Harlan Coben’s I Will Find You Recap Episode 7: The Rich Guy
- 8 minutes ago
- 5 min read
When a conspiracy so very clearly involves at least one rich person, always suspect the rich guy. With all the Payne family involvement in the Burroughs case, the show decided to misdirect and give us an alternate suspect – Gertrude Payne, already known for her ruthlessness in burying things that could affect the family and business reputation. Gertrude even had her own personal fixer/ hitman, Stephano. She was a convenient suspect. Meanwhile her son Hayden was ever sweet, ever helpful, just another generous billionaire who loved Rachel and would do anything to keep her safe. That the show turned this love into a dark obsession that involved the killing of an orphan from Switzerland and the kidnapping of Matthew Burroughs was an interesting twist. How we got there, well, let’s trace it.
David and Rachel’s attention had now turned to Dr. Heller, whom they suspected was the donor and Matthew’s biological father. They asked the only person who could sneak them inside the hospital, Ronald, for help. Ronald was not exactly eager to assist, especially since this whole case was dangerously close to costing him his beloved pregnant wife, but in the end, he agreed. After all, if he could play the hero and help get Cheryl’s son Matthew back, he just might win back Cheryl, too.
Ronald reserved an operating room at Pediatrics and locked the access so that it could only be opened using his key card.* He then had Dr. Heller paged and alerted security. Ronald found Dr. Heller before he could leave the hospital, but before he could drag him to the OR to be questioned by David and Rachel, Cheryl showed up.
It was Cheryl who joined David and Sarah at the OR, and I am going to assume Ronald gave her his key card to open the room. Cheryl hugged David and apologised. I am stopping myself from asking for details about David’s night terrors again, and what caused Cheryl to believe her then husband brutally murdered their child. Cheryl said that the donor was not Dr. Heller. The doctor who treated her and did the insemination was a woman. But, the day after she went to Berg, she woke up sick and took an early pregnancy test, which was positive. This meant that she was already pregnant when she went to Berg and that Matthew was David’s son.
Cheryl also mentioned that at Berg, she used Rachel’s name, which explained why there was no medical record under her name. That meant that Rachel was the target, not Cheryl; someone thought she was the patient who was trying to get pregnant, and donated precisely to have a baby with her. Just then, Rachel received the missing photos from the Payne Industries corporate photographer. They were photos of Hayden at the park that day, and on one of them, he was holding young Matthew’s hand.
Are you feeling confused? Do you have questions about this particular resolution to the mystery? Me, too. I am going to refrain from further comment until I’ve seen the finale. For now, though, let’s head over to the Sarah and Muller part of the investigation.
Sarah took the recently arrived Detective Muller with her to Berg, and along the way he was able to fill her in on his side of the investigation. Five years ago, the orphanage claimed that Martin ran away, but Muller had always suspected something nefarious occurred. Martin had vanished three weeks before Matthew was supposedly killed. They were the same age, same height, same hair.
The orphanage was privately funded by a Boston family via the Payne Foundation. Sarah pointed out that Hayden Payne had been helping out Rachel and David. Why would he be helping them if his family was involved? Why, indeed. The orphanage closed down before Muller could conduct an investigation. I have another question – Why would a Boston family fund an orphanage in Switzerland? Why not fund orphanages in Boston, or elsewhere in the US, or in a country not as wealthy as Switzerland? Are we going to find out more about this orphanage and its link to the Payne Foundation in the finale? I hope so.
Muller said that Martin had a rare genetic disorder called Metachromatic Leukodystrophy or MLD, which would show up in a DNA test. If they tested the blood at the crime scene and it came back with MLD, that was proof that the body could be Martin. Matthew could indeed be alive, and David innocent. Sarah called Max to ask him to call the Boston crime lab and order a DNA test on the blood found at Matthew’s crime scene.
At Berg, Sarah’s ability to get into the system and find out what David and Rachel searched for impressed Muller, and he casually mentioned how he used to work financial crimes. Sarah asked him to take a look at REH Holdings, where the money used to pay Ted Wesson to keep tabs on David originated from. Did Max not have any FBI connections who could do this type of work? Was it necessary to outsource it to a Swiss policeman? In any case, Sarah headed out to talk to Cheryl whilst Muller worked the finance angle.
Muller must have worked quickly because he had an update for Sarah even before she arrived at the hospital. Gertrude Payne was not a signatory for REH Holdings, and her name did not appear on any corporate filings. The accounts were also zeroed out and closed two days ago; the wire request came from a bank in Boston. He admitted that how he got this information would not hold up in an American court, but that Gertrude did not know that; he wanted to go and rattle her cage. Read that again. A Swiss police officer wanted to go to an American billionaire to rattle her cage. Sometimes, lots of times, I am fine with going along to get along with the mystery ride. Other times, I find myself taken out of my immersion to the tale with details like this.
Muller went to Gertrude’s estate, because apparently it was that easy for a Swiss police officer to gain an audience with an American billionaire, and they were soon joined by Hayden. Hayden was notably silent through the whole conversation, as Muller dangled the possibility that the body found was not Matthew but Martin. He claimed that the FBI would conduct a DNA test on the blood that was found that night. When Gertrude reasonably asked what all this had to do with her, Muller pointed out the suspicious coincidence of a missing boy from her orphanage showing up dead in her hometown. As Muller was leaving, after Gertrude poshly threw him out, he noticed a portrait of her late father, Robert Edward Harold Payne – the same initials as REH Holdings. Hayden caught up with Muller outside and hit him with a rock on the head, then proceeded to brutally murder him in his mother’s front yard.
Rating: B
Strays
🕵️*If the OR could only be opened using Ronald’s key card, how did Sarah burst in at the end of the episode?
🕵️What was Dr. Heller’s part in the framing of David? Five years ago, he handed Gertrude a piece of paper, which she then burned.
🕵️What did Gertrude’s lawyer make Hayden sign to get him out of prison?
🕵️Julie cancelled the DNA test Max ordered, suspended Sarah, and told Max to enjoy retirement.
🕵️Sarah had Ronald arrested when he refused to tell her where Cheryl was.
Episode Writers: Robert Hull and Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt
Episode Director: Maggie Kiley
Original Release Date: June 18, 2026