Charade

nineteen.

There was tense silence as Jesse and Rebecca stared at Helen in disbelief. Rebecca was fairly certain she wasn't breathing and judging by the tight grip Jesse held on her hand, every muscle in her husband's body was tense.

"What?" he questioned softly as Rebecca gently rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand as comforting gesture.

"We found out who leaked the story of Jesse's drug addiction to the press," Helen sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Who?" Jesse demanded.

Helen paused for a moment. "Do you know an Emily Hanson?"

Rebecca's eyes widened in horror and her thumb stopped moving as she returned the tight grip to Jesse's hand. "But how?"

Helen blinked in surprise. "You know her?"

"Unfortunately," Rebecca sighed, "We went to college together. Apparently she lives in London now."

"And she knows you?" Helen asked, turning her gaze to Jesse.

He nodded slowly, lifting his eyes to meet her stare. "She sold me shoes once."

Helen shot him a confused glare before letting out an exasperated sigh. "How did this happen?"

"You don't know?" Rebecca asked, "I assumed because you knew it was her, you also know how she found out."

Rebecca's manager inhaled deeply as she began to explain. "The initial evidence of Jesse's confession was a recording of Jesse telling the story which was mailed anonymously to the news station. We were able to trace the package to a post office on the west side of London. A camera within the post office caught Emily Hanson mailing said package."

Jesse let out a low whistle. "Who knew you guys were like secret agents?"

Helen let out a bitter laugh. "Even as good as we are, we still have no idea how she got the recording in the first place."

Stumped, the three of them sat in silence for a moment, racking their brains for any possible explanation of how Emily could have gotten her hands on such sensitive information.

"I don't understand," Jesse sighed in frustration, "When I told Rebecca, we were completely alone."

"Are you sure about that?" Helen asked, an eyebrow rising in doubt.

"It's not like she could have been hiding in the bushes," Jesse joked.

There was a moment of silence and Jesse's disbelieving glance shifted between Rebecca and her manager. "You can't be serious."

"I honestly wouldn't put it past her," Rebecca replied with pursed lips, "I've seen her do crazier things."

"The only way to know for sure is to get her to tell you herself," Helen stated simply.

"But why would she do that?" Rebecca asked.

"Because, deep down, she's probably proud of the fact that she was the one to leak the story. While you're at it, you could probably figure out her motive as well."

Jesse sighed, releasing Rebecca's hand to rub his face in exhaustion as he leaned back against the couch. "So we have to confront her."

Helen shook her head. "I wouldn't make it seem like a confrontation. She's less likely to tell you anything if she thinks you're searching for answers. It would have to come up naturally."

"That makes sense," Rebecca agreed, patting Jesse's arm lightly.

Helen shot them both a sympathetic smile before excusing herself from the house, claiming she had a very important producer to meet.