Thank you all for your patience.

A Wrinkle in Time
by Cokie316 and Sym64

Chapter 16

"So, what's the plan?" Chin asked when they had reached the top of the cliff.

Steve looked around the few people still gathered behind the police line, perplexed that the woman of interest in Jerry's case had disappeared. He sighed, clearly frustrated. "I need to go see the governor," he told them. "And we need to get these samples and data logged."

"We can head to HQ," Chin said, looking at Catherine for confirmation.

"Of course," she agreed, looking to find John, who was still conversing with a police officer. "Should we call in Lou and Danny?"

"Absolutely," Steve replied. "There's plenty of work for everyone. I'll call on my way to see the governor and then I'll be there soon."

H50 – H50 – H50

Steve looked around the hallway he was currently waiting in. It wasn't his first visit, but the first time that he had time to study the paintings and décor of the mansion.

"Commander, please take a seat. The Governor needs another few minutes."

"Thank you." Steve nodded at the assistant who had let him in.

He sat down onto one of the benches lining the north wall. Steve carefully stretched out his hurting leg, and tried to get the kinks out of his back. He looked down at his casted arm and again cursed himself for falling on it Thursday night. Now with a complete fracture his recovery time would be slightly longer than first thought. It was a rather simple break and the doctor had assured him it would heal without any complications.

Well, physically, at least.

He knew that he would face complications tonight with Catherine. She hadn't looked happy at all about the new cast. At least she wasn't one to say "I told you so". Steve knew he had to learn to share more with her, but it wasn't easy. In the last ten plus years he often had had to power through injuries, minor and not so minor ones. He seldom had had the luxury of stepping back and sitting out an op. Injuries tend to occur at the most inconvenient times. Now in this new job and his 'new' relationship with Cath, it was obvious he needed to rethink his approach of being injured, or even simply not feeling well. He was quickly learning that being part of a couple was vastly different than being on your own.

He would start training tonight; sharing his various aches and pains.

His musings were interrupted when the assistant called him into Denning's office. Steve stood up and suppressed a groan when the abused muscles protested the movement.

"Commander, please come on in," Denning called from his desk. "Joanie, would you bring me a coffee please? Steve, anything for you?"

"A water would be good. Thank you," Steve said, smiling at the assistant.

"Coming right up, Commander."

Steve waited until the aide had left the room before he spoke up. "Thank you for seeing me, Sir."

"Of course, Steve. You said it was important."

"Yes, Sir," Steve began and looked Denning in the eyes. "This morning former Governor Jameson was involved in a car accident on Kalanianaole Highway."

"What? Why didn't I—"

Steve held up his hand to stop the tirade. "Sir, she and her driver were killed, her aide was taken to the hospital. I'm very sorry, Sir. I know you two were friends."

Denning sat back into his chair and sighed. "She's dead?"

"Yes, Sir," Steve confirmed and watched the Governor who was obviously shaken by it.

"Were there any signs that it wasn't an accident?"

"Sir?" Steve asked and wondered why his superior asked that question. "Is there anything you should tell me, Sir?"

The governor sighed once again and rubbed a hand over his face. "It wasn't an accident, was it?"

Before Steve could answer the aide brought their beverages. He took a sip of the water before he replied.

"There is reason to believe there was at least another car involved. It may have been a hit and run."

"You don't believe that."

Steve shook his head and admitted, "No, Sir, I don't. I think, both from the accident site and also from my gut that this was on purpose. But more importantly, why do you think this wasn't an accident?" Steve watched the emotions wash over the governor's face while he decided what, or how much to say.

"Pat called me the other day and asked to meet with me this weekend… off the record. We were supposed to meet tomorrow. On the phone, she said she was in trouble." He leaned forward in his seat and crossed his hands on his desk. "Steve, she feared for her life," Denning confided.

"Did she tell you why she was afraid?"

"No, not in particular, but she said she had gotten involved with some bad people, and… Pat was a good person, Steve. I think after her accident… she…"

"What accident, Sir?"

"She fell off a horse, badly injured her back, broke some bones, and dislocated her hip. Spent a long time in the hospital. But she never really recovered. She… she was constantly in terrible pain."

"And after the accident she went back to the mainland?"

"No, it happened back on her farm in Arizona. When she came back here, she was a changed person. This is in confidence, Commander, but she was popping pain pills like they were candy. It was terrible," Denning remembered. "She went to rehab, but I think she was back on drugs as soon as she came out."

"You think she found other ways to get her pills?" Steve asked.

The governor hesitated before answering, but finally nodded. "Possibly. She said she had gotten involved with some shady people. I couldn't think of any other reason why she would."

"We will look into that, Sir. If this wasn't an accident, we will find out. And we will get the guilty party," Steve promised.

H50 - H50 – H50

"Sorry you got called in, Lou," Catherine said when he came through the office doors.

"Not a problem," he assured her. "I got in eighteen holes this morning and my afternoon was going to be spent with a lawnmower. Since I got the call, my son is up close and personal with the grass. I figure that's what teenagers are for, right?"

"I'm sure he doesn't see it that way," Cath said with a laugh.

"Where is everyone?"

"Steve is meeting with the governor, Chin went to the crime lab and John went to the hospital. Steve called Danny in but he had to take his wife home first."

"Glad I'm not in that car," Grover replied, leaning against the smart table. "So, fill me in."

"Will do," Catherine said, turning back to the table and typing. "I was just jotting down things we discovered this morning. I'll try to explain as I go. It's crazy, we have lots of random pieces of information and nothing seems to fit together."

"Well, sometimes it takes time for the whole story to play out. Let's see what you've got. Did all this happen this morning?"

"Yes, John got a call from Duke earlier and he then called Steve. Governor Jameson's driver and aide picked her up at the airport and were on the way to her condo when they went over the guardrail on Kalanianaole Highway. Ended up on the rocky beach below. Jameson and the driver were both killed on impact. Her aide was taken to King's and we haven't heard her prognosis. John is there now, making arrangements for a security unit for her."

"I'm gonna guess you don't think this was an accident?"

"Well, it might have been accidental, but if it was, it was a hit-and-run. There's evidence of foreign paint along the car's left rear, so the car was definitely hit. More than likely pushed off the road." She finished typing a note regarding the paint that was found on the car.

"Chin has the paint scrapings and took them to Charlie Fong in the crime lab to see if he can determine the make or model car." She typed a few more notes. "We also found two phones on site; one in the car and the other in a puddle of water. Don't know if we will get anything off them. We have two suitcases and the governor's purse, too. Oh, and get this-"

"So, where is everybody else?" Danny called out, finding the two of them at the computer. "Why isn't Steve here?"

Before Cath could answer, Chin entered behind Danny. "He's in a meeting with the governor, letting him know that this 'accident' was no accident."

"So somebody offed the former governor, right?" Danny asked.

"Two people died and one was critically injured in the crash," Cath pointed out. "Chin, have you heard anything yet?"

"No, but Fong is the best and he's working on it. Hopefully we can get something from the phones. Any word on the aide?"

"Not yet," she replied. "John went to the hospital to arrange security."

"Good thinking," Chin nodded.

"So, what's for me to do?" Danny asked.

"Well, how about doing some research on Jameson from the time she left office and moved away," Catherine suggested. "Oh, I almost forgot," she added, shaking her head. "I don't know how this fits, but the woman we saw on video giving Jerry the cookies was at the crash site earlier."

"And you didn't pick her up?" Danny asked in disbelief.

"No, Steve alerted HPD and before they could reach her, she had disappeared."

"You're sure it was her?" Grover asked.

"Yeah, pretty positive," Cath assured him.

"I'll check the general vicinity and try to pull any traffic cam footage. Maybe we'll get a break and see where she went," Lou told them.

"That sounds good," she agreed. "I'm going to look into Michelle Inoka, the aide, and also the driver who was killed this morning. See if I find any flags."

Chin headed toward his office. "I've got some phone records to begin looking through. Here's hoping we find a lead somewhere in all this."

H50 -H50 – H50

A few minutes later, Steve was back in his truck on his way to HQ when his phone rang.

"McGarrett."

"Commander McGarrett, this is Alesha Parks. I work for Adam Noshimuri, and he would like to meet with you as soon as possible."

"He can reach me at our Headquarter…"

"No, Sir, he's at a construction site at the moment, and will be there for the rest of the day. He asked if you could meet him there?"

And come alone. Steve added the unspoken works. This was getting interesting. "Sure. What's the location?"

Steve entered the address into his GPS and ended the call. Only to make another one to HQ.

"Grover."

"Hey, Lou. Meet me outside, we're going on a little trip."

"To the Zoo again?"

"Funny. No, to meet with Adam Noshimuri. I'll be there in five."

"OK, I'll be ready."

H50 – H50 – H50

"Thanks, dad," Steve said and ended the call just as Lou Grover opened the passenger door. "Hey, Lou. Sorry you had to come in."

"Nah, man, all's good," the big man grinned thinking about his son mowing the lawn. "John got any news?"

"Yeah, Inoka is out of surgery, and we can see her tomorrow."

"That's great news. I hope she can tell us something. So… where we headed? And why?"

"Adam Noshimuri asked to meet us," Steve told his new friend.

"Huh. Hiro's son? Why doesn't he come to our offices?"

"Good question. Seems a bit strange, but I'm willing to listen to him if that will give us some answers."

"We'll see."

Ten minutes later they had reached their destination.

"Here? He wants to meet us here?" Grover asked and looked up at the building currently under construction.

"I wonder what he's doing here "all day" as his assistant told me," Steve said as he carefully maneuvered his way around the cluttered grounds. .

"You OK? You're badly limping," Grover observed.

"It's fine. Some times it just hurts more than others."

"You climbed down to the accident scene, didn't you?"

"Well, the wreck wasn't coming up to me, you know," Steve said as he motioned to one of the workers who seemed to be in charge. "Let's talk to him."

"We're looking for Adam Noshimuri," Grover told the foreman.

"He's up on the top floor. Are you McGarrett?" The worker turned to Steve.

"Yes. And this is Captain Grover," Steve said.

"Nice to meet ya. George Cid," he said and shook hands with the two task force members. "Mr. Noshimuri is expecting you. You can go right up. Be careful and pick up one of the hard hats."

"Where's the elevator?" Steve asked as he looked up at the top floor.

"Sorry, it's out. You'll have to use the stairs," George said and showed them the way inside the building. "Be careful, some of the railing is missing and about to be replaced."

"Call your boss down here. We're not going up there," Steve said after looking at the stairs. "If he wants to talk he can meet us down here."

"I… I don't know if he…"

"Just call him, and tell him we'll be waiting over there," Steve pointed to a large bench setting again a wall.

"OK."

Steve sat down with a sigh and stretched out his hurting leg.

"You want him to play by your rules. That's good. Let him know who is the boss," Grover said and took a place next to Steve.

"Actually, I would never make it up there," Steve replied grinning. "Aaaand we're not playing by his rules."

It only took five minutes for Adam to come down and meet them.

"Commander McGarrett, thank you for meeting me here. I know it's a bit unusual, so, thank you," Adam greeted the task force leader. "And you are Captain Grover?" He asked when he turned to Lou.

"Yeah." That was not what either of them had expected.

"Mr. Noshimuri, what do you want to talk about?" Steve asked.

"It's kind of a delicate matter," Adam said, looking around for anyone listening in.

"OK," Steve motioned for him to go on.

"My brother, Michael… he's serving time in Halawa."

"Yes, we know. For manslaughter," Grover said. "He was lucky not to get a murder trial."

"It wasn't like that. They fought, Michael hit the other guy, and he died. It was an accident," Adam assured them.

"Your brother had a few run-ins with the law. I don't think there was a lot accidental about that fight, Mr. Noshimuri. But what does that have to do with you wanting to see us?"

"He called me, and told me I needed to talk to one of the inmates. A Victor Hesse," Adam explained. "I had never heard that name, and asked my brother why I needed to talk to him. He said this Hesse guy had information about our uncle's death."

Steve looked at his opponent and inwardly cursed. This was a clever play to explain Adam's meeting with Hesse. "And you went and talked to Mr. Hesse?"

"Yes, I talked to him for about ten minutes. But he had no information about Uncle Koji."

"What did you talk about for ten minutes?" Grover wanted to know.

"He told me that my father had offered him a job. I didn't believe him," Adam said. "But then I looked at security footage at our office and there he was. He saw my father as he had said."

"What kind of job?"

"I'm not sure, but Hesse said another man was at the meeting. His name was Wo Fat."

Steve kept calm on the outside, but this was getting more interesting by the minute. He wondered what kind of game Adam was playing. "Why are you telling us this? Why would you incriminate your father?"

"Commander, my father is an old man. It is time that he steps away. And if he has any illegal dealings going on… I have to think about our company. About all the people whose jobs are at risk."

"Ah," Steve shook his head, not believing a word Adam was saying. "You want to get rid of your father and take over the empire. Is that it?"

"Believe what you want. I just needed to give you the information I found out."

H50 – H50 – H50