"It's a forgery, but I didn't mention that to Adelaide, she's already frightened enough. Did you send that picture back to her?" Jackie asked.
"It will go out in the morning." Carl could always tell when she'd had enough back rubbing, and left his place beside her to go back to the table.
"Thank you, Carl. What about the money?"
"I put a hundred dollar bill inside," Carl answered. "Maybe Austin could set up a little fund for her while he is still in charge of the estate."
"Without a way for Mathew to find out - if he ends up with the inheritance," said Jackie. "Good idea, I'll suggest it."
"You think Connelly sent his PI out to look for the nanny?" Michael asked. "He must have figured out by now that she's the one who told Nick."
Jackie picked up her laptop and carried it back to the table. "I'll talk to Austin about that too."
Carl asked, "Don't Casinos have to submit winnings to the IRS? Ten to one, Connelly hasn't paid a cent in taxes."
Michael nodded. "I bet you're right. That might be a good way to send him back to prison."
Jackie set her laptop down and went to the kitchen for a soft drink. "Yes, but wouldn't they try to collect the taxes from Laura?"
"You're right," said Michael, "she would be liable for them too. There must be something we can get him on."
"Gentlemen, don't get too distracted." She brought her drink back to the table and sat down. "We need to think of more ways to find Georgia."
"True," Michael agreed, "but there's a clue in Mathew's background somewhere. I'm convinced of it."
"Maybe we already found it. We know what name he gave her and why," said Jackie. "Does it say how the original Georgia died?"
Michael pulled up the obituary again. "Car wreck. A lot of those going around these days."
"Connelly was probably driving," Carl sarcastically said.
"Drunk drivers never die," Michael muttered. When he saw the look of disapproval in Jackie's eye, he said, "Well, it's true. Wanna see the stats?"
"No, I want you to get me the boarding school records."
Michael slumped in his chair. "All work and no play."
*
It was not uncommon for Bronco and Sissy to talk after Austin came back from his Saturday morning ride at the stables. As soon as he took a shower and put on clean clothes, he signed into the chat room, but she wasn't there. Lately, he spent more and more time thinking about her, wondering what she looked like, what she sounded like, and what she would think of him when they finally met. In fact, he was becoming too obsessed with her. Yet, he couldn't seem to help himself. As stupid as it was, he was falling in love with a stranger on the internet.