I am in awe of Sammy & Ilna every day. But never more than when a case story like this takes me weeks to write (I often write several stories simultaneously and could have a case one going at any given time) and they both complete a story in hours. Perfect, incredible stories at that. My hat is off to you, ladies, because my team members rock. And REALMcRoll
REALMcRollers, you delight me every day with your reviews, comments, suggestions, tweets and DMs. We are loving this journey and are thankful every day for the amazing readers who are on it with us. A special shout out to Leni and Kimmer for REASONS. Thank you for your loyalty.
Vigorous
Danny and Catherine entered the farmer's market chatting about Grace's latest culinary attempt. She wanted to make one of Nonna's desserts with Catherine, and Danny promised to pick up the ingredients. They'd wrapped the day with an interview not far from the market, and Catherine offered to stop with him since she and Steve needed a few groceries.
They separated after discussing the benefits of buying anisette sugar versus making their own; intending to meet up and get the ingredients for Nonna's Anisette Biscotti at the bakery kiosk.
Catherine was reading the package of a new mango tea she thought Steve would like when a man beside her spoke.
"Peppermint tea."
Catherine turned. "Excuse me?"
"Forgive me, I saw you selecting tea. Peppermint, a cooling spice, even when sipped as hot tea, would be excellent for maintaining your exquisite skin." The man's syntax was odd, measured. "If you're interested in organic homemade honey I would be happy to offer you a free sample, or give you a personal tour of our hives ..." He offered a card. "Stop by anytime."
"No, thank you." She added several teas to the basket on her arm, moving away from the man whose eyes followed her until she turned a corner.
Minutes later, she caught up with Danny, who was paying for the biscotti ingredients. He grinned. "I found everything. Grace will be thrilled ..." He caught her expression. "What?"
"Nothing. Weird guy, that's all."
"Weird how?" Danny's eyes scanned the area.
Catherine shrugged. "Not imminently-dangerous weird, creepy-hinky vibe weird." She nodded as the man turned into the far end of the row, about a hundred feet away.
"If he's ... Danny began, turning to fully look at the stranger, but stopped mid sentence.
"Danny?" Catherine followed his line of vision to the group of four people at the end of the row. The man who'd spoken to her was now accompanied by three women. All were clustered around the sale produce. He seemed to be instructing them and they were attentively hanging on his words.
The women wore long, loose fitting dresses all of the same style that were just short of threadbare. Although it was exceptionally hot, their hair hung loose. Danny nodded imperceptibly at the man whose attire was distinctive in its contrast to his companions'. He wore a well tailored pair of black chinos and a crisp white mandarin collared shirt. "I know him."
"From where?" Catherine studied the group.
"New Jersey. That's Benny Moore." Danny began to approach the group slowly, Catherine at his elbow. "Low level con. Was a shoplifter and mafia wannabe in high school."
"He may be running a con here, then," she said, "because his approach got my hackles up."
Catherine sized up the group as she and Danny placed their bags with a vendor, said, "Five-0, can you hold onto these?" and moved toward the curious foursome.
The man looked up as they drew closer, his dark eyes locking on the duo, but the women kept their eyes averted, something that escaped neither Catherine nor Danny, and they tensed.
"Benny Moore," Danny said by way of greeting.
"I'm sorry, you must have me confused with someone else." The man smiled tightly and his eyes traveled from Danny to Catherine and back.
"Pretty sure I don't, Benny. Class of ninety five."
He extended his hand. "I am sorry, you're mistaken. I am Free."
"We're all free, Benny. It's a free country." Danny smirked.
"No, good sir, my name. It's Free."
"Of course it is. Look, you don't have to acknowledge knowing me, or being from Jersey, but see what just happened here? You went and got my freak radar up. Having a new name and all."
"I know nothing of New Jersey, and Free is my legal name." He produced a driver's license with the name Free Waters.
Danny rolled his eyes. "Okay." He turned to Catherine, "My old, new acquaintance here and I are gonna take a brief walk."
"I don't wish to leave my family ..." the man calling himself Free began, but Danny's hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"This is Lieutenant Catherine Rollins, we're both Five-0, these nice ladies will be fine with her." Danny nodded and led him around an aisle as Catherine stepped closer to the women.
"Is everything okay?" She smiled and looked over the women for outward signs of trouble.
"Everything is fine. We are fine." The oldest of the three, who Catherine estimated to be about her age, spoke in measured words, her tone deliberate. "We would like to go on with our business."
"You'll be allowed to go. As long as you're okay." She addressed the two younger girls. "But I need to see some ID."
"Free holds our identification."
"He what?" Catherine looked between the three who were nodding. "What are your names?"
The spokesperson of the group answered, "I am Owassa." The pale skinned, dark haired woman said, nodding each in turn to the younger women at her side. "This is Erskine." Neither of the women, who looked enough alike to be sisters, met her gaze. "And this is Spring." The last young woman looked directly at Catherine and her eyes held steady for the few seconds until Danny returned with Free.
Catherine addressed him, "You're holding their IDs? Let's see them."
He reached into a pocket and handed over three pieces of identification, which she quickly scanned as he said, "All are legal citizens and adults."
"These aren't the names they provided."
The IDs read Susan Mondale, Alicia Jackson and Cassidy Harris.
"Our family changes names when they embrace our lifestyle. It's our way of eschewing earthly troubles." Free answered.
"Okay, Benny. You and your family go on your way. For now." Danny stared him down until the man blinked and looked away.
"Peace to you." He shifted his eyes to Catherine but the calm voice and expression didn't quite mask their predatory flash. "Both of you." He ushered the women away, leaving Catherine and Danny watching their departure.
HQ
Steve entered the bullpen to find them reviewing info on Benny Moore and the three women. "What's up?" He indicated the screen with a chin tilt.
"This guy is from back home and he denied it. He's masquerading as some touchy feely guru and we both got a bad vibe." Danny and Catherine filled Steve in on the scene at the farmers' market. "I smell a cult."
"You get anything?"
"Not yet. But this girl," Catherine indicated her image. "Cassidy Harris, she was introduced as Spring; something's not clicking here. I want to dig further."
"Spring?" Steve raised an eyebrow.
"The others called themselves Owassa and Erskine." Catherine confirmed the names she was given when Danny was off talking to Moore.
"Benny, you asshole." Danny snorted.
"What?"
"He claimed to 'know nothing of New Jersey,' " Danny mocked. "Those names?"
"Yeah?" Steve nodded for him to continue.
"They're all lakes." The blue eyes flashed. "Wanna guess where?"
"New Jersey," Catherine and Steve said simultaneously.
"Give the couple at the top of the midway a prize. Not sure what Benny's game is ..." Danny began.
"But we're gonna find out." Catherine tapped a few keys and her eyes narrowed. "Here we go. Facial recognition says Cassidy Harris is Mia Dorsey. Age 18. Reported missing by her parents in Tuxedo Park, New York. Apparently she came here to live with a friend and just stopped calling home last month." Catherine looked at Danny and Steve. "Tuxedo. That's not far from my parents."
"It's less than an hour from Tarrytown," Danny confirmed. "We used to take Grace to a Renaissance festival there. I'll call Tuxedo PD on the way." He looked at Catherine "Got an address on Benny?" When she nodded, he said, "Your hackles were right, Cath," and turned to leave as he swiped his phone.
Steve and Catherine followed him out the door.
At the home address of Free Waters, a.k.a. Benny Moore, they found two of the three women they'd met tending to bee hives. Eight other people were in a common, dorm-like living area, including three babies and a toddler, all being watched by Mia Dorsey. Moore was in a separate house/office set apart from the rest.
"Five-0, nobody move," Steve announced upon entering, and the women calmly sat on the floor as though used to following orders, although when asked, none would give their names.
When the room was under control, Danny knelt and motioned the curious toddler closer. The boy was barefoot and unkempt, but looked well fed. "Hey, Buddy. My name is Danny. What's yours?"
"Marshall." He grinned at the detective.
"High five, Marshall." He held out his hand and the boy slapped it with glee. "Can you tell me how old you are?"
"I three." He held up as many fingers.
"You're a big boy, aren't you?" Danny tosseld the child's hair and he nodded before happily running back to Mia.
Steve and Catherine exchanged a look at Danny's way with kids before Steve said, "Okay, ladies, I'm gonna ask one more time for your real names."
Danny nodded. "Because we don't want child services separating the kids and upsetting everyone, let's cooperate, shall we?"
"Tell them," Mia whispered, and the mother of Marshall nodded. She was first to speak, saying "My name is Bridget O'Hallahan. Marshall is my boy." The others followed suit. Catherine instructed them to stand, take what they needed for the children, and follow the HPD officers outside.
They reached the main building to find Moore frantically shredding papers when Steve kicked in his office door.
He froze at the weapons pointed in his direction and, dropping the remnants of a document, raised his hands in what Catherine was sure was a well-practiced gesture.
"Benny, Benny. You shoulda learned back with the Kmart arrest." Danny shook his head in disgust as he zip tied the man's hands. "Stop struggling, you're getting flop sweat all over my shirt. Benny Moore, a.k.a. Free Waters, you're under arrest for running an unlicensed business, and an illegal child care center just as a start. You have the right to remain silent …" He continued as Catherine grabbed whatever paperwork and files were partially stuck in the shredder and yanked them out and into an evidence bag.
As she and Steve exited the office, Danny was talking to Moore. "Ya know the difference between a con man and a cult leader, Benny?" Danny tightened the zip ties a little more and pushed Moore out the door. "Let me enlighten you. A con man works a con and moves on to the next victim. A cult leader plays the same con on the same victims for as long as he can away with it."
HQ
Catherine placed three bottles of water on the table in the interview room. Two of the three women she and Danny had met at the farmers' market didn't touch theirs, but Mia reached for hers and downed it almost greedily. Catherine said nothing, but pushed her own unopened bottle in front of the girl who took it gingerly and at Catherine's nod, drank a third before lowering it to her lap and slowly peeling off the label.
After having the women answer several questions, Catherine glanced up as Steve popped his head into the room. She stepped over to him and he told her he and Danny would be with Moore. They spoke quietly for a moment and he stepped back outside.
When she returned, closing the door in her wake, Erskine blinked at her. "Free told us about you and Commander McGarrett. He was correct, as always. It's obvious from the way he looks at you … "
"All he had to do was Google us, it's not exactly a secret," Catherine answered.
"You look at him the same way. He seems very ... vigorous ... the Commander. You have to ..." She looked at her hands and mumbled, "service his, um, desires a lot don't you? More than once a month. Two or three times, even."
Catherine's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"
Erskine whispered, "You know, have ..." she glanced around the room. "relations. When he says he wants to. I meant I bet it's more than once a month."
When Erskine glanced away, Owassa spoke evenly. She seemed to be repressed and judgmental at the same time. "You should be careful. Agreeing too easily, too often, or seeming too ... eager will have him thinking you're a loose woman; but you have to make yourself available, too. Up to three times a month even, because men will go elsewhere to satisfy their needs if you don't."
Catherine's eyes were wide and incredulous. "Too often? Loose wom … you can't possibly believe that."
"The prophet says it's so."
Erskine nodded in agreement. "Before I found him, I didn't know what was right. Now I do." Her eyes drifted to Catherine's badge and weapon. "He teaches piety and obedience."
Catherine stood. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. You ladies are going to go with these officers," she motioned to the HPD officers that were standing nearby, "and Owassa and I are going to continue our discussion. Then someone will be in to talk to each of you."
When the other women were out of the room and she was alone with Catherine, Owassa spoke again, "You should not be working, you know. Ordering those male policemen around? That's unseemly." She shook her head slightly. "A woman should be preparing a home for the man's return. The Commander must earn enough to care for you; you shouldn't need to work. Especially in a man's profession, Miss Rollins."
"Lieutenant," Catherine automatically corrected her. "It's lieutenant."
"And that is part of the problem. Too many years in a man's world. His woman working will only serve to chip away at a man's pride."
"We both work." Catherine shook her head. "Commander McGarrett is very proud of my career. As I am of his. And we share chores at home," she baited.
"That is not how it should be. A man should not be burdened with women's work at home."
Catherine's hands rested on her hips. "That's how it is."
"I understand from Free that you and Commander McGarrett are together many years, yet there are no progeny. Are you barren and he hasn't given up hope, so he remains with you? He is undeniably strong and very handsome, but is he defective in some way and unable to father children, or ... " she gasped at the thought, "have you refused to give him children?"
"All of that is way beyond none of your concern," Catherine said, while thinking if Benny Moore was spewing the same rhetoric downstairs, Steve may well have exploded by now.
"I will have a son, and he will continue the prophet's work," Owassa continued.
"Because your daughter doesn't count?" Catherine referred to the eleven month old they'd identified as belonging to Owassa and Free.
"You are not accepting your mandated role under your man's authority. I have, as my daughter will."
"And you believe the words of a man who's a con artist and petty criminal. He's running a scam and a cult. Living in luxury off the work of his followers."
"That's ... not true."
"That's exactly true. You call yourself his significant other, but how often is he with another of the women? Is that why you're only with him once a month? Because he's busy with one of the others while you work and live in a communal space waiting to be summoned? No matter what his words say, he disrespects you by his actions. You can't tell me that doesn't bother you." Catherine took a seat and leaned forward. "There are programs to help you, you may have to serve some time as an accessory, but take advantage of the help; get some perspective, Owassa, if for no other reason, for your daughter."
"We are fine," Owassa maintained, and while Catherine could see she'd hit a nerve, she decided to leave the woman with that thought. She'd learned more than enough and was ready to focus on Mia.
Catherine entered the room where Mia waited and told the attending officer she'd take the young woman to her office. When she did, the girl sat on the visitor's chair, watching Catherine with large brown eyes.
"So, Mia," she began softly, "can you tell me how you came to Oahu?"
"I didn't know Free before I came, we're not …" She looked at her hands. ". . . together. You know, like that."
Catherine said nothing to reveal the relief she felt at Mia's statement. She nodded to encourage the girl to continue.
"We're not supposed to talk about the family to … outsiders."
"Mia, we just want you to be safe. Can you tell me how you got from Tuxedo Park to Oahu?"
Hanna's eyes met Catherine's "You know where I …"
"We do. And that's a long way and a very expensive flight. If Moore didn't pay for the ticket …"
"I came with my friend. Brianna took cash from her stepfather's safe. I didn't know that, then. She said she'd cashed in some of her trust. We bought the tickets and were gonna come and live here, get jobs and sublet an apartment …" She stopped and sighed.
Once she'd started speaking, away from the other women, Catherine saw it was almost a relief as she continued, looking down to pick at a cuticle, then back up.
"What happened, Mia?"
"Caleb happened."
Catherine waited for her to continue.
"Brianna met him and they started spending all their time together. We had a really hard time finding jobs. And everything here is so expensive. Caleb said he knew a guy and he was hiring, but it was a …" Her expression changed and a frown crossed her face. "Strip club. I wasn't gonna do that. Brianna did. She danced topless and made seven hundred dollars the first night. She and Caleb moved in together and then I couldn't even afford the crappy room we were sharing." She swiped at her eyes. "It wasn't supposed to be like that."
"I'm sorry." Catherine touched the girl's hand. "What did you do?"
"Tried to find a way to pay for a return ticket. I didn't want to ask my parents, they don't have that kind of money. I saw a flyer asking for babysitters. I called, and it was for the women in The Family who had kids. They work all day packaging and selling the honey and tending the hives. You saw that there's a lot of babies. The flyer said babysitter but when I met with Owassa she explained it was for a live-in, with room and board. The women seemed pretty nice, so I took it. They even fed me so I could save all the cash I earned." Almost as an aside she added, "No meat. Vegetarian, but there was always lots of food. Next thing I knew, I was invited to meet with Free."
"That diet contained no protein, most likely."
Mia's eyes widened with recognition, "Hey, you know, you're right, there wasn't. No beans or tofu or … and that was … what's today?"
When Catherine told her the date, Mia finished, "Wow, that was a almost a month ago."
"Are you hungry?" She motioned to the officer just outside the glass doors as Hanna shrugged with a small hint of a smile. When Catherine added, "I'm going to have something. Do you think you could try to eat a little?"
Hanna nodded and said, "Can I have a soda?"
"Absolutely." Catherine grabbed her purse and handed the officer a $50. "Tim, would you please get me a burger, fries and a milkshake? Chocolate. Get whatever you'd like for yourself. And for Mia ... ?" She looked at the girl.
"Can I … can I have a burger, too?" She looked around as if expecting recrimination.
"You absolutely can." Catherine smiled, knowing the girl was realizing exactly what she'd been pulled into. Like many victims with short term exposure to cults, when educated about the circumstances, Mia was already coming back to herself.
"They screwed with my head, didn't they, Lieutenant?"
"Yes, but you're doing great, really quickly. I could see right away you weren't fully immersed." She touched the girl's arm gently. "You know, feeding you no protein would make you fuzzy; cloud your thinking after a week or so. That's an old method used when wanting to persuade prisoners or victims of a cult, Mia. Normal vegetarian diets contain plenty of protein. Benny Moore was preying on people and you got caught up. You were vulnerable and needed a job. You didn't do anything wrong."
When the food arrived, Catherine cleared part of her desk and they ate as Mia explained what she knew about Moore and how he lived a high end life fueled by the work of his followers. As she revealed as many details as as could, Mia shook her head. "I thought cults were only on TV or from back in the day. I thought maybe he was running something shady, and was creepy, but he was with Owassa ... I think he was creeping on Erskine too." Mia's expression changed as she shared what she surmised. "But she's not twenty one til January and I bet he was waiting. He's really old you know, like almost forty. With me being eighteen, he left me alone. I had it figured that in a couple more weeks I'd have enough money to leave."
"Sadly, cults are still very much a threat to a lot of people. You're fortunate it's only been a very short time and you recognized what happened quickly." Catherine voice softened to a tone she often used with Grace. "But they might have tried to detain you when you did try to leave."
Mia shuddered and her eyes took in the office as she clearly attempted to shake off how dangerous a situation she could have ended up in. She pointed to a photo on the desk. "I overheard Free tell Owassa about you and Commander McGarrett being a couple. I wasn't sure if I believed him, then I knew when you were in The Family Center."
"Did you ?"
"Even though you were across the room, the way he looks at you ..." Mia trailed off but Catherine heard enough for her heart to feel full at the observation. "Is that your daughter?"
Catherine smiled at the image of her Steve and Grace hugging dolphins. "Our niece. That's Detective Williams' Daughter."
"She's cute." She took a sip of her soda. "The kids will be okay, right? I love the babies, and Marshall, he's my favorite." She smiled at the mention of the little boy.
"They'll be fine," Catherine told her.
"Lieutenant?"
"Yes?"
"Am I going to jail? I don't think I did anything wrong, but I heard the cops say the daycare and honey business were illegal." Her voice trailed off.
"You're a victim, Mia, and a witness. You're definitely not going to prison."
She worried her lip. "Do you think I could I call my mom? I haven't called home in weeks."
"Your parents are on their way here. When they didn't hear from you, they reported you missing. That's how I found out who you were. Your photo and description were in a national database."
"They thought I was missing? I wrote them letters ..." Realization crossed her face. "Owassa never mailed them."
"No. They were probably hoping you wouldn't be located."
"My mom and dad must be frantic! I begged to come live here. They weren't thrilled but they said to try it for the summer. If I got on my feet in six months and started taking a couple of classes, they would be okay with it. Brianna's family has money but they mostly ignore her. I came because if I could get a job here it'd be less on my parents and it just sounded so cool ..."
Same Time
Interrogation Room
Steve and Danny regarded Benny Moore as he slowly blinked at them. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You have no idea how a missing eighteen year old from New York, with no visible means of support, paid for a ticket to Hawaii and somehow ended up in your little cult living under an alias?" Danny's eyes blazed. "That's somebody's daughter, asshole. They've been sick with worry for a month!"
"Spring came to me seeking employment and was an adult. I did nothing wrong," Moore maintained.
Before Danny could speak again, Chin opened the door. "Catherine said Mia's talking."
Steve nodded and Danny allowed himself a small grin as he followed Chin outside with a backward glance at Benny Moore and a very intense Steve, returning seconds later.
"She won't cooperate, you know."
Steve crossed his arms. "Lieutenant Rollins is very skilled with witnesses."
"Ah. Catherine." His eyes took on a glint. "Beautiful woman. If she hadn't been so severely swayed by feminist rhetoric, she'd have been a perfect addition to my … family." He annunciated the final word even more deliberately than usual and Steve's eyes narrowed to slits.
"Lieutenant Rollins is a decorated Naval Officer and a member of the governor's task force, refer to her correctly."
"She is a woman who has lost focus of her true purpose. The lifestyle that is genetically mandated to all women. To tend to man, work at home and bear children."
Steve's neck muscles tightened as he leaned forward. "My partner was right."
"About?" Moore cringed slightly as his gaze flicked from Steve to Danny and back.
"You're an asshole."
"Have I hit a nerve, Commander? A blind man can see the way you and the Lieutenant look at each other. What's the problem? She's not willing to accept you as the head of household? To fully admit to your authority in all things?"
Steve's fists clenched. "Catherine is my equal."
"Ahhh I see." Moore's eyes once again found Danny's "And you, you have a female child, Detective. I'll wager your daughter is being raised to compete with men as opposed to accept their authority."
"That's it." Steve and Danny lunged forward simultaneously at the mention of Grace. Danny pulled Moore to his feet. "Benny, you little piece of shit. You forget I know you. I knew you when you were shoplifting from the Kmart in tenth grade. Listen to me. Carefully. You mention my daughter again, it'll be the last words that slither outta that slimy mouth of yours." He released the man's shirt with a shove, and Moore crashed back into the chair. "And if I find out you touched Mia, you're going down for unlawful detainment for illicit purposes and everything else I can think of."
The following morning, Benny Moore was in jail with bail set that he could never afford. His assets were seized and he was deemed a flight risk. He'd been charged with host of things, including tax fraud for claiming he was running a tax free house of worship.
The women and children of The Family were either reunited with families of their own or in a women's aide program that Catherine regarded highly and often spoke at with Kono. Owassa was charged as an accessory and out on bail pending trial.
Mia had been reunited with her relieved and ecstatic parents who'd come to express their gratitude to the team in person before escorting their daughter home.
Catherine elicited a promise from the girl to keep in touch as to how she was settling back in and doing in therapy, as well as how the class she'd be taking for the spring semester was going.
Even though her friend had left her floundering, Mia harbored no grudge. She expressed concern to Danny as he had her sign her sworn witness statement and Danny being Danny and knowing the situation, as soon as Mia was safely on a flight to New York with her parents, brought it up to Steve and Catherine.
Steve's office
"I can't believe Brianna's parents never reported her missing." Danny shook his head. "The mother's thirty eight and on rich husband number three. She's got a younger child with each guy. She said Brianna was eighteen and they figured she'd call her father for money eventually."
Catherine nodded solemnly as he continued, "Her father travels a lot for his job. Family business, new money type. Brianna had a credit card at twelve, but not a lot of supervision. When she decided to skip college, the card got cut off." Danny looked pained. "So they created a kid with no sense of money or work ethic and no clue how to support herself."
Steve added, "Meanwhile, Mia's folks borrowed money for a private investigator and for the flight to come get her. They were panicked when she stopped calling. The P.I. lost the trail because they could only afford to retain him for a couple of days and the girls were both working under the table."
"And in Brianna's case on a pole." Danny shook his head sadly and Steve looked at his best friend.
Catherine knew exactly what both men were thinking: Brianna was only five years older than Grace and already on a path to self destruction.
"Ya know what? We're good for today," Steve said. Looking at Catherine he continued, "Let's stop by that club on the way home. You were great with Mia, maybe you can connect if you talk to Brianna."
Danny's look was grateful. "That'd be really good. She may not listen, but a discussion with you could plant a seed, Cath."
Catherine moved toward her office to grab her things. "Great idea, let's go." She smiled at Danny and gave Steve a look of pride for the suggestion.
Red Shingle Gentlemen's Club
The proprietor, fiftyish and paunchy, was mopping the floor and didn't look up at Steve and Catherine's entrance. "We're not open till five."
As they approached, he leaned this mop against the bar and turned. "Sorry, not hiring," he began, but as the couple stepped out of the shadows his eyes slid over Catherine. "Ohh, but for you, I'd make an exception. Stage or pole?" His eyes lingered on her and his tongue flicked out in a reptilian gesture. "Know what? Doesn't even matter."
Steve was inches from him in a heartbeat. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Hey, hey, c'mon, man, get frosty. Lots of my dancers come in with boyfriends."
Catherine's hand moved to her weapon, but her stance loosened slightly. "Boyfriends who encourage them to dance for money?"
"Boyfriends are sometimes ... managers."
Steve was rigid. "You mean pimps."
"No, no way. I run a clean place. No hookers."
"We're looking for Brianna. She dancing tonight?" Catherine asked.
"Fuck. Are you her parents? Dude, she's eighteen. And she said she was from the mainland. What do you ... ah shit." His eyes slid to Steve's badge when he pushed back the tail of his shirt. "She never said nothing about bein' no cop's kid.
"Listen, I'm gonna say this once." Steve's eyes narrowed. "We're Five-0. We want to talk to her. She's due in at what time?"
"About ten minutes. She's a big draw, ya know."
"Okay, we'll wait."
"Wait? Inside?"
Steve stared him down, not saying a word, and he seemed to think it over and deflate a bit. "She'll be coming in the alley door." He pointed and Steve and Catherine moved to sit at a table close to that entrance. Fifteen minutes later, Brianna walked in, saw them and moved to sit down.
"Who sent you, my father? Did my mother finally notice I was MIA and mention it to him?" She seemed tired and uninterested in her surroundings as she sat heavily. "I was getting bored with all this anyway."
"We're Five-0." Steve stood. "Lieutenant Rollins would like to talk to you for a few minutes." He looked at Catherine. "I'll be over at the bar, discussing manners with the owner."
Forty five minutes later, Catherine and Steve put Brianna in a taxi after talking to her father. She'd agreed to fly back to the mainland so they could discuss options. While not an ideal situation - a dysfunctional family was just that, rich or poor - Catherine and Steve were glad to be able to tell Danny she'd be leaving the club and hopefully getting into family therapy with her dad, as they both seemed more than a little lost and willing to try. They wrapped up the call to Danny from the parking lot and headed home.
/
That night
"You hungry?" Steve stood looking inside the refrigerator with Cammie at his side.
"I could eat." She came up beside him, bumping his hip with hers. "What do you feel like?"
"Omelettes?"
She laughed as he grinned at her. "I'll make toast. You and Cammie make the omelettes."
Steve cracked eggs into a bowl. "Eat upstairs?"
"Hmmm?"
"You wanna eat upstairs?" Steve looked over his shoulder from where he was at the stove. "Cath?"
"Sorry, I was just thinking of something that Owassa woman said."
Steve raised his eyebrows.
"That you shouldn't be burdened with anything domestic." She smiled.
"Moore's a freak. Clearly she's of the same mind."
"Yeah, well, hey ..." She pointed. "That's done."
Pulling the pan from the stove, Steve plated their food. "Let's eat."
Later that night, Steve turned to face Catherine in their bed. "You did a great job with the investigation, Cath. Your gut feeling led to Danny recognizing him and you got the whole thing rolling when you found Mia's real ID."
"He was really odd when he hit on me at the marketplace." She shrugged. "I shut him down and walked away but he had a creepy vibe. Once Danny and I saw the women, we both knew something was hinky."
"And you nailed the interviews," he added proudly.
"Thanks. I gotta say, Owassa had a few interesting suggestions." Catherine lifted up on an elbow.
"Like?"
"Like she basically told me I suck because I don't sit at home," she quoted the air with two fingers, " 'Preparing for your return.' "
"Oh Jesus, you're kidding."
"Nope. And you should be supporting me, by the way." She tapped his chest.
"She wasn't baiting you?"
Catherine shook her head. "She absolutely believed it." She smiled and lay back down. "Balked when I said we share chores and you're proud of my career. If she knew any more, I'm sure she'd stroke out."
"More?"
Catherine's grin was genuine. Mia was safe, the others would be getting help. They could address the strange aspects of Free and Owassa's opinions with a degree of levity. "More about us."
"What about us?"
"Erskine said you looked," her eyes ran over him,"vigorous, and she figured I probably have to have sex with you more than once a month."
"Have to? Like its freaking ... scutwork? Ouch."
Catherine nodded, "Yeah, have to, y'know, to keep you sated, because it's one of my chores. Because clearly, I shouldn't be enjoying it." She grinned. "Owassa offered me tips on our sex life."
"She offered you tips on … wait, did you say once a month?!" His eyes were wide with disbelief and Catherine found his expression irresistible.
She couldn't help but lean in to kiss him softly. "Mmmhmm, once a month." She pulled back to continue, and they shared a smile when he chased her lips and slid his hand into her hair as he savored another.
Catherine knew Steve was thinking the same as she was; after enduring months-long deployments and missions, they reveled in having each other whenever they chose. Neither could imagine not having sex for days, let alone weeks on end.
"So what did she suggest?" He grinned.
"That I could accommodate you three times a month because you clearly came across as a pretty virile specimen."
Steve's grin made her playfully push his shoulder. "Don't look so proud, it only earned you a tumble every ten days. Because if I agree too often, you'll think I'm a loose woman. Not often enough, you'll cheat on me."
Steve's look morphed from playful to incredulous. "Moore was cheating on her. And they're both nuts."
"Absolutely. And I can see him using that bull so he could make the rounds, but Owassa's my age, been around before she met him. She absolutely agreed with him. But …"
"But what?"
"But I hit a nerve when I suggested he was cheating on her. She clammed up, but I already had all I was gonna get and was ready to move on to Mia's interview."
Steve was staring at her and she raised an eyebrow.
"She really said once a month, huh?" His lip twitched up in a half smile.
"You keep asking that." Catherine chuckled. "Like I said, if you were lucky it could be increased to three whole times. Because you seemed too vigorous for a once a month schedule." She couldn't hold back a smirk. "I'm sure our actual schedule would shock her."
"You mean more than once a day is …" He leaned down to kiss her.
"Out of the question, Sailor. I was informed I should refuse to accommodate too many requests."
"Huh. Considering at least half those requests are yours ..." Steve full-on smiled. "I'd say you're pretty vigorous yourself, Lieutenant."
She laughed with him and pulled him close to return his kiss. "You know … " Catherine's smile lit her eyes as her hands ran up and down his back. "I think we're behind schedule today, Commander, and I do have a request ..."
"Do you now?" He rolled to hover above her. His mouth millimeters from hers.
"I do." She nipped at his lips. "C'mere, let's see how …" Her hands slid to his butt and she pulled him flush against her, grinning at the growly noise that rumbled in his throat. "Vigorous we can be."
End Thanks for reading.
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