A/N: Jim Brass appears! Enjoy!

A Return to Vegas

Chapter 4

Sara could have driven the route to Jim Brass' home in her sleep but Chris used GPS which took them along main streets, more crowded than back streets. She spent a moment sending a text message to Brass which he answered with "LOL".

When they pulled to the curb, he was already on the small front porch.

Jim lived in the same house he'd purchased shortly after arriving in Vegas and had not changed it much over the years. Except the yard—it had been converted to a xeriscape yard with drought tolerant plants and rocks and stones.

As they got out of the vehicle, Jim said, "I knew I'd be on the list—must be at the top of it for you to show up today!"

Sara got to him first, grabbing him in a two arm hug, laughing as she said, "You're always at the top of my list! How've you been? You look great!" Their affection was obvious as their hug extended to a long moment as the other two men waited.

By her greeting, Chris thought it had been months since Sara had seen Jim but reality was he had been in her home a few weeks ago. Chris liked the smile lines on the older man's face. He also recognized a fellow golfer from the pale blue shirt and golf course tan. Shaking hands and introducing himself, Chris felt like a third wheel as the others took up a conversation that sounded as if it had been interrupted by a phone call.

Brass had known Sara and Grissom would come after suggesting to Maxine Roby to call them. This gun situation was a problem—a public relations nightmare and, if it became public knowledge, would likely set off a storm of appeals from anyone convicted in a gun-related arrest.

Invited inside, the three followed Brass through the house to a screened-in-porch. Sara noticed the clean, neat living and dining room, the plate of cookies on the kitchen countertop; she knew he had a long-time housekeeper several times a week who had probably set out the cookies.

The porch was a recent addition to the house with double doors from the kitchen and from a bedroom. An overhead fan turned slowly creating a whisper of a breeze. As they settled into chairs, Jim indicated a small refrigerator and made a drink motion with his hand. The two men shook their heads while Sara nodded. He handed her a bottle of cold water. He disappeared for a minute, returning with the cookies and placing the plate in front of Sara.

"Okay," he said as he sat in an obvious favorite chair, "can you tell me anything? Maxine came by—she's a good person, isn't she? When she got to the date those wise guys went missing, I knew the story was—was phony!" He pointed to his arm.

Grissom chuckled, saying, "Show Chris."

Brass rolled up his sleeve to show his scar and the tattoo he'd gotten.

Chris did not have to pretend he was impressed.

Nodding at the younger man, Grissom said, "Tell him what we know—I still feel like I'm missing a major part of the timeline."

The timeline wasn't long; it had been less than two weeks since the men in the car had been discovered at Lake Mead.

"When the slugs matched with your gun, all kind of fireworks went off—then Maxine talked to you and started looking at other gun-related cases. Most of them were cold cases—a few were twenty years old, three had convictions—people in prison."

The young man shook his head, continuing, "Now, it seems random—but when the ballistic records of guns that belonged to former—retired—officers kept coming up, it was a bomb going off. Now," he passed the list of names to Brass, "we are going to see as many as we can—there has to be a connection—someone set this up."

Sara said, "We know it's a virus—or malware—in the system but who did it? Why these officers? We think the ballistic records have been faked. But we have nothing to compare—most guns were destroyed—maybe someone has their gun or a bullet so we can make a comparison."

Jim took the list and ran his finger along the names. He said, "Ben Folker has dementia—he can't help and he didn't take his gun." His finger passed several names and stopped on one. "Ray has his old gun—I'm sure of it. And he's out on the golf course every day." He chuckled, adding, "We share a housekeeper and sometimes play a round of golf together."

"Can you find him today?" This came from Grissom.

Brass made a quiet grunt before saying, "He's drinking beer at the golf club by now."

Grissom stood, taking two cookies as he did. "Let's go ask him about his gun—all we need is one comparison to know we are right about the ballistics."

Jim had the list of names and tapped another name. "Dave Spencer has his old revolver, too. Retirement gift—I was at that party. He lives in one of those developments out near Henderson. Haven't seen him in years."

A few minutes later, all four were headed to a public golf course where they found Ray Davidson sitting under an umbrella drinking a beer. His pleasure at seeing them was obvious as he hugged Sara and took Grissom's hand in both of his. After catching up with lives and reminiscing about a shared history, Ray finally asked:

"What's the occasion? You two returning for a visit or for work?"

Grissom simply asked if Ray had his old gun.

"Oh, sure—I haven't had it out of a lock box in years—why?"

Brass nodded to Chris for an explanation.

"We are trying to compare some ballistic records—if we can find a few original weapons, we can check accuracy of the old records." Chris said. He shrugged, adding, "We do so much with computers today."

"Sure—sure! Like I said, it hasn't been out of its box in years. I haven't fired it since I was on a range back in—probably five-six years ago."

"Who else took their service weapon when they retired?" asked Brass.

Ray thought a minute and then said, "A few did—most didn't want it—or had a wife who didn't want it in the house."

Brass asked, "What about earlier—I know some guys would buy their gun when they got a new one."

Laughing, Ray said, "You know, those guns were worth money—and sometimes the department would sell weapons." He glanced at Chris before continuing, "This was years ago—so if a guy could buy a gun for a little money, sell it for more—well, money in his pocket."

Sara and Grissom agreed with Brass as he said, "We caught more than one using a former law enforcement gun—always confused everyone."

"And more than one court case tip-toeing around where the gun originated!" Ray said with a laugh. "But that doesn't happen so much now—Vegas and Clark County got serious about disposing of weapons—paperwork and all that."

The conversation veered into stories of law enforcement weapons ending up in the wrong hands as departments across the country used guns as a money-making business. Eventually, they made moves to leave with Ray promising to bring his old gun into the lab the next day.

Chris was pleased with their progress and texted Maxine with the news of finding a gun.

"Do we have time for a trip to Henderson?" Chris asked.

Grissom checked his watch, glanced at Sara, and asked, "What do you think?"

As the men got into the car, Sara called Catherine. A few minutes later, she said, "We're fine—let's go to Henderson. Libby and Anthony are having a swimming lesson. Lindsey and her husband are there. Not missing their parents at all."

A few minutes later, they were driving through heavy traffic heading to Henderson, found an exit that took them to a neighborhood of cookie cutter pastel-colored stucco houses. Most of the houses had a large garage door and a smaller one—golf carts considered a necessity.

"I'd get lost—end up in the wrong driveway!" Chris exclaimed as they made a half turn in a round-about.

"Didn't we come here once? To this neighborhood?" asked Sara.

Brass and Grissom laughed.

Brass said, "Was there a neighborhood we missed?"

"Neighborhood swap meet," Grissom said. With a chuckle, he added, "Sex toys, used condoms by the dozen."

Sara spoke up, "Woman dead in the fountain! I still don't understand that lifestyle."

Chris had stopped in front of a house. He said, "Here's the address. Is it the right one?"

"No fountains here," Brass said as he opened the car door.

"In the desert, a fountain is springing." Grissom quoted Lord Byron in a reference to the fountain comment.

Sara glanced at Brass and rolled her eyes.

Holding his hand out for Sara as she exited the vehicle, Brass said, "Today, I'd settle for a gun."

A/N: Thank you for reading...thank you for your comments and encouragement! Enjoy!

We love hearing from you! Long live GSR!