Chapter 4

Danny winced as a spasm of pain shot up his wounded arm. Kono's cousin! The shooter was Kono's cousin! How would his friend, his colleague take this? This wasn't about some faceless assailant, it was about ohana. He had to tell Steve, even as he felt for the pain and hurt the big Hawaiian detective would feel. He reached for the phone, but stopped when he heard a knock at his door.

Must be Steve, the thought crossed his mind. This is gonna be so hard for Kono. He opened the door, only to be met by a hard punch in the stomach. He doubled over in pain as another punch sent him into oblivion . . .

o-o-o-o-o

The black LTD screeched to a halt at the curb alongside Danny's apartment block. A HPD car pulled in behind it without its siren blaring or its lights flashing. Steve had requested Sergeant Lukela to use silent approach as they drove to Danny's apartment. Steve, Kono, Chin and Lukela hastily made their way into the building. The worried lead detective had phoned Danny upon realizing his life was at risk. When no one answered, Steve and his men headed over to the young detective's home. As they reached the front door, their concern for his safety grew when they saw the door was ajar. Drawing his pistol from his holster Steve stood to one side of the door with Kono on the other. Chin and Duke scanned the hallway. Reaching his free hand across, Steve carefully pushed the door open wider then stepped out from the wall, crouching and pointing his gun into the entrance. He lunged inside the apartment and checked behind the door. Seeing no one hiding behind it, Steve gestured for Kono to enter. The two men searched the apartment for Danny and when they discovered he was not in sight, they began looking for evidence of a struggle. Everything appeared as it should. Nothing was broken or disturbed in any way to indicate foul play and there was nothing missing except for Danny and the .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol that he carried with him in his ankle holster. Kono explained to an enquiring Steve that Danny could have fallen asleep shortly after taking him home from the hospital and therefore neglected to remove his piece.

"Steve. I think you better take a look at dis." The big Hawaiian spotted dark flecks on the light colored carpet near the front door. On closer inspection he suspected the marks could be bloodstains.

Steve hurried to Kono's side and came to the same suspicions. "Chin!" He called out into the hall. "I want the lab boys to comb through Danny's apartment. It looks like someone's taken him against his will. There's every possibility his disappearance is connected with Mrs. Jameson's abduction and the assassination attempt made on the Governor. I have a suspect in mind but I need to know if more than one person is involved and where Mrs. Jameson and Danny are being held."

"Right, Steve." Chin nodded then dashed away to carry out his duty leaving Steve, Kono and Duke Lukela to their thoughts.

o-o-o-o-o

The sandy haired detective stirred to wakefulness and groaned as a splitting headache made itself known. He opened his eyes slowly and tried to move his arms but they were pulled back behind him and restrained with what felt like duct tape. The bullet wound in Danny's arm throbbed fiercely in protest and his stomach ached from the unexpected blow he received earlier. Licking lips that felt like rubber, he winced at the stinging sensation and a coppery taste filled his mouth.

o-o-o-o-o

Leaving his co-workers to finish at Danny's apartment, Kono arrived at a small house that was showing signs of poverty and disrepair, but to Kono this place was like a second home. Stepping out of the car, he walked up to the door belonging to the one man that he respected more than any other in the world: his great-uncle and kahuna, Akanahe Kalakaua. When the door opened, Kono allowed himself a smile as he looked at the gnarled old man before him. "Aloha, `Anakala."

The old man smiled and said in Hawaiian, "It is good to see you."

Kono replied, "I need your help. Maleko is in trouble and I need to find him."

Akanahe led Kono through his house and out into the backyard starting leading his grand-nephew down the path to that led to a hidden spot in the woods where the kahuna had taught all the children of the Kalakaua family the language and history of their people. They had kept their lessons secret because at the time it was illegal to be a kahuna and the teaching of all things Hawaiian was strongly discouraged.

"I have heard of this bad business on the news. Are you telling me that the police think Maleko is involved?"

Kono's voice was full of sadness as he stated, "We know he is."

Akanahe's voice grew weary. "I was afraid that this would be so."

Studying his great-uncle, Kono pressed, "What do you mean?"

The old kahuna said nothing and continue to walk slowly down the path. As they walked, Kono heard the sound of machinery in the distance and began to fear what he would find. When the path ended short of their destination, Kono's fears were realized.

The teacher looked at his former student. "You know what this means."

Kono knew; he knew all too well what the construction equipment meant. The land that had been their sanctuary had been sold and destroyed to make room for fancy homes for the rich. And once the process began the pressure would mount on his people to sell and with so many living in poverty, it wouldn't be long before the whole neighborhood gave in.

Kono now knew what had caused his cousin to lose all sense of reason. When the debate raged over without or not the governor should return one valuable piece to their people, elsewhere poverty was causing their people to sell land in a process that according to haole law was perfectly legal.

How could one celebrate the return of one piece of land when everyday poverty was causing their people to loss more than they could ever hope of being returned?

As Kono took in the destruction he understood that what Maleko wanted was something that no law could ever give. No law could ever erase decades of injustice and oppression. Maleko was lashing out and Kono was running out of time to convince Maleko that his way of doing things was helping no one.

o-o-o-o-o

Ignoring the pain and dizziness, Danny slowly lifted his head and found himself looking into the concerned face of Patti Jameson. The fifty-something woman looked quite different from the last several times the detective had seen her. Usually perfectly pressed, styled and groomed, her suit was now wrinkled and coated with red dirt. Her graying auburn hair was mussed and disheveled, a few strands hanging in her face. Like Danny, her hands were bound with duct tape. As their eyes met, her expression relaxed a bit and she managed a slight smile.

"Detective Williams, are you okay?" the woman whispered.

"Mrs. Jameson!" Danny exclaimed, trying to keep his voice low. "I'm fine. They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No, not really. My main concern is Paul. He'll be frantic with worry and he'll blame himself. He takes his job so seriously, and sometimes it's just too much for one man."

As she spoke, she noticed that Danny's sleeve was soaked with blood. The young detective seemed to be about the age of her oldest son, and she was struck with a sudden surge of maternal instinct.

"You're bleeding!" she gasped. Then she surmised the likely source of the wound and looked at Danny with deep respect and gratitude. "That's from the bullet you took for Paul, isn't it."

"I'm afraid so," Danny responded, glancing at his arm. "I must have ripped out the stitches." He took a deep breath before continuing, his voice now deadly serious. "And I know the man who fired the gun. I…" He stopped short, not wanting to alarm the important woman seated next to him with the inevitable meaning of his statement. His caution wasn't necessary. Patti Jameson continued his line of thought, fighting back the tears in her eyes.

"That means you can identify them so they…they can't…oh Mr. Williams, how are we going to get out of this?"