Austen glanced at Sophie, lying peacefully on the bed. "Sophie was a drug addict?"
"According to my contact, yes. When Zach's wife died in a car accident, he and Sophie took off and ended up here in Montgomery. She appears clean now but I'm told by the neighbor at Zach's apartment that things seemed pretty volatile."
"That doesn't surprise me. Zach is a hot head. I just can't imagine my wife as a drug addict. She's so vehemently anti-drugs." Austen glanced at Sophie. The woman on the bed looked completely peaceful despite all the commotion.
"Perhaps her former life has something to do with that," said Garrett.
"She seems to have changed a lot since living here. Her colleagues at the museum really liked her and I saw her artwork in your office. It's beautiful. She's very talented."
"She is. I asked Manny to build her an art studio at home. It was supposed to be a surprise. She loves to paint. We talked about having an exhibition of her art one day but she was so reticent. She's always been very shy. How can someone wild turn into someone shy?"
"Perhaps there was another motive," I said. "I've learned that you two didn't meet by accident. Sophie arranged it."
"How so?" Austen frowned. "We met at the theater."
"Where you happened to be seated next to each other."
"I don't follow?"
"Sophie bought the tickets and arranged to send one to you. She wanted to be right next to you. It wasn't fate or destiny."
"Why?"
I raised my eyebrows, hoping I wouldn't have to point out why a poor, avaricious, pretty woman might want to sit beside a wealthy, single man.
"But she didn't even give me her number!" he protested.
"But she did suddenly appear where you were, allowing you to meet again. I suspect that was no accident either," I said, watching his face for the signs that the depressing puzzle pieces were beginning to fit snugly.
"We have so much in common," said Austen, gazing at her. "We like almost all the same things. We're building a happy life together."
"It's more likely they studied all about you."
"They?"
"Zach and Sophie," I clarified and paused, allowing all the nice things that I heard about Sophie to filter through. The loving art in his office, the purported way she looked at Austen. The steps she took to move away from Zach. "Initially, they were probably in it together but I think Sophie might have changed her mind and was trying to stop it."
"She's pregnant," said Austen softly, putting his head into his hands and starting to cry.
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?