Justified – Story 1 in the Unbreakable series
Disclaimer: Characters belong to the writers & producers of Hawaii Five-0. My own characters belong to me
Rating: T (for romance)
Pairing: Steve/OC, Steve/Danny (friendship - no slash)
Author's Note: More on Julia and Steve - need reviews and comments! Updated chapter
Julia pulled into the Visitor's Lot at Aliiolani Hale and pushed the button to close the roof on the Mazda. She picked up a small brush to straighten her hair, stashed her sunglasses in the glove compartment, then quietly sighed as she felt the long day begin to take its toll. She should be headed home right about now, grabbing a shower and a bite to eat, but instead she was here at Five-0's offices to work on a case. This wasn't her life anymore. Teaching, advising, researching was her job, not solving a murder. Still, she couldn't get the dead girl's face out of her head. There was something about this case. Maybe it was just something about McGarrett. She didn't deny that he was incredibly handsome. But more than that, there was a gentleness to him, almost a gallantry, that captivated her. It had been a long time since she had been surprised by anyone, let alone a man, and she sensed that Steve McGarrett was full of surprises.
She turned off the engine and grabbed her cell. As she reached for the door handle, her breath caught. Steve stood there, opening her door, with a grin on his face. Damn, she thought, frustrated a bit by the surprise. He knows he's caught me off-guard again. Refusing to be frazzled by the commander's unexpectedly kind behavior, Julia coolly stepped out of her car and thanked him a bit curtly. She reached into the back seat to grab her briefcase before locking the car and slipping her keys and phone into the pocket of her briefcase.
Julia had driven by the building many times, but had never been inside. As they stepped inside the lobby, she looked around in admiration. Steve placed his hand gently on the small of her back as he guided her to the marble staircase leading to their offices on the second floor. Danny grinned as he noticed Steve's gesture, determined to give him serious flack about it later in front of the team.
Steve stepped ahead to open the glass door into their headquarters for Dr. Abbott as Chin and Kono looked up a bit warily from the smart table at the civilian. It had been a long and fruitless day chasing down leads that were nothing more than dead-ends, and no one was keen on babysitting a Ph.D. who most likely would just point out the obvious. Chin liked Charlie Fong and thought he was a good forensics expert, but he didn't see how bringing in an accounting professor would break open this case. Chin hoped he was wrong, but more often than not, his instincts were correct, in which case this would be a waste of time they didn't have.
"Dr. Abbott, this is Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly," Steve said as they came up to the table. Julia put her briefcase down on a nearby chair and shook Lieutenant Kelly's hand. "Chin," he said gently, and smiled.
"Please, call me Julia," she responded kindly.
"And this is Officer Kono Kalakaua," Steve continued. Kono smiled, shook Julia's hand and responded simply, "It's just Kono. A little easier to say." Julia was relieved. Pronouncing local names was still a challenge for her, and mispronouncing someone's name was one of her personal pet peeves.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both." She paused, looking around the room and admiring the arched windows looking out over the city as the sun continued to set. "This building, it's stunning. I'm rather a fan of historical architecture, though I must confess, I don't know much about it."
"Oh, I doubt that very much," Danny joked. He glanced at Dr. Abbott to see how she'd react to his sarcasm.
She smiled, and laughed, "I guess by now you must think I am a huge nerd. I suppose I am. But that is why you asked me to come, right? I'll tell you what, I promise, no lectures on arcane accounting rules, audit procedures, or tax loopholes. I don't think there's enough coffee in the world for that," Julia deadpanned. The team grinned as a bit of the tension in the room eased.
Steve rubbed his jaw, the stubble reminding him of what a long day it had been. It wasn't so much the early morning call over a body that made him so tired. Steve was quite used to working long hours. He hadn't had a nine-to-five job since, oh, the summer after high school. What made today long was the realization that almost twelve hours after discovering the body, they still had an unidentified murder victim, no real leads, and the only persons of interest – the Chases - had airtight alibis.
"Kono, show Dr. Abbott what we have so far."
Kono started typing on the computer table, and brought up the file. She flicked some of the images up on to the flat screens. "So I understand Danny and Steve filled you in on the basics. Jane Doe washed up this morning around 4:30 a.m. at Pier 17 in the harbor. COD was a single gunshot wound to the forehead at close range. Ballistics were negative…." She paused as Julia started to walk up to the screens, peering carefully at pictures of the body.
"Detective Williams mentioned that there were no hits on facial recognition with DMV or NCIC. I'm assuming there was no match with ICE either, and nothing back from the standard BOLO. Did you try the State Department?" Julia asked, her eyes still glued to the picture of the dead woman.
"We don't have access to State Department records," Danny replied, watching Julia carefully. Had she been a cop at one point? It seemed strange that an accountant would know anything about the various databases that they'd use to identify a missing person.
Steve was thinking the same thing. Maybe Danny is right. How does Julia know about BOLOs and the NCIC? Yet she had a good point about checking passport records. "I'll call in a favor over at Naval Intelligence and see if they can run her image against State."
Julia steadied her breath but continued to look at the screen. She tilted her head slightly. "Her dress – someone mentioned it was couture?"
"Yes, but the designer doesn't have a boutique here, and none of the high-end shops in Waikiki carry that line," Kono continued.
"It doesn't look vintage. My guess it's relatively new. Since she didn't pass through Immigration to arrive here, that means likely she picked up the dress in either New York or Beverly Hills. Possibly Miami or Chicago, but I'd bet serious money that she's from Los Angeles. Do you guys have contacts with the police in Los Angeles and New York?
Danny answered, "Steve has a friend at NCIS in Los Angeles. I have good contacts in New York. We'll follow-up and send her picture over." Regardless of how she knew what she knew, Danny grudgingly admitted that Dr. Columbo here had some good ideas.
Julia stood silently looking at the pictures of the body for a moment longer, then turned to face the team. "I should get started. Can I get a hard copy of the articles on the Chases and Metadyne?" Steve nodded to Chin, who handed her a folder. "Mahalo."
"Let's get you settled. You can use my office while you're here." Steve picked up her briefcase, and opened the door to his office as Julia followed. Danny, Chin, and Kono exchanged brief glances of surprise. Steve rarely let anyone work in his office. Even when he had invited Jenna Kaye to work out of the Five-0 offices, she had camped out most of the time at the conference table near the smart table.