by Sammie
All notes in first part.
Thank you to all who have read up to this point, and a special thanks to those who took the time to review!
"Until we get back that video and figure out who might have talked to Billie, you'll be here," Steve replied as he let her and Billie in, then went to shut the door and lock it. "It's safe."
"I'm not safe in my apartment?" Kono asked, turning to look at him. In her arms, Billie yawned and then laid her head back on the cop's shoulder.
"i'm not going to put an entire apartment building at risk because of a witness in one apartment," Steve pointed out. "I have a single home, with the neighbors at some distance."
"Good point."
He led her up the stairs before opening the door to a a clean but unused room. "I'll let you stay here. Large queen bed; private, full master bath. It'll be easier for you, because of - " he waved at the sleepy child.
Kono looked around, and Steve watched as something clicked in her mind as she took in the pictures and decor. She looked at him briefly but said nothing. "If you're sure," she said quietly.
He gave a mirthless smile. "It's not like my parents are getting any use out of the bedroom any more," he replied, and she didn't answer.
"Want to go to bed now, keiki?" Kono asked gently, putting a hand on the child's back.
"Not sweepy." Followed by a yawn.
"OK," Kono pretended to agree. "I have to go get some things downstairs, so will you wait here for me?"
"'K." Kono set her on the bed, arranging her with her toys, and pulled a light blanket over her. Billie sat on the bed without protest, leaning on the pillows, and fell asleep almost instantly.
Kono gave her a peck on the forehead, then followed Steve out of the room and downstairs. "I'm going to need some things for her, though - so I have to go to the store. I'll also need a small step-stool for the bathroom, if you have one."
"In the garage; my dad made it for me and my sister. Come on." Steve trotted towards the garage, holding the door open for his teammate to enter and then flicking on the light. She gave a small whistle as they entered the garage. "Great car, right?" he grinned.
"Awesome car!" Kono corrected as she walked around it slowly, drinking in the sight of the classic. "Mercury Marquis. What year?"
"'74."
"Gorgeous," Kono murmured, passing her hand just an inch above the hood, before stooping to peek into the windows before popping up over the hood to grin at her boss. "You should have shared that you had this beauty."
"I did share!"
Kono frowned, her brow furrowing, before a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Is this the 'spawn of Satan' Danny keeps referring to?"
"'Spawn of Satan'?" Steve looked insulted.
Kono just laughed, then bent back over to look inside the driver's side, admiring the interior. "Jersey just can't appreciate beauty when he sees it. Does it drive now? 'Cause if it doesn't, I swear I'll work on it. For free."
"A woman after my own heart," Steve joked. "Where have you been all my life?"
"In jail for stealing this car," Kono returned, not even taking her eyes off of it. "May I?"
He grinned and nodded, and before he was even done, she had the driver's side door open and was inside. Steve came around to lean in the driver's side, an amused grin on his face. "Like it?"
"I do. My grandfather had a first generation Marquis." Kono's eyes twinkled as she ran her hand across the dashboard.
The doorbell rang, and Steve climbed the stairs out of the garage. "Look up on that back shelf for the step-stool," he instructed as he departed. He reached the front door, wiping his hands, and then swung open the door, blinking a moment in surprise.
Catherine smiled, giving him a small wave.
He blinked, then a guilty look crossed his face. "Catherine." He blinked. "I'm sorry. I totally forgot. How'd you get here?"
"Cab."
"Why didn't you call me?" Steve frowned.
"I did."
Steve checked his phone, his face twisted even more. "Sorry."
She just waved it off with a small smile as he took her bag. "I thought you had off work today," she commented.
"I did, but the governor asked us to take this case."
"Boss, I found the stool, but I'm also going to need to run out and get some other things from the store," came a voice from downstairs, and then footsteps on the stairs leading back up to the house. "Do you want anything while I'm out?" Kono appeared, the stool in her hands. "Oh, hi." The cop stood in the doorway, looking towards the front door, as Catherine turned to look at Steve, an eyebrow raised.
The Hawaiian looked at her boss, then at the tall brunette, then back at her boss. Steve groaned to himself as he watched understanding - and a great deal of mischief - cross his teammate's face. She turned back to Catherine. "I'm Kono," she greeted with a merry grin, her hand extended. "Kalakaua. I work for the 5-0."
"Catherine Rollins," the Navy woman replied, returning the friendly smile with one of her own.
"Pleasure to meet you," Kono grinned, her eyes dancing in delight. "Sorry. Boss keeps his private life pretty private. It's GREAT to meet you."
Steve glared at her. Kono ignored it.
"It's finally nice to get to meet somebody from the work that so dominates his life," Catherine replied, smiling genuinely.
"I'll, uh, leave him to explain," Kono replied with a cheeky grin. Catherine looked over at Steve just long enough to see the man shoot a look of betrayal at the departing woman. "I'm leaving Billie," Kono now said to her boss. "She's asleep upstairs in the room."
"I'll take care of her." Steve nodded as Kono trotted out the door.
Catherine turned to Steve, a patiently bemused look under an arched eyebrow.
"It's a long story."
"I've got the time."
"Thanks for stopping by before you left," Charlie replied as the cop came in. "I wasn't sure if anybody was left over at 5-0."
"Just me," Chin replied. He leaned over, resting his elbows on the desktop as he looked at the images on the computer monitor. "So what is it?"
"I looked through the things Kono brought over from Holden's office. These two stood out." Charlie held up two evidence bags, one of a small notepad and the other a small bottle. "Care to pick a door?"
"We'll start with the door on the left, Mr. Fong."
Charlie nodded. "This was pretty simple. The bottle was found on the floor under the desk - seemed to have dropped off and rolled under the desk."
"OK," Chin drew out. "Not his?"
"I checked with Max." Charlie crossed his arms. "Holden wore disposable lenses. On his suggestion, I tested the contents of the bottle." He held up the bottle between his fingers. "This is a solution for rigid gas permeable contacts."
"Somebody was trying to blind him?" Chin asked doubtfully.
"Unlikely."
"The name on on the bottle is his, though, isn't it?" Chin asked.
Charlie shook his head. "No, but the name's smudged. It'll take me some time to clean it up."
"And the notepad?"
"This was on his desk, by the phone."
"It's blank," Chin frowned, then held it up to the light. "Seems whatever he was writing on top was pressed through. What does your analysis say?"
"I went for the simplest way first." Charlie held up a pencil rubbing, and Chin chuckled. "This brings up deepest imprint."
"In other words, the words from the sheet right above."
"Yeah." Charlie held up the rubbing. "All I can get is a capital 'B', followed by a capital 'L', 'O', 'N', but that's all I can figure out from here. I then ran it through a computer recognition program, but the text's all jumbled."
"As good a start as any," Chin said. "Thanks."
"Steve." Catherine poked him in the side. "Steve, listen."
They were sitting outside in his backyard - more like she was sitting, and he was lying with his head in her lap, enjoying the dusk settling in. Over the sounds of the water and the street, Steve made out soft crying. He sat up and looked at Catherine, then swore slightly before bolting up the stairs to his parents' old room. "Billie?"
The little girl lay curled up in bed, huddled under the thin quilt, her cheeks stained with tears. "Wan' my mommie. Daddy." Hiccups.
"Billie, you know they can't be here right now." Steve crossed the room, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"Wan' Auntie Kono," she sobbed.
"Auntie Kono went to the store," Steve replied, carefully placing his hand against her forehead. Not hot. "What's wrong?"
"My tummy hurts." Fresh tears. "An' I had bad dreams."
Steve looked around and saw Catherine in the door. She just smiled, then waved at him to take care of it.
"OK." He took a deep breath. The little girl hugged her animals, one in each arm, looking at him with teary blue eyes. "OK." He gently pulled back her quilt. "Did you see something scary outside?"
She shook her head.
He gently pushed the hair out of her face and then looked at her awkwardly, not know what to say. "Do you want me to rub your belly?"
"'K."
He gently rubbed her stomach, pressing firmly but softly. "How'd you get a stomachache? Did you eat something bad?"
"No."
"OK. Just lie still 'til Auntie Kono comes back." He continued to rub. Catherine slipped away quietly. The child's tears slowly stopped, and the little girl settled down into a more peaceful, content state. He smiled gently at her. "Feelin' better?" He got a nod, and he continued to rub gently.
After a moment, a curious voice. "Do you have a picture on your arm?"
"What?"
"A blue picture on your arm?" Billie used her panda's nose to jab at the bottom of his tattoo on his bicep.
Steve frowned, then looked at his tattooed arm. He quickly pulled his sleeve further down. "Don't worry about it."
"Is it a picture?" she repeated curiously. Catherine, who had returned, coughed to hide a laugh.
"Yes."
The little girl thought for a moment. "A flower?" She perked up.
He stared at her with a poker face, even as he could hear Catherine chuckling behind him. "Yes," Steve lied as steadily as he could. "It's a flower."
There was a throat clearing at the doorway, and then Catherine came in. "Sweetie?" she asked gently, holding up the small paper box. "Did you eat some coco puffs?" She opened the box to show Steve.
Steve stared at the nearly empty box, then turned to the kid. "How many did you eat?" His voice rose a notch. Catherine jabbed him. The little girl's bottom lip trembled, and her blue eyes took on a worried look as she clutched her animals more tightly. He tried again. "Billie, how many did you eat?" he asked in a quieter tone.
"Seven," she said in a small voice.
"Sev - !" Steve started to glare, but Catherine poked him. He took a deep breath, then turned to the toddler. "Didn't Auntie Kono say you could only have one? When did you eat the other ones?"
"I eated seven when you was outside wif the lady," she said guiltily.
"You - you came down the stairs and got on the chair and opened the box and ate seven more?" Steve asked, his voice rising.
"Steve," Catherine said warningly.
The pair of big blue eyes filled with tears. "I's sorry," she whimpered. "Are you mad?"
"I'm disappointed, yes. And Kono will be, too, when I tell her."
The little girl looked distressed. "I's sorry."
"I think your stomachache's punishment enough. When did you come downstairs, again?"
"When you's wif the lady. You said you liked her shampoo, and she said she 'oped you liked more'n the shampoo, and you said - "
"OK." Steve cut her off. He hoped the kid didn't repeat this to anybody else. Heck. He might not be able to tell Kono about the coco puffs if the kid was just going to blurt out everything else. Suddenly, he looked at her again. "You heard all of that? How long were you downstairs?"
"I can hear yous when I was on the stairs."
"How loud were we speaking?" Steve asked, frowning, as he turned to Catherine.
"Not very, I don't think."
Steve turned back to the little girl, his brow furrowed unconsciously in his aneurysm face, the gears turning slowly in his head.
The little girl's mouth turned down. "Are you still mad?" she asked.
Kono bustled in, her arms full of bags. She kicked the door shut, then looked around sheepishly to make sure her boss hadn't seen, before locking up and setting the alarm. She headed into the kitchen and set her bags down so she could start putting things away.
She jumped as Steve suddenly appeared and caught her by the forearm. "She heard everything."
"What?" She paused. "Who?"
"Billie. She's got good senses and a good memory. She most likely heard what happened to her father."
Kono straightened, studying the man doubtfully. "Boss, she's three."
Steve held up the ship drawing. "Look at this picture." Kono looked, but then shrugged at him, confused. "I asked her to draw this for me - from memory."
"It's your sailing boat, in your office."
"She has the number of sails on each mast right," Steve replied. "And the number of masts right, too."
At that, he watched understanding cross her face. "You're sure."
"Think about it, Kono." Steve pulled her by the arm to the side, away from where Catherine was watching Billie and helping her with her a new picture. "She saw Danny's tie for less than a minute but told Grace she liked the blue stripes on it. Catherine and I were whispering down her and she heard everything. She could repeat it back to me."
Kono straightened, even as she thought. "We were at the doctor's," she murmured. "The doctor's koala, on her stethoscope. Billie noticed a worn patch the doctor hadn't."
Steve gave her a "See?" expression.
Kono looked to the living room, where Catherine was seated on the floor next to Billie, who was kneeling and drawing happily. She looked from the child back to her boss and then back to the little girl. "You want to question her," she said in confirmation.
"Yes. Just - I need you to keep her calm."
Kono paused, then nodded. "OK."
Catherine came in then, leading Billie by the hand. The little girl beamed when she saw Kono and then went running to her. "I'm sorry, Auntie Kono," the little girl said immediately. "I eated too many coco puffs."
Kono raised an eyebrow, looking expectantly at her boss. "She ate seven when she was supposed to be sleeping. I'll fill you in later." Steve cut in.
Kono swung the child up into her arms. "Yes, you ate too many."
"I's sorry," the little girl said, flinging herself into her caretaker's arms.
"I know you are." Kono gave her a big hug. "Now hang on while I put the groceries away."
"I'll do it," Catherine volunteered. "You and Steve have questions for her."
"Thanks," Kono replied, surprised, but adding a smile.
Catherine made quick work of the groceries, and she could hear them chatting a little in the living room. She came and stood in the doorway, watching the 'interrogation' go on.
Kono was seated on Steve's couch, the child in her lap, leaning against her. Billie had her large panda tucked under her arm. Steve had pulled up an ottoman and was sitting directly in front of them.
"Billie, honey, we need to ask you some questions," Kono said gently. "Just try your best to answer them, and if you don't know, that's OK. Just say, 'I don't know'."
"OK."
"It's about your daddy," Kono continued. "Is that OK?"
The little girl's smile disappeared. "OK," she said uncertainly.
"Do you remember what happened that night when your daddy put you in the little room?" Steve asked. "What were you doing before your dad put you in that room?"
"We's reading."
"When?"
"'Fore bed." She paused. "We's - we's reading Goodnight, Moon."
"I love that book, too," Kono said. A smile crossed the little girl's face.
"Do you remember what time it was?" Steve asked.
"'Fore bed," she repeated.
Clearly that wasn't going to get them a solid time. "Do you remember what happened?"
"A car drived up. Peoples was talking." She paused. "Outside."
"And what happened next?"
"Daddy picked me up, and we looked out the window."
"Did you notice anything?"
Billie thought for a moment. "He had shiny shoes."
Steve made to ask another question, but Kono cut him off. "What kind of shiny, Billie?"
"Dey's shiny in the lights."
"The walkway lights," Steve murmured, and Kono nodded. "Where they shiny all over?"
"Uh-huh."
"Did the shoes have laces?"
Billie blinked in confusion.
"Did the shoes have strings, Billie?" Kono rephrased it. "Or did it not have strings?"
"Yes. Strings." Billie nodded vigorously.
"Do you know what color the shoes were?"
Billie paused, then blinked. "Um."
Kono carefully picked up the box of crayons that Billie had been using to draw and opened it up. "Can you point to the color?"
Billie pointed to the black crayon.
"Did you see who was wearing them?" Steve prodded gently.
"He was fat."
"Fat." All right. Next to her father, though, most people would look fat. "Do you remember anything special about what he was wearing?"
"He had a shiny - 'fing on his hand."
Steve thought for a moment. The driveway was on the left side of the house when facing the front door from the street, so to get from the driveway to the front door meant that the killer had to walk with his left side towards the front windows, so Billie most likely saw his left hand. He held out his left hand and arm. "Can you tell me where it was?"
Billie pointed at his fingers.
"It was a little shiny thing?"
She nodded.
"Not here?" Steve asked, pointing towards his wrist to simulate a watch.
She shook her head.
"Did you remember anything he was wearing? His pants" Steve pointed to his own shorts "or his shirt?" he pointed to the tee-shirt he was wearing.
"Shirt," Billie imitated, pointing at her own top.
"Shirt. Do you remember what color it was?"
Billie pointed to the green crayon.
"OK, good. Do you remember anything else about him?"
Billie thought for awhile, then shook her head. Her mouth turned down in a disappointed pout.
"OK, let's try this. Did he have short hair?"
There was a long pause, and then the little girl said quietly, "Dunno."
"OK. Did he wear glasses?"
The same thing - a long pause, and then a distressed, "Dunno."
"Did he have a long face or a round face?" Steve could see Kono shifting uncomfortably and Billie getting agitated. "That's OK," Steve soothed gently, deciding to move on. "How many people did you see?"
"Lots."
"What happened after that?"
"Daddy telled me to be very quiet, and he putted me in the room, and he saided to be quiet, and he'd come get me." The little girl's voice began to tremble. "Daddy didn't come."
Kono gently hugged her, giving her a small kiss on her hair as she rubbed her back.
Steve paused for a moment. "Tell me what the people and your dad talked about."
"Dey's argued. Daddy telled them to go 'way. They used big words."
Steve just smiled. "That's all right. Did they say their names?"
The little girl shrugged. "Daddy saided one man was Bruce."
"Bruce," Steve repeated. "They talked?"
Billie nodded.
"That's the best lead we've gotten," Kono murmured.
"Anything else?"
Billie shook her head. "Dey was" she paused "powh" she imitated, and Catherine could see the other woman wince. Gunshots, even if the child didn't realize it. "Then they ran into the house."
"They didn't find you."
Billie shook her head.
"Billie, I need you to think very hard. Did this man your daddy talked to - did he sound like kepolo?"
The little girl straightened, then blinked, and then started to tremble.
"Billie?"
"Uh-huh," she said, shaking. "Kepolo's gonna kill us."
"OK, OK. That's it. He's not going to get you or your mommie. I promise." Two teary blue eyes looked at him. "Billie, trust me. I promise I won't let him kill you or your mommie." He paused. "Do you believe me?"
She blinked, then nodded.
"OK." Steve gave her a kiss on her forehead as he stood up. "You did a good job." Billie wiped away tears. "You OK?"
She was crying again, and then hiccuped. She leaned into Kono's arms, and there was silence for a moment, even as Steve got up to document the information. He had reached the living room exit when the small voice reached him: "Daddy didn't come."
Steve stopped and turned, looking back at her. The small child sat in Kono's lap, hiccuping between tears. He came back and pushed the ottoman away, kneeling in front of the couch, turning the little girl so she was looking straight at him. "Billie, I know your daddy didn't come, but he wanted to."
"'e pwomised." Her breathing ratcheted up, as if she were going to cry again.
"Billie, listen to me." Steve looked straight into her eyes and was overwhelmed by the sadness and the distress in them. "He didn't come because he couldn't come. They - the men that came to your house - hurt him."
"Boss - " Kono started, but Steve ignored her.
The little girl's expression suddenly changed from one of betrayal to one of fear. "Daddy?"
"Billie, he would have come to get you, just as he promised. He couldn't. But he would never leave you by yourself. He loves you. You understand that?" Billie nodded.
"Daddy hurt?"
"Yes," Steve replied bluntly. "But Auntie Kono and I - and Gracie's dad, and Uncle Chin - we're going to catch these guys."
"Did kepolo hurt him?" Billie's voice was barely audible.
"Billie, look at me." The little girl peered at him over her panda. "We're going to find this kepolo. I promise." He looked intently at the little girl. "Do you trust me?"
She nodded.
Steve pecked her on the forehead. Billie wasn't talking any more, her arms around Kono's neck and her little face buried in the officer's shoulder. Kono gave him a worried look, and Steve just nodded. They were done for today.
Kono tried to get up, the extra weight and unwieldiness putting her back down on the couch. Steve helped pull her up, and she quickly maneuvered over to the rocking chair Steve had pulled from the garage. It stood near some of the big windows in the house. Kono rocked quietly, murmuring to the small child, who was slowly relaxing.
He stood at the other side of the room, watching her rock the three-year-old to sleep.
"Penny for your thoughts," Catherine murmured into his ear, wrapping her arms around Steve from behind.
He startled slightly. "Billie reminds me of Mary Ann, a little. A long time ago."
Catherine just smiled. After a moment, she said softly, "Was it wise to tell her about her father?"
"Which is worse: a child who finds out her father isn't Superman and can't come, or for a child to think that her father could come but doesn't love her enough to do so?" Catherine got quiet. "I'd rather she doubt her father's ability than doubt her father's love."
She thought about that one, then nodded. She smiled, and he leaned over to peck her on the cheek.
Catherine awoke, disoriented, before she realized she was in Mary Ann's bedroom. (She had told Steve in no-nonsense terms that they each were certainly sleeping alone when his coworker and a small child were in the house.) She wasn't sure what had awakened her. She could hear noise in the hall and quietly slipped out of bed, opening the door a tiny crack to peer out.
She slipped out and looked into Steve's bedroom, which was empty, its covers tossed aside as if he had left in a hurry. She continued down the hall, and as she approached, she heard the little girl's sobs and hitching breaths.
Kono nearly ran into her as she came out, her hands with the towels which smelled of urine. She stopped short, her eyes widening ever so slightly, and tugged at her tank-top. "I'm sorry," she said. "Did we wake you?"
"Oh, it's all right." She knew it had happened once already, right before the adults had been headed for bed. "Is Billie OK?"
"Wet the bed this time," Kono replied shortly as she tossed the items into the basket.
"I'll take care of it," Catherine offered. At the other woman's hesitation, she repeated, "it's OK. I'll take care of it. You get back to Billie."
The other woman smiled gratefully. "Thank you," she murmured, then disappeared back into the room.
Catherine picked up the basket and started heading towards the stairs. As she looked back, she could see the door open, and the small child now dressed in one of Kono's tee-shirts. She clutched her stuffed animals in her fists, her arms wrapped around Steve's neck, her right cheek resting on his right shoulder. Every once in awhile, her breathing would catch between her now-quieting sobs, and her entire body would shake as she tried to draw a full breath.
Steve was standing in the room in his shirt and shorts, fully awake and alert - and frowning. He conversed with Kono, whose arms were folded across her loose tank-top and shorts pyjamas. At one point, she moved to his side to talk to Billie, and the small girl reached for her. Steve handed her over, then moved to re-cover the bed with fresh sheets.
He came out a little later, holding a light quilt. "Kono mentioned you were up. I'm sorry if we woke you," he apologized quietly as he waited his turn by the washing machine.
"It's all right." Catherine looked at him. He looked tired. "Billie having nightmares?"
"Third time tonight." Steve rubbed his eyes. "I hear her crying. It's kept Kono up all night."
"Are the nightmares about what happened?"
"Seem to be. Flashes, normally." Steve yawned. "Sorry."
"Go back to sleep," she said gently. "I'll take care of this. Go get her and Kono something to drink."
Steve gave her an exhausted smile, then kissed her on the cheek.
TBC