He offered a practiced shrug. “Older folks sometimes lose their balance. It’s unfortunate, but it happens.”

“There’s a video.”

“A short clip online. It doesn’t provide enough context.”

“It shows a man striking my mother.”

“Without the original footage, and without a witness willing to give a formal statement, there isn’t much of a case.”

I looked at him without speaking. Eventually he was the one to break eye contact.