Postmortem

Postmortem explores different methods of investigating crime through the differing approaches of the two main characters: Dr. Scarpetta and Detective Marino. Scarpetta is representative of procedural rigor; she uses her technical expertise as a medical examiner to learn about the crime. In contrast, Marino uses his “street smarts” and intuition to solve crimes. In the early days of the investigation, their different approaches cause tension and conflict. However, ultimately, both of their approaches are shown to have merit, and the case is solved through the integration of their two disparate approaches.

Dr. Scarpetta’s technical expertise and what she is able to learn from it are described in highly realistic detail throughout the work, emphasizing the importance of scientific rigor to her work and in the investigation. She uses cutting-edge, time-consuming, and painstaking techniques to learn crucial information about the crime. For instance, Scarpetta and her fingerprint expert Vander use a laser to identify debris on Lori Petersen’s body. She “explore[s] inches of the suffused flesh at a time” while “collecting [tiny fibers] with forceps” (24). This work takes hours, but it ultimately yields two clues. She learns that the murderer uses borax powdered soap and that Matt Petersen left his fingerprints on his wife’s body. Although Matt is ultimately excluded as a suspect, Dr. Scarpetta realizes that the murderer must work somewhere that uses borax powdered soap and that he must use quite a lot of it, a key finding that will lead to the eventual reveal of his identity. Scarpetta also closely collaborates with criminal profilers, an approach portrayed in the novel as a scientific process. Her knowledge of the criminal’s motivations helps her set a trap for him. As FBI criminal profiler Wesley explains, “What we want to do is make the guy think we think he’s stupid. Hit him where it hurts” (253). They use this understanding to place a story in the newspaper that successfully insults the murderer and prompts him to take reckless action, an example of putting scientific conclusions into action.

Detective Marino, in contrast, relies on his intuition. Early on in the investigation, Marino’s “intuition” leads him to suspect Lori Petersen’s husband based on a combination of likelihood—it is most often the husband who kills their wife—and his prejudices and lack of understanding about intellectual work. As he puts it, he suspects Matt in no small part because Matt is an actor “writing dissertations on sex and violence and cannibals and [gay people]” (66). Scarpetta sarcastically characterizes Marino’s theory as merely “a wonderful plot for Agatha Christie” (66), but over the course of the novel, she comes to respect his “street smarts,” which eventually lead him to save her life.

Scarpetta and Marino initially have little respect for each other’s approach. Marino feels his “street smarts” are superior to Scarpetta’s “book-learning,” but eventually, both of their approaches are shown to have merit. Scarpetta’s medical knowledge leads her to recognize that the victim has maple syrup urine disease. Marino’s intuition leads him to stake out Scarpetta’s home on the night she is attacked. As he tells Scarpetta, “I’m thinking this squirrel’s maybe already casing the doc. Now he’s really going to be off the wall” (307). By the end, it is clear that the combination of their two approaches is essential to their success and will serve them well working as a team on future investigations.