THE RETURN

A/N: Thank you to everyone for reading and leaving such awesome reviews! I'm finishing off this chapter on a very snowy evening... I see more shovelling in my future!

CHAPTER 4 - Aftermath

The Aftermath - Friday

Steve paced the length of his office, his worry and concern clearly evident. A grave-faced Chin sat in one of the room's white chairs, while Kono occupied the other. But it was the fourth person in the room where Steve's attention was focused.

Danny Williams sat on the sofa, still wearing his blood-splattered suit from earlier in the day. His eyes were frighteningly blank, his face expressionless, contrasting sharply with his earlier display of raw emotion. He showed no awareness of his surroundings, his attention seemingly caught and held by some internal, nightmarish train of thought.

"All right, gentlemen," Steve's voice broke the charged silence in the room. "It's now obvious we're dealing with some kind of sick, twisted scheme, directed against Danno. Perhaps we should have seen it sooner, but nevertheless, here we are now." The Five-O chief paused, staring out the window at the darkening sky.

Chin took a deep breath, looking with concern at the young man sitting so still on the sofa. "Four deaths this week, all people who had some sort of association with Danny."

"Better make that five." Duke stood at the door, holding a file in his hand. "Steve, I just finished that review of HPD cases you asked for, of all deaths this week in the city. I found another one that has a link to Danny."

On the other side of the room, Dan started violently, then seemed to become even paler, even more withdrawn at Duke's words.

"What have we got, Duke?" asked Steve.

"Tuesday morning, Mr. Yan Lee, age 68, the owner of a dry-cleaning shop, was found with his throat cut. The clothes and receipts on the counter show that the last customer in the store was Danny." Duke looked up from the report. "The body was found at around eight fifteen."

"About ten minutes after I'd been there," Danny said tonelessly, abruptly breaking his self-imposed silence. "He gave me my clean suits. We joked about me being neatly dressed to fight crime. Neatly dressed!" he spat out. "I get clean suits and he gets killed! Oh God...!" Danny broke off, dropping his head into his hands, rocking back and forth in distress.

Steve quickly crossed the room to stand at his second's side. Placing a hand on Danny's shoulder, he gave a squeeze and a gentle shake, drawing the shaken young man's attention away from his inner torment. "Easy, Danno, easy," he said. "I know what you must be feeling, but we're going to need your help right now if we're going to find out who's doing this and stop him. And let's be very clear," Steve tightened his fingers on Danny's shoulder as he spoke. "We will stop him."

Steve strode back to his desk, and immediately Kono rose and took his place at Danny's side, sitting down beside his friend. Chin also moved over to stand beside Dan's other side. The sight of his team, united in their support of their younger colleague, gave Steve a moment of fierce pride before he pulled his attention back to the problem at hand.

"Five deaths, then, gentlemen. Five days, five deaths." Steve picked up a piece of chalk, and moved to the blackboard, preparing to write as he spoke. "Monday, the snitch Johnny Parr, in the open markets. Tuesday, the dry cleaner in his shop. Both obviously murdered. Wednesday, it was Danno's apartment manager, and Thursday, the waitress from the restaurant. Both deaths suspicious, cause unknown. Doc Bergman can help us there. And today..." Steve trailed off. "Patrolman Mark Kahama, shot dead six hours ago." He paced in front of the board, snapping his fingers as he studied his notations. "What do these five people have in common?"

"Me." Danny's answer was brief, to the point. "I was with all of them right before they died."

"Okay, then," Steve responded. "What don't they have in common?"

"Cause of death is different for most of them, Steve," Chin offered. "Two shootings, a stabbing, probable drowning; one still unknown but no obvious reason."

"Yes, that's right." Steve confirmed as he added notes to the board. "If we're talking about one person, this is a pretty impressive skill set for him to have. And let's add to that the ability to blend in to his surroundings, to not get noticed in a crowd." At Kono's puzzled look he added "It's obvious that this killer has been following Danno, sometimes pretty closely, to be able to get to his victims. If Danno didn't notice anything unusual, then this guy is good, probably a professional." Kono nodded in understanding.

"And that leads to the next question," Steve continued, turning to face Danny. "Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary, people who didn't look right or seemed out of place, vehicles following you? What about an investigation taking a strange turn?"

Danny thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, I can't recall anything that seemed unusual. This was supposed to be a quiet week, just routine until today, anyhow... Not quite how it turned out, though." He looked away, the blankness beginning to return to his eyes.

"Danno." Steve's voice drew Dan's attention back. "One last question. Have you received any threats from anybody in the last couple of weeks? Any phone calls, suspicious mail? Here or at home?"

"No, nothing," Danny stated.

"All right, this is what we're going to do," Steve began his directions. "Chin, Kono, check with the Department of Corrections, see if any recent releases or parolees have any connections with Danno. Duke, contact Doc Bergman, we need those autopsy reports for Danno's building manager and the waitress."

"We're on it, boss."

"Right away, Steve."

As the detectives rose to leave Steve's office, each man passed close to Danny, clapping him on the shoulder and murmuring words of support before they headed out the door. Then there was silence, and Steve and Danny were left to study the notes on the board in the centre of the room.

Steve watched Danny struggle to pull himself together. From the younger man's rapid jerky breathing, clenching fists and tense set of his shoulders it was obvious that he was fighting quite a battle. But even as Steve continued his observation, Dan grew calmer, more steady. The act of studying the blackboard, which the two men had done together for so many cases, had the effect of focussing the detectives' thinking on the investigation at hand, pushing even the most potent personal feelings aside.

After a few moments Danny gave a great shuddering sigh. Looking down at his suit jacket, he shook his head in dismay at his appearance. "Steve, I think I'll step out for a moment, get some clean clothes. Then I'll be back to look at this again," he said, waving a hand towards the board as he moved toward the office door.

"Okay, Danno," Steve nodded his agreement as he too stepped away from his notes. "Bring in your case files, too, current and recently completed." He watched Dan leave the room and turn in to his cubicle, both impressed and gratified to see his second-in-command set aside his grief and turmoil, even temporarily, and begin to think like the dedicated investigator that he was. Shrugging out of his own jacket and loosening his tie, Steve headed for the coffeepot. It was going to be a long evening of work in the Five-O offices.

O o O o O

Two hours later Steve called all the detectives back into his office for an update. Rising and stretching his aching back, he watched as the men filed in, fatigue also evident in their movements and facial expressions. His gaze rested the longest on his second-in-command, who had once again settled himself on the sofa and was beginning to show a disquieting return to his earlier state of withdrawal. "Okay, gentlemen," he began. "Let's start to fill in some of the blanks. Duke, did you get the autopsy reports?"

"Yes, Steve, I did," Duke replied, looking down at the file in his hand. "Doc Bergman had them sent over. The apartment manager, Mrs. Wood, died of an overdose of barbiturates after she was knocked unconscious from a blow to the back of her head. The cause of death for Kathy Johnson, the waitress at the cafe, was just what it looked like, drowning. Doc's report also says that there was bruising on her neck and shoulders, like she was held under the water." Duke closed his folder and sat back, his grim recitation of the facts complete.

Steve picked up a piece of chalk and began the unpleasant task of updating the information on the blackboard. A distressing picture was beginning to emerge, and in black and white on the board the facts looked even more disturbing.

Turning back to face the room, Steve looked next to Chin. "Tell me you have some useful information," he said, casting yet another concerned glance at Danny's huddled form on the sofa.

"Steve, we've heard from the State Parole Board, and State Corrections. We've got a list of releases and parolees. Kono is about half way through checking the names to see who is in Honolulu right now. Nothing concrete so far." Chin paused briefly. "We're still waiting to hear from authorities on the mainland. Probably won't be for several more hours, though."

"Okay Chin, thanks." Steve settled back in his chair. "Danno and I have spent the last couple of hours looking through his case files. There is no recently-completed or current investigation that would seem to involve anybody with either the capability or a motive for this week's events. So it appears likely we're dealing with someone from the more distant past. This may make him more difficult to find, gentlemen, but we will find him. We must find him! And soon, before he has the opportunity to strike again!" Without being aware of it Steve had risen and begun to pound his fist on the desk in front of him, raising his voice as he spoke. Three startled gazes met his, and he stepped back, stilling his hand but retaining the look of intense determination on his face. "Go home, gentlemen," he continued, in more quiet tones. "We'll have the rest of the reports from the mainland in the morning, and we can get a fresh start then."

Kono, Chin and Duke rose slowly from their chairs and filed from the room. For the second time that evening, they passed by Danny, each man again expressing his support for their distressed and hurting colleague. Dan roused himself, acknowledging them with quiet murmured thanks, aware of and grateful for his friends' concern.

"You too, Danno," Steve said to his second-in-command. "It's time to go home and get some rest." He held up a hand to forestall Dan's protest. "You've had a very long and difficult day, my friend. Come on and let me drive you home. You'll be able to focus much better in the morning. We all will. And I promise you, we will find this madman."

"All right, Steve, I'll go." Initially prepared to argue, Dan reconsidered the idea and acknowledged to himself just how exhausted he did feel. He found himself once again ensconced in the passenger seat of Steve's Mercury. When they arrived at his apartment complex, Danny allowed Steve to escort him to his door, and even to do a quick sweep of the apartment to ensure there was nobody else there. But he refused Steve's offer to stay for a while, citing the late hour and reassuring him that he would be all right for the rest of the night.

"Good night Danno." Steve said. "I'll see you in the morning. Call me if you need anything before then, okay?" He reluctantly took his leave, deeply concerned but recognizing and respecting Danny's desire to be alone.

By himself at last, Danny felt the emotional upheaval of the past few hours wash over him in a huge unstoppable wave. In the dark silence of his living room, he collapsed on his couch, finally allowing the hot bitter tears of grief to escape.