Wānana Pū – Recollect
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the Characters.
A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7. Thank you julieb716 for being an awesome beta reader. Your corrections and suggestions are amazing! If there are still some grammar of spellings issues left, they're all mine.
Thanks to everyone who has faved, followed or left a review this far. Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words!
Chapter Thirteen
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MONDAY – 1:23 PM – HELEN BENNETT'S PRACTICE - ALA MOANA - HONOLULU.
Steve checked the first room. It was a storage room. Files were everywhere, opened boxes were tossed on the ground and documents littered the floor. Someone obviously went through them, looking for something in a rush. Steve was about to step over some boxes when he heard a bumping noise coming from the other room. Instantly his heart dropped and he tensed. Danny. He had left him alone. He had promised to have his back and he left him alone instead.
Steve ran out of the storage room and burst into the room where the noise was coming from. He zeroed in, taking aim on a woman standing with a broken table leg in her hand. She was Hawaiian, in her twenties, petite and had brown curly hair.
"Drop it! Five-0!" Steve yelled. In the corner of his eye he could see Danny lying on the ground. "Danny?" He shouted in concern, but he didn't get an answer.
The woman trembled. "Oh my I-I'm so s-sorry, please d-don't shoot." The table leg dropped with a thud on the floor as she held up her hands. Her whole body was shaking and her eyes were wet. She looked pale like she had just seen a ghost. Steve didn't lower his gun. He inspected the room; just like the storage room it was a giant mess. There had been a serious struggle. Everything was out of place. The glass desk standing in the middle of the room was shattered. Chairs had been smashed against the wall. Files were scattered on the floor. A female body was on the floor behind a side table. Her emerald eyes were wide open, her pupils dilated and a dark purple stain around her neck made it clear she had been strangled.
Steve lowered his gun and put it back in his holster. He was sure the women shaking in front of him had nothing to do with any of this. She was in complete shock. Steve kicked the table leg out of reach, just in case. Danny let out a weak grunt as he blinked a few times. Steve knelt beside him. "You okay, buddy?"
Danny lay on the ground with his head still against the wall. The world came slowly back into focus. He could hear Steve ask if he was okay, so he knew he'd better answer. "What? Yeah, I'm fine," he croaked out. He got up, almost buckling as a sharp bolt shot through his head. Steve grabbed him by his arm before he could hit the floor again. "Careful."
Danny tried to steady himself, but the world kept spinning. His head was exploding. He could feel it pound. He couldn't even feel the blow to his stomach, the pain in his head was all he could focus on.
"Here sit down." Steve guided him to the only chair that had not been smashed. Danny looked anything, but fine to him. His facial color was drained and he seemed to be in pain. Danny groaned and gently sat down. The headache made him sick to his stomach, so he took a few deep breaths to try and relieve the nauseous feeling. Steve noticed Danny's discomfort, so he loosened Danny's vest, not pulling it off though, just so he could breathe a little easier. Danny had been lucky they put their vests on, because it appeared the blow to his abdomen had been deflected somewhat by the vest. Or maybe the ache in his head surpassed any pain in his stomach.
"I'm so sorry, I-I didn't know he was a cop," the woman stammered, still looking completely terrified. Tears continued to fall down her face.
Steve tried to calm her. "It's okay. What's your name?" he asked not taking his eyes off Danny, who leaned forward, holding the back of his head.
"Luana, I-I work for Helen, I'm her a-assistant," Luana quaked. "I-I came in early, but when I arrived the d-door was already unlocked and some lights were on. Helen's car was parked in the parking space, so I assumed she was already inside. I went in, knocked on her office door, but it was slightly ajar and-and t-that's when I saw her on the floor. And then I heard someone come in, so I panicked because there-there weren't supposed to be any patients yet. I got scared, so I-I closed the door and grabbed something to protect myself. I'm so-so sorry!" she rambled in shock. She was breathing heavier and tears were streaming down her cheeks.
Steve grabbed her by her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Hey. Hey. It's fine. He's okay and so are you. Try taking a couple of deep breaths, okay?" Luana did as Steve instructed.
"That's it. You're okay now. You're safe," Steve reassured her once more.
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MONDAY – 1:49 PM – HELEN BENNETT'S PRACTICE – ALA MOANA - HONOLULU.
Steve had called the ME's office and CSU, plus Lou and Chin were on their way over. Just to be sure Luana and Danny were okay, Steve requested EMT's, too. The assistant was pretty shaken up about all of it, so they checked her out and gave her something to calm down. Steve wanted to get Danny checked out as well, but Danny refused. He said he was fine. Only that wasn't true and Steve knew it. Danny had waited outside, he had tossed his vest back into the trunk and was now sitting on the curb until Chin and Lou arrived on scene. A headache had ground into his temples and he couldn't get rid of the nauseous feeling. The fresh air made it a bit more bearable though. Chin offered him a hand to help him back up on his feet, which Danny gladly accepted.
The three of them walked inside to the crime scene. Eric was processing the storage room, taking photographs and collecting evidence. Max was kneeling next to Helen's body, examining her thoroughly. They joined Steve while he explained his suspicions about how the struggle went down. Danny wasn't listening. He couldn't shake the piercing headache. It was beyond a normal headache, it was more intense, burning and throbbing like someone was continuously banging on his head. His head pounded, sharp and heavy. He stepped away from everyone; he looked down as he pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. Trying, even through the pain, to fight off the nausea.
"He okay?" Chin asked worriedly as he observed Danny from a small distance. He had noticed his lack of energy and now with him visibly in pain, Chin had good reason to be worried.
"He says he is, but I don't buy it." Steve held on to his vest, fingers tucked around the collar, as he glanced at Danny. "Just keep an eye on him, okay?" Steve mumbled, not wanting Danny to hear they were talking about him behind his back. It was with the right intentions though. Steve was concerned about him and he figured they all should keep an eye on their friend.
"You got it." Chin patted Steve on his shoulder giving him a half-smile, indicating Chin felt the same way about it.
"Max, you got anything for us?" Lou muttered at the despicable sight of the dead woman in front of him.
"Yes, indeed I do, Captain. My initial examination shows that the COD is most likely strangulation. As you can see from the bruising around her neck and her blown pupils, this supports my initial COD." Max pointed to the dark purple stain around her neck. "However these bruises tell me the victim put up quite a fight right before she died." Max lifted up one arm showing several cuts and bruises.
"A fight? How do you know?" Steve questioned, looking at Max, trying not to smile.
"Well, gentlemen, there are multiple scratches and fragments of glass across her body, but I find it hard to believe that you did not already know that according to the evidence in this room." Max was completely serious and did not notice Steve roll his eyes.
Danny had joined them again, but he wanted to get back to HQ as soon as possible, so he sped things up a bit. "Ignore him, Max. Can you tell the TOD?"
"Liver temperature indicates approximately 14 hours ago," Max informed him.
"That's what? An hour after our first vic got killed? That's not a coincidence." Steve furrowed his brows and crossed his arms over his chest, contemplating this latest development.
"Why would somebody go through all this trouble to kill the both of them?" Lou wondered out loud.
"Maybe she had some sort of secret? Something she told her therapist about?" Danny suggested while he tried to ignore his burgeoning headache.
"If Eden just met her killer, how would he know to come down here?" Chin objected because of their earlier suspicion.
"Maybe he overheard her on the phone, right before he killed her. Maybe she did have something to hide, something from her past, something she told to Dr. Bennett. What if she didn't just meet him, but instead she ran into somebody she hadn't seen for a while? On the camera footage they didn't struggle, the killer waited for her by her car, that's personal. Plus I mean she wasn't seeing a therapist over nothing, right?" Steve raised his eyebrows and pointed neglectful to the dead therapist on the floor.
"Well, I can imagine being kicked out of your own house, when you're 20, over nothing, by your own parents can be pretty traumatic." Danny groused, daring a glance at Steve, while Lou and Chin had no clue on what had happened back at the Morrison's residence.
"She got kicked out of the house?" Lou asked perplexed, his eyes wide in surprise. "Now that's just wrong, man."
"Thank you," Danny gloated as he placed his hand on Grover's arm letting him know he was glad someone was on his side.
Steve rolled his eyes as Eric walked into the room. "Eric, any signs of forced entry?"
"No, nothing like that. The only thing I know so far is that the killer tore this place apart searching for Eden Morrison's files." Eric shared eagerly, like he had found a masterpiece of evidence in a mysterious investigation.
"Why's that?" Chin asked after Eric didn't continue. He had trouble not smiling, but Eric brought such an energetic influence. Chin remembered his first years at the job, full of passion.
"I processed the storage room, which is actually more like a secret library if you ask me, because I found all kinds of session notes on a bunch of people. Only the doc didn't use her patient's real names, no she used some sort of code instead. The good thing is I found the list with code names on her laptop and guess what…"
"Eric! We are not here to play games. We are here because a woman has been killed, you can just tell us, okay?" Danny snapped impatiently. The pain in his head flared up, he winced and his brows furrowed tight with pain. They all exchanged concerned glances, but none of them looked at Danny.
Eric sighted, realizing he'd been insensitive. "I'm sorry Uncle D." He froze the moment the words slipped from his mouth. "Detective Williams," he corrected himself as he nervously gazed towards Danny. Everyone waited for a moment. "The files are missing," Eric blurted.
"They're missing?" Lou asked as confusion overtook his face.
"Yeah, like in gone, not around anymore." Eric used his Jersey tone. "And I'm thinking this nice lady got killed because the murderer wanted those files," he shared as he looked at her dead body.
"She really had something to hide and I'm guessing we'll find the answer in those files," Steve stated thoughtfully.
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MONDAY – 03:57 PM – FIVE-0 HEADQUARTERS - DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.
Everyone had come back to HQ. They had to wait until Max finished his examination and until Eric found some solid evidence. Kono had been going over the victim's financials, Lou contacted the babysitter in the meantime and the other three tried to find something on Eden.
Danny had been writing the crime scene reports in his own office. He had taken some meds the minute he came back to HQ, but they weren't helping his headache. He searched his desk drawers for any aspirin, only to come up with an empty package. He had forgotten to replace them after he took the last one a few days back. He sighed deeply as he tossed the empty package into the trash can next to his desk. He could see Kono walk towards the smart table. He got up from his chair and went over to Kono; maybe she had some aspirin around.
"I found something; you guys wanna see this," Kono stated as she typed quickly on the smart table. Danny nodded; this wasn't the time to ask for anything, she was obviously busy. He walked to Steve's office to get him to gather around as well.
Danny opened the door to Steve's office. "Hey."
"Yo, what's up?" Steve reacted without looking up from his tablet.
"Kono has something." Danny hesitated a moment before he turned back to the tech table. He didn't want to admit he had a headache, but he'd rather admit it than to spend the rest of the day dealing with the ache. Instead of going back to Kono, Danny closed the door behind him and went over to Steve's desk. "You uh you got any aspirin?"
"Why? You okay?" Steve reacted abruptly and aneurysm face quickly appeared as he shot a worried look at Danny. He was certainly surprised with the sudden question.
"It's just a headache, people get them all the time, you know." Danny leaned on one of the chairs in front of Steve's desk. He acted calmly like nothing was going on.
"That's true, but most people didn't get their head smacked after having brain surgery a few weeks back, so maybe your head is telling you to slow down a notch?" Steve questioned Danny as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. He was positive that the blow to his head had caused the headache, but Danny asking for pain relievers - that was something else entirely. It told him that Danny was struggling with the pain and, obviously, not hiding it well.
"No… that's… well… maybe it's the air circulation in here that sucks. Maybe it's you, who knows, huh?" Danny deadpanned sarcastically, waving his hands like normal.
Steve sighed and opened his desk drawer. "Here." He handed Danny a half full package of aspirin. "You can go home you know that, right?" Steve suggested as he stood up from of his chair.
"I do know that, but there is no reason that I should." Danny shrugged his shoulders.
"Okay, I'm just saying, man." Steve held up his hands, as it was just a suggestion. He made his way to the door and held it open so Danny could walk out first.
"Thank you for your concern." Danny held up the aspirins before he tucked them into his pocket and walked out of Steve's office. Before Kono could even start, Steve's phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and gazed at the caller ID.
Steve's forehead furrowed. "It's Grace."
"What?" Danny looked surprised at Steve. Steve placed his phone on the surface table, put it on speaker and answered.
"Grace?" Steve and Danny asked in unison, but Danny continued. "What's wrong? Why are you calling Uncle Steve?" Danny asked staring in concern at Steve's phone.
"Danno? Well you aren't answering your own phone. Where are you?" Grace asked confused that her father answered the phone instead of Steve.
"I'm at work, Grace." Danny explained while he searched his pockets for his phone. It wasn't there though. "I uh I don't know where my phone is, probably in my office or something. What's the matter? You okay, babe?"
"Really? Dad you where supposed to be here like five minutes ago, now you're going to be late." Grace sounded disappointed.
"Late for for what? Grace, what are you talking about?" Danny had no idea why she would be disappointed or what she was talking about in the first place.
"You serious? The parent-teacher conference! I told you ages ago!" Grace snapped. "This is so embarrassing that you're not going to make it!"
"That's today? Right." Danny mumbled under his breath. "Okay, don't worry, I'm coming right away. I'll call the school on my way over, saying I had car trouble or that I'm wrapped up in a murder investigation, since I actually am. I'll be there in ten, okay?" He was in for the cold shoulder from his teenager for forgetting the appointment.
"Okay. Later," Grace sassed and disconnected the call.
"Later? Seriously?" Danny raised his brows and looked annoyed at Steve's phone. She just hung up on him like that? He had no time to lose though, so he rushed to his own office to grab his phone and car keys from his desk.
"Should I drive?" Steve offered, as Danny was about to leave the office. Danny hadn't driven his own car since the surgery and Steve didn't know if it was a good idea that he drive.
Danny turned around before he opened the door. "No, I'm fine, I can drive. The six weeks have passed, I'm fine, I'll be back within an hour," he reassured Steve, opened the door and jogged away.
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MONDAY – 04:27 PM – FIVE-0 HEADQUARTERS - DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.
Kono shared her findings with the rest of the team. According to Eden's financials she received 500 dollars each month on the same date for over 5 years, which Eden transferred to a savings account in her daughter's name. The monthly deposit was untraceable though. Chin had contacted Eden's parents to ask if they gave the money to their daughter, maybe out of guilt or as some monthly support, but they said they hadn't done any such thing, confirming that they really hadn't spoken to or seen her in almost eight years.
Steve had gone back to his office when Max called him. He confirmed the COD of Dr. Bennett. He also could tell that both victims were strangled with the same tool. He found traces of leather in the horizontal furrows around their throats and he guessed the killer had used a belt. According to his measurements, the bruising was exactly the same width on both victims. Lou knocked on Steve's door jerking his head in the direction of the smart table. Steve ended the call with Max and walked out of his office. The screen showed an incoming call from the crime lab.
"Hey, Eric." Steve said as the call connected and Eric popped up on the screen.
"Hey guys! Where's Uncle D?" Eric wondered at the missing presence of his uncle.
"He's picking up Grace. What'd you have?" Steve replied as he folded his arms.
"Well I checked the doc's phone and it turns out our victim left a voicemail before she made her last call to Bennett." Eric lifted his eyebrows as he boasted, barely able to contain himself.
"All right what did it say?" Chin asked curious as to the content of the voicemail.
Eric played the audio fragment. A female and terrified voice popped up. "Helen. It's Eden. I-I really need to stop by your office. Right now. I-I know it's not usual but I'm going crazy. I need to speak with you. I'm on my way over. I really-really need to speak with you. I know who did it. It wasn't an accident, it really happened. I remember him. I saw him."
"So Eden left Doctor Bennett a voicemail saying she did remember him? What is she talking about?" Kono remarked and looked to the three men standing around her, with the same questionable expression on their faces. Steve's phone went off and interrupted them. Steve shot a look at it, seeing he had an incoming call from Grace Williams. He hit the ignore button and slid it back into his pocket. He would call her back in a minute. She probably called again for Danny.
"Did she know who was going to kill her? Was she threatened?" Chin mentioned Eden's statement that she remembered him and saw him.
"That's where you guys come in. That's out of my league," Eric stated.
"Okay, thank you Eric. Great work." Steve disconnected the call. "All right let's find out what she meant by all that, okay?" Steve walked to his own office as his phone rang again. He took it out of his pocket and stared at the screen, it was another incoming call from Grace. He answered as he opened the door to his office.
"Gracie! Danno will be with you anytime now..." Steve glanced at his watch as he noticed it had been awhile since Danny left. "He left about thirty minutes ago." He stated, confused and now growing concerned. Danny should've been there by now. Why would she call?
"Uncle Steve," Grace uttered. Icy paralysis gripped Steve as he heard Grace's frightened and weak voice.
"Gracie, where are you?" Steve fearfully asked as his heart began to pound in his chest.
"We've been in an accident."
-H50-
A/N: Thank you for reading! I know a cliffhanger again! Sorry for that, but I just like writing that way. :) Next chapter will be up in a few days.
Mahalo for your support.