Karen was waiting for Mac at her apartment. She looked at her watch and thought he should be there by now. She tried to call his phone but of course, got the voice mail. She thought maybe he was getting something for her…after all, he said he had to stop for something. She had no idea where he was going but she would wait a little longer…then again, why was he not answering his phone?

Karen waited a while longer and then tried to call Mac again, but there was no answer. "Mac, where are you?" she said. She thought maybe something came up so she put the dinner in the oven and sat on the sofa in the living room. She supposed he would call her when he could.

Mac was trying to figure out what he could do to get out of this situation. He could not get loose from the cuffs. They had been traveling for quite a while now. Was this man going to throw him out in the ocean? He could not think of another reason that they were going out on the water.

Teddy finally stopped the boat and it bobbed up and down. Mac looked up at him as he stood up. "What do you think you're doing?" Mac asked.

Teddy aimed the gun at him. "You can go in that water wounded or you can go in it the way you are," he said.

Mac swallowed hard. "You won't get away with this."

"You just let me worry about that." Teddy put the gun to Mac's throat and then unlocked the cuffs. "Get up."

Mac stood up and glared at Teddy. It was very dark out there since there were no lights. Teddy shoved Mac toward the other end of the boat but Mac was not going over the side of that boat without a fight. He grabbed the man's arm and then jammed the heel of his hand into his nose. Teddy was a big man, and he grabbed Mac and threw him down in the bottom of the boat. Mac wished he was stronger but he just did not have all his strength back yet. Teddy got him up, holding both of his arms behind him. "No!" Mac yelled. He put his feet on the edge of the boat.

"Stop that, or I'll break your leg!" Teddy said.

Mac almost trembled at the thought of that. He did not see any way out of this except to go over the side…and Teddy threw him in and then headed back to shore. Mac swam after the boat, but he could not catch it. He was not sure how long he could keep swimming. He still did not have all his strength in his hips and legs. He hung there in the water a moment trying not to be too filled with dread. He would not be so nervous about this if he was at his peak strength like before.

It was incredibly dark out there in that water but Mac started swimming the way the boat had gone. It was out of sight now and Mac was not sure how far it was to shore. He swam until he was exhausted and his legs were on the verge of cramping. He knew if that happened, he would drown. He looked around him but there were no lights or anything…so that meant there were no boats out there.

Mac began swimming again trying to pace himself. He had been swimming some but not this far. He had lost a lot of strength lying in that bed. As he swam, he suddenly felt his leg trying to cramp. He stopped and tried to keep his breathing under control. Then his leg cramped. He groaned with that pain but he could not give in.

Suddenly, a light shined on Mac. He looked and realized there was a boat close to him. "Help me!" Mac yelled.

"Hold your horses, Taylor."

Mac frowned as he thought he recognized that voice. Then a life preserver hit the water in front of him. Mac put it around him and then tried to relax his leg as he was being pulled to the boat. Strong arms pulled him into the boat and Mac lay on the bottom a moment and coughed. He looked up into the face of Howard Bailey.

"What? You're not glad to see me?" Bailey asked.

"No, I'm not!" Mac growled.

"Well, I can always throw you back out there but I don't want to do that. Nobody is going to kill you but me."

"Why don't you just get it over with?"

"Nah, we're going to fight fair and square. Just relax there while I get us back to shore."

"If you knew I was there, why did you wait so long to get me out?" Mac asked.

"I wanted to see how much you can take," Bailey replied. "You're not ready for a death match yet."

Mac could not believe what was happening but he did not have time to think about it because his leg started cramping again. He had to get up and stand on it to relieve the pain. He glared at Bailey. How could he take this guy down now? He was in no shape to fight anyone and he knew when he had to take Bailey down, he would have to fight unless he just shot him.

When they got to the boat dock, Bailey grabbed Mac and shoved him out on the dock. Mac got up. "I'm going to get you, Bailey!" he said.

"Your friend over there is waiting for you," Bailey replied and turned his boat around to leave.

Mac looked to see what he was talking about and saw that Teddy was tied up sitting in front of his store. He glared at Bailey. "This doesn't make it up!" he yelled.

"I'm counting on it, Taylor!"

Mac felt so angry, he forgot that his leg hurt. He limped over to Teddy who was tied tightly and would not be getting loose. "Well, I guess you thought you wouldn't be seeing me again," he said.

Teddy glared at him, but he could not say anything because he was gagged too. Mac got his cell phone that Teddy had thrown in the grass beside the walkway. He noticed that he had some missed calls from Karen. "I'll take care of these calls before I do anything for you," he said. He dialed Karen's number…

"Hello!" Karen answered. "Mac?"

"Yes, it's me, Honey. I'll be there later. I'm sorry but something came up."

"I figured it was something like that. I'll be waiting for you."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too."

Mac ended that call and then called Don and told him to get down there to the dock. Soon, Mac heard sirens and Don arrived with some other officers and Danny. "What happened?" Don asked when he saw that Mac was wet.

"Well, here's our true murderer," Mac said. "He thought it would be a good idea to take me out there and throw me out in the ocean."

"What? How did you get back? How…"

Mac put his hand up for quiet. "I'll explain everything, but I am freezing right now."

"Right."

They got Teddy and Mac went to his Avalanche which he was glad had leather seats. He was shivering and turned the heat on. He had to get a hot shower when he got to the lab. That is just what he did. He certainly did not want Karen to know about this. He would have to make a report about it, however, so now the team and the chief would know that Howard Bailey had been there. He did not want them hovering over him.

When Mac was done with his shower, he got dressed and went to his office and started on his report. Danny came to his office. "What happened out there?" he asked.

Mac sighed. "I'm about to write my report," he said. "You can read it."

"Mac, you said he threw you out in the ocean, so how did you get back?"

"A boat came by and rescued me, and brought me to shore."

"What about Collins? How did you catch him?"

"Someone saw him take me out there so they captured him and tied him up."

Danny folded his arms. "You're not telling me the whole story."

Mac looked at him with his boss look. "I don't remember any rule that says I have to tell you the whole story," he said.

Danny lost his boldness then. "Right. I just wanted to know."

"You'll know later, now let me get to my report."

Danny nodded and left the office. He blew out a breath as he realized he had crossed Mac's path without giving a signal. He did not like crossing Mac but he had just wanted to know what happened. What could have happened that he did not want them to know?

Mac wrote out his report and then went down to the precinct where Theodore Collins was in the interrogation room. Chief Sinclair was there too. "You think this man killed Travis Miller?" he asked.

"He said he did," Mac replied.

"Why? What reason does he have?"

"I don't know that yet, but I'm going to find out."

"You wasted all that time going to visit those women when this was the murderer all the time?"

"I didn't know he killed them." Mac looked into the interrogation room. "And I'm still not sure he did. He has some sort of connection to Carly Miller…and it's strong enough for him to go to prison for her."

Sinclair looked at Mac. "You mean you think he lied about killing that man to protect her?" he asked.

Mac nodded. "I do."

"What would make a man do that?"

Mac considered that. He had no idea what would cause Theodore to do something like that for Carly Miller. He remembered how Collins had described Carly as being so beautiful. He had thought the man was in love with her but he did not know what his connection to her was. "I'm going to find out all I can," he said and went into the interrogation room.

Teddy stared at Mac a moment. "You're one of the luckiest men I've ever seen," he said.

"Why do you say that?" Mac asked.

"What are the odds that someone would find you out there? If it wasn't for that, you'd be dead right now and I wouldn't be here."

Mac absorbed that. "You know what kind of trouble you're in, don't you?"

"Sure I do. What have I got to lose?"

"Your life?"

"My life's worth nothing."

"Why?" Mac laid a picture of the victim on the table. "What's your connection to him? He was stabbed twenty times. That's a lot of rage or passion. Why did you do it?"

"I have my reasons and I don't have to tell you."

"Come on, Collins. What reason did you have to do this to Travis Miller?" Mac asked.

"I think I want my lawyer now. I'm not telling you anything."

Mac just stared at him a moment. He knew someone had been coaching all these people he had been talking to. He thought it was Angela Miller too. He was beginning to think that she was a very intelligent lawyer. They had planned that murder and they were going to get away with it if he did not find a way to get one of them to talk. Now he had Theodore Collins sitting here confessing and he did not believe he did it.

Mac put a picture of Carly Miller on the table. "How do you know that woman?" he asked.

"I don't know her," Collins said. "What makes you think I know her?"

"Because no one goes to prison for someone they don't know."

Collins folded his arms. "I'm not going to prison for anyone but myself. I don't want the death penalty."

Mac stared at him. "I'm going to figure it out," he declared. "And then I'm going to get to the truth of the matter."

"Do what you want, Taylor."

Mac put his evidence away. "We'll talk again."

Mac got up and went out of the interrogation room. "Well, what makes you think he didn't kill him?" Don asked.

"Because there's no apparent connection. Collins there is a beach store owner and Miller works for an employment agency. What connection could they possibly have?"

Don considered that. "It doesn't seem likely, but what connection does he have with those women?" he asked.

Mac shook his head. "We need to dig deeper. I'll get Adam on it."

Mac headed for the lab. He had to figure this situation out. There had to be something that they were missing. He knew Collins did not kill Travis Miller, and he knew Carly Miller did. If he could not get enough evidence to prove it, Carly Miller would get away with it.

Mac walked out of the elevator at the lab and went to his office. He dropped his file on his desk and sat down. How could he prove anything without the murder weapon and the boat that the victim was transported in? That was just an assumption of his anyway. He had no proof that that was the way it happened.

Mac went down to the computer lab and told Adam to dig deeper into Theodore Collins' life and find out what, if any, connections he had to Carly Miller or any of those other women. "Do it in the morning," Mac said. "He's not going anywhere."

"Thanks, Boss," Adam replied.

Mac went down to his Avalanche and headed for Karen's apartment. He hoped she was still expecting him but it was very late. He went into the building and got into the elevator. Just as the elevator doors were closing, someone stuck their hand in. Mac was shocked to see Howard Bailey step in. Bailey tried to grab Mac by the arms, but Mac gave him a bloody nose. Outraged, Bailey kicked Mac against the wall of the elevator. He grabbed Mac and held him against the wall. "Is that any way to treat the person who saved your life?" Bailey asked.

Mac tried to shove him off but he could not. He glared into Bailey's eyes. "I wouldn't give you credit for it!" he said.

"You'd have drowned out there if it hadn't been for me watching you, Taylor!"

"Let go of me!"

"I just wanted to see if you were alright. I guess you are since you're going to see that hot chick you've got waiting for you."

Mac found enough strength to shove Bailey off him then. They struggled until the elevator doors opened and then Bailey jumped out of the elevator. "See you around when you're better, Taylor," he said as he was running down the hall.

Mac went after him but he could not catch him. Bailey went into the stairwell and Mac could hear him going down. "You won't enjoy it when we meet again, Bailey!" Mac yelled.

"I'm counting on it, Taylor!"

Mac slammed the stairwell door and headed on to Karen's apartment. His legs ached from swimming and the one that had been cramping was the worst of all. He had to do something about this. After Karen was gone to California, he thought he would take a trip himself.

Karen was lying on the sofa asleep when she heard the knock on her door. She jumped up and ran to the door. "Mac!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I thought you weren't coming."

"I got a little delayed."

"Come on. I kept the food warm."

"Oh really?"

"Yes."

Mac followed her to the kitchen feeling more tired than he would want to say. He sat down at the table slowly with a grimace. He did not want her to know what had happened. "I wanted us to eat in bed," Karen said.

Mac thought he wanted to just stay where he was but he also thought the bed would feel good too. "Just go in there and wait for me," Karen said.

"Okay," Mac replied. He got up slowly when she was not looking and went into the bedroom. He was not sure how long he could hide this from her but he would as long as he could. He got into the bed and thought he would fall asleep before she got in there.

Karen came into the room and thought Mac was asleep. She got into the bed and set the tray on the bed and then she kissed him. "Are you so tired?" she asked.

"I am," Mac replied.

"You don't want to eat anything?"

Mac propped up on his elbow. "I'll eat some."

"Great."

Mac thought he would not be able to stay awake but he managed to eat but he knew he would not be doing anything else.

The next morning, Karen was up early. She had to prepare for everything to be moved today. Most of her stuff was in boxes but not all of it yet. She looked at Mac lying there asleep and wished that he was going with her but she would not ask him to go and leave his good job, especially since she was coming back in a year. She leaned over and kissed Mac. "Wake up, you handsome thing," she said.

Mac opened his eyes. "You're up already?" he asked.

"Yes. I have a lot to do today."

Mac stretched and that made his leg feel like it wanted to cramp again. "Something wrong?" Karen asked.

Mac looked at her. "My legs are sore," he said.

"Well, I would say just stay there in the bed but the movers are coming this morning."

"I know."

Mac sat up on the side of the bed and yawned. "I have to get to the office this morning anyway," he said.

Karen sat down beside him and put her arms around his neck. "Well, they won't be here for about two hours," she said. "You think that's long enough?"

Mac smiled. "Do you?"

"I think we can make it."

"We have tonight. I'm going to take you out to the finest restaurant and we're going to the opera and then we're going back to my place."

"I won't have a place after today."

Mac pushed her hair back. "You will always have a place," he said.

"Oh, Mac, I don't want to go."

"Yes, you do. I'll come to see you."

"I know you will but I want to be with you every night."

"You will when you get back."

"You promise?"

"I do."

Later that morning, Mac went to the office. He wanted to see if they had found anymore evidence but he found that things were about the same. Adam was still digging into the backgrounds of their suspects. "I checked into Carly Miller's background," Adam said. "Her birth certificate has her mother's name but the father's name isn't there. It says 'unknown'."

"Unknown?" Mac asked.

"Yes. That's what is says."

Mac thought about that a moment. "Check into Theodore Collins and find out where he was around the time Carly Miller was born."

"I already did. Carly Miller was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and her mother is Brenda Bowls."

"Bowls. That's the name of the woman that Collins told me…Carly Bowls. He knows her somehow…maybe he's even her father."

"Do we have their DNA?"

"I have Carly Miller's DNA, and we're about to have Theodore Collins' DNA."

Mac left the computer lab and went to get a warrant for Theodore Collins' DNA. If he was Carly's father, that would answer the question of why he would go to prison for her. It would give enough reasonable doubt.

When Mac had the warrant, he went to the precinct where Collins was being held in lockup. "I will not give my DNA!" Collins declared when Mac came into the interrogation room.

"I have a warrant for it," Mac said.

"I don't care what you have. I refuse to give it. You can't make me."

"That's right," Collins' lawyer said. "You can't force him to give his DNA."

"Yes I can," Mac replied. "I have the warrant right here."

The lawyer looked at the warrant. "He confessed to the murder anyway. What else do you want, Taylor?"

"The truth."

"What truth?"

"I believe that he is Carly Miller's father and if he is, we will have enough evidence to believe that he is lying so that he can keep his daughter out of prison."

Collins started to say something. "Don't say a word!" the lawyer said and looked at Mac. "You can't prove that."

"Let me have his DNA if you're so sure of that."

The lawyer looked at Collins. "He has the warrant," he said. "Are you still going to refuse? There'll be consequences."

"I want to talk to you in private," Collins said.

Mac left his kit on the table. "Don't take too long," he said.

Mac went out where Don was waiting. "He's refusing to give his DNA," Mac said.

"I don't know of many reasons why he would do that," Don replied.

"Only one that I know of and that's that he is Carly's father. He knows if we prove that, we're going to have a reason that he's confessing to a murder he didn't commit."

Don looked at Mac. "Why won't it prove that he 'did' do it?" he asked. "I mean, if she's his daughter, he might kill the man out of anger."

Mac had to admit that was true. He thought he might have to accept the fact that Collins was going to jail for murder but he did not like putting someone in prison for something they did not do…even if the man did try to murder him.

Soon, the lawyer asked Mac to come back into the room. "My client has something he wants to tell you," he said.

Mac sat down at the table across from Collins. "I'm listening."

"Carly is my daughter," Collins said. "That's why I killed that bigot. He married her after he already had another wife, and then he married two more! He made a fool of her!"

"And you were angry."

"You better believe I was mad! He was in that hotel room with that other woman. I waited till she left. He didn't know I was there anywhere and he sure didn't know I was Carly's father. When his other woman left, I went to his room and pretended that I wanted to talk to him about some business, and I killed him."

"He just let you in?"

"Yeah…when I told him I was her father, he knew he was in trouble."

"And you stabbed him instead of shooting him?"

"Stabbing causes a lot less noise."

"Then why did you describe your daughter to us?"

"She had been there to see me. I knew you wouldn't find anything that would point to her as the murderer but when you started accusing her, I had to confess."

"She was in that room, Teddy!" Mac said. "We found her nail there in his clothes!"

"She must have done that after I got him out of there. I told her I was going there to talk to him, but she didn't know I was going to kill him."

"Where's the murder weapon?"

"Somewhere out there where I threw you out. You'll never find it."

"What about the boat?"

"I sunk it and I came back to shore in a dingy."

Mac sighed. He had to admit it all sounded convincing but he thought Carly was in on it and she had known he killed her husband. "She knew you killed him and didn't say anything," he said.

"You expect her to turn in her own father?" Collins asked.

"I guess not, but you're going to prison for the rest of your life."

"That probably won't be much longer."

"Why?"

"Just put me back in my cell. I don't want to talk to you anymore."

Mac glared at him. "Why did you try to kill me?" he asked.

"Because you kept snooping around."

Mac expected more of an answer than that but he supposed he was not going to get one. "Alright," he said. "But I'm still taking your DNA."

Mac got the sample and then went back to the lab. He still did not like the situation. He just knew those women had something to do with that murder but he could not prove it. He supposed this would be one of those cases that haunted him for years to come.