A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading! More to come...

Old Sins Have Long Shadows

Chapter 10

Sara had finally moved to a make-shift desk—a long table and rolling chair—that D.B. had brought into the garage area they were using. Hannah and Emily continued to work with all the detritus they had removed from the van. Sara tapped the laptop and scrolled through items that had already been logged in. Tedious work, she thought, but required for chain of custody documentation. Every number must match with contents of the bags and envelopes—and at least she got to sit down.

She looked up as D.B. shouted a greeting to the two younger women as he walked in. Under his arm was a metal folding chair. Smiling as he got to the table, resting his hand on Sara's shoulder as he sat down, he said:

"It's all for good, Sara. He's just admitted to killing nine people—so he'll be heading to prison. Texas wants him first and I think a deal is in the works." He patted her back, saying, "You did good—really good on this one."

Sara nodded, "Hannah and Emily really worked hard."

D.B. laughed. "Is it so hard for you to take a compliment, Sara? If you had not insisted on cleaning out that van, we might have overlooked everything else. And now, we should talk about you—how are you doing?"

"Good—good." She paused and marked her list, pushing away from the table and turning toward her supervisor. Smiling, she said, "Everything is fine—really. I'd let you know otherwise."

"How's Gil?"

"Good—fine—he's happy at the university. And he's got a little mystery to solve," softly, she laughed. "A young man wants him to find out if his father killed his mother or his mother killed his father."

D.B. looked perplexed; Sara continued, "Nine or ten years ago, they committed suicide—double suicide—so the son asked Gil to look at the case and see what he found."

His expression had not changed. "Why'd he ask Gil? Did he work the case?"

"That's where it gets interesting. The first year I was in Vegas, we had a case—four family members were killed, only two girls survived—one a teenager and a younger one, four or five years old. Gil put me in charge of Brenda—the little girl. And it was Brenda who found Gil. I think he was so surprised to see her that he would have agreed to anything!"

"What happened to the teenage girl?"

Sara lifted one eyebrow, saying sadly, "Tina Collins killed the parents and her brothers. She had been abused, molested by her father—she was the mother of little Brenda—and no one noticed or did anything about it. When the father started molesting Brenda, Tina decided everyone had to die!"

"Oh! That's—that's horrible!"

Sara said, "Gil says Brenda—who is Brianna now—is a beautiful young woman."

"And her mother—Tina?"

Frowning, Sara answered, shaking her head, "Tina didn't live two years. For a while she was in the state hospital, but then she was slated to transfer to prison. Somehow, she got an over-the-counter med and took a massive dose. Died a week later."

"Who raised the girl?"

"An aunt and a grandmother—and now Brenda—Brianna is a nursing student."

D.B. ran his fingers through his hair. "You're going to tell me when you've made a decision?"

"You know what I'm going to do—I've told you," Sara said, dropping her voice to a whisper.

"You might change your mind." He looked at her and laughed, "Yes, I know what you're going to do. It's taken a long time for you two, hasn't it?"

She nodded again. "We have an appointment on Friday—what we didn't know before, we'll know then."

D.B. softly chuckled, "You are looking radiant—more than usual—has anyone noticed? Said anything?"

"Greg knows—I dropped some things out of my bag."

"Greg's smart—does he know everything?"

Sara shook her head. "We're going to tell everyone at the same time, I think. Gil wants to have a party!"

"Good idea! What's the name of the couple?" He asked as he stood.

"Couple?"

"The double suicide—I'll see what I can find."

Sara gave him the names.

An hour later, he returned, handed Sara a bottle of water as he placed a stack of papers in front of her. "Found these—might help to have names of people that were interviewed about the Spencer's."

When Sara smiled, he sat down and said, "Appears to be a double suicide—or one killed the other—must have been hard on a little boy."

"I think that's the reason Gil agreed to help," Sara said, pausing a few seconds before adding, "Gil was nine when his father died."

D.B. sat quietly for several minutes before saying, "You know the minute he begins to ask questions, he'll get a good idea of what their lives were like. But—you know—memories fade. And it wasn't a sensational death—not like some in Vegas. If the investigation came up with nothing but suicides, there may be nothing to find out—but there might have been a motive, not easily found. Someone—a relative, a neighbor—might remember something."

"He wants me to go with him to talk to neighbors," said Sara. "Thinks a woman being there might help. I remember things—specific events, even the day some things happened." She smiled at D.B. "And I'm not so different from other people! Sometimes it takes asking the right questions and waiting for an answer. Gil is very good at that—the waiting part."

"Why don't you leave? I can do the checking." He grinned. "Surprise Gil. Tell him I've given you an assignment—to help him!" Reaching over, he turned her chair around, away from the table. "You've worked hard on this case—I'm giving you three days off—rest and—and help your husband! I'm sending you on a journey of discovery."

It took several seconds for Sara to make her decision; she stood, thanking D.B. and telling the two young women they would be working with the real boss for a few days. She was in the locker room when Jim Brass found her.

"Hey—D.B. said you were leaving early. I've got something for you—for Gil." The soft chuckle came as he walked into the locker room, saying, "Didn't mean to surprise you, honey."

Sara had just tossed the blue jumpsuit into the hamper; not expecting anyone, she had been startled by Jim's voice. "I thought I was alone," she said.

He held a manila folder in one hand and pointed a finger at her. "Gil came up with a name in his 'investigation' of the Spencer's double suicide—a sister. So," the older man straddled a bench and sat down, "here's the file—a copy—of her death. Not much in here except that she fell at Red Rocks." He paused a few seconds before saying, "And you, Sara, are going to tell me what's going on."

Sara stuck her arms into a lightweight jacket and smiled. "Did Gil tell you everything? About Brenda Collins finding him?"

Brass nodded, "He told me all about looking into these suicides for the boy—and about Brenda Collins." His eyebrows lifted several times causing his forehead to wrinkle in layers of deep trenches; the edges of his mouth lifted in a grin. "What I want to know is what's going on with you!" His eyes twinkled as his smile grew.

Sara gave him a side-ways glimpse.

"I'm not leaving until you tell."

"What did Gil tell you?"

"Not a thing—except to ask for this," he waved the folder. "I keep up with you, Sara. Kind of make sure you—you are okay. All this excitement about this serial killer—that's a notch on your belt in a big way—but there's something else." He chuckled, "You've got something else going on—and I think I know—but I want to hear it from you."

Jim Brass had always been her friend; Gil's friend for longer. She sat beside him, saying, "We—we do have something going on. Gil wants to have a party—tell everyone at one time. Answer all the questions at one time."

His expression did not change, but she saw the light fade in his eyes. She leaned over and whispered in his ear.

The familiar sound of his laugh came to Sara's own ear. "There's more," she whispered and she put her lips next to his ear and shared.

A/N: Read, enjoy, review! And as a bribe-leave a comment and the next chapter will come quickly! Sara hasn't met Brenda yet!