AN:A BIG thank you to my readers for their patience and support.
*Mahalo to the lovely beta who edited this :)
Chapter 9
General Hospital, Potrero Avenue, San Francisco, 1972
Sure enough, the tall detective was found pacing the floor as Inspector Keller and Lieutenant Stone entered the waiting room.
"Good morning, gentlemen." Steve greeted succinctly.
"Good morning." Keller returned the greeting just as crisply.
"You're here early. Doc tells me you almost broke the door down." Stone let out a small chuckle to smooth over the tension already building in the room between his young partner and McGarrett.
"Anything new?" McGarrett wasted no time for the idiosyncrasies of small talk but cut right to the chase.
"As a matter of fact, we have something that might help our case." Stone walked up to the detective who stopped his wearing out the tile floor and faced the Lieutenant squarely. "We have the identity of the latest victim. A kid named Johnny Wayne Barker. Does he ring a bell?"
"Wayne. Danny's contact did mention the name to me on more than one occasion. From Danny's information, he came from a broken home and lived in some sleazy apartment we never got an address on." McGarrett replied. .
"Well, the good news is, our guys are running his details through the computer as we speak. They'll call as soon as they have an address." Stone informed the anxious detective.
"Good."
"How's Williams?" Keller joined in when he saw the conversation had ended between the two men.
"We're waiting on the neurologist. Doctor Moore says he may not wake up for another couple of hours." Steve replied in a low voice.
"Maybe you should go back to the hotel and –" Keller's well intended suggestion was cut off by McGarrett's sharp retort.
"And do what, Inspector? Sit and watch the wallpaper peel off the walls or listen to the old grandfather clock go tick tock?"
"Hey, hey now wait a minute!" Stone eyed both men in turn as if they were children bickering. "McGarrett's got a point there. He shouldn't be sitting around in his hotel room. He should be out there on the streets helping us catch those responsible for the murders of two young men and the attack on his detective. Now come on you two, we're supposed to be working together as a team here."
"You're right," the grey eyed detective swallowed down his pride as his gaze met his senior partner's stern stare. "What do you say McGarrett?" Keller took a deep breath and held out his hand as a gesture of a truce.
The detective nodded and took the younger man's hand reluctantly. A light knock on the door, caught the attention of all three men.
"Excuse me gentlemen but there's a phone call for Lieutenant Mike Stone," a young nurse announced softly.
"Thank you, I'm Lieutenant Stone. Where shall I take the call, Miss?" Stone walked toward the nurse standing at the door as she smiled and asked him to follow her to the reception desk.
"I'll be right back. It's probably Tanner getting back to me on Barker's address." Stone excused himself and followed the nurse outside.
An awkward silence filled the room with both McGarrett and Keller shifting their feet and averting each other's furtive glances. It was Keller who broke the silence first, "You and Williams must be pretty close."
"I take the safety of my men very seriously, Inspector. Danny is my second in command, so I guess you could say we've established a close work based relationship," the detective answered matter-of-factly before turning away and sitting down in an armchair, closing his eyes and resting his hands on the arm rests. To Keller, McGarrett looked beat, like he hadn't slept since hearing the troubled news about Dan Williams. Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck and made his way to the chair opposite the detective. The young man took a seat and counted down the minutes for Stone's return.
…..
Stone listened intently as Inspector Tanner reported his findings on the address for Johnny Wayne Barker over the telephone line. "He lived in an apartment on the corner of Pine Street. His father's serving time in San Quentin for manslaughter and his mother died of a drug over dose five years ago. So far there don't appear to be any relatives we can contact."
"Okay. Have you spoken to the land lord yet?"
"Not yet."
"Alright, thanks Tanner, we'll take it from here. I'd like to check the place out myself." Stone disconnected then headed back to the waiting room.