Li'i Kamahine Nalowale
(Little Girl Lost)
"So Grace wants to learn how to dance the hula. What's wrong with that?" Commander Steve McGarrett asked his partner, Detective Danny Williams, as the two men sat outside eating lunch. It was another gorgeous day in Honolulu, what some people might call a 'Chamber of Commerce day'.
"My daughter in a grass skirt and a bikini top? I don't think so." Danny replied, scowling at the sandwich in front of him. He watched Steve put mayonnaise on the French fries he was eating. "There is something wrong with you, you know that?"
Steve looked at him. "What now?"
"Mayonnaise on French fries?"
Steve looked at Danny. "This from the man who thinks catsup is one of the four food groups." He held up a hand to forestall comment. "Look, you had the same objections to her learning how to surf. Given the choice between a grass skirt and a bikini top and just a bikini, which one would you chose?"
"Neither."
"Okay, now you're just being stubborn. One of these days soon, Grace isn't going to let you choose." Steve popped another French fry in his mouth, looked over Danny's shoulder and frowned.
"What?" Danny twisted around in his chair to see what Steve was looking at.
A little girl, no older four, walked right past the two men as if she owned the sidewalk. There did not appear to be any adult accompanying her. Steve got up and followed the child while Danny scanned the sidewalk and surrounding area for anyone that might be with her.
"Get down on her level so you don't scare her." Danny called after Steve.
"This may come as a surprise, Danny but I had been around children before I met your daughter." Steve called back. He stepped around the little girl and squatted down in front of her, effectively stopping her.
She looked at Steve, her dark eyes studying his face, one small finger making its way into her mouth.
Steve smiled and said, "Hello, sweetie, my name is Steve. What's yours?"
The child did not respond, other than to start sucking on her finger while smiling.
"She might not be old enough to talk." Danny said, coming up behind the little girl. "Grace learned to walk almost a year before she learned to talk...She might not understand English either."
"That's completely possible." Steve said switching to French, then Spanish, then, finally Hawaiian, to no avail. "Okay, that's not working. Come 'ere, cutie." The little girl permitted him to her up and he was able to get back on his feet. "So, who do you belong to, little one?"
She looked from Steve to Danny and back, then giggled.
"Little flirt. Grace was like that." Danny said. He looked around. "She's got to be from around here. She's clean, her clothes are clean and she doesn't seem unhappy or scared."
Steve nodded. "Get Chin or Kono on the phone and give'em a description of her that we can put out if we don't find whoever's responsible for her. Meanwhile, let's walk around and see if we don't find some frantic parents."
Danny pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the 5-0 Headquarters. "Kono? You are not going to believe this. Steve and I found a little girl while having lunch...Of course, I'm serious, get something to write with, I'm giving you a description...Okay, Caucasian girl, about 4 years old, curly dark hair, dark eyes..." He realized he wasn't certain about that and turned to ask "Steve, what color eyes does she have?"
"Brown."
"You hear that?" Danny asked Kono. "Good...Uh...yellow sundress, white sandals. We're looking for her parents right now. If we don't find them, we'll be back within the hour...Okay...Bye."
Danny hung up and looked over at Steve and the little girl, who seemed quite content in Steve's arms, resting her head on his shoulder and sucking her thumb. He shook his head. "What is it with you and the female gender?"
Steve grinned. "She's got good taste. Don't be jealous."
"Whatever."
A canvas of the neighborhood and surrounding area proved fruitless. No frantic parents came forward and none of the vendors recognized her either.
"Well, that worked." Danny said, looking down at her. The little girl had allowed Danny to carry her, giving Steve's arms a rest. She smiled up at him.
"Back to headquarters." Steve said. He pulled his cell phone from his pants pocket and dialed. "Kono? No go on the parents. Put the alert out. We'll be at HQ shortly."
Danny swung the little girl down to the ground when they reached Steve's car. "Try not to attract a traffic cop's attention."
Steve eyed him across the roof of the car. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm just sayin'...we have a four year old, no car seat and you're driving." Danny replied. He pulled the front seat forward, picked up the little girl and seated her in the back seat pulling the seatbelt around her, clicking it into place. Not a sound came from her. He straightened and pulled the front seat back to its regular position.
He looked up and saw Steve watching him. "What?"
"You wanna drive?"
"And give up this golden opportunity to nitpick, not on your life." Danny climbed in the car and shut the door.
Outside the 5-0 Headquarters, the little girl reached out her arms when Danny leaned into the back seat.
"If that doesn't bring back memories." Danny said, more to himself.
"You say something?" Steve asked, locking the car.
"When Grace was a toddler, she developed this habit of going up to total strangers and holding out her arms. We broke her of that real quick." He looked at the child. "Do you do that?" He asked her.
She returned the look then cut her eyes to Steve, before reaching for him. Danny shook his head. "Steve, your girlfriend wants you."
Steve shot Danny a look before taking the little girl from him. "You know, green envy is not your color, Danno."
The teasing began almost as soon as Steve and Danny walked onto the floor that housed the 5-0 headquarters.
"She's a little young for you, isn't she, McGarrett?" Came one comment.
"She's cute, I didn't know you liked them so short." Came another.
"What's her curfew?" Came a third.
Steve took all the comments in stride, waiting until the little girl was seated in a chair before responding. "All of you just wish you had the ladies falling over you."
There were answering hoots and laughter in response. Steve waved a hand at the crowd, then turned back to the child; she was standing up in the chair, four fingers in her mouth. Her gaze was fixed on Kono who had just come out of her office.
"Hello." Kono said with a smile. "My name is Kono. What's yours?" As had happened with Danny and Steve, the child regarded Kono solemnly but said nothing. "Could she be too scared to talk?"
"I don't think so." Steve said. "She didn't appear to be scared at all when we found her."
"She's adorable. Someone's got to be missing her." Kono said.
Steve nodded in agreement.
"Child Welfare Services is on the way." Danny said, hanging up the phone.
"No one's reported any child matching her description as missing." Chin said, joining the group. "Hello." He said to the little girl. "My name is Chin. Can you tell me yours?" He was subjected to the same intense scrutiny as the other three adults had been but still no sound came from her. He looked at her for a long moment before saying "Tourists?"
"Always a possibility." Steve said.
From the other side of the floor, a handful of uniformed officers stepped off the elevator and walked onto the floor, laughing and talking. The little girl's attention locked on them before letting out a shriek and curling up into a ball. Danny reacted first, scooping her up and seating himself in the chair. He rocked her back and forth, talking quietly to her, trying to get her to calm down.
Steve looked over at the officers, frowning. What had set her off?
"Did you see something that scared you?" Danny asked her. Wonder of wonders, she nodded. "Well, guess that answers the question as to whether or not she understands English." Danny said.
Chin squatted down in front of her and asked "Is what scared you still here?"
She looked across the room and shook her head.
"Let's try yes and no questions." Kono suggested. "Might get something useful."
Kono proved to be correct. The little girl was able to give a rough description of what had happened. At the end of the questions, Danny looked across the room. "Tagawa!"
Officer Hiro Tagawa spun around upon hearing his name.
"You got any more of those stuffed bears in your unit?"
"Yeah, be back in a moment."
Shortly, Officer Tagawa was back with a small, stuffed bear that he handed to Danny. Danny handed it to her. "Got a new friend for you."
She took the bear, looked up at Officer Tagawa, then back at Danny.
"You're welcome, little one." Office Tagawa said, before returning to his interrupted task.
Danny watched the little girl for a couple of moments. "Let's try something." He said. "Do you know your phone number?"
She nodded.
Danny pulled the phone on the desk over to him. He picked up the handset and said to her "Call Mommy and Daddy."
She eyed Danny for a long moment but obediently dialed a number. The phone rang twice, then a woman answered. "Leisel?! Is Eva with you?! Where are you?!"
"Ma'am, I'm..." That's all Danny was able to get out before the woman on the other end of the line cut him off.
"Who is this? Where's Leisel? What have you done with Eva?!"
"Ma'am, my name is Danny Williams. I'm a detective with the Honolulu Police Department. Do you have a young daughter about five years old?"
Silence, then "Yes. My daughter, Eva. What's wrong?"
"Bear with me, ma'am. Could you describe your daughter?"
"Uh…Brown eyes, curly brown hair, she's wearing a yellow sundress and white sandals. Detective…what is going on?"
"I needed to be certain. I have your daughter right next to me."
Silence, then "You do? May I speak to her?"
"Of course, you can. I'll put her on right now." Danny held the handset out to the little girl. "Your mommy wants to talk to you."
The little girl took the handset and was wreathed in smiles when she heard the voice on the other end. A few moments later, she handed the handset back to Danny.
"Detective Williams? Is that what you said your name was?"
"Yes, ma'am. And your name is?"
"Margaritte Taylor. My husband's name is Davis. Where are you located?"
"Third floor, Iolani Palace. Ask for Detective Williams."
"We'll be right there. Thank you so much." There was a click and the sound of a dial tone.
Danny hung up the phone. "Her parents are on their way." He looked at the little girl. "Is your name Eva?"
She nodded.
"Your mom and dad are on their way."
Eva smiled.
Danny looked up at the other team members only to realize they were watching him with Eva. "What?"
"Where did you get the idea to have her dial her phone number?" Steve asked.
"Rachel and I taught Grace how to dial the house phone before she could talk just in case something like this happened." He paused. "Got some interesting phone calls from doing that. Don't know why I didn't think of it sooner."
"Been nice if it'd been thought of before CPS was called." Chin said.
Danny shrugged. "Oh, well. They can wait for the parents with us."
As fate would have it, both CPS and Eva's parents arrived within five minutes of each other with CPS arriving first. The social worker, a woman by the name of Aeisha Han, was agreeable to waiting for a short period of time. Eva's parents were unmistakable, especially since Officer Tagawa escorted them from the elevator over to the where the team was.
"Eva!" The woman, who had dark hair and dark eyes, came over to Danny, holding out her arms. Without waiting for a response, she scooped the little girl into her arms and started to kiss her.
Eva seemed both thrilled and embarrassed judging from the look on her face.
"There's my girl." The man, roughly the same age as the woman, came up behind her. By looking at him, it was clear to see where Eva had gotten her nose and eyes.
Steve allowed the reunion to continue for several moments before making his presence known. He cleared his throat. Both parents looked up.
"I'm Commander Steve McGarrett, head of Hawaii Five-O. Detective Williams, the person who called, is behind you."
Danny stood and held out his hand. The man and woman looked at each other for a moment before embarrassed smiles crossed their faces.
"I'm Margaritte Taylor." The woman said, taking Danny's hand in hers. "I'm Eva's mother."
"Davis Taylor. The man said, also shaking hands with Danny.
"Thank you so much for finding our little girl." Margaritte said.
"Where did you find her?" Davis asked.
"Kua Aina Burgers." Danny supplied. "Two blocks from here, on the waterfront."
Eva's parents exchanged mystified looks.
Before either could say anything, Ms. Han spoke up.
"Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, I'm Aeisha Han, Child Welfare Services. We were notified before you were located. If you could provide some proof that you are the parents of the child in question, I'll be on my way."
The look on Margaritte Taylor's face was nothing short of alarm. However, Davis patted his wife on the arm and pulled a sheaf of papers from his coat pocket. "What kind of proof, Ms. Han? I have plenty."
After Ms. Han went on her way, evidence in hand, Margaritte looked around the floor, a slow blush creeping across her face. "I am embarrassed that I didn't notice this until now but where is Leisel?"
"Leisel?" Steve asked.
"Leisel Messerschmidt. Our au pair, she takes care of Eva when we're not there." Davis said.
"Please tell me that Eva wasn't walking down the sidewalk by herself." Margaritte said, hugging Eva tighter, to the point the child started to squirm.
"Mrs. Taylor, have a seat." Danny said, pointing the one he had just vacated. When she sat and had loosened her grip on Eva, he said "There wasn't anyone else with her."
"She was walking down the sidewalk like she owned it." Steve added.
"But that's impossible; Leisel would never leave Eva alone for a moment." Margaritte said. "She dotes on Eva."
"Mrs. Taylor, we canvassed the neighborhood for the better part of an hour with your daughter. No one recognized her and no one said they had seen anyone with her."
Margarite's eyes widened as the blood drained from her face. "But, but...if Leisel wasn't with her then..." She slowed to a stop and looked down at her daughter.
Davis stepped in. "We live in Aliamanu-Salt Lakes. For Eva to get to where you found her, well, she couldn't have walked there by herself."
"Aliamanu-Salt Lakes is 15 miles from here." Chin said. "It's a stone's throw from Pearl Harbor."
"Where is Leisel? What happened to her?" Margaritte said, then looked at her child. "Sweetheart, I wish you could tell us what happened." Eva looked at her mother, then back down at her bear.
"Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, before Det. Williams got Eva to dial your house number, she was able to tell us a little of what happened." Steve said. "What started the questions was a group of officers came off the elevator and one of them must have looked like someone she knew or recognized. She shrieked and tried to hide."
"I have a daughter who's nine." Danny said. "When she was Eva's age, she would do the same thing, see something she thought she knew and yell. Or if it scared her, shriek." He made a face. "Our next door neighbor at the time, stopped wearing a yellow raincoat because it scared her. After calming Eva down, she was able to tell us a couple of things. A man came and took both her and Leisel in a car. The man was taller me but not as tall as Commander McGarrett. He had dark hair and looked more like the commander than me or Officer Kelly." Danny pointed at Chin. "The man wasn't wearing a uniform. I realize that's a very general description but does that ring a bell with either of you"
Davis and Margaritte looked at each other, then at Danny. "No, not at all." Davis said.
"How did you find Leisel?" Steve asked.
"An agency." Davis said. "Some of our neighbors had used it before and the women always seemed well bred, educated, etc...When Margaritte suggested that if we got an au pair she could go back to work a couple days a week, that's who we thought of."
"Where is Leisel from?"
"Austria." Davis said. "Her father is a trade minister in the government."
"Oh, no...if Leisel's gone missing...who's going to tell her parents?" Margaritte looked at her husband. "Where did she say they were going to be?"
Davis was silent for a long moment before saying "South Africa, I think?"
"Johannesburg, South Africa." Margaritte said. "Her parents are going to be at a trade conference there this week." She looked at Steve. "We have her parents contact information."
Davis again pulled a sheaf of papers from his coat pocket and started to thumb through them, extracting a piece of paper about half way through the stack. "Here it is."
Kono came forward and said "Let me make a copy of that."
"Someone IS going to tell Leisel's parents, aren't they?" Margaritte asked, the remaining team members.
"Yes, ma'am." Steve said. "Most likely it will be someone from the U.S. embassy over in Johannesburg."
"All right." Margaritte said. She looked down at Eva, then back up at Steve. "I can't even begin to imagine what might have happened to Leisel or Eva if you hadn't found her." She hugged her daughter tightly
"Mrs. Taylor," Danny said, "don't do that to yourself. It's pointless to think 'What if'. As for Leisel, of course HPD will be looking for her and, as a foreign national, she will probably stand out in a crowd." He smiled at Eva. "Kinda like me."
Eva smiled back.
Kono came back with a copy of the contact information and handed the original back to Davis.
"If there's nothing else, we'd like to take Eva home now." Davis said.
"Certainly." Steve said. "We're happy we could help."
Davis took a business card from other pocket in his coat and handed it to Steve. "That has all the numbers I can be reached at." He shook both Danny's and Steve's hands, then looked down at his daughter. "Ready to go, sunshine?"
Eva nodded and slid off her mother's lap. She came over to Danny and looked up at him, tugging on his pants leg. He looked down and then crouched down to be on eye level with her. She hugged him around the neck. The process was repeated with Steve, then she left, hand in hand with her parents, the bear tucked under one arm.
After the Taylor's left, Danny looked at Steve and said "How long before we get a call from the governor?"
Steve shrugged. "Depends on just how far up the food chain Leisel's father is in the Austrian government."
"Who takes the baby sitter but leaves the baby?" Kono asked. "If we're to believe what Eva told us, the both of them were taken but Eva was let go. Why?"
"When we get the case, if we get the case, then we can find that out." Steve replied. "Until then, we have plenty to occupy us."
The phone call from Governor Jameson came two hours later, summoning the entire team to her office.
"Leisel Messerschmidt's father isn't just a trade minister in the Austrian government, he is THE trade minister. Now that Leisel has been officially reported missing, I want to be able to report to the minister, when I speak with him, that I have my best people on the case. The agency that hired Leisel has promised its full cooperation. To that end, they have already sent over her employment file, I have forwarded it to each of you already."
The phone on Gov. Jameson's desk rang. The governor picked it up and listened for a moment, nodded, wrote something down on a piece of paper, then hung up. "I have just received the flight information for the Messerschmidt's. The State Department just informed them of Leisel's disappearance. This was the earliest flight they could get."
She handed the sheet of paper to Steve. "I will let you know when I speak with the minister."
The Messerschmidt's were easy to spot. They were the first people off the JAL flight from Tokyo. Arm in arm, Steve watched them walk up the jet way and out into the terminal at Honolulu International Airport. Minister Messerschmidt was the taller of the two by a good six inches. He had a carryon bag over one shoulder and a coat draped over his free arm. Mrs. Messerschmidt also had a carryon bag.
The two complimented each other in looks and height, but there was also the weariness that hung over both of them, a weariness that had little to do with the marathon flight they had just finished.
He walked up to them as they came out onto the main walkway. "Minister Messerschmidt and Mrs. Messerschmidt?" When they both looked up, he continued "I'm Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett, Head of Hawaii Five-O, the state crime task force. Governor Jameson asked me to come and escort you to your lodgings and give you an update on your daughter's case." He held out a hand to Mrs. Messerschmidt. "May I take your bag?"
Mrs. Messerschmidt gave Steve the once over, hazel eyes clouded over with exhaustion but with a hint of their normal spark coming through. She nodded and handed him the bag. "Minister? May I take your bag and your coat?"
"Thank you, Commander but no." Minister Messerschmidt spoke English with only a very light accent. "You have introduced yourself, now allow us to do the same. I am Johan Messerschmidt. This is my wife, Nina." He gestured to his wife.
"Hello." Mrs. Messerschmidt said. She also spoke English with only a light accent. "What have you heard about Leisel?"
Steve smiled. "My car is parked right outside the door. I will be happy to tell you everything there."
She nodded.
Steve led the way out of the terminal and straight to his car. Once inside the Suburban, Steve focused on navigating the Escher like confines of the Honolulu International Airport parking lot. "Governor Jameson has a booked a suite for you at the Honolulu Hilton Resort. It's about fifteen minutes from here." He told the couple.
"What about Leisel?" Nina Messerschmidt said.
Steve bit back a sigh. "The Honolulu Police Dept. is currently scouring the islands looking for your daughter. She was last seen with Eva Marie Taylor, her charge, at around 11:30 a.m. Honolulu time. The agency she worked for has sent over her work file and we, my team and I are running down all of her known friends and acquaintances."
There was silence for a long moment, then "So, you don't know where she is?" Mrs. Messerschmidt asked.
Steve hated himself for saying it but he had to. "No, ma'am, not at this time."
Silence again, then the sounds of very soft, muffled crying. When Steve looked in the rearview mirror, he glimpsed Johan with an arm around his wife as she buried her face in his shoulder.
"Leisel is our only child, Commander." Johan said.
"Yes, sir."
"Is your team doing everything that can possibly be done to find her?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then, that is all we can ask."
A few minutes later, he wheeled the Suburban up into the front driveway at the Honolulu Hilton, pulling to a stop under the porche cocher. He got out and signaled to the doorman. The doorman sprang to life and snapped his fingers for a luggage cart. He advanced on the Suburban and opened the back door.
"Welcome to the Honolulu Hilton." He said, ending his greeting abruptly when he saw the drawn looks on the faces of the Messerschmidts.
"Governor Jameson has reserved a suite for Minister and Mrs. Messerschmidt." Steve told him.
"Yes, sir. If you will follow me, please."
After being checked in, Steve escorted the couple to a suite on the third floor overlooking the swimming pool. "Minister, I will come and get both you and your wife at 8 a.m." He handed Johan one of his Hawaii Five-O Task Force business cards. "This has all my information on it. Please don't hesitate to call, any time, day or night."
He looked at Nina Messerschmidt, slumped in a chair, the exhaustion and stress finally catching up with her. He crouched down in front of her. "Ma'am, we will do everything we can to find your daughter. Try to get some sleep, if at all possible."
"Thank you, Commander." Johan said. "We will be waiting."
Steve nodded and left the couple to their, hopefully, premature grief and to try to rest.