Chapter 1: A leopard never changes its spots
Two weeks earlier:
The cool sensation of the ocean water envelops him as he submerges. This is the first time he has been swimming since he left the hospital, and it feels amazing!. He starts to move and the water moves with him, obedient, pushing him forward. At first, swims slow, as if he were measuring his strength, but soon, he finds a faster and more constant rhythm. As feet become yards and yards become miles, thinks about everything that has happened in the last few weeks.
His muscles begin to protest and he stops, deciding not to submit his body to too much effort. Begins to float on its back, while he watches the capricious figures formed by the clouds. Today he has his first follow-up appointment with Doctor Heelanu and he feels a little nervous. He takes some minutes to calm down and then starts swimming towards the shore.
Walks on the sand, enjoying the warm sensation of the sun rays in his skin. Eddie comes running and he bends over to greet him. "Hey, there's my boy! I missed you, Eddie!". He strokes the dog's head for a moment and, as he takes the towel, gets up to see Junior walking towards him, ."Good morning, Sir... Steve..." the kid greets him.
"Hi Junior! ... Thanks for bringing Eddie home. He really looks good! "
"Yes ... Dr. Shaw says he's in good shape. He's doing great!"
"And how's the new apartment going? ... Listen Junior, I'm sorry I didn't help you with that, but I was a little busy the last few weeks. "
"I know sir ... It's going very well! Tani is doing a good decoration job ... " The young man can't help but blush a little. Steve sketches a knowing smile and says, "I'm sure she is... And that? What about that?" Both men walk towards the house.
Junior frowns, "That ... sir?"
"Oh! Come on Junior. That thing ... with Tani ... You finally got enough courage to ask her out?"
"Eh ... I ... I don't think Tani and I ..." Noticing the kid's stutter and shyness, Steve decides to stop pushing him and greets Doris who, at that moment, prepares some tea in the kitchen.
Steve goes upstairs to take a shower, leaving Doris and Junior sitting at the table and drinking tea. He looks himself at the mirror, satisfied. His appearance has changed and he looks much more like the strong man he was a few months ago. The muscles are strengthened and his face looks rejuvenated.
Ten minutes later, he goes down and finds Danny and Clara drinking tea with Doris and Junior. "Good morning!" says, kissing Clara on the cheek and asking, "Why are you here so early?"
Danny drinks the last sip of his tea and places his empty cup on the table, "We have a case, and my mom and Doris will have lunch together," he says with a slight tone of concern. After saying goodbye, the three members of Five-0 leave the house and get into the Camaro.
After a while in silence, Steve asks, "Why do I have the feeling that the idea of your mother and mine having lunch together is not exactly what you'd like to happen?" Danny shrugs and says, sighing "Okay, Steve. You have to admit that Doris is not exactly an ordinary american mother, but my mom is ... and right now, she is in a vulnerable moment in her life. I'm not going to deny I'm a little worried about the influence Doris may have on my mother ... you know, maybe she's thinking in giving her some crazy ideas."
Steve and Junior let out a laugh, and Steve says, "I don't think that happens, Danno. In some way, I think Doris has changed ... I think she finally wants to settle herself. She has been talking about buying a house, taking care of the garden and maybe growing some tomatoes ... "
"Doris? Yeah, sure! ..." Danny answers, laughing for the first time, "A leopard never changes its spots, Steven. Doris will always be Doris and you had better get used to the idea."
Steve replies, "Maybe ... but I think I'll give her the benefit of the doubt." Junior looks at both friends, while they talk. He has really missed the old arguments and smiles funny when he realizes some things never change.
After driving down Ala Moana Avenue, they arrive at Sand Island Beach, to meet the rest of the team who is waiting for them at the crime scene. The curious onlookers crowds around, despite the efforts of Duke and his men to keep them away.
The three men walk, making their way through the crowd, until they reach the place on the beach where Noelani is checking the corpse. Tani smiles to see them arrive; although her look and smile are directed at Junior, she says, "Oh!. Welcome back to your first day, boss! "
Steve smiles when he notices the looks between the youngest Five-0 members and says, "Thanks, Tani. Lou, what do we have?"
The captain begins to explain, "Two guys who were looking for a quiet place to finish the last night party, found the victim on the beach and called 911."
Danny bends down next to Noelani and asks, "Do we have the time and the cause of death?"
The ME replies, "The tide dragged him to the beach, but I can say the cause of death wasn't drowning; Our victim was shot with a .38 caliber on the back of the head. There's no exit wound, so during the autopsy I must recover the bullet. Because of the appearance of the skin, I would say he was in the water, at least eight hours."
Junior looks out to the sea and asks, "They threw him out of a boat?"
Steve says, "Probably, Noelani, we have an ID?"
"Not yet. The prolonged time in the water, makes it impossible to identify the victim by fingerprints. We should try with dental records or DNA."
Two hours later, they still don't have the victim's ID. The DNA is not in the database and there's no information in the dental records. Steve sits behind the desk in his office, wishing for a second, that his first case would have been a little easier. He raises his head and looks at Danny and Jerry who are at the smart table, trying futilely to identify the victim with facial recognition software.
Lou opens the glass door and pokes his head saying, "Noelani called, she retrieved the bullet and sent it to ballistics for analysis, but she says she has something to show us". Steve gets up from his chair and both men walk to the exit to go to the coroner's office.
Lunch begins quietly. Doris and Clara are sitting facing each other at a table by the window, at Wailana Coffee House, both of them are looking at the menu with curiosity. Clara tells Doris, "Danny says here they have the best pancakes on the island ..."
Doris frowns and says, "Pancakes are not my thing, I'm afraid, really ... I think I prefer a roast beef sandwich."
After ordering, while they slowly drink their coffee, Clara says, "I'm really glad we were able to have lunch together. I really wanted to meet you a little more. I know you and I are very different and our lives have been different too, but our boys love each other like brothers. They have been through many things together ..." Makes a pause to drink her coffee with delight and continues, "Our family loves Steve very much and we're very grateful to him for all he has done for my boy ..."
Doris smiles and says "I'm also grateful for everything Danny has done for Steve". She hesitates for a minute and finally says, "I don't know what Danny told you about us, but circumstances made Steve a lonely man. He and Mary went through a lot, our family was destroyed when he was sixteen ... His father sent Mary and Steve to the mainland and we never got back together ... "
Clara agrees, sympathetic, "It must have been difficult to leave them ... and return to their lives twenty years later. I think I can't imagine what all of you must have felt ... ". Doris nods and says in a low voice, "Indeed, It was very difficult ... I think that no matter how much effort Steve makes, he can never forgive me at all and I think I can't blame him for that. Even though I always kept an eye on them, a friend of the family kept me informed about them all that time ... he did for Steve all his father and I couldn't do ".
Suddenly, Clara feels that she must change the subject and her look turns a little; a slight smile appears on her face, "I must confess I'm a little bit curious about you ... How is it? Being a secret agent and traveling the world catching bad guys, I think I imagine you as a female version of James Bond. "
Doris lets out a loud laugh and says, "Well ... It's a little less glamorous than that. You live always watching your back; the fear for your safety and your family's becomes your constant companion ... you get used to it. You eat badly, you sleep badly, you can't establish lasting relationships because you're constantly moving from one country to another ... But what I have done is to serve my country and I'm proud of it. This is a consolation ... I think. But I'll always regret all the things I took away from my children. Losing their mother so young, it wasn't fair ... "
At that moment, the waitress arrives with the food, and Doris appreciates the interruption. It was always difficult for her to talk about everything that happened with her family, although now she thinks it's a good thing. Clara is a good woman who raised a great man. She deserves to know ...
They start to eat in silence, until Clara says, "Forgive me, but I can't help feeling a little surprised ... Steve and Danny can't be more different, their story, their family ... Danny grew up in a united family, had brothers and sisters, so he had to learn to share things and feelings. He decided to be a cop in a very complicated city. He got married young, he got divorced, he has two sons ... On the other hand, Steve is a military man, a true decorated hero, he became a man in the Navy, he came back to avenge his father's death ..." Noticing Doris's intrigued look, she ends, " I'm just saying, despite all that they are best friends. I mean, what were the chances that two parallel lines that, apparently could never come together, would finally coincide and become what they are together ... I mean both are excellent men, the best cops ... But what they have achieved together is amazing."
"I totally agree with you. That's amazing!" Doris makes a pause and then says, "Well ... we've talked a lot about myself," she takes a bite of her sandwich, "What about you? I guess you must not have enough time to think about what you want to do now ... You lived with your husband for over forty years, it must be hard to imagine life now, isn't it?"
"It's difficult, but I don't want to lock myself up and cry for the rest of my life. This is not what Ed would have wanted, and I don't want to burden Danny or my girls. Everyone has enough on their dish to add one more thing. I'd like to travel ... live happy and enjoy my family as long as I can. There in Jersey I have my daughters and my grandchildren nearby, and Danny travels every time he has a free time, but I miss Grace and Charlie. I feel every time I see them an eternity has passed, Grace is a woman already, soon she will go to college and I feel that I have lost a lot of her life ..."
Doris nods with a nostalgic look, "I feel the same. I'd like to meet Joan, enjoy her as I couldn't do with her mother. Mary was ten years old when I left and I know she got into many problems because of it ... But having Joan, it's as if life gave me a second chance ... "
"I'm also worried ... about Danny." Clara confesses.
"Worried? Why?"
"I'd like him to find a good woman, I'd like he has another chance to be happy. He has had some relationships since his divorce, but he never spoke of any of them like when he talked about Rachel. To his eyes, she was the most incredible woman in the world, he was deeply in love with her, and I'd like him to experience that again ..."
"He's still young ... He'll find someone."
Clara says, worried, "Honestly, I hope so. It scares me to think about the time when his children must go on with their lives and he we'll be alone ... "
Doris nods and says "He will never be alone ..."
"Yes I know. He has his sisters, his children and his friends. But I think love is very important in a man's life ... Danny has always been an incurable romantic and I think he feels incomplete without that ... I don't want to be intrusive, but Steve has someone? "
"Steve is very secretive about his private life and we have hardly talked about it. He was with Catherine a long time and they really loved each other. She understood him ... they knew how to combine their military life with their relationship and it seemed to work well, but then they ended when she started working at the CIA ... According to what Mary told me, apparently there was another girl ... Lynn, I think. But it didn't work very well. I think she was not the woman for him. Maybe he's still in love with Catherine, I don't know ... but I think he also needs a relationship. Someone to makes him happy"
The team is gathered around the smart table, trying to make something clear of all the confusing information about the case. They have a body, but they have nothing to identify him. Noelani found bumps and bruises on the victim's body, three broken ribs, chest burns and ligature marks on wrists and ankles.
At that moment, Steve's phone rings. When he looks at the screen, identifies a satellite number and walks to his office to answer in private. "McGarrett ..."
"Hello there, Sailor!"
"Catherine! I figured it would be you ... " Steve can't hide the joy he feels when he listens to her voice. "I'm glad to hear you! I didn't have the opportunity to thank you for finding my mother, and I won't ask how you did it, but Thank you! "
"Anytime, Steve. I guess then you talked to her? "
"Yes. She has been home for almost three weeks and we have talked a lot. I'm not going to tell you that everything in our relationship is perfect, but I think we're doing it right, Cath. I think we're both healing old wounds ... And what about you? How's the case?"
"Thorny ... I think it's going to take more time than we thought. Listen Steve, I have something to tell you, but first tell me, how did everything go? How do you feel?"
"I'm fine ... and before you start scolding me like Danny does every day, I'll tell you I feel really good ... The strenght has returned, I feel more energized and today I went back to work ... I'm fine. Today I had the first follow-up appointment and the doctor says everything seems to be all right".
"I'm glad to hear it, really Steve. I was worried…"
"Well, don't worry anymore. You said you had something to tell me ... " Steve says curiously.
She hesitates for a moment, but then says, "It's about the case in which I work. Today new information emerged which I think you should know ..."
Steve sits down and leans back, letting his head rest on the back of the chair, "Catherine, stop for a second and tell me what's going on?"
"It seems the group we are pursuing has been associated with other criminal groups in the past. Criminal groups around the world, Steve. I think I told you that it seemed to have more tentacles than an octopus. But now I think it's like Hydra. Each time we cut one of the heads, two more appear ... The point is, today we receive alarming news. Someone from the past came back ... Steve, Yao Fat is dead. Two agents found him this morning, while searching for the leader of one of the cells of the organization. They killed him with two shots in the head, in a hotel in Ghent. "
Steve straightens up in his chair, placing his elbows on the desk and asks, "Do you have any idea what he was doing in Ghent?"
"Actually, I don't know ... The truth is I need to talk to Doris about this. I don't know when it was the last time she saw Yao, but I think she must know something ... something that can give us a clue about his death."
Steve says, "Cath, I'll tell you what we''re going to do. I'll call her and tell her what happens. As soon as I know something, I'll call you back, okay?"
Catherine answers "Okay. I'll wait for your call. This is really important, Steve."
"I know ... I'll call you soon. I promise."
At the end of the call, presses the button to call Doris, gets up and makes a sign to Danny to come to his office. The detective approaches, opens the door and asks, "What's wrong?"
Steve is on the phone, waiting for his mother to answer, beckons Danny to come in and sit down. At the third tone, Doris answers "Hi Steven! ... We were talking about you."
"Hi Mom. How's lunch?" He asks.
"Indeed, it was very funny. We talked about many things and time flew by. Something is wrong?"
Steve answers, "I'm afraid yes, where are you?"
"We're leaving Wailana, we're going to take a taxi."
"Can you ask the taxi driver to bring you to my office? We need to talk."
"Okay. We'll see you there in ten minutes. "
When the call is finished, he places his phone on the desk and looks at Danny, who asks, worried, "What's wrong?" Steve spends the next few minutes telling Danny about his phone conversation with Catherine, finally the detective says, "And you think Doris can know who killed Yao Fat?"
Steve resignedly replies, "I'd bet my life she could have a pretty close idea."
Danny looks at him for a minute and asks, "What's going to happen now?"
Steve sighs and answer, "I don't know, buddy... I really have no idea."