Mac stuffed some clothes and things into a duffle bag as quickly as he could. He went into his closet and took the box down where he kept his personal weapons and took out his .357 Magnum. He would not go unarmed and he hoped he did not meet Melinda but he was sure he would. He also took another weapon with him. He packed all that up and headed out of his apartment. He went out the back way so that no one would see him. He had to get out of here and find out what was really going on. He would make his way back to Hawaii and see if he could find "Carry", if that was even her real name. He thought it probably was because she had only been there to get him where Melinda wanted him. Melinda must have found a hooker to do the rest. Mac shook his head as he walked down the alley. He did not know what happened, but he was sure Jo and the others would soon know if they found tapes in Regina's home.

Mac made his way out of the alley and got a taxi to the bus station. He could not take weapons on a plane so he would get a bus. He might even take a private flight after he got out of New York. He had to get across the country and get to Hawaii. He bought a ticket to Chicago and went to board the bus. As he sat down he looked out the window. It would be a long trip. It would take several hours to get to Chicago from New York but it was all he could do right now.

Jo had the video that they had found at Regina's apartment. She had taken it privately because it had Mac's name on it. She knew it would be seen by others later but right now, she was not going to let other people in the lab see it. She wanted to turn it off when it came on, because it was just what they had thought it would be. Mac was there with the victim and they were undressing each other and then they proceeded to have sex. Mac did not look at all reluctant. Jo looked away from it. She wanted to feel jealous but she had to believe Mac. What was happening to him? He was being drugged by these people and they were causing him to do things that he did not do. And now, he had run off alone again. What did he think would happen if something else happened while he was gone off out there alone?

Jo shook her head and turned off the video. She could not stand anymore of it. She wanted to figure out what happened as badly as he did. If only he had come back to New York with her or if she had stayed with him, none of this would have happened. She was sure Melinda would have thought of another way though.

Don Flack came around the corner and stopped at her office. "Where is Mac?" he asked.

Jo looked at him. "I don't know, Don," she answered.

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

"He's gone. Didn't you see his badge and gun on his desk?"

Don could not believe what he was hearing. "Jo, do you know what is happening? They're about to arrest him for murder! He can't run off like this!"

Jo stood up. "Don, I cannot control Mac. He is a man of his own and he does what he wants. I can't believe he has run off like this either. All I know is he sent me a note and said that he had to find out what happened."

"He sent you a note?"

"Yes, an email."

"Jo, why did you tell me that? You deleted it right?"

"Yes."

"I hope they don't ask me if he has communicated to anyone."

"He didn't tell me where he was. He didn't tell me anything."

"Jo, if he contacts you, you have to let me know it."

Jo walked over to Don. "You are not going to arrest Mac."

Don stared at her a moment. "Do you think I want to?" he asked. "That would be one of the worst things I have ever done."

Jo sighed. "I wish we could help him, but our own lab is going to convict him."

"All this evidence is circumstantial."

"It doesn't matter. Circumstantial evidence is good enough when it is this kind of evidence. That weapon was registered to him and the camera had his prints on it."

Don folded his arms. "What about that tape?" he asked.

Jo was hoping that Don would forget about that but she should have known better because he was very thorough. Don just stared at her a moment. "Jo, you can't hide it," he said.

"It's just what we thought it would be," Jo said.

Don frowned. "I should have gone with him."

"How could you? You didn't know he was going and besides, he would never let you do that. It would be the end of your career and this may be the end of his."

"I'm going to the chief and I'm going to request some more leave. If I'm right, Mac…" Don looked at Jo. "I'm not even going to say what I think."

Jo looked at him a moment. "You find him, Don and help him."

"I will and I won't be drinking with anymore women."

"That's a good idea."

They stared at each other a moment. "Don, don't let anything happen to him," Jo said. "I love him."

Don nodded. "I know you do and I will do my best," he said.

Jo watched Don leave. She folded her arms as she felt so alone. Lindsey came to her office. "What is going on?" she asked.

"I can't tell you," Jo said. She looked at Lindsey. "It's better if you don't know."

Jo went back into her office and got the video and gave it to Lindsey. "It's just like we thought it would be," she said.

"I'm sorry about this, Jo," Lindsey said.

"Thanks."

Jo went back into her office and sat down. She felt like her heart was breaking. She could not imagine how Mac must feel. He was out there alone and trying to find his way out of this mess.

Jo looked down the hall as someone was approaching Mac's office. She recognized the DA, Charlotte. She got up and left her office and went around to the computer lab. Adam looked up as Jo came in. "Something wrong?" he asked as Jo was looking down the hall.

"Yes," Jo whispered. She looked at Adam. "I'm not here."

Adam did not know what to think about that as Jo left the room. He went back to what he was doing on the computer. He had no idea what was going on. He was always in this computer lab and did not see what was going on everywhere else most of the time.

Lindsey was putting the video back into evidence when Charlotte walked into the lab. "Where is Detective Taylor?" she asked.

Lindsey looked at her. "I don't know," she said.

"What about Detective Danville?"

"She's not in her office?"

Charlotte glared at Lindsey. "Don't play with me," she said. "I know you know where they are."

"I don't know either. Don't accuse me of anything. I work in this lab and that's it."

Charlotte walked on to the computer lab and asked Adam the same questions. "I don't know," Adam said. "I haven't even seen Mac today."

Charlotte stared at him a moment. "Are you telling me that you have not even seen your boss today?" she asked.

"Well, I work in here most of the time and I don't always see Mac."

Charlotte turned on her heel and went back to Jo's office. She wrote a note and left it on the cluttered desk and then she left the lab and went back to the elevator. Just as she was about to get in, Danny was coming out. "Do you know where Detective Taylor is?" she asked. "Or Detective Danville?"

"No, I don't," Danny said.

"Okay, if you all want to play this little game, I'm giving you a warning. You tell Detective Taylor that if he is not here before the end of this day, he is going to be considered a fugitive from justice, and tell Detective Danville that if she is helping him, she will be indicted too."

Danny watched Charlotte get into the elevator and then he went back to the lab where Lindsey was. "Wow," Danny said. "What was that all about?"

"I think Mac is in trouble," Lindsey said. "The less we know, the better."

Danny shook his head. "I hope Jo or Don have not gone off to help him."

Just then Jo walked into the lab. "Where were you?" Lindsey asked.

"I was back there," Jo said innocently.

"You can't avoid her forever," Danny said. "And she just gave Mac a warning that if he is not here in this office before this day is over, he will be considered a fugitive from justice and you will be indicted too if you help him."

Jo blew out a breath. "I figured that," she said. "I am not helping him." She backed away from them. "But I am not telling you two anything. I don't know anything and I can't help him."

Jo went back to her office. Danny and Lindsey looked at each other. "We have Lucy to think about," Lindsey said. "Mac would not want us to risk our lives and hers."

"I know that," Danny said. "But if it comes down to it, I will help him."

"Danny, we don't even know whether this woman drugged Mac again and caused him to murder this woman. She has caused him to do other things."

Danny shook his head. "I don't want to go into it. I just hope it's not true."

Mac was out of New York City now. He did not know what he would do when he got to Hawaii except that he would see if he could find out who Carry was. He hoped he could get some help from the detectives over there. Suddenly, his phone beeped. He looked at it and it was a message from Jo. He opened it and read: Mac, the DA is looking for you and she says if you're not in this office by the end of the day, you will be considered a fugitive from justice. I hope you know what you're doing.

Mac stared at the message. "So do I," he said. He put the phone back on his side. He would not answer that message. He did not want Jo to get into trouble. He was sure the DA had given them their rules too. He hoped they would not get into trouble because of him. He had to find out what was going on though and he had to do it alone. He could not do it if he was behind bars.

Don was in the chief's office trying to get him to give him more time off. "There's something I have to do," Don said. "And I went through a rough time. I need a few days to recuperate."

Chief Sinclair stared at him a moment. "I hope you know what you're doing," he said.

"I just need some time off."

Sinclair rolled his eyes and looked at Don. "It's funny you've never needed time off before. Are you sure this doesn't have anything to do with Mac's disappearance?"

"I don't know where Mac is, Chief, and I don't want to be the one who has to arrest him."

Sinclair nodded. "I understand that, but you don't want to lose your job either." He signed Don's request for leave and gave him the paper.

Don reached for it. Sinclair held the paper a moment. "If you happen to run up on Detective Taylor, tell him I hope this works out right for him," he said.

Don stared at him a moment. "If I see him, I will," he said.

Don turned and left the chief's office. He could go now and there would be no questions about where he was. He would have the freedom he needed to help Mac and no one would know it. He knew Mac would be going to Hawaii and he was going there too. That was where they had to start to solve this problem. He was sure someone had seen that woman Mac was with. Southern accents were very distinctive and people noticed them. Jo's was certainly distinctive and she said things at times that he totally did not understand but it was just Southern language. He had never spent any time in the South but Jo was a Southern Belle and she was quite different than most people he met. That's why he was sure that woman would have been noticed.