Zach wanted me to turn part of the house into an annex so he and Sophie could be closer. I could tell Sophie didn't want that — she's been pulling away from him more than before in the last few months — but even though she came up with one excuse after another, he wouldn't accept it. When I refused, he flew into a rage, cursing us both, and even getting right into my face."
"That seems a little over the top."
"It was crazy. Any normal couple wants to start their married lives living alone. Just because we’ve been married a while and bought the house doesn’t change that!" Austen leaned back in the chair and crossed his legs, looking tired as he stifled a yawn. "I've seen him blow up at Sophie before and she just accepts it. I'll admit I strongly pushed us into buying the house we're renovating because I thought it would be a good project for us to share as a couple. I also wanted to put more distance from Zach and the apartment they rented downtown. I was surprised when Sophie so readily agreed."
"You didn't think she would? It seems like she was on the same page as you?"
"I thought she might want to stay closer to Zach, but yeah, turned out she was on the same page. We've been talking about starting a family and making that house our forever, family home. We didn't want to raise a family in my apartment. Even though Sophie never protested, I thought it was important for her to have her own home, and not feel like a guest in mine. I don't like Zach, I'll admit that, but I don't intend to cut them off from one another. I just wanted a little extra space for our life as a married couple, and later, for our family."
"What did Sophie say about Zach's idea to include an annex?"
"Privately, she agreed with me. She wanted more space too. She was excited about the new plans and decorating and making all the decisions. I'm not particularly interested in interior design although I like to have some input but Sophie is really creative. She loves art and she knows how to put things together, what colors work best to complement each other and things like that. I think Zach scares her sometimes, too much for her to say no to his face. So I told him. I don't mind being the bad guy in that scenario. I'm supposed to protect my wife."
"How has their relationship been since that argument?"
"Increasingly more arguments. It's been okay, mostly. Zach is still at the house quite often. He visits after work and sometimes spends his evenings with us, or Sophie when I'm not home. He just turns up and wanders in. It really annoys the work crew."
"So he still comes over a lot despite your mutual decision that you didn't want him to."
Austen nodded. "Way too much. He crosses boundaries too. I found him in my home office last week."
I frowned. "What was he doing in there?"
"That's what I asked. He said he was just looking for a pen but he had one in the pocket of his padded vest and I swear I closed my laptop when I left, but it was open. My laptop is password protected but I bet he tried to gain access."
"Do you have any idea why?"
"No, but we had a weird conversation about life insurance a couple weeks back. He asked me how much Sophie would get if I died."
"Wow!"
Austen blew out a breath. "Yeah."
"I assume you weren't talking about the benefits of life insurance because he wanted a policy?"
"No, far from it. Zach was talking about investments before the question popped out. I was surprised. He brushed it off and said he was only concerned for his sister since they didn't come from much but it seemed off." He glanced at Sophie. "Perhaps it was nothing. I'm here, I'm okay, and Sophie is the one who’s lying unconscious."
"I'm sorry if this seems indelicate, but does Sophie have life insurance?"
"Yes, she does. Before you ask, I'm the beneficiary but it's essentially just legalese. Crass as it sounds, I brought all the money into the relationship and Sophie brought all the happiness. Financially, if she died, I would receive what I already had. There's no financial motive to murder her, if that's what you're asking."
"Do you have a pre-nup?" I asked.
"I get why you're asking," said Austen, "and I'm not