Justified – Story 1 in the Unbreakable series
Disclaimer: Characters belong to the writers & producers of Hawaii Five-0.
Rating: K
Pairing: Steve/OC, Steve/Danny (friendship - no slash)
Author's Note: Please keep the reviews and suggestions coming! Thanks! Updated chapter!
The Chases had left two days ago for Bali and would be returning in a few days on Saturday, their housekeeper said. The housekeeper and staff didn't recognize the victim, but McGarrett wasn't sure they would say if they did either way. With the sort of money and lawyers he knew the Chases had, their staff was sure to be tight-lipped about any potential indiscretions. As he and Danny drove back to headquarters, Steve kept seeing the face of the nameless girl with the bullet in her head. He stared ahead, trying to figure out their next move.
"We should call Douglas Chase's cell." Steve determined.
"We should call his cell? Yeah, that's a brilliant idea, Steven. We'll call him. He'll deny everything, of course, claim his card was missing, whatever, or he bought the bracelet for his wife and she lost it, and she'll cover for him. Plus then they get four more days to tighten up their story. He can buy Mrs. Chase a new private island, and she'll get a few million dollars in her Cayman account and stand by her man. Short of heading to Bali, we're stuck. You don't suppose the governor would spring for a trip to Bali, would you?"
Steve looked at Danny and stated simply, "You're right."
"I'm sorry, I'm what? Did you say 'right'? I gotta get this on the record, because we both know, you'll never admit it." Danny laughed. Steve's phone rang, interrupting them.
"Hey Chin, did you find anything?" Steve responded.
"The story about Bali checks out. The Chases have a house there, and they flew out of Oahu on a private jet on Sunday morning. We spoke with the crew, who confirmed Mr. & Mrs. were on the jet."
"How about the financials? Anything unusual?" Danny interrupted.
Kono chimed in, "No, brah, nothing there. Chase spends like a typical rich dude, but no apartment rentals, car leases, large withdrawals… nothing to indicate a mistress or hired gunman." Kono continued with a small sigh, "Just a dead end."
"We're heading to the coroner's. Maybe Max has some more information." Steve thought for a minute. "Talk to Fong. Maybe he can take a look and see if we're missing something." Steve was hopeful the CSU whiz could come up with some way of at least identifying Jane Doe.
Kono replied, "I'll send him the info we've gathered so far. Hopefully he'll have a few ideas."
Twenty minutes later, Steve and Danny pulled up to the Coroner's Office. Danny had spent time undercover in some nasty, seedy places in his years as a cop, but hanging out at the morgue was by far the worst. It wasn't just the smell of the formaldehyde, or the dead bodies. It was the pervasive quiet, the low level of tension that filled every inch of the place, only to periodically be interrupted by the sobs of a family member coming to identify a dead loved one. At least that was better than the girl they'd found this morning. DOAs were part of the job, Danny knew that, but when he couldn't put a name to the body, he kept thinking of what he'd do if something happened to Grace or Rachel and he didn't know about it. Not knowing what had happened was much worse than knowing someone you loved was dead.
Max was reviewing a report when they arrived. Putting it down, he walked over to their victim's body and uncovered her face and upper body, exposing the Y-shaped scar from her autopsy. "The toxicology report shows an unusual amount of methohexital sodium in the victim's blood, and I found a small puncture wound here, on the side of her neck. The body also had some small bruising around her left arm, here, and here," Max stated clinically, as he pointed to the dead woman's upper arm.
Danny looked at the body carefully. "So she was probably grabbed from behind in a cross-hold, he held her arm, and injected her in the side of her neck. Methohexital, what is that, anyway?"
Max looked at Steve and Danny carefully. "It is a fast-acting tranquilizer, typically used to treat seizures or for rapid induction of anesthesia. It can slow or stop a person's breathing if used improperly without monitoring."
"I'm sure the killer didn't care. He wanted to knock her out quickly. But why not just inject her with a lethal dose?" Steve questioned.
"Maybe he wanted to grab and go. Incapacitate her, ask her questions later or make it a personal kill," Danny offered, thoughtfully. This didn't seem like a typical murder. "Was there anything unusual about the bruising on her arm where he grabbed her?"
"Unfortunately, the impressions did not leave any distinct marks from a ring or anything to identify the killer," Max replied. "I did, however, find a small amount of residue on her mouth, wrists, and ankles. I'm doing further tests, but I would render a guess that it is from …"
"Duct tape," Steve interrupted.
"Yes, Commander. It seems like duct tape or some sort of adhesive binding would be a logical choice."
Danny started walking around the room, gesturing with his hands as he thought through the scenario aloud. "So let me get this straight. The guy comes up behind her, wraps his left arm around her chest, tight, and grabs her right arm to keep her steady, injects her on the side of her neck with this tranquilizer, binds her, takes off the tape, and shoots her. Or shoots her and then takes off the tape. Either way, he wanted her alive for a time after he grabbed her."
"That is likely, Detective."
"Did you find anything else, Max?" Steve asked.
"No. The official cause of death is gunshot wound to the head, as I'm sure you surmised. Ballistics confirmed it was a .38, but the bullet did not match any ballistics on file. I am afraid I do not have more information."