Her silver hoop earring caught the fluorescent light overhead as she twisted it between her thumb and finger.

“Claire,” she said, in a thin, dry voice.

“I brought your winter coats, your photo albums and the boxes from the hall closet,” I said, stacking the second plastic bin on top of the first.

She reached down and slid off the chain, opening the door wider.

“Frank called his lawyer from the courthouse parking lot after Judge Harrison ruled,” Lauren said, looking down at the gray plastic lid between us.

“He said the county prosecutor is starting a full financial review of his commercial development accounts.”