Ka Pio VII

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Chapter 7

"We'll find them Danny," Steve promised as he sat on the curb. "Go check on Rachel and the kids. She needs you."

It was ten minutes or so that Max showed up in one of the coroner's smaller vans. Danny had rejoined McGarrett and they were both surprised to see Charlie Fong also emerge from the vehicle.

"Commander, you sounded very serious about this being a priority even if it is hush hush. I assumed that Charlie's expertise would help expedite any evidence we gather," Max announced as he hurried to them.

"Thank you Max," Steve answered and nodded to Charlie who had joined them with a gurney.

"Once you get our John Doe secured Max, Steve needs to have his arm looked at," Danny told the medical examiner.

Max looked at Steve and noticed the trickle of blood running down his arm.

"Commander?"

"Just loaded the body first Max, this can wait. We need to identify this guy quickly. I checked but there was no wallet on him."

"Det. Williams, would you assist Charlie with the body? I will take a look at Steve's arm," Max said stepping over to Steve. He carefully lifted Steve's sleeve as he bent over the task force leader to examine the wound. Red blood had stained the colorful tattoo on the Commander's upper left arm. Max studied it intently and then he blinked at McGarrett as he released his arm. "I should encounter little difficulty in removing the bullet and I'm confident it will heal without causing too much damage to the artistic design you have there," he stated. "I will retrieve my bag and tend to this immediately."

Steve's mouth quirked at the corners at Max's serious tone as the medical examiner hurried back to the van.

"Heaven forbid anything should happen to your body art," Danny said as he returned to Steve after helping Charlie. "Are you riding in with them or with me?"

"I'll go in with them. Why don't you wait until the protective detail from HPD gets here, and then join us at the Max's office. I'm sure Rachel will feel better if you stay until they arrive," Steve replied.

"Good idea," Danny agreed and held out his hands for his car keys. With a grin, Steve handed them over.

Max returned and quickly went to work extracting the small caliber slug and then bandaged Steve's arm. They headed back to the morgue hoping to put a name to the body they were transporting.

*H 5-0*

At headquarters, Chin, Kono and Catherine went to work searching the feeds from the traffic cams around the residential area the Kwan family lived in. They kept on the lookout for a white panel van with the words Pikake Cleaners on its sides along with a painting of a large jasmine flower. They all followed the feeds running in the time frame of the kidnapping.

"There it is," Kono said freezing a frame. "Look there is the van, turning the corner right there." They could all see the van with the large flower adorning its side merging into the busy traffic on the street. She slowly advanced frame by frame until they could get an enlarged shot of the license plate. Chin took note of the direction the van was headed and began programming the traffic cam recordings that ran down the street. He and Catherine watched the van flow with the traffic along a route that headed south, away from the heart of Honolulu.

"Just where are they going?" Catherine murmured. "Is the store in that direction?"

"No, it's not," Kono said as she traced the license plate and retrieved the store location. "Pikake Cleaners are located up near the Ala Moana Shopping Center. It's a single location business that has been owned by Sam Kaapana for twenty-five years," she reported. "No blemishes on his record that I can find."

"Perhaps the shop is a front for one of Newalu's money laundering operations. One we might have missed in his records," Chin guessed.

"Could be," Kono agreed. "I think we need to pay him a visit."

They watched the van merge onto the H 1 highway and disappear out of the camera's range, heading in the direction of Hawai'I Kai.

Chin pulled out his phone and called HPD for a BOLO on the van. He gave them the last known heading for the vehicle. Both women looked at him curiously.

"The kidnappers now know we're on to them, "he said. "We need any information that van can give us. My guess is that it was abandoned and they switched to a less conspicuous vehicle. The gloves are officially off."

"You are probably right," Kono agreed. "And we need to speak to Mr. Kaapana as soon as possible."

"Catherine, why don't you go to Max's office and brief Steve and Danny on what we've learned," Chin suggested. "Let them know we've got HPD searching for the van and Kono and I are going to question the owner of Pikake Cleaners."

"Steve doesn't need me to hold his hand Chin," Catherine said lightly, assuming Chin thought she was worrying about Steve's injury. "I can wait for him at home."

"It would be a bigger help if you could personally bring them up to speed. Kono and I will be busy with the dry cleaner and can't give them the details they may need. Lili Kwan needs us to move swiftly. Please help us out here," Chin requested.

"Of course Chin, I can do that," Catherine gave in. "I'm glad to help out any way I can. Good luck with Mr. Kaapana."

Without further conversation, Catherine hurried out to catch Steve and Danny before they left Max's office.

"Chin…" Kono asked, looking puzzled. "You know we could brief Steve and Danny over the phone on the way to Pikake Cleaners."

Chin nodded and motioned for her to follow him out of the office.

"Yes, I know that but something else just occurred to me. We are forgetting the motive behind Lili's kidnapping and the botched kidnapping at Rachel's. If this is Hoku Mokiao behind all this, he wants his nephew to walk free from the trial," he said as they headed down the stairs toward the parking lot. "First he grabs Lili to control the DA. Then his help attempts to grab Rachel and the kids, presumably to influence Danny's testimony. That failed and they lost a man. If they are still looking for leverage…"

"Then they might make an attempt to take Catherine to stop Steve from testifying," Kono said finishing his sentence.

"That or getting revenge for the man Steve killed," Chin added. "I know that Catherine is capable of defending herself but she may not see this coming. I just figured that if she was with Steve and Danny then she would be safe."

"That is brilliant Cuz," Kono said in admiration. "And by asking her to help you kept her from arguing."

They had reached the parking lot and Chin unlocked the Traverse.

"Truthfully, it will be better if she briefs them in person. She can fill in any details," Chin told her as they got in the car. "And I assume Catherine will figure out my other motive for sending her there, she is a smart lady. I could be wrong about a threat to her but it's better to be safe than sorry. Let's not underestimate whoever is running this operation. Now….we need answers from Kaapana." He started the car and headed for the street.

"I'm willing to trust your feelings on this," Kono said as Chin pulled out into traffic. "We need a break soon."

*H 5-0*

Catherine arrived at the Medical Examiner's office and was directed to the autopsy room where Steve and Danny were watching Max and Charlie work.

"Cath," Steve said in surprise when he spotted her first. "You didn't have to come check on me, honest, I'm fine." He indicated the bandage around his upper arm.

"I'm sure you are fine Sailor. Chin sent me to brief you guys on what we found. Chin and Kono are off to question Sam Kaapana, the owner of Pikake Cleaners. The van that was lurking in the Kwan's neighborhood belongs to that store."

"Did the van go back to the store?" Steve asked.

"No, we lost it when it got on the H 1 heading south towards Koko Crater. Chin put a BOLO out on it. He figures they would likely abandon it somewhere and that the kidnappers switched vehicles once out of the city limits," she answered.

"Chin or Kono could have called us with that information," Danny pointed out.

Catherine glanced at Danny and chuckled slightly.

"I think Chin was playing big brother. He really pushed me to come here in person when I said I'd go wait at home for Steve."

"Why…oh," Danny said as things fell into place for him. "So it is Chin's theory that they have more kidnappings planned?"

"They're covering their bases," Steve agreed. "Controlling the DA can influence the outcome of the trial but the odds of Newalu getting off increase if 5-0's testimony goes out the window too." He slipped his good arm around Catherine's waist. "If Mokiao is behind this, he would be biting off more than he could chew by taking on you," he added smiling down at her.

"You say the sweetest things," Catherine confirmed smiling back.

"Ah…..Commander, Det. Williams, I believe we can provide a name for your body," Max interrupted. He was standing next to Charlie who had been working facial recognition and finger prints on the computer. As they moved closer they could see a driver's license displayed on the screen.

"Kele Natua; age thirty-three and he resides in Kailua. He has listed bartender as his occupation," Charlie filled them in. "I'm checking for a police record but so far only some parking tickets and three drunk and disorderly arrests are listed," he reported.

"That doesn't sound like an easy jump to kidnapping," Danny commented. "We need to find out how Natua's friends were."

End chapter.

We have an identity and another lead. Let's hope the gang can close in quickly. Thanks for reading.