Page 58 of Mission: Possible

"Okay, fine, I planned to stop by the deli near my house and pick up fresh pasta. I'll make sure to leave work in time. Solomon said he would make a spicy sausage sauce. What about you?"

"I baked a cake but Jord ate half of it for breakfast. Apparently, as an adult now, he can do that, so I'm buying gelato from that deli near your house and decanting it into a tub at my house. Who doesn't love Italian ice cream after pasta?"

"Genius!"

"I know, right? How're the cases progressing?"

"More perplexing than before."

"Jord told me the dead guy you found has a rap sheet but being the getaway driver was a major escalation. Apparently, he prefers to merely hot-wire cars before fencing them. The van you all found wasn't exactly in high demand but I'm surprised he drove it home. That seems kind of stupid to me."

"Stupidity may well have gotten him killed."

"Let me know if you need my help. You know how good I am at stakeouts, tracking people and sifting out useful information. Even though I've got a miniature sidekick now, I can still do all that. If you called me back once in a while, you'd know that. I feel left out."

"I will call on you as soon as I have something I need tracked down," I told her. "I'm sorry I'm not including you more often."

"It's okay. I know you will."

We hung up but even as I returned my attention to the laptop screen, I knew I wouldn't find anything. An hour later, I confirmed Sophie's records were clean. She never earned much money in her professional life, being fairly frugal with what she had. I couldn't find any rental payments but I recalled Austen saying she lived with her brother. I also failed to find any withdrawals that suggested she covered her share of the rent but she could have had a side hustle that paid her in cash. I went back one year before Sophie met Austen and ran into a dead end. Sophie's financial records didn't exist before then. The account was opened three years ago in Milwaukee and remained largely dormant after she married Austen and they began sharing an account. Even though I searched further and found plenty of other Sophie Gallos, I couldn't find one with the same birthdate. It seemed like Sophie simply materialized from thin air three years ago.

I called Solomon and reminded him about the family dinner at my parents’ house before requesting an update on the bank case. He gave that to me as he walked into the office, hanging up when I turned around.

"I thought you would be out all day," I told him.

"I tracked down that Martin guy who got fired from the bank. Then I spoke to Jord about female bank robbers. He doesn't have any intel so that looks like a bust. That's not a pun. I see you smirking."

"Sorry," I grinned.

"Anyway, Martin was away visiting an aunt and uncle when the heist happened. He's clueless. Then, I sniffed around where Mackleton picked up the van," he said. "Turns out he boosted it from an extended stay parking lot near the train station. Although it was flagged as stolen, they can’t pinpoint the time or date of the theft."

"Did you manage to get a look at the cameras?"

"The lot's owners aren't exactly this century when it comes to security tech. A single camera overlooks the entrance and a static one covers the lot and that's it. The only problem is the fencing is crappy at best, and non-existent at worst, so there's a solid chance Mackleton strolled in, grabbed a key, and drove the van straight out through a wide enough gap. The security guard says the van was brought in two weeks ago so it could have been stolen anytime since that date. Lucas is trying to see if it shows up on any of the city traffic cams."

"That sounds an arduous job."

The edges of Solomon's lips lifted into a small smile. "I believe the words, ‘pay raise’ were mentioned."

"I put the list of items from the bank vault in the boardroom," I told him. "Before you ask, I didn't see anything interesting that was left behind. No convenient Polaroids saying ‘steal this!’ or even random notes."

"Shame. It was a long shot so I'm not surprised. How's the other case? The Takahashis’?"

"Interesting development," I said before telling him about the cash and the curious impasse when I investigated Sophie's history.

"She just appeared from thin air, you say?"

"Seems that way."

"What if she changed her name? Was she married previously?"

"I don't think so but since Austen suspects she's been lying to him, it's pretty unlikely he would know. I'll run a check though."

"Could she be in witness protection? I can make a call. It seems highly unlikely but I can ask my contact at the FBI."

"Thanks. I didn't think to ask Maddox but Austen raised it as one of his crazier theories. I agree it's probably unlikely but it doesn't hurt to rule out the possibility. I'm going to visit her brother again tomorrow. Perhaps he can give me more insight, and her former colleagues too. They might know something she didn't want to admit to her husband." I checked my watch. "We can't stay much longer. My parents are expecting us and you haven't made your sauce yet."

"I made it this morning and already dropped it off at your parents’ house. Your mom said she'll reheat it so long as your dad doesn't eat it all first."