“That’s because I am perfectly lucid. Unlike some people, I don’t consider it mentally unstable to refuse to hand over my life savings to pay someone else’s gambling debts.”
Tiffany’s face went white.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I pulled out my phone and showed Janet the text message.
“Seventy-five thousand ring any bells, Tiffany? Because I got a very interesting text this morning about Derek’s debts.”
Janet looked between us like she was watching a tennis match.
“Mrs. Caldwell, would you mind if I asked you a few questions? Standard procedure.”
For the next ten minutes, Janet ran me through a basic mental competency assessment. What year was it? Who was the president? Could I count backward from one hundred by sevens?
Child’s play for someone who had been balancing farm books for forty-five years.
“Mrs. Caldwell, you’re clearly in full possession of your faculties,” Janet concluded. “I’ll note in my report that this appears to be a family financial dispute rather than a competency issue.”
Tiffany’s mask slipped completely.
“This is ridiculous. She’s being manipulated by fortune hunters. That farm should have stayed in the family.”
“Ma’am,” Janet said patiently, “Mrs. Caldwell has every right to sell her property and manage her finances as she sees fit unless a court declares otherwise. No one else has any legal claim to her assets.”
After they left, I didn’t sit around feeling sorry for myself. I called my lawyer, Patricia Hughes.
Patricia had been handling legal work for our family since Joe and I bought the farm, and she did not suffer fools gladly.
“Margaret, based on what you’ve told me, we need to meet this afternoon,” she said after I explained the morning’s events. “And bring any documentation you have about threats or harassment.”
Two hours later, I was sitting in Patricia’s office with a folder full of evidence—screenshots of Tiffany’s Facebook post, the text about Derek’s gambling debts, photos of the car that had been watching my house.
“They’re following a playbook,” Patricia said, pulling out a thick folder. “I’ve seen this before. First, they establish a pattern of concern. The Facebook post, the call to your doctor, the APS visit. Next they’ll probably try to get witnesses to testify about your supposedly erratic behavior.”
“What kind of witnesses?”
“Anyone who will say you’ve been acting strangely. Store clerks who might remember you seeming confused. Neighbors who could testify about unusual behavior. That sort of thing.”
“But I haven’t been acting strangely.”
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