10 years previously

'Morning Mac.' Stella handed him a coffee cup which he accepted graciously.

'So what have we got?'

'Passerby found the body of a female lying in the alleyway. ID names her as Alina Kojocaru. She's 23, a student at NYU and a refugee from Romania.'

'Ok, we should...'

'Get uniforms to go to the campus, speak to her tutors, friends, find out if anybody knows her whereabouts for last night, or if anybody has a grudge against her. I already got it Mac.' Stella grinned and although Mac tried to look annoyed, he too was also quickly grinning Stella and he had been working together for almost two years and still she never failed to surprise him. But he supposed it was her nature and besides it would be a very boring day when Stella Bonasera became predictable.

'Oh hey Mac.' The medical examiner glanced up as the detective crouched down beside the body, putting on a pair of latex gloves.

'So what do we have?' Mac questioned, his eyes running over the young woman's body, noticing both her youth and her beauty before being drawn to the large gaping stab wound in her chest where the blood lay stained around it.

'Looks like the vic was stabbed. Can't be sure of the weapon until I get her back to the morgue. Judging from the lividity I would say that she was killed elsewhere, and that this is our secondary crime scene. Here, would you help me turn her?' The older man gestured, and Mac handed Stella his finished coffee cup as he obliged the request.

What greeted their sights after doing so shocked not only Stella and Mac but the experienced medical examiner as well. Throughout his life, first as a Marine and now as a Detective, Mac had seen many simply horrifying things. Nothing in his mind compared to the horrors of war but this sight was truly sickening. Deep in the victims back were carved hideous profanities and taunts, labelling the woman in all sorts of derogatory terms. By the colouration of the wounds and the stained blood, Mac deduced that these had been inflicted antemortem. It was an abominable thing for one to suffer in their final moments, a torture so very personal and so excruciating to endure. The murderer was undoubtedly a person so very evil and twisted.

Stella too could not believe her eyes. Being a cop on the streets of New York she had witnessed the depths of human depravity but this was something altogether new. The taunts were personal- aimed at the woman who lay dead in front of them. Not only had her body been desecrated by the taunts adjourning her skin but they had been carved deep into her flesh, an eternal reminder of the suffering she had endured in her final moments. The killer was somebody truly evil, a person filled with a great deal of hate for the victim and a person who had been driven to commit such a disgusting act. It was a sight Stella knew which would haunt her for years to come. But how little did she know how true that thought was.

And so the investigation began like any other until Stella made the chilling and horrifying discovery: as she searched through the crime database she uncovered that the Romanian student was not the first victim of this sadistic killer. Sandra Harrison, a mother of two had been killed three months previously, taunts carved into her back in the same fashion as had been found on Alina. It was then that Mac and Stella realised that there was much more to this case than had first appeared and that the NYPD were facing the possibility of a serial killer, a killer that was more bloodthirsty and sadistic than any they had previously encountered. With the appearance of third victim, Lucy Lawrence, Mac and Stella's worst fears were realised.

So far they had uncovered three suspects but every lead they had to connect the men to the three killings quickly hit a dead end. By now media interest had quickly built with the leak of the taunts written on the women's bodies and pressure on the NYPD to catch the killer was becoming intense. Although the pressure and concern for catching the killer was understandable, Mac knew that it did not help the investigation in the slightest. Such pressure would both drive the killer underground and derail the investigation or it would feed his ego and he would strike again for more publicity. It was a precarious balancing act and for once Mac regretted his decision of joining the NYPD. But despite the fact he was close to losing his temper with the pressure, Stella kept him focussed, telling him what he had told her on her first day as his partner- to follow the evidence. And that was precisely what they did.

This evidence led Stella and Mac to a new suspect, Ethan Hoe. Friends of third victim, Lucy Lawrence had told the detectives that she had been having an affair with the suspect but when she had broken it off he had become violent. Stella had researched his background, uncovering a prior criminal history for multiple accounts of spousal abuse. Not only was this enough to bring him in for questioning but Stella had also discovered something much more interesting: Ethan Hoe owned a takeaway business with a familiar name. Having re-evaluated the evidence from the first two homicides, Stella found out that the first two victims had frequented the business, providing evidence of a link between all three victims.

And so Mac and a few uniforms had gone to Ethan's address in order to bring him into custody. What was supposed to be a regular arrest turned into something reminiscent of an action movie as the suspect had fled the oncoming cops, and ran through the maze of streets and alleyways in the heart of the city before coming across am empty cab and hijacking it; beginning a speeding car chase for ten blocks before being pulled over and roughly put into handcuffs.

As Stella stood in observation, watching the man wait for his interrogation to begin, she found it very difficult to believe that such a character was able to have put up such a chase.

Ethan Hoe was not the most attractive of men. He was in his fifties, overweight and with a balding head. His oriental skin was becoming yellowed with age ad it was obvious he was a heavy smoker by the decay in his teeth and the overpowering smell of smoke that clung to his body. Although he did not look physically fit, his show of defiance earlier had proved that he was capable of inflicting such terrible damage as the victims had endured. Stella shifted her gaze from their suspect onto Mac who had just entered the observation room.

'You think this is our guy?' Mac asked, always willing to hear Stella's insight.

'I'm not sure Mac. I mean he's linked to them all and he has a pretty good motive for killing Lucy Lawrence but I dunno I guess my gut's telling me something's not as it seems.'

Mac nodded. 'Well let's go and talk to him and find out.' The partners exchanged a smile, adrenaline pumping through their veins as they psyched themselves for the hot seat of interrogation.

There was something about interrogating a suspect that was almost thrill-seeking for the pair- for Mac it was almost a reminder of the thrills he faced in his marine days and for Stella it was a satisfying way of goading the criminals she fought so hard against. But nothing matched interrogating when it was with each other. Over the years of their partnership, they had developed a style, a rhythm to their questioning which worked so well that they had gained a reputation as being the best interrogating duo in the PD. Both loved feeding of one another as they riled up suspects and sought the truth and it was an experience that they could not get enough of. They were excellent crime-fighting partners and both knew that nothing would change that.

Reaching the door, they smiled encouragingly at each other before steeling themselves for the encounter ahead.

The older man looked up as they entered, scowling darkly. 'Why am I here? I'm going to sue you for police brutality for chasing me like you did!' He snapped at them.

Stella and Mac rolled their eyes at one another at that statement which they had heard so many times before.

'Mr Hoe we have some questions about Lucy Lawrence.'

'What about her?' The man snapped.

Stella leaned forward. 'She's dead and we have witnesses that tell us you were seen arguing violently with the victim only a couple of hours before she disappeared. Care to explain?'

'What witnesses?'

'Answer the question Mr Hoe.' Mac spoke authoritatively.

'Hey look, I'm sorry she's dead but it wasn't me.'

'Witnesses saw you arguing with her, Mr Hoe and they tell us that it was pretty heated. You were having an affair right, and then Lucy dumps you for another man. I can understand that made you angry- angry enough to kill her.' Stella pounced on him.

'Hang on a minute- no! I thought she was killed by this Taunter fellow who's all over the news.'

'Well that's the thing Ethan, you're our main suspect.' Stella appraised him, watching carefully as their suspect's eyes widened in obvious surprise.

'Wait a sec...' He tried to argue but Mac quickly interrupted.

'Mr Hoe you have motive and you haven't provided us with an alibi. You have priors for spousal abuse and we have witnesses telling us you were engaged in a heated argument with Lucy prior to her disappearance.'

'Yes but you can't connect me to the other women so I can't be your killer.' Ethan smirked triumphantly.

'Oh but we can.' Stella smirked back, placing photographs of the previous victims in front of him.

'Both Sandra Harrison and Alina Kojocaru were customers at your takeaway business.' Ethan paled as he stared at the photographs, 'And you have a history of violence towards women. We have a warrant to search both your home and business premises and if we find any evidence that you are complicit in these killings then we will arrest you.' Mac stated.

'Come on Ethan, you've seen the news. The city's baying for blood for these killings. Any jury would be willing to convict you.' Stella leaned forward, deliberately trying to get a rise from their suspect and trick him into speaking. 'Just tell us the truth and we can get the DA to lessen the number of years you spend in prison. You were a lonely divorcee and you begin a relationship with Lucy and you gain yourself a punch bag and once again you feel like a man as you get to terrorise a woman.'

Mac watched the suspect carefully as Stella goaded him, noticing the subtle stiffening of his demeanour and the clenching of his handcuffed hands. Mac felt his guard rise, knowing that Stella was on dangerous ground.

'But then Lucy dumped you and you lost it didn't you. You fought violently and that made you so mad didn't it? So what happened next; you kidnapped Lucy, tortured her and then killed her? Was it the same for Sandra and Alina- you wanted them, they refused your advances so you kidnapped them?

Mac noticed too late that their suspect was close to boiling point and was unable to prevent him from leaning forward and spitting in Stella's face. 'YOU BITCH!' Ethan yelled.

Immediately Mac had ran to Ethan's side, along with the uniformed officer present in the room as well as another who had run in on hearing the commotion.

'GET HIM OUT OF HERE!' Mac yelled to the uniforms who nodded in compliance, dragging the struggling man out of the room.

Quickly, Mac turned back to Stella who was rubbing her face with a handkerchief, her hands trembling as she did. 'You okay?'

'Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Damn I pushed him too hard.' Stella sighed in frustration.

'Well he certainly just proved he has a temper.' Mac said, coming to stand next to Stella.

'That he did but I dunno Mac. I really don't know if he's our guy. Sure he looks good for Lucy's murder, but the others- nah there's something not adding up.'

'I know.' Mac nodded. 'Here let me.' He gently took the tissue from her and helped wipe her face.

Stella's heart began to thud widely as Mac's hand ghosted across her face before resting on her cheek as the detective stared straight into her eyes. Mac studied Stella carefully, noting her beauty and her mesmerising eyes which drew his into a spell-bound state. Suddenly, he was hit with the urge to kiss Stella and he began to move his face towards her. But the spell was broken by a shout outside and it was then that the partners' noticed their close proximity to each other. Mac shifted awkwardly away, handing the tissue back to Stella, 'Here.'

'Thanks Mac.' Stella nodded, looking at him strangely with an emotion that Mac could not decipher.

'Well now that the interrogation is over, what do we do now?' Mac frowned, in thought.

'We do what we do best Mac- we go with the evidence and see if there's anything that concrete that connects Mr Hoe to the previous two crime scenes.' Stella spoke optimistically before striding away to begin the search. Mac watched her go, his heart thudding wildly from the moment they had just shared together. He had let his guard down and almost kissed her. But luckily it was only almost and Mac vowed to tighten his guard so that such an occurrence would never happen again for the sake of their professional relationship. After all, Stella and he were just partners- nothing more- and it was this partnership that made him love his job as much as he did. He would not jeopardise it. And with that vow, Mac also left the room, once more following the evidence.

The Taunter had now claimed his fifth victim. Kate Cohen, a corporate lawyer, had been taken from her home and her body found on a subway train three days later. Already the CSIs had processed the victim's house and the body dump site but as with the other crime scenes, very little had been found. Despite the NYPD's best efforts the media had quickly got wind of the newest killing and it had only increased the paranoia and panic in the city which had begun with the leak to the press about the serial killings and the brutal nature of them.

Throughout the city there was a real atmosphere of fear. Women were uneasy, wondering whether they would be the next victim due to the random nature of the killings. The whole city felt smothered in a blanket of fear. And with this fear came added pressure on the police to get results. Such results entailed working around the clock with minimal rest and both Mac and Stella were utterly exhausted. But they persisted with the investigation. As Mac observed yet another grisly autopsy, Stella had been dispatched to complete the routine and yet often difficult task of interviewing the colleagues of the latest victim.

'Well thank you, you've been a great help.' Stella hated to lie but she was not about to admit to the obviously shocked female colleague that what she had told her had not benefitted the investigation in the slightest. She was beginning to feel incredibly frustrated with the investigation as always the maniac they were pursuing was one step ahead and it was only a matter of time before he struck again.

She pasted on a friendly look as the next colleague entered the room.

'Hello there, I'm Detective Bonasera and you are?'

'Anthony Thomlinson.' The man who greeted her was fairly handsome with dark hair and piercing green eyes that seemed to look straight through her.

'Mr Thomlinson I just have a few routine questions to ask about the victim. How well did you know her?'

'I was having an affair with Kate.' He said bluntly and Stella sat forward in shock.

'You seem surprised Detective.' He commented smoothly.

'Well it's not often people are so truthful with us.' Stella admitted.

'I always appreciate honesty. It's a concept that's too foreign for some.' He answered, his eyes raking up and down Stella's figure in a manner which made her uncomfortable. She resisted the urge to shiver.

'The affair started ten months ago. The thing is I'm bored in my marriage and wanted a change. Kate and I broke up about two weeks ago as she couldn't handle the secrecy anymore. I suppose you want to know if I killed her.' He again spoke matter of factly. 'I didn't I was with my wife, Maggie the whole of Tuesday night.'

Stella's eyes narrowed. 'How did you know she was killed on Tuesday?'

'My colleagues you already interviewed told me that was when she was killed. Understandably it has been quite a shock.' He said and Stella could see that he was telling the truth with this statement as she detected genuine shock in his eyes.

'Do you know of anyone who would want to harm Kate?'

'Goodness no! She was really lovely- friendly to everybody. Look I'd appreciate if you would maybe spare my wife details of my affair if possible.'

If Stella had a dollar for every time a suspect or witness said that to her then she would long ago have been a very rich woman.

'Had Kate complained of being stalked or having any hassle from clients or anything like that?'

'There's always hassle from clients, I'm afraid. It comes with the job.' Anthony spoke charmingly. 'But there's nothing recent I can think of and Kate never mentioned being stalked.'

'What about problems with family?'

'Not that I'm aware of but then again when she was with me we weren't really talking.' He answered, his eyes once more raking over Stella's body. Again she shifted uncomfortably, suddenly eager to finish the interview and get away from the man.

'Well that's all I need to know. Thank you for your cooperation. One of the officers may be in touch with you again.'

Both rose to their feet.

'Not a problem. It's my pleasure Detective.' Anthony spoke again charmingly before leaving the room. Stella involuntary shivered. There was something about that man; although outwardly he appeared charming it was as though there was something just not quite right about him. Her thoughts were interrupted by a yawn and Stella brushed such uneasiness away, putting them down to the exhaustion she was under. The outline of a figure again appeared at the office door and Stella once again readied herself for yet another interview in the long line of enquiries in pursuing the fiendish Taunter.

The death toll had reached eight when as suddenly as the killings had begun, they stopped. The entire city was still on edge, thinking it only to be a hiatus and the media was still demanding justice, running scare-stories. Women on the streets were still cautious and there was a general feeling of unease but as time went on it appeared that the Taunter had truly stopped his reign of terror.

As time passed and new news stories broke, the Taunter killings slowly became forgotten by the general public, leaving only the memories of the grisly slayings to the law enforcement personnel and to the families, who still grieved their losses. For Mac and Stella and the other detectives who worked the case, their failure to apprehend the Taunter was a profound professional and personal blow. Because of the maniac, eight women were dead and although there was widespread relief the killings had stopped, justice had not been gained for the victims. It was a difficult pill to swallow. Despite the absence of the Taunter, Mac was uneasy and he continued to monitor the city for any signs of his return but there was nothing to indicate his return.

Mac's brooding about the state of affairs was interrupted by approaching footsteps and he turned to find Stella coming to a stop besides him.

'That's everything in the Delinski case ready for court tomorrow.'

'Good.' Mac nodded. Stella could sense Mac was somewhat preoccupied and she knew exactly with what as she felt the exact same way.

Stella looked to Mac, speaking consolingly. 'It's been months Mac. The Taunter's gone. The city can rest easy now.' Stella smiled, palming Mac's cheek gently, causing Mac's heart to race violently both from the warmth of her action and from the knowledge that Stella always knew what he was thinking and was always able to make him feel better about it.

'I'll see you tomorrow.'

'Have a good night Stell.' He smiled warmly before Stella walked away.

He watched her go, smiling slightly as she did before his smile faded to be replaced by a deep frown and he turned to stare out at the bright lights of the city in front of him. He thought about what Stella had said. Yes, it would definitely appear that the city could rest easy now.

'Yes but for how long?' He whispered.