She wiped her cheek quickly.

“I wish somebody had said that to me before.”

PART 10

The first serious confrontation happened not in a courtroom but at an assisted-living residence Beverly had refused to consider.

Elaine had arranged an appointment to look at several accessible apartments, some with optional services.

Beverly agreed to attend only because she believed the meeting was about getting me to pay her rent indefinitely.

She sat beneath a watercolor of Lake Michigan, her purse held tightly in both hands.