Mac and Jo went back to the lab. As they looked over the evidence again, they realized that there was nothing else to go on. Mac had requested the warrant. He believed that the sword was at that college somewhere. He also believed that Patrick did not have anything to do with the situation…but he could be wrong. He had been wrong before.

Chief Burns walked in along with Chief Renee Williams. Chief Williams was from Internal Affairs. Mac wondered why she was there but he thought it might have something to do with him stealing those diamonds. Chief Burns motioned for Mac to come with him. Mac frowned and took off his lab coat. He followed the chief down to his office.

Chief Williams went over to Jo. "I need to talk to you, Detective Danville," she said. "Let's talk in the conference room."

"What's this about?" Jo asked.

"I'll tell you when we get in there. And I will need to talk to the rest of the team as well."

The others watched as Jo left the lab. "What is going on?" Danny asked.

"I don't know," Lindsay replied. "But it sure doesn't look good."

"Nothing good ever comes from a visit from IA."

Chief Burns closed the door as he and Mac got into Mac's office. "Have a seat at your desk," Detective," Chief Burns said.

Mac hesitated a moment but then he sat down. "What is going on?" he asked.

"Detective Taylor, you have been involved in several situations lately. Wouldn't you agree?"

Mac frowned. "Yes, I would have to agree. What does that have to do with all this? We're in the middle of a case."

"Mac, it's been brought to my attention that you have some memory problems and problems with simple terms."

Mac stared at him a moment. "Where did you hear that?" he asked.

"I don't know where it came from. I want to know if it's true. You know that you can't endanger the credibility of this lab."

"Chief, I am not doing anything but my job. If I thought I was endangering the lab, I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't do anything on a case. You know me better than that."

"Oh, I know you alright. I know that you have pride and I know that you like to keep things to yourself, but you can't keep this to yourself. Mac, are you having problems?"

Mac leaned on his desk and rubbed his face. "I am having a few problems," he admitted. "I'm working through it though."

"You just came through a harrowing experience and here you are today…like nothing happened."

"I just want to forget it, and so does Christine. We just want to enjoy ourselves and get used to living together. Is that too much to ask?"

"What kind of problems are you having?" Tell me, because if I don't know what's going on, I can't help you."

Mac sighed. "Well, I'm having trouble with colors and sometimes I forget words that I use every day," he said. "Chief, I had this problem before after I was shot. I got through it then."

Chief Burns scowled. "You had this problem then?" he asked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was embarrassed and afraid something like this would happen. I didn't even tell Christine. Chief, I'm not going to endanger the credibility of the lab. You know how seriously I take my job."

"Yes, Mac, and I think you put it above all else…except maybe Christine."

"Chief, my injuries had nothing to do with that. Stella was holding Christine in an electric chair, and she was listening to everything. I let my team know what was going on, but I didn't have a choice."

"I understand that, Mac. Your mental state is what's in question."

"My 'mental' state?"

"Yes. Chief Williams in there is going to question everyone on your team."

"You surely don't believe I'm mentally ill? Or mentally incapable of doing my job?"

"No. It is in question whether you are capable of running this lab. And just so you will know: it's not me who is asking. Someone got in touch with IA and told them about your secret. The first I heard of it was when she came to my office."

"Who would call them?"

"I guess that's a question you will have to ponder. I don't know."

"So what's going to happen?"

"They're going to investigate to determine if you should be directing this lab."

"Chief, that is not fair."

"It may not be but it's how it is. You should have told me. Now, everything you have worked on could be called into question. Do you know the implications of that?"

"Chief, I'm not stupid. Of course I know, but I can work through this. My team is with me."

"But they don't even know it, do they?"

Mac frowned. "Jo does."

"Mac, you should have taken some time off. Nobody expects you to just jump up perfect like you were before after you've been struck by lightning."

"I just wanted to finish this case and then Christine and I were going away for a while so I can deal with this problem," Mac said. "Just let me finish the case, please."

Chief Burns looked at him. "You make sure you have someone with you all the time, especially if you're working in the lab," he said. "I trust you, Mac, but this is not in my hands. You understand that, don't you?"

"I understand that you and the commissioner know me and you know that I would never do anything to jeopardize this department."

"Yes, we do, but you let some defense lawyer get ahold of this, and your career and maybe even mine, is down the drain, along with any case you have worked on."

Mac nodded. He had to admit that was true. He had known it and that was the reason he had not wanted anyone to find out about it. Who would have told something like this? He knew his team would not betray him like this, and his doctor could not divulge information without his consent. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know what a position I've put you in."

"I don't know if I can help you, but I'll do what I can," Chief Burns said. "You need to get a statement from your doctor and bring it to me so I can know exactly what's going on. And don't talk to Chief Williams…yet."

"Okay."

"Get that statement. If that doctor does not feel that this would interfere with your job, IA has nothing to say."

Mac nodded. He watched the chief walk down to the conference room. He knew he was in trouble. The doctor had told him to rest and do his brain exercises. He had been doing very little of both, but he had had so much trouble with sleeping all the time that he did not have much time for it. What would he tell Christine? What would she think of him? He remembered what he had thought the last time, but he had been wrong. She wanted him to confide in her and let her help him. He had to stop hiding things from people who cared about him. He was not hiding it from Christine this time but he hated to have to tell her this…that he was on the bubble.

Soon, Jo came to Mac's office and she looked mad enough to climb the wall. "I guess you know what is going on!" she said.

"Yes, I do," Mac said.

"What are you going to do? They can't do this to you."

"Yes, they can. They're the boss."

"So, what about the case?"

"The chief told me to make sure that I have someone with me all the time. You will be with me when I go to search that college."

"Right. I can't believe they are trying to take you off the job. No one can run this lab the way you can."

"Yeah, but when this gets all over the lab and everything, I'll lose the respect that I have from everyone."

"You can't give up."

"The wolves are circling." Mac's phone rang and he walked away from Jo to answer it.

She folded her arms as she knew there would be plenty who would want Mac's job. She would just quit this job if they did Mac this way. She would not work for a department who would throw someone like him away.

Mac turned around to her. "We got the warrant," he said. "Get everyone together. We're going over that place with a fine-toothed comb and we're going to find that sword."

"I'm on it, Boss."

Mac went into his office and closed the door. He dialed Christine's number and waited for her to answer. "Hello," Christine answered.

"Hi," Mac said. "How is everything going?"

"Fine. I'm enjoying being back at work."

Mac frowned. He wished he could say the same thing. "Well, I'm about to go and tear a college Archaeology lab up. We're on the trail of that murderer."

"You hurry up and get him so we can have lunch."

"I'll try."

Christine thought Mac sounded down. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"I'll tell you later. I just wanted to hear your voice. I love you."

"I love you too, Mac. Tell me what's wrong."

"It's too hard to explain over the phone."

"You're not in trouble, are you?"

"No. I'm just…I'll tell you later."

"Okay."

Mac ended the call. Christine wondered what was going on now. She knew Mac was too quiet for it to be nothing.

Soon, everyone was ready and Mac led them all to the elevator like an army of scientists on the warpath. They would find that sword and they would find the person who murdered Dustin Covin. They all got into the elevator and went down to the parking garage. Mac, Jo, Sheldon, Adam and Danny got into the Avalanche. When they arrived at the college, Mac went in to talk to the president of the college and let him know that they were there and showed him the warrant. Everyone at the college knew that Dustin Covin had been murdered now, although he had been rather a recluse, always studying.

Mac and the others went over to the Natural Science building. He left two officers downstairs to make sure none of the professors left the building. Mac was sure someone in this building had something to do with that murder, and he intended to find them. He certainly did not want them to escape. They got a few stares as they entered the lab with all the dinosaur bones and everything else anyone could think of being in an Archaeology lab. One of the professors who were in the lab at the time came over to Mac.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm Detective Mac Taylor." Mac showed him his badge and the warrant. "I've already been to see the school president about this. We're here to look for a certain item. If you would gather all the students to one side of the room, it would help a lot. I would also like to ask you if you have seen anything unusual in this lab."

The professor scowled at that. "No, nothing but some of the strange ideas that students come up with to do for projects."

"Have you found anything here that didn't belong?"

"Why don't you be specific?"

"A sword?"

"No, only Patrick and Dustin were making a replica of the sword of Charlemagne."

Mac paused a moment. "Is that sword here?" he asked.

"Of course."

Mac followed the professor over to a locker that had Patrick's and Dustin's names on it. The professor opened the locker door with a key. Mac peered inside the locker and found what he was looking for. He looked back at his team. Jo came over there to look. "I guess our search is going to be very short," Mac said.

Jo could not believe it. She looked at the professor. "And your name is?" she asked.

"Professor Gordon. Patrick and Dustin…well, were in my class."

"Were you here when we were here earlier?"

"No. This is the first time I have seen you."

"Then why was Patrick in here before?" Mac asked.

"Well, some students have a different instructor for the lab than they have for the class."

"Oh. Well, we're going to have to take this."

Danny noticed someone trying to move over to the door way in the group of students. "Hey," he said.

Suddenly, the young man took off running out the door. Danny and Jamie went out the door after him. Mac and Jo looked that way a moment, but they were busy collecting the sword. Sheldon and Adam stayed where they were to watch the others to make sure no one else tried to run for it. Mac put the sword in an evidence bag to be examined when they got back to the lab. They examined the locker and found traces of blood in the locker and there was also a pair of gloves in the locker.

Jamie and Danny ran down the stairway after the man who was running from them. They could see he had blond hair and he was wearing a red t-shirt and jeans. "Stop him!" Danny yelled as the man was getting to the bottom of the stairs.

The officer who was watching the front door took out his weapon. "Stop right there!" he yelled.

The man who was fleeing was shocked to see the weapon. Instead of stopping, he turned suddenly and ran down the hallway of offices. The officer joined the pursuit with Danny and Jamie. There was another officer on the other end of the building watching that exit too. He saw the man coming that way and drew his own weapon. "Stop!" he yelled.

The man looked both ways but he realized he could not go any further. He stopped and put his hands on his head. "You just relax," Jamie said as she took out a pair of handcuffs. "Where did you think you were going?"

"Doesn't matter now," Danny added. "You just made yourself look real guilty."

"You have the right to remain silent…"

Mac and Jo went over to Patrick Westin. "Why didn't you tell us that you had a sword over there?" Mac asked.

Jo folded her arms as she saw the guilty look on Westin's face. "Because he knew it wasn't there," she said.

"You're coming with us," Mac said. "You have some questions to answer."

They took Patrick Westin into custody as Jamie and Danny brought the other person back into the room. "So, who is this?" Mac asked. "Your accomplice?"

"I don't think he's going to talk," Jo said.

"I'm sure he will when he finds out the consequences of first degree murder are."

They went back to the precinct and the two suspects were booked. Mac and the others went back up to the lab. "I want you to go over that sword thoroughly," he said to Lindsay. "It wasn't so difficult to find after all."

"They were actually keeping it in a locker?" Lindsay asked.

"Yes. I think they must have thought we wouldn't suspect them or they thought they would have time to move it."

"How could they get it back in there after they killed him without anyone seeing?"

"Good question."

Mac started the DNA analysis for the blood they had found in the locker and ran the fingerprints from the locker as well. He knew any number of people could have touched the locker, but he saw that the professor had unlocked it with a key, so that would mean that just anyone could not get into it. He found the prints of Dustin Covin and Patrick Westin as well as two other sets. He found the professor's prints on the locker, but there was also another set in locations that one would have to have access to the locker in order for their prints to be there and that was the professor they had talked to earlier that day, Professor Goldberg. He supposed it was not unusual for a professor's prints to be in a locker but they were not his students.

Jamie had the two suspects waiting for Mac and Jo when they got downstairs. Danny would be in the room with Mac while he was questioning the suspect: Benjamin Roche. He was the one who had fled while they were inspecting the locker. "Well," Mac said as he sat down at the table and laid his folder on it. "What do you have to do with this?" he asked. "Your prints were found inside the locker where the murder weapon was found." He laid a picture of the sword inside the locker on the table. "Your prints were also found on the sword's handle."

Roche just stared at Mac. "How did you get involved in this?" Jo asked. "Was there money involved?"

"No," Roche replied. "They were always bragging about how their sword was so well made and so much like the real one that they could fool someone with it."

"And?" Mac asked.

"So, I decided to test it. Patrick and I went to the party and while we were in the room with the sword, we switched it. We were going to put it back but when Dustin found out, he wanted to turn us in! That would have been grand larceny. It would have ruined our careers."

Mac stared at him a moment. "So, you thought murder would be better?" he asked.

Roche leaned back in the chair. "So, Patrick Westin was in on this with you?" Jo asked.

"Yes," Roche replied. "We were going to take the sword back and tell Mister McFadden what we did, but Dustin wanted to tell the police. Mister McFadden would have laughed."

"Then why didn't you go and tell him?" Mac asked.

Roche looked confused. "I don't know. I panicked."

"So, instead of telling Mister McFadden the truth and maybe not even facing charges, you decided to kill Dustin Covin and face life in prison."

"Who actually killed Covin?" Jo asked. "Did you actually drive the sword into his body?"

Roche frowned. "I don't think I should say anything else," he said.

"Oh, you were doing so good. Why stop now?"

"Because I want a lawyer."

Danny and Jamie were in the room with Patrick Westin. "It was Benny's idea," he said. "I don't even know why I went along with it. We thought it would add to our grade. We didn't intend to keep the sword."

Danny leaned on the table. "You know, I believe you, but you went and killed Dustin Covin," He said. "When you did that, your experiment turned into murder."

"I didn't kill him. He was my best friend. I don't even know who killed him. I wasn't there."

"But you didn't tell Detective Taylor where that sword was this morning when he was at the college. You must have known something."

"When he came in there, it was the first I knew of Dusty being dead. I knew if he found that sword in there, he would think I killed him. I didn't."

"And you don't know who did?"

"No."

Danny thought the guy was telling the truth. "Well, you helped steal the sword, right?" he asked.

Patrick nodded. "We just wanted to see how good our replica was," he said. "We were gonna give it back. I know Mister McFadden."

Danny looked at Jamie. "Well, unless he wants to drop the charges, you'll be charged with grand larceny now, and possibly even accessory to murder," he said.

"I didn't kill him and I was not there."

Danny closed his folder and he and Jamie left the room. Mac was outside when they came out. "Well?" he asked.

"He didn't kill him," Danny said. "I don't think he knows who did either. It all started as an experiment. Someone is involved in this that we don't know yet, I think."

"I agree. We need to talk to this Professor Goldberg again." Mac looked at Jamie. "Go and pick him up."

"I'm on it," Jamie replied.

Mac, Jo and Danny headed back up to the lab. "We're behind you on this other mess, Mac," Danny said. "I have an appointment to go and talk to Chief Williams later today."

"Just tell the truth, Danny," Mac said.

"I will, but the trust is that I don't want to work for anyone else."

"You have a growing family to think about."

"I'll think about it somewhere else if they fire you."

Mac did not like the sounds of that. "What if it's Jo?" he asked.

Jo looked at him. "No one can run this lab like you do," she informed him. "I probably won't be here either."

"Now, come on. You're not serving me, you're serving the people of this city."

"What about you?" Danny asked. "What about all the years that you have put in here? They're going to just throw you away?"

The elevator opened and they stepped out into the lab area. "Just tell the truth," Mac said again and went to his office.

Danny and Jo stopped a moment. "We have to do something about this," Danny said.

"We will do what he says," Jo replied. "We will tell the truth."

Mac went to his office and sat down at his desk to try and write on his report. He still had difficulties with that sort of thing. He leaned on his hand and realized that it was past lunch time. He was hungry and it made his concentration even worse when he did not eat but just as he was thinking that, he saw Christine come from the elevator. He just watched her walk toward his office. He thought she looked more beautiful now than she ever had.

Christine walked into the office. "Afternoon," she said. "In case you didn't know."

"I was beginning to know it," Mac said.

"I brought you a late lunch." She set the bag on the desk and opened it. "I brought you some spaghetti with garlic, buttered French bread."

"Oh," Mac said as he closed his eyes and thought of how good that would taste. "You are really spoiling me."

"I also brought you a salad with your favorite dressing and a cherry tart for dessert…and a tall, cold lemonade to wash it down."

Mac smiled. "Thank you," he said.

Christine walked around the desk and kissed him. "Now, tell me what's going on," she said.

Mac's smile faded. "They know about my memory problems," he replied.

"Who?"

"Everybody. IA is investigating whether I am fit to head this lab anymore."

Christine was surprised by that. "Are you kidding?"

"No."

"Oh, Mac." She looked at him. "It doesn't matter. We will go away from here if they fire you."

"They won't fire me. They'll force me into retirement."

"Then we'll sell the restaurant and we'll go away and open another one somewhere else."

Mac nodded. "Well, we'll do something…together."

"That is for sure."

Mac stood up and hugged her and kissed her. "I love you," he said.

"I love you too, and don't you forget it. No matter what they say, you're as good as you ever were."

"I hope you're right."

"I am. Don't lose faith in yourself."

"You just don't lose faith in me and I'll be okay."

"I never will."