Rohn Federbush - Sally Bianco 03 - The Recorder's Way by Rohn Federbush

Andrew had shared each hour of her life. He was there for each childish trauma and triumphant. Andrew fathered her, nourished the gene pool the original sperm donor provided. Helen thanked the Lord for Andrew, her mother’s champion, her dear father.
    “Sally Bianco’s past.” Andrew answered his daughter. “Thought I might find something to explain where she is. Her fourth husband was shot dead in front of her during an arson investigation in St. Charles, Illinois.”
    “ That’s her hometown. Captain Tedler gave Max and me details on three of Mrs. Bianco’s cases when we asked for an employment reference. Two were arsons.” After tucking her briefcase next to her computer desk, Helen poured herself a cup of coffee. “I met with George Clemmons. We’re both blondes.”
    “Not surprising. ” Andrew limped over to the coffee pot for a refill. “Could any of the perpetrators in Sally’s cases be released, to do her harm?”
    “I remember one woman died in the fire she’d set. The man who shot her husband wasn’t the arsonist, just crazy.” Helen sipped the hot liquid. No odor accompanied the stale coffee. “A professor was killed by his common-law wife, who then died of a pill overdose. Their henchman is still in jail. A wife-beater killed his first wife. He’s still in jail in Missouri.” Helen careful watched Andrew’s reaction when she asked, “What did you and Mother agree I should do about George?”
    “We think we should invite him to dinner.” Andrew gave her a rare smile. “Maybe with Max? Now that Julia is convinced everyone knows about George, she seems relieved. Did she tell you she ordered a second-hand player piano? Needs it to entertain people when they come over. Been shopping for clothes. You’re not going to believe it, she asked me to put the dishes in the dishwasher after you’d gone to bed.”
    “Mother?”
    “She filled two boxes with her old clothes for Purple Heart. Bought two weeks worth of nightgowns. Says she’s tired of doing laundry every week. The truth about your birth did her no harm. Far from it. She’s acting like a new bride, learning to spread her wings.”
    “Not to fly away?”
    Andrew shook his head. “To claim her own beauty.”
    Helen hugged hi s shoulders. “You love her.”
    “More every day. But I think you should pick-up after yourself now, make your own bed -- that sort of thing.”
    Thinking about the prospect of two strangers descending on her previously shy mother, Helen automatically made a fresh pot of coffee without firing one synapse for the process. “I’ll go up and ask Max, then call George.” After pouring two cups of coffee, she addressed her father’s back. “Maybe Mother is looking forward to associating more with people. The truth didn’t kill her, or us?”
    Andrew swung his chair away from the computer before sitting down with his fresh cup of coffee. “If I’d known your mother was carrying you, I still would have asked her to marry me. George’s grandmother refused to allow his father’s marriage to Julia. It doesn’t matter now. We’re all civilized adults, Helen. Don’t worry so much. Your mother has always owned a gracious heart.”
    “I’m glad she found you.” Helen thought she might cry at the thought of never having had Andrew in her life. “No girl could ask for a more loving father.”
    “You’re my best girl. Nothing’s changed, except the Lord has seen fit to hand you a grown brother. You might need one to help you handle Max.”
    “I think you’ll like George.”
    “Hey, he’s part of you and your mother, isn’t he?”
    ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
    Upstairs, Max bestowed his best smile on the gift of coffee from Helen and accepted the invitation to dinner. “Do you think George will let me share him? I never enjoyed being an only child, did you?”
    Helen felt rooted to the spot after she handed Max his coffee cup. If anything, she wanted to move closer. She realized for the first time Max never