Page 76 of Trust No One

“Did Maria know?”

“Yes. She confronted me the night before she collapsed. That dinner was supposed to be a fresh start for us.”

“How did she find out?”

He shook his head and picked pieces off the doughnut. “She’s smart. There’s very little that she misses.”

“Did Maria say anything else?”

“No.”

I leaned forward. “That doesn’t sound like Maria. She never shies away from conflict.” I’d always joked that she loved stirring up turmoil. Why not go for the jugular with Gabe? “She accuses you of cheating and then nothing?”

He sat back. “She dropped it. The next day, it was like it never happened. She started talking about taking a vacation. Second chances.”

“Okay.” Couples had affairs all the time. Ken was a case in point. I’d considered therapy until I realized it wasn’t his first.

But Maria and Gabe had always struck me as the exception. Yeah, they quarreled, but they’d stayed dedicated to each other through some tough times.

“Did you and Amy hook up in high school?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“I don’t remember exactly. The fall of senior year. I’d torn my ACL. I was sidelined and in a bad place. On the fall weekends when you and Maria were at the games, I came to Hale House.”

“Why?”

“The first time, Amy asked Mom if I could check a fuse. The lights on the first floor weren’t working. I came by and fixed the fuse. Amy started talking, offered me a drink. She was fun.”

“And you kept coming back?”

“We saw each other several times in November and December.”

“Did you have sex with her then?”

“A couple of times.”

I’d heard worse confessions. “Did Maria know?”

“No. Not then. I broke it off. I told Amy we had to go our separate ways.”

“When was this?”

“Early December.”

“How did Amy react?”

“She took it well. She said people came and went.”

I pulled the image of Amy’s Polaroid. “Is this you in the picture?”

He looked at the picture. “No.”

“That’s not your hand?” I pressed.

“No.”