Chapter 4
"My signature isn't on any sale papers."
Ray stood with one boot outside.
The paramedic waited beside Josie's stretcher.
The deputy raised a hand.
"Go with your daughter."
Ray pointed at the desk.
"Those are our household files."
"You can look at the sale papers."
Then he followed Josie into the cold.
Verna stayed behind with the deputy.
Charla sat on the couch beside Tyler.
"He's exhausted," she said.
"He signs things and forgets."
The deputy didn't answer that.
He opened the desk drawer Ray had indicated.
A folder lay above the insurance statements.
On its cover were the farm's address and acreage.
One hundred twenty acres.
Verna remained by the doorway.
"Elena inherited that place from her folks."
"Who owns it now?"
"Josie's trust."
The deputy photographed the folder where it lay.
Then he examined its contents.
A proposed purchase agreement.
A developer's offer.
Copies of trust pages.
A signature that appeared to be Ray's.
The buyer's signature line remained blank.
Across the top, a printed clause required approval.
Trustee authority.
Legal review.
Any necessary court order.
The deputy called Ray.
At the hospital, Ray stood beside Josie's bed.
A nurse had attached a monitor.
Another had taken blood and urine samples.
The doctor explained that testing could take time.
They would watch Josie's breathing and heart.
They would treat what they could observe.
No one promised an answer from one glance.
Ray answered the deputy on speakerphone.
"I didn't sign it."
"Your wife says you did."
"I didn't."
Charla's voice carried through the call.
"You said we couldn't keep doing this."
"I meant the driving."
Ray pressed his free hand against the wall.
"I meant being gone."
The deputy asked permission to preserve the documents.
Ray gave it.
Then he called the probate lawyer who handled Elena's trust.
He left an urgent message.
Next, he called the local bank manager.
The man had helped settle Elena's accounts.
Ray still had his personal number.
That call went to voicemail, too.
He left the farm's address.
Then he said the word fraud.
Back at the farmhouse, Charla rose.
"I need my coat."
The deputy stepped into the hallway with her.
Verna stayed where she could see Tyler.
The boy stared at the wet place on the floor.
"I thought she was faking."
Verna pulled out a chair.
"Who told you that?"
He picked at a loose thread.
"Mom said she did it for attention."
"Is that why you laughed?"
He nodded once.
Verna sat across from him.
"She was afraid, Tyler."
His mouth tightened.
"I know now."
He began crying without lifting his head.
Verna slid the tissue box across the table.
She didn't ask him to comfort anyone else.
At the hospital, Josie woke as Ray tucked the blanket.
"Where's Aunt Verna?"
"She's helping the deputy."
"Will Charla fire her?"
"No."
Josie watched his face.
"She said we couldn't have her anymore."
Ray moved his chair closer.
"You're going to see her."
A hospital social worker knocked softly.
The on-call child protection worker would join them.
Ray stood to let her pass.
"Are you taking her somewhere?"
"Tonight, we're making sure she's safe."
She asked about his driving schedule.
His wife.
Who could stay with Josie.
He answered without defending any of it.
When she asked about the proposed county evaluation, he hesitated.
"Charla said they wanted one."
"Did you speak with anyone?"
"No."
"Did you receive a notice?"
"Not that I saw."
The worker made a note.
Ray looked at his daughter.
Josie had begun rubbing the beads on her bracelet.
"Do they have a bed for me?"
The worker crouched beside her.
"Who said they did?"
"Charla said the county picked one."
The woman asked permission to check the claim.
Then she stepped into the hallway.
Ray waited beside the monitor.
The worker returned with her phone still in hand.
"The county never ordered an evaluation or chose a placement for Josie."