Spencer had filed a separate affidavit saying he was the true, intended heir to the Lake Norman vacation house, and he’d valued the land and the house at six hundred thousand dollars.

“It’s his shoes,” I whispered.

“What about them, honey?” Helen asked.

“When we sat on that bench at Freedom Park, he kept tucking his feet under his coat,” I said.

“The black leather had split open along the outside seam of his left shoe.”

“A man in a tailored wool suit doesn’t show up to meetings with torn soles unless he’s flat out of money,” Helen said, pointing at the paperwork.

“He offered me fifty thousand dollars cash if I signed his paper,” I said.