Hawaii Five-O, Original Series, 1968-1980
The Barn, Chapter 1
In the big office of the Hawaii Five-O suite in Iolani Palace, Steve McGarrett and his team were going over the case file for the latest gang war casualty. This was the umpteenth time they had read through the file, looking for clues they had missed. It had been a frustrating day—for all but one of them anyway.
One man was missing from the office ohana—it was Danny's day off. He had been in briefly early in the morning to turn in some reports, then left happily and hurriedly before he got drawn into the ongoing discussions of this case or that arrest or the brainstorming session about trapping their least favorite criminals. After all, everybody needs a break once in a while. But for Chin and Ben, and especially Steve, when Danny wasn't there everything always seemed a little off.
The subdued comments and ideas bantered back and forth were shortly interrupted by the ringing of Steve's phone. He wasn't expecting anything big to break, but then again he knew, in his line of work, to expect the unexpected. He knew Jenny was at lunch, so he casually answered in his usual brusque tone, "McGarrett."
An unfamiliar male voice responded, "Yes, sir, I…uh, I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. McGarrett. My name is David Christopher, and I have a little ranch about 10 miles outside of Honolulu."
"Yes, Mr. Christopher, what can I do for you?" Steve replied in his most diplomatic, servant of the people, manner. Inside, he was thinking, A ranch? Lucky man, but I'll bet he needs to be talking to HPD about whoever trespassed on his property, or whatever small-time problem he has.
"Well, sir, I really didn't know who else to call…. You see, I'm a friend of Dan Williams."
"Oh, I see. If you're looking for Danno, I'm afraid he's not here today," Steve answered succinctly.
"Oh, no, sir, I know that. I know where he is. He's here at my ranch. But there's a problem…."
Problem? Alarms started ringing in Steve's consciousness. His eyes lost their casual outlook and darted up toward Chin and Ben in surprise. "What kind of problem, Mr. Christopher?"
"I let Danny ride my horses whenever he wants. He comes and goes as he pleases. This morning, he went horseback riding, and I happened to see him come back a little later, but he was on foot. I went to the barn to check on him, and he wouldn't let me in. Mr. McGarrett, I've known Danny for years, and it just didn't sound like him at all. I'm really worried about him."
"What do you mean, 'it didn't sound' like him? What did he say?" Steve was trying not to overreact, to get the whole picture clearly in his mind before he reacted a little or a lot. But his instinct told him that this man was on the level and genuinely concerned for Danny.
"He was very angry, and I've never even seen Danny raise his voice before. I hate to say it out loud, Mr. McGarrett, it sounds so strange, but—well, he threatened me with a gun if I came any closer to the barn—my own barn!"
"He threatened you?" Steve was aghast at the thought that Danny would without provocation turn on a friend. "Does he even have his gun with him?"
"I wouldn't doubt it. He takes it sometimes when he goes riding. Says he's shot a wild pig or two on my property," David continued. "Listen, should I call the local police for help?"
"No, no! Please don't! Let us handle this. What is your address?" Steve responded crisply, then wrote down the directions. "We're on our way. Just keep your distance from that barn until we get there!"
"Yes, sir."
Steve slammed down the phone and grabbed the paper with the address on it. Gesturing toward Chin and Ben, he ordered, "Let's go!"
Chin spoke up, "Where're we going?"
Steve talked on the run as he snagged his jacket by the collar, "Danno's in trouble. Come on!"