Body of Evidence

fist, ready to stab, to plunge into Warrick's exposed chest.

Pinned there, Warrick could neither move nor get to his weapon. And as the knife began its deadly downward arc, Warrick Brown realized he could do not a thing about it-this was the end, then, on his back in the desert with a maniac's knife in his chest.

In the slowest two seconds he'd ever experienced, Warrick waited for his life to flash before his eyes, but instead a streak of scarlet did, erupting out of a red blossom in the midst of Benson's heart.

The murderer's mouth dropped open in surprise, and his eyes looked down at Warrick, as if for pity.

'Hell no!' Warrick cried, and the now slack figure astride him was easily thrust aside, flopping to the sandy earth with the eyes wide but no longer registering life.

Warrick got to his feet, breathing hard, leaning on his knees, shocked to be alive. He looked down at Benson, the blade loose in the dead man's hand.

Brass came running up, pointing the pistol at the fallen suspect; though it was obvious the man was dead, Brass kicked the knife away from the limp fingers. Like Warrick, the detective was breathing heavy.

'You shot him,' Warrick said.

'Do you mind?'

Warrick leaned on Brass's shoulder. 'You're…you're not such a bad guy, Captain.'

'I have days. You okay?'

'Yeah. Oh yeah…how about you?'

Brass shrugged, looked down contemptuously at the corpse. 'Great. Don't look for me to lose any sleep over this one.'

Warrick checked the body; and it was a body: David Benson was dead.

Rising, running a hand through his hair, Warrick asked, 'What the hell happened?'

'Son of a bitch made us,' Brass said. 'Was going to turn around and drive away.' He gestured with the nine millimeter. 'But without any tires, wasn't so easy.'

'Hey!' Grissom called from over by Benson's car. 'Over here!'

Brass and Warrick hustled over to join Grissom next to the slumping Corolla. Sara was coming up from the house.

'Pop the trunk on this, would you, Jim?'

Brass reached in next to the driver's door, to comply with Grissom's request.

The three CSIs looked down into the trunk to see the wide-eyed terrified face of a young woman, her mouth duct-taped, her hands and ankles bound with black nylon electrical ties. She was about twenty, and her brunette good looks were not unlike those of the late Candace Lewis.

They helped the woman out of the trunk, cut her bonds and removed her duct-tape gag, preserving all of that as evidence. Sara led the hysterical but grateful girl toward the Tahoe to check her over, physically, and then start interviewing her.

'The new girlfriend,' Brass said.

'Nice,' Grissom said, arms folded.

'How so?'

He turned his angelic, ever so faintly mocking gaze on the detective. 'How often do we ever find a body at a crime scene…that's breathing?'

Brass grunted an appreciative laugh.

Watching Sara with the woman who would never have to suffer the way Candace Lewis had, Warrick Brown, meaning every word, said, 'It is nice, Gris. Nice to save one, for a change.'

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 CSI. We worked together developing the plot of this novel, and Matt created a lengthy story treatment, which included all of his considerable forensic research, from which I expanded my novel.

Once again, criminalist (and newly promoted) Lt. Chris Kauffman, CLPE, Bettendorf Police Department-the Gil Grissom of the Bettendorf Iowa Police Department-provided comments, insights, and information that were invaluable to this project. Thank you also to Lt. Paul Van Steenhuyse, Certified Forensic Computer Examiner, Certified Electronic Evidence Collection Specialist, Scott County Sheriff's Office (whose assistance the dedication of this book can only partly repay); to Detective Jeff Swanson, Crime Scene Investigation and Identification Section, Scott County Sheriff's Office; and to Todd Hendricks for his knowledge of cars.

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 were Scene of the Crime: A Writer's Guide to Crime-Scene Investigations (1992), Anne Wingate, Ph.D, and The Forensic Science of C.S.I. (2001), Katherine Rams-land. Any inaccuracies, however, are my own.

Again, Jessica McGivney at Pocket Books provided support, suggestions, and guidance. The producers of CSI were gracious in providing scripts, background material, and episode tapes, without which this novel would have been impossible.

As usual, the inventive Anthony E. Zuiker must be singled out as creator of this concept and these characters. Thank you to him and other CSI writers, whose inventive and well- documented scripts inspired this novel and continue to make the series a commercial and artistic success.