"How old is Georgia now?" Carl asked.
"Twenty-two, as near as I can figure," Austin answered. "We don't have her exact date of birth."
"You didn't find the hospital in France?" Jackie asked.
"Not one with a record of Laura giving birth," Austin answered.
"Why not just go to the press?" Michael asked.
Austin puffed his cheeks. "Can you imagine how many phony Georgias we would see if we did that? They'd be lined up around the block. Maybe if she had some sort of mark, a scar or characteristic, we could rule most of them out and go from there. I'll call a press conference if you think I should."
"Let's leave that option open," said Jackie.
"Did your detective try to find Miss Bertrand?" asked Carl.
"He did, but I swear, Miss Bertrand has fallen off the face of the earth. I tried to find her every way I could too. Nothing on the internet, and there's no phone listing for her either."
"Well, maybe we can find her," said Jackie. "Maybe she knows something else that could help us find Georgia."
Austin looked Jackie in the eye. "Even if we do find Georgia, there's no way to prove who she is except with DNA."
"Do you have the Connelly's DNA to compare it to?" Jackie asked.
"I would need a court order and a living, breathing daughter before a judge would give me one…unless you know how to get it without the Connellys knowing."
Jackie walked back to her chair, sat down, and studied the look in Carl's eyes. "If it comes to that, we…"
"Why all the time me?" Carl asked.
"Because you look normal and Michael doesn't," Jackie answered.
"I don't look normal?" Michael asked. "That's the first I've heard of that."
Jackie laughed. "Okay then, less suspicious. He can dig in a trashcan without drawing attention, and you'd look like an idiot doing it."
"She has a point," Michael said to Carl.
"Thanks a lot," Carl shot back. "I think she means I look like an idiot anyway, so people expect me to dig in trashcans."
Jackie grinned. "Perhaps it is your beard."
"Oh, no you don't," Carl said, grabbing another sandwich off the tray. "I'm not giving up this beard no matter what you say."
"But you look so distinguished without it," Jackie purred.
Austin hadn't expected the best private detective team in the world to be so informal and fun. Jackie dressed the part, but the guys didn't, and it didn't matter. They worked well together, and for the first time in months, Austin began to relax a little. It made him smile.