"I have no idea," Austin answered. "It made no sense to me then, and still doesn't now."
All four of them were thoughtful for a moment.
"You must have spooked Connelly," said Michael, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "He knew you didn't know where she was or you would have brought her to court, so he tried to get the jump on you by producing a body."
Carl nodded. "He was hoping you'd stop looking."
"Probably," Austin agreed. "The crash didn't do her face any favors, so the picture of the dead girl isn't much help. I had Georgia's picture age progressed and there are some similarities. That's on the flash drive too."
"That's all they have?" Michael asked. "Just the photo of a dead girl?"
"That's it," Austin answered. "When no one claimed the body, she was cremated. Georgia's identification was found in a purse several yards away from the body. I guess it could be Georgia, but I sure don't want it to be."
"When was the car crash?"
"Three years ago."
Jackie stood up, walked to the window, took a moment to absorb what she had heard, and then turned to face Austin again. "Didn't you hire an investigator when you first found out?"
"I contacted you, but when you said you couldn't take the case, I hired an old college buddy of mine, Spence Wilkins. His report is on the flash drive too. He didn't learn much."
"Miss Bertrand gave you the name of the boarding school, right? Did Mr. Wilkins go there?" Jackie asked.
"He did, but they wouldn't tell him anything. They wouldn't even confirm that she had been a student there, which I thought was odd. Outside the school, Spence talked to one of the older girls. She remembered Georgia, because she was the only girl who never once had a visitor. She received no cards either at Christmas or on her birthday, and no one came to take her home on holidays."
Carl was incredulous. "Not one visitor in what…twelve years?"
"Poor kid," Michael muttered. "I'm beginning to hate both Mr. and Mrs. Mathew Connelly."
"Not as much as I do," Austin promised.
Jackie shook her head. "I sure hope she's not in a mental institution by now."
"Or worse. We should look for mug shots," Michael suggested.
Austin gasped. "Mug shots?"
"Yeah, they would already have her DNA on file. You could take her case and get her out of prison."
Austin chuckled. "I see your point. I'm not a criminal attorney, but I know a few good ones."
"It would be easier, but I hope she's not in prison," said Jackie.