Chapter 34

Here's the promised Christmas present. It's small and cheap but I hope you like it. Let me know.

Disclaimer: Still on Santa's naughty list. Still don't earn money from this and there's no tall tattooed man or not-so-tall blonde man waiting for me under the tree that ninja cats have tried so hard to dismantle.

*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0* Hawaii 5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*

A Ray of Sunshine

Kiki nearly skipped along as she exited her Lexus convertible and made her way across the asphalt to the doorway emblazoned KAEO.

The entire world would see her now; the sweet red apple of success is almost hers to pluck. Though her feet trod on the hot asphalt of a Honolulu parking lot she could almost smell the hot dogs from the carts on 62nd Street, hear the sounds of the teeming streets, and feel the essence of New York City life all around her. She was on her way.

"Kiki! You've got another package! It's a knife this time!" declared the first person she saw when she walked in, a wet-behind-the-ears intern. She couldn't even remember his name. She only recalled that he was annoying. Well, they were all annoying – and not really worth her time.

She entered the newsroom to arrive in the middle of the hoped for hubbub surrounding the receipt of a package - the one containing a bloodstained knife.

She managed to look suitably surprised, dismayed, intrigued, as she made her way through the throng of people around the desk on which it sat

The interns opened all the mail here. Its contents ran the gamut from amusing to dangerous. Anyway it was the hapless unpaid employee's jobs to open the mysterious packages that arrived at KAEO's offices. Those addressed to her could be anything from some loser's lovelorn declaration that may or may not include an article of intimate apparel or . . . a knife.

The bloody weapon was already in a plastic baggie waiting for the cops to come pick it up along with the packaging it came in. She'd been really careful about not contaminating it with anything that could tie it to her. She'd been at too many crime scenes and seen too many of those forensic investigation shows to screw that up.

Looking down at it, she almost smiled. It was just a knife. It wasn't even that big. Gruesome red-brown stains streaked the blade and had thickened and clumped where it met the haft. Timmons had been careful to wear gloves. She'd made sure to confirm it with him before she took the knife.

It just lay there, innocuous in its plastic bag; an inanimate object of death and destruction.

Life is good.

…..

Chin and Kono waited as Mrs. R's blue-veined hands searched for the key to the storage room.

"I know it's in here somewhere." she muttered as she dumped the entire contents of her purse onto the table. Out spilled what seemed the woman's entire household. There were cough drops, pens, gum, a couple of those little pocket-sized photo albums, (both with pictures of frogs on their covers), a mini stapler, crumpled receipts, a frog hair brush, a frog lipstick case, a frog pill box, scissors with handles in the shape of frog legs, a wallet, change purse and checkbook- all emblazoned with a green amphibian; you name it, it was in there, and it surely had a damned frog on it – but not one key.

"Maybe it's in your pocket?" asked Kono

"Of course it's not in my pocket, young woman!" barked the blue-haired old bat.

Kono, not intimidated in the least calmly said, "It's the only place you didn't look ma'am."

The woman glared at her but nevertheless began to pat the pockets on her jacket, (each also inexplicably adorned with appliques of you-know-what).

"Oh, there it is!" she exclaimed, not bothering to apologize for her bad temper.

Chin couldn't rid himself of the feeling he knew her from somewhere. The temperament was familiar – and the frogs.

Another green facsimile dangled from the ring holding at least a dozen assorted keys. With unsteady hands she tried to fit the brass key into the lock. Chin wanted to take it and unlock it for her but knew the assistance wouldn't be welcomed.

"Dammit" she muttered as the lock wouldn't open. "I was sure that was the right one." Chin and Kono patiently waited during several more tries with various keys before the lock finally clicked and she pushed open the door.

They entered a space containing what seemed hundreds of boxes on shelves lining the room. Walking to a corner of it and looking upward, she quickly spotted one she wanted.

"That's it up there on the top shelf. I'd climb up and get it myself but after that accident with the ceiling fixture last month I think I'd better let you get it young man."

"Of course." smiled Chin hoping he wouldn't have to wrestle her for it. He'd been ready to reach for it as soon as she'd confirmed her selection.

He brought the cardboard storage box down from the high shelf and carried it out to the table where the contents of her purse were still strewn. She cleared off a space for him to set it and then abruptly pushed him aside so she could pull off its lid and begin her search. After less than a minute, she found the file she wanted.

Her lips pursed once again as she opened a manila folder and examined its contents exclaiming, "Here she is. This is the one we want."

Plucking out a stapled set of papers, she handed them to Chin and told him: "Her name is Clara Ann Rucker. A mousy little thing but she had an evil, evil, temper. She almost punched her role-play partner one time, but luckily, Mr. Laanui was in class and he stopped her though I think she managed to kick him where it hurts".

"Wait a minute," said Kono, "Do you mean the same guy we saw today? How many months do you have to be here?"

"Oh no, that was Mr. Laanui's younger brother. I've had several of his siblings in my anger management classes. Fiery tempers that lot. Runs in the family."

"What about Clara Ann?" interrupted Chin before the old woman could begin to give them a rundown on every member of the Laanui family.

"I actually should have failed her but she apologized profusely and Mr. Laanui accepted her apology. He declined to pursue any action against her so I gave her another chance."

Kono peered over Chin's shoulder at what was obviously a booking photo clipped to the front of the stapled sheets. The woman was indeed mousy looking with hair pulled back into a straggly bun and glasses perched on her nose. In the additional shot without her eyewear she was nearsightedly squinting at the camera and looked no more attractive than in the first photo.

"I'm gonna give Danny a call and let him know what we found." announced Chin to his cousin as he reached in his pocket for his phone.

"Who is Danny?" asked/demanded the old woman

Slightly taken aback but amused at the woman's demand for information, Chin answered, "Detective Danny Williams is our current officer in charge at Five-0."

"Wait!" she said, eyes rounding in surprise, "That name is too familiar. Is he an annoying little blonde man?"

"Excuse me?" exclaimed Kono, ready to defend her teammate's honor, "What do you mean?"

"I mean is he annoyingly over-animated and not very tall and IS HE BLONDE?" she'd testily raised her voice as she repeated that last of her questions.

"Well, yeah." answered Chin for his cousin, "He's got blonde hair, why do you ask?" He'd suddenly remembered where he'd seen the woman before and his stomach lurched. It was when he'd still been a young patrolman at HPD he'd rolled on a complaint about someone lurking around an apartment building. Turned out it was only the paper boy on his delivery route but the woman who called it in a disagreeable old bat in a hideous muumuu with a frog design.

Shit! It's Missus Ratliff!

…

"Just got a call from Charlie. That Kenworthy woman at KAEO received another package, this one had a blood-stained knife in it." said McGarrett grimly

"I hate it when scumbags fuck with us like that." said Danny shaking his head from side to side.

"Maybe this time it'll have some DNA belonging to whoever sent it if not the murderer himself."

"I doubt it. Whoever sent that gun made sure to wipe it down really well. We got nothing off it." said Danny, leaning against the smart table where he and Steve had been going over photos of the crime scenes for the umpteenth time.

"Maybe this time we'll be luckier. Come on, let's go see Charlie." said Steve as he limped toward the door. Danny knew him too well. He'd decided to give up all pretenses his injury was pain free.

He automatically started to hold his hand out for the keys but stopped himself. There was no way in hell Danny would let him drive right now. Actually, he knew he shouldn't even attempt to get behind the wheel. Climbing up on a roof was a dumb move but he would have only killed himself if he'd come crashing to the ground. He certainly didn't want to take Danny with him if he crashed the car.

"On the way back, you think we could stop by my place? I need to check on Cujo. I think he's got a hangover."

"You never checked on me when I had a hangover." smiled Danny, "Should I feel slighted?"

McGarrett rolled his eyes. "Compact as you are, you still weigh more than a seven pound cat."

"Hey! What's with the size jokes!"

"Sorry. Didn't mean it in that way."

"Yeah, I believe that."

"I meant that you have greater body mass. You can better tolerate the effects of alcohol."

"Yeah, I can tolerate it all to hell. I can drink you under the table any day Rambo." smirked Danny

"It's funny." said Steve as he scrunched his eyebrows in thought, "In the three plus years we've known each other, that's a contest we've yet to have."

"Yeah, you're right. Soon as you're all recovered and off the happy pills, we're gonna have to throw down." said Danny sounding confident he'd be the victor

"Oh, please, you know that's not one you're going to win." smugly chuckled the man to whom pretty much everything was a competition waiting to happen.

"While I admit you do have an inexplicable ability to consume vast amounts of beer without it seeming to affect you, you still haven't come up against the champeen connoisseur and consumer of malt, hops and barley, the Jersey Wonder."

"I know that's not you." laughed the SEAL, "The last time we got smashed together I remember having to haul your unconscious carcass home. It's a good thing you're, you know, easy to carry."

"Again with the size jokes! I'm gonna kick your ass! Remember, right now it wouldn't be that hard." threatened the detective

"Yeah, you're probably right about that." admitted McGarrett, as they rolled over a pothole; the jolt resulting in a flash of pain in his thigh that managed to make his breath hitch.

Danny noted his partner's reaction to the rough ride but chose not to comment. Steve would only parry with remarks about his driving.

Taking a deep breath, Steve let it out slowly in lieu of yelling at Danny to please not drive over every fucking crater in the road a full speed.

"Angie can match you drink for drink and you'll be passed out or driving the porcelain bus before she even gets a buzz on. You, my freakish friend, have met your match."

…..

They arrived at HPD's forensics department to make their way past the machines and equipment that cluttered it. Only some of them were familiar and fewer still of which they knew their purpose. They found Charlie toward the back of the lab staring at a screen displaying a bar graph of some sort.

"Aloha" greeted the tall Asian as they strode up to him.

"Hear you got another bit of evidence?" asked Five-0's commander

"Yeah, just came in." confirmed Charlie as he turned to the table behind him. On it they saw a fixed-blade knife with what was most likely blood streaked on its blade and congealed where it met handle.

"You got any prints off it?" asked Steve hopefully

"No. Whoever used it must have worn gloves but that's not really a surprise." said the white coated forensics investigator.

"Nope, not with this guy." affirmed Danny

"I did a preliminary DNA to confirm if it could be tied to the murders. There was no note with it."

"And . . . "

"Results won't be ready for several hours yet. Even with a rush on it, the process isn't that fast. As I said, it's only a preliminary test. The complete results, the one that would put a lock on it in court, won't be ready for another couple days."

"Mind if I take a look?" asked Steve as he pulled on a pair of the black nitrile gloves they all kept handy.

Charlie stood back to let him have access. Carefully picking it up with gloved fingers, the commander gingerly examined the knife. The stamp on the blade indicated it wasn't domestically produced.

"It's German-made; a Boker JTN if I'm not mistaken." pronounced McGarrett then adding, "These are expensive."

"Of course you'd know the price. You know all about pointy things with sharp edges." snarked Danny

"Danny, I made my living by using 'things with sharp edges' as you've put it." defended the SEAL

Ignoring Steve's defensiveness, Danny asked with the wave of a hand toward the weapon, "A JTN huh? I suppose you even know what that means?"

"Yeah, it means 'Join the Navy'." smirked Steve as he carefully placed the knife back onto the table.

"You're kidding, right?" said Danny in disbelief with nary an eye-roll nor gesture

"Nope, it's German made but based on a World War II American-made knife and, as I said, they're pretty pricey."

"Can't be that many places that carry them on the island." said Charlie, hoping his statement was true.

"If it was purchased here, we might get lucky and find out who bought it. They can be purchased online though so maybe we won't be that lucky." said the SEAL

"The perp's been pretty careful. I wouldn't hold my breath." replied the detective

"As I said, we can always get lucky." responded Steve who thought Danny already sounded defeated.

"Yeah, I'll make sure to buy my lotto ticket." huffed the blonde; this time with both a roll of his eyes and the accompanying hand gesture.

Charlie smiled with amusement at the bickering pair. They were always entertaining.

Annoyed with his partner's defeatist attitude, the commander thanked Charlie and asked the forensics man to contact them with the results of the DNA testing. Charlie assured him that he would. The SEAL walked away with the blonde detective beside him while thinking, Detective Daniel Williams – Five-0's official ray of sunshine.

…..

He'd looked everywhere. Under the sleeping place, under all of the wooden tables, behind the talking box, everywhere! His toys were gone.

He heard the sound of the familiar rolling box outside. Maybe his human would know where they are. He waited by the door to demand he look for them as soon as he walked in. There was the sound of more than one human coming closer before he heard the sound that meant the door would soon be opened.

His human and the loud man entered. Good. Now there are more humans to search for his toys.

"Hey buddy." greeted Steve to the cat who stood waiting anxiously as they entered.

"Hey wolverine. How's the hangover?" chuckled Danny as he shut the door behind him.

The little cat only looked distressed and meowed loudly at them in answer.

"You hungry?" asked Steve, as he limped his way toward the kitchen

"You asking me or the piranha?" responded Danny following his gimpy partner into the room.

"The piranha! I don't even have to ask if you're hungry. You're always hungry."

"Am not."

"Uh huh"

"So, what is there to eat here? You got anything other than that disgusting edamame stuff and the bread made out of tree bark?"

"Well, you've already decimated my chocolate stash so probably not."

Cujo had followed behind them anxiously voicing some sort of unhappiness.

"What the hell does he want?" asked Danny in frustration. The little cat had ignored the offered food and continued to follow them around meowing endlessly.

"I dunno. Maybe he's sick?" frowned Steve, picking up the distressed animal who wriggled out of his grasp and trotted halfway to the dining room before sitting and looking back at them – and meowing again.

"Is Timmy in the well?" asked Danny of the cat as he walked toward him.

"Huh? Who the hell is Timmy?" frowned Steve as he followed behind his partner to the dining room.

"Didn't you ever watch reruns of Lassie you Neanderthal? I knew you had a deprived childhood. You probably only ever watched reruns of 'The A-Team' and maybe 'Combat', 'M.A.S.H.', right."

"Well . . . yeah but who the hell is Timmy?"

"Nevermind."

They entered the room to find Cujo sitting in the middle of the bare floor and looking forlornly up at them.

"Maybe he misses the rug?" asked Steve still a little startled himself not to see it there. The Persian rug had been on the dining room floor since his childhood. He'd have to get used to the bare floor but he was grateful his team had taken care of the mess. When he felt better he'd at the very least invite them all over for steaks and beer.

Danny in realization of the possible reason for the cat's distress smiled and said, "No, I think he misses the stuff we found behind the china cabinet when the rug was pulled up."

Steve, not aware of the discovery of Cujo's stash asked, "Hidden behind the cabinet?"

"Aye Captain McGarrett, there be pirate's treasure buried here."

"'m not a captain Danny."

"Whatever."

*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0* Hawaii 5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*

Hope you all have a lovely Christmas or (insert celebration of choice here), and a very Happy New Year.

Mele Kalikimaka me Hau'oli Makahiki Hou, (that's how Google put it)