"And get Laura's DNA," Carl reminded him. "Austin says she goes to the doctor every Tuesday at three p.m."
"Every week? I wonder why?" said Jackie.
"Austin didn't say. Could be her liver is going." Carl sat down at the table and checked his two laptops. Facebook was a jungle he was well familiar with, but people were cautious and didn't always put much in their profiles, if they filled them out at all. Still, sometimes they were able to find a jewel in one of the posts. It just took a lot of time to find that buried treasure - and the clock was ticking.
*
Austin was a busy man. Aside from his court appearances and various lawsuits, he was responsible for approving pay increases and expense accounts for executives. He also attended board meetings, and made sure everything was running smoothly for the upcoming charity ball. The charity ball was not something he was looking forward to. He would much rather spend the evening talking to Sissy, but Nick held one every year in the early fall, and Austin was determined to keep the tradition alive. It was for charity, after all. Yet, the list of things that needed his attention seemed unending.
Therefore, he welcomed the interruption, especially if it meant his Connelly nightmare might soon be over. "Michael, thanks for stopping by." He walked around his desk to shake Michael's hand. "Any news yet?"
"Not yet. Jackie will call the moment we know something."
Austin couldn't help but be a little disappointed. He motioned for his guest to have a seat and sat in the chair next to him. "I'm curious. Has anyone ever fired the Harlan Detective Agency?"
"No, but we've pulled out of a couple of cases. Jackie won't put up with a belligerent client."
"Good for her. I wanted to give the three of you tickets to this year's charity ball."
Michael was skeptical. "You want us to go to a ball?"
"Why not? The Connellys are going to be there and you might enjoy seeing them in action."
"The Connellys are going…together?"
"I specifically put them on the guest list just to see what would happen. It's the first time they've been invited in years, and they haven't cancelled yet."
"I'll ask Jackie, but we don't have a lot of time to shop for clothes. Jackie is fastidious about what she wears. Carl would rather go in jeans and a cowboy hat."
"Sorry, it's black tie. If you'll give me your sizes, I'll have a selection sent to the hotel for the three of you to choose from."
"I'll have Jackie call you about that too. We have clothes, just not with us. We could have them shipped overnight, I suppose."