The next morning, Mac woke up. He realized he had finally fallen asleep. Now, he was lying with Jo in his arms and he was feeling very warm and comfortable. He dreaded today. He wished he could just lie here and not move but he would have to face it sooner or later. He tried to get up without waking Jo but when he moved, she woke up.

"Morning," Jo said.

"Morning," Mac replied.

Jo lay back on the pillow. "I was dreaming that we were on the island again."

"Well, we have to get up. It's time to go and face the music."

Jo looked at him. "Mac, there's no way they can convict you of this crime."

"Don't kid yourself, Jo. You see all the evidence." Mac stood up. "I even wonder if I did it. Did she come during the night and drug me again?"

Jo sat up. "Don't you dare say that to the DA or anybody!" she said.

Mac got dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. "I'm not wearing a suit today," he said. "I don't feel like it."

Jo was still getting dressed when he walked out of the room. She got her shoes on and went into the other room. "Aren't you going to have breakfast before you go?" she asked.

"I don't want a health lesson today, Jo," Mac said. "I'm sorry but I'm just not in the mood for breakfast."

"Okay then. I'm going to fix something for Ellie and me and then we can go."

"Go ahead."

Jo looked at him a moment. He was sitting on the sofa just staring into nothing. She went into the kitchen and started breakfast. She hoped Mac was going to come out of this soon. She did not like to see him depressed.

Mac lay down on the couch. He could smell the breakfast cooking and it made his stomach growl. He knew he should eat something but he just did not want to. He wondered what would happen today. Would they arrest him for murder? He was sure they would be working on the case to indict someone and all the evidence pointed toward him. He had no way of proving that he did not do it. He was not even sure himself. Melinda could have drugged him again and caused him to kill that woman. But why? Mac sat up. He had not figured out why she wanted that woman dead and how she was connected to him. It was not Carry, whom he had met in Hawaii. Had there been another woman after he was drugged? There had to be another woman and Melinda must have murdered her so that her DNA would show up on him in Hawaii and since the DNA here was compromised, it would look like he killed her to keep her quiet. But what about the camera? What did that have to do with anything?

Mac stood up and started into the kitchen but just as he was going in the door, Jo was coming out. "Mac, we have to stop meeting like this," she said as she was startled.

Mac smiled slightly. "Jo, we have to figure out who that woman is and what she has to do with this," he said. "Why would Melinda want her dead?"

"Now you're thinking like Mac Taylor."

"I just got to thinking that there has to be some connection for her to want this woman dead and I want to know the significance of the camera. That woman is not Carry."

"So you think there was another woman involved?" Jo asked.

"There had to be. She must have come in after I was drugged."

"We have to find this Carry and I want to know where Regina Stoke lived."

Mac looked at Jo. "I think I just got hungry," he said.

Jo smiled. "I was just about to ask you if you wanted some. I made extra."

"Thanks."

When they were done eating, they went to the lab. There were reporters outside and they all wanted to get Mac to say something. "No comment," Jo said sternly. "Get away from him."

They got into the building. "How did they find this out?" Jo asked.

"Melinda wants them to know it," Mac said. "She wants to bring me down even if it's only in the eyes of the public."

They went up to their floor and walked into the lab. Don Flack was in there with Danny and Lindsey. "Mac, I was hoping you would show up soon," Don said. He gave Mac a report.

Mac looked at the report which was from the police department in Hawaii about the tests they did on Mac. Mac was not surprised by the results. "The DNA they found on me is that of Regina Stoke," he said. He looked at Flack. "I figured it would be that."

"What do we do?" Don asked. "I have the address of the victim."

"We need to go and search that apartment," Mac said.

"You can't," Jo said. "You will stay here in your office and we will go and do it."

Mac frowned. "What do you think it's going to look like if all of you go?"

"What will it look like it 'you' go?"

Mac blew out a breath. "Go ahead but I want to know what you find there if you find anything."

"I'm sure we will," Jo said.

Mac went to his office and watched the others leave with a forensics kit. Jo looked back at him over her shoulder and then followed the others. Mac sat down in his chair. Was this what his life was going to be? No, it could be much worse. He could be put in prison.

Mac wrote more in his report about the evidence that had been found. He leaned on his elbows and thought. They had to know that it was strange that this woman was over in Hawaii. He knew it would somehow look like he had killed that woman so that she could not tell what he had done in Hawaii. He could only imagine what they might find at that apartment or house whichever it was. He figured they would find some sort of video of…Mac rubbed his face. She was not only going to bring him down to her level, she was going to humiliate him in the process.

Mac looked out of his office and saw Charlotte from the DA's office coming that way. He sighed and almost wanted to lay his head over on his desk but he resisted the urge. He waved her in as she arrived at his door. "Detective Taylor," she said and offered to shake his hand.

Mac shook her head. "Well, I know why you're here," he said. "Have a seat."

Charlotte sat down and looked at Mac. "You know about all the evidence piling up against you," she said.

Mac nodded. "Of course."

"Well, do you have anything to say?"

"Aren't you going to read me my rights?"

"Do you want a lawyer?"

Mac looked at her. "I suppose I'm going to need one soon."

"Just tell me what happened."

"I don't know what happened."

"Did you get drunk over there in Hawaii and do something you were ashamed of and this woman was trying to blackmail you and you just lost control of yourself and tried to make it look like you didn't do it. Where were you the night of this murder?"

Mac stared at her a moment. "I was at home in the bed," he said. "And before you ask, no one was there with me."

"So you have no alibi." Charlotte looked in her folder. "You said that you had a night in Hawaii that you don't remember what happened." She looked at him. "Is that what happened this night?"

Mac frowned. "I think I need to talk to a lawyer now," he said.

"You probably do. If you keep having nights that you can't remember and you're committing crimes, you need a mental evaluation."

"I do not! I am not crazy! You know what Melinda Holmes did to me before!"

"Do you have any proof that she has anything to do with this?"

"She threw Jo and me off that ship and thought we would die. You think she would just give up?"

"Detective Taylor, we have a weapon that is registered in your name that killed this woman and destroyed a video tape and camera. We also have DNA that has been compromised. Who else would know better how to do that than a CSI? And not only that, but we find out that the DNA that was taken off you in Hawaii belonged to this woman." Charlotte looked at Mac. "Explain all that."

"I'm not saying anything else. I can't explain it but I assure you that I did not kill that woman!"

Charlotte stood up. "You're going to talk one way or the other, either here or in court."

Mac watched her leave. He knew she was right. They would indict him for murder and then what would he do? He knew what he had to do and he would not involve Jo in it.

Jo and the others did a thorough search of the apartment of the victim. They found several videos there and even some men's clothing as well as what looked like Hawaiian souvenirs. Jo could not believe how Melinda had set Mac up. She had really done her homework and she knew they would find something on one of these tapes that would make Mac look even more guilty than he did now.

When they were done with their search, they went back to the lab. Jo stopped as she noticed that Mac was not in his office. She walked in there wondering where he was but then she noticed his badge and gun lying on the desk. Jo covered her mouth. "Oh, Mac, what are you doing?" she whispered.

Just then, Danny walked in. "Where is he?" he asked. He looked at the desk. He looked at Jo. "He's going to try and solve this himself."

"I shouldn't have left him here."

"You can't keep him on a leash."

Jo walked over to the desk and found that the computer had been turned off, the desk lamp was off and everything had been cleared off his desk. "He's gone," she said and looked at Danny. "Where does he think he's going?"

"I hope he doesn't make things worse by doing this," Jo said.

"Me too."

Jo went to her office and looked at her cluttered desk but she did not see any notes that Mac had left for her but then she noticed her computer was blinking that it had a message. She sat down in the chair and opened the email. It was from Mac: Jo, I'm sorry that I had to leave like this but I have to find the truth. If I stay here, I'll wind up in prison. My head's on the chopping block and I don't like it. I love you. Please delete this message…Mac.

Jo thought she would cry. When would he ever let anyone into his life? He just left without even letting her know he was going…but she knew why. He did not want her implicated in helping him. She deleted the message so that it would not appear in her emails. At least she knew he would try and contact her if he could. She had a private email on her computer at home. He would send messages there. She wished she could go with him but she could not. She had Ellie to think of.