Grave Matters

Grissom said, 'For insisting your husband leave his work behind, you seem well-versed in the business.'

'I own half of the business, Mr. Grisham.'

'Grissom.'

'Grissom. As co-owner, there's much I'm aware of. That doesn't mean I want to talk about the rising cost of hearses and caskets, or the latest in embalming techniques, over rare prime rib.'

'Of course not.'

'So,' Brass said, picking it back up, 'you got your husband to knock off work early.'

'Yes-we were going to go out for an early dinner and then a movie. We get so little time away for ourselves. Between Dustin's business and my career, we eat up a lot of hours. The rest of the time we try to spend with our children.'

'Your career?' Brass asked.

'I'm a vice president at InterOcean Bank. I work at the branch office in Henderson.'

'You spoke of your children-where are they now?'

'My sister's. Patti sits for the kids-she's a stay-at-home mom-and can handle David and Diana when both Dustin and I have to work late.'

'Like today?'

'Like today. I'm doing some work at home.'

'Okay,' Brass said. 'Dustin left work early that Saturday.'

'Yes. Kathy walked over just before five. Dustin and I left for dinner.'

'At?'

'The Lux Cafe at the Venetian. It's always been a favorite of ours. We finished dinner just before seven and went to a seven-thirty movie.'

'What did you see?'

'Some violent reprehensible action movie that I let Dustin talk me into. It made me ill. Physically ill.'

'So, you came home,' Brass said. 'And then?'

Shifting slightly on the couch, Mrs. Black brushed her pant leg as if scolding it for being rude enough to wrinkle. 'The kids were asleep on the couch. I put them to bed and went to bed myself. I was asleep almost immediately…. So that's really all I know about that evening.'

'Just a couple more questions, please. What time did you get home from the movie?'

'Just after ten.'

Grissom frowned. Something was not adding up-literally.

Brass asked, 'And what time did you go to bed?'

'Right after. I put the kids down, went to bed, oh…before eleven?'

'You were asleep when Mr. Black got home?'

'Yes, but that didn't matter, anyway-Dustin didn't come straight home.'

Brass sat forward. 'He didn't?'

'No, he said he knew I was ill-that foul movie really did turn my stomach-and he wanted to let me get to sleep. I have trouble sleeping and sometimes, though he doesn't mean to, Dustin keeps me awake. Don't quote me, but…he snores.'

Brass nodded. 'So…what did he do, so you could get to sleep?'

'He went by the mortuary to catch up on some paperwork. He got home just after midnight.'

Grissom glanced at Brass, then asked, 'If you were asleep when he got home, Mrs. Black…how do you know it was just after midnight?'

She smiled. 'Because he told me, Mr. Grissom-the next morning. I was asleep the whole night…. Now, I really have things to do, gentlemen. Can I show you out?'

She did, and at the car Brass said, ' 'Don't quote me, but he snores'…I'll try to keep that out of the papers, but no promises!…What do you make of her, Gil?'

'She's a strong, smart woman. But something's wrong.'

'What?'

'I'll get back to you.'

Soon, in the car, when Brass was turning onto Serene Avenue, Grissom finally figured out what bothered him.

'Pull over,' he said. 'Let's talk.'

Brass pulled over and parked in front of the Dean home.

The CSI said, 'The Deans and the Blacks agree that Dustin Black drove Kathy home.'

'Right.'

'And the Deans and Dustin also agree that Black dropped Kathy off around midnight.'

'Yeah-Mrs. Dean was still up when her daughter got home. They talked.'

'Yes,' Grissom said. His eyes locked onto Brass's. 'So…if Mrs. Dean's correct about the time, and Mrs. Black isn't lying about the time she and her husband got home from the movie…'

'Why would she?'

Grissom shrugged. 'For the sake of argument, we'll assume for a moment that she's being truthful. Mrs. Black said they got home just after ten and Dustin drove Kathy home at that time.'

Brass was getting it. 'But the girl didn't get home until midnight.'

'Right. Which means it took Dustin Black two hours…to drive two blocks.'

Brass's eyes were bright. 'I'm surprised at how anxious I am for a return trip to that funeral home.'

'Without me, this time,' Grissom said. 'I need to get back to the lab and find out what Sara and Nick've learned. This may be starting to come together, and I want to make sure we have the evidence processed and ready.'

When Grissom got to his office, he found Nick waiting for him just outside the door.

'Progress, Nick?'

'Yeah-got some fibers off Kathy Dean's jeans.'

'Good. Do we know their origin?'

Nick grinned. 'If 'we' didn't, I wouldn't be here.'

Sometimes Nick's attitude could get under Grissom's skin. Though Nick had a deep talent for forensics, the young CSI also had a tendency toward cockiness. Or maybe it was just that the supervisor had the unsettling suspicion that Nick reminded him of himself, once upon a time….

'The fibers,' Nick said, 'came from a Cadillac Escalade.'

Grissom considered that. Not long ago, Dustin Black had been climbing out of an Escalade at Desert Haven. On the other hand, the Deans had an SUV, too; he just hadn't caught the make or model. 'Do the Deans own an Escalade?'

'I checked with DMV-they drive a Toyota Land Cruiser. Different carpeting, different fibers.'

'But Dustin Black does own an Escalade,' Grissom said. 'Saw him getting out of it today…and he drove it to take Kathy Dean home the night she disappeared.'

Nick nodded. 'The fibers came from the knees of her jeans…both knees…and, besides praying, I can only think of one reason why she might be kneeling inside that SUV.'

It went a long way toward explaining why it had taken Black two hours to drive two blocks to take the babysitter home. 'You have anything else, Nick?'

'Always, Gris. Ecklie's people say underwear found in a hamper at the Dean home showed Kathy had sex the night she disappeared.'

After a tryst with Black, had she gone home to change her clothes, then sneaked out to meet someone? If so, that someone was very likely the person who had killed her.

Of course, if Black had actually gone home when he told his wife he had, then he wasn't a suspect in Kathy's murder. If he'd lied to Cassie, though…

Well, from what Nick had told him, that wouldn't be the first time. Brass would be getting back to Desert Haven about now, and this was information the detective could use. He got his cell phone out and hit the speed dial.

A moment later, he heard, 'Brass.'

'Grissom. Developments.'