Chapter Thirty-Seven Raine
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Raine
At the courthouse, I waited outside the family judge’s chambers. The Hale name, my history—and the estate’s—were checkered, but I hoped time had blurred the old scandals.
The clerk appeared and ushered me inside. Judge Frances Tate stood behind a large wooden desk. Mid-sixties, steel-gray hair scraped into a bun, half-glasses perched on her head.
I’d been in countless chambers. In the early days, nerves had knotted my stomach, but experience had dulled the edge. Until now.
I crossed the room, extending my hand. “Judge Tate, I’m Raine Hale.”
Her gaze flickered down to the notes on her desk. “Ms. Hale. You’ve made a splash since your return last week.”
“More than I intended.”
“I was sorry to hear about your cousin. Maria Durant nursed my mother last year.”
“It’s a shock.”
“Agent Blackwood is investigating the case. He’s arrested Maria’s husband.”
Her command of the facts didn’t surprise me. “Yes.”
“And you’re representing him?”
Her gaze lingered on her notes, her frown deepening. “Do you consider representing Gabe Durant and seeking custody of his child a conflict of interest?”
“It could be. I suspect he’ll need different counsel soon.”
“Molly Durant is your niece?”
“Not exactly. First cousin once removed.”
She peered over her glasses. “And if it comes down to it—will you side with the child or her father?”
That required no thinking. “The child. She’s the true innocent in all this.”
“How long do you intend to stay in town?”
“I have no plans to leave. And if I do, it won’t be until Mr. Durant’s charges are resolved and the custody of the minor child is finalized. There’s also the manner of dealing with the Hale estate. It fell under my control today. My thirty-fifth birthday.”
“Happy birthday.”
“Thanks.”
She studied me, lines etched deep in her face. “I’ll sign the agreement. Temporary custody to you. But I want you back in my court in one month so I can reevaluate.”
A month. The case wouldn’t even have a trial date by then. “Understood.”
With the details finished, I hurried to my car. I still had two hours before I had to pick Molly up from school. I called Edith. Voicemail. I called a second time. And a third. No answer.
I drove by Edith’s house, but her car wasn’t in the driveway. My next stop was Molly’s school. I met with the principal, showed him my identification and the judge’s signed order. He promised to release Molly to me at two p.m., when school let out.
With time to kill, I shifted my attention to Maria’s life outside her marriage.
I didn’t know who she’d hung out with, but she’d always been popular and had to have had friends.
A quick check of social media showed Maria had two friends—Sara Mitchell and Wendy Walker. Both were nurses at her hospital.
Sara was off work today, so I tracked her down to a modern town house twenty miles west of Charlottesville. I knocked on her front door. At first, I heard nothing, so I rang the bell. Finally, footsteps echoed in the house.
The door opened to a woman in sweats and a tee, blond hair knotted on her head. “Yes?”
“My name is Raine Hale. I’m Maria Durant’s cousin.”
“Maria? What’s going on with her?”
News of her death was spreading in town. But a woman at home on a day off might be a step behind. “She passed away last night.”
“What?” Sara stepped forward, closing her front door partway behind her. “She’s in the hospital and on the mend.”
I repeated the rote words, but they didn’t sound like me. “That’s what we all thought. The damage to her heart was more extensive than they originally thought.”
“Where’s Gabe?”
“Why do you ask?” I wasn’t obligated to tell her I was Gabe’s lawyer. And until she asked, I wouldn’t.
She shrugged, defensive. “I don’t know.”
I wanted silence to coax her into filling the gaps.
“Maria was always worried, more quiet than normal. She was angry and agitated a lot lately. I wouldn’t be surprised if stress gave her the heart attack.”
“She told me they were having problems.”
“He asked her for a divorce a few weeks ago,” Sara said.
“He did?” Another detail he’d avoided.
“Yeah. He wanted it over.”
“She told you that?”
“Yes.”
“He was still living in the house. She wanted him out, but he wouldn’t go.”
“Why not?”
“He can’t afford to live anywhere else,” she said. “She’s paying the bills. And he seems to love Molly, but she’s his excuse to stay in the house.”
“He said they were working out their marriage.”
A brow rose as her lips flattened. “Not according to Maria.” She hauled in a breath. “I told Maria to kick him out. To move on. But Molly loves her dad.” Unshed tears glistened in her eyes. “Does Molly know?”
“No. I’m picking her up at two from school.”
“I know you’re her cousin, but why are you here?”
“I’m telling Maria’s friends about her passing personally,” I lied.
“That’s nice.”
“Would Gabe ever do anything to hurt Maria?”
Sara considered the question. “I never thought he had the backbone. But Maria said he had a temper.”
“What about Amy?”
Her face flattened with a scowl. “I don’t know anything about her.”
“Did Maria talk about her?” I asked.
“A little.”
“Where does she live?”
“Waynesboro.”
Her certainty caught my attention. “How’d you know that?”
She hesitated as color rose in her cheeks. “Maria and I might’ve done a little intel on her.”
That sounded like Maria. “Do you have an address?”
“Why do you want to talk to Amy? She doesn’t care about Maria.”
“Agreed. But I’d like to tell her about Maria myself.”
She sighed, reached in her pocket, selected a contact, and handed the phone to me. “Text it to yourself.”
I shared Amy Stocker’s phone number and home address with myself. I handed the phone back. “Thanks.”
“Do you know when there’s going to be a funeral?”
“We’re working on the details.”
“Let me know.”
“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.