Author's Note: So this week I was hit with a sudden inspiration and knocked out like four chapters, so updates should be a lot more often than every six months from now on. Thank you for the reviews, positive reinforcement is such a great thing! I know it's short, but the next chapter is long, so it balances out in the end. Right?

:-)

Disclaimer: Um, yeah, I'm just borrowing them.

Chapter 4

"All right, thanks," Eames said into the desk phone. "Just make sure you keep an eye on her, and note descriptions of her visitors." She hung up and looked across the desks to her partner.

"That was the tail we put on Nicole," she relayed. "Home all night, no one came or went. You want to pull her LUDS?"

Goren shook his head as he sorted papers on his desk. "She's too smart for that. She'll have used a prepaid phone that can't be traced to her." He stopped mid-sort, a sheet of paper in each hand in midair. "Look up Handsen's records. Maybe there's something in there."

Eames typed "Handsen, Emily" into the department's database. Several matches appeared, and she scrolled to the one with the right birthday.

"Mother deceased," Eames read aloud. Goren put the papers down and moved around behind his partner to read over her shoulder. "No father listed on the birth certificate."

"When did the mother die?" Goren asked.

Eames scrolled. "Seven years ago, Handsen would have been 15. Suicide. Overdosed. . . on cyanide? You'd think there'd be easier ways to go." She scrolled some more. "Handsen ended up in a foster home till she aged out at 18, went to college, graduated, ended up here."

"Look up her department file."

Eames nodded, clicked print and did some more typing. "Graduated the academy at the top of her class, assigned to the 2-9, good arrest activity, mostly possession and petit larceny." Eames scrolled down again. And her eyebrows rose slightly. "Her computer ID was used to access department files on Mark Ford Brady." She looked up at her partner who was staring intently at the screen.

"There's more, scroll down."

Eames turned back to the screen and scrolled. And her eyebrows rose higher as she looked back to Goren.

"Why was she looking up Nicole Wallace's file if she'd never heard of her?" she asked. "And a serial killer executed last month?"

Goren went back to his desk and began to shuffle through his papers again. Not finding what he wanted he went into his bottom drawer and pulled a file out. After turning a few more sheets, he pulled out an old voucher and looked up at Eames.

"I have to go down to the evidence room."

Eames stood with him and headed to the elevator.

"Here you go." The clerk behind the counter tried to offer a friendly smile, but it came out kind of strained and was more creepy than friendly.

Goren took the plastic bag and laid it down on a table. He pulled out his pocketknife, cutting the bag open and pulling out a book. "The 80's" was handwritten in permanent marker on the front. Goren began flipping pages.

"Do you have the printouts?" He saw Eames nod out of the corner of his eye. "I need the photo of Handsen's mother."

Eames flipped through the pages she had and pulled out the relevant one. Goren took it and turned a few more pages in the book.

"Here." He set the printout down next to the 8x10 glossy in the book. The woman in the book was about 15 years younger than the printout, but it was the same woman.

"That answers one," Eames said. "But what does this have to do with Nicole?"

Goren shook his head. "I'm not sure yet."