Web Of Lies

Summary:
Steve, Danny, Chin and Kono travel to Big Island to help the police finding the murder of a well-known business woman. Can Five-0 solve the case before more people will die?
The story takes place very early into the series, probably somewhere around mid/end of season 2.
And yes, there will be whump (you just have to be patient a little bit) and of course there will be cliffhangers ;-)

Disclaimer:
Sadly I still don't own anything of Hawaii Five-0, it all belongs to CBS.

Notes:
English is not my native language, so please forgive me my mistakes.

Thanks:
A huge thank-you to JazzieG, still my wonderful beta reader after all those years of hiatus – don't know what I'd do without you!
rewob17, thanks for all the discussions about the plotline (years ago when I started the story) and thanks for still being there right now, without you I'd probably never finished this story. You're the best writing buddy I can imagine!

Love, peace and harmony

"Hey, you alright, brah?"

Kono asked cautiously, looking up from the tablet PC she was balancing in her lap when she noticed her teammate tensing up in the seat opposite to her.

Danny's hands were clawed around the armrests of his seat and he tightly pressed his lips together and held his breath when the small Beechcraft Queen Air was flying into another air pocket. Admittedly it was not the best weather to fly in, a strong wind rattled the aircraft, scattered lightning illuminated the dark gray sky and big raindrops drummed against the small windows but Five-0's newest case didn't allow any delay.

Furrowing his brow Danny blatantly ignored Kono's question; he was barely able to swallow down the deep sigh that built up in his chest when he threw a scrutinizing look into the cockpit. The airplane might already be more than thirty years old but that was nothing compared to its pilot; Danny was sure that never before had he seen a man who looked older than their current flight captain.

Walter Crowfoot – or 'Crow', as Steve simply called him – was about Danny's height, his almost waist-long white hair was braided and a few black feathers and something that looked suspiciously like the foot of a real crow were artfully woven into the plait. His weather-beaten skin was wrinkled but his dark eyes sparkled agelessly in his old face and Danny wasn't able to tell if he was 80 or rather 800.

"Yeah Danny, you alright?" Steve repeated Kono's words, smirking brightly at his partner's behavior, clearly enjoying the whole situation.

Slowly turning his head, Danny averted his eyes from the old Cherokee Indian in the cockpit and looked to his right.

"Don't talk to me, okay?" he growled, gritting his teeth when another flash of lightning lit the sky and the aircraft suddenly sagged a few feet before it smoothly reset course for the Big Island. "I'm busy praying for a safe landing but I highly doubt that we will ever make it to the ground in one piece. I really don't know why I agreed to join in your crazy suicide mission."

"It's not a suicide mission, it's our new case, and you didn't agree to join in, it's part of your job description," Steve corrected him patiently, the bright grin still plastered to his face as he snuggled deeper into his seat, crossed his hands behind his head and lazily stretched his legs. "You absolutely don't have to worry, Danno. Crow is one of the best pilots I've ever met. He's flown for almost his whole life, all kinds of aircraft, in all weather, everywhere around the world."

"Oh really? Almost his whole life? And how long might that have been? Because that guy looks like he's easily pushing 200. Are you sure that he… WHOA!" Danny interrupted his rant, briefly squeezing his eyes shut when the plane found another air pocket, causing his stomach to jump to his throat.

"Hey, everything's alright, Danny," Kono threw in; apparently not the slightest bit worried about the bumpy flight. Leaning forward in her seat she placed a slender hand on Danny's knee to comfort him with a whispered "Just relax, okay? We're almost there."

"Relax?" the Jersey cop repeated indignantly, briefly raising his right hand to circle it through the air before he quickly grabbed the armrest again. "Relax, she says."

Another air pocket followed closely after the previous and the metallic casing of the old aircraft gave a wailing creak when a strong gust hit the plane; the jarring sound blended seamlessly in a defeated sigh from Danny.

"Great," he murmured quietly through gritted teeth, his spine rigidly pressed against the back rest. "We're all gonna die."

"Nobody's gonna die today, Danno," Steve replied, half amused and half exasperated as he locked eyes with his partner.

Staring back, Danny narrowed his eyes and briefly sucked his lower lip before he asked slowly, "Ever heard of famous last words, Steven?"

"Very funny, really," McGarrett said with a bright grin and a slight shake of his head.

"It's called gallows humor," Danny retorted with dry sarcasm, scowling at his best friend. "And don't call me Danno."

Before the banter between the two men got out of control, Chin raised his voice for the first time since the four teammates had entered the aircraft. "How about we concentrate on the case?" he suggested calmly, pointing at the tablet PC in Kono's lap. "We'll soon land at Upolu Airport and we should at least know the basic facts before we arrive at the crime scene, don't you think?"

"Yeah, why not," Danny sighed, daring once more to remove his grip around the armrests and wave his hands through the air. "Give me a dead body to distract me from my own misery."

He looked expectantly at Kono who slightly cocked her head, pondering for a moment if Danny really was afraid of flying or if he just put on a good show to live up to his reputation. She flashed Danny a bright grin when she figured that it was probably a bit of both before she returned her attention to the tablet PC and started to list the facts of Five-0's newest case.

"The victim is Marianne Eberlein, 62 years old, married to Thomas Eberlein for almost 40 years. The two of them emigrated from Germany in 1968 and after four years in San Francisco they came to Hawaii and settled down on the Big Island. They started with a little nursery and flower shop which soon turned into the biggest and most successful fruit and vegetable production of the island. 'Eberlein's Garden & Vegetable Paradise' is famous for their organically grown products and for their fight against chemical pesticides. Marianne was the CEO of the company, responsible for administration and everything concerning finances and personnel, while Thomas is the leading gardener, mainly working in the fields and greenhouses."

Kono looked up from the files on her computer and handed over to Chin, who nodded once before he explained quietly, "Thomas and Marianne have three children who all fill different positions in the family business. Tobias, 32, is assisting his mother in administration, Marilyn, 30, is a gardener like her father and her twin sister Margaret runs the little farm shop. The Eberlein family employs more than 200 people, mostly gardeners and agricultural workers but also drivers, chemists, food controllers, accountants… etcetera, etcetera."

"It looks like the family ties are very strong, none of the children are married, they all seem to live for the family business," Chin added, briefly pausing when a loud clap of thunder drowned out the noises of the aircraft. Using the short interruption to skim through a few other files on his own tablet PC he looked up and continued his explanations after the thunder had died down, "In addition to that, 'Eberlein's Garden & Vegetable Paradise' has repeatedly won the 'Employer of the Year' award."

"So, it's all love, peace and harmony?" Danny asked dryly, raising his eyebrows when he looked from Chin to Kono, waiting for the bomb to drop. And he wasn't disappointed when Kono slightly shrugged her shoulders and raised her hands, turning the tablet PC so that everyone could throw a look at the display.

"Well, apparently not," she said quietly, slowly browsing through a series of photographs of the crime scene and Marianne Eberlein's dead body.

"As you can see the cause of death was a single shot directly to the heart, fired from a close range," Chin explained the obvious, nodding at his cousin to bring up the next picture. "But what makes it really interesting is the inscription on the body."

"Wow, that was obviously something personal, don't you think?" Steve remarked, blowing out a low whistle as he leaned forward to have a closer look at the four big red letters, written across the woman's forehead in her own blood.

"Liar?" Danny read out, looking up and smiling mirthlessly at his teammates. "Well, that looks like someone held a grudge against the lady. Appearances are often deceptive, aren't they?"

(tbc)