Chapter 5 - THE WILL READING
The conference room was quiet, save for the hum of the air conditioning and the rhythmic, artificial beep of the portable heart monitor attached to Calvin’s finger. Amber sat at the head of the long mahogany table, her lawyer Vance to her right, and Ruby to her left. Paula stood at the opposite end, her briefcase open. Elias stood like a sentinel behind Calvin’s bed.
“Let’s make this quick, Paula,” Amber said, dabbing her dry eyes with a tissue. “It’s too painful to see him like this. Vance has drawn up the expedited transfer of the commercial deeds, as well as the title for the ivory coupe. We just need Calvin’s thumbprint, since he clearly can't hold a pen.”
“Actually, Amber,” Paula said smoothly, pulling a sleek tablet from her briefcase. “Before we execute any new documents, I have an obligation to review Calvin’s current standing, and the circumstances surrounding his... rapid decline.”
Amber frowned. “What are you talking about? Dr. Gable said he had three days.”
“Yes, well, medical opinions can be so subjective,” Paula replied, tapping the screen of the tablet. “For example, the opinion of Nurse Higgins here.” Paula turned her piercing gaze to the nurse. “Nurse Higgins, can you confirm for the record the exact dosage of morphine you administered to Mr. Buffington two days ago?”
Nurse Higgins shifted uncomfortably, glancing at Amber. “I... I administered the standard palliative dose as prescribed by the on-call resident.”
“Really?” Paula raised an eyebrow. “Because I have a rather interesting piece of audio that suggests otherwise.”
Paula connected the tablet to the room’s Bluetooth speaker system. She hit play.
The crystal-clear recording of Amber and Ruby’s conversation filled the room.
“...Higgins is going to up the morphine drip. Just a little. Enough to keep him compliant when the notary gets here.”
“Are you sure about this, Mom? If they find out you messed with his meds, they could call the cops.”
“Oh, shut up and stop being so dramatic, Ruby. He’s a dying old man... By tomorrow afternoon, he’ll be a vegetable, and I’ll have total power of attorney...”
The color violently drained from Amber’s face. She looked as though she had been struck by lightning. Ruby gasped, covering her mouth in sheer horror. Nurse Higgins took a terrified step backward toward the door, but Detective Miller smoothly stepped in front of it, locking the deadbolt with a loud, echoing click.
“What is this?!” Vance, Amber’s sleazy lawyer, sputtered, standing up. “This is an illegal recording! It’s inadmissible!”
“Georgia is a one-party consent state, Mr. Vance,” Paula smiled, a terrifying, predatory grin. “And the person recording the conversation was a participant in the room. In fact, he’s the owner of the phone.”
At that exact moment, Calvin Buffington reached up, ripped the oxygen cannula from his nose, and sat bolt upright in the hospital bed.
The portable heart monitor beeped wildly as he threw off the blanket. He wasn't a dying old man. His eyes were ablaze with a terrifying, righteous fury.
“Hello, Amber,” Calvin said, his voice booming with the authority of a man who had spent forty years commanding crews of laborers. “You wanted me a vegetable? I’m afraid I’m feeling a bit too lively for your taste.”
Amber let out a strangled shriek, falling back into her chair. “Calvin! You... you were awake? You heard...”
“I heard every filthy, greedy word that came out of your mouth,” Calvin roared, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Elias quickly handed him his robe, which Calvin threw over his shoulders like a king donning his mantle. “I brought you into my home. I gave you everything. And you tried to drug me to death to steal my life’s work.”
Ruby was hyperventilating, tears streaming down her face. “Calvin, please, it was her! It was my mom! I didn't want to do it, she made me!”
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“Shut up, you traitor!” Amber screamed, turning on her own daughter like a cornered rat. “You’re the one who was obsessed with the stupid car!”
“That ‘stupid car’ has more soul in its lug nuts than the two of you have in your entire bodies,” Calvin spat. He looked at Detective Miller. “Detective. Do your job.”
