"We are ignoring our guest," said Carl, hoping to change the subject.
"Don't let me get in the way," Austin said.
"Trust me, we won't," said Jackie. "Now, where were we? We established that Laura is a drunk, and Mathew gambles all over the world."
"Right," said Austin. "He comes home once a month, and as soon as Laura's monthly allowance arrives, he's gone again."
"Twenty thousand a month isn't that much to a gambler," said Michael.
"Not nearly enough," Austin agreed. "Inheriting over a billion should hold him for a year or two."
Michael laughed. "I wonder why he hasn't killed Laura by now."
"He can't," Austin answered. "If she dies, the trust fund stops and even the deed to the house reverts back to Nick's estate."
"That was clever of Nick," said Jackie.
"How did Nick make his fortune?" Carl asked.
"Real estate, mostly. His father was smart enough to buy up thousands of acres east of Denver at an unbelievably low price. As the city grew, the old man, and later Nick, built subdivisions and shopping malls. The market kept going up and the millions kept coming in. Nick invested in more land and the week he died, his fortune had topped 1.6 billion. It's still growing."
"Didn't he also start one of the first recycling plants?" Michael asked.
"He did. He hated seeing beer bottles and cans along the highway, and decided that even if he couldn't make money, he could get rid of the eyesore. He started out paying people to pick up the cans and bottles. The plant has been expanded three times and now makes a tidy profit, selling the recycled materials to manufacturers."
"So if we find her, Georgia gets it all," said Jackie.
"And me to help her run it. Before he died, Nick set up a fifty-year retainer for my services. I get it even if she decides to sell everything and move on."
Carl said, "He thought of everything."
"Except how to find his granddaughter," Austin admitted. "He would have loved living long enough to see her, but that was not to be." Austin drank the last of his coffee and then stood up. "The second flash drive contains everything presented in court so far, including Connelly's private investigator's deposition. His PI has a reputation for being a little on the shady side."
"That's no surprise considering who hired him," said Michael.
"A deposition instead of testifying in court?" Jackie asked.
"Judge Hawthorn let us do it that way to keep the press from finding out about the trial. All the witness statements were done by deposition instead."
"Has the press found out?" Michael asked.