The second officer blocked her.
“Ma’am, we need you to remain here.”
“I didn’t sign anything.”
Louis stared at her.
“What?”
She pointed at him.
“He forged the signature. He opened the credit line. He said his father would never notice.”
Louis’s face twisted.
“You planned the guardianship!”
“You wanted the house!”
“You found the doctor!”
“You found the notary!”
People around the table began speaking at once.
Samuel lifted his hand.
“There is more.”
He opened his briefcase and removed a blue folder.
“Yesterday afternoon, before the party, my office received an anonymous delivery. Inside was a copy of the proposed power of attorney and a note stating that Ernest Harris was being financially exploited.”
I looked at him.
“That wasn’t from me.”
“I know.”
For the first time, Carla looked truly frightened.
Louis stared at her.
“You sent it?”
“No.”
Samuel turned toward the doorway.
A man stepped into the dining room.
He was one of the strangers from the party—the quiet man who had been drinking my bourbon near the mantel.
Louis’s friend introduced him the night before as Mason.
His real name was Daniel Morrow.
He was the son of Dr. Evelyn Morrow, whose behavioral clinic appeared on the charge.
Daniel’s expression was grim.
“My mother refused to sign the assessment,” he said. “Carla tried to bribe her. When she refused, Louis threatened to ruin her clinic with false reviews and a lawsuit. I came to the party because I wanted to see whether Mr. Harris was actually impaired.”
Carla backed into the wall.
Daniel looked at me.
