Chapter 7: Sometimes the Last Will be the First

John went to work and I remained alone with the kids. Becky was now three and Mark, four and half and both were smart, well behaved and healthy. They were perhaps a little more serious than the other children of the same age. I think they acted as if they were a bit older due in part, I think, to my being an amputee. I was planning to invite them for lunch and dinner. I told John I would captivate them as I had him on my twenty-first birthday. John said with a worried smile that I was the brain in our kid affairs. The two agents, both female, arrived right at nine AM and after introductions and ID checking I let them into our home. The older was Mrs. Heather Banks and the younger was Ms. Kate Fragola. They froze when they saw the unique decor of our singular subway carriage-strip-bar house.

I showed them into our children and I told them they had been misinformed as we didn't beat and starve our kids.

They both began to laugh and Kate responded smiling, "We're very sorry Mrs. Logan but there isn't any problem with your children, your husband or you. We came to support a court decision with an onsite inspection. We'll tell you and your husband everything at seven PM tonight. That will be the court's decision what we're going to tell the judge, because we've come to you last. So you'll know the decision this evening. We don't want to take away your children, moreover..."

The other agent, Heather interrupted her, "Kate say no more please. We'll tell them everything at seven PM. Please just everything as if this was a normal day Wendy, we'll ask some questions from time to time. Please don't worry because nobody denounced your family."

I was relieved because it was not a matter of concern with our kids, "Could I invite you for lunch or dinner and coffee?"

Heather scratched her head, but this time Kate was definite, "Heather we're doing a complete site survey, so we need to taste the cooking as well!"

Heather agreed, "O.K. we'll taste your cuisine too."

I told myself, "Now Mrs. Wendy you're going to cook them as you cooked your husband."

That day was a day off for me so I could do a big lunch with Hungarian strudels and I cooked a whole dinner. They froze up again at the sight of our kitchen but they admired the whole house. My kids behaved fine and were friendly with the two strangers. They both seemed to like the kids quickly and commented on their apparent maturity. They investigated the entire house, making lots of notes in their notebooks.

They laughed, when I mentioned our house was a mix of subway carriage and strip bar. I began to use my sense of humor and got the two women laughing with me. I began my kitchen work and as I planned I bewitched them there. First I fed our kids and then the agents and I had lunch. They found everything delicious, particularly the Hungarian strudels. I did laundry and other housework and they began to praise me, admiring me openly. They liked the guestrooms too, as they contained fewer handrails and poles.

John came home at five PM and I introduced Heather and Kate to him, explaining they were not there about any issue with our kids. He was relieved. We went on with our normal routine and Heather and Kate commandeered one of our guestrooms at seven PM. About ten minutes later they reappeared smiling at us.

Heather began, " Mrs. and Mr. Logan, you're the winner against Mr. Logan's former father-in-law."

John and I looked at each other in astonishment. We were totally confused and didn't have an inkling of what they were telling us.

Kate continued explaining the decision, "We thought Mrs. Logan, as a handicapped woman, would be at a disadvantage in the comparison, but we were wrong. This house helps her perfectly and Mrs. Logan can look after two additional older children."

Heather interrupted Kate, "Mrs. Logan your cooking is phenomenal and your kitchen is the other wonderful idea here. The guestrooms are suitable and the conditions of the house are very good. We decided and the judge will accept our decision tomorrow, so you have three days to prepare accommodations for Mr. Logan's older daughters. Mr. Logan you should thank your wife, because her skills persuaded us your house is the best choice, so your older daughters can live here for a while."

A few tears appeared in John's eyes and I wept quietly a little, because, according to Amy, I was THE LOSER CRIPPLE and I was bringing my husband's older daughters back to him. Kate and Heather were quiet a while. John smiled at me with his happiest smile. I just wept.

"Your children have a stepfather." Kate said

My husband interrupted, "I didn't know my ex re-married."

Heather said, "Yes, she married Collin George three months ago."

Kate told, "In a nutshell, Carol's mathematics teacher is a man, saw something strange in Carol's behavior and began asking questions. He found that Carol's stepfather is pedophile candidate."

Kate stopped, because everybody looked at John. He was as red as when I described Amy's humiliation to him. The anger seemed to darken my husband's face.

Kate continued, "Mr. Bramble went to the school principal straightaway. Zoë attends same school as Carol so Mrs. Walewski asked one of Zoë's female teachers, Mrs. Lopez, to interrogate Zoë. Zoë said same thing as Carol. Mrs. Walewski reported the girl's stepfather to the Police immediately. It's very interesting a male teacher noticed the matter. The Police responded quickly and got a surveillance warrant the same day and alerted the FBI and the State Children Welfare Agency.

Heather interrupted Kate again, "My boss assigned me secretly to be the girls' child psychologist."

John's hands clenched into fists.

Kate said, "I've sociology degree, Heather is child psychologist. The FBI helped the local Police wire up your ex-wife's house with video cameras and audio bugs the next morning. His hard drive was checked too and was found to contain many pedophile files. He is a very active member of an international pedophile video and photo file sharing group. Three days observation gave enough evidence to the court so the Police arrested Collin George and the judge denied bail because the court is afraid of vigilantism from you Mr. Logan. This happened last week."

I glanced at my husband and I knew the judge was right to deny bail. John would have ripped Amy's husband into bits.

We were shocked into silence for a while.

Then John fearfully asked, "What harm did my daughters suffer from this animal?"

Heather began in very friendly tone, "The girls were very lucky, because the suspect had not started to abuse them yet. You can thank Mr. Bramble for noticing Carol's tiny behavioral changes in time. I talked a lot with the girls at school and your ex's house. Your daughters are very lucky, because the harm is slight and I think they'll forget everything in a few months."

John asked, "Was my ex-wife responsible in any way for this?"

Kate explained, "The DA is investigating your ex-wife's responsibility and the court will decide whether she is accountable. However her punishment may only be the loss of the children custody."

My husband asked, "Could we get the permanent custody?"

Kate said, "Yes, you could thanks to your fantastic wife but for right now it is only five months temporary custody. If your ex-wife is innocent she'll get custody back, but you'll see the girls every second weekend. The court will quash the restraining order."