Chapter 51

The farmer watched the bits of paper flutter over his field, confused by the sight. He ran over and grabbed a piece before the wind took it away again and was surprised to see that it was a charred corner of a U.S. dollar. He phoned the police and told the dispatcher about the burnt money littering his land. It took HPD officers hours to collect up whatever bits of money that they could find, filling a couple of bags by the time they had finished. The bags were booked into the evidence locker for further examination at a later date.

It was 2 days later when the Chief of Police looked up as one of his officers entered his office to provide an update on the mysterious charred money. He listened carefully to the young woman and then sent her on her way. He immediately called the Governor to report what had been found. The two men were sat in their usual restaurant later that day, digesting the information as well as a rather nice lunch. Denning spoke first, "So, you have sufficient evidence to identify this money as being from the HPD asset forfeiture locker, collected as part of a joint Coast Guard and HPD drug bust. Let me get this right, all of this money was stolen from the locker during the fake tsunami warning but was immediately recovered from a large number of sand bags on the steps of HPD HQ. It was fully accounted for at the time?" The Chief nodded,

"Yep, that about sizes up the situation. We seized $28 million 8 years ago and it is periodically checked. We even did a full recount yesterday, in case some had been taken since Five-0 recovered the money a couple of months back. It's all there, but a cursory examination of random serial numbers indicates that as much as $10 million could have serial numbers that don't match the original numbers." Sam frowned, he didn't like mysteries,

"So what do we think happened then?" The other man lowered his voice, so they couldn't be overheard,

"A short time before the money was stolen and then recovered again, Chin Ho Kelly was held hostage by the man who murdered John McGarrett. He wanted $10 million. The Five-0 Task Force captured Victor Hesse and disabled the bomb around Kelly's neck. I'm thinking that they 'borrowed' the ransom money from the locker, planning to return it when they had saved their teammate but then things went south. The money was found a couple of miles downwind from the location that Hesse was apprehended – maybe he burnt the ransom out of spite?"

Denning added his take on the scenario, "But then Five-0 actively do their best to stop Commander Hale from stealing the whole lot a few weeks later. They must have known that it would be recounted before being returned to the locker and they would be exposed? Why didn't they just let him take it – they would have been home free?" The Chief shrugged,

"I have to say, I don't always like their methods but they sure get results. I suspect that they couldn't let Hale get away with it, even if it meant revealing what they had done. My guess is that Governor Jameson covered the shortfall herself, to protect her Task Force." Denning methodically stroked his fingers across his chin as he contemplated all of the facts,

"You do realize that this is a moot point anyway. At the time, Five-0 had full immunity and means – they can't be prosecuted or disciplined, even if we wanted to. Plus this is all speculation, we don't have any proof and even if we did, there's no disputing the fact that the money's all there now."

The Chief agreed, "They just handed us the entire Yakuza empire on a platter. I'm not about to start trying to dismantle Five-0. I had my reservations, as you well know . . ." Sam just smirked at that, "But, I'm a fair man and have to give credit where it's due. Plus I understand from Lieutenant Kelly that Commander McGarrett has realized that greater cooperation with HPD would actually bring us all benefits. I think we can contain this situation and draw a line under the whole affair. All the money is accounted for and that's all that matters . . . Governor, I believe that it's too risky to keep this haul in its current location. I would like to arrange for it to be moved to a far more secure holding facility, otherwise it's only a matter of time before someone else has a go at it and my officers could be injured or killed in the process."

Denning was in full agreement, "You make a very good point, Chief. Make the necessary arrangements to transfer the seized assets elsewhere. In fact, I'm going to raise this at our next budget meeting as it's been 8 years since the money was originally recovered from the smugglers. We must surely be in a position to formally re-appropriate this money as per the Federal guidelines for seized assets from criminal activities. $28 million will go a long way towards my urban regeneration and youth rehabilitation programs," he creased up his brows in thought, "and please put a stop to any plans that IA might be hatching – I know they have a grudge against certain members of the Task Force. I'll have a little chat with the Commander and make sure that he follows through on his plans to better integrate Five-0 with HPD. You know, the man had already recognized that on occasion they crossed the line just a little too easily, he is actively looking for ways to stop that happening again." The Chief of Police was very pleased to hear that as, in his experience, recognizing that there even was a problem in the first place was already more than halfway to winning the battle.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Danny had been dwelling on the situation with his brother for the past week or so. Something was tugging at his brain cells, not letting it rest. He was an exceptional detective and had solved many a case by this ability to keep pulling at something until it started to make sense. Some of his partners had found that trait to be extremely annoying but the more perceptive ones recognized it for what it was, the workings of a sharp analytical mind. Meka and then Steve had both got it very quickly, giving the other man room to think and relying on his insight.

Danny slowly turned a postcard over and over in his hands, it had arrived in the post a few weeks after his brother Matt had fled the island before the FBI agents could catch up with him. The card was nothing special, a fairly standard glossy photo of some palm trees with a vista of an island out to sea. Matt had scrawled just a few words on the back of the postcard and Danny pondered on them for the umpteenth time, "Wish you were here."

Danny had originally just looked at the postcard that his brother had sent him with nothing but anger for all the hurt that the foolish man had caused him and their parents, crumpling it up in his fist and slinging it in a cabinet full of paperwork. But this business with Wo Fat and Steve's family had got him to thinking about his own family and about a week ago he took it back out of the cabinet and smoothed out the creases in the thin card. His brother had no reason to send it to him and yet he still did. There had to be more to it than he was getting from just the words on the card. He abruptly pushed his chair away from his desk and stalked into Steve's office. He flicked the postcard at his partner and flopped down onto the leather sofa with a dramatic sigh. Steve picked up the postcard with a questioning look at Danny and examined it carefully, "Who's it from?"

Danny growled out his reply, "My bloody marvellous brother, who decided it would be a good idea to steal from his clients and then get into bed with a drug lord, no less!" Steve made an 'Aaah' face and read the words again,

"Bit cryptic, don't you think?"

Danny nodded vigorously, lancing one hand through the air to emphasize his point, "Yes, Steven. I do think! He's trying to send me a message that wouldn't be obvious at first glance. Is this where he's holed up and he wants me to join him?" Steve's forehead creased up as he ruminated upon the picture,

"No, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure that I recognize this view, it's in a remote part of the island. My Dad took me up there sometimes to kayak and fish. Why would Matt want you to go there?" Danny perked up,

"I never thought of it like that, maybe he's telling me that he wishes that I was there, like in that exact spot. But why?" Steve pushed himself out of his chair and picked up the postcard,

"We've still got a couple of days before Five-0 is back on full duty, let's go check it out."