The uneasy peace between Mac and Stella appeared to be holding. The former partners sat beside one another in silence, shifting through piles of paper files of evidence; only communicating when either had a question concerning the case. For the rest of the team it was a bittersweet moment. Sweet in the fact that Stella was back, working in the lab- albeit only temporarily- but bitter when witnessing the drastic deterioration in what had once been the most solid and indestructible of relationships.

Every couple of hours the pair would take a break and Stella would flee from Mac as though he was on fire and would head straight to Flack and Angell who both seemed to be fuming with Mac. Lindsay watched this occurrence with a broken heart, particularly when she saw Mac's features fall even further in despair and she so desperately wanted to speak to him, but Mac Taylor had put up all barriers around him, and getting through was proving impossible. With the exception of Angell, who had welcomed Stella back with a hug, the others had yet to speak to her. Flack had taken on the role as her personal bodyguard and was not allowing the others near her, a fact which Lindsay knew was hurting her husband immensely as Danny was desperate to welcome Stella back. Only, of course, she was not truly back.

For Mac, Stella's return was a walking hell. Of course he was overjoyed to know that she was safe and to see her once again, even if her hate towards him was obvious. It was torture to be so close to the one you loved and yet unable to touch them. Stella had sat as far as possible from him and yet he could smell her perfume, its scent causing a myriad of forgotten memories to come to the forefront of his mind of a happier time before their partnership had been torn apart. He was not sure which was the stronger of his emotions; guilt or anger. Guilt at allowing himself to lose his temper with her, yet anger towards the fact she had resigned in the first place. Stella Bonasera had always been an enigma, but now when she was so cold and hateful towards him, he was beginning to doubt he had ever truly known her at all.

The former partners had been sitting in cold silence for almost an hour when Danny burst into the room. 'Mac, Stella. Another body's been found. It's outside the Court House.'

Without any words being spoken, the pair were on their feet and following Danny.

'Body is of Laura Jackson, aged 55. Reported missing by her boyfriend, last night. They were meant to be meeting at the cinema but she never showed.'

The detectives stared down at the mutilated body of the woman; the handiwork of the Taunter across her dark skin. Around the cordoned off area, crowds had gathered, panic spreading as it was confirmed it was another work of the Taunter's.

'That was a fast kill-even for him.' Mac commented.

'Safe to say he's escalating.' Stella agreed, momentarily forgetting her feud with Mac but when she glanced at his face it all came flooding back and she schooled her features again.

'What do we know about our vic?' She asked, directing her question to Jess.

'Twice divorced, was meant to be meeting her boyfriend at the cinema at 8, never showed, he panicked, called it in. No criminal record. And there appears to be no connection to the other victims.' She sighed in frustration.

'Mac can I turn her over?' Hawkes asked.

Mac nodded the affirmative and Hawkes turned Laura's body so that her front was showing. But what greeted the CSIs eyes shocked them into silence. Carved into her flesh above her wound was a message which read; Welcome back Bonasera. As Stella stared at her name carved into the victim's back, a wave of nausea and disgust hit her. It was obvious, judging by his knowledge of her return that her nemesis had been watching her and she shivered slightly at the thought that the uneasiness that had been plaguing her was the work of a psychopath who had murdered twelve women.

Mac noticing Stella's expression of disgust felt a deep rage grow within him at the thought that their serial killer had been watching Stella. Although he tried to fight it, Mac knew that the ferocity of his rage was a result of his feelings for Stella and the possessiveness he felt. He couldn't bear the thought of another man obsessing over Stella. It sickened him. The idea of any other man except him touching Stella or dare he say loving her was just too much. A great desire to protect Stella hit him in that moment and he turned to Danny. 'Have uniforms post a security protection on Detective Bonasera. I want her under protection at all times in case the Taunter is watching her.'

'What? You can't be serious!' Stella cried in outrage.

For the first time since her return, Mac spoke to her directly. 'This is for your own safety Stella until we catch the Taunter.'

'You want me under guard? That's excessive even for you!' Stella snapped at him. 'You can forget it. There is no way I'm allowing that.'

'It's not up for debate Stella!' Mac spoke firmly.

'In case it slipped your mind Detective Taylor, I'm not your employee anymore. You don't have a damn right to order me about.'

'And in case you've forgotten, I'm still the superior on this case. You do as I say, are we clear?' Mac barked at her.

'Of course Mac. How stupid of me to completely forget that the world revolves around you and the lab!'

Mac was about to retort but seeing the daring look in Stella's eyes he realised that that was exactly what she wanted him to do and so, wisely, he backed down. The other CSIs looked on in fascinated horror at the former partners' bickering.

'Fine then. We'll do it your way.' Mac spoke coldly. 'But don't expect to help you if you get into trouble.'

'You would be the last person I'd turn to.' Stella retorted equally as cold before turning and striding away from the scene. She glanced to Angell, 'I'll be back at the lab.'

Mac watched her go, aware of all eyes on him and yet was not bothered by the accusing stares. Instead, now that the anger at being so openly challenged was quickly dying away, he realised that he had just increased the distance and tension between them. And worse of all, Mac couldn't deny the acute hurt he felt at Stella's admittance that she would no longer turn to him. Even in the darkest days of their conflict he had naively assumed that he could always depend on Stella and that she could depend on him; but now, after that confrontation, it would well and truly appear that this was no longer the case.

Mac was absent from the autopsy but Sid didn't mind. Despite the fact he never ventured into the field, he had heard through the gossip grape vine about the exchange of words between the two detectives and had wisely decided to stay well out of it. Instead it was just Stella. Like the others, Sid had greatly missed Stella and after exchanging warm greetings they had got straight into the job. He had explained that Laura Jackson had suffered the exact same as the other victims: the taunts carved anti-mortem before the single stab wound had finished her off. However, during his examination Sid had noticed something strange in the wound and on closer examination had discovered the tip of a blade- no doubt the murder weapon. Curious to see where the blade had originated from, Sid had agreed to send it up to the lab, Stella thanking him profusely as she raced out, eager to finally catch the maniac Taunter once and for all.

For the next hour or so, Stella laboured on the blade. She analysed it and found it to be made of a metallic substance. By comparing it in various databases she had discovered the blade to be very similar to a spear. She continued her detailed examination of it, becoming so engrossed in her work that she failed to hear footsteps enter the lab.

'Hey Stell. You found something?' Jess questioned, seeing the way in which the other woman stared down the microscope. Stella looked up on hearing Jess's voice.

'Oh hey Jess. I think so. It's some sort of metal tip I found in Laura Jackson's wound. I think it could be part of the murder weapon.'

'That's good. Flack and I have turned up nothing new on the suspect pool. Whoever our guy is, he's good at covering his tracks.'

'That he is Jess. Ten years and we still haven't got him.'

'We'll get him this time though.' Jess vowed solemnly before smiling cheekily, 'Especially with the Queen Bee of the NYPD back.'

Stella swatted her friend playfully. 'God I've missed you Jess.'

'Hey I know and we've missed you.'

The women looked to the door as Jo walked in, smiling at the two detectives.

'Hey. How're we doing?'

'Hey Jo.' Jess greeted before turning to introduce Stella. 'Stella Bonasera, meet Jo Danville.'

The two women smiled and shook hands. 'It's a pleasure to finally meet you Stella. The team speak very highly of you.'

'Oh thank you and going by what Don and Jess have told me they're very lucky to have you. So how are you getting on with profiling the original killings?' Stella asked and it was immediately down to business for the two women.

'I've looked again at the victims and run down some leads that drew my attention. I also re-examined the original suspects to see if they match the profile of our current killer. I take it Mac has filled you in on it?'

'Don has, yeah.' Jo noticed the subtle avoidance of Mac and realised that like her partner, Stella was also good at avoiding problematic situations.

'I discovered a link between the fifth victim, Kate Cohen, and one of the witnesses you interviewed.'

'Oh yes?'

'You discovered that Kate Cohen was having an affair, with her colleague Anthony Thomlinson?'

'Oh yeah I remember him. I was originally suspicious about him- his alibi wasn't very strong, he said that he was home with his wife and although she vouched for him, I discovered that their neighbours had made several calls to the police about fights at the house and there were allegations of domestic abuse although nothing was ever proven. What drew your attention to that?'

'Well it turns out that he had a juvenile record for animal cruelty. Apparently, he killed the pet dog by stabbing it. Neighbours also alleged that he was physically abusive to a local disabled kid.'

'Typical indicator of psychopathic tendencies. That wasn't flagged when I checked him out...' Stella frowned.

'His dad was a local businessmen with a lot of high-profile connections. He made the charges disappear.'

'Sounds about right... Is he still living in New York?'

'That's the thing, he died ten years ago, but his wife, Maggie Thomlinson, still lives at the same address.'

'You know what, I think I'm gonna go and speak to her. See if she can maybe remember anything from ten years back. I know it's a long shot but it's worth a try.'

'Yeah that would be good. Well it's been nice to meet you Stella and I'll see you when you return.'

'Yes, likewise.' Stella smiled before turning and heading out of the lab, not informing Mac of where she was heading. Little did Stella know that her visit to Maggie Thomlinson would provide the vital evidence which would unmask the elusive Taunter once and for all.

'Please take a seat Detective.' Mrs Thomlinson sat herself down on one of the plush cushioned chairs. For a woman now in her forties, she still looked remarkably youthful, with only a few tightened lines around her eyes and a few grays in her otherwise immaculate blonde hair.

'You know I have to say I was quite surprised when I received your phonecall. It has been ten years since Anthony's death. But you said it had something to do with a case you're working on?'

'Yes, I am currently working on the case of twelve murdered women and was wondering if you could help me...'

Mrs Thomlinson immediately interrupted. 'This is about the Taunter killings isn't it?'

At Stella's confirming yet surprised nod, the woman stood up, walking slowly to the window. She sighed briefly. 'I knew this day would come.'

'What do you mean?'

The woman again sighed. 'Anthony was interviewed as part of the original case. He was friends with Kate Cohen, one of those poor victims. Well by friend I mean, they were having an affair. I knew all along of course. You see, I think my husband...Well I think my husband was involved. '

'In what way Mrs Thomlinson?' Stella asked, feeling the anticipation rise in the room.

'In the media it was always mentioning the Taunts that the killer carved onto the victims? Well...Anthony...Anthony was abusive. I tried to leave but he would always find me and well.' The woman looked down, tears falling from her eyes. 'After one attempt, he threw me to the ground and he had this pocket knife and well...I'll show you.' Before Stella could say anything, Maggie had lifted her blouse, exposing her back and the carved scars of taunts that lined her skin.

Stella was silent for a long moment before again speaking. 'I'm so sorry. But why didn't you come to the police?

'I couldn't. The killings stopped and Anthony was with me or with his friends when the killings occurred. I know he didn't do it. Then Anthony was killed.'

'How did he die?'

'It was a car accident. Anthony and his younger brother Damian were travelling back from visiting their grandfather and they think that something distracted Anthony's attention and the car crashed into a tree. It caught fire- Anthony was killed instantly but Damian, poor Damian was badly burned, apparently he was paralysed for a number of years.'

Stella's ears had perked up at this. 'Are you still in contact with Damian?'

'No, after Anthony's death I wanted nothing to do with any of them. You have to understand I did love Anthony to start with but when the abuse started that all changed. There was something about he- and Damian- that just creeped me out. Damian hated me. He hated all women and he hated Anthony. Anthony had always been the golden child of the family and Damian had been widely ignored. It had left him somewhat resentful and Anthony, well he loved having the attention. The brothers were polar obstacles- Anthony was like fire with his temper, but Damian...well, he was just ice in comparison- no emotions whatsoever. Mind you the whole family were strange.'

Maggie stopped talking and she frowned slightly as if remembering something of great importance. '

'Maggie, have you remembered something?'

'I...I think so. When the media frenzy started and it was disclosed about the Taunter, Anthony was so, so mad. I'd never seen him so angry. And for some reason he was angry he kept cursing about Damian. God, I'd forgotten all about it. You don't think it had something to do with the killings do you?'

'I really don't know. Anyway, thanks for your time. You've been of great help.' Stella thanked as she rose to her feet.

Maggie Thomlinson also rose, 'It's been no problem. I only wished I had spoken out at the time. I feel like such a coward.'

'It wasn't your fault. I know what it's like to be in a relationship like that...it's not easy.' As Stella headed to the door she noticed an old college picture of Anthony Thomlinson holding a javelin in his hand. Stella frowned. 'Was Anthony an athlete?'

Maggie saw where Stella was looking at. 'Yes. He completed track events. So did Damian. Anthony won more medals but Damian, well nobody could beat Damian when it came to javelin.'

At this piece of information, Stella's heart began to thud louder. 'I have one last question. Did Anthony ever live in Las Vegas?'

The look of surprise was unmistakable on Maggie's face, before finally she answered. 'Yes, we both did, fifteen years ago.'

'Alright thank you.'

'Please find whoever did this- no matter who it is.' And at the long look on Maggie's face, Stella knew without a doubt that she had just uncovered the evidence and witness testimony which would finally bring justice.