Joyce opened the leather folder and turned the first document toward Judy.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The real estate office suddenly felt much smaller than it had when I walked in.
The buyers sat rigidly across from us.
Adam stood beside his mother with his hands shoved into his pockets.
Judy remained near the desk in her cream blazer, but the smug little smile she had worn when I entered was gone.
Joyce placed one finger beside the signature at the bottom of the page.
“Mrs.
Greer, you submitted this document as proof that you had authority to sell Mrs.
Davies’s property.”
Judy recovered quickly.
“Because I did.”
She looked at me as though I were a child causing a scene in public.
“Jacqueline was incapacitated.
Someone had to handle things.”
“Incapacitated doesn’t mean dead,” I said.
Adam flinched.
Judy ignored him.
“You were in the hospital.
You couldn’t manage your own affairs.
Adam and I made the practical decision.”
One of the buyers shifted in his chair.
Joyce didn’t raise her voice.
“That isn’t what I asked.
Did Jacqueline sign this power of attorney?”
Judy’s eyes flicked down to the page.
“She knew I was taking care of things.”
“That wasn’t the question either.”
I had never heard Joyce sound sharp before.
In my hospital room she had been careful, almost gentle.
Now every word landed exactly where she intended it to.
Judy folded her arms.
“This is ridiculous.”
I reached for the page.
“My signature is on it.”
“Yes,” Judy said quickly.
“Exactly.”
“I didn’t put it there.”
The buyers both looked at her.
Adam finally lifted his head.
“Jacqueline, maybe you signed something before the surgery and don’t remember.”
I turned toward him.
He couldn’t hold my eyes.
That was Adam’s habit whenever his mother crossed a line.
He rarely lied boldly.
He preferred to create just enough fog that everyone else became tired of searching for the truth.
“I remember exactly what I signed before surgery,” I said.
“Hospital forms.
Insurance forms.
Medical consent.
Nothing giving your mother control over my property.”
Judy waved one hand.
“You were under tremendous stress.”
Joyce pulled a second sheet from the folder.
“That’s part of the problem.”
She placed it beside the supposed power of attorney.
