Hi. Here's the next chapter. realised i forgot the disclaimer etc on the last chapter. This is all my own work, no infringment intended. Kathy Reichs is a purely fictional character and shares no similarities except her name with Dr Kathy Reich's. Also the murder's are FOX's imagination, not mine.

Please read and review, let me know what you think. All input or ideas are appreciated. I'm not from America, so don't know anything about the geography of DC or the jurisictions etc. Any inaccuracies let me know and I'll fix them. Also, if you find I refer to Andy as Ryan, its midnight here in NZ and I got totally confused and muddled the two characters up. Again let me know if I haven't fixed something. Thanks for reading, xxCass

"Kat, we have a case."

Dr Reichs looked up as Agent Lister strode into her room. It was Monday, and she had returned room her weekend away rested and ready for work. Presently, she was trying to document evidence from their last case; a task she had been avoiding for over a week. The paperwork seemed endless, but she welcomed the interruption warily.

"It looks like we've got a serial killer on our hands."

"Lets not jump to conclusions, Andy." Kathy was logical as always and more than happy to let the evidence do the talking. As a scientist she was not one to speculate. She often found Lister's theories annoying to say the least, despite the fact he was often right.

"Come with me, I'll explain on the ride to the crime scene."

"Two weeks ago, a body was discovered in the Columbia Island Marina. It was a Hispanic woman named Mia Cabeen. 25 years, worked as a nurse in the oncology department at Washington Children's hospital. Mia lived with her boyfriend, who reported her missing when she didn't return home from work last Sunday.

"Mia's body was found attached to the anchor of a coast guards boat on Monday morning. It was taken to the coroners, who determined she had been in the water for 10 hours. She was smothered with a pillow before being taped to the anchor and lowered into the harbour."

"Andy, I'm an anthropologist, not a pathologist-"

"Patience, my friend. Another body has been discovered, bound by the same red tape. This time most of the flesh has been eaten away by rats. There's no way the coroner can work with this body. Also, the body was found in a different district. They've asked for the FBI to be involved."

"Okay, fine. Give me the case file. I'll make myself useful and read while you drive."

Twenty minutes later, the pair arrived at the parking lot to Providence Hospital. An area had been cordoned off and the media had already arrived. Flashing his badge, Lister led Kathy through the mass off people, towards the crime scene.

The scene before her made her stomach turn. Despite over ten years of working with the FBI, some crimes made her feel physically sick and this was one of the more gruesome she had had to deal with. The body had been almost entirely eaten away by the rats, and she could actually see the exposed bone in some places. For only ten rats, there seemed to be a lot of damage, and Kathy had to wonder how long the body had been out here for. It was only eight in the morning, but they were outside the 24 hour ER department.

"Any thoughts, Kat?" Andy was standing behind her, trying not to look at the body. Despite his tanned complexion, he looked slightly pale and his usually cocky demeanour had been replaced by a more subdued attitude.

Kathy just smiled back. Andy had worked with her long enough to know that as soon as she'd found something she would tell him.

Looking closer she discovered a small amount of skin was attached to the skull, with a clump of blonde hair. "Andy, maybe you could go interview some nurses or something? The victim appears to be blonde if that helps, though I wouldn't like to hazard a guess at age or sex at this point."

"Sure thing, call me if you find anything else."

With Andy gone, Kathy was able to work more efficiently. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy his company or that he wasn't quite often helpful; she just found she worked easier on her own, without him constantly looking over her shoulder.

Almost three hours had passed when Kathy had finally finished her preliminary scene examination. Lister had returned long ago to inform her that no one from the ER department had failed to report to work this morning and there had been no disturbances during the night. Kathy motioned to the crime scene unit that they could collect the body and take it back to the lab for analysis.

The pair climbed back into Lister's AMG and drove back to the lab to brief Kathy's team. It was going to be a long day.