Page 41 of Mission: Possible

"I saw you there!"

"Ohthatbank heist. I was just in the neighborhood."

"Really? You were just in the neighborhood? And you thought you'd drop by and take a look around? Read the responding officers’ notebooks? Speak to the bank manager?"

"Yep," said Maddox.

"I'm okay by the way. The blood you saw all over me probably didn't give that impression but I'm fine."

"I know."

"So you're not taking the case?"

"You would know if I were. Jord would have told you."

"Hah!" I pounced on those words. "You know Jord is on the case."

"I do."

"C'mon, Maddox. This is like trying to pull teeth. Why were you there? Why were you so interested in the bank boxes? I thought you only worked on high profile cases these days."

"Who said I was interested?" Maddox replied, his tone far too casual.

"Oh, please. Like I don't already know the answer."

"If you do, why are you calling me?" Maddox countered.

"Thanks for confirming you do have an interest."

"I never said I... are we going around in circles, Lexi? You trying to trip me up? Me trying to evade you? Like I would!"

A smile twitched on my lips. The scenario wasn't an unfamiliar one. "Please tell me everything," I said, directly pleading. "Who's involved? Whom do you suspect? Are they ex-military?"

"I can't say right now but we can talk soon. How about drinks after work?"

"Tonight?"

"That's often when my work ends."

"Okay. Lily's bar?"

"Sure. See you at seven." Maddox hung up before I could ask anything else. I stuck my tongue out at the phone. When he called back, I sucked it in, somewhat alarmed. "Are you okay?" he asked, a trace of concern this time.

"Yes, thank you."

"Good." Maddox hung up again.

"Huh," I huffed as I tossed the phone on my desk. The conversation was unusually mysterious even for Maddox. Since resigning as a detective with the Montgomery Police Department, he made the move to the FBI and became a lot more tight-lipped about his cases. I wasn't entirely sure what he did for the Feds but I knew it involved a lot of potentially high-profile cases that they actively tried to keep low-profile. Maddox's skills were put to good use, doing things like solving art theft rings and elaborate crimes that often landed him abroad. From what little information I gleaned from him, his new career seemed both exciting and tiresome.

Reassured that plenty of other people were already looking into the bank heist, I turned my attention to the Takahashi case. Knowing I hadn't given it as much thought as I should have since Charlie Sampson brought the bank case to the agency, I concentrated solely on it now. With Sophie safe in the hospital, only Austen and his foreman, Manny Ortega, were aware of my investigation so far. That was a small relief; if the prospective murderer were somewhere in the vicinity, that person wasn't aware anyone was on to them yet. Sophie's survival, however, was another concern and the danger she might have been in was far from over. I needed to learn more about the couple and their lives, and fast.

I spent an interesting half hour reading up about Austen. Like Solomon said, he was a largely self-made man although his parents were reasonably well off until they met with financial disaster. The many advantages available to him until then provided him with a headstart in life. As a rich person who temporarily became poor, he was still leagues ahead in opportunity than a person born into poverty.

Austen was a fairly private man so the majority of information I gathered about him was business-related. He curated his businesses deftly and treated his employees well. With a successful flotation on the stock market more than a decade ago, he went from one strength to the next. Little was documented about his personal life; I saw some nice photos with his parents and sister. He donated to child and animal welfare organizations. He didn't own a jet or a yacht or any of the fancy accoutrements of stratospheric success. Apparently, he once lived in a large penthouse but that article was old and I saw nothing about his new house. His marriage attracted a brief amount of attention that disappeared quickly. I found one photo of the couple together at a gala; Austen wearing a tuxedo, Sophie dressed in a halter gown in navy silk. Leaning her head against his shoulder, her face was turned away, and both of them appeared to be laughing.

Austen didn't have any social media presence although his various businesses did. I scrolled a year backwards for any public messages, but nothing was mentioned about him beyond some links to pithy press releases for endeavors he sponsored.

Sophie Takahashi was even harder to find any mention of. She had no social media profiles in either her married or maiden names, and I couldn't find any indicator of a nickname she preferred to using her real name. Their wedding wasn't featured in any society pages although I found a small announcement after the fact in the New York Times. No mention of her on the museum website either. No high school photos. No college accomplishments boasted about or reported.