Page 99 of Trust No One

“Sure. I have your information.”

“I’m really sorry,” she said. “Maria could be tough, but she was super cool.”

“Tough. How so?”

“She was kind of stalking Amy.”

“Kind of?”

“Nothing terrible.”

“What’s that mean?”

As if she realized what she’d said, she backtracked. “Mostly social media stalking. Address. Pictures. But she never threatened her or anything.”

I smiled. “The usual kind.”

“Basically. Nothing illegal.”

“I get it. Harmless stuff.”

I thought of Maria as a girl—steady, rational. The opposite of me. She’d have been the one warning me against wasting time stalking anyone, whereas I was the Hale most likely to ruin the family name.

“This is awkward, but was Maria seeing someone?”

She stiffened. “I don’t know.”

“I got a few weird phone calls from a guy asking for her,” I lied. “He wouldn’t identify himself.”

She frowned. “She might have seen a guy a few times.”

“Do you know who?”

“Someone from high school, I think.”

Beyond our immediate high school group, I couldn’t think of anyone. But I hadn’t been paying attention then. Ken was back in town, lingering around the hospital. “Ken?”

“I didn’t get a name.”

“Thanks, Sara.”

I checked my watch. Ninety minutes before school let out. In my car, I called Gabe. No answer. Next, Edith’s house phone. Nothing. “Shit.”

Engine roaring, I pulled out of the neighborhood. My first impulse was to go back by Edith’s house. But instinct drove me toward Molly’s school.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Judson

Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 1:00 p.m.

Amy Stocker didn’t return my half dozen messages. I needed to talk to her about Gabe. Did she know about the cyanide in his toolbox? Or his plans to poison his wife? Love and money were two of the strongest motivators I’d seen.

A receptionist set down her phone and came around the desk as I crossed the real estate office’s lobby. “May I help you?”

I flashed my credentials. Smiled. “I’d like to speak to Amy Stocker.”

She frowned. “Amy’s not in today. Is there a problem?”