My mother’s face tightened.
“We tried.”
“How?”
“She wouldn’t provide us with documentation.”
Judge Morland looked at me.
“Did they ask for your bar card?”
“No, Your Honor.”
“Your bar number?”
“No.”
“Your law-firm information?”
“No.”
“Did they search the Massachusetts attorney registry?”
Brenda’s lips parted.
Nobody answered.
Judge Morland slowly removed her glasses.
“The public attorney registry?”
My father shifted.
“We aren’t familiar with legal databases.”
“You don’t need to be. It appears in an ordinary internet search.”
Brenda flushed.
My mother looked at me.
“You could have shown us.”
There it was.
I finally spoke directly to her.
“You could have believed me.”
Her mouth closed.
Judge Morland looked between us.
“Ms. Hamilton, do you know what prompted this complaint?”
“I know what they told me.”
“And what was that?”
“That Brenda discovered I had been telling people I was a lawyer and became concerned I was committing fraud.”
