Grissom walked over, her plate in one hand, utensils and napkin for her, in the other. “You mean, those strip clubs?”
“Those strip clubs. That young woman I shot…” And the tears came, and Catherine covered her face with a hand.
Grissom, stunned, sat down next to her, but gave her plenty of space, her plate of eggs in one of his hands. He waited patiently for her crying to cease, then when she looked at him, handed the plate toward her.
She took it, but he left his hand there for a long moment, and for that moment they held the plate, together; their eyes met and finally they both smiled a little…friends.
Soon he’d gone to fetch his own plate of eggs, and his own bagel—buttered, untoasted—and sat next to her on the couch, where they ate in silence, other than an occasional compliment from Catherine on his cooking, which he did not acknowledge.
“This guy Pierce,” she said, and sipped her drink.
“What about him?”
“I don’t know, I just can’t wrap my mind around the guy…. He’s not a monster. I mean, he must love his daughter—he tried to take the blame for her. But he also coldbloodedly cut up his wife with a chain saw.”
“We look at dead people dispassionately,” Grissom said. “Bodies become evidence, to us. Some would consider us coldblooded.”
“Maybe. But that man loved that woman once…Lynn Pierce used to be a vibrant, happy woman who Owen Pierce loved. How could even a coldblooded bastard like him learn to live with what he’s done? And that his daughter murdered her own mother? His wife, a woman he must have once adored? How can he handle it? How can he deal with it?”
“Oh I don’t know,” Grissom said, and took a bite of bagel. He chewed, swallowed, and—conferring Catherine his angelic smile—added, “Maybe in prison, he’ll get religion.”
Author’s Note
I would again like to acknowledge the contribution of Matthew V. Clemens.
Matt—who has collaborated with me on numerous published short stories—is an accomplished true crime writer, as well as a knowledgeable fan of C.S.I. He helped me develop the plot of this novel, and worked up a lengthy story treatment, which included all of his considerable forensic research, for me to expand my novel upon.
The real-life C.S.I. to whom Matt and I have dedicated this book—Criminalist Sergeant Chris Kaufmann CLPE, Bettendorf (Iowa) Police Department—provided comments, insights and information that were invaluable to this project. Books consulted include two works by Vernon J. Gerberth: Practical Homicide Investigation Checklist and Field Guide (1997) and Practical Homicide Investigation: Tactics, Procedures and Forensic Investigation (1996). Also helpful was Scene of the Crime: A Writer’s Guide to Crime Scene Investigations (1992), Anne Wingate, Ph. D. Any inaccuracies, however, are my own. Also drawn upon was Dead Water (1995), Pat Gipple and Matthew V. Clemens, a nonfiction account of a torso slaying and a pioneering genetic trial.
Again, Jessica McGivney at Pocket Books provided support, suggestions and guidance. The producers of C.S.I. were gracious in providing scripts, background material and episode tapes, without which this novel would have been impossible.
Finally, the inventive Anthony E. Zuiker must be singled out as creator of this concept and these characters. Thank you to him and other C.S.I. writers, whose imaginative and well-documented scripts inspired this novel and have done much toward making the series such a success both commercially and artistically.
MAX ALLAN COLLINS has earned an unprecedented eleven Private Eye Writers of America “Shamus” nominations for his historical thrillers, winning twice for his Nathan Heller novels, True Detective (1983) and Stolen Away (1991).
A Mystery Writers of America “Edgar” nominee in both fiction and nonfiction categories, Collins has been hailed as “the Renaissance man of mystery fiction.” His credits include five suspense-novel series, film criticism, short fiction, songwriting, trading-card sets and movie/TV tie-in novels, including In the Line of Fire, Air Force One and the New York Times bestselling Saving Private Ryan.
He scripted the internationally syndicated comic strip Dick Tracy from 1977 to 1993, is cocreator of the comic book features Ms. Tree, Wild Dog, and Mike Danger, has written the Batman comic book and newspaper strip, and the mini-series Johnny Dynamite: Underworld. His graphic novel, Road To Perdition, has been made into a DreamWorks feature film starring Tom Hanks and Paul Newman, directed by Sam Mendes.
As an independent film maker in his native Iowa, he wrote and directed the suspense film Mommy, starring Patty McCormack, premiering on Lifetime in 1996, and a 1997 sequel, Mommy’s Day. The recipient of a record six Iowa Motion Picture Awards for screenplays, he wrote The Expert, a 1995 HBO World Premiere; and wrote and directed the award-winning documentary Mike Hammer’s Mickey Spillane (1999) and the innovative Real Time: Siege at Lucas Street Market (2001).
Collins lives in Muscatine, Iowa, with his wife, writer Barbara Collins, and their teenage son, Nathan.
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