A/N: Note to self: Crime drama is really difficult to write! Thank you for reading and reviewing. Now, enjoy!

Chapt 8: A Job Well Done

Back at the office, Steve and Lori joined Danny and Kono at the smart board.

"Did you guys find anything?"

"Financials were clean," Danny began. "I looked into the racketeering case. I think Brandon got caught up in the initial sweep, but there was never any real evidence that he was involved. He was cleared of all charges."

"What about the others who were charged? What did they get?" Steve inquired.

"Some heavy fines. Two got jail time, six years each."

"You thinking the wife's death is connected? Some kind of payback," Kono asked.

"No," Steve said. "We just left Max. It looks like a suicide. What did you find on the daughter's murder?"

Kono tapped a file on the smart board and sent it flying to the monitor. "Meet 21 year old Mishka Brandon. She was killed five years ago in an apparent mugging two blocks from the KCC campus. Her then boyfriend, Riku Kokawa was questioned, but had an alibi that checked out. He and his friends were at Kanpai Bar and Grill watching a football game. The bar tender and several patrons confirmed he was there at the time of the murder. I talked to the detective in charge of the case. He said the boyfriend was a wreck when he was questioned. Apparently he was supposed to pick her up after her night class, but let the time get away from him. He and the father were involved in a physical altercation outside of HPD. The father blamed him for her death".

"Was anyone ever charged in the murder," Lori asked.

"No. They had one promising lead… a vagrant that had harassed a few students for money and food, but it didn't pan out."

"Kokawa…" Steve spoke and locked eyes with Lori. "That's a common Japanese surname… it means 'small river'".

Danny looked back and forth between Lori and Steve. "What am I missing here?"

"It's just a hunch. Kono, see if you can find a current address for Riku Kokawa… you two find him and talk to him… see if he can give you any insight into the Brandon family. Ask him if Brandon had a problem with him or with Japanese Americans in general".

"Will do," Kono promised.

"Where are you going," Danny hollered at Steve as he disappeared into his office. Lori had similarly retreated into her office just moments before.

When Danny and Kono left, Steve and Lori were in McGarrett's office each staring intently at their laptops. Steve was at his desk. Lori was cross legged on the couch.

H5OH5OH5OH5O

The next morning, Danny and Kono found Steve and Lori at the smart board. On the monitors, they saw five photos. "What's this?" Danny asked.

"This is what Mrs. Brandon was trying to tell us," Lori answered.

"Explain," Danny charged.

"These four men were murdered on the third Thursday of November, this one in 2008, this one in 2009, 2010, and 2011," she explained as she pointed to each consecutive photograph. This one," she said as she pointed to the last photograph, "was killed in February of 2008, three months after Mishka Brandon was murdered."

"And they're connected, how," Danny probed.

"Well, for one, they're all Japanese Americans in their early twenties. Two, they were all five killed near Windsor Gardens of Honolulu. Three, each one suffered a shattered right knee cap and four, each one bled out after having his jugular severed with a serrated blade."

Steve watched as Danny processed what Lori had just detailed. He stood quietly with his arms crossed over his chest, anxiously awaiting Danny's response.

"You're thinking the perp brought them down with a blow to the knee and then slit their throats."

"Yes," Lori answered simply.

"OK… why these five guys? I mean, how did you zero in on these specific victims," Danny asked, hands in the air.

"I cross referenced murders in the Japanese American community with murders occurring in October through December of 2007 through 2011. I narrowed the results by M.O., threw out the females and found the 'third Thursday pattern".

Danny narrowed his eyes in thought and then flicked his gaze to Steve. "OK, I'm officially impressed".

Steve and Kono chuckled at Danny's approval.

"Did you talk to the boyfriend," Steve asked.

"Yeah," Kono confirmed. "He said that he and Mishka met at the nursing home where her mother worked. He was in nursing school at the time and was required to do a rotation at a skilled nursing facility. Mishka worked at the community center a few blocks from the nursing home. She picked her mom up on her way home everyday. Riku and Mishka had been dating 10 months when she was killed."

"Did he say anything about her father," Lori asked.

"Yeah, he said that for several weeks following Mishka's death, the father would show up at random places for no apparent reason. I asked him to explain. He said that he saw the father at KCC twice; he saw him once outside the hospital where he works now; once outside of a friend's house when he was leaving, and once outside of the McDonald's where he picks up his coffee each morning."

"Did he ever confront Mr. Brandon?" Lori asked.

"I asked him that very thing. He said Mr. Brandon never spoke to him. The last time he saw him was January 31, 2008. He said he new the date because it was his mom's fiftieth birthday. He saw Mr. Brandon talking to a young guy on the street outside of the flower shop where he stopped to get his mom some flowers. He said it looked like Brandon had rear-ended the guy at the red light."

"Kono, see if you can pull up that report," Steve barked.

Kono grabbed her tablet and began her search.

"Danny, didn't you say the next door neighbor is an insurance agent", Steve asked.

"Yes, I did."

"Get him on the phone, see if the Brandon's have their insurance with him. If so, see what he knows about the accident."

Danny nodded and headed for his office. Lori continued to study the smart board rolling over the details in her head. Kono continued her search.

"No luck on that accident report," Kono said. "They must not have filed one."

Danny appeared from around the corner. He had his cell phone to his ear. "Do you still have that piece of paper?... Good, I'm gonna' need it and that inquiry list. I'll be over to pick it up in a little bit… I'd like to remind you, Mr. Liedecker that this is an ongoing investigation and you are not at liberty to share any information with anybody until this investigation is closed… Thank you, sir."

Danny hung up the phone and dropped it on the smart board. "You are not going to believe what I just found out," he said as he slapped his hands together in front of his nose. "The neighbor said that Mr. Brandon wrote down a name and a license plate number from a small fender bender he was involved in on January 31st of 2008. He asked him to run the plate and confirm the man's address. That man was one, Heroshi Sato, our victim #1".

"Please tell me he still has that piece of paper," Steve said, eyes wide.

"Yes, and it gets even better," Danny promised. "He has an inquiry list in Mr. Brandon's file for three subsequent incidences involving Mr. Brandon, none of which were reported to the police because there was little to no damage. Mr. Brandon gave him a license plate number and asked for a name and an address for each. Mr. Liedecker found it odd that each one happened in October."

Steve again locked eyes with Lori. "We got him."

Lori drew in a long breath in an attempt to settle her nerves. The long night of research had left her drained, but it was worth it if it led to Brandon's arrest.

"What now, Boss?" Kono asked.

"Danny, get those papers. Kono, you and Lori go through the reports on the five murders. Look for anything else that might tie Brandon to these men. I'm gonna' get a warrant to search Brandon's home and business."

Captain Brandon's Boat Tours

Having secured the warrant, Steve and Lori left Danny and Kono at the office combing through the files on the five murder victims. Brandon's receptionist informed them that Brandon had gone to the docks to clean the boats. Steve boarded one of the double decker charter boats. "Mr. Brandon!" he called. With one hand ready on his holstered gun, Steve ventured further onto the boat. Lori climbed aboard behind him. "Mr. Brandon," Steve called again. "It's Steve McGarrett. Agent Weston and I need to speak with you again". The door to the cabin opened and Rich Brandon stepped out onto the deck wiping his hands on a small shop towel. His eyes darted back and forth between Lori and Steve but his face held no emotion. "What can I do for you, Mr. McGarrett," he asked in an even, mono tone. Steve glanced at Lori and saw that she too had her hand ready on the butt of her gun. "We need to speak to you about your daughter's murder," Lori said gently.

Sadness flooded his face. "What about it" he asked, voice now full of despair.

"We've been looking into her murder and several other murders in the same area. We would like to go over a few details with you."

Brandon looked at Steve suspiciously before turning his attention back to Lori.

"Could we go to your office and talk" she asked.

"Yeah, OK."

Lori and Steve stepped back, allowing Mr. Brandon room to move between them to exit the boat. Without warning, Brandon ducked to his left and grabbed a stainless steel pipe. He swung the pipe toward Steve in one swift motion, but was knocked unceremoniously to the deck when his feet flew out from underneath him. Steve barely had time to react as Brandon landed flat on his back in front of him. Both men looked at Lori in disbelief. "That's a leg sweep, Mr. Brandon. I learned from the best". Steve snorted at the cocky lift of Lori's eyebrow. He rolled Mr. Brandon over and zip tied his hands behind his back. He reached for the pipe.

"What is that," Lori asked.

"It's bow railing. Great for capping knees, wouldn't you say?" Steve mimicked a blow to her right knee with the pipe. "I'll call it in and we can search for the blade".

Kono and Danny met Lori and Steve at Brandon's office. The search revealed a serrated rigging knife, wiped clean, but identical to the one Josephine Brandon used to kill herself. They also found a single piece of bow railing in Brandon's office closet. Kono delivered it to the lab in the hopes of finding skin cells from one or more of the victims on the pipe.

Exhausted from the day and the previous night, Lori could barely keep her eyes open at dinner with the rest of the team. Steve nudged Lori's elbow. "Looks like I might have to return a favor tonight".

"What's that," she asked, too tired to think.

"Come on, I'll drive you home".

On the way home, Lori closed her eyes and all but fell asleep as the wind blew a warm breeze across her face. She barely noticed when Steve pulled the truck to a stop outside of her apartment complex. "You did a great job on this case."

Lori rolled her head to the left to look at Steve. She gave him a lazy grin. "Thanks". With effort, she lifted her head from the head rest and reached for the door handle. Steve grabbed her arm. "Wait".

Lori stopped and turned back toward him. Steve opened his mouth to speak but hesitated. He instead graced her with a warm smile. "Sleep well. I'll see you Saturday night... Christmas Eve, don't forget".

"I'll be there," she promised.

A/N: Well, what do you think? I would love to hear from you!