Austin took the time to eat another bite and wash it down with coffee. "A couple of months later, she called. Connelly dumped her in a cheap motel and ran off. She said she wanted a divorce and Nick was delighted. He went to get her, found her in a bug infested motel, and swore she would never live under those conditions again, no matter what Mathew did."
"This Mathew must be a real creep," Michael muttered.
"It gets a lot worse," Austin said. "Nick bought Laura a mansion, handed her the deed, free and clear, and then set up a trust fund. The fund pays all her expenses plus twenty thousand a month."
"All her expenses and twenty thousand a month? I could live on that," Michael said. "Jackie, I need a raise."
Jackie stared at him. "I pay all your expenses now."
"Yes, but I could use twenty thousand a month," Michael argued.
"For what?" Carl asked. "You get to fly all over the world in a private jet, with the best pilot there is. You get all you want to eat and drink, plus time off between cases. What could you possibly want?"
"I plan to retire someday, Carl. I need a place on the beach to hang my hat, a car, a cook, and…"
Carl raised an eyebrow. "He's right, Jackie, we both need a raise."
Austin laughed. "They have a point."
"I appear to be outnumbered," Jackie said. "Shall we get back to work?"
"Oh, okay," Carl mumbled. "You said the Corporation pays all her expenses. Why? He gave her more than enough every month to live on."
"Nick was clever that way," Austin answered. "He gave her a credit card and had access to the account. That way, he could tell if she was in trouble without having someone check on her. He truly did love her; he just couldn't stomach Mathew and didn't trust him to treat her right."
"I take it Laura didn't go through with the divorce," said Jackie.
Austin shook his head. "She never intended to. Once the first monthly payment came through, Connelly moved right in. Nick was furious and washed his hands of them both - at least as far as Mathew knew."
"He still saw Laura?" Jackie asked.
"Nick couldn't live without her; it hurt his heart in the worst way to be out of contact. The horse ranch was one business venture Nick and Laura didn't think Mathew knew about. When Mathew was out of town, Laura went to see her father there."
"What sort of expenses does Laura have?" Jackie asked.
"Thousands of dollars' worth of clothes, cars, jewelry, vacations, cruises, you name it, she bought it," Austin answered. "Her credit card had no limit. At least, that's what she spent it on at first. After a while, Mathew got someone at the bank to add his name to the card."