Chapter 1

I

Things were proceeding as usual at Five-O headquarters. The secretary was busy typing away, the clacking from her typewriter being the only noise, apart from the occasional ringing from a telephone. Danny Williams, the second-in-command, had just finished his last round of paperwork and put it in a file. Handing it to the secretary, he turned to see his boss, Steve McGarrett, come walking briskly by. Steve waved to his assistant, flashing a sparkling white-toothed smile, and went into his office, whose doors were always open.

Steve went to his desk, put his briefcase on the desk blotter, and opened the window. The Hawaiian sun was not as brutal today, and calm breeze swept into the room. The ringing of the telephone interrupted Steve's peaceful reverie and he went to answer it.

"McGarrett," he said directly. The voice at the other end spoke, and Steve's eyes opened wide in fear and his jaw dropped. The color was rushing from his face. "All right. I'll see it. Thank you." He hung up and went to the TV by the door.

Switching it on and adjusting the volume, Steve could plainly see the anchorman, a slender man with thin light brown hair in a blue suit and yellow tie, standing in front of what he recognized was the law offices of Raider, Stratton, and Associates.

"There is no further information on what took place. All police will say is that a body was found …" the anchorman spoke straightforwardly and gravely. He went on about the victim's background. He was a lawyer named Allan Raider and he had been practicing in Honolulu for twelve years, and he was separated from his wife, a former actress and model named Candice Strickland. Steve went to the door and called out Danny Williams.

"Danno, come in here!" he said, using his partner's nickname. Danno rushed in, wondering what could account for the urgency in his boss's voice when he was so cheerful minutes before.

"Do you know a Candice Strickland?" Steve asked Danno. He knew the answer, but only because Danno mentioned seeing girl named Candy, and that she was separated from her husband, who was a lawyer. That was all Danno ever told him.

"Yes, that's Candy," Danno replied.

"Is she separated from her husband?" Steve asked, the worry creeping into his voice.

"Yes, they've been separated for at least two years," Danno replied. "What's this all about?"

"What's her husband's name?" Steve asked.

"Allan Raider," came Danno's response. The newscast on the TV changed to the weather report, and Steve turned the set off. Danno had come in too late to see it.

"I just saw on the news that Allan Raider was found murdered in his law office this morning," Steve told him. Danno gasped, covering his mouth.

"The police are looking for his estranged wife. When was the last time you saw Candy?" Steve asked.

"Last Friday night," Danno answered. I went to her place in Waikiki. I got there at seven and left at nine, then I went home."

"The police went to look for her at her place and she was gone," Steve informed him second-in-command. Danno's was upset, his face turning white.

"She was fine when I left her," Danno said. "There was nothing wrong. I spoke to her last night. We were going to have dinner last night. She has an apartment in town, but then she canceled …"

"Let's get over there," Steve said.

II

The house where Candy Strickland lived was on the North Shore, situated in the Mokuleia Beach Colony. The houses were arranged in a circle around a swimming pool. The landlord, a stocky, sun-tanned haole named Brighton, was introduced to Steve and Danno by an Waialua police sergeant.

"Nothing like this has ever happened here before," he said.

"Steve, Mr. Brighton got a phone call from a neighbor who saw Miss Strickland's front door ajar and her windows open, which – according to him – isn't normal at this hour," the sergeant said.

"She usually doesn't get up until very late on Saturdays," Brighton added. "We both knew something was wrong. Another neighbor, Mrs. Kollua, said she heard screams coming from here around midnight."

Danno was starting to look alarmed. Steve put a hand on his partner's shoulder.

"We spoke to Mrs. Kollua," the sergeant said. "She didn't see anyone when she looked out her window."

"Where is Candy?" Danno asked. It was the first time he spoke since they arrived.

"Candy isn't anywhere," the sergeant said. "There's some blood on the floor of her living room, leading through the kitchen and out the back door. She's nowhere to be found."

Danno looked like he was going to faint. Steve put both his hands on Danno's shoulders, trying to steady him. Danno swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

"I'm all right, Steve," he said.

All around, the scene was total chaos. The furniture was thrown about, and splotches of crimson stained the white carpet of the living room, leading – like the police sergeant said – into the kitchen, right to the back door. As though some unknown force was guiding him, Danno turned and ran to the back door. He still had enough foresight to take out a handkerchief and put it over the doorknob before he turned it. The blood disappeared into the grass, and there was no sign of that anyone had been there. Danno could see the sparkling waves, dotted with silver from the sun, and the palm trees blowing to the west. The scene was tranquil and in direct contrast to how he felt inside. The policemen and forensic team went about their business of gathering evidence, oblivious to Danno and his personal connection to the case.

The second-in-command went back inside, rubbing his forehead and trying to remember his every move the night before. He sat on a divan and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Steve sat next to him, putting his hand on his shoulder again. Steve knew it was better not to talk at the moment. Let Danno think things through, he thought.

Steve looked around at the parts of the room that were left untouched by the assailant or assailants' hands. There were cabinets containing books, records, porcelain miniatures, and photographs. Given the intact condition of those cabinets, Steve deduced that robbery was not the motive. The photograph of Candy that sat on a coffee table depicted a woman with straight honey blonde hair, heavy eye makeup, and a smile coated in nude pink lipstick. The look was the same as that of a dozen other glamour girls around today, and not any more revealing. When Danno introduced her to him at the governor's garden party last month, Steve greeted Candy as warmly as he could, and she smiled, batted her mascara-coated eyelashes flirtingly, and shook his hand. She said what an honor it was to meet him and how Danny told her so much about him. Steve didn't whether to be flattered or annoyed. He didn't mind Danny telling his friends about him, but it was this woman to whom he would rather remain anonymous. Steve just could shake loose that strange feeling he had about Candy Strickland, that she was not what she seemed, and not suitable for Danno.

It was Danno's voice which brought Steve's attention back to the current scene. "Steve … she was fine when I left. She even called me around nine-thirty to make sure I got back okay."

"How long did you talk?" Steve asked.

"For an hour," Danno answered. "I didn't pay attention the time … With Candy, I didn't need to …" Danno looked around the room. He had spent a lot of time here in the past month, which did not surprise Steve, for he did not interfere in his men's personal lives, but a police officer had a certain level of propriety to maintain. They had to lead as upstanding a personal life as possible. Danno dating a married – albeit separated – woman would tongues wagging already, but now with the woman's husband dead and her missing, there would be untold gossip. It wasn't about how Steve would answer for it, but how it would affect Danno. When tragedy struck him, he often showed how fragile he could be. He would not respond well to reporters hounding him.

"Did she sound distressed?" the HPD sergeant, who had rejoined them, asked.

Danno shook his head. "No, she was happy. We were making plans for next weekend."

"Did you find anything else?" Steve asked.

"Just the blood and some broken glass from a window in the back," the sergeant answered. "The glass is on ground outside."

"Why would anyone need to break out of here?" Danno asked.

"That's a good question," Steve replied, "and if we get our answer, it might shed some more light on this …"

III

Det. Nogami of the Waialua Police Department walked over to a tape machine that was sitting on the large wooden hi-fi. Nogami was a tall, yet unimposing man. His demeanor was not unlike the politeness and straightforwardness shown by his Japanese forbearers. He was able to convey a feeling of calm, even when investigating a murder.

"Raider's secretary came in this morning and found this tape in the machine," Nogami said. "She was coming in to catch up on some work, and it was her habit to play the tape that was in this tape recorder each morning and type everything that was said. The tapes usually contained statements from Raider that were supposed to go into reports or letters." He pressed the PLAY button on the tape machine. "When she came in this morning and played the tape, this is what she heard …"

At first, they heard Allan Raider's voice giving the usual legal dictations, then there was a pause, after which they heard some footsteps, and Raider cry out, "You? What do are you doing here?"

Then, a familiar voice shouted, "I've come to give you what you deserve, Raider …"

Raider is heard protesting. "Williams, put that gun down! Put it down!" Two shots are fired, then Raider is heard crying out in pain, then a loud thump as his body tumbles to the ground. The tape played on silently after that, when Nogami pressed the STOP button.

Danno sat poleax, while Steve was incredulous. "That could not be Danno," he said. "Danno doesn't know Raider."

"I never met him before in my life!" Danno cried.

"I'm not saying Danno did anything," Nogami replied. "I'm just playing the tape as it was found. Someone, sounding like you with the same last name, came in here last night and shot Raider."

"I have an alibi," Danno said.

"Only if we find Candy," Steve reminded him. "And she's disappeared. Did anyone see Danny enter this building yesterday night?"

"No one did," Nogami replied. "The secretary left at seven and didn't see anyone matching Danny's description enter, as did the night watchmen, but there is a back entrance that the partners use, and they each have a key …" He pointed to a paneled door and went to open it. The door opened onto an elevator shaft. "The elevator leads up from the first floor. The elevator is key-operated as well and, again, only the partners have the keys."

"Have it dusted thoroughly for fingerprints," Steve ordered. "I want to know exactly how many people where in there and their names, if we can find them. I'll bet you Danny's fingerprints will be nowhere inside it."

"If they could get my voice on tape, it wouldn't be too hard for them to get my fingerprints," Danno said, sounding dour.

"Don't be so sure." Steve rubbed his chin. "Check on all the talent agencies that specialize in voiceover and impressionists."

Just then, Che Fong the forensic scientist, entered with his tool kit and magnifying glass.

"What have you got, Che?" Steve asked.

"Negative," he said. "Danny's fingerprints aren't here …" Steve looked over at the garbage can.

"But Raider's garbage can revealed something interesting …" Steve held up the wicker waist basket. Inside were crumpled pages from a yellow legal pad, some partially burned. One of the other forensic technicians extracted them using a pair of tweezers.

"Someone was trying to cover up their trail," Che replied.

"The secretary says that the garbage cans are emptied every evening," Danno said.

"And they said no one was in here last evening," Steve added.