Page 98 of Mission: Possible

Chapter Twenty

"That must be the reason Zach attacked her." Garrett and I were standing in the corridor with our heads together. Well, as much as they could be, given Garrett was much taller than I. We withdrew to give Austen more privacy and I could see him now, his head still in his hands. I could only imagine his turmoil. "If he were the one."

"Oh, please!" I scoffed. "Zach sets up the scam for Sophie to seduce Austen into marriage and then take all his money. Sophie goes along with it but later changes her mind. She likes Austen. Maybe she even loves him. She starts creating more space and separation between her and her brother. Then Sophie either tells Zach, or he finds out, that she is pregnant and he goes ballistic. His big payday is gone if Sophie stays with Austen so he tries to kill her, fails and tries again... Oh!" Frustration hit me hard and fast.

"What?" asked Garrett.

"It still doesn't make sense. If Sophie and Austen divorced, she wouldn't get a penny. They have a pre-nup. If she dies, she would have nothing to leave Zach."

"Could Zach possibly know that?"

"Maybe. Austen said he found Zach in his study. He could have been snooping. If it were a big scam, he wouldn't have insisted that Sophie sign a pre-nup, yet she did."

"What do you know about clauses for any babies they might have?"

"I have no idea. It never came up." I glanced at Austen again. "Maybe Zach just couldn't bear seeing his sister so happy."

Garrett followed my gaze. I felt terrible at delivering a bombshell on top of his already terrible day, despite the small glint of hope that Sophie would awaken soon. "If Sophie died childless, Austen would inherit anything she owned as her husband. Who inherits that if Austen dies, also without children?" he asked. "He was attacked too, remember."

"Zach would get something, I guess, as Sophie's next of kin? He even asked Austen about it. Austen has a sister but even if they split it two ways, that's got to be a helluva lot of money."

"I'm going to get some extra uniforms up here to watch over him and recommend he hire a private security firm or extend his fee to include Solomon's team. He needs professionals, not his construction foreman."

"Do you really think his life is in that much danger? I figured he was hit so the assailant could get to Sophie."

"Yeah," said Garrett, "I do. And I'm putting out a BOLO on Zach Gallo while I verify if he was the one behind today's attack. Jeez. What a mess this is."

"There's still something not right about it, but I can't put my finger on it," I said, stepping back to lean against the wall. "I wish I could."

"You've given me the motive for the assault and I think there's a good argument for attempted murder. Once I confirm Zach's presence, this will be wrapped up."

"Not for Austen. Whatever happens with Sophie, this will stay with him for the rest of his life."

"You got past being engaged to an asshole," said Garrett.

"Only after I made some terrible choices first," I reminded him, hoping he wouldn't ask me for a list of every misadventure. It was a very long and largely embarrassing list, and those were just the bits I remembered. "Plus, it helped that I didn't actually marry him."

"I'm not sure whom I hated more: your ex-fiancé, Daniel's ex-wife, or Serena's ex-husband."

"Tough one," I agreed. "Although we all knocked it out of the park when it came to our current spouses."

"Agreed," said Garrett. "And neither Solomon nor Delgado scare me, no matter what they think."

I arched my brows even though I tried to keep the skepticism from showing on my face. "Sure."

"I'll keep you updated," said Garrett. "I need to interview Mr. Ortega and check into the hospital cameras and see if this Zach guy turns up. I can't tell you how happy I am to add this to my caseload."

"I heard the Mackleton case isn't going so well."

"I hate to say it but all of our leads hit dead ends. No one saw or heard anything. Even the bullet didn't offer any clues. Unless I catch a break, his file may well land on the unsolved list."

As Garrett left, Alice returned. She changed out of her scrubs into jeans and a light sweater and carried a small backpack over her shoulder. "I have to go," she said. "I might just be on time to pick up the kids from their class today if I hurry."

"Can I get a ride with you?"

"You didn't drive here?"

"No. I still don't have a car and Solomon gave me a ride. He would have come in but he got an urgent call."