When Mac and the others arrived at the house, they found that someone had definitely been there, but they were not there now. Mac blew out a long breath and shook his head. "Don't worry," Don said. "We will find her."

"We don't even know that this is where she was," Mac replied. He looked at Danny and Lindsey. "I want every inch of this place gone over."

"Yes, sir," Danny said. He and Lindsey got to work.

Mac walked out on the porch of the house and looked across the road at the lumber mill. He wanted to go over there and talk to some people. Just then, his phone rang. "Taylor," he answered.

"Hi, Detective Taylor," Virginia said.

Mac frowned. "Where are you?" he asked.

"Chasing dead ends, Detective?"

"I will find you. You won't get away with killing those people or with what you did to me."

"I'm already getting away with it, but don't worry, we will meet again. It will be when you least expect it."

"That's what you think."

They were both silent for a moment. "You always did think you were smarter than anyone else," Virginia said. "We'll see what you think this time, and this time, you'll stay buried."

Mac heard the call end. He glared at the phone and put it in its holster. He had been chased by maniacs before, and he would take this one down just like he did the others. Don Flack walked up beside Mac. "So, what are we doing?" he asked.

Mac looked at Don, and Don noticed the look on Mac's face. "What's going on?" Don asked.

"She called me," Mac said, looking around them. "She knows we're here."

Don looked towards the lumber mill. "You think she's watching us?"

"She must be."

"So, are we going to find out what anybody knows over there at that lumber mill?" Don asked.

Mac nodded. "Yes, we are," he said.

Don watched Mac walk away and then followed him. He knew Mac would not rest until that woman was behind bars where she belongs. They got into Don's car and went over to the lumber mill. The office was a mobile home with a sign on the door that said OFFICE. Mac and Don went up to the door. Just as Mac was about to knock, someone said, "Hey!"

Mac and Don looked around to see a blond woman coming toward them with a red hard hat on. "You looking for someone?" she asked.

"We're looking for the manager," Mac said.

"That would be me." She came over to them and offered her hand. "I'm Nikki Reese. What can I do for you?"

Mac and Don were surprised. Mac shook her hand. "I'm Detective Mac Taylor. This is Detective Flack. We're looking for a woman named Virginia Chasity. You ever heard of her?"

"Can't say I have."

Mac showed her a picture of Virginia. "You ever seen this woman?"

"Yes. I've seen her. She was here one day having lunch with one of my men."

"Which one?"

"David Turner."

"Can you take us to him?"

"He's not here today."

Don looked at Mac. "Are we surprised?" Don asked.

Mac looked back at Nikki. "Did he have a reason for being out?" he asked.

"Sick," Nikki answered.

"Did he ever go to that house over across from this lumber mill?"

"I don't know. I think I saw his truck there once. What's this about?"

"She's a murderer."

Nikki looked shocked. "A murderer?"

"Yes. Don't you ever watch TV?" Don asked.

"Not much."

"She murdered her husband and four women and tried to kill me," Mac said.

"I don't have any idea where they could be," Nikki said.

Mac gave her his card. "If you see them again, will you please call? And be careful around this woman. She's a cold blooded murderer."

"Yes sir."

Mac and Don went back to the car. "That's amazing," Don said.

"What?" Mac asked.

"A woman runs this lumber mill. She must be a tough cookie."

"I guess she is."

Mac sighed. "We have to find this woman," he said, seriously. "She'll be coming after me again."

"Is that what she said in that phone call?" Don asked.

"Yes. She said I would stay buried next time."

"That is a direct threat, Mac."

"I'm not going to live with bodyguards, Don."

"Mac, she could come after you again and she will make sure you're dead next time and then disappear."

Mac stared at him. "You think I don't know that?"

They arrived back at the house. Mac went in to see what Danny and Lindsey had found. "This place has been totally wiped clean," Danny said. "There are no fingerprints anywhere."

"You have got to be kidding," Mac said.

"I wish I was."

"It has been scrubbed with bleach," Lindsey said.

"I thought that was what I smelled," Mac replied. "She had been seeing a guy over at the lumber yard, and he's conveniently absent today, and the supervisor over there said she has seen his truck over here."

"She also called and threatened Mac a while ago," Don said. "He's forgetting that detail."

Danny and Lindsey looked at Mac. "She called you?" Danny asked.

"Yes," Mac said. "She threatened me, but I've been threatened before."

"She captured you before."

"That doesn't mean she can again."

"She probably won't try capturing you again," Lindsey declared. "She'll probably just try to kill you."

"I agree," Mac said. "But I won't live like a prisoner."

Danny and Lindsey continued their investigation to make sure there was nothing left that could prove that Virginia Chasity had been in that house. "There's no way somebody can clean a whole house and not leave some little speck somewhere," Danny said, as he was studying the baseboard with an ALS light.

"Well, you remember how I cleaned the apartment before the baby was born," Lindsey replied.

"This woman was not cleaning for a reason like that though. She was cleaning for evil purposes. And you might have missed a spot."

Lindsey smiled. "I'm sure I did. I could have never gotten all the dust out of that place."

"That's life in New York. Dust and gossip."

"It's strange to me that the people over there at the lumber mill had never seen that woman when her picture was all over the newspaper and TV."

Danny stopped what he was doing and thought about that. "Yeah. Why wouldn't they have seen her?" he asked.

Lindsey looked at him. "That is strange, isn't it? They should have seen her enough to recognize her. What do people do when they're on lunch?"

"Read the paper, watch TV."

"You think they're hiding her out over there?"

"Why would they?"

"Maybe we should check out that woman over there who owns that place."

Danny got his phone. "A woman owns that lumber mill?" he asked, and threw a sly grin at Lindsey.

"Is that so surprising these days?" Lindsey asked.

"Nothing surprises me these days."

Danny called Adam and told him to check out that woman who owned the lumber mill. "Reese Lumber," Danny said. "I want to know who she's kin to."

Lindsey looked at Danny as he ended the call. "You think they might be kin?" she asked.

"You never know. Virginia Chasity was married and had her husband's name."

They continued their inspection of the house. Lindsey moved into the kitchen and began inspecting the cabinet and sink area. She thought if someone was living here, they would have to touch that. Danny was thinking the same thing about the bathroom. They were dusting for fingerprints, leaving no spot undusted.

Soon, Lindsey heard Danny say, "Boom!"

"You found something?" Lindsey asked.

"No, I just set off a firecracker," Danny called.

"Wise guy."

"Hey, I have to get my wise cracks in. I found a fingerprint under the toilet lid."

Lindsey came into the bathroom. "Now if it is Virginia Chasity's print, we'll have something."

Danny looked at the print. "It's not a big print," he said. "It could be hers."

"Why would it be under the toilet lid?"

"Drugs?" Danny looked at her. "While her husband was selling women and having affairs with them, she was selling drugs and having an affair with someone over there at that lumber mill?"

"That's quite a tale."

"I've heard worse. Maybe she killed her husband because he found out about her little secret here and she pretended that it was about his secret."

"How could two people be married like that and keep secrets this big from each other?"

"Beats me. I can't keep anything from you."

Lindsey smiled. "And don't you forget it," she said.

"I don't need to keep secrets."

They finished their search and went back to the lab. Mac was waiting for them when they got there. "We found a print," Danny said. "Under the toilet lid."

"Let's get it identified," Mac said.

They went into the lab and ran the fingerprint through the system. Mac stared at the screen as the identity came up. "It's her," he said.

"So, now we have proof that she was there," Lindsey said.

"I had Adam run a background check on that woman who owns the lumber mill," Danny said. "I'm thinking they may be hiding Virginia over there somewhere."

Mac went into the computer lab. "Adam," he said. "Did you run that check?"

"Yes, sir," Adam replied. "Nikki Reese and Virginia Chasity are sisters. Their father owned that lumber mill and he left it to them when he died."

"I want to know something about this guy, David Turner," Mac said. "He works there at that lumber mill."

Adam typed that name in. "He has no criminal record," he said.

Mac leaned on the computer desk and thought a moment. He looked at Danny. "We need a warrant for that lumber mill," he said.

"Mac, don't you think you should let us do this?" Danny asked.

"Don't ask me that again."

Mac went back to his office and called Flack and told him to get a warrant. "I'm on it," Don said.

Mac put his bulletproof vest back on and went back out into the hall. Danny and Lindsey were getting ready too. "Just remember that this woman is a cold blooded murderer," Mac said. "If you come upon her, don't hesitate to shoot. She will shoot."

Just then, Danny's phone rang. He looked at it and it was another murder. He looked at Mac. "You and Lindsey take care of that," Mac said. "I will go with Flack on this other case."

"I wanted to be in on this," Danny said.

"Just go."

Danny and Lindsey stared at Mac for a moment, but then they did what they were told. Mac checked his weapon and made sure he had two more clips. Then he went down to the squad room. He stumbled a little as he came out of the elevator. He needed his cane, but he was determined that he would be in on this and he was not going to use that cane. Don Flack was getting into his bulletproof vest and he already had a team together. "You sure you're ready for this?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Mac said. "If I have to work, I'm going to do the whole job."

Don could tell by the look in Mac's eyes that he would not relent. "Just be careful," he said.

"I intend to."

They went over to the lumber mill. By this time, Nikki Reese was not there. "We have a warrant to search this area," Don Flack announced, as he held up the warrant.

"What are you looking for?" the assistant manager asked.

Mac stared at him a moment. "I'm only going to ask you this one time," he said. He showed him the picture of Virginia Chasity. "Have you seen that woman here?"

"Yes, I've seen her here before. Why?"

"Is Nikki Reese hiding her here somewhere?"

"If she is, I don't know it."

"This woman is a murderer."

"I don't know anything."

Mac thought it was hard to believe that Nikki could be hiding Virginia there and no one else knows it. "You keep your men out of our way," Mac said.

Mac and Don went into the mill. "I always loved the smell of fresh pine," Don said.

"I think they have more than pine here," Mac said.

"Right." Don sniffed the air. "Cedar."

"Okay. Let's get to work." Mac took his weapon out.

Don watched Mac walk into the mill. He wished Mac would sit this one out, but he wasn't going to suggest that anymore. Mac had already informed him that he was going on this hunt. There were rooms in the top of the building. Mac looked at the stairs that went up to the second floor. He remembered how he had gone down those steps at the court house. He had been angry then, though. He headed on up the stairs. It was not easy, but he made it to the top. He walked over to the first door and shoved it open, aiming his weapon inside. There was no one in that room.

Mac went on to the next room, which turned out to be more like a hall that went down to other rooms. He went on inside, being careful to watch as he went. When he got into the room, the door closed behind him. Mac whirled around and almost stumbled. There was no one there, though. He looked back around. He thought maybe that door closed on its own. He was almost sweating with nervousness. He gripped his weapon tighter and moved on toward the other side of the room where there was a door that led into another room.

Mac gripped the door knob and started to turn it, but then someone came from further down the hall. Mac turned his weapon that way. Virginia Chasity stepped out of the shadows with a weapon aimed at Mac. "Drop it!" Mac said. "You're under arrest! You won't get away this time!"

"I wonder who would die first if we fired at the same time," Virginia said.

"I never miss at this range."

"Neither do I, but I guess you know that."

Mac glared at her. "You're a drug dealer, and you killed your husband because he found it out," he said.

"Oh, you figured it all out," Virginia said in a mocking way. "I think you would like to kill me, Detective Taylor." She dropped her weapon. "I think I'll just go to prison where you'll know I'm there and your taxes are feeding me and keeping me sheltered."

Mac stared at her. All his memories of what happened flooded in. His hand shook as he gripped his weapon. "Pick that up," he said.

"No," Virginia said. She stared into Mac's green eyes and she wasn't so sure of herself now. "You can't just shoot me."

"Why not? You had a weapon. That's what you did to those women and your husband. You just shot them in cold blood."

"But you're a goodie two-shoes. You can't kill."

Don Flack was coming up the stairs and he heard two shots. He started running then. He found the room Mac had gone into and went into the hall. He found Virginia Chasity dead, shot in the chest and a weapon lying beside her, and Mac lying in the floor with a wound in his leg. "Mac!" Don exclaimed.

"It's not that bad," Mac said, as Don knelt beside him.

"What happened?" Don asked.

"We had a face-off."

Don looked at the other officer who was checking for a pulse on Virginia Chasity. "Well, she won't be bothering you again," Don said. "She's dead."

Mac just stared at the ceiling without saying anything. He had already known she was dead…