“Someone local.”

I almost said Gabriel’s name, then stopped.

I did not want him to become our solution to every difficult question simply because Mom had relied on him.

That evening I met an estate lawyer named Margaret Sloan.

She explained the practical decisions: outstanding utility bills, insurance, tax filings, and the records needed before the property could be sold or leased.

She had known Mom from a neighborhood association and remembered her as stubborn but dependable.