See Also: 'Grissom's Divine Comedy' Episode Guide

Time is of the essence.

According to CSI Files sources, the first episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation produced since the writers' strike ended is "Grissom's Divine Comedy". The burned body of Dan Cook is found in his car, and it looks intentional. Three letters are painted on the car's rear bumper: L.A.T. The letters become significant when the team learns that Cook was planning to testify in front of a Grand Jury about a murder that was allegedly committed by a member of the La Tijera gang.

The prosecutor who was going to bring Cook to testify in front of the Grand Jury is Madeline Klein. She shows Grissom a video of Cook in an interrogation room with Brass. The man seems nervous, thinking that he's in trouble for a minor traffic violation. Instead, Brass wants to know if he saw anything on the night the violation occurred. Cook says that yes, he saw a man walk by his car when he was stopped along a certain stretch of road. Cook identifies Jose Alvarado, putting him at the scene of a murder.

Klein tells Grissom that this also identifies Alvarado as "El Matocho", a high-ranking member of the La Tijera gang associated with a number of murders. Each of the victims, like the one that died the night Cook saw Alvarado, had the letters L.A.T. carved into his/her face. Until now, the identity of El Matocho has been a mystery, but Klein was counting on Cook's testimony to convince the Grand Jury that it was Alvarado.

Now that Cook is dead, his testimony is inadmissible, and Klein needs Grissom to prove that Alvarado put out a hit on Cook to keep him from testifying. Otherwise, Alvarado will walk. Alvarado, she explains, was picked up in an ordinary gang sweep and sentenced to 30 days in jail for a parole violation. They've only got 52 hours before he is released, and they know that once he's out of jail, they won't be able to get him again.

During the autopsy, David and Doc Robbins discover that Cook had been shot. It wasn't the fire that killed him--it was a bullet. Warrick is processing the car and finds a gun in what remains of the glove compartment. Surprised, he chips away at the melted plastic and uncovers the serial number of the gun--it belongs to Cook's father in law, Richard O'Malley. Brass questions Richard, who is shocked to learn that his gun was the murder weapon. Richard denies killing his son in law, explaining that Cook had come to him and asked for the gun. Richard told him to go to the police if he thought he was being followed. Cook told Richard that he'd feel safer with the gun around, but he didn't elaborate on why he felt he needed it in the first place.

Please note that the above plot details have not been confirmed by CBS, Alliance Atlantis or Bruckheimer Films, and until such time you should treat this information as you would any other rumour. The above information comes from early script drafts and the details of the episodes are liable to change before the episodes are shown.

"Grissom's Divine Comedy" is expected to air April 3.

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