I said, “Fine,” and then burst into tears. He shouldn’t have called me “sweetie” because that’s all it took.

I’ll skip over the blubbering I did and the halting hiccuping account of the day’s disasters, starting with Melvin Downs, the blunders Nancy Sullivan had made, what I’d learned at the courthouse about the money charged against Gus’s bank accounts, and my visit to the lawyer’s office, with the whole sorry mess coming back to Melvin at the end. I didn’t claim it was the worst day of my adult life. I’ve been divorced twice and some of that drama was in a league of its own.

But on a professional level, this was low.

I unburdened myself, telling him what I said, what he said, what she said, how I felt, what I wish I’d said, what I thought then and later and in between. Every time I reached the end of my recital, I’d remember some new detail and swing back to incorporate it. “What gets me is everything Solana said was exactly what I’d said when I called the county, except she turned it around. I couldn’t deny the disgusting state his house was in so most of what she told Nancy Sullivan was true. His anemia, bruises-all of it. How could I argue? While I was using the facts as evidence of abuse, Solana was using the same information to justify the court’s taking charge of his affairs. It just seems so wrong…”

I paused to blow my nose, adding the tissue to the pile of soggy ones I’d tossed in the trash. “I mean, who are these people? A lawyer and a professional conservator? I can’t get over it. While I was at the courthouse, I went into the library and pulled Deering’s California Probate Code. It’s all laid out, powers and duties-blah, blah, blah. As nearly as I can tell, there’s no licensing process and no agency that oversees or regulates their actions. I’m sure there are conscientious conservators somewhere, but these two have fallen on Gus like vampires.”

Two tissues later, my lips feeling fat from all the tears I’d shed, I said, “I have to give Solana credit-she was clever to invent the business of a quarrel between us. Her claim that I’d threatened her made my call to the agency look like spite on my part.”

Henry shrugged. “She’s a sociopath. She plays by a different set of rules. Well, one rule. She does what serves her.”

“I’ll have to change my strategy. To what, I don’t know.”

“There is one bright note.”

“Oh, great. I could use one,” I said.

“As long as there’s money in his accounts, Gus is worth more to them alive than dead.”

“At the rate they’re going, it won’t take long.”

“Be smart. Don’t let her suck you into doing anything illegal-aside from the stuff you’ve already done.”

28

Leaving for work Wednesday morning, I spotted Solana and Gus on the sidewalk in front of the house. I hadn’t seen him outside for weeks and I had to admit, he was looking good with a jaunty knit cap pulled down over his ears. He was in his wheelchair, bundled into heavy-duty sweats that draped at the shoulder and hung from his knees. She’d tucked a blanket over his lap. They must have just come back from an outing. She’d turned the wheelchair around so she could maneuver it up the front steps.

I crossed the grass. “Can I help you with that?”

“I’ll take care of it,” she said. Once she’d hauled him up the last step, I put a hand on his chair and leaned closer.

“Hey, Gus. How are you?”

Solana shifted into the space between us, trying to cut off my access. I held up a palm to bar her, which darkened her mood.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Giving Gus the chance to talk to me if you don’t object.”

“He doesn’t want to talk to you and neither do I. Please get off this property.”

I noticed his hearing aids were gone and it occurred to me it was a neat way of putting him out of commission. How could he interact if he couldn’t hear a thing. I put my lips near his ear. “Can I do anything for you?”

The look he sent me was sorrowful. His mouth trembled and he moaned like a woman in the early stages of labor, before she understands how bad it really gets. He peered at Solana, who stood with her hands folded. In her sturdy brown shoes and bulky brown coat, she looked like a prison matron. “Go ahead, Mr. Vronsky. Say anything you like.”

He put a finger behind his ear and shook his head, feigning deafness though I knew he’d heard me.

I raised my voice. “Would you like to come next door to Henry’s for a cup of tea? He’d love to see you.”