Chapter 5 - The Pills In Grandpa's Drawer)
Two days later, Walter forgot Amelia's name.
It happened at breakfast.
He looked directly at her and called her Grace.
Grace had been Walter's wife.
Amelia's grandmother.
She had been dead eleven years.
For several seconds, Walter seemed genuinely confused.
Then he blinked.
"Amelia."
She put down her coffee.
"Grandpa?"
"I'm fine."
"You called me Grandma's name."
"I know what I said."
Diane entered the kitchen carrying a small plastic medication organizer.
"There it is again."
Walter's eyes narrowed.
"There what is?"
"The confusion."
"Get away from me."
Diane sighed as though managing a difficult child.
"You're proving my point."
Amelia watched her place the organizer beside Walter.
"When did you start arranging his medication?"
"After he forgot twice last week."
Walter looked at Amelia.
"I didn't forget."
Diane smiled.
"You see?"
Something inside Amelia tightened.
"What medication is new?"
Her mother turned.
"Excuse me?"
"He wasn't having these episodes when I came home."
"You're a consultant, Amelia, not a doctor."
"I'm asking a question."
Diane picked up the organizer.
"His physician changed several prescriptions."
"Which physician?"
"Dr. Collins."
Walter frowned.
"I haven't seen Collins in three months."
Diane's expression did not change.
"He called."
Amelia looked at Walter.
Walter looked back.
Neither spoke.
That afternoon, Amelia drove him to Dr. Collins's office without telling Diane.
The appointment lasted forty minutes.
Dr. Collins reviewed Walter's medication list.
Then he frowned.
"I didn't prescribe this."
He held up a bottle Walter had brought from his drawer.
Walter stared.
"Whose name is on it?"
"Yours."
"But you didn't prescribe it."
"No."
Dr. Collins checked his system.
"No physician in our network did."
Amelia felt cold.
"What does it do?"
The doctor gave a cautious explanation. The medication could cause sedation, disorientation, dizziness, and memory problems in some patients, especially in older adults.
"How long has he been taking it?" Amelia asked.
Walter answered.
"About two weeks."
"Who gave it to you?"
Walter's jaw tightened.
"Diane said Collins had added it."
Dr. Collins leaned forward.
"Stop taking anything that isn't on the verified list I'm printing. I'll also notify your pharmacy and document this."
On the way home, Walter said almost nothing.
Amelia drove.
Finally she asked, "Do you think Mom intentionally gave it to you?"
Walter stared through the windshield.
"I think your mother has done many things I dislike."
"That's not an answer."
"No."
He turned toward her.
"But if she knowingly gave me medication to make me appear incompetent, this stops being a family dispute."
Amelia gripped the steering wheel.
"It becomes what?"
"A crime."
When they reached the house, Diane was gone.
Ava was upstairs.
Walter went directly to his bedroom.
The medication bottle was missing.
So was the weekly organizer.
Amelia checked the bathroom cabinet.
Nothing.
Walter opened his bedside drawer.
A small envelope was gone too.
"What was in that?"
"Copies of my current trust documents."
Amelia stared.
"You kept trust papers in your nightstand?"
"Copies."
"Who knew?"
"Diane."
"Daniel?"
"Probably."
"Ava?"
Walter looked toward the door.
"Not unless Diane told her."
Amelia walked into the hallway.
Ava's bedroom door was closed.
She knocked.
No answer.
She knocked again.
"Ava."
Still nothing.
Amelia opened the door.
The room was empty.
On the bed lay Ava's tablet.
The screen was still illuminated.
A map application was open.
A destination had been entered.
Halcyon Archive Center.
Estimated travel time: thirty-two minutes.
Amelia ran downstairs.
The SUV was gone.
Walter followed her to the garage.
"Call her."
Amelia did.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Walter opened his tracker.
The white SUV was already on the highway.
Heading east.
Amelia looked at him.
"We can beat her there in your Lincoln."
"No."
"What?"
Walter pointed at the map.
"She's not going to Halcyon."
The route changed.
The SUV exited early and turned north.
Walter enlarged the screen.
The blue dot moved toward another address.
A private medical facility called Westbridge Senior Behavioral Assessment Center.
Amelia stared.
"What's that?"
Walter read the listing.
Then his face became grim.
"It's where someone goes when their family wants documentation that they shouldn't be making their own decisions."
The SUV stopped in the Westbridge parking lot.
Amelia whispered, "Why would Ava go there?"
Walter's phone rang.
Daniel Price.
Walter answered.
"Daniel."
"Walter, where are you?"
"Home."
"Good. Diane has been worried."
"About?"
"Your recent confusion. She believes you should complete a voluntary cognitive evaluation."
Walter looked at Amelia.
"At Westbridge?"
Silence.
Then Daniel said, "Who told you that?"
Walter smiled without humor.
"Wrong question."
He ended the call.
Amelia stared at the tracker.
"Mom is building a case."
"Yes."
"Medication that makes you confused. Medical evaluation. Incapacity papers."
"Yes."
"And Daniel is helping."
Walter picked up his cane.
"Now we stop reacting."
"What are we doing?"
May you like
Walter walked toward his study.
"We're going to find out exactly what they think they gain if I become incompetent."
