Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii Five-O or any of its characters.
This is my first attempt at a multi-chapter story. Many, many thanks to Tanith2011 for her beta-reading and encouragement.
This story takes place around 1969.
The Key to Murder
Chapter 1
A crescent moon hung over Diamond Head, lending minimal light to the dark Hawaiian night. Gentle waves lapping at the sand created hypnotic white noise masking the silence. On a scenic overlook far above the beach, the peacefulness was broken by angry voices.
"Come on, hand it over. I gave you the bread!"
"Sorry, man, the price has gone up."
"Look, we had a deal. I can't wait, I need it now!"
Fists collided with flesh, clothing ripped, grunts and moans of pain, bodies hit the ground rolling, then the loud smack of skull against rock, labored breathing, and once again silence. Something heavy dragged across the ground, a few seconds of silence, then a muffled thud and a quiet splash. Gentle waves lapped at the sand.
o-o-o
Lelani was out for her early morning run on the pristine, deserted beach. The black lava cliffs stretched up to the sky to her left and the clear blue Pacific Ocean sparkled in the rising sun to her right. She had plenty of time before her nine o'clock class, and this routine start to her day helped to clear her head and also renewed her appreciation for the beauty of her island home. She blinked as the light sheen of sweat on her forehead made its way to her eyes, and she thought she glimpsed something unusual up ahead on the hard sand at the water's edge. As she got closer, the foreign lump gently splashed by the waves became the body of a young man, thoroughly saturated and very dead.
Shocked by the sight, Lelani stopped short, and after a sharp intake of air she gasped, "Oh my God!" She sank to her knees, suddenly feeling nauseated. Looking away, she took several deep breaths. When she was able to think clearly again, she remembered seeing a phone booth not too far back. She rose to her feet and jogged to the phone, fished out the emergency dime from the pocket of her shorts, inserted it in the slot and dialed the operator.
o-o-o
Dan Williams led the investigation at the early morning crime scene since his boss was stuck in a meeting with the governor. He would have to shake the sand out of his black dress shoes later. For now, he put up with the discomfort. He watched as Doc Bergman made a preliminary examination of the body, taking note of the facial bruising and the large knot on the back of the victim's head.
"Drowning, Doc?" asked Danny.
"Not sure yet, will know once we get him to the morgue. Never sure of anything until after my first cup of coffee," Bergman gruffly replied.
Before the attendants loaded the body onto the gurney, Danny checked the sodden pockets. No wallet or other ID, but he did find a single key in the back pocket of the victim's jeans.
"What do you think, Che?" he asked, holding up the key so the small forensic scientist could have a good look.
"Bag it!" responded Che. "It could be important."
Danny carefully placed the key in a plastic evidence bag and handed it to Che.
"Have you found anything else?" Danny asked.
"Sorry, Dan, the morning tide washed away all footprints except hers," Che replied, nodding towards Lelani. "You won't have much to go on."
Sighing as he rose from the sand, the young detective walked over to Sargent Duke Lukela who was taking Lelani's statement.
"That's all you can tell us, Miss?" asked the grey haired officer as he flipped his notebook closed.
"Yes sir, that's all," Lelani replied, her voice steady even after the disturbing events of the morning.
"Thank you for your help," Duke said sincerely. "There are a lot of people who wouldn't want to get involved, and that makes our job more difficult. We may need to contact you again, but for now you are free to go."
o-o-o
"What have you got, Doc?" Steve McGarrett asked as he and his second-in-command stood in front of the cold steel table in the morgue.
"John Doe, mid-twenties. He didn't drown; no water in the lungs. Cause of death was blunt force trauma to the back of the head that fractured the skull," replied the old coroner. "Also found traces of lava dust in the tissue inside the head wound."
"Suicide?" asked Danny, thinking of the jagged lava cliffs overlooking that stretch of beach.
"No, don't think so," Doc continued. "Also found some skin and blood under his nails - a definite indication he fought an attacker - type is O-negative. And something else, Steve – he was a heroin user, needle marks behind his knees. The drug level in his blood indicates he was probably experiencing the onset of withdrawal at the time of death."
"You do a thorough job, Doc," Steve said, though he wasn't surprised that Bergman had thought to check the non-obvious site. "What was the time of death?"
"Can't say for sure. The time he spent in the water altered the rate of cooling, so it's difficult to pinpoint. Best guess is between ten last night and three this morning."
"Anything else?" asked Steve.
"Che took his prints," Bergman responded, handing a file folder to the lead detective. "Dental records will take longer."
"Thanks, Doc. We'll work on the prints. Let us know if there's a match for the dental records."
The two cops left the morgue as the coroner draped a green sheet over the body.
"Danno, run these prints through the DMV, see what they can find," Steve said as he handed the folder to the younger man on their way to the car. Danny hesitated slightly, which Steve noticed. "What is it, Danno?"
Danny paused as he considered a possible scenario of the young man's death. "Steve, I think we should send the lab boys back to the site to check out the cliff above the beach. It's possible the kid was pushed and if so, there may be footprints or tire marks up there."
"Good thinking, Danno!" Steve said, impressed with his young protégé. Then he grinned and looked Danny in the eye. "You're going to make a good cop one of these days."
Though he was somewhat self-conscious at the compliment, Danny returned his boss's smile.
When they reached the car, Steve grabbed the mic from the dashboard. "Central, patch me through to the lab."