Steve was deep in a drug induced sleep when Duke Lukela arrived a little after nine o'clock. Kono asked Danny, "Are you going to try to wake him?"
"Hell no"
She chuckled, "Well you can deal with him then"
Danny smirked, "No problem"

They all moved to the table and after giving Duke an update on Steve's condition, the man got right down to business.
He handed the diary over to Chin, "The only fingerprints found on that were Tracy's. We ran her prints and they came back to a Tracy Jolene Pettit of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Canton, Ohio and moved to Harrisburg after graduating from Ohio State University. She has a criminal record for felony drug possession and her medical records show that she did two stints at in-patient drug re-hab facilities in the last two years. The last one was completed early last month"

Danny asked softly, "What drugs did she use?"
"Heroin and marijuana"
"Shit"
Chin asked, "Danny, did you notice anything about her behavior? Do you think she was still using?"
Without hesitating Danny replied, "No, I saw no signs"
Duke then added, "There was small traces of marijuana in her system and we did find a small amount in her bedroom dresser drawer but there are no indications that she was still using heroin"

Danny then asked, "How about her family? Her Mother or sisters, any luck reaching them?"
"I wanted to talk to you all first. We have the Mother's address in Ohio, how do you want to handle this?"
Chin then spoke, "Steve wants Kono and I to fly there and take care of things"
Duke nodded, "Okay" He then handed Chin the file he was looking at and he continued, "As for DNA evidence, we've found Tracy's, Danny's, the landlords and the past tenants only. That tenant lived there for six years until he died six months ago"

Danny tipped his head back and sighed deeply, whispering "Great"
Chin sighed and asked quietly, "Duke, can we keep him out of jail?"
"I talked to the Governor, and we both agree that he's not a flight risk so until he's formally charged, he can remain in the custody of 5-0. With Steve laid up though, one of you two will need to be with him at all times"

Chin replied, "That's fine Duke. I'll go to Ohio myself, Kono will stay here"
Duke responded, "That's fine"
Danny added softly, "Thank you Duke"
"You're a good man Danny and the entire department is behind you and working hard to solve this murder"
"I really appreciate all you've done for me"
Duke stood and after exchanging hugs and handshakes he left the 5-0 team with the diary and the file HPD had put together on Tracy Pettit.

Chin stood and stretched, "Before we start attacking this, how about some breakfast?"
Danny shook his head as he opened the diary, "No thanks brother, I'm not hungry. I could go for a cup of strong, black coffee though"
"You've got to eat Danny"
The Jersey detective smiled warmly, "Okay…I'll take whatever you're having"
Chin smiled, "Good. Kono, can you work on booking me a flight? I'll be right back"
"Sure"

As Danny thumbed through the diary, his eyes welled with tears. He had seen the pain in Tracy's eyes but the history she had shared with him was only the tip of the iceberg. The diary went back to her college days and it was apparent that even back then, she had many problems, all stemming back to the abuse she suffered as a child.

Chin returned a short time later with fried egg and bacon sandwiches, coffee and orange juice and Danny had to admit that it tasted wonderful.

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Half an hour into his reading Danny said softly, "I might have something here guys….."
Looking up from their laptops, Chin said, "What is it?"
"Her early writings are from her college days. It looks like she dated a guy for about a year and that they broke up because of her increased drug use. I'm scrolling through the pages and I see him referenced quite a bit but I don't see a last name anywhere. Then a few weeks ago there are some interesting entries…. 'Ran across Butch on the internet today. He's really made a name for himself and he's now living in Hawaii. Married with two kids, damn it, I sure blew it with him…he's a good man. If I don't get Robarge his money soon, my life is over. Butch may borrow me the money, he'll get back to me soon… finger's crossed.'

"Then a couple of days later, there's this, "Butch showed up at my door today with an interesting proposition. He offered me a 'job' in Hawaii. He didn't give many details, just that there was a cop that's giving him a hard time and he needs to 'fix' him. He says the job's perfect for me. Told me he'll give me the 50,000.00 I need and an additional 20,000.00 to start over. It won't be a loan...I finally feel healthy, and now I have a chance to get my life back, to start over fresh. My prayers have been answered….'

Chin looked at him, "Any idea who Butch could be?"
Danny ran a hand across his face, "I don't have a clue. Come on Chin, we've all got enemies and 'Butch'…..that sounds like a nickname. I sure in the hell don't know anyone named Butch"

Kono asked, "Are there any entries after she arrived in Hawaii?"
"Yeah….plenty of them" He slid the book across the table to her and then standing up he took his coffee and moved over to the window.

Kono held the book as she and Chin silently read the entries.
They read Tracy's innermost thoughts. They read how conflicted and tortured she became as she grew to know Danny, and yet the pressures she felt to pay the debt to her drug dealer….the pressure she felt to survive…..outweighed the love and respect she felt for him. Kono's eyes welled with tears as she knew how reading the words Tracy had written had hurt Danny. She looked over to the window and her thoughts were confirmed. His head was resting on his forearm and he was leaning against the picture window.

Chin reached over and took her hand, whispering softly "He'll be okay cous', we need to stay strong for him"
She wiped her tears away and said softly, "I know" A few moments later she said, "I'm going to check on Steve"
Chin continued to look through the diary for anything that could give them a clue to 'Butch's' identity and after Danny rejoined him they moved to the bedside.

The three friends chatted quietly as the contents of the diary sunk in and they tried to figure out who was behind this…who hated Danny so much and felt so threatened by him that they would set him up for murder?

It was a little before one o'clock when Steve woke.
Danny stood from his chair, "Hey Superman, you slept good. How do you feel?"
"Pretty good…..can you raise the bed up for me?"
"Sure" Danny pushed the remote lifting his partner to a half-seated position, "Is that good?"
"Yeah Danno, perfect…..what time is it?"
"Almost one"
"Have you heard from Duke yet?"
"He was here already"
Steve's jawline tensed and he closed his eyes, "Damn it Danny, why didn't you wake me up?"
"Because Steven, you needed the sleep. We handled it"

He then gave Steve the major details of the information Duke had given them and then Steve asked, "Okay now talk to me partner…..what was in the diary? What did she write?"

Danny sighed deeply and picking up the diary he read the entries to Steve. He didn't think it was possible, but it hurt even more reading it out loud a second time. His voice was shaking with emotion as he finished and Steve looked at him solemnly, "I'm so sorry Danny"

"Thanks buddy…..um Chin is flying to Ohio tonight to talk to her family"
Turning to Chin, Steve ran a hand across his face, "Okay…..but I don't want you going alone"
"Kono has to stay here in order for Danny to remain out of jail"
"I understand that. Chin, I need you to check with Duke and have him send someone with you. You're going to need to get to Tracy's home in Pennsylvania as well. Now that we have her name and address in Pennsylvania we need to get detectives there to start processing the scene right away. We need to get on top of this quickly, we don't know who is involved in this and we can't let them get to her home and destroy any evidence"

Chin moved off to the side to call Duke and Danny stepped aside to call Rachel.
Steve then asked Kono, "How is he?"
"He's hurting Steve. The things she wrote were hard for him to hear. She was playing him but she definitely developed feelings for him and she was torn"

"Maybe so, but in the end she betrayed him and he's going to have to deal with that"
"I know…."

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As he looked out over the hospital courtyard, Danny told Rachel everything that had transpired.
"But at least they're not arresting you"
"Not yet…"
"Oh Danny, I'm so sorry this is happening to you"
"Thank you Rachel. Is Gracie okay?"
"Yes, she's giving her book report on dolphins today and she was very excited this morning"
Danny smiled as he pictured his little angel's face. He had helped her research that report at the library last week.

He then told her that Chin was flying out later that day to Ohio to hopefully find out more about Tracy and the man who was behind this. He heard Charlie begin to cry and he said softly, "Sounds like your little man needs you. We can talk later"
She replied, "Okay Danny…..stay positive"
"I will….bye"

As she hung up the phone she turned to Stan who had entered the room holding the infant.
She asked, "Is our big boy hungry?"
"Yes. Who were you talking to sweetheart?"
"Danny"
As Rachel moved to the refrigerator to grab a bottle he asked, "How's he holding up?"
"He's scared….but they might finally have some leads. They found Tracy's diary and they also know her real name now"
"Her real name?"
"Yes. She they ran her fingerprints and she had done some time in Ohio due to a drug charge so they tracked down her family and Chin is flying there in a few hours"
As she heated the bottle, Charlie continued to fuss and Rachel moved to take him from his Daddy's arms, "Stan? Are you alright?"

He chuckled, "I'm fine dear, I'm just tired and I have a lot on my mind with the contract"
"I'll take him so you can get back to work. I'll bring you up a sandwich when I'm done feeding Charlie"
"Sounds good, thank you" Stan kissed both them and then turning he made his way back upstairs to his office.

****** More to come…..next up, the man behind it all is revealed…******