Chapter 2 - The Call Tessa Made
Michael spent the next several hours answering questions.
The police did not treat his slap as justified simply because he had seen Laura threatening Evelyn.
That mattered.
He had assaulted his wife.
He admitted it.
An officer told him plainly:
“You had other options.”
Michael knew.
He could have taken the candlestick.
Moved his mother.
Called police.
Separated them.
Instead he'd hit Laura.
By midnight, Michael had an attorney.
Laura had one too.
Evelyn was evaluated because of the stress and remained with Tessa.
No major new physical injury was found.
Laura had bruising from the fall and cuts from broken glass, though none were life-threatening.
The criminal process would move separately for everyone involved.
Michael hated that phrase.
Separately.
His anger.
Laura's conduct.
Evelyn's safety.
Possible financial issues.
Different questions.
Different evidence.
No cinematic solution.
At two in the morning, Michael sat in attorney David Chen's office.
David folded his hands.
“I'm going to say something you won't enjoy.”
“Go ahead.”
“You hitting Laura complicates everything.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Michael looked away.
“You cannot present yourself as the calm protector while minimizing what you did.”
“I’m not minimizing it.”
“Good. Keep it that way.”
Michael nodded.
Then placed Tessa's name on a notepad.
“She called police before I arrived.”
“That helps establish the emergency existed independently of you.”
“I want to know why.”
David leaned back.
“Your mother's safety comes first. We get the facts through the appropriate channels.”
Michael wanted to drive home and search everything.
David stopped him.
“No.”
“My mother lives there.”
“And evidence may be there.”
“It’s my house too.”
“Still no.”
Technically, it was not Michael's house.
The property belonged to Evelyn's revocable living trust.
Michael and Laura had moved in after Evelyn's stroke because selling their downtown condo and living with her seemed easier than arranging constant care.
Michael had told himself it was temporary.
Laura complained from the beginning.
Too many old things.
Too many antiques.
Too many memories.
Evelyn corrected how the pantry was organized.
She disliked Laura's scented candles.
Laura hated Evelyn's television volume.
Normal tension.
At least Michael thought so.
The next morning, Tessa met with investigators.
Later, with permission, she spoke with Michael and David.
“I've been worried for six weeks,” she said.
Michael stared.
“Why didn't you call me?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Three times.”
Michael frowned.
“I never got anything.”
Tessa pulled out her phone.
She showed him outgoing calls.
Two during his Boston trip.
One while he was in Dallas.
All to his number.
Short calls.
Under one minute.
“I answered?”
“Laura did.”
Michael went cold.
“What did she say?”
“That you were in meetings and she would tell you.”
“She never did.”
Tessa continued.
“At first I thought it was family tension. Then your mother started accusing herself of losing things.”
“What things?”
“Her jewelry. Mail. Prescription receipts. Her checkbook.”
Michael's eyes narrowed.
“Mom's checkbook?”
Tessa nodded.
“I found it in Mrs. Reed's bedroom twice.”
“Laura's?”
“Yes.”
Michael leaned forward.
“Did you see her use it?”
“No.”
“Then why photograph it?”
“Because the second time I found it there, your mother had been crying for an hour because Laura told her she must have dementia.”
Michael stopped breathing.
Tessa's voice remained steady.
“Your mother knew she hadn't moved it.”
“How?”
“She stopped writing paper checks months ago.”
Michael knew that.
After the stroke, Evelyn paid almost everything electronically with Michael's help.
Tessa opened another photograph.
Laura at the counter.
Checkbook open.
Papers beside it.
This time Michael could read the heading.
Petition for Guardianship / Conservatorship — Draft
He looked at David.
David's expression changed.
Michael turned back to Tessa.
“Was Laura trying to become Mom's guardian?”
“I don't know.”
Tessa scrolled to another photograph.
A yellow legal pad.
Laura's handwriting.
Confusion incidents: keys / bracelet / checkbook / medication.
Michael felt cold.
The missing bracelet.
Laura had accused Evelyn.
The checkbook had been placed where it could be “found.”
The incidents were being documented.
He whispered:
“She was building a case that Mom couldn't manage herself.”
Tessa said nothing.
David corrected carefully:
“That is one possibility. We need to verify.”
Michael nodded.
He was learning.
Don't leap.
Don't turn suspicion into fact.
But then Tessa showed them the final photograph.
A bank statement.
Evelyn's trust checking account.
Three withdrawals.
$18,500.
$24,000.
$31,000.
All within two months.
Michael looked at the authorization column.
His own name appeared beside each transaction.
He stood so fast his chair scraped backward.
“I didn't authorize these.”
May you like
David stared at the statement.
“Then someone wanted the bank to think you did.”
