The body was lying face up on the beach rocks, arms extended. She couldn't have been more than twenty, and she wasn't going to get any older. The surf was starting to come in, causing her short dark hair to float around her face like a halo.
McGarret shook his head as if to clear it. Surfers had found the body and called HPD. HPD had in turn called Five-0. Now the crime scene techs were combing the beach, looking for anything that could be used to bring in the murderer.
"What have we got, Danno?" he asked.
"Not much. Surfers found the body. HPD called us in the second they got a good look at it. ME says he's ready to move the body. When he gets through, we'll know more."
"Same pattern as the other four?" McGarret asked, hoping he wouldn't get the answer he knew was coming.
Williams ran his hands through his curls. "ME says death was probably caused by strangulation. She's got bruises on her throat that fit the pattern. Bite marks on both breasts look the same as the other four, but until the ME's done we won't know if they're a match. Don't know about anything below the waist yet. Tide's coming in and washed away any visible traces of blood or other body fluids. Oh, and we found her clothes further up the beach, still dry, neatly stacked and folded, a skirt, tee-shirt, and sandals, no underwear of any sort, also, no beach bag, purse, jewelry or ID of any kind. But we may have caught a break on the ID."
"How so?"
"Victim's description matches one of a missing person called in by the Army this morning. According to the report filed by her section sergeant, the girl didn't come back from sightseeing Saturday and is about the least likely person on the post to go AWOL. The name is Tami Lynn Wilson and she's from Provo, Utah. Been here all of a month."
"Let's get her to the morgue before we start calling in the Army. Who knows, she could be another hooker".
"You think so?"
McGarret thought for a minute. He knew damned well this girl wasn't a hooker. Nothing about her fit the type, but here she was, lying naked and dead on a deserted stretch of beach known only to a few die hard surfers and beachcombers, and so far, it looked as if she had been killed by the same pervert who had been using the Islands as his own private hunting grounds.
"No, I don't. I told the DA and HPD this was going to happen, but no one wanted to listen. All the creep was doing was killing hookers and for some stupid damned reason the powers that be refused to fund a task force for a serial killer who's stalking hookers. Maye this time they'll listen." And, he added to himself, if they don't I'm going to raise hell until they do.
The morgue techs were loading the body onto a gurney. McGarret and Williams halted them as they started the climb up the cliff to where the transport van was parked. He pulled the blanket back, exposing the girls face. Young, pretty, dark hair, face lightly tanned and unlined, no traces of makeup, no tacky residue from hair spray or mousse in her hair, no tattoos. She could have been any one of the thousands of young girls who visited the Islands every year, looking or who knows what. One thing was sure, though, she was a long way from home.
Monday afternoon and all was not well. Sergeant First Class Margret Alden sat at her desk in the Stars and Stripes newsroom, angry, frustrated, and doing her best to not to visualize how much she would enjoy running over Master Sergeant John Hardin. The only thing stopping me, she thought to herself, is I'd probably damage my car, or at the very least, have to have it detailed.Hardin was insisting she charge PFC Tami Lynn Wilson with being AWOL, when she knew damn well the kid wasn't. The girl hadn't shown back up at her barracks Saturday. Then Sunday afternoon her pastor had called. The girl had been a no show at the Sunday service. Tami Lynn was a rarity. A devout Mormon, she had attended church services on a regular basis since her arrival in the Islands.
"Look, Hardin, I'm telling you for the last time, I don't think Wilson is AWOL. She's not the type to just take off."
"Fine, Alden, have it your way. I don't want to pull rank on you but if she's not back by tomorrow, I'm charging her with AWOL, and if the camera you let her borrow doesn't show back up, I'm charging her with theft of government property. And the next time you get a bright idea about filing a missing persons report with HPD, I'd appreciate it if you got my approval first. I am First Sergeant.:"
As if you didn't remind everyone on the planet at any given moment, she thought, but smiled and said. "Sorry about that, Top. I thought it was what you'd want, considering how you've always got the best interest of your troops at heart." God is going to strike me dead for lying, she added to herself.
Hardin collected his ever present coffee mug and strode out of her office, apparently immune to sarcasm.
Bastard, she thought, I hope your prostate swells to the size of basketball.
Then the phone rang.
"Stars and Stripes, Pacific edition. SFC Alden speaking. How may I help you." she answered in a soft voice that still held traces of Southern drawl even after more than 18 years in the Army.
McGarret's day had just gotten worse. He could never decide who annoyed him, journalists or Federal Agents. "This is Steve McGarret with Hawaii Five-0. Are you the Sergeant Alden who called in a missing persons report this morning on a PFC Tami Lynn Wilson?".
Maggie had only been in Hawaii for a few months but she knew McGarret and Five-0 by reputation. Something told her this was not going to be a happy phone call.
"That would be me. Has PFC Wilson turned up somewhere?"
"We're not sure yet" McGarret said, trying to sound reassuring. "A couple of surfers found a body a few hours ago. The description on the missing persons report matches. There was no ID so I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to come down to the morgue and have a look at the body".
"Oh, God", Maggie half whispered. "What happened?"
"I'd prefer not to discuss that over the phone or until we have a positive ID. The body may not be your missing girl".
"I hope not. I need directions. I'm new to the area so make them simple."
McGarret gave her directions. She assured him she'd be there in about an hour and hung up the phone. Then putting on her uniform jacket and grabbing her purse and beret, she told the receptionist she'd be back by four.
"What do I tell the First Sergeant if he asks where you are?" inquired the receptionist, a young specialist fourth class from Iowa. The friction between Hardin and Alden, or more precisely, Hardin and anyone else who had a brain, was well known.
"Tell him I'm going to retrieve some missing government property. That ought to shut him up for a while. If you need anything, call my cell phone. And whatever you do, don't give Hardin the number."
She fished sunglasses out of her purse and switched them for the bifocals she had been wearing. Another day in paradise...
McGarret and Williams were waiting in Che Fong's office for the Chinese forensic scientist to come in with the preliminary reports from the young women's body. McGarret sat scowling, lost in thought. Williams was watching the fish swimming in Fong's aquarium.
McGarret didn't even bother to get up when Fong came in. "What do you have so far?" he asked.
Fong was use to McGarret's abruptness and didn't take offense. "So far,looks like cause of death was strangulation. Bruising around the throat, and a crushed trachea from the external exam are what you would expect to find with manual strangulation. The bite marks on her breast and genitals are consistent with the other four bodies, but unlike the previous four, there is no sign of sexual assault of any kind. And, strange as it may seem in this day and age, the girl died a virgin."
"You're kidding, right?" asked Williams.
"Probably the last virgin over sixteen on the Big Island".
"Wouldn't bites to the genitals be considered sexual assault?" McGarret asked, giving Williams a 'shut the hell up' look.
"Not in this case and not in the classical context. I've asked the FBI for assistance from a profiler to get some insight into the way this guy thinks."
"That's all we need, Feds". Said Williams, in the same tone someone would use when referring to plagues of fleas and fire ants. "Any hope of recovering DNA evidence?"
"We're going to try, but I have a feeling the surf took care of most of that. We've got the bite marks. We'll cast them and see if they match the other four victims, although I'm going to hazard a guess that it's the same guy. Won't know much else until after the autopsy. That's scheduled first thing in the morning. I heard you got someone coming down to ID the body."
"Possibly", said McGarret. "Had a missing persons report filed by the Army this morning. The sergeant's coming down for a look.".
"If she's military it will make our life easier. She'll have current dental records and prints on file.".
McGarret's cell phone rang.
He answered it curtly "McGarrett". He listened for a second. "Tell her I'll be down in a minute" and hung up. "Sergeant Alden is here. Is the body ready for viewing?".
Fong nodded. "I'll have her covered to the shoulders since we're still using the bite marks as hold back evidence."
McGarret nodded. "Good idea, especially when you consider the good sergeant works for the Stars and Stripes."
McGarret and Williams stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby. They saw the sergeant standing by the front desk. They looked at the sergeant, then they looked at each other. McGarret raised one eyebrow, Williams shrugged and smiled. Non-coms hadn't looked like this when they were in the military.
She was a tiny women, not more than five foot two, and curved in all the right places. Her hair had gone silver early, and was pulled back into one braid that was coiled at the back of her head. She wore wire rimmed glasses and the eyes behind the lenses were dark green, nearly matching the uniform she wore. The service stripes on her left sleeve said she'd been in at least 18 years. She looked all of twenty-five.
McGarret spoke first. "Sergeant Alden, I presume?"
"Yes, and you must be Mr. McGarret." she said in the same southern accent he'd heard over the phone.
"Steve McGarret, and this is my associate, Dan Williams. If you will come with us we'll get this unpleasantness out of the way as quickly as possible".
She handed McGarret a manila envelope. "I stopped by the post dental clinic on the way out and collected Private Wilson's dental records."
"Good thinking, Sergeant," said McGarret, taking the envelope. "This will make things easier for the ME. This way please".
He motioned for her to follow them to the elevator. As she stepped in she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Sorry", she said. "I'm a wee bit claustrophobic."
"It's ok", McGarret said, "we're only going two floors."
It seemed like an eternity before the doors opened into an institutional green waiting area. Green linoleum floor, green walls, ugly uncomfortable green chairs. A table with a coffee urn and Styrofoam cups stood in one corner. A rack on the wall held brochures for grief counselors and funeral homes. This was not a happy place.
McGarret slid a key card that opened a pair of institutional green metal doors. It was colder back here, and smelled of disinfectant. A middle aged Chinese man in a lab coat approached them. McGarret introduced him as Che Fong, the head of the forensics's department. McGarret handed Fong the envelope with the dental records. Fong nodded, and led them into another freezing room, this one painted gray with one wall that was a bank of refrigerated drawers.
"Are you ready, Sergeant?" he asked. Maggie nodded. Fong opened the door and slid out the drawer.
"Oh, god, no", she whispered.
"Is that her?" McGarret asked.
"It's her. What happened? Oh, god, I've got to call her parents."
Fong closed the drawer. "I'll get someone up here to do a comparison with the dental records before you leave, just for verification. Steve, could you find the Sergeant a cup of coffee while I do that?"
"Not a problem" McGarret said. He took her arm. "Danno, stay with Fong, make sure everything gets entered as evidence. Sergeant Alden, if you'd come with me I have a few questions."
He led her to a room off the reception area, this one painted the same horrible green but furnished with soft comfortable chairs.
"How do you take your coffee?" he asked.
"I don't", she said, rather sharply.
McGarret raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry" she said. "Guess you could say this isn't one of my better moments. I'm not a coffee person. I'll take a Diet Coke if you have one." And a cigarette, she added to herself. Why the hell did I ever stop smoking?
McGarret left, and came back in few minutes with an ice cold can of Diet Coke. She popped the top and took a long drink, feeling the carbonated liquid burn the back of her throat.
"Better now?" he asked. She nodded. "I need to know as much about Private Wilson as possible. Any habits, any friends, boyfriends, anything you can think of, and we'll need a picture, if you have one. I don't like showing morgue photos when I'm trying to find answers."
Maggie took a deep breath. "She was 19 years old. She's been here about a month. I don't know about a boyfriend, you'd have to ask her roommates about that. She's a photographer. She wanted to go sightseeing this weekend. I gave her a camera and some film and told her to get a few shots for the Sunday supplement. That was about nine Saturday morning."
"What was she wearing?"
"Blue BYU tee shirt and a long skirt, mostly blue, sandals, blue fanny pack instead of a purse."
McGarret nodded. She had just described the clothes found at the scene, with the exception of the fanny pack and camera. "What kind of camera?"
"An older Cannon AE-1. Good camera, kind of heavy. There isn't much you can do to destroy one of the things. We've got newer and lighter ones but she liked the old Cannon's."
"Any jewelry, rings, watches, that sort of thing?"
Maggie thought for a minute. "She did have a watch, couldn't tell you what kind, and a birthstone ring. I remember the ring because it was a pink zirconium, the kind jewelers are trying to pass off as October's birthstone these days instead of opals. Her birthday was in October, same as mine, and I said she needed to get opals. She said her mother had told her opals were bad luck unless they were given to you your true love and she'd have to wait on hers. Oh, and a gold chain with that Mormon angel on it, Moroni, I think he's called".
"Mormon angel, McGarret asked, noting that Maggie was not only wearing an opal and diamond birthstone ring on her right hand, but that she was wearing a very nice platinum wedding set on her left, damn the bad luck.
"Yes, the one who told Joseph Smith where to find the Book of Mormon. Don't ask me for details, I'm a recovering Baptist. She was a very active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. She was in church every time the doors opened and when she didn't show up for services Sunday, the local bishop called me. I checked with her roommates only to find that she had never came in. She was still a no show Monday morning and I filed a missing persons report with HPD and post MP's. Caught nine kinds of hell for it from the First Sergeant. He wanted to carry her as AWOL".
McGarret was impressed. Most military types would have had the girl written up for AWOL and have done with it. "Why did you file the report:
"You'd have to know the girl to understand. She was a true innocent. Naive as all get out. Had this sense of duty that was unbelievable. Most kids today, they join for the GI Bill and the rest of the bennies. Not her. She thought it was her duty as and American. Kinda corny but sweet. Hadn't the vaguest clue about what she'd gotten herself into. Everybody on the post, including her two nutcase roomies, went out of their way to make sure she didn't come to harm. Fat lot of good that did".
Maggie was crying now, her eyes shining like wet leaves. He handed her a tissue from the box on the table.
"Thanks" she said, sniffing a bit. "I hate to cry".
McGarret gave her a slight smile. "We have a rule around here. Crying at the morgue is practically a requirement".
There was a soft knock on the door. Dan Williams entered, looking rather grim. "We checked the dental records. They're a match. I'm sorry, Sergeant, it's your missing soldier."
Maggie took a deep breath. McGarret noticed, that among other things, she had a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, and assorted other ribbons that you don't get for keeping your boots spit shined. Her face changed and suddenly she was all business and all journalist. "Now would either of you gentleman care to tell me what happened".
McGarret had known that question was coming, and he was ready for it. "I'm afraid she was murdered. She was strangled, probably in another location, and her body was left on the beach. Both her fanny pack and the camera are missing, but we will get people out scouring the area. I'll need the serial number from the camera. We'll send a list around to all the pawn shops and put out word on the streets that anyone finding either the camera or the pack will benefit from Five-0's gratitude. We're just starting the investigation, and that's about all we have for now. There is an autopsy scheduled for tomorrow morning. We'll let you know when it's done and make arrangement for the release of the body. Since she's military, we're gong to call in a pathologist from Trippler as an observer. The one thing we do know, however, was that she wasn't sexually assaulted."
"I suppose that will be some comfort to her parents. Is there anything else you need me for? I need to get back to post and start taking care of things.".
"I'll walk you to your car. Is there a number where I can reach you?" It was Williams turn to raise an eyebrow. McGarret ignored him.
She took a business card out of her jacket pocket. "Those are the numbers to the Stars and Stripes office. Do you have a pen?" McGarret handed her one and she wrote on the back of the card. "The top one is to the BEQ. The bottom one is my cell phone number. Quickest way to reach me is call my cell'.
He took Maggie's arm and led her out of the building. She didn't object. He couldn't identify the perfume she was wearing but it was giving him ideas he shouldn't have about a married women.
"Is your husband stationed in the Islands?" he asked as they were walking out of the building to where a yellow Mustang convertible was parked by the curb.
"Unfortunately, no," she said. "He was killed during the Gulf War."
"I'm sorry for your loss", he said, not knowing what else to say.
"I wish he were here now". She was rummaging through her purse, looking for her keys. She dug them out and tried to insert on into the door lock only to find that her hands were shaking so much all she was managing to do was scratch the paint around the lock.
McGarret's large hand closed over her smaller one, steadying it. She looked up, green eyes meeting black ones, trying to ignore the tingle that started where his hand touched hers and ran all the way down her spine. "Thank you" she said as she unlocked the door.
"I'll send a couple of people over to question her roommates. When would be a good time?".
"About five, they should be back from duty by then. I'll be there, too. We have to inventory her things...Uh, you can let go of my hand now".
Steve did, smiling a bit. Can't fault a guy for trying, besides, when he had touched her hand he'd felt a jolt of electricity that went all the way to his toes.
"I'll be in touch" he said, closing her door.
Maggie arrived back at the Stars and Stripes office around three-thirty. She dropped her things off at her desk and headed directly for the Commander's office.
She opened the door and saluted. "Sergeant Alden reporting for duty, Sir!" she said.
"At ease, Sergeant. And how many times do I have to tell you not to do that every time you walk through my door?" Colonel George Dale was winding down his military career as a public affairs officer. He was enjoying his last assignment to the fullest, and with few exceptions, liked his staff. Maggie had worked for him before in Europe and he had been glad to see her when she had been reassigned to Hawaii.
"Sorry, sir", she said. "Unfortunately, this is official. "It's about PFC Wilson. A couple of surfers found a body this morning. I just came back from the morgue. It was her. The medical examiner confirmed my ID with her dental records."
"Oh, hell. Sit down already. This was the kid Hardin threw a fit over because you filed a missing persons report instead of charging her with AWOL?" Maggie nodded. "What happen? She drown?".
Maggie sat. "No, she was strangled and her body dumped on the beach. HPD and Five-0 are both investigating."
"Crap. Kid had been here, what, a month. Nice girl. Dig out all her contact info, I'll call her parents and get the ball rolling on shipping her back to... where was she from anyway?"
"Provo, Utah. And you do me a favor. Keep the First Sergeant as far away from this as possible. That idiot is bound to do or say something stupid and cause more trouble than he's worth. And for God's sake, don't let him talk to her parents."
"Sergeant Alden, that's going a bit too far. I know you don't get along with Hardin but he does outrank you and he is First Sergeant".
"As he so often reminds anyone who will listen. Yes, sir, I know it's bordering on insubordination, but that man just flat gets on my nerves. As soon as Private Wilson's roommates get off this afternoon, Five-0 is sending a couple of investigators over to talk to them. Do you really want him in the area when that happens?"
"Point well taken. I'll see to it that he's busy somewhere across the post. Oh, and a word to the wise please. First Sergeant Hardin says that the main topic between the women around here seems to be menstruation. He says it's all you women talk about when he's within earshot".
"It's the only way we can get rid of him, sir." Maggie said before she thought about it. "Oops, wasn't suppose to tell you that."
"You didn't. But spread the word to confine personal talk to the ladies room from now on."
"Yes, sir." she said meekly. "We get to hear all the gory details of his alleged combat exploits and he gets offended when women discuss a perfectly natural body function. Won't happen again, sir. I'll go get Private Wilson's contact info. As soon as her roomies show up we'll inventory her stuff and get it packed up. Damn, I hate doing this and I hope to God it's the last one I ever have to do."
"Remind me how much longer you have until retirement."
"Eighteen months, sir. Another day like today and it won't get here fast enough."
Maggie went back to the BEQ to shower and change before she had to meet with Wilson's roommates and the investigators. The BEQ was an older five story building that had once housed WWII fighter pilots. It had been renovated and turned into senior enlisted quarters in the late sixties. The accommodation consisted of two room suites with a bathroom in between. The building was shared by both male and female non-com's, all of them years older than the kids living in the barracks across the street.
Maggie's suitmate was Lu Yablanski, a tall lanky redhead from Indiana. She and Lu had been stationed together on and off for years. Lu had introduced Maggie to her late husband, and Maggie had in turn stood up with Lu at two of her four weddings. Lu was a few years older than Maggie, how many she refused to say. She'd been in 22 years, and, as she was fond on telling anyone who'd listen, she'd have long been retired if her daughter hadn't been accepted at Vasser, which was her way of saying to the rest of the world, hey I may just be an Army grunt, but damn, my kid is brilliant.
Lu stuck her head in the door as Maggie was pulling on her tee shirt. "I just heard about the kid. You ok?"
"Yeah, I'm good. So far anyway. The CO's calling her parents. Rather him than me."
"Ain't that the truth. He called me in earlier, said to be over at her room at five. I think we should go over early and make sure her roomies are behaving before the cops get there."
"Why's that".
"Cause her roomies are the Thompson Twins."
"Oh, crap. I'd forgotten about that. Looks like no dinner for us tonight".
"Too bad we didn't have the Twins in Iran. Turn them loose on Baghdad and old Saddam would have agreed to anything to get rid of 'em".
"Kinda reminds me of us when we were their age" Maggie said, unpinning her long hair and letting the braid fall down her back.
"Don't remind me. How did we ever survive?".
The Thompson Twins were not twins. Nor were they related. One was black, the other white, but a shared last name had paired them in boot camp and kept them together. There wasn't much the pair of them hadn't tried, both individually or collectively. In their wake they left a string of broken hearts, and occasional broken bones. Both were now E-4's, although for how long would be anyone's guess. Wilson had been assigned to their room in hopes of being a calming influence.
Maggie knocked softly. No answer. She could hear music and knew darned well the Twins were in there.
Lu stepped up to the door. "Let me at 'em", she said. She knocked hard enough to wake the dead. "Alright, kids. You got until I count to three to open this door and then I'm going to get the CQ".
The door opened. Smoke drifted out of the room. Maggie took a deep breath, caught the scent of CK1 and the cloying scent of marijuana. The Twins were entertaining.
"Ok, guys, out!" Maggie snapped. "Now! And be happy it was me that busted you instead of someone else. And that goes for the shit you're smoking too. Don't give me that look. I know what I'm smelling and I personally don't give a damn what you do on your off time but in about half an hour this place is going to crawling with cops and I don't want to spend the next month babysitting your sorry butts while you're on extra duty. Got it? Good. Now take the weed and take a hike!"
The men, kids really, not more than 20 at the most, beat a hasty retreat out the door and down the stairs.
"We're sorry, Sarge" mumbled Ebony Thompson, who's real name was Grace and was white.
"Open a damned window and get this place aired out". Lu ordered. "Have you two lost it completely? That idiot First Sergeant we have would like nothing better than to send the pair of you to the stockade".
"Don't know what that cracker's got against us" said Ivory Thompson, the black half to the Twins, and who's mother had thought that Ivory was a good name for her 12th and youngest daughter, or else she'd ran out of options.
"I could name a few things", said Maggie, "but we don't have time. We've got homicide detectives coming to interview you. Please, anything you can think of, no matter how insignificant, let them know".
"Somebody really kill Tami?' asked Ebony.
Lu nodded. "Killed her and dumped her by the water".
Both the older women were so preoccupied with their own thoughts that neither of them noticed the rare moment that was occurring. The Thompson Twins were speechless.
The detective arrived promptly at five, followed by two men from the supply room carrying boxes. The men, working off a few extra duty hours, seemed more than relieved when they were told they could go. Maggie was pleasantly surprised to see McGarret.
"I'd have thought you'd have sent another investigator" she said.
"Not this time" he said. "These the roommates?"
"Yes" said Maggie. "Don't let them fool you, they've been advised to be on their best behavior. These are Specialist Grace Thompson and Specialist Ivory Thompson, otherwise known as the Thompson Twins, although you can clearly see that is not the case. Twins, this is Commander McGarret and Detective Williams from Hawaii Five-0. They are here to ask you some questions about the last time you saw Tami alive."
As it turned out, there wasn't much to tell. All three of the young women had gone to Mama Maliki's for the Friday night Luau. As usual, the Twins had gotten wasted on tequila and had started a fight with a couple of sailors (males) and were asked to leave. Since Tami was the only one sober and not combative she was elected designated driver and had driven Ivory's Hyundai Accent back to the barracks and gotten the other two girls to bed before the First Sergeant, who, according to the Twins, obviously had no life, busted them for being drunk and disorderly again. Both had awaken with hangovers and had declined Tami's offer to go sightseeing. That had been around eight o'clock Saturday morning.
"Then", Maggie continued, "Tami stopped by the office around nine to check out a camera and some film. She told me she was going to take the bus to the Arizona Memorial. That was the last anyone saw her on post."
McGarret nodded. "I know this may sound like we're intruding at a time like this, and we don't have a warrant, but would you mind if we looked through her things? We need to find out as much about her as we can."
Maggie and Lu both agreed to the search. Then McGarret stunned both the sergeants by asking the Twin's permission.
"You ladies probably knew her better than anyone here. Do you mind? I'll owe you a big favor if you do?" The Twins nodded. For a cop, McGarret seemed decent enough, and besides, having one of the Island's top cops owing them a favor could be useful one day.
"No problem, Sir", said Ebony. "Only let us take the stuff out of the drawers and things. It won't seem right, having a bunch of strangers pawing through her stuff. If you see anything you need to take a closer look at, just let us know."
The Twins started opening drawers and loading things into the boxes, calling off the items as they went, Maggie and Lu making notes on a clipboards as they did. McGarret, feeling more like an voyeur than he cared to admit, listened intently, hoping none of the women present would think he was a pervert if he had to ask any questions about underwear. He was relieved when he didn't have to.
"One six pack Haynes Her Way beige cotton granny panties", Ivory called out, "one pair missing".
"She must have hit the undies sale at the PX", Lu commented.
"Yeah", said Ebony. "A six pack of beige cotton panties and two beige cotton bras. Well, at least she had on new undies when she died".
Ivory tossed the package into the box. "I tried to get the silly heifer to buy some thongs instead of this old lady underwear. Wouldn't do it. Oh, fuck." she burst into tears and ran from the room.
McGarret ran a hand through his hair. Coffee, he thought, need coffee. "Sergeant Alden, we're about done here. I'll leave Detective Williams to finish up. Would you join me for a cup of coffee? Oh, wait, you don't do coffee, but I know a place that makes a pretty mean Chai tea."
Maggie looked at Lu, confused. Lu nodded. "Go on, I can finish up and maybe convince Detective Williams to buy me a drink.'
"Sounds good to me", said Maggie, somewhat hesitantly. She hadn't been on a date since her husband had died four years earlier, even one as simple as going out for a cup of coffee. "Lu, don't hesitate to call if you need anything".
'Let's go", McGarrett said. "You'll love this place. Great view of the ocean and the occasional bad poet."
"Now that's an offer I can't refuse".