I had believed every message saying she was asleep, confused, or too weak to speak.
At 2:14 a.m., Celeste called me.
I let the phone ring until it stopped.
She called again.
Then a message appeared.
MARCUS, COME HOME BEFORE YOU MAKE A MISTAKE.
I looked at the frozen image of her holding the pill bottle.
The mistake had already been made.
It was mine.
I had left my mother with people who treated her age as permission to erase her.
I called Detective Leah Brooks, the officer assigned to the hospital report.