"It is not nonsense. She is your daughter."
"She is not our daughter, we don't have any children," Mathew insisted.
"Jackie, stop the tape again," said Michael. "Look at Laura. She's got her head down as though she is deep in thought. What do you make of that?"
"Without knowing her, it's hard to say. She could be trying to hide her emotions or…" Jackie started.
"Or thinking about that next drink," Carl suggested.
"She looks a little pleased to me," said Michael. "I wish she would look up."
Jackie let the video keep going.
"Come on, Laura. I know how to handle this," Mathew was saying. He took hold of his wife's arm and practically dragged her out of Austin's office.
"Let's see that again." Jackie started the video again from the beginning, and then paused it at different intervals.
"What do you see?" Michael asked.
"I see a huge, black diamond ring on his finger and no jewelry on his wife."
Carl scoffed, "The jerk probably sold all of hers to pay his gambling debts."
"That's probably it," said Jackie.
"If he truly has gambling debts," Michael put in. "He might have socked a lot of money away for a rainy day. How hard would it be, to go to a cash machine in a casino and run a card several times until you reach five thousand a week?"
"Good point," said Jackie. "Michael, see if you can find a hidden bank account here in the states."
"Things have changed since we came out of retirement, you know. Banks are more secure these days. To do that," Michael continued, "we'd have to know which bank and have someone inside willing to give us the information. You got any bank connections?"
"Probably, but not in the US," Jackie answered. "Maybe a couple in foreign banks. I'll contact a few and see."
"Everyone owes you favors," Carl muttered. "Someday, we're going to get caught, you know."
"Don't worry," said Michael, "she knows a few judges too."
Jackie frowned. "That would only work if we got caught in the right states. I guess we better not push our luck. Mathew's bank accounts probably won't help us find Georgia anyway."
"Unless she's blackmailing him," said Michael. "Of course, he would have to pay her off in cash."
"And that would be dangerous for Georgia," Carl added. "Connelly would know how to find her that way and I don't trust him."
"Neither do I," Jackie agreed. "Michael, haven't you gotten into the boarding school records yet?"
Michael slumped against the back of the sofa and deeply wrinkled his brow. "I need to go back to hacking school, Jackie. Life isn't as easy as it used to be."