I called Callum from the hallway. He said the house had needed clearing eventually and accused me of doing nothing. When I asked about Dad’s 2019 Transit van, he claimed it had been scrapped. In reality, it had been sold for $9,400 on the twelfth. I knew because the buyer had contacted the number on the old advertisement, which now came through to my phone. I also asked about the small floor safe beneath the stairs. After a long pause, Callum insisted there had been nothing inside.

I want to be fair to him. During Dad’s final two years, Callum was the one who visited every Sunday. He lived nearby, while I came every six weeks and called every night. Those things weren’t the same, and Callum had reminded me of that more than once. But there was something else I didn’t know. In March 2021, Callum had become a signatory on Dad’s bank account because Dad could no longer visit the branch. Afterward, money began disappearing steadily. I wouldn’t discover the truth until the solicitor’s office.