I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.
Notes: the muses are stressing and working hard. And yeah, the DWOCD stuff is eventually coming .. you KNOW the second visit to the apartment will cause our boys some unexpected issues!
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Chapter Three
A missing person's report had been filed on Joanna Pearce the very moment Five-0 confirmed the woman's illusive status. After leaving a very reluctant Kasey with Mrs. Watson, the social worker subsequently gave Danny and Steve a copy of the Pearce's CPS files. Her documentation naturally included the apartment address as well as Joanna Pearce's current employment situation as a maid for a local hotel.
Danny and Steve's first visit to Joanna Pearce's small rented apartment was a standard walk-through of sorts escorted by the building's lazy superintendent. He stared stupidly at the two men when they requested access to the apartment before making an annoyed face at having been disturbed from the sanctity of his own cool rooms.
"Jo pays me cash and always on time. She's no trouble." Without being asked, the man bluntly made the statements as he unlocked the door. He lingered in annoyance in the hallway as they walked through the incredibly small space. It was terribly hot and dimly lit but nothing seemed to be out-of-place or disturbed. In fact, there was precious little to be concerned about inside its dirty walls. Without air conditioning, they were covered in a sheen of sweat in seconds and didn't feel the need to remain longer than necessary. The few windows faced an alley and were wide open to bring in the even hotter and more humid outside air. The two-bedroom apartment was so barren, it looked barely lived in.
"She likes order." Kasey's tiny bedroom was spotless and as neat as could be with her sparse belongings. Acknowledging the same observation as Mrs. Watson, Danny noted the perfectly folded but woeful supply of mis-matched clothes in the abused second or even third-hand dresser. The old bed was made up neatly with its one thin pillow and well-worn blanket. One pair of tattered sneakers was positioned just so under the lone window. But there wasn't a single toy, game, picture book or typical childhood item to be found and the walls were barren of pictures or decoration. It was subsistence living at its very worst. The refrigerator was all but empty and the cupboards were indeed quite bare.
"This isn't right. She had a job and a paycheck. So where the hell is the damned food? She just walked out and left her daughter absolutely nothing?" Danny slammed the door to the empty cabinet shut with such force that it splintered and a hinge cracked. He left it hanging by one remaining rusted end where it swayed dangerously over the yellowed and pitted linoleum countertop.
"Easy, Danno. We don't know enough yet." Steve's foul mood also escalated as they walked around each room and found nothing of inherent value. Joanna's uniform lay balled up in a mess in the closet. But there was no mail or personal paperwork. No telephone or computer. Joanna Pearce evidently traveled lightly and kept little proof of her existence. The two men found nothing and so left the apartment feeling only more angered and frustrated by the dismal existence.
Their second planned stop of the day would be Joanna's place of employment. But on the way to the hotel to question the office manager, Steve spontaneously pulled into the parking lot of a pleasant little toy store. And this time Danny wasn't particularly amused. They were mutually upset by the sheer lack of normal child-appropriate things in the little girl's life. Danny selected two books that were Grace's particular bedtime favorites. Steve found a stuffed teddy bear with a secret zipper in his plush tummy.
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At the hotel employment office, the manager willingly shared his last conversation with Joanna. He was truthful in that she had been sent home from work a few days earlier with a stomach virus. However, she simply had not shown up again.
"She was very sick that day. But I haven't heard from her since and she doesn't have a telephone." The manager explained lightly. "I didn't think too much of her not coming back since turnover for this type of job is always high."
Her employer had precious little other information since he hadn't bothered with a background check or asked for references. Her small work locker was empty except for a spare pair of sneakers and a second clean uniform. However, her application form at least listed a prior address in Los Angeles and there was a new photograph of Joanna used for hotel security. The documents were more than they originally had in their possession and Danny sent copies of each to Kono.
The next order of business was to visit Kasey and Mrs. Watson with the special gifts. Both men stood silently in the doorway to the room where Kasey was supposed to be playing. Instead, she looked lonely, tiny and completely trapped. She was sitting alone in the corner just gazing blindly out a window when Steve happily dangled the new bear in front of her sad face and put the books on her lap.
"Hey, Kase. Look what we got for you, sweetie."
"Steve! Danny!" She hadn't expected to see either of them so quickly and she was immediately excited. Her dark eyes flew first to the teddy and then up to Steve's in bewilderment since she hadn't had a real gift since her mother had given her the jewelry box on her seventh birthday. She caressed the books happily before daring to touch the teddy bear. The plush toy was so very new with a bright yellow bow wrapped around his squishy neck to show off his equally sunny bear smile.
"These are for me? But .. why?" Kasey frowned and then was almost leery. She wasn't quite sure what to do as both Danny and Steve beamed happily at her.
"Of course they're for you." Danny rolled his eyes playfully with a dramatic shrug before feigning insult by her questions. "And why not?"
"Hey!" Her frown faded as Steve waggled the bear in front of her face again. "Don't you like Mr. Bear?"
Her grin peeked out then as she stood on the chair to give Danny a kiss and then wrapped her arms around Steve and the teddy bear. Kasey was completely at ease in his presence but still almost too hesitant to accept the generous gifts. Danny stayed for a time until Steve sat back down with her on his lap for a quiet talk. He walked away on a particular mission when Steve thumbed through the books and then demonstrated the secret zippered pocket in the bear's plush tummy. One of his business cards was the first stowed treasure and Kasey's face had finally broken into an enormously pleased smile.
Danny left them to speak to Mrs. Watson and discuss Kasey's immediate future and that was when the first discussions regarding placement with a foster family had come up. An available family had already been identified and Kasey could be sleeping in a cozy bed that very night.
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Less than an hour after Steve and Danny's visited the hotel manager at the employment office, Kono had the rest of Joanna Pearce's available personal information in hand. While it certainly wasn't much, it got her started on trying to define more of the missing woman's history. However, Kono was stunned as her customary practices drew her down a certain path. Danny had sent her Joanna Pearce's photo identification picture from her official hotel employment badge and the surprise started exactly with the glossy picture. In addition, the office manager also had a photocopy of her Virginia driver's license which was something of a special prize for Kono.
Based now though on what she next discovered by putting these two pieces of information together, Kono suddenly wasn't too surprised when the woman's last noted address in California didn't even exist.
Joanna Pearce was not who she said she was - at all.
Kono pulled up Joanna Pearce's data using the most current CPS and available employment information. It was standard practice and should have yielded fairly basic results. However, Kono traced the Virginia driver's license information to a single, thirty-nine year old black woman from the Virginia Beach area. She checked and then cross-checked her findings to be certain but her data references as entered into the computer were accurate.
What had happened was then obvious because Kasey's mother was without a doubt, caucasian. The true Joanna Pearce's identity had been stolen. The information changed the way they looked at the case. Joanna Pearce could be missing, abducted, dead or could even have walked out completely on her child.
Kono stared at the rightful owner of the name in amazement and then looked at the photograph taken by hotel security for their woman's work badge. The real Joanna Pearce was tall at five foot-nine inches and strikingly beautiful even in an older grainy picture. Their Joanna Pearce, mother of a ten-year old girl, was attractive but much shorter and quite blonde. As far as Kono could determine, the only possible thing the two women might have in common was their age. Her next roadblock was unexpectedly the real Joanna Pearce.
"I don't believe this!" Kono muttered to herself while leaning over the smart table. It was perhaps not all that surprising since one of the most popular types of identity thefts had to do with the deceased. But it was nonetheless frustrating and her next words were more rhetorical in nature.
"You can't be dead."
The real Joanna was reported as having been killed in the line of duty near a small town outside of Kabul during her last term of service in the National Guard close to four years earlier. She was a career National Guardsman. She had no family or connections other than official records in her National Guard files. For the moment and with only the photo ID from her hotel job, they had come to a screeching halt. She sent the new photo to Steve and Danny with a summary of her findings. For a reason as yet unknown, their Joanna Pearce had either directly stolen or even purchased someone else's identity ... which meant that Kasey was also an enigma.
For the moment, Joanna and Kasey Pearce were complete mysteries. Obviously, exactly what the mother had wanted since even Kono was currently stymied by their true identities. And without a stronger defined starting point or time-frame, reviewing thousands of missing children's files was taking an inordinate amount of time. Pushing her hair determinedly behind her ear, Kono switched gears to focus on Kasey and the volumes of data at her disposal. Her whim was to begin with records and missing children's cases in Virginia even though their Joanna Pearce could have purchased the identity anywhere.
"One never knows." Kono sighed to herself as she started her research with an open mind.
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As predicted, the weather had begun to take a serious turn for the worse by the next day. The high winds arrived first bringing treacherous surf warnings which ran up and down the coast. It was difficult to understand the coming dangers based on the startling blue skies and sheer lack of clouds. Ignorant tourists heard and then ignored the initial warnings that belied the beautiful weather. Only to find out the hard way that it hid dangerous rip tides and strong waves keeping life-guards and the Coast Guard overly occupied. After the truly foolish had learned the only way they knew how, the ocean was dotted with the few remaining and quite expert diehard surfers. Those adrenalin seekers venturing out into the powerful waves at their own risk, while public beaches were eventually closed everywhere.
Meteorologists now officially classified the weather event as a tropical storm. Rivers of dirty run-off clogged streets and closed others entirely. By late evening, the limited relief from the stifling heat was exchanged for a new problem as sporadic downpours and extremely high winds worsened. The threat of flash floods more inland was publicized hourly and neighborhoods were being force-evacuated to prevent injuries and deaths. And just when the rain abated and the sky looked as if it might conquer the clouds, the darkness gathered ominously to beat any remaining brightness back. The storm intensified during the overnight hours and a foot of rain had already fallen by dawn. More was being forecast with a surprising potential for even a tornado.
Steve had just gotten into his office and changed into a dry t-shirt when the phone rang. He listened briefly and his face immediately hardened. "How long has she been missing?"
Danny was on his heels as Steve answered the first ring. Just by the look on his partner's face and undisguised heat in his voice, Danny quickly ascertained the reason behind the call. It was undoubtedly CPS or the social worker and something had happened to Kasey in the much too short span of time since she'd been placed in their care. His own expression reflected a rising irritation as he absorbed the one-sided conversation.
"Between three and six hours!" Steve's tone of voice mirrored the shock on his face. Danny inwardly flinched as he watched Steve's face angrily morph at the startling delay in anyone discovering Kasey's sudden disappearance. But in a very typical fashion, he suddenly became reticent and even dangerously thoughtful.
"Where exactly are they looking?"
Danny certainly didn't pity whomever was on the other side of the phone because they were getting off relatively easy. This was a live example of where each man would seriously deviate entirely. He would have said truthfully much more - and quite colorfully - prior to pitching the offensive device through the closest plaster wall. Mentally, Danny backtracked to estimate the perceived window of time. Before even making it to day two with her foster family, Kasey had run away between three and six o'clock in the morning. It was an abhorrent issue that no one missed the little girl until it was much too late.
"Yes, I'm sure they're upset. I don't doubt it and this storm makes it all the worse." There was a pause which did nothing to ease the look of anger which locked itself to Steve's face, however Danny was blatantly surprised when he simply hung up without uttering another single syllable.
Tight with worry, Steve rubbed his hand over his face before groaning through his splayed fingers. "I can't believe this."
Their day had barely begun. His hair was wet from the rain that morning and it was sticking up in messy spikes as he palmed his forehead. For some obscure reason, Danny's own hair was immaculately in place and completely dry. He was sitting on the arm of the leather couch in the office before asking the inevitable question that reconfirmed what he had already heard. There was no doubt that Danny was distressed, but Kasey had gotten particularly under Steve's skin and the team's investigation into Joanna Pearce had quickly become a quagmire of ills unto itself. In the meantime, it was no secret to anyone that Steve had continued to keep a strongly vested eye on the little girl.
Prodding his partner now about the phone call, Danny growled bitterly under his breath. "So. She ran away."
"According to Mrs. Watson, the foster family didn't realize that she'd been missing for hours. They still searching the neighborhood closest to the house. They think she squeezed out through the bathroom window during the storm last night or sometime very early this morning. I can't believe they didn't see this coming. How could she get out of that house with no one noticing?"
His furious attitude was much different in front of Danny by what he almost unfairly perceived as continued negligence. He slapped his desk with his hand and the outburst sent papers scattering to the floor. "We need to get her information out to ..."
But not even a half second later his phone was ringing again - this time the interruption was Duke Lukela advising them that HPD already knew of Kasey's status and confirming that he had just implemented the Maile Amber alert. Obviously, Mrs. Watson and the Anderson's were multi-tasking in fear for the little girl's safety. In a way, it was satisfying news. It left both Steve and Danny even more time to follow-up with other agencies plus inform Chin and Kono to widen the search.
Steve was still shaking his head though as he gathered his things together to leave the office. "Always .. too damned late!"
He stood up from his desk and anxiously looked out his office window. They were now in the middle of the violent tropical storm with no immediate end in sight. Micro storms rolled over the city one by one with hardly a lull. And now he knew of one small child that was likely outside and lost when she should have been safe.
"She could be anywhere." He spoke into the glass as he watched a gust of wind send the rain sideways across the parking lot. There was no easy answer as Danny got ready to leave because without a doubt, they would be tabling their work for the day and taking a drive. A strong gust of wind suddenly rattled the glass and suddenly they were on their way out the door.
Before hitting the lobby, Danny grimaced in frustration as he looked at the dark skies and then offered his own suggestions for a possible starting place. "Let's begin at the apartment and then move to the mall where we first found her. She did a great job getting away from us there."
Steve gave out with a rueful snort and almost wry grin to agree with that observation as Danny smiled. "Regardless with this weather, there aren't too many places for her to go and both locations are going to be the most familiar."
Danny and Steve had both been present when the foster family met Kasey. In fact, Steve had carried her to their doorstep with promises to see or at least call her every day. The Anderson's were a pleasant, middle-aged couple with a teenage son. But Kasey couldn't have been less interested in the overwhelming business of being placed in a new home. She was used to being alone and definitely not the center of attention. Even on the few occasions that her mother was home, they often occupied the same space in silence. So when Danny, Steve and Mrs. Watson brought her to the Anderson's large airy home with a happy boisterous teenager, Kasey did something completely unexpected.
She had pushed herself roughly out of Steve's arms and silently walked away from him and into the kitchen. Kasey ignored him when he softly called her name. Her breathing had changed to take on a tiny whimper while she tried to take everything in and then simply, couldn't. The safest place seemed to be under the kitchen table and that was exactly where she went to hide with her plush teddy bear and two special books. Her knees pulled up to her chin and she hid her face in her arms and simply tuned everyone and everything out. The house was much too noisy, too bright and very big. It only worsened her feelings of loss as she made her dislike of a new family known no matter how temporary it might be. It then took a long time for both Danny and Steve to coax her out which only made the transfer more difficult.
Steve thought of that now as they drove back to the poor excuse of an apartment and hoped that she would be there. He would admit that the Anderson's were a lovely, generous family. But they represented an enormous change for a little girl who suddenly couldn't cope and so she had done the unthinkable - she had run away. He looked at the black sky and sighed because what was unthinkable to every adult in the room, evidently was the most natural next step for the ten-year old.
Steve slammed the steering wheel in a worried anger as they drove through the sodden streets. Thunder boomed overhead and lighting lit the sky. Nothing seemed to be going right for a frightened little girl based on her flight from the safety of her new foster family's home. Equally concerned, Danny didn't even react to the spontaneous burst of raw emotion.
"In this storm? Why would she do this." Only blocks from the apartment building, Steve felt his own guilt rising as he looked vainly up and down every cross street. He didn't exactly know why, but she had wanted to stay with him. Her frightened eyes had spoken volumes before they had left the Anderson's house and yet, he had walked away. Steve felt his anxiety rise as he fidgeted in the driver's seat. If he had done more or something completely different, Kasey would be safe. She had trusted him and he had literally discarded her on a stranger's doorstep.
"Don't go there, Steven. She's used to a certain way of living and we can't even guess what that might be." His much too perceptive partner had clearly noticed the pensive expression flicker across his face. He'd suddenly become too quiet in the car and Danny easily read his thoughts. But Danny almost grinned because Kasey was 'slippery' and seemed to be able to do the impossible. The tiny girl was indeed very good at pulling a vanishing act when least expected.
Danny wasn't at all happy and he was as worried as Steve, but he did honestly believe in one core thing. Turning partially in the passenger seat, Danny's left hand graced the air between them as he made that point with succinct purpose. "We - you and I - we absolutely did the right thing. We did what was best for her based on these circumstances. I also guarantee Kono will eventually come up with something useful. "
It was all true and Steve nodded solemnly since Danny was absolutely correct. There was nothing to say as they began their search. The wind was picking up and the rain was now coming down in hard sheets across the windshield. It forced Steve to put the windshield wipers on high to see what little they could of the road. But soon there was another solid thump on the Camaro's defenseless steering wheel which finally made Danny stare across the seat at him.
Steve's exasperation was growing as the storm stalled over the city to dump heavier rain and strong gusts of wind rattled the Camaro as they drove. He knew it was useless to complain but he was equally astonished and annoyed by Kasey's feat. "Danny, what was she thinking? Where did she go?"
Danny sighed as he looked at his partner and then back out into the streets. Volumes of stress rolled off him yet Danny refused to verbalize what they both knew the truth to be. The child simply wanted her mother and they had no right to judge that relationship or a little girl's feelings. Her mother was all that she knew and the dreary living situation was unfortunately very normal in Kasey's eyes.
So he offered an abbreviated reason which didn't make either of them feel better. "She's scared and not thinking past her little, stubborn nose. But we'll find her, Steve. She couldn't have gotten too far."
~ to be continued ~