Page 20 of Trust No One

isn’t worth having.

Time to stop waiting.

Chapter Nine

Judson

Saturday, October 17, 2026, 1:15 p.m.

Meg was swabbing the sink when I entered the kitchen. More yellow tents dotted the floor and counter.

“Did you find Maria Durant’s phone?”

“Yes, it’s been bagged.”

“What’re the chances a woman like Maria would have a heart attack?”

“She was a distance runner. And in good shape.”

“Health issues happen. Unlikely doesn’t mean impossible,” I said. “Be on the lookout for health monitors. Apps on her phone. Anything that suggests an illness. I’m going to interview her mother-in-law. Call me if you need anything.”

“Will do.”

“Thank you.”

In my car, I called the hospital. Maria Durant remained in a coma, but she was alive. The charge nurse said Raine Hale paced the hallway. Gabe hadn’t reappeared.

Gabe was impulsive, but this second absence suggested trouble. Was he running scared? He’d done time in prison for a violent assault. Did he fear the system would arrow in on him before anyone else?

His disappearing acts weren’t a good look. Most caring husbands stayed close to a wife in critical condition.

Fifteen minutes on the main road looped me around the Hale estate and toward another entrance. It led down a wooded access road toward a small horse trainer’s cottage, where Gabe’s mother, Edith Durant, still lived.

In its heyday, the Hale family had employed a dozen people to maintain the barns, gardens, and stables. Somewhere along the way, the money had evaporated, and they’d let everyone but the caretaker go. Edith Durant no longer received a salary but lived rent-free in her cottage.

Edith and Gabe had joined the staff over twenty years ago. She was a property manager. She didn’t put her hands in the soil, but she oversaw yard crews, stable hands, and housekeepers.

Again, I pictured Raine driving the mower through tall grass. Gabe had been the lawn crew in those days. And he’d dropped the ball.

Now that Raine was back, Edith’s position on the estate would change. The property was too large and valuable to leave in the care of one person. I’d bet Raine would sell. The fortune would be too hard to resist. Edith and her son and daughter-in-law faced eviction.

I walked up a graveled driveway onto a small front porch. Two rockers moved gently in the wind. I knocked. Hopefully, Gabe was here.

Inside the house, a television broadcast a kids’ show. Seconds later, footsteps and then the door opened.

Edith Durant was a tall woman. Like her son, she had angled cheekbones, green eyes, and puffed cheeks. As a teenager, I’d spent time in this house when I visited Gabe. Edith was usually here but working at the big house. Gabe had once said his mother had been a dancer, but I’d never believed him.

“Judson.” A relieved smile spread across Edith Durant’s face. “Do you have more news about Maria?” She dropped her voice a notch. “Tell me she’s still alive.”

“Last I spoke to the hospital, she was stable. She hasn’t woken up. Doc says her body needs to shut down before it can heal.”

She motioned me inside. The scent of pine cleaner triggered memories of high school, playing video games, and drinking beer half the night.

“Can I get you anything to eat or drink?” Edith closed the door.

“No, thank you.” A little girl’s giggle drifted from the other room. “Is she all right?”

Edith glanced over her shoulder. “She thinks she’s having a sleepover. I haven’t told her anything.”