The Recovery Period: Chapter Fourteen
A/n: Soft spoiler for 7.1, but I sincerely hope the rest of the season doesn't involve 10 minutes of parkour per episode or more CGI anything. ANYWAY. Bonus update for you! More of the case at hand.
Chin was convinced Sara was safe. Safe, as in inside all day and home "sick" from school and away from the grasp of the yakuza. If they really were after her in retaliation for Gabriel – if they indeed were unaware of his untimely death – at least Sara wasn't anywhere ordinary. With this in mind, Chin himself finally ventured outside that afternoon, pulling his car out of Rachel's garage and driving to the casino at the edge of town, nearly in the jungle. Conspicuous and hidden.
Keola had worked at the casino for nearly a year. He had driven along the off-road path many times. Was he missed at the casino? How long did it take for Keola's boss to realize Keola had been murdered, that he would not be returning to work?
Chin ran a hand along his face and turned off the radio. He hadn't been listening to it anyway. He had been driving for half an hour. It was liberating, to finally be away from the tense air of recovery and stagnation of the Edwards home. The family dynamic was giving Chin a headache. He was glad Sara had taken a liking to Danny's children, though. That seemed to be the only reason Chin continued to tolerate the lack of communication in the house. One, he was a guest; two, because even though Stan, Rachel, Danny, and Steve would silently eat dinner without so much as a glance at each other, Sara would inevitably ask Grace and Charlie to play a game with her.
The casino was up ahead, and Chin removed himself from his thoughts to park in the grass. He checked his phone. Kono had texted the group that her trip to see Keola's biological father in prison was unsuccessful. Lou had yet to remark on his conversation with Keola's biological mother. Still, the two incapacitated members of 5-0 were eagerly responding to the group chat. Steve offered suggestions on how to proceed with Keola's father. Keola's father was key, he was saying, since he and Keola lived similar lives. They had the same job. Despite their separation, there were definite similarities. Perhaps the father still had ties to the outside. Danny, however, seemed to think the place to look was with Keola's mother. He kept requesting a summary from Lou's conversation. He didn't say it like that, of course, but that's what he meant.
Chin remembered how the group chat had remained silent for nearly a week after the plane crash. It had only just began to resurface, like a tie to the past that wasn't quite there anymore. A connection that had irreparably changed.
About to speak to our vic's boss. Chin typed before hitting 'send' and getting out of his vehicle. The casino was smaller than Chin had expected. More run down. It appealed to locals, mostly, and tourists who were really looking to gamble. Certainly couldn't be found on a travel guide.
About to crush Sara in checkers. Chin's phone beeped, and he read the message from Steve. He chose not to answer, but seconds later, his phone sounded again.
He's not going to do that. Danny seemed to be reassuring Chin.
I will. Steve's response was just as immediate.
Chin turned off the ringer on his phone and reached the front door to the casino. It swung open.
A gruff-looking man looked up from the bar area looked up from the ledger books he was reading by lamplight. The place was dimly lit. The light from his cigarette was one of the only sources of light in the room.
"A bit early, brah." He nodded at Chin. "Come back later."
"My name is Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly." Chin responded in kind. "I'd like to speak to whomever is in charge."
The man slowly took his cigarette out of his mouth and placed it in the ash tray.
He rubbed a hand along the stubble on his chin. "You're here about Keola, aren't you?"
"Yes." Chin said, stepping into the room. He walked over to the bar. "Have you been expecting me?"
"For some time, brah." The man shook his head. "For some time."
"Keola worked here." Chin started. "From what I understand he was quite an asset."
The man looked at Chin. "Yeah." He said. "He was."
"He made sure people paid their debts, right?"
"He worked with the younger ones." The man, still guarded, nodded slowly. "He was a kid, too."
I'm glad you recognize his age. Chin almost scoffed. "And these 'younger ones,' who owed you money, Keola pressured them into do that, yes?"
"Yeah. He was good at what he did."
"Were any of these debtors dangerous?"
The man paused. "You're asking if they could kill?"
"I'd like to know if any of these young debtors have records of violence. If they could possibly be incited to a violent act."
"Well, yeah." The man said. "That should be obvious. I mean, maybe, maybe all of them had the possibility of killing Keola. I can't be expected to know who did what, if it was one of them."
"No one in particular stands out to you-?"
"Hold on." The man held up a hand frustrated. "Yeah, we had a problem a few weeks back."
"What do you mean?"
"We had this young guy, really sporadic. Came in and lost all he had on him, and then some. Said he would pay us back, and never did. Keola went to go see him, to get his money. He was shacked up with this older woman. She was bad business. Wouldn't pay the debt. She spoke for this kid, blackmailed Keola into staying away. The guy kept coming back, though, and losing more money. Eventually, Keola cornered the guy when he was alone. Without this woman. Beat the shit out of him. Later, he told me he was worried that this woman would retaliate."
"Do you have a name for this woman?"
"Yeah, yeah, hold on." The man pulled out his phone and scrolled through something. "Yeah. It's Kathy O'Neill. Ring any bells?"
Chin wrote down the name. "We'll look into it. Thank you for your time."
"Keola was a good kid." The man said, putting his phone away. "I hope you find whoever did this to him. Took you long enough to get here."
Chin phone was filled with unread messages by the time he got back into his car. He sat down in the driver's seat and began to scroll, amused. Most were from Danny and Steve. Charlie had joined Sara, and the four had broken up into teams. They were playing some game.
Kono, meanwhile, made small comments, mostly along the lines of an electronic eye roll.
Kathy O'Neill.
Chin saw the name and paused. It was a message from Lou, far up in the group message.
Spoke to Keola's mother. She had her sister go to Hawaii to spy on Keola. Name is Kathy O'Neill. Knew about the murder, apparently.
This text was immediately succeeded by Name presumed to be alias.
I've got a hit on that name, Chin typed quickly, sending the message sentence by sentence. Keola's boss recognized it. Girlfriend of a debtor Keola visited. Things didn't go well, apparently.
Any reason to suspect this woman of any wrongdoing? Danny asked just as Steve piped in with a Talk to Makoa. See if he recognizes the name. Do we have a picture of this woman?
Calling Eric now. Kono assured the team. Will have picture soon. He also wants in the group chat.
Absolutely not. Danny responded immediately.
This group chat is deleted after case. Tell him it's not worth it. Steve said.
We're not making memories over here. Danny continued.
Here. After a brief pause, a photo was sent to the group from Kono. The picture didn't mean anything to the group. A woman, with caramel hair pulled back and a bright smile. She appeared to be in her forties. Kathy O'Neill. From a deleted Facebook photo Eric managed to resurface.
Atta boy. Danny said.
He's learning. Steve agreed.
I'm on my way to see Makoa. Lou responded. I'll show him the picture. If this is the woman who was at Lono's soccer game, we've got something here.
I'll take the photo to Keola's parents. Chin suggested.
Good work, team. Steve said after a brief lull in the constant alert tones Chin heard. Wish I could join you out there.
We'll be back soon. Danny assured his partner, and the rest of the team, as they set out on their respective tasks.