“Which doesn’t answer my question,” Evelyn said. “Why did you inherit all that money with such a flimsy blood tie? You’re barely related to us at all. It just doesn’t seem right.”

“I’ll tell you as much as I know,” I said, and repeated my account, which I rendered in excruciating detail, hoping to dispense with any questions she might pose.

When I finished, both women stared at me.

Mamie shook her head slightly, checking the last page of the will to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. “What about these witnesses? We don’t recognize the names.”

“Those were friends of his.”

Evelyn said, “Well, I’m happy he had friends. That wasn’t always the case. I’m sure you understand why we’d be skeptical.”

“You want to tell me what’s on your mind?”

Evelyn reached for the will and checked the pages as Mamie had. “Well, who is this Mr. Singer? Have you any idea?”

“He and Terrence met at a homeless shelter. I didn’t make the man’s acquaintance until last week.”

“What about Ms. White and Mr. Beider?”

“I met them at the same time,” I said. “Dan Singer told me the three of them witnessed the will at Terrence’s request. It was all straightforward and aboveboard.”

“They’re homeless?” Mamie asked. Her tone put them in the same low company as pedophiles.

“Yes.”

She blinked. “Do they have mental health issues?”

“Not that I observed.”

“What about problems with substance abuse?”

I thought, Oops. “I’ve only known them a week,” I said, as though that ruled out my opinion.

Evelyn’s turn. “But you can see why we’d question the signatures if these three misfits were drunk or mentally impaired.”

“Actually, I think only two witnesses are required, so I’m willing to concede one of them.”

Mamie stared at me. “Is that a joke?”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be flip. If you want to challenge their competence, you’ll have to hire an attorney and take them into court. There’s no point in our discussing the issue since none of us are qualified mental health professionals. As far as I know,” I added, having eliminated our law degrees in the earlier conversation.

A little knot appeared between Mamie’s brows but her tone remained mild. “All this talk about attorneys. Is that really what you want?”

“All I want is to avoid turning this into a personal debate.”

Evelyn said, “But why bring attorneys into it? We’ll end up paying them the lion’s share and how will any of us benefit?”

“This is not something we can settle among the three of us. This is awkward—”

“It’s not a matter of awkwardness. It’s a question of what’s right. Terrence was angry,” Evelyn said.

“Okay, fine. That’s true as far as it goes.”

Sounding slightly more conciliatory, she went on. “I’m not blaming him, I’m only pointing out that if he’d had a chance to calm down, he might have reversed himself.”

“But he didn’t. In point of fact, what we’re left with is what’s spelled out in that document,” I said.

“Here’s what you don’t seem to grasp,” Mamie said. “Terrence loved his children. You’ve been drawn into a drama that goes back many years. I don’t think you appreciate the hardships they endured. I don’t know how Evelyn managed to hold her head up.” Mamie glanced at Evelyn as she said this and Evelyn managed to look especially stricken.

“Look, I can understand how difficult it must have been. That doesn’t change anything.”

Evelyn said, “You know he offered them the money. Are you aware of that?”

“I’m assuming that’s why he came to Bakersfield,” I said.

“That’s exactly right. The minute he had the settlement in hand, he called Ethan, saying he wanted to make amends. He talked about dividing the money equally among the three children to compensate them for their suffering.”

“You keep referring to them as children when they’re fully grown adults,” I said.

She dropped her gaze. “I suppose I’ll always think of them as children. Do you have any of your own?”

“I don’t.”

“Then it might be hard for you to fathom how a mother feels.”

“Off topic,” Mamie warned.