I should have walked out the moment I saw the date on that appraisal.” He picked up his briefcase.

“Don’t call my office.”

The other four lawyers had frozen at the far end of the room.

One shut his laptop.

Another slipped a folder into his bag.

The oldest, a man with a gray mustache, said, “We’ll need a recess.”

“The probate court is closed,” I said.

“There’s nothing to recess from.”