It was Inez, and her voice, when he answered, was flat and grim.

“Alvin,” she said.

“It’s worse than we thought.”

Chapter 10 — Legally Incompetent

“Derek and Veronica have been quietly gathering medical evaluations and affidavits,” Inez said.

“Alvin, they’re preparing to petition a court to declare your parents legally incompetent to manage their own financial affairs.”

Alvin stared out the diner window toward the slow brown river, his pulse pounding in his ears, as the full scope of it finally came clear.

This was not, he understood now, merely a matter of a greedy couple taking over a house for their own comfort.