Page 99 of Mission: Possible

"Sure, you can ride with me. I can drop you off wherever afterwards. Ben and Rachel will be excited to see you again."

"Cool." I grinned. I adored my niece and nephew, especially as they were nowhere near as devious as Garrett's younger son and their cousin, Sam. Not that I adored Sam any less, but sometimes, it was nice not to fear having a heart attack every thirty minutes. After checking in on Manny and finding him resting, assuring him once again that neither Austen nor Sophie were hurt, we left him with Garrett and headed to Alice’s car. On the way to the kids' art class, I told Alice that I delivered bad news to Austen and expected he was glad to see the back of me.

"He wanted someone, you, to tell him the truth. He already had his suspicions. You know that."

"It doesn't make it any less sucky."

"So what are you going to do now?"

"Check in on him and find out if he wants extra security. If not, I guess I'll prepare his bill in case he says he's heard enough." I sighed. Something still niggled at me.

"What is it?" asked Alice.

I shook my head. "I don't know. I guess I keep thinking about what a brilliant actress Sophie is to go from being a wild drug addict to someone so sweet and well-liked. From a dive bar to an eloquent expert on art. Two entirely different people."

"Do you think Zach orchestrated the whole thing? Or were both of them in on it?"

"I don't know. Zach sounds like a nasty piece of work, and that's from the people who know him as well as my own experience. He’s a bully and has money problems." I shuddered at the memory of him planting his palm on my chest and pushing me off the bungee platform. What if he hadn't secured the bungee rope? He could have easily killed me. Clearly, his intention was to scare me into not coming around again, or maybe all the witnesses saved me; he'd have a hard time convincing so many it was an accident. Unless I had backup, I definitely wouldn't question him again. It was too risky. But now I thought about it, the only people who didn't seem to have a bad word about him were his Sky Outdoors colleagues. Maybe I didn’t talk to them long enough. "But," I conceded, "Sophie might have wanted out."

"Do you think?"

"Austen told me about the pregnancy."

"Oh."

"Why didn't you say?"

"I couldn't! It's private medical information. I could get fired. Plus, I hinted that Austen could tell you about her bloodwork." Alice flipped the blinker and waited to make the turn before saying, "Do you think Sophie really wanted to stop the ruse?"

"Assuming it's Austen's baby, yes. I can't imagine her wanting a baby with someone she planned to rip off and leave. They would be stuck together for life even if they divorced."

"Maybe she planned on ditching the baby too? She could sell it for a bigger payday."

My jaw dropped. "That's terrible!"

"It happens."

I thought about it for a few awful minutes. Sophie knew she wasn't entitled to a penny in a divorce. Could a baby secure the money she and Zach thought they could get from Austen? Probably. I had no doubt Austen would never let his child disappear... but would Sophie really sell her own baby? Plotting to seduce a man for his money was one thing; could she be that heartless? "I don't know about this," I said. "I have to assume it's possible, but what if Sophie wanted to stay with Austen and get away from Zach? She had a better chance at everything in life: a husband who loves her, a baby, a family. No worries about money again. That has to be why Zach attacked her. He couldn't control her anymore and if she woke up, she could identify him as her attacker."

"Anyone would resent losing a payday like that."

"But would he be mad enough to kill his own sister?" I watched the series of neat, little houses as we drove past. Families were returning home from work and a couple of kids were rollerskating on the sidewalk, wobbly and uncertain. A man handed money to a teenage boy cutting the lawn, and I wondered if they were father and son with their matching shocks of red hair. "Sophie signed a pre-nup so she knew she would get nothing," I mused.

"That's weird for someone who appears avaricious."

"Isn't it? She knew she wouldn't get anything if they divorced."

"So? Maybe that's why she got pregnant."

"Yes, maybe, but maybe Zach thought she’d get something in a divorce. What if she double-crossed him?" I shook my head, realizing the cycle was repeating. "I'm back to the motive again. What if Sophie really didn't plan to leave Austen at all? She might have had no incentive and what if she fell in love with him for real? Maybe she didn't care so much about his money as she cared about them becoming a family."

"That's what you said before. Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yes, except for the deceitful premise that started it."

"We're here," said Alice, pulling over. "Do you want to come in or wait in the car?"

"I'll come with you," I replied.