Binding Ties Read Online Free PDF Page B

off
before
the victims were killed?”
    Brass, pleased she was following him, said, “Yes.”
    â€œHere it would seem to be postmortem. A living victim would have considerable spray, and might wave his mutilated hand around, further spreading the blood.”
    â€œRight,” Brass said with a nod. “And there’s something that isn’t right about how the semen is pooled on his back….”
    Grissom fielded that one, explaining his theory, concluding with, “It’s always hard to tell with ejaculate at a crime scene—configuration of the victim’s body, and how the perp’s body functions; but this looks almost—poured on.”
    â€œB.Y.O.S.,” Catherine said.
    Brass and Grissom frowned at her in confusion.
    Her eyebrows rose. “Bring your own semen? The killer brought his specimen from home. Or maybe it was a woman, who
had
to bring a specimen….”
    â€œMakes sense either way,” Brass said. “A copycat is coldly staging a crime; the real crimes were driven by passion, by a killer really …
into
it.”
    â€œExactly my point,” Grissom said. “Still, this crime scene is close to the originals, right?”
    â€œYeah,” Brass said. “Other than these details we’ve discussed … oh yeah.”
    â€œWith a copycat, our lines of inquiry become nicely narrowed.” Grissom gestured toward the body. “Who
did
know this much information about those murders?”
    Thought clouded the detective’s face. Then: “Well, the killer, of course … the cops on the case, ourselves … and a couple of newspaper guys.”
    Catherine asked, “Who, specifically?”
    â€œTwo crime beat reporters for the Las Vegas
Banner
—Perry Bell and David Paquette. They received the original taunting letters from CASt. And they even did a quickie paperback together, about the case.”
    â€œIsn’t Paquette an editor at the
Banner?”
Catherine asked.
    â€œNow
he is—Paquette seemed to get the better end of the book notoriety. Paquette got the editor’s post, but then Bell
did
get his own column.”
    Both CSIs nodded.
    Most LVPD personnel knew of Bell and his column,
The Bell Beat
. Grissom didn’t think the guy was much of a writer, but then neither were Walter Winchell or Larry King; but the columnist did have areputation for honesty, and it was said he never betrayed a source, or any kind of trust, which was a big part of how he’d been successful for so long. When a cop shared something with Bell in confidence, it stayed that way until the officer told him he could print it.
    â€œGuess I better go have a chat with the Fourth Estate,” Brass said.
    Catherine gestured to the grotesque corpse. “You think either Paquette or Bell might be capable of … this?”
    Brass shrugged. “Gacy was a clown, Bundy a law student, Juan Corona a labor contractor who killed two dozen for fun and profit. Who’s to say
what
people are capable of? One thing I do know—if we’re treating this like a normal homicide, then Perry Bell and Dave Paquette are suspects … and I’m going to go have a talk with them.”
    They met with the other cops and CSIs in the yard while paramedics went inside to deal with the body.
    Damon looked annoyed as he eyeballed Brass. “What are you doing here, Jim?”
    Brass started to say something, but Grissom stepped up like a referee.
    â€œI called him in,” Grissom said. “As an advisor. He worked a case very similar to this years ago.”
    â€œSimilar how?” Damon asked.
    â€œSimilar,” Grissom said, “exactly.”
    â€œAnother murder?”
    â€œMurders,” Brass said. “A serial killer.”
    â€œOh, come on,” Damon said. “What is this, the movies?”
    Catherine said, “Why, do you get a lot of d.b.’s out here in North Las Vegas, men with lipstick