Mac met Don down at the parking garage. As they pulled out, they saw that the reporters had returned. "I wonder where they were earlier," Mac said.

"Maybe they got some big call somewhere," Don said.

"Bigger than this?"

Don drove over to Greenwich Manufacturing. It was a huge complex; so big, in fact, Don drove around ten minutes before he found the office entrance. "What do they make here?" he asked.

Mac wrinkled his nose. "Smells like a paper mill," he said. "I can't imagine actually being inside there." He thought paper mills smelled as bad or worse than a raw sewage plant.

When they got out of the car, the smell was even worse. "Do we really have to go inside?" Don asked. "Can't we just tell him to come out?"

"Come on," Mac said. He thought his stomach would roll over, but he had to find this guy.

As they opened the door, a dash of cold air hit them in the face. "I guess the office area is air conditioned," Don commented.

"Feels like it," Mac replied. He pulled his coat around him. He thought they must have it on 60. The smell was still stifling in there.

Mac and Don walked over to the counter, which was almost up to Mac's chin. The office complex was behind it. It looked like a jumbled up mess of paper of all colors, slung out over several desks. A woman with cat-eye glasses walked over to them. "May I help you?" she asked.

Mac showed her his badge. "I'm Detective Mac Taylor, this is Detective Flack. We're looking for Ralph Greenwich."

"He's not in his office at the moment."

"Where is he?"

"He's out in the plant somewhere."

"We need to see him. Can you take us to where he is?"

"I'm sure I can if it's that important."

"It is."

The woman told the others in the office that she would be back shortly. "Right this way, Detectives," she said. "By the way, my name is Natalie."

Mac and Don followed her out into the plant. She stopped at a shelf stocked with hardhats. "Can't go out there without a hardhat," she said.

Mac and Don put on one of the blue hardhats and followed the woman. Mac had never been in a paper plant before. It was definitely hot in there. He knew a little about the paper processing structure, but not everything. He saw huge rolls of paper that looked like they must weigh a ton or more. He hoped none of them got loose while they were in here. "This is amazing," Don said, almost forgetting the smell. "I've never seen all this."

"We manufacture new paper and recycled paper," Natalie informed them.

Mac thought he would have to take his coat off because it was so warm in the plant. As they got further in, it got even warmer. They were seeing paper in various stages of completion, and it seemed to get more raw as they went. Finally, they were at the chipping side, where the wood was actually chipped. "You guys chip the wood yourselves?" he asked.

"Saves on transportation," Natalie said.

Mac had seen wood-chipping mills too. He didn't think he had ever seen one connected to an actual paper mill. Finally, they came out at the back of the plant. Mac thought they must have walked two miles and his feet knew all about it. Natalie pointed to a man wearing a white shirt and black pants with a white hardhat on. He was holding a clipboard and a pencil as he talked to the men out there. "That's Mr. Greenwich," Natalie said.

"Thanks," Mac said.

Mac and Don walked over to Greenwich. "Mr. Greenwich?" Mac said.

Greenwich looked at them. "How did you get in here?" he asked. "Visitors can't come back here."

Mac showed him his badge. "I'm Detective Mac Taylor. This is Detective Don Flack."

Greenwich frowned. "You still shouldn't be out here."

"We need to talk to you. I don't care where it is."

Greenwich looked at his workers. "That's all," he said. Then he looked at Mac. "Follow me."

They walked out away from the conveyor belt, further outside. "What's this about?" Greenwich asked.

"It's about your first cousin, Shawn King," Mac said. "I'm sure you heard that his wife is dead."

"Of course. What does that have to do with you coming out here to my company like this?"

"I understand Shawn helped you out a few years ago and kept you out of jail. You don't even have a criminal record, no fingerprints in the system, no DNA."

Greenwich glared at Mac. "What are you getting at?"

"Did you owe your cousin for helping you out of that mess you got yourself into?"

"Are you accusing me of murder?"

Mac frowned. "I want to know if you know anything about this situation. If you do, you won't be getting off lightly this time." Mac noticed the knife on Greenwich's side. "What kind of knife is that?"

Greenwich stared at Mac. "I don't have to talk to you."

"Oh yeah?" Don asked. "Why don't we take you downtown then?"

Suddenly, Greenwich shoved his clipboard at Mac and Don and took off running. They went after him. He ran around the conveyor belt and jumped onto the one that went up to the top. "Is he crazy?" Don asked.

"He's desperate," Mac said.

They went inside the building. When Greenwich got to the top of the conveyor belt, he jumped off on the catwalk. Mac and Don ran over to the stairs and headed up. "He knows where he's going in here," Don said.

"Just keep your eyes on him," Mac said. He was feeling the pain in his feet and side now, but he had no time to stop and take any medication. He had to keep going.

Finally, Mac and Don reached the level that Greenwich was on. Of course, he was way ahead of them now. Don got ahead of Mac and tried to catch up with the man. Mac saw Greenwich turn to his left, so Mac turned onto another branch of the catwalk toward the left, hoping it would finally meet up with Greenwich. As he rounded a corner, he found that the section he was on did just what he thought. However, Greenwich got across the intersection before Mac could get there.

Mac was almost right behind Greenwich now. He knew it would be dangerous to try to fight someone on this catwalk. It was narrow and the sides were open except for handrails on each side. Suddenly, Greenwich stopped. Before Mac could react, Greenwich sprayed him with pepper spray. Mac covered his face, and then he felt himself being shoved over the rail. He heard Don yell, "Mac!"

Mac grabbed for the railing as he heard an extremely loud alarm sound in the plant. He got his hand on the catwalk, but he was slipping. He couldn't see, but he got his hand on one of the bars. "Mac!" Don yelled.

Mac could hear the alarm in Don's voice. He couldn't see what was under him or how far off the ground he was. "Give me your hand!" Don yelled.

Mac felt Don grab his collars. "Hang on, Mac!" Don yelled.

Mac was coughing and gagging from the pepper spray. He was trying to get his breath back. "You gotta help me!" Don said. "I can't pull you up!"

Mac thought he couldn't breathe. "Mac, don't let go!" Don yelled. "Somebody help me!"

Mac didn't think he was letting go. He couldn't open his eyes though. He tried to determine where his hands were. He tried to wrap his arms around the bar. "That's it, hang on," Don said.

Finally, two other men came over to the rail and helped Don pull Mac up. He was still gasping for breath and couldn't open his eyes. "We have to get him to some water," Don said.

"This way," one of the men said.

They got Mac off the catwalk and to a bathroom. He washed his face in the sink and threw up. His nose was burning as bad as his eyes and throat. He finally sneezed a few times and got a little relief. "You alright?" Don asked.

Mac looked at him with red, irritated eyes. "I'm gonna get that guy for this," he said. "He almost killed me."

Don sighed. "That scared about ten years off my life, I think," he said.

"What do you think about me?" Mac dried his face with a paper towel. "How long does it take that stuff to stop burning?"

"I don't know. It's been a long time since I was in training. Seems like forever though."

"I still want to gag."

"Where do you think that guy will go? I got an APB out on him during all that chaos. Those guys out there told me what kind of truck he drives."

Mac looked at Don. "He sure didn't have any qualms about shoving me over that rail."

"I noticed."

Mac wiped his eyes again. "We have to find him. I'm more convinced than ever that he is the one."

"I agree," Don said. "You think he will contact his cousin?"

"Yes, I do. He'll probably think he can protect him again, but that isn't the case this time."

They went back out to Don's car and went back to the precinct. Mac had to file an incident report and Don verified it with his own. Mac knew when this got around, he would have to answer to the Commissioner again. He was sure he was on the right track this time though.

Mac went up to the lab. He was still rubbing his eyes when he came out. Stella met him before he got into his office. "What happened to you?" she asked.

"That guy pepper sprayed me," Mac said.

Stella looked at his face. "You're breaking out."

"That stuff burns. I got it off as quick as I could." Mac coughed and sniffed. "I feel like I have a cold now."

"I assume he got away."

"Yeah, and he'll probably get rid of the murder weapon. I think he had it on his side when I was talking to him."

"What are you going to do now?"

Mac looked at his watch. "Well, first, I'm going to lunch with my favorite woman and then I don't know."

Stella smiled. "Who's your favorite woman?" she asked, as Mac put his arm around her.

"She's really pretty and has beautiful curly hair and green eyes."

Stella leaned on his shoulder. "Go on."

"She's sexy too," Mac whispered.

Stella giggled. "Anything else?"

"She's pretty stubborn and drives me crazy sometimes, but I love her anyway."

They got into the elevator. Stella put her arms around Mac's neck and gave him a passionate kiss while his back was against the back of the elevator. "I don't know how you have stayed single this long," Stella whispered.

"I hadn't found the right woman yet," Mac said.

"What about now?"

"I think I have now."

Stella kissed him again. "Are you sure you want to stay at your own place?" she asked, but she immediately knew she had said the wrong thing. She felt Mac tense up.

"I just want to take this slow," Mac said.

"We will. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Just give me time."

Stella hugged him. "I will, my darling."

They went to the diner to eat today. Stella noticed Mac was limping as he went in. "Your feet hurting?" she asked.

"Yeah, that run didn't do me any good either," Mac said.

"You have your medicine with you?"

"Yes. I'll take one with my lunch."

They ordered and sat down at a table. Mac rubbed his eyes. "That was some powerful pepper spray," he said.

"Mmm, I knew that kiss was spicy," Stella said.

Mac looked at her. "It was all over me."

"I'm beginning to know that now." Stella drank some water from the glass the waitress just set on the table.

"I'm sorry. I should have known you would get some of that."

"It's not that bad." Stella looked at him. "Are you sure you're okay?" She couldn't imagine how that had felt to Mac. She had only kissed it off him.

"Yeah, I'm getting alright. I'll drink some milk. It's supposed to soothe that."

Mac drank a whole glass of milk for his lunch and it soothed the burning from the pepper. "Milk does a body good, right?" he said.

Stella smiled. "Please."

Mac leaned back in his seat. "I just hope we can find that guy," he said. "I'm sure he had something to do with it or he wouldn't have ran and tried to kill me. He didn't think twice about it either."

"Sounds like an experienced killer alright."

"He must think Shawn can protect him, or Shawn convinced him that he could if he would commit those murders for him."

"I guess we need to monitor the inspector to see where he goes."

"Right."

After lunch, they headed back to the office. Mac felt exhausted and he was practically asleep by the time they got there. "You alright?" Stella asked, as she saw him stumble a little when he got out of the truck.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Mac said.

Stella noticed he was weaving as he walked to the elevator. "Mac, you are not okay!" she said.

"That medicine just makes me a little dizzy at the start," Mac said. "I'll be fine. At least I'm not making passes at you."

Stella smiled as she hugged his arm. "I kinda liked that."

Mac looked at her. "You want me to say that again?"

"Yes," Stella whispered, and laughed. "I think that was the dirtiest thing I've ever heard you say."

"I'm sure it was. I don't think that was me who said it."

Stella laughed again. "Oh yes it was, Taylor."

The elevator opened at the lab. Mac yawned as he walked to his office. He hoped someone would find Greenwich. Just as he was about to sit down, his phone rang. "Taylor," he answered.

"Detective Taylor, I want you in my office now," Commissioner Ross said.

Mac rubbed his eyes. "Yes, sir."

Mac put his phone away and went up to the Commissioner's office. The secretary just waved him on by. Mac frowned as he went to the door. What was he in for this time? He went into the office, and to his surprise, Shawn King was in the office, along with Ralph Greenwich. Mac glared at them both and then looked at the Commissioner. "What is this?" he asked. "That man tried to kill me!"

"You went to his place of business and had an accident is how I heard it," Ross said.

"I did no such thing!" Mac thought he would explode. "Detective Flack and I went there to ask this man some questions, and…"

"On what grounds?"

Mac tried to calm himself down. He looked at Commissioner Ross. "You think I got this pepper spray on me by choice?!" he asked. "Don and I went there to ask him some questions because his cousin here has helped him get out of a sticky situation before without even a criminal record! He ran from us and tried to throw me off the catwalk! Ask Don! He was there! If Greenwich is so innocent, then let him give me a DNA sample and his fingerprints and then we can clear this up!"

"NO Way!" King said. He stepped closer to Mac. "He won't give you anything!"

"Why not?"

"Because he doesn't have to!"

"If he was innocent, he would want to prove it! I know you cleared him and he owed you! He killed those women for you, didn't he?"

King tried to punch Mac, but he ducked and grabbed his arm and jerked it around behind him. "Detective Taylor! Let go of him!" Commissioner Ross yelled.

"He better not try to hit me again!" Mac said. "Next time, I'll give him something to remember it by!" He shoved King away from him.

King was hopping mad though. He came at Mac again, and this time, he tackled him. They fell over a chair. King punched Mac while he was lying on the floor. Mac rammed the heel of his hand into King's nose, but it didn't stop him. He poked Mac's eyes and punched him twice more, before the other two could get him off Mac.

Mac was holding his eyes. There was blood streaming from his nose and a busted lip. He got up faster than the others expected. He glared at King. "Settle down, Taylor," Ross said.

Mac looked at him. "What about him!" he asked.

"You're trying to ruin my career!" King yelled.

"I'm gonna ruin more than that if you attack me again!" Mac looked at the Commissioner. "You better stop protecting these two! I'm going to a judge!"

"Hold on!" Ross said. He looked at the other two. "Lets just get the DNA and fingerprints and let him prove that you're innocent."

"NO!" Greenwich yelled.

"If he killed them, I had nothing to do with it!" King said.

Greenwich stared at Shawn. "You're not going to throw all this off on me! You said you could protect me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"I do," Mac said. "You promised him you would protect him like you did last time, only this time, he committed murder! Tried to frame the chief!"

"Prove it!" King yelled.

"I don't think I'll have to! I don't think your cousin wants the death penalty to protect you! I think he's going to tell the whole story!"

"I'll tell it!" Greenwich said. "He did just what you said!"

Mac thought he got too much pleasure out of taking those cuffs off his side and grabbing Shawn King's wrist. "You're under arrest!" Mac said. "Not only for conspiracy to commit murder, but for assault on me!"

"You won't ever be able to prove this," King said.

"I'm sure gonna spend a lot of time trying!"

When they got Greenwich into the interrogation room, he spilled the whole situation. Mac and Don arrested them both and took them to lockup. Don shook Mac's hand. "Well, that is one difficult case in the bag," Don said.

"I'm glad it's in the bag," Mac replied.

"So am I." Don looked at Mac. "You were right all the time. I still don't know where the chief is."

"Maybe he'll show up later. Right now, I have to get this report done and get down to…" Mac realized he was about to tell Don he had parking ticket duty.

"Get down to what?" Don asked.

"Nothing," Mac said. "I'll see you later."

Mac went up to his office and made out his report. Stella came to his office at about 2:15. "You want me to drive you?" she asked.

"Yeah," Mac replied. "I'll just get a cab home this evening."

They went down to the Avalanche and Stella drove over to the DMV. Mac still felt embarrassed and hoped no one saw him out here. The supervisor still had that little smug grin on her face. Mac took the ticket book and went out to the Avalanche. "Lets get going," he said. He got his hat out of the back seat and put it on.

Stella smiled. "You look handsome in that hat."

"Don't try to butter me up."

"Why? You don't want to be slippery?"

Mac sighed and shook his head. "I don't feel like joking this afternoon."

"I thought you would feel better since you got that case solved."

"I do, but I still don't like doing this."

Stella pulled over to Mac's designated street. "Can't I have a kiss before you go?" she asked.

Mac leaned over and kissed her. "Sorry," he said. He got out and started his walk. He realized it was cloudy out and he thought he heard a rumble of thunder. That was all he needed was for it to start raining. No wonder that supervisor had given him waterproof sleeves to put the tickets in. He had a pouch hanging around his shoulders now. He didn't see any expired meters for two blocks, but then he found one. There was a green car in the spot and the meter had been expired for 10 minutes. Mac took his ticket book out and wrote the ticket and put it in a sleeve. He sighed as he put the ticket on the windshield of the car. He hoped no one came out while he was standing here.

As Mac walked on, he heard another rumble of thunder. He just knew he was going to be caught out in the rain. He supposed he could stand a little more added to his misery. At least he didn't have to worry about that case anymore. Just as Mac had that thought, he felt a drop of rain hit his hat. Then one hit his shoulder and splattered in his face. "Oh well," he said. "I guess some of us just have to learn to live with everything." He thought of that song "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head". He could think of one good thing…he would be going out with Stella Friday night and before that if he wanted to. He sighed and smiled. He was a lucky man anyway, even if the rain did pour down on him.