Alexandra had every intention of introducing father and daughter under controlled circumstances. Life however preferred random variables and games of chance; and those seemed to trump carefully planned arrangements whenever possible, much to Alexandra's eternal frustration. Though she had only just told Hamilton about his daughter, she had never hidden the truth about Hamilton from Helen. And if she could have predicted impulsive Helen's plans for that day, she might have exercised more restraint in sharing the revelation of Hamilton's desire to meet his only child.

Alexandra checked her watch for the fiftieth time in the last fifteen minutes as she followed Della up to Perry Mason's office. The two women had met for coffee again, but the line had been longer than usual so they'd grabbed their orders to go so Della wouldn't be late for work.

"Is it unusual for Helen to be so late or not show up at all?" Della asked curiously as they wandered into Perry's office.

"For the most part, yes," Alexandra responded as if unable to believe her daughter's tardiness as well. "Once in a blue moon, I'll have an issue with her getting a wild hair and doing something impulsive, but rarely."

Sitting at his desk, the raven haired defense attorney looked up with an amused smirk at the smell of coffee and the sound of conversation.

"Don't worry, chief, we brought you some too," Della reassured him, setting a cup in front of him and passing the sugar over to him first.

"Well, I must say I like the service around here," Perry joked, inhaling and savoring the delightful aroma of coffee. "But who's your guest?"

Della glanced over at Alexandra, who raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow at Della, indicating for Della to make introductions.

"Oh I'm sorry, Perry. We were so busy chatting about her daughter… Perry, this is my friend, Alexandra Mullen. Alexandra, my boss and good friend, Perry Mason.

"A pleasure," Alexandra smiled warmly.

"Likewise," Perry responded. "So, did I overhear correctly that there's an errant child on the loose?"

Alexandra sighed. "In a manner of speaking. Said child is of the 'just turned 18 years old' variety and is supposed to be meeting her father for the first time tonight. Given her failure to appear for coffee with me and Della this morning, I suspect she's decided to do her own thing. I should have just stayed home and brought her with me, but I had an errand I wanted to get out of the way early. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20 as they say."

Della frowned up at Alexandra as she stirred her coffee. "Do you think she might have looked her father up this morning rather than wait for tonight?"

"It's possible. She's been curious about him since she was little and I've never withheld information about him from her so she has enough information to find him on her own if she really wanted to," the other woman shrugged helplessly. "She wanted to visit the university as well today so she may have run off to do that instead. Still, it's not like her to not leave a note or something if she changes her mind about meeting me somewhere, which makes me suspect she's up to something that she knows I'm not going to like."

"If you're worried about her, I could ask my private detective to try and locate her?" Perry suggested.

"Thanks. If it gets to be much later in the day without hearing from her, I might take you up on that. She's got a pretty good head on her shoulders, but Los Angeles is very new to her."

W^^^W^^^W

"Mom's not gonna like this…," Helen Mullen reminded herself as if it was even remotely possible that the knowledge would talk her out of her current course of action. She'd praised herself, just barely an adult, for having located her long lost father's workplace in this strange, bustling city.

She was dressed professionally, similarly to how her mother often dressed for her work as a counselor and marriage and family therapist. Her red hair was put up in a loose chignon and her makeup light and tasteful. A quarter sleeve blouse and a knee length pencil skirt in neutral colors flattered her youthful, curvy figure. The sounds of her kitten heels echoed off the walls, but were nearly drowned out by the nervous pounding of her heart in her ears. For so long, she'd wanted to meet this man that her mother had talked so fondly about. Helen couldn't fault her mother for being honest and open about the girl's father. She'd always answered Helen's questions. Sometimes Helen felt it was a double edged sword. It was difficult to be angry with a man who hadn't even been told she existed. But Helen was also worried that maybe after all the build up, she'd find her father lacking in her eyes. Or what if he didn't like her? Or want her? Why did it even matter to her what he thought of her? He'd never even known of her existence until now and they had yet to meet.

A bench out in the hallway across from the main door that led to the receptionist's desk welcomed her as she pondered her next course of action. She had made it this far so it seemed a waste to leave without attempting to meet this man. Still, it would be easier said than done even if she did muster the courage to forge on. There would be the proverbial guardians, red tape, and barricades she'd have to overcome to even be allowed back near Mr. Burger's actual office. The secretary would no doubt have to interrogate her about what she wanted to see the district attorney for and would learn it was for personal reasons that could wait until the evening.

Her spirits sank as she thought this over and she chastised herself for being so impulsive. It was the beginning of his work day and he was no doubt too busy to spend much time with her until that evening even if the secretary allowed her back. She'd just be rushing and cheapening their first meeting by being so impatient.

Standing, she adjusted her purse over her shoulder and sighed with a longing gaze toward the door across the hall. For a moment, she teetered on indecision, but the echoing sounds of approaching footsteps jarred her from her conflicting impulses. Excited and so impatient was she to meet the man who was her biological father.

Deciding against forcing the issue, Helen rounded the corner to her left, nearly colliding with a well dressed, short and stocky man with slicked back white hair.

"Oh, excuse me, miss!" He said, cheer in his voice as he looked up.

Helen smiled warmly, her face coloring with embarrassment. "No, excuse me, sir. My fault. I heard you coming so I should have been paying more attention. I'm just… preoccupied."

Tragg studied her closely. Her features and coloring instantly reminded him of Hamilton Burger, whom he worked so closely with so much of the time. She'd apparently been hanging out in front of the DA's office or had just left there so maybe she was in trouble or had seen something she needed to report or maybe she was a relative that Burger had failed to mention might show up.

"Well, anything I can help you with? I was just on my way to visit the DA," the aging man threw out there, obviously fishing and hoping to reel something in. "I'm Lieutenant Tragg."

"Helen, Lieutenant. I'm… a relative of Mr. Burger's, but he's not expecting me. I am supposed to meet him later tonight, but I got carried away and wanted to see him now. I thought better of disturbing him when I got here and was just about to leave."

"Relative you say… niece perhaps?"

"Daughter, sir."

Tragg's eyes widened at the completely unexpected revelation. In all the years, Tragg had worked with Hamilton Burger, the younger man had never mentioned any children.

"My mother just told him about me last night," Helen clarified, inferring the reason for the old man's surprise.

"Ah… well that explains why Hamilton has been so distracted the last few days. Come with me," Tragg said, cupping her elbow in a strong hand and leading her back toward the DA's office.

"Are you sure?!" Helen's breath caught in her throat. She could hardly believe it, but she wasn't any closer to knowing what to say when the kind old lieutenant escorted her back there.

"Positive. The sooner he meets you, the sooner he can focus on his work again. He's been a nervous wreck since the other night."

Helen chuckled as she happily accompanied Tragg through the door. "Well, that makes both of us."

"She's with me," he told the secretary as she looked up to greet whoever had entered the office. The older woman looked puzzled, but Tragg was a common fixture in the DA's office and he'd been a trusted presence in law enforcement for decades so she didn't challenge him and went back to her work. Though she had to admit she was curious about the young woman he had toted in with him.