Hey y'all long time no see! Ya still with me? Sorry this took so long, RL issues, writer's block and both my beta and I were having computer issues.

Okay not gonna keep ya long, just want to thank those who pre-read this in the early stages and of course I gotta thank, shag that, bow down to my wonderful beta MrsEdwardCullenP who wades through my crazy shit and makes sense out of all my ideas and tells me when something is not really working. You rock girl, like hard and I loves ya for helping me with this.

Okay I'm done have at it and remember I don't own these characters, SM does, all hail SM, HAIL! See ya at the bottom!

Chapter 4-The Writing is on the Wall

"I couldn't see Bella, hell I couldn't see the inside of the cave. I flicked out my iphone and turned on the flashlight app, thank god for technology. I entered the darkness and it was so dark that only a few feet could be seen with each step even with the flashlight.

"Ms. Swan. BELLA!" I hollered into the dark but I didn't hear a response. She walked in here without a flashlight and I worried that she may have fallen or maybe there was a huge hole in the ground. What if she was hurt? Or worse dead?

I shuffled in the dark and realized that I had lost reception on my phone. Just fucking great!

I started to move around in a circle to see if it would come back but I got nothing and then I heard some rocks being moved and what sounded like breathing coming from my left. I turned around and saw what looked like red eyes staring at me and as I raised the flashlight towards that area I screamed."

For a second all I saw was a pair of glowing red eyes and suddenly a hand grabbed my arm; I fell down and screamed bloody murder.

"Dr. Masen, Dr. Masen! Edward," I heard a voice get louder and I shone my flashlight and saw Dr. Cullen's face. She looked normal and I found myself looking for red eyes, but there was nothing there.

"Jesus Bella, you scared the hell out of me," I huffed and I tried to calm my racing heart. Jesus that was scary shit.

"Hmm, scared of the dark are we?" She chuckled and I resisted the urge to flip her off.

"Not at all, but I do get a little wary in dark caves where I can't see anything. How the hell were you able to move around in there?" I asked her as we made our way back to the opening of the cave so I could damn well see what I was doing. First thing was to discreetly check that I didn't piss my pants and to wipe the dirt off my hands.

She held out her phone and showed me the flashlight app, same as mine. I didn't see any other light coming from another direction and when I told her so, she just shrugged her shoulders. I asked her about the red eyes and her reply was to just shake her head.

I was losing my mind.

"Forget it, did you find anything?" I asked and she smiled as she motioned for me to follow her. I tried, but kept tripping up as I could barely see anything more than two feet in front of me.

She took my hand in hers and I inhaled sharply as this electric shock tore its way up my arm. I froze and looked to her to see if she felt anything but she gave me no sign that she felt it. I was losing it. Maybe the accident had caused some sort of brain damage and it was only now that I was feeling it.

We walked for a little bit and then we came to an abrupt stop and there was a hiss and a flash. I looked to see that she had lighted a flare and a bright red glow filled the area and I gasped. The cave was way bigger than I thought and I noticed that things could hide in here and never be found.

I turned towards a wall and it was covered in various drawings. Some were definitely from teens that had stumbled on the cave and just left their tags and stupid messages there. Who the hell cared who T.L was and the fact that he or she thought P.W was so hot. There were song lyrics wrote here and there; I recognized some of them and there were drawings. What year they were from I wasn't sure. Some were artistic and some looked like they were drawn from children. I couldn't help though but gasp when my eyes fell on the one drawing that was on the cleanest part of the wall. It was pretty obvious that is was written in blood, but I would take a sample just to be sure. It was crude, faint and written almost as if the one who drew it had shaky hands. The lines went up and down, no fluidity to them at all but it was very clear what it was, the symbol for infinity. I came across the symbol a fair bit in my studies.

"It's the symbol for infinity" Dr. Cullen started and I nodded.

"Yeah I know. I came across it a lot in college, usually associated with some mathematical equation; not something I ever really needed but it helped. I know that it the infinite symbol was first catalogued by the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Anaximander, but I think that other cultures adopted the symbol giving it their own meaning? Like immortality for instance," I hedged, not really sure about the whole immortality thing.

"Sort of. Infinite's meaning is limitless or endless in space, extent, or size; impossible to measure or calculate. The symbol is geared towards math but modern times misinterpret it with immortality; the never ending notion whereas it should be just a mathematical sign," she explained and I nodded.

We took many photos of the symbol, the area surrounding the cave and I also took a sample from the wall with the evidence bag I had the smarts to pack. We made our way out of the cave and back to the car but not before I snapped some more shots of the entrance and where it was located in relevance to the crime scene.

"So where's the second crime scene?" Bella asked as she drove us away from the park. I pulled up the notes as I told her that the victim was found in one of Chicago's warehouse districts down on the south side, fairly close to the last victim. He was a known drug dealer and while no one on the force was surprised that he had been killed, seeing as drug dealers pop up dead often;- sad I know, but it happens.- It was the way he died and how he was found that had us all on edge and definitely thinking we had a serial killer.

The victim's name was Maurice or mouse as most knew him as. He was a small guy, like a mouse really according to his mug shots. When he was found, his legs and arms had been torn off and he was drained like the others. What was weird was that we found fingerprints around the neck, chest and back. He was bruised and the markings were made from the victim's own arms and legs. The killer had beaten him with his own limbs and then drained him of his blood.

We contacted some local doctors who suggested the theory that it might have been someone who had a blood obsession and surely suffering a mental illness like schizophrenia or perhaps a multiple personality. Based on what we had at the time, our trails had led us to a man named Laurent.

We received reports of a homeless guy down on Third Street who kept claiming that the reaper was here and that everyone was going to die before he got what he wanted. That blood would be spilt and that he was the messenger. We brought him in for questioning since his DNA showed up at the scene and when we got there he was covered in blood.

When the blood was tested, we found out that it wasn't his or our victims. He had gotten into a fight with another homeless man at a shelter over a sandwich and the shelter confirmed the story. We let him go but he was put under twenty four hour psychiatric evaluation. I heard that he was quite comfortable in the local psych ward at the hospital being treated for multiple personality disorder brought on by PTSD. He had been a soldier and saw some terrible things overseas. Luckily doctors were able to find his family and he was getting help in order to recover.

I told her where we should head to next and just like the first time, she seemed to know exactly where she was going. It was a relief not to have to explain how to get there, but kind of unnerving at the same time. I mean how the hell would she know her way around Chicago? Hell people who have been here their whole lives didn't know their way around. I do and Mike does but we ran the streets and Mike is a cop. We would bike around town playing cops and robbers for god's sakes. It was just a little weird that a complete stranger would show up and just instinctively know where to go.

We pulled into an empty parking lot and I instantly was taken back to that night. As I got out of the car everything felt and smelt the same. It was cold, damp and once again the hair on the back of my neck stood. Being on this case for so long, I should have been used of having the feeling of being watched. However I couldn't. It was as if I was in the middle of something great and yet so terrifying.

We made our way through the empty parking lot and I cut the Crime Scene tape off the door so we could enter the building. The body was found in a room just off the entryway. The building had been a doctor's office once upon a time and then it became a storage facility for a local processing plant and if I am not mistaken it used to be a flower shop. Nowadays it was a place for vagrants and dealers to meet up. When we showed up that night I was expecting a lot of people to be there- seeing as the place was a hot spot- but there was no one, lots in the parking lot but not a soul inside. The body, well what was left of it anyway, was pretty easy to find as it was near the door. There was some blood on the wall, no doubt from the victim as he was being beaten.

His legs and arms were found on the other side of the room discarded as if they were trash. The smelt of blood and cleaner still hung in the air, even after all these months. The scene was sealed off, but vagrants still managed to find a way in as was evident by the trash in the corners, the blankets on the floor, and old take out boxes on a makeshift table.

I saw Bella scrunching up her nose at the offending smell of blood, cleaner and human waste. I mentally chuckled as that would take some getting used to for her. I was accustomed to it but years of working with the Police department and being a medical examiner; well just say that very few things bother me anymore. That and I had a professor in college that on the first day of classes he brought in a cadaver, made the Y incision, then fully opened the body by removing the thorax and made us look inside and examine the organs. If you didn't throw up or leave the room you were golden. I unfortunately puked within 5 minutes of entering the room. It reminded me too much of the hospital after my accident. The smell was the same and I was always reminded of that horrible night and the months that followed.

I thought for sure I was going to be dropped from the program but after meeting with my advisor and the head of the department to explain my situation and of course with the support of Carmen, they gave me another shot. I had one more chance to be able to prove myself and I damn well did it over the years. Needless to say that it got a lot easier. I became desensitized to the smell of dead flesh; determination and a shit load of therapy did the magic.

"Can I see the pictures of the crime scene?" Bella asked as she looked around the room, taking me out of my thoughts. I handed her the camera and while she did her thing I popped another anti-inflammatory. My leg was not calming down at all. If this pill didn't work I was going to have to make a quick stop to Carmen's place and see if her husband Eleazar could help me out. He was a medical doctor and had been helping me with the pain and inflammation for of them had taken care of me in after my parents died and if it hadn't been them, I may never have recovered.

I watched Bella as she walked around the room and then glanced at the photos, no doubt trying to get a mental image of what happened that night. I wasn't sure what she was trying to see; I mean I could give her the cave thing, it was off the beaten path and no one knew it was even there but in this case, there was nowhere to hide some sort of sign of symbol.

We went through the whole building and outside too with a fine tooth comb. It has been the second murder and once I discovered that the body had been drained, Mike had the place torn apart looking for evidence. I smirked as I knew her little theory was about to come to an end. The killer was definitely a psycho and there was absolutely no pattern to follow.

"Hmm, so the killer most likely was waiting here when the victim showed up. Maybe it was a surprise attack," she said, and I had a feeling she was talking to herself.

"Which way was the body facing?" she asked and I pointed towards the entryway that led across the corridor where we found an empty room, more like a closet really. "There were some old brooms and mops in there along with a bunch of old dusty shelves that had been dismantled. We took pictures of it but nothing was in there of any value of evidence," I stated. She took off across the hall and flung open the door.

We both glanced inside and just like last time, I saw nothing of importance. There was more garbage now than before but it was expectable since there were people here. There were a lot of flies and I found myself swatting them away; it must have been the bucket with some stagnant water in the bottom that was attracting them.

I pulled away from the door and waited for her to see what I saw, which was nothing. I took the time to check her out. She really was something to look at, with that tantalizing short skirt she had on. Her legs went on for days and my eyes immediately travelled from her dainty little foot, up her shapely calf and her creamy thighs to what I was sure was an awesome ass.

My eyes drifted higher and then bugged out as I saw her looking at me over her shoulder. She had this shit eating grin on her face and I knew I had been busted for checking her out. Come on, how could I not? The woman was sin personified. She was wearing an outfit that would make a priest fall to his knees and renounce his faith. I damn well know I would have.

I would never tell her that so instead I asked her if she saw the sign yet. She shook her head and I told her that there wasn't one. I started walking away when she gasped and immediately went back to her side to see what she found.

"What?" I yelled thinking that it was damn mouse. Weren't most girls scared of mice? Sexist, yeah most likely but all the women in my family and a few girlfriends were terrified of em so…

"I found the symbol," she said with a wide smile long causing me to shake my head in disbelief.

"Impossible, we went through this place. The cave; I'll give ya that but I looked in this closet then just like I did that time and there wasn't any damn symbol then. I don't see one now," I ranted and she glared at me.

"Dr. Masen, you mentioned that you saw some old junk in here. Did anyone think to remove the items in here?" she chastised and I went to explain that we didn't since there wasn't a need but I kept my mouth shut and shook my head.

She moved some of the old shelves that were there and I started to see something. Once the boards were out of the way my jaw dropped. Sure enough there was a sign there and I had no doubt it was written in blood. It was a hideous thing, a circle, in the shape of a snake that was eating its own tail.

"That's just ghastly, what the hell is it?" I asked. It looked like something I'd have seen in the underground nightclubs around here.

"It's a Ouroboros, usually pronounced with a H. It's been seen in a wide range of religions around the world and throughout time. Kinda goes with the infinity symbol, same concept but it does relate to eternity," she explained.

"So what are you saying? That this lunatic thinks he's the path to eternity?" I hinged, not really understanding the whole symbol thing.

"No, not at all but he does seem to have an interest in it," she stated as she grabbed the camera and took some photos. I shook my head, took another swab and then we left to go back to the station. I would have loved to keep going and see what Ms. Smarty pants could find, but the rain was coming down in sheets and I didn't think either of us wanted to be walking around in the rain searching for clues. I felt like freaking Sherlock Holmes or maybe it was Dr. Watson since I seemed to be following Dr. Cullen around.

She dropped me off at the station and after telling Mike goodnight and after I give the Chief a recap of what we found, I left. I planned to just go home, take a long hot shower, take more pills and then get some rest, but my leg would not let up so I swung around and headed towards my second home.

I pulled up at Carmen and Eleazar's driveway and I immediately felt better, the familiar warmth that I was accustomed to

was somewhat healing.

I hadn't even made it to the door when Carmen was out and down the steps surrounding me with her arms. She smelled liked she had being baking and I smiled as I inhaled greedily.

"Edward I'm so glad you're here," she cried happily.

"I just saw you this morning Carm" I chuckled.

"Don't care, I still missed ya, so deal with it" she huffed and I let her lead me inside the house.

"Edward my boy, how are you?" Eleazar asked happily as he gave me a hug and a pat on the back.

"I'm good uncle," I lied; not really wanting to ask him to prescribe more painkillers. He wasn't my uncle, but he and Carmen were such close friends with my folks so, I grew up calling them my uncle and aunt and they loved it. They had a daughter named Irina who was like the annoying little sister I never had whom I loved to death.

"Come on son, let's get something to eat, you hungry?" he asked and I nodded as we made our way to the kitchen. They had a dining room, but we always ate in the kitchen. It was smaller and more intimate and had that homey feel, with the yellow walls, light wood for the cupboards and it always smelled like a bakery, even if she hadn't baked that day.

I sat down and winced as a wave of pain shot up my leg. I tried to hide it as Carmen set down a big bowl of chicken soup in front of me with a bun of fresh homemade bread. I took one sip and I was in heaven.

"Mmm, auntie this is delicious," I said through a mouthful of bread and she and Eleazar laughed as I practically inhaled the meal. She brought over some salad which I ate greedily while they both laughed at me and then Carmen set down the best thing of all. Her coconut cream pie. I swear it could end all the fighting in the world if they just ate a piece. I almost squealed like Irina's daughter Katie does, but manned up and just ate the thing. The groan and moans were entirely involuntary and both Carmen and Eleazar laughed at me.

I thanked them for the delicious meal and then asked about Irina and Katie. Irina had some bad luck a while ago with a boyfriend who stole a bunch of stuff. She had been in a legal battle to get the money he stole from her ever since.

"Oh, she won that case last week," Carmen waved her hand as if the whole thing was a piece of cake.

"Yeah fairly quickly if I so, but then again, Irina is a lawyer and the damn fool had no idea what he was up against." Eleazar laughed.

I almost forgot that Irina was now a lawyer. She had Kate when she was fresh out of high school and managed to go to college and pass the bar. We all helped her with Kate, who was now a gorgeous thirteen year old teenager who I was happy to hear wanted to become a medical examiner like me. I never had any siblings growing up; the closest was Mike and when I came to live here at seventeen, Irina was only fourteen. When she had Kate, I became Uncle Edward and while Irina was studying, I would take Kate to the park and when she was older I took her to the station, where she would play the cop and throw Mike- the thief- in jail. Sometimes even the Chief would let her into his office when his own granddaughter was in. I would take her to my office when I didn't have a body and she would spend some time coloring.

You would think that a child would be scared to death of all that stuff, but Katie loved it and constantly wanted to come to work with me. I ate it up and I loved her like one of my own.

"She ripped him a new one huh?" I chuckled and then winced as my leg flared up again. I saw both Carmen and Eleazar frown.

"Leg acting up again son?" he asked and shook my head.

"Nah. Just over did it. I'm fine I swear," I told them

"Oh sweetie, did I work ya too hard today? I knew I should have taken it a bit easier since you hadn't been in a while," Carmen fretted and I wrapped her in a hug.

"It's okay auntie, I swear I'm fine. I was working a case and trudging back through old crime scenes just irritated it," I told her and she nodded, her eyes a little misty. Damn she was worried now.

"Come on son, let's go and have a look," Eleazar said as he kissed Carmen quickly and took me back to his study.

I sat down on one of the big comfy chairs in his study while my uncle gathered a few things. He grabbed a stool and sat down in front of me and gently lifted my leg. He twisted it around- something I was quite familiar with and then he asked me a few questions. Once that was all done he lifted my pants leg and sighed.

"Some awful heat coming from the leg son, a lot of inflammation I say. Are you taking your anti-inflammatories?" he asked and I nodded. "I think it's time to up the dose. Not to mention the fact that your aunt says you've been neglecting your physiotherapy lately," he added in a stern voice.

"Sorry Uncle El, but this case takes up most of my time and I don't want a stronger dose. I feel like a drug addict already. You increased the dose a year ago; surely my body isn't use to it yet, right?" I whined like a teenager again.

"Edward, what you went through was extremely traumatic and I don't think I need to remind you of the damage it caused. You need to take care of yourself, no case is worth your health son" he said softly and I cleared my throat in fear that I would lose it. "And yes son, our bodies can get used to medication; sometimes quicker that we like. Tell you what," he continued, "you will keep taking your pills religiously for a week and if they don't work right, then we'll increase it a bit and see, okay?"

"Sorry Uncle, I promise to make more effort," I told him..

"I don't want promises son," he said. "I want actions. Please."

"I swear," I said truthfully.

We left the office not long after and as I put my coat on I laughed as Carmen came out with a shopping bag full of things.

"Auntie, what's all this?" I chuckled as she shoved the bag at me and wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"It's just a few microwavable bowls of the soup you had, a few frozen loaves of bread and the rest of that pie. I also threw in some frozen lasagna and couple of stews. I know you have a crazy schedule and I just want to make sure you are eating well," she said softly and I kissed her forehead. I thanked them both and headed out.

As soon as I got home I put away everything Carmen gave me, ate some more pie, took a shower and went to bed.

Once again my dreams were plagued with Bella, only this time the red eyes were hers.

I woke up with a start and again she was there at the foot of my bed wearing nothing but a white flimsy dress, her hair down, flowing down her shoulders; her lips deep crimson that reminded me of blood. She was like a dark goddess and I found myself drawn to her in ways that I couldn't describe. Why was she here? How did she get in?

Was this even real?

"Bella!" I finally managed to breathe, but she just put her finger to her lips and shushed me as she put one leg up on the bed and like a cat she crawled towards me. I swore I heard a purr, but I wasn't sure it was from her or me.

As I was about protest, she straddled me; her heat searing the thin material of my boxers and I moaned at the friction between us.

"Bella, we can't…" I moaned, but she cut me off as she wrapped her arms around me; her tongue doing illegal things to my neck and ear.

"Oh Dr. Masen," she purred and I groaned. I wrapped my arms around her waist and moved us so she was on her back with me hovering over her. I didn't care that she was here, I wanted her and I was going to have her.

I kissed and licked her neck and chest, my hands slowly making their way up her dress and then she flipped us again so she was straddling me; her hot little tongue dragged along my chest and I closed my eyes as she made her way down. I moaned loudly but when I opened my eyes she was gone.

What the fuck?

I nearly screamed as I tugged on my hair.

Was it a dream?

I looked around for any sign that she was here but found none, save for the huge boner that I was now sporting and was currently throbbing. Damn, that was some dream. I flopped back on the bed and willed myself to calm down. This was the second time it happened and I knew I had to get it together. I had to work with this woman and not have embarrassing sexual fantasies about her. At this rate I wouldn't be able to be around her..

I got up to take a shower to cool off and try to get rid of my problem. As soon as I left the warmth of my bed I shivered. Odd. I shrugged and went to the washroom, but not before I caught sight of my curtains: they were flowing from the breeze and I knew I didn't open my window. I walked over to close them and that's when I smelt it: Bella's scent.

But how?

So what did ya think, worth the wait?

Chapter 5 is in the works so hopefully I can get that one done quicker so stay with me, they're on the trail now so keep reading to find out where the blood trail ends.

I'm out, thanks again for reading and I should have put this in the top but I wanna say thanks to all those who have read it, are following it and those that reviewed, so happy you are loving this so much. Thanks again and see ya soon!

Greeneyes84