Scene: This story takes place in New York City, New York in the mid 90’s. While the UN conference is in town, a series of kidnappings has erupted and it’s up to a team of forensic scientists to follow the clues and find the killer.
Theme: People who never give up what they started will always accomplish his/her goal.
Key Persons: Lincoln Rhyme, once a famous NYPD “criminalist” who is now a quadriplegic is brought back to work; Amelia Sachs, daughter of a beat cop who is first officer of the first kidnapping making her involved in the whole investigation; Lon Selitto, Lincoln’s former partner; Jerry Banks, Selitto’s partner; Mel Cooper, computer and science genius; Jim Polling, NYPD command chief; Fred Dellray, FBI commander; Dr. Berger, Lincoln’s euthanasia doctor; Thom, Lincoln’s aide; Dr. Peter Taylor, Lincoln’s spine doctor.
Key Incidents:
1. After learning of a possible kidnapping, patrolwoman Amelia Sachs gets a dispatch about a homicide near “Thirty Seventh near Eleventh”. She finds a dead body dug roughly in a grave. To protect the scene, she does all humanly possible to prevent any type of contamination.
2. Lincoln Rhyme, former head of Central Investigation and Resource Division, is persuaded by Lon Selitto and his partner to help the kidnapping investigation. In the mean time, the “Bone Collector” abducts another victim.
3. Being a quadriplegic, a person who is paralyzed from the waste down, Lincoln Rhyme wants to commit suicide. He hires Dr. Berger to help him with the suicide.
4. Rhyme assembles his forensic team to begin the investigation. On the team, he assigned Amelia Sachs, Mel Cooper, Lon Selitto, and Jerry Banks to the case. As they begin the investigation, the bone collector is torturing his captive.
5. Given the clues left by the scene, Rhyme figures where the captive, known as T.J Colfax, is. He sends Sachs over to the scene before T.J meets her fate. But by the time she arrives, it is too late. Colfax is found boiled to death by hot steam blown in her face. Through this horrific ordeal, Rhyme, as tranquil as ever, makes Sachs do her first Crime Scene Investigation. She finds more clues left by the bone collector.
6. As the first investigation is coming to a close, the bone collector is seen scraping the flesh off one of his victims’ fingers; polishing it to the bone. He begins reading this book about a dead serial killer, James Schneider, who was also a “bone collector”. He reads about one of Schneider’s victims, a German woman named Hanna. The bone collector mistakes his most recent victim, an immigrant named Monelle Greger, as this woman Hanna. Psychological issues are clearly present.
7. Already knowing another victim has been captured, Rhyme gets ahead on the next set clues to figure out where this victim is hidden. Body hair, veal bones, foot prints, the clues left before, and Rhyme’s genius leads him to believe that the victim is in a tunnel. Amelia Sachs runs to the scene to see Monelle Greger tied up, wounded, and about to be marauded by a swarm of filthy rats. Amelia salvages her from the rodents, but not before protecting the scene.
8. A shaken, horrified Monelle Greger was no help to the investigation. Amelia once again identified the planted clues and delivered it to Rhyme. During this time, FBI has been on full watch of the UN conference that is taking place in New York City. FBI captain, Fred Dellray, learns from his central informant that something is going to take place at the conference. Dellray, informed of the recent kidnappings in the city, wants to take the case over NYPD for a possible terrorist attack. Dellray storms into Rhymes’ operation and takes over all the evidence and progress that the team has made. A heart broken Lincoln Rhyme, Lon Selitto, and Jerry Banks go off and drink through the night.
