Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to CSI. If I did, I would suggest to Billy to forego the rectangular glasses.
A/N: This is a case file story that contains mature material (not smut, just mature, including nasty language and sexual/violent situations). It is a multi-chapter fic (30+ chapters). There is a little GSR, but it is suggested throughout. Lots of Brass/Grissom and Catherine/Grissom friendships.
I have to give many, many thanks to my two betas. To "Dame" VRTrakowski who constantly told me to keep going and who admonished me for using the word "suck" when describing my writing. She's a good person and a good friend. Thanks.
To CSIGeekFan who graciously gave me an enthusiastic "Yes" when I asked her to beta. She is a writing machine (and a damn fine editor), and some of her stories give me goose bumps because they are so good. Thank you, my friend.
Both these women are amazing talents. I am humbled by their support and encouragement.
Thank you for visiting, and enjoy.
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Prologue
The flick of the light switch and the hum of the incandescent lighting broke the silence of the showroom.
It did nothing, however, to quell the stench that permeated the room.
The odor was not lost on Clement Hoffman. He silently walked among his inventory, every so often placing a hand upon the polished mahogany or oak finishes of his pieces. It had been three days since he entered the showroom, and he wondered where the smell originated.
The smell of filth. The smell of waste. The smell of death.
Clement hoped the smell would be something innocent. A wayward rat that wandered from the dumpster outside when the back door was opened for a delivery. An armadillo just outside the facility whose burrow caved in.
Those hopes were dashed the minute he saw the coffin. Clement approached it.
"That's not one of ours," he said out loud to himself.
Upon inspecting the coffin, which was sturdy but unremarkable, much like those used for pauper burials, Clement not only could tell it was the source of the smell, but became anxious about the fact it was sealed shut.
His exit was much quicker than his entrance. He didn't bother with the light switch, and once again the room was silent, except for the hum of its lighting.
TBC