He looked at me.
"These injuries are consistent with a fall."
"She was pushed."
"I know."
He looked toward the hallway.
"Her injuries don't match the statement I received."
"What statement?"
"That she attacked someone and fell while resisting arrest."
My jaw tightened.
"Who wrote that?"
He didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
At sunrise, Marcus arrived.
He brought a state investigator named Nora Bennett.
She was calm, direct, and impossible to intimidate.
She sat beside my mother.
"Mrs. Carter, I need you to tell me what happened."
My mother looked at me.
Then at Nora.
"Rachel brought papers."
"What kind?"
"I don't know."
"Did they contain your name?"
"Yes."
"Did they concern your house?"
My mother nodded.
That caught my attention.
"Why would they need your signature?"
She whispered:
"They wanted me to transfer the property."
I stared at her.
"To whom?"
She shook her head.
"I didn't understand."
Nora asked:
"Did your son know?"
My mother closed her eyes.
"Evan brought the papers."
The room became silent.
I couldn't believe it.
"My brother?"
She nodded.
"He said it was for my protection."
"Protection from what?"
"From being declared incompetent."
My hands curled into fists.
Nora looked at me.
"Did your mother sign?"
"No."
My mother spoke softly.
"I refused."
"And then?"
"Rachel became angry."
"What happened next?"
"She grabbed my wrist."
My mother swallowed.
"I pulled away."
"Then?"
"She slapped me."
My blood ran cold.
"I pushed her."
"Did she fall?"
"Yes."
"Then what?"
"She called Evan."