“That’s exactly right. I warned Del to be careful about hidden clauses when he signed the loan papers, but he’s never been proficient at reading legal documents. Max took advantage of his naivete.”

“He didn’t have a lawyer read over the loan papers?”

“There wasn’t time. Max told him that the deal was off if he didn’t sign right away. Del was desperate and that made him vulnerable. Max counted on that. The man had no scruples!”

Hannah took a deep breath. From what she’d learned about Max, she could agree with Judith completely on that point. “You’re right, Judith. And you’re not the first person that Max tried to ruin. Was he really going to foreclose on your home?”

“Yes, and I couldn’t let that happen. Del built this house for me. It was a condition of our marriage. I had the architect follow the blueprints for my father’s house. This is an exact replica and I couldn’t bear to lose it. Surely you can appreciate that.”

“Your home means that much to you?”

“It’s my life!” Judith looked fiercely protective. “How could I stand by and do nothing while Max Turner was threatening to take my life away?”

Hannah bit back the urge to remind Judith that she had taken Max’s life away in a much more tangible and permanent fashion. “Is that the reason you called Benton home?”

“Of course it is. But Benton doesn’t love this house the way I do. He actually told me that I had to accept it, that his father had signed those loan papers voluntarily and there was no recourse we could take.”

“So you decided to kill Max and get the loan papers back?”

“What other choice did I have? I couldn’t stand by and let Max Turner evict me from my lovely home!”

“No, I guess not.” Hannah saw that Judith’s hand was trembling slightly and she asked another question to calm her down. “Wasn’t Max suspicious when you called and said you wanted to see him?”

Judith gave a cold little laugh. “Max wasn’t bright enough to be suspicious. I told him I’d sold some family heirlooms and that I was prepared to pay off Del’s debt. When I arrived at his office, I demanded to see the loan papers before I gave him the money.”

“So he took you into the old dairy and got them out of the safe?”

“Yes, but I had to show him the money first. You should have seen the greed on his face. It was appalling!”

Hannah was confused. “Then you had enough money to pay off the loan?”

“Of course not. I simply let him glimpse a sheaf of thousand dollar bills. Max was too stupid to realize that only the top five were authentic. And after he handed me the loan papers, I took a great deal of pleasure in ridding the world of Maxwell Turner!”

Judith’s eyes turned hard and Hannah knew she should do something to appease her anger. “There are a lot of people who’d thank you, Judith. If the other people that Max tried to ruin knew what I know, they’d probably erect a statue of you in Lake Eden park.”