Chapter 2

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore. Poe, The Raven

The room was small and bare, with gray walls and a single window barred heavily. A metal bed rested in the corner, and he could see it was bolted to the floor. There was also a desk and chair, also bolted. In the other corner there was a toilet and sink hidden only by a small curtain. But what hit Munch the most was the walls.

Pictures adorned them, each showing a horrifying scene. In one a woman, her mouth twisted in a frozen scream, dominated the page, one eye missing. In the background a sleek raven held up the bloody orb. In another, a bloody bony hand thrust out of the dirt, a raven resting on the grave above. There were other scenes, and Munch noticed that in the raven was a recurring theme in each of them.

Paper and worn down charcoal littered the floor. On the chair a young girl sat, her hair hiding her face from him. Her clothes had been replaced by a stiff white hospital gown, accentuating her thin, sharp features. As the detectives walked in she gave no notice that she had seen them. Her full concentration was given to her art, and her hands flew over the paper. Bernard went and stood in the corner, his eyes never leaving Marie's.

"Her doctor will be here soon." Only his mouth moved, the rest of him was perfectly still. A statue of flesh and bones. Munch nodded.

At the sound of his voice Marie froze. Munch saw her body go rigid, and she looked at them for the first time with cold glittering eyes.

Munch couldn't help but utter a gasp.

"Grace."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "How do you know my grandmother?"

Grace… He thought. Grace, with her swaying hips and laughing eyes. Grace, with her mangled body and cold lifeless eyes staring up at him accusingly. God this girl looked just like her. Except her eyes, Grace had laughing sparkling eyes. Marie's eyes looked dead.

"I worked on her case." He said, omitting the fact it had almost cost him his job, not to mention his sanity.

Her hostile gaze never left his, and she reminded him of a coiled snake, tense and ready to strike at the slightest provocation. He wondered what she had been through to become that way. Her peerless depths drew him, and he felt himself sliding away into them…..

"Hello, I'm Dr. Sylvia Argyle, and you must be detective Munch and Fin." A voice said behind them.

Her gaze broke off from him, and he was left with a cold empty feeling. He shivered, and it wasn't because of the draft in the room. He caught Fin staring at him oddly, and raised his eyebrows at him and turned around to meet the doctor.

Dr. Argyle, or 'Sylvie' as she insisted they call her, was a thin, small woman about a head shorter than Munch. She had a foxy face and sparkling green eyes under a shock of red hair. There was a smattering of freckles across her nose, and she spoke with a slight Irish accent. She would not be considered beautiful by most, but with her bright smile and small, almost delicate features Munch thought her quite fetching. Taking her extended hand he smiled, and a glint of something more showed in his eyes. She smiled back, and her eyes exploded into an array gold, greens and even reds. Her face shifted, and for a moment she looked glowing, as if lit from an inside light.

Sylvie smiled at the tall gangly man before her. She thought he looked quite handsome, though he could grow his hair a bit longer. She squeezed his hand gently before letting go. Turning, she caught his partners amused expression before shaking her hand.

"I see you and Marie have some history." She said, speaking to John.

His expression darkened "I worked on her grandmother's case back when I was just starting on the Homicide squad. I was aware she had a daughter, but how did her granddaughter end up here?"

She shook her head sadly "About 15 years ago this woman appeared at our doorstep, about 8 months pregnant with Marie. All she said was that her name was Rose. She suffered from delusions and poryphia, so we took her in. About a year ago she died."

"Does Marie run away often?" Fin interjected, and his gaze was slightly accusing.

"After her mother died, she tried to run away every couple of weeks. She is a cunning girl; she devised many ways of escaping using the barest of materials. Once she managed to escape by jamming the lock with a ballpoint pen and a paper clip left by one of our doctors. Dr. Kleppinger wanted to get rid of her, but she is so sick she can not be left alone on the streets, and no other institution wants to touch her."

"When did she start getting sick?"

"When she was about 11 she started showing signs. Her mother had the same mental problem, and it was probably genetic. She is okay for now, we loaded her with medication, but it will wear off soon…"

As if on cue Marie started shrieking and wailing, and Munch had to keep himself from clapping his hands over his ears in pain. She was rocking back and forth, tears coming out of her eyes. She kept screaming one phase.

"The Raven is coming for me! Keep me away, save me, because she's coming for me!

At this she started thrashing, and Bernard and Sylvie came into action. Grabbing her roughly, he pinned her against him as Sylvie took out a syringe. She plunged it onto Marie's leg. The effect was immediate; she calmed down and lay limp in his arms.

The doctor turned towards them. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you can't interview her now. She has gone into a fit, and who knows when she will come out. It can take hours or days. I will call you when she is fit to interview." She seemed genuinely distressed, and Munch nodded.

Stepping out, he caught a glimpse of Marie as the door was closing. There was nothing insane about those obsidian eyes, and before the doors closed she mouthed two words.

Help me.