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CHAPTER TEN

Danny and Steve had spent two hours with Ellen, Mike and Doctor Mitchell in their rambling home. Upon their arrival, Steve's wry glance towards Danny was discreetly admirable because whatever attitude he'd had at the office or in the truck had quite simply evaporated upon stepping foot on Ramirez soil. The barely seen snide turn of his partner's head and twitch of a particular middle finger clearly communicated Danny's own feelings of that opinion and Steve had nearly laughed out loud. Absolutely perturbed by the entire thing, Danny had been the very epitome of calm, cool and collected as they all tried to get to the bottom of Ponch's disappearance.

"I'd say we have probable cause." Chin concluded as both men summarized the family's worries and complaints. Now back at Five-0 Headquarters, they were comparing notes and more anxious to hear what Chin might have learned.

"According to Ellen, Ponch went to see Doctor Franklin Ray before he was scheduled to visit the clinic that same afternoon for a tour. He didn't say why he left so early, only that it was important." Danny was impatient as he repeated the key elements. Ellen had worked the night shift, coming home mid-morning to an empty house which was normal unto itself because Ponch would have dutifully been at the clinic. With her nerves how shattered after the passage of so many hours, she had been in tears while explaining Jasper's direct call to her in search of her husband.

"Jasper only had an early morning voicemail from Ponch." Steve added. "He mentioned running by Ray's house but fully expected to be at the clinic by late morning."

"Well, besides being the last person to see Ponch, what he used to collect when he was younger is terrifying. He stopped after his father died." Chin said as he swiped a dozen images onto the main viewing screen from the Smart table. Each snake was in a threatening pose with its Latin genus noted duly underneath next to a more common moniker. Next to him, Danny folded his arms protectively across his chest before backing a subtle half-step. The old cold case files with their pictures of the deceased victims, deliberate descriptions and lack of over-riding proof had been bad enough.

"You're kidding. Snakes? He used to collect snakes?" Danny murmured as a feeling of ice settled in the pit of his stomach. The sight of so many photographs unnerved him and was much worse, especially when his eyes settled on the picture of a coral snake very much like the one Max had shown them. The subsequent realization came hard on his initial reaction's heels and he glanced to Steve who seemed almost angry as he studied each photograph. The volume of what Chin uncovered in a few short hours solely related to Doctor Franklin Ray was beyond staggering.

"He's the connection." Danny whispered as he fought a feeling of being disembodied when the well-appointed, darkly hued bedroom flit across his mind.

"I'm not so sure he used to collect anything. I don't think he ever stopped. He's slick and very, very smart," Steve noted as he looked at each of the impressive pictures. He also was agreeing wholeheartedly as he approved of Chin's first presentation of interesting findings.

"It took him a long time to make a mistake, but he made that mistake here. He just gave us a more than a very good reason to pay him a personal visit." Steve added firmly.

"You think he's responsible for the deaths here?" Like all of them, Kono was upset by the news of the doctor's disappearance. She'd returned to the offices as soon as her cousin contacted her with the news concerning Doctor Ramirez. It didn't bode well for him as shady dots were connected from the mainland back to a wealthy philanthropic Doctor of Anthropology with an interesting, eccentric hobby.

"I guess it could make sense, but do we have enough to get on the property?" Kono added worriedly. "Besides, the two vics here are women. Even the ones from the mainland are all female; why would he want Doctor Ramirez?"

"Step one is because Ellen said this Franklin Ray is the last person who physically saw Ponch. That gets us on the property." Torn by splintered images of his nightmare, Danny had been chomping at the bit to gain the tiniest shred of evidence even dared to hint at where their friend might be. He rubbed his chest though where a fist-sized knot had taken up a temporary home of sorts. His next observation stunned them all and had Steve literally cursing at the concept.

"As to why, it's because Ponch is a medical doctor. Max said that intervention failed each time." Danny's eyes were dark with worry as he digested his own concept and nodded. "If Ray is our guy, it makes sense for him to want better resources to improve his end result. He'd want a real doctor and Ponch is one of the best."

"Kidnapping." Chin sniffed thoughtfully. Lost in thought, Chin tapped the table restlessly. He was swiping through picture after picture, distressed that he had yet to see a benign snake. Each of them were deadly in its own right. His research into the cold case and each of the mainland deaths was more than disturbing. He had also pulled up particulars on the Ray mansion and recent goings on per Steve's direction and that had continued to yield an array of interesting information.

"Doctor Franklin Ray moved here from Virginia a little over two years ago. Prior to that he traveled the world, spending significant time in Asia and India. He's a certified pilot and a generous philanthropist favoring cultural endeavors, especially that of "Sa Prathama Sanskrati Vishvavara" — more commonly what we call India, which is considered by many to be the first and most supreme culture in the world."

Chin made a face because there was so much more that begged to be cobbled together yet it all seemed to evade a direct tie. As he read and reread the old cold case files, then evaluated Ray's current living arrangements, he was sure something was decidedly wrong with the setup.

"The mansion is large and he lives in the main wing with one employee." Chin heaved in a patient sigh. "Riku Bhandari has worked for Franklin Ray for a number of years. They met in Calcutta or Kolkata which is more correct, and Ray pulled him out of the slums." He slowed down as he read a new file out loud, something he hadn't quite seen before. But as he read, certain things were entirely making sense. In fact, it was truly eye-opening.

"This part is interesting, too. Bhandari is a fifth generation snake handler. A snake charmer for lack of another description." With that, Chin swiped is hand across the Smart table to show the team a much younger image of Bhandari with his father performing on a dusty Indian square to a horde of excited watchers. The young man was handsome in his youth, smiling and clearly at ease with the attention and his family's trade.

"Fabulous. Sounds like a very good reason to implement step two." Uncharacteristically, Danny muttered under his breath before forcing his feet to remain rooted to where he stood. He was unable to tear his eyes from the images though as he spoke. "So tell me again, why exactly the authorities couldn't find a way to stick this guy?"

"He was questioned numerous times but there was a definitive lack of proof. There wasn't a single snake in his possession after his father died from a poisonous snake bite. He said he hated them all due to bad memories and moved on. He allowed searches and welcomed the authorities. There wasn't a trace of a single animal on the property; no food stuffs or bedding. Nothing," Kono reiterated what her cousin had already laid out. She didn't need to say that the food would be live either. They knew that mice, rats or rabbits were the mainstay of the reptiles' diet.

"He went underground. He didn't stop." Steve was sure of it as they discussed the findings. There had to be a reason as to why Ray had been part of the various persons of interest interviewed at one time or another. "His past supposed collection must have been impressive. Why else was he questioned?"

Quietly, the four paused to page through the photographs and certain interesting bits of information duly noted in a few of the files.

"Hindsight." Steve rudely complained about his personal appraisal of the documentation while he glanced worriedly towards Danny. As he thought, Danny's temper was firmly back in place but communicated only by a severe, stony expression.

"You said that Ellen didn't think Franklin Ray was capable of harming Ponch, though. Right?" Kono quietly questioned, causing Danny to shake his head. That part of their conversation at the house had been the most difficult even though they'd both been exceedingly cautious floating the idea to the Ramirez family.

"No, Ellen had a very difficult time with this concept at first." Danny added, frowning as he pictured Ellen's shocked reaction in her kitchen.

"No, I can't see that being the case. Not Frank. And why ever would you think that he's done something?" Ellen's eyes had widened in total disbelief. "He and Alphonse met at a fundraiser months ago and became fast friends. They've gotten together many times for drinks and even a round of golf. Frank was here for dinner to initially meet everyone and discuss if the clinic might fit within his philanthropic program. He doesn't donate to just anyone."

"We're just talking, Ellen, and it might be nothing. Danny and I are going to pay him a personal visit and I'm only asking now because it might help us; what do you know about him?" Steve had coached as gently as possible. He had kept any deeper hypotheses out of the discussion by dwelling on the sole fact that Ray could have been the last person to see her husband. "Other than this deep pockets and supposed interest in the clinic, what do you know about Doctor Franklin Ray?"

No one had been able to answer the question. Still crying, Ellen had stared at Mike, who only managed an angry shrug of sorts. Even Jasper had toyed worriedly at his lip, looking down at his hands to finally shake his head because he had nothing to offer.

"The only thing Ellen added was knowing that Ray had a niece." Danny sighed pensively, scowling though when Kono made a funny noise.

"No he doesn't." Kono argued while displacing her cousin's overhead display with a younger picture of Franklin Ray with his parents. "He's an only child. So unless he's referring to a god child or someone else, there is absolutely no niece in his life."

Steve could only throw his hands up in the air as he stared at the old family photograph. Slim as it could be, it was a type of exaggeration or even a downright lie. "What else? Anything else we can use, Chin?'

"Oh yes. Check this out." Chin was boasting now though he wasn't sure how important it might be. But to him, the findings were telling. His investigation into the man's comings and goings included who he'd hired or done business with locally. Such information provided a trail of daily behavior and ingrained habits. The property was huge and yet only the two men occupied a small portion of its space.

Other than his own occasional attendance at swanky soirees and fundraisers where he was free and easy with his checkbook, he held no parties and no social gatherings of note. Other than Doctor Ramirez, he had no external acquaintances of any kind. On top of these things, the list of paid staff was incredibly short and it focused on two key areas: gardening and the basic care of three horses.

"Even if he's living in one-quarter of that house, in more than two years what millionaire have you ever heard of who doesn't have at least one housekeeper?" Chin was sure that fact meant something. Other than Riku Bhandari, no one was every invited to or had a need to enter the house ... paid or otherwise.

"A gardening crew comes once a week and there's a monthly delivery of grain and hay to the stables." Chin continued, utterly unaware that he was accidentally raising a new flotilla of red flags to brandish in Danny's ashen face. He missed the steadying hand which Steve had astutely laid on Danny's shoulder as he suddenly swayed in place.

"Stables? Horses?" Stunned, Danny blinked as a weird shudder ran through his body. Looking over to Steve in total disbelief, he lowered his voice to barely a whisper. "He has horses? I'm so done with this if one of them is gray."

"Yeah. He's got three behind the main house to the rear of the property." Reading off his notes, Chin didn't look up or hear what Danny had whispered. "In fact, there's a second entrance back there where those deliveries are made. I'm guessing that Riku Bhandari masquerades as the stablehand, too. This guy is quite multi-talented."

"I'm not sure I like this new skill of yours, Danno." Steve muttered quietly as Danny's shoulder sagged under his hand. Blowing a thread of air through pursed lips, Chin read on as Steve moved closer both to buoy his partner and to hear more of what was being explained.

"We have to get over there." The new strain in Danny's voice made both cousins look up. As each syllable was uttered, his voice rose uncontrollably until he was almost shouting without meaning to.

"It's more than enough! Old hobbies? Max found horse hair on Gail Lusscroft. Ponch saw this guy last ... he's got no niece and his one full-time employee is a what? A snake charmer? Who in god's name is a snake charmer!"

Wiping sweat from his face, Danny stared hard at Chin who finally nodded in full agreement. The cousins were perplexed by the sudden emotion but assumed it was entirely because of the unsavory subject and Ponch's disappearance. They, too, were unsettled if their combined new hypothesis of Ray as their suspect was valid. Especially if the rich philanthropist had indeed kidnapped a medical doctor and one of their good friends to further his terrible research.

"Ten to one, he's our maniacal snake-man. I say we go." Using both hands, Danny rubbed both hands over his face before palming his eyes to vainly force shadowed ghosts out of his head.

"Agreed." Steve simply stated. Under his hand, Danny's shoulder held a fine tremble and Steve tried to settle him with another reassuring subtle squeeze. "I totally agree."

More than thoughtful about the new information and completely unable to even smile at Danny's 'snake-man' label, Steve rubbed Danny's shoulder before releasing him to rap the table with purpose. It was the team's command to get their things together that very minute because they were leaving. "Yeah, this is more than enough for me …. definitely enough for probable cause."

~ to be continued ~