Page 80 of Mission: Possible

"A car accident. I think she was drinking and spun off the road before smashing into a tree. The gas tank exploded, killing her instantly."

"That's terrible!" I wondered if it explained Zach's volatile personality. He was certainly explosive. Could it be he was still working through a personal trauma? As I thought about it, however, I knew plenty of people who suffered personal traumas and none of them ever pushed me off a platform high in the air. Some of them probably wanted to, but that was their problem. "What else can you tell me about them?" I added.

Austen glanced at Sophie. "I used to say I could only imagine how painful it was, but now I feel that I know exactly what it's like to lose the person you love most in the world."

"But you still have hope," I reminded him.

"I do," he agreed. "All is not lost yet. I'm sorry. You wanted to know more about Zach and his wife."

"Please."

"I'm trying to think but I can't come up with much. I asked Sophie, my Sophie, about her a couple of times and she said she wasn't really close to her sister-in-law and Zach didn't like talking about her. I think her death was part of the reason they moved. I think it happened only a couple of weeks before they left."

"A couple of weeks?" I frowned. That didn't seem like much time to go through a life-changing event and then move from the city, never mind the state.

Austen shrugged. "I guess they wanted to get away. A lot of people flee from tragedy. I was curious about the timing too and I admit I looked it up online. There was a small news article in their local newspaper about it. I don't really recall the details. I'm not even sure I can find the link."

"I'll look it up," I told him, making a mental note. "I wanted to ask you something else too. It's a little sensitive."

Austen glanced up. "You can ask me anything."

"It's about your secretary."

"Katrina?"

I nodded. "Zach suggested the two of you might have been more than professional."

"More than... Oh!" Austen gulped and blinked, surprised. Then he laughed. "Zach said Katrina and I were having an affair? That's absurd!"

I watched his face but saw no signs of guilt. Instead, Austen seemed confused. "Is it?"

"I've known her for more than twenty years. She's one of the best hires I ever made and I call her my friend too. Plus, Katrina is sixty-seven. Not to mention, she's married. Sophie and I attended her wedding."

"Marriage doesn't mean the same to everyone."

"I can assure you it does to Katrina. Plus, Zach might not know this, but Katrina is married to a woman. The very idea that she and I would be conducting an affair is ridiculous!" He shook his head, holding back a laugh. "Somehow I'm not surprised Zach would insinuate that, or even say it outright. He's a nasty character but I have to put up with him for Sophie's sake. He's the only family she's got, rotten or not." Austen pulled out his phone and tapped the digital screenpad. "I just sent you Katrina's details," he added. "And I've copied her in so she knows to expect your call. Ask her any question you want although I don't know if she'll be horrified or amused. I have absolutely nothing to hide."

There was a knock at the door and Manny stuck his head around. "My guy downstairs said Zach just arrived," he said, glancing at me.

"That's my cue to leave," I told them. I had no desire to wait around to run into Zach again. There were far too many plate glass windows he could push me through. "I'll be in touch soon," I told them.

Lily and I left via the staircase, rather than waiting at the elevator where we might bump into Zach, and we were halfway down. I filled her in on everything Austen told me, and Lily finally spoke. "To think you'd never have discovered any of this without me. This is what happens when the team gets back together!"

I grinned. "Absolutely! Although please never let me swing by my ankles again."

Lily paused and winced. "Okay," she said, "but I have to scrub some things off your birthday list."

Chapter Sixteen

Lily and I collected sandwiches and chips from a deli before she dropped me off at the agency. She promptly declared she didn't want to sit around while I punched my laptop keyboard. I didn't argue with her since that was exactly what I planned to do. I had a few things I still had to find out and Austen suggested some new ideas on where to start.

It took me thirty minutes to find the news article, after digging deep in the digital archives of the reporting newspaper, about Zach's wife. I printed it for the file I was accumulating, skimmed it, then reread it again, slowly, from the beginning.

The deceased Sophie Gallo died after her car spun out of control, according to an eyewitness. She was on a long, notorious stretch of road outside her small hometown. The report asserted she was an art history graduate, married for two years with no children. Her husband witnessed the accident because he was traveling behind her in his own vehicle with his sister. According to the report, she wasn't survived by any other family members, just her husband and sister-in-law. The reporter tracked down a friend, Annie, who was reported as saying, "Sophie was my best friend through high school and college. She was always a careful driver and I'm heartbroken to hear about the accident." The friend added, "Sophie was such a joy to be around and had everything to live for. She will be dearly missed". Zach didn't provide any comment. The article ended after a brief list of Sophie's accomplishments: a teaching assistant role at a college, a peer-reviewed academic paper on art that was very well received, and an award for raising a sizable amount of money for a high-school classmate who suffered an accident during their senior year.

I sat back and contemplated everything I read. It seemed so sad that a young woman with so much potential could lose her life at so young an age. Now, Zach's anger made more sense; perhaps he simply misdirected his grief and possibly suffered from PTSD after witnessing his wife’s horrific death. Then I thought back to the frigid coldness I glimpsed in his eyes when he pushed me, and I wasn't so sure.

One crucial factor stood out: someone potentially knew both Sophies and Zach. I had to track her down.