AN: This is probably the first time I've tried my hand writing a proper "who-done-it" mystery so I'm not sure how it will turn out. I hope it won't be too horrible and I do invite constructive feedback so I can improve on my faults in future.

For those wonderfully patient readers who have been following "Sweet Little Annie Harper", I've not abandoned it. It is still on hiatus but I am determined to continue it. My muse just has other ideas at the moment and I do apologize for that. Real life has also played a role in my absence and I am just getting back into writing again.

A big thank you goes to "honu59" and "Book 'em Again" for your motivation and inspiration.

Tanith

Prologue

Weaving his way through the sea of uniformed HPD officers and forensics team, Steve McGarrett approached his second in command who was crouched down beside one of their latest homicide victims. The Monday morning meeting between Governor Jameson and the head of his elite police unit was cut short when the call came through that a double murder had been committed and that both victims were found in a hotel room in Pearl Harbour.

"Steve, it's Megan Prescott," Dan Williams informed the lead detective as he stared into the vacant bloodshot eyes of a young woman lying on her back with her golden hair fanning around her head. He reached out and brushed his hand over her eyelids to close them.

McGarrett let out a heavy sigh filled with sadness as he looked down at the still form. From where he stood, he could see the tell-tale bruising around the victim's neck and more bruises marked her arms.

Just as Williams pulled the white sheet over the head of Megan Prescott, a commotion could be heard heading their way. He turned his head to find Steve had already placed himself between the body of the deceased and her distraught husband, Officer Connor Prescott.

"Get off me! Let me through!" The anguish in the HPD officer's voice was evident as he barreled his way through the crowd until strong hands gripped him by his upper arms and held him at bay.

"Connor. Connor! Easy, easy." McGarrett tried to calm the distressed officer who struggled to free himself. "There's nothing you can do for her now. Let's just go outside so the boys can do their work and find out who did this to her. Okay?"

"I want to see her, Steve! Please, just…just let me…I have to…." Prescott sobbed, the fight leaving his trembling body.

"Now is not the time." Steve shook his head and continued to firmly steer the man back out into the hallway.

"Damn it, Steve! She's my wife! I have the right to be with her!" Prescott shot back as he backed out of the hotel room.

Once they were in the hallway, Steve held Prescott up against the wall. "I can't imagine how hard this is for you but you have to keep it together. You've been a cop long enough to understand that if I let you in there in the state you are in, we run the risk that you'll contaminate any evidence left behind by the suspect. Think about it. Let the boys gather what they can in there so we can nail the bastard who did this."

"And what am I supposed to do in the mean-time huh?"

Before McGarrett answered Prescott, another officer strode over to them.

"Connor, I don't know what to say, man. I'm so sorry," Officer Langford said breathlessly. Then to the tall Five-O detective he added apologetically, "I tried to keep him from coming in here."

Steve nodded and gave Prescott's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Take him home, Pete, and stay with him. I'll be in touch."

"Right. Come on buddy, let's get you home. There's nothing you can do here." Langford put his arm around his defeated friend's shoulders and pulled him along toward the front entrance of the hotel.

Steve watched them leave then re-entered the room that housed a crime scene he wished never existed. He was met by Dan who motioned for him to an upturned table where a pair of sneakers could be seen poking out from behind the furniture.

"Who's the second victim?" Steve queried.

"Bryan Summers. He's a surfing instructor from Waikiki," Dan surmised.

Steve walked over to the body of a young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties and took in the defensive wounds to his arms and the pool of blood soaking the carpet from under it. "Looks like he put up one hell of a fight."

"Paramedics confirmed he sustained stab wounds to his chest and abdomen but we'll have to wait for the autopsy reports to determine the cause of death," said Dan.

Steve knelt down and scanned over the body, taking mental notes of the injuries that were visible. He reflected back to the body of the first victim and recalled there were ligature marks around her neck which were not present on the second victim.

Dan broke the silence with a theory of what may have transpired. "There could've been more than one suspect involved. One strangled Mrs. Prescott while the other fought and stabbed Mr. Summers."

"It's a possibility. What else can you tell me, Danno?" Steve straightened up and looked around the room. A suitcase lay on the floor beside the bed with its contents spilling out. Various pieces of furniture appeared to be out of place or upended. To the casual observer it looked as if the place had been ransacked.

"There was no sign of forced entry but judging by the state of the place and the fact that both of the victims' purse and wallet are empty of cash, it could be a simple burglary gone wrong," Dan speculated.

While Steve believed Dan made a valid point, his gut found it difficult to accept that this case was anything but simple. "Could be that Mrs. Prescott knew her attacker. Were there any witnesses?"

"No one's come forward yet. Duke and Chin are running through the guest list as we speak."

"And the hotel manager?"

"Kono's with him now."

"Good. Something tells me this isn't some random botched up robbery," Steve said thoughtfully. He scanned the crime scene, his eyes following the dark trail of coagulated blood that stained the carpet from the body to the foot of the closet three feet away. The door of the closet was wide open as if somebody had burst out from within. Someone lying in wait and surprising his unsuspecting victim.

"You think Mrs. Prescott and Mr. Summers were deliberately targeted?" Dan asked.

Steve thought back to Mrs. Prescott's body, realizing something else was bothering him before it quickly dawned on him what it was. Taking into consideration the blood loss Mr. Summers must've suffered, how was it that there was not a spot of blood on Mrs. Prescott's body? There was no sign of blood transference between the victims which meant that Megan must have been the murderer's first victim. "I don't know, Danno. If you were a burglar and the occupants walked in on you, what would be the first thing on your mind?"

Dan thought the question through before answering, "I'd want to get out real quick."

"Exactly. So considering the location of the bodies, the injuries inflicted on them and the absence of blood on Mrs. Prescott's clothing, let us presume that she was the first victim. Why then did her attacker hide in the closet after the attack and how did he know she was expecting company?"

"Good point, Steve, but what if the killer heard someone at the front door before he had a chance to escape?"

Steve nodded thoughtfully, his brows knitted together. "It's a possibility." After a short pause he continued, "And what was Mrs. Prescott doing in a seedy hotel room with Mr. Summers?"

"I was wondering the same thing." Though neither voiced their assumptions out loud, both detectives drew the same conclusion as to how the two victims were related and for the sake of Officer Prescott, they hoped they were wrong. The last thing he needed was to have the state of his marriage questioned when the grieving had barely begun.