A/N: Sorry for the slight delay in the posting of this chapter. I got distracted over the weekend.
Chapter 10: Dead End, Dead Body
"Toast, how goes the hack?" Steve asked as he and Danny made their way back into the bullpen.
"Slow." Toast huffed in frustration.
"Keep at it."
"Eric, run this guy through our facial recognition software. Wallace identified him as the man he saw fleeing the scene of Johnny Tao's murder this afternoon." Danny ordered as he placed the tablet down on the Smart Computer. "He was at two of the crime scenes today." Danny added as he scrolled to another image from the new paper officer. "We need to know who this man is."
"I'm on it." Eric said with a nod.
"Do we have anything to go on?" Steve asked as Kono and Chin came out of the office.
"We think we have an identity on the little girl." Chin answered. "We believe her to be eleven year old Alana McKeller. Alana was ahead of the rest of the students in her class and was looking at early admission to High School in a gifted program. The only reason she was at the park, on that fateful day, was because her father insisted that Alana have friends and a childhood even though she was a genius. The mother was more academically driven and wanted to see the daughter be successful. Mrs. Lynn-lee McKeller died a week ago of Pancreatic Cancer. She was diagnosed less than a month ago. Now all there is left is Colin McKeller - father and technological handy man."
"Colin McKeller is you mystery man." Eric stated when Chin had finished as he swiped a DMV profile up onto the monitor before them.
"I got it!" Toast blurted out. "Booker James is really Bryan Packwell, and he lives and blogs from a suburb near Koko Head." He added and a second DMV profile popped up next to McKeller.
"So Cat and Mouse?" Danny asked and pointed first to McKeller and then to Packwell.
"That's my guess." Toast answered.
"Perfect! Kono and Chin, you go out and see if you can't talk to Packwell. Be prepared for the worst. Danny and I will take McKeller. You two, find me Johnny Tao's former camera man. Wallace has only been working for Johnny since September of 2010. I need to know first hand about that day in July and I'm hoping that the camera man's still alive." Steve ordered.
"No rest for the weary." Eric sighed and leaned on the computer table.
"Do you have a name?" Toast asked. "Or are you sending us on another wild goose chase?"
"Wallace called him Buddy." Steve answered with a wink and rushed out of the bullpen.
"Sorry," Danny apologized for his partners rudeness. "Another needle, I know, but when this is all over, dinner is on us."
"You mean you?" Toast asked skeptically.
"Yeah, but it will be good and I promise no Super SEAL to ruin it."
"Sounds fair!" Eric smiled.
5-0
Danny and Steve pulled up to a house tucked into a quiet community within a very good distance of one of the best schools in the state. It was pitch dark now - on this Hawaiian eve. The stars shone brightly in the sky but the moon was surprisingly absent from the heavens. Out in front of the house was a real-estate sign that boasted another sale and the house looked practically abandoned.
Scanning the yard, the covered porch, and in the windows that hadn't been covered by the storm shutters, Danny and Steve started to lose hope. Everything was gone. The house looked empty, but to be safe, Steve pulled a lock picking kit out of one of his many pockets on his cargo pants.
"Really, breaking and entering? Don't you think we have a bad enough wrap on this case?" Danny asked with a hushed, yet sarcastic, voice.
"I just want to take a quick look inside." Steve responded - ignoring Danny's distain.
Danny huffed but knew better than to protest. Instead, he took down the real-estate agents name and number from the sign out front and then followed his partner through the house.
The house was just as Danny had imagined it. Completely empty, spotlessly clean and smelling of fresh paint and bleach.
"He's gone." Steve stated with a sigh.
"That's usually what happens once you've sold your house." Danny said and steered his partner back the way they'd come in and made sure to lock the door again as they left.
"It's going to be a long night." Steve said as they reached the Camaro once more.
"Or we wait for morning and call the realtor. There isn't much more we can do tonight." Danny reasoned. "Maybe this guy bought another house, a smaller house, while selling this one."
"Maybe," Steve said but there wasn't any conviction in his tone. "Come on, let's back up our people."
"I like that plan." Danny stated and the Camaro was pulled away from the sleepy community.
5-0
Suburbia was calm and sleepy as Kono and Chin pulled up to the mystery house of the outspoken but very secretive blogger. Several of the house were lit up at the late hour. Others were already dark. The lights at the house in question were on - even the porch light shone brightly - as Kono and Chin made their way up to the house. They knocked and rang the bell but no one answered, so they moved around to take a closer look. From what they could tell all of the light in all of the rooms showed a very inviting home. The place was clean, from what they could see and full of all of the things that made a house a home, but as they made their way around the back of the house they found a large dog tied to the fence post barely moving. It wined as Kono and Chin came into the yard but otherwise it didn't act as a dog aught to when strangers came around.
"Hey there big guy," Kono said softly as she holstered her weapon and moved toward the animal. "Chin, he's been tied here for days." Kono gasped as she saw the short length of rope and the sores around the dogs neck where he'd pulled to get free. Even his paws were raw from scratching them against the piece of payment that still radiated the days heat. "There isn't any food or water for him. He was just left here to die. He's probably overheated, dehydrated and sick."
"I'll call for back up, you call animal protective services." Chin ordered and helped as he and Kono lifted the big dog away from the house and out toward the car they'd arrived in. Kono poured a full bottle of water onto the poor animal to cool him down and then used a second to try and get him to drink as Chin made phone calls.
Within moments Kono and Chin could hear the screaming of sirens coming toward the house. Once again they readied their weapons and with a swift kick, Chin broke down the back door. They moved quickly, clearing the house - room by room - until they came to one last back bedroom.
The room was completely dark when Kono pushed opened the door and released the terrible smell into the rest of the house. She reached around the door frame to find the lights and when she did the scene that assaulted her senses was exactly what she was expecting, but it still sent shock and fear through her body.
Hanging from his neck by a power cable, Bryan Packwell dangled with his feet inches off the floor. His body, from the tips of his toes to his shoulders, was wrapped tightly in old style printer paper - it looked like one continuous sheet. The perforated edges, with its holes for tracking through the printers feed, wound up and down his body creating a sick sort of cocoon around the man - doubling his body size and making him look almost like a human sized light bulb. Hundreds of computer mice and their ancient cables dangled off of him as he hung. His mouth was wide open in a silent scream and upon further inspection, Kono and Chin were able to pull a hand full of USB drives out of his mouth. His eyes were open in shock and fear.
In the corner of the room was a computer station. The screen flashed to life as Chin touched the wireless mouse. The program Bryan used to update his blog was open to a brand new document page and the article that was started was based on the case Five-O had been working on a week ago. In the middle of the document, however, Kono and Chin spotted something very familiar and pertaining to their current case. The message was meant for Five-O alone.
Five-O will be the one to avenge you, although you are underserving of their help.
You are completely to blame.