Note: If you would like to see more stories with Perry's father's cases in the future, let me know and I will do the best I can.

On the way to the police station to talk with Tragg, Paul brought Perry up - to - date on the dinner appointment with Benson from last night.

"How did the date go last night, Paul?" Perry asked.

"It was interesting. The investigator I talked with didn't work with your father for very long either, but I kept hearing the words retail store. Have you heard about that case?"

"A little, but not the entire story. What did you find out? I think this is one case I want to finish for him, but I don't know one hundred percent sure if that case was solved or not."

"Perry, I guess that means you'll be talking with a few longshot people. We might not even have a court date in this case, Perry. I heard a lot of them aren't alive anymore."

"How do you know that, Paul?"

"By getting information from people who were there at the time from family and friends."

"You're away ahead of me on my father. I should have been doing this instead of you."

"Perry, you hired me to do this job," Paul reminded him.

They made it to the police station.

"Here we are," Perry said as Paul parked the car in an empty parking spot.

"Let's go see what he has to say," Paul replied.

"That's why you picked me up at the house. The investigator I talked with said you can stay in touch with him too."

"What's his name again?"

"Adam Smith."

"Thanks, Perry. I will have to write down his name and contact info."

"We'll do that later," Perry told him.

When they walked into the station, the police officer was behind the desk.

"Thanks for coming, Perry and Paul."

"You're welcome, Tragg. Tell us what you found out," Perry said.

"Come to my office and we'll talk."

So they followed him to the office.

"What about the car accident case do you have for us, Tragg?" Perry asked.

"You remember the Johnsons who hit your car?"

Perry answered, "Yes, I do."

"Well, we tracked them down. It took a while to look them up, but it looks like Mrs. Johnson isn't there anymore. They probably got a divorce or something. That's what I heard from Mr. Johnson."

"And what about the children they have? Do you know anything on that?" Perry asked.

"I don't remember hearing anything on the children. Why?"

"Because they left one child behind after court ended, but I follow the child since it's in foster care. The people who took it in are asking all sorts of questions like the name for example and records the child would need if they decide to keep it," Perry said.

"How do you know all of this?" Tragg asked, surprised.

"Because I kept of the second child since they came back home from staying here for vacation time. Have you said anything to Mr. Johnson about the update on the children?"

"Not yet. He was surprised I was able to find his contact information. He did say they were in court for their vacation time and coming home, they have lost a few of their friends since they somehow heard about the case."

"Did Mr. Johnson say anything about the child they left behind?" Perry asked, interested.

"No. I guess he and his wife have forgotten they took a second child with them."

"Next time you talk with him, have Mr. Johnson call my office so I can give the foster parents the information they need. Then I will contact them."

"There's no need to stay in contact with people like them, Perry. I know you're just trying to help them out."

"I know, but I thought I would do something for them. They paid for my damaged car, remember?"

"Yes, I do remember. Good thing you're not driving at the moment. Have you hear anything about driving again?"

"Doctor said to come back in a few weeks and we'll talk about it. He did say that he was able to stop by and chat with Dr. Webber."

"I remember now. Thanks for the reminder, Perry. I didn't hang out for the entire conversation between the two of them, so I don't know what information they were able to get from each other," Tragg said.

"Tragg, I still have a feeling whoever was in the courtroom that day could have been somebody involved with my father and his murder. This is why I want to restart it."

"Longshot cases usually don't work, Perry. I'm sure he's told you by now there might not be a court date," Tragg pointed out.

"Yes, Paul was just telling me about that when we parked in the parking lot. I'm not going to give up. This is something I wanted to do for my father, no matter how dangerous his cases were at the time."

"Whoever is still alive, Perry, I'm sure they followed this latest case about your car."

"That's why I restarted this case. Even my mother isn't crazy about the idea of picking up where he left off. I think this longshot case would work. One of the private investigators I met didn't remember him very well since he was new at the time."

"Do you remember the names so I can talk with them myself?"

"Why would you want to talk with them for? I don't remember you mentioning them before from the contact information in the files my mother brought over to the office."

"Fine with us, but I thought we finished that case."

"That's what we thought too, but it looks like we'll have to update."

"I'll pass this over to Hamilton as well in case you told him first."

"I haven't said anything. You're saving me time, Perry. I think there might have to be another court date. I'll see what I can do about contacting the Johnsons about it as well."

"Thank you. Let's go, Paul. There's a phone call I'd like to make."

"All right. See you later, Tragg."

"We'll talk again soon."

Once they got into the car, Paul asked, "What phone call do you have to make?"

"The foster parents. I know we agreed on talking every other week for an update."

"That's smart. But Perry, this child the Johnsons left behind isn't your responsibility."

"I know, but I still think it is since they spent their vacation time in court. Do you have their contact information?"

"No, I don't. Remember what Tragg said about that?"

"Yes, I do. I can't imagine this happen to any child, even if it does."

"I understand that. Let's take you home."

"The office. I want to make the call first and then I can spend time with her. I don't think the foster parents need to know my home number. Only the officer number since it was the only contact I gave them."

They didn't say much during the ride back to the office. Looked like the phone stopped ringing since Della is there now.

"Any calls when we were gone, Della?"

"Not a single one. I guess you took care of that when we were at the appointment with Patti."

"Guess so."

"Perry, why aren't you at home?"

"I need to make a phone call first, and then I can leave."

"He wants to get this out of the way, Della," Paul told her.

They watched him pick up the phone and dial a phone number.

"Let's leave Perry alone while he's with this phone call."

"I'm up for that."

So they left the office so Perry could have some privacy with the foster parents. It turned out the foster mother was the one who answered the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Mason. We weren't expecting to hear from you."

"I know you weren't, but I remember we made a deal about the child."

"Good reminder."

"Just call me Perry. How's the child doing?"

"Frightened. Been crying nonstop since we took her in."

"Sorry. I wish I could do it, but I already have a few problems of my own."

"And you're busy with your job too, so that's understandable."

"I can imagine the child being frightened since the first day. Have you thought of keeping the child?" Perry asked.

"Barry and I are talking about it now. We feel bad her parents left her behind. I'm sorry we don't know the name of the child and have looked at record she has."

"I know, Mrs. Patterson. I was just checking in."

"Thank you. We appreciate that you're interested in keeping up with us. Do you know their last name?"

"Yes, I do. It's Johnson, but I don't know their contact sine they live in another state."

"What state?"

"I can't remember. I'm sorry they had to spend vacation time in court."

"That's a shame."

"Yes, I agree with you, Mrs. Patterson. I would like to stay in touch with you if you and your husband decide to adopt the child so I can see where this is going unless her birth parents want to take her back. How does that sound?"

"I like the idea, Mr. Mason. I'll pass this over to Barry."

"I forgot your name."

"Bella."

"You can have him call me at the office if he has any questions."

"Thank you, Mr. Mason. We appreciate your support because of the child. We still wish the child would stop crying nonstop, but she's asleep at night. Do you know hold old she is?"

"I'd probably guess two or three," Perry answered.

"She hasn't talked yet, I don't think."

"It was nice talking with you again, Mrs. Patterson. I'll be in touch with your husband on the next update."

"Thank you. We appreciate you being interested in following us during this case. We've been doing this for almost ten years, so we know what to do. This is the first time we've had a child left behind thar can't answer our questions about what her name is and all that other stuff."

"That would be a big help for sure, Mrs. Patterson. I will be out of the office tomorrow, but he is still available to call me there."

"We'll talk with you again soon."

End of conversation.

Now that was out of the way, Perry felt much better with talking to Bella Patterson. It didn't look like good news to him, expect for thinking about adoption.

It's too bad the child doesn't talk yet, because she could give information if she wasn't small. Perry didn't think the child was starting to walk or not, but he'll get the information next time he speaks with Bella and Barry Patterson.

Perry also wondered what the Johnsons thought about leaving their second child behind and they went home with just one. Did they forget or notice the second child was still back here with strangers?

"I spoke with the child's foster mother who's taking care of her. It's not good news, Della."

"What do you mean? I thought the child was back with the Johnsons," she said.

"No. They left behind a second child. The foster mother said the child's been crying nonstop since the first day they took her in."

"Are you sure the child is a girl?"

"Yes. I remember that before I passed out in the accident."

"I'm happy you're starting to recover a little bit more, Perry. Looks like you still remember a bit more since then."

"I guess that means we'll have to reach out to Hamilton so he knows there's something new. I still think this case is connected to my father."

"Are you sure?"

"No, but that's how I see it at the moment. I guess I'll have to talk with Adam Smith again soon. We're supposed to set up an appointment for lunch one of these days," he told her.

"That's too bad about the second child you mentioned, Perry. Do you think the Johnsons will come back to pick up their child?"

"I doubt it. Adam Smith knows because he talked about it and I told him a little bit, but not everything. He doesn't need to hear the whole story, but said that he followed the case from television and the newspapers.

"I'd better get back to the house. Paul is supposed to drive me there."

"I'll take you, Perry. Sorry your day didn't start very well like you wanted," Della apologized.

"I know. Some of them are better than others, I guess. It looks like Mom hasn't had any of those since Dad was murdered a couple months back."

"Things will get better, Perry. It takes time," Della repeated.

"I know. I hope to get this longshot case solved."

"How do you know it's a longshot?"

"Tragg said it, not me. He says some of those people back then aren't alive and probably won't have a court date. I hope there will be one. I'll prove him wrong."

"Perry, Paul's already getting warning signs for you to know. Maybe that's why you want to go home. Let me get my purse."

"Thanks, Della. You're the greatest."

"You don't have to say that."

"Yes, I do. I am sure my mother is wondering where I am since I've been gone for a bit."

"It was nice of to stay in touch with the people who took the Johnsons' child in."

"She says that they're talking about adoption and asked if they were coming back to take the child home. I said it doesn't look that way to me."

"Of course not. Do you have their contact information?"

"No, I don't, but the police do. I don't need their contact."

On the way to the house, Della asked, "Do you want me to stick around for a while?"

"Sure you can."

When they arrived at the house, Paul's car was already parked out on the curb.

Once she parked the car, Perry got out first and opened the door for her.

"Thank you, Perry."

She locked the doors as they headed to the front door.

While in the living room, Paul was able to talk with Ada for a while. He could see what Perry meant by letting her move in, and got a closer look and noticed where Perry got his looks from.

"I think they're here, Mrs. Mason," he said, looking out the window.

"I'll let them in, Mr. Drake," Ada said.

"Just call me Paul. I'll get it since I'm closer."

When he opened the door for Perry and Della, the phone rang.

Paul was grateful that he was able to spend some time with Ada while waiting for Perry and Della to show up along with the police and Hamilton.

"Della, I don't think we reached out to Hamilton."

She already knew the answer to the question about the witness stand, but she might ask again anyway. Would she still have to go there a second time and he would let the police put her away? She shook her head. She's never touched a gun in her entire life, so it couldn't be her since they were a close family until George was murdered.

Perry did say something about seeing somebody he thought would have been in the courtroom that murdered George, but she didn't want to think about it. No matter how long Perry would have these people at the house, she's just going to wait outside. She looked back earlier today when Paul Drake showed up at the house. She seemed to like him and was nice enough to have a conversation with her until Perry and Della came along.

Since the was the first conversation she's had with Paul, her question could be answered another time. Paul was here for his job, not making friends with her, and she understood that. From what she's been hearing, Paul was a private investigator, and not a lawyer like her son.

"Are you all right?" he asked her.

"I don't know what to think anymore, Perry."

"Della said this whole thing is going to take time."

"I believe it. I just hope us being closer will come back."

"I think that's why Della set up that appointment with her counseling friend. Mom, would you mind going to your house?"

"What for?"

"Because I think there's something in Dad's case I missed out on."

"I'll see what I can find."

"I was wondering if any children were involved in any of his cases since that's what is making me think this."

"I'll go through them and see if you're right, Perry."

"Thank you."

"I will drive home now."

Ada felt like she wanted to grab a couple more books and clothes so she could find more time to read and trying to distract herself from the murder case along with the accident with Perry.

Ada thought this was the perfect time to stay home for a while because of the meeting they had set up. No way was she going to get information from everybody all at once. She went back into the house so that way she could get her purse. Maybe a bag of clothes would help too.

"Perry, is your mother hanging around for this?" Paul asked.

"No. I think she's still trying to put this car accident case behind her, which I understand. She doesn't have to stay, Paul. I don't expect her to."

"Perry, there is something to share with you," Paul said, changing the subject from the Pattersons.

"What's that?"

"Remember I mentioned I ate supper with one of the private investigators?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well, there is something, but it's not good," Paul said.

"I forget his name, but he sounds like he's thinking about retirement."

"I talked with one of the others myself also. He sounds like the same thing, Paul."

"Can I get their contact information so I'll talk with them?"

"Yes. i found one of them in a file your father kept, Perry."

"So did I. I need to set up a lunch date. Della, would you mind doing that job?"

"Yes, Perry. I'll go back to the office now and set up something. Maybe a second call to my friend we met."

"All right. You don't have to hang around here anymore, Della, unless you want to."

"Thank you, Perry, but this is fine. I'll see if there are any calls I need to take. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Then she left the house.

"When I was out to supper with him, we had a chance to talk about your father. He remembers him a bit, but his warning for you to stay out of these cases and get something done for him."

"Why would I stay out, Paul? He's my father and I want to do this for him."

"That's what he said. He wants to protect you so that way you wouldn't be in the same area your father was in working on a case back then. He remembers following your case, Perry. I'll see what else I can when I chat with him again."

"Did he remember any of the cases he worked on?" Perry asked.

"He mentioned one with a retail store that was closed for a month involving your father."

"I thought I heard that story too. I think it's one of them I want to reopen."

"How would he react if you restarted one of his cases?" Paul asked.

"My mother asked me the same question. I told her he would have given me more information I'd need and look through. She is still wondering how he would react if she and and I didn't communicate through Della in the beginning and get on the witness stand."

"Would she need to get back on again, Perry?" Paul asked.

"I think so, but it depends on what case I want to reopen, Paul."

"Where did your mother go?" Paul asked.

"Home. I asked her to look up and see if there are any cases that involved children. I think it could be connected to this car accident one. I might end up calling Hamilton and get him over here so he wouldn't miss out."

"Leave him alone, Perry. You can call him when I leave. I found out something about the doctor, but I don't know if you heard about it first."

"What did you find out?"

"Do you remember any of the questions about his truck when in the courtroom?"

"Yes, I do. What about it?"

"Actually, it was the one that damaged your car. He and his wife took turns changing the condition of the car every time I looked at it."

"That was something we couldn't figure out. Where did you get that information?" Perry asked.

"We talked with him. He isn't going back to work at that hospital again anytime in the future."

"Somebody already took over, right?" Perry asked.

"Yes, it turns out this one who took over him was a graduate from medical school."

"Interesting. Thanks for the update. Does that mean we need to go back to court?" Perry asked.

"We're working on it, but I don't know the answer yet, Perry. I must be going. Thank you for letting me stay for a while."

"You're welcome."

"I think I should join Della at your office," Paul said.

"All right. Thank you for dropping by with the warning, Paul. I'll keep it in mind."

"I knew I had to share, Perry."

"You did the right thing, Paul. If you were me, I'm sure you would have gotten the same thing."

"I don't know about that, but you can be right."