Part 2

Late June
Friday
Two weeks later Harm was on his way to California. He had mixed feelings about his trip. Even though he was as determined as ever to find out how this mix-up could have happened and who Wendy's biological father was, he also realised he probably would lose her when he succeeded in doing so.
After picking up his rental car his first appointment was with Child Protective Services. With a letter of recommendation of CPS Washington it shouldn't be too hard to get the information he needed. Luckily he didn't have to deal with Mrs. Vaughan again.
One and a half hours later he left the building, a file with copies of all available papers in his briefcase. He would have to study them meticulously. CPS also has provided him with the address and phone number of Courtney's best friend and even made an appointment for him. That would be his first step the next day. For now there was little he could do.

Two hours later he parked the car in front of his parents' house in La Jolla. They were very surprised to see him but happy anyway. One look on his face told his mum now was not the time to ask questions so she opted for providing him with an iced tea and a plate of food later on. After that they sat in the living watching TV till Harm cleared his throat. He knew now it was time to break the news to his parents. He decided to follow the timeline, telling how he received Wendy and what he had done to find out what had happened. He ended with "so that's the main reason I'm here. Today I got copies of all paperwork from Child Protective Services and tomorrow I have an appointment with Courtney's best friend to see if she can tell me more about her and the real father of Wendy."
Trish and Frank were flabbergasted. Whatever they had thought of, not this. Nevertheless they believed him unconditionally when he said Wendy was not his baby and wasted no time in telling him so.
"Do you have a picture of her?" was the next thing Trish wanted to know. Harm grabbed his wallet and produced two photos, one of him with the little girl in his arms and one of Wendy, lying in her crib.
"She is such a cutie; how can anyone abandon her?" Trish sighed.
"Her mum died, that much I know, and I wonder whether her biological dad even knows she exists," Harm said. "As I said, I have an appointment with one of her friends tomorrow. Maybe she can tell me more." He stood and stretched. "Do you mind if I call it a day? I'm tired and I want to call Mac before going to sleep. I promised to call her between 11 and 11.30 pm. At that time she will be giving Wendy her night meal" he explained.
His mother walked over to give him a hug. "Sleep well, my boy, and if there's anything we can do to help you…"
"I second that," Frank stated.
Harm hugged her back and gave her a peck on the cheek, then shook Frank's hand. "Thanks," he said.

The next morning
Somewhere in the southern part of San Diego
It was only ten o'clock Harm when knocked on the door of Aileen Winter's two-room apartment. Being Courtney's best friend she should be able to tell him more. Already informed by Child Protection Services, Aileen was expecting him and invited him to sit at the kitchen table while she poured two mugs of coffee. Then she started to tell.
"Courtney was born in a small town in Michigan. She was a single child and when she was seven she and her parents moved to San Diego. She had a happy childhood till her parents were killed in a car accident when she was twelve. After that things went from bad to worse. Since there was no family to take her in, she was transmitted to Child Protective Services and went into the foster system. First it wasn't too bad; she was with a nice family. But like it happens too often; she was placed in another family and then another and again another. She didn't want to talk about it but her silence spoke volumes. I'm sure she was abused. When she was eighteen she found a job and went to college. That was when we met. It took her years of working and studying but she graduated and got a better job at a day care centre. She never was into boys much and didn't have a relation. At first I thought she might be lesbian but soon enough I realized she had a hard time trusting people, especially men. But she wanted to have a baby. So badly. She was a born mother. I know she looked into the possibilities of a sperm donor but I don't think she went through with that. One day she told me she was two months pregnant."
"Do you know anything about a boyfriend, a lover?" Harm wanted to know.
"As I said, Courtney didn't have a relation. But I counted back to the time she must have conceived and I remember seeing the same guy walking around once or twice. She lived over there, you know." Aileen pointed out of the window. "Just two doors up."
"That guy looked a bit like you, also tall and dark haired, but slimmer. I asked her about him but she didn't answer."
She stood to refill the mugs, then sat again and continued her story.
"At first the pregnancy went fine. But in the fifth month when Aileen went for a routine check-up the doctors found something wrong. Further check-ups revealed a tumour. In order to get operated she had to agree to an abortion. She refused. And she refused chemo and radiation as well for it might affect the baby. The doctors tried to reason with her, told her she most likely would not survive but all her concerns were for the baby." Aileen took a few deep breaths and wiped away a tear.
"Wendy was born by caesarean section, two weeks early. They started cancer treatment on Aileen right away but it was too late. She died three weeks later. Wendy stayed with her in hospital and I visited her as often as I could. As I wasn't related I couldn't make a claim for the baby. Next to that, I have difficulties to support myself; no way I could take good care for Wendy as well." She rubbed her eyes. "I felt so guilty; Aileen would have hated to see Wendy go into the system too."
Harm kept silent while she composed herself.
"How is Wendy now?" she asked after a while.
"She is fine; a very good friend of mine is taking care of her now." Harm searched in his wallet for the photos. "These are taken last week." Aileen studied them intensely. "She looks good," she said when she returned the pictures. "You can keep them, if you like," Harm offered and the woman carefully placed them in her diary.
"What happens now? You say you're not her father but … are you planning to keep her? Do you have a family?"
"I'm not her biological father but for the moment I'm legally her dad. I'm a lawyer at JAG, which is the Judge Advocate General, the justice department of the Navy. I defend and prosecute offenders. I don't have a relation. The CPS brought Wendy to me because they had evidence I was the father. Apparently Courtney kept a copy of my driver's licence with the papers of Wendy. However, I never slept with her so … Now I'm determined to find out how she got that copy and who Wendy's real biological father is. And then … we take it from there." He drained his mug. "But be assured I will keep Wendy's best interest at heart. I won't give her up to just anybody."
Aileen nodded. "I'm glad about that." She rose. "When Courtney learned about her condition she started to make a treasure chest for Wendy. A diary she kept during pregnancy, letters to her unborn daughter, a quilt, some mementos. I never got the change to give it to CPS; they took Wendy before I could speak to them and since I'm not family …" She looked sad and grim at the same time. "Maybe it was for the best; a lot gets lost when a kid is in the system. I'd like to give it to you, so you can give it to Wendy."
Harm nodded. "Do you know other people who can tell me more about Courtney and the possible father?" he asked.
Aileen shook her head. "As I told you, Courtney had a hard time trusting people. She had hardly any friends, only co-workers and acquaintances. Maybe miss Wayers. She used to be her landlord. They were close. Before she got sick Courtney did a lot for her, helping her out with shopping and things like that. She moved to an retirement home last week." She walked over to the fridge to get a note with an address. Harm wrote it down in his notebook. He would visit the lady that afternoon, he resolved.
Soon afterwards they said their goodbyes, Harm promising to let Aileen know what his investigation had yielded.

That afternoon he announced himself to Miss Wayers. It wasn't as hard as he had thought it would be; Aileen had already called her. Miss Wayers was very keen to hear about Wendy and Harm left a photo for her as well. Unfortunately she couldn't tell Harm much more than Aileen. She too only saw the alleged father a few times and gave the same description: tall, slim, dark hair and blue eyes. It was clear how he could have used Harm's ID. The elderly lady added she hadn't liked him; he seemed to have something sly in his demeanour. After he had gone, she missed a purse with money and some jewellery. There wasn't any proof he did it but it was too much of a coincidence. Courtney had never said something about missing items, though.
Harm nodded slowly. A plan started to form in his head. "Did you report it to the police?" he asked.
"I did but they didn't give me much hope. A junk, they thought. And since the stuff didn't have much value, financial or emotional, I left it to that."
"Would you mind giving me a copy of the report?"
Miss Wayers reacted surprised. "No, but why?"
"It might be useful in my search for the real father. I don't know how yet but as a lawyer I know sometimes the smallest pieces of evidence can crack the case."
The elderly lady nodded and went to fetch the report which she handed to Harm.
"Thank you. I'll make sure you get it back. One last question. Courtney had a photocopy of my driver's licence. Did you see the original?"
Miss Wayers shook her head. "No, I was just as surprised as you when they said you were the father."
Knowing she had told him everything she knew and thanking her for her time Harm said goodbye. She too asked to be kept in the loop