Chapter 38

They spoke with the photographer who had hired Brady back in the 80's. The man reinforced that Brady had a certain charm with the women. He was able to ID two more of the headshots from Brady's scrapbook.

It took the better part of the night, but Bobby and Alex were able to track the women down. Both of them were still alive, and neither had suffered an assault from Brady. The first woman had been a willing partner in a relationship with Brady, and he hadn't ever assaulted her. The second had been happily married at the time, and he'd never attempted to assault her.

Bobby went to an interview room for some privacy while he spoke with his mother. It was the third night in a row he hadn't made it back to Carmel Ridge. He was more than willing to go, but by the time he got there, she was sure to be asleep. She'd sounded good on the phone, however, and that made it a little easier for him. When he came back out, he stood by his desk, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I'm going to…I need to call it a day," he announced.

Alex looked up at her partner, and she could see the rings starting under his eyes. He wasn't sleeping well again. "How was she?" she asked.

He nodded. "Good, she sounded g-good."

Eames gave him a smile. "I'll uh, wrap up here… we can brief Ross in the morning."

He yawned, covering his mouth with his hand. "Yeah, okay. Sorry."

"No problem, Bobby. Get some rest. I'll see you in the morning," she told him.

He'd been hoping she would come with him, but her words put a stop to that. She seemed to have already made up her mind about tonight.

Alex touched his arm, and tilted her head to one side. "I have to stop by my Dad's place. I haven't seen him in a couple of weeks," she explained.

Suddenly, Bobby understood completely. "Okay, yeah, sure. I understand," he said.

She gave his arm a squeeze. "Get some rest," she repeated, and she watched as he lumbered down to the elevators.

Ross was convinced that if Brady found out they had ID'd all but three victims, he would stall. He was convinced that Brady was only doling out confessions in an attempt to prolong his own life.

Bobby disagreed. He'd been working the profile of Brady for a while now, and he thought he'd sized him up well. "This is his foreplay," Bobby said quietly, one arm tucked over his chest, his other elbow resting against it, and his fist against his lips. "If he thinks he gains our trust, watch out," he continued.

The Captain listened, but he stood his ground. He warned his detectives not to tell Brady they only had three left to identify. Bobby reluctantly agreed, if only to spare Alex witnessing another twenty minutes of debate.

After Ross left the room, he shrugged, and gave her a tiny smile. "I, uh… I need to go see Mom," he told her.

She simply nodded. "I'm glad. Tell her I said hello," she told him, and he hurried out of the office.

Frances was sitting on her couch with Frank when Bobby arrived. He tensed when he saw his brother, but he didn't even look his way. His mother was happy to see him.

"Bobby! Oh my God, Bobby!" She cried, and clapped her hands together. "The prodigal son," she said as he bent down with a smile and kissed her cheek.

"Well… sit down. Sit down over here," she said, kissing him twice to make up for the days she'd missed him.

Obediently, he sat down right in front of her. Frances looked from one son to the other. "I got my two boys together in one room!" she cried, patting them each on the cheek. "It's about time," she told Bobby with a pointed finger. "Listen." She showed him an old photo album, seemingly from the 60's. "Was your mother something, or was she something, huh?"

Bobby smiled, scanning the pictures proudly. "Always, Ma. Always," he told her. She laughed.

There were pictures from the beach, and Bobby was surprised to remember that she had worn her hair short, but it had been quite a long time ago. She was beautiful.

"Hey Mom," Frank interjected. "When did you wear a hat?" They all looked at the picture on the opposite page, her wearing a houndstooth suit with a matching hat perched on her head.

"Oh, that went with that suit," she replied. "Uh… Kennedy had just been elected and Jackie had the exact same suit. And I bought mine for a song at Gimbels." She was happy today, full of energy. Bobby stared at her with pure affection.

"Hey Bobby, can I buy you a soda?" asked Frank.

Both Bobby and his mother were surprised by the request. Bobby'd only just arrived, after all. "What?" he said.

"Do you want something, Ma?" Frank asked her.

"Yeah, I want… I want you back here," she protested.

"Okay. Two seconds," Frank said. "Come on." He was already walking past his little brother.

Bobby scratched his ear. "All right." He kissed his mother's cheek again and turned to follow Frank.

"Nice suit," Bobby told him, once they were in the corridor together. It was a nice suit, nothing like the ragged clothes Frank had worn the last two times he'd seen him. Something wasn't adding up.

"Yeah, thanks," Frank said. "I had a little…lucky streak down in Atlantic City."

An ember caught somewhere in Bobby's gut. All the money he'd given him, the money from selling his coat… and instead of getting his life together, he'd taken it to Atlantic City and gambled with it. Bobby bit his tongue.

"I guess the Lord wanted me to look good for Mom, huh?" he added.

He thought he'd made some kind of peace with the whole idea of God, until now. In one sentence, Frank had made it as meaningless as a paper flag on a birthday cake.

"Who seems great by the way, why were you so worried?"

Bobby slowed almost to a stop. Did Frank think he was lying or something? "The doctor says that, you know, it's a normal thing… Her energy. People have, uh…like a rush, before the end, you know…"

"Yeah," Frank said, ducking his head and stepping ahead of Bobby before turning back to face him. "If she is gonna go soon," he said, "her affairs? Are they in order?"

The anger surged inside him. He stared at his brother, incredulous. Bobby blinked, and shook his head. "Sorry? Were her affairs…"

"Her affairs, her finances, are they, uh… what kind of shape is she in?"

Again, Bobby stared and shook his head. "Shape? There's no shape. She's on Medicaid, Frank. She has no finances." For a moment, Bobby couldn't believe he'd ever thought Frank had changed. Alex had been right about him all along. No more excuses, Bobby thought to himself.

Frank tried to make it sound like the whole conversation had arisen from pure concern, but the damage was done. Bobby knew he'd only been hoping to get some money out of it, to somehow profit from their mother's death. "Okay, good. Then her affairs, they're in order. That's good."

Never again, Bobby thought to himself, as his brother stammered and walked past him down the hall. Bobby rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, biting back his anger once again. He would settle the score with Frank later. Right now, his Mom was most important, and she was happy to see them both.