgently, but the video continued.
The final segment had not been included in the version we watched in the basement.
Mrs.
Rhode looked directly into the camera.
“If Vanessa challenges this transfer, Mr.
Palmer has my permission to provide the accompanying financial records to law enforcement.”
Mr.
Palmer placed the ledgers on the evidence table.
Vanessa stood suddenly.
“This is ridiculous.
She gave me access to that account.”
Her attorney grabbed her sleeve, but she pulled away.
“I used the money for her benefit.”
The judge looked over his glasses.
“No one has asked you about the withdrawals yet, Ms.
