Page 44 of Mission: Possible

I barely noticed the door banging open and shut as several people strode past. I looked up to see a man in blue jeans and a black Sky Outdoors hoodie, a helmet in one hand and a loop of rope in the other. His hair was shaved short at the sides, longer on top and flattened from his helmet. A few days beard growth only added to his handsome ruggedness. He walked over to Vanessa and leaned in and kissed her on the lips, a display that was a littletoopublic. I stuck my head back in the magazine until two feet stopped within my line of sight. "Vanessa said you're looking for me," he said.

"Zach Gallo?"

"That's me. And you are?"

I stood up, reaching into my pocket for a business card. "Lexi Graves, Private Investigator. Is there somewhere we can talk?"

"A PI?" he asked, taking my card and studying it. "We can walk outside." He sidestepped me and made for the door before I agreed. Shrugging off his impatience, I hurried after him, turning my head away from a sudden gust of wind as we exited the building. "So, what's this about?" he asked when I caught up.

"Your sister, Sophie. Her husband, Austen, hired me to investigate her accident."

Zach stopped and looked down at me. "Her accident? Why? She fell through a freaking banister when she shouldn't have even been up there. I told her it wasn't safe to live on a construction site. Austen should have sprung for a hotel room instead of making her rough it like that. Cheap bastard."

I fought to keep my face impassive. "There's evidence to suggest it wasn't an accident," I told him.

Zach snorted. "What kind of evidence? Are you implying someone hurt Sophie deliberately?"

"I think that's a definite possibility. Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt her?"

"She's a sweet girl. Kind of naïve. She lets people take advantage of her so I suppose it's possible. I always warned her not to spend too much time with those Puerto Ricans Austen hired."

I winced at Zach's blatant racism. "You mean Mr. Ortega? He isn't Puerto Rican. He's Mexican."

"Whatever. Those immigrants know how to spin a sob story just to tap Sophie up for more money like she's an ATM. I don't even know if they're legal," sneered Zach. "Maybe she refused. Did one of those bastards hurt her?"

"Did one of the work crew ask her for money?" I inquired. Neither Manny or David gave me the impression they would do that but I hadn't met the rest of the work crew. Clearly, I needed to, if only to confirm Zach was a racist bigot.

"Probably. I think Austen usually handles that stuff. Sophie doesn't have a head for figures but she wouldn't hesitate to give money to someone with a pathetic story. Like I said, super naïve."

"She sounds kind to me."

Zach snorted again. We were moving so fast with his quick gait that I didn't realize quite how far we walked. Now we stood near what looked like a rope climbing frame that went up at least ten feet at a forty-five degree angle. A log the size of a tree trunk spanned the apex, with the same rope frame coming down the other side. "This is the start of the assault course," said Zach. "Makes our clients feel like commandos. Climbing over frames, crawling under netting, and splashing about in mud. Nothing like a real war zone." He rolled his eyes.

"You were in the Army?"

"Did two tours in Iraq."

"Must have been tough."

"About as hard as listening to the clients here whine over their prissy nails getting dirty. Listen, I don't know what to tell you about Sophie. I can't imagine anyone wanted to hurt her. She's sweet but like I said, she's naïve and she has a lot of money. Or access to it anyway. I don't know if Austen approves of how she spends it but he does a good job of appearing to be the doting husband."

"You don't think he is?"

"I don't like to get into her business but I've heard them arguing more often than not. Nasty stuff. Name calling. Accusations. If you ask me, Austen thinks he made a mistake by getting married."

"Why?"

"Who knows what goes on in someone else's marriage?" Zach turned away, working loose a carabiner on the rope he carried. "All I know is, he spent a long time as a rich bachelor and now he's got a wife who's curtailing most of his fun. I don't think they have a pre-nup so there's only one way out of it for him and that's when Sophie’s six feet under!"

Chapter Ten

I thought about Zach Gallo's unpleasant comments on the drive back to Montgomery. Instead of giving me new suspects to contemplate, he first pointed his finger at the Takahashis' work crew and then directly at Austen! His opinion of all of them jarred me. Although I only met Manny Ortega a couple of times, and David once, they made a good impression as hardworking, loyal men and Austen appeared to trust them implicitly. How far did that trust go? Would Manny lie to Austen? Would Manny coverforAusten? Would he “arrange an accident” if his boss asked him to? The idea wasn't implausible but I struggled to see it happening in reality. For one thing, Austen already told me about his pre-nup. He didn't stand to lose a penny in a divorce, something that Zach apparently didn’t know. Plus, there was the small matter of the racist slant I got from Zach's comments. He certainly didn't hesitate in pointing the finger at the construction crew.

Regardless of Zach's unsavory comments, I still had to examine them both. I was sure Zach said one correct thing: Sophie was a rich woman. And the work crew probably weren't. Someone might have coveted her wealth and demanded more than she was prepared to give. That supplied a big enough motive to do her harm, even if it were a spontaneous act of aggression.

Similarly, as much as I disliked the idea of investigating Austen and his relationship with Sophie in more depth, I needed to get some other opinions about the couple. Did anyone else notice a streak of animosity from Austen toward his wife? Were there any telltale signs of dissatisfaction observed in Austen's married life?

From what I witnessed so far, Austen was a kind man renovating a home to make it ready for a new family he hoped to bring into the world. Instead of doing that, he was crippled and devastated by his wife's injuries. I barely knew the guy; could his acts of love really be an act? Just because he was absent the scene when Sophie fell didn't mean he couldn't have arranged it.