Chapter 16 "The Fire & Phone Calls"
.
A/N: (2 September 2016) Reviewers are fabulous! I so deeply appreciate you taking the time to read and leave reviews. Even just reading amazes me! Thank you all!
I got a few requests to please update quickly, so I'm rushing!
And the research for this chapter led to some interesting discoveries: Police vehicles on Oahu use blue lights, while the other Hawaiian Islands use red lights, and the Honolulu police force is switching from the Ford Crown Victoria (no longer in production) to the Ford Taurus Police Interceptor. Probably because Steve causes so many to crash, just a guess….
Disclaimer: Five-0 is owned by CBS, bless their hearts!
.
.
Chapter 16 "The Fire & Phone Calls"
.
(21 December 2016, 8:15 pm)
.
Steve's face had gone pale as ash, and he could barely ask his question of Duke, upon hearing the news that Danny's house was ablaze. "Is it arson?"
His phone was still on speaker, so Chin, Kono and Abby all heard Duke answer, "No definite on that, but that's what the fire crews think. The whole house went up at once, Steve. Unless it was a gas fire, it doesn't work that-"
"PULL BACK EVERYONE GET BACK-!" an unfamiliar voice blared with a loudspeaker. They thought they heard Duke running for several seconds, then a loud boom and a thud over Steve's phone. "Duke! Duke!" yelled Steve, the veins standing out on his neck. "Duke, answer me!"
Duke's voice was breathless. "It blew, Steve. Gas. The house is in little pieces, and three more fire companies are responding." In the background, voices were calling out that they were unhurt. "No injuries, just the usual. I tripped over the neighbor's garden hose. Good thing the neighboring homes had been evacuated; two are damaged, make that three. One sec…." Duke was back in not much more than that. "This will make the news. How do you want us to handle it?"
"Keep news crews at a distance, Duke, and stall. Chin and I will be right there. Send a couple units to my house and check it out, as a precaution. No lights or sirens." Steve ended the call and turned to Kono and Abby, who were wide eyed with worry. "Kono, nail down Rachel and Stan's alibis at the airport. Abby, check all footage of cameras near Danny's house. See if you notice anything or anyone that looks suspicious. Chin and I will go talk to Grace –backdoor check on Stan and Rachel's alibi tonight- and Lou after we see Danny's house."
Chin gave Abby a quick kiss, but their eyes had quite a conversation, while Steve gave Kono a pat on the shoulder. "Be careful, guys," Kono and Abby said together, to their ohana. And then they dove into their work, their faces etched with worry, determination, and anger.
.
H50 H50 H50
.
The drive was noisy with the siren spiraling out it's shriek that meant CLEAR THE WAY, and bright with the grill lights flashing blue. Chin's Mustang was a red-with-white-stripes bullet as it flew down the highway and streets until it pulled up a block and a half from what was left of Danny's house. Chin, when put to it, could drive just as insanely as Steve.
The two men had barely spoken, both lost in thoughts neither needed to say out loud. When they saw the debris of what had been a house they both knew well, reduced to unrecognizable rubble and crazy flames shooting upwards in a destructive dance that was not even remotely enticing, the smoke bright orange and yellow from the heat, even as the white water shot down on it at high velocity from ladder trucks, hoses at the top, they had to take a minute to pull themselves together. Lights flashed, the air smelled acrid and faintly of gas. Sirens screamed. It was a scene right out of hell, except for the water.
"Oh my God," said Steve and Chin in unison. Steve added, barely audible, "If Danny saw this … I don't know what he would do."
Chin just shook his head.
Duke came over to them, and they saw he was holding his right wrist. Steve pounced on that. "You okay, Duke? You need the medic?"
Duke scowled. "Maybe. Might've sprained my wrist when I tripped on the hose. It's okay, it can wait. Steve, they are turning off the gas to this area, but there's nothing to save now of Danny's house. I'm sorry."
"C'mon, let's get you to the medic." Steve and Chin walked with him. There were several Aid units present, because with this type of fire, there was always someone. Usually there were multiple injuries.
Duke was treated, and his wrist was only sprained. Luckily, it was not severe.
"Who hates Danny this much?" he asked Steve and Chin after his wrist was wrapped in Ace bandages. "Any leads?"
"Maybe," answered Steve. "Kono and Abby are checking out Stan and Rachel, just to be sure. And Chin and I are going to pay Lou Grover a call. We hope it's none of them. Accident recreation has us looking for two males, around 200 lbs each, no taller than 6'3", which isn't super helpful, but this case is just gnawing at me."
"I hope it's not a member of his family or a former colleague." Duke was fully aware of the way that Lou had left Five-0. "Come on, let's go talk to the Fire Chief."
"Yeah." Steve had very little else to say at this point, until his phone rang. "It's Grace," he said to Chin, and directed him to go with Duke. The two men walked away somberly, stepping over pieces of wood and glass that had used to be a modest house.
Steve took Grace's call. "Hi Sweetheart," he spoke gently. "You still mad at me?"
"Hi, Uncle Steve." Grace sounded like she had been crying. "I'm sorry I wrote that on your cast. That's why I called. I'm really sorry. Is there a way to get that off of it?"
Steve smiled, turning his back on the fire. "You had every right to be mad, because I lied to you. I'm sorry for that. I'm glad you're not mad at me anymore. And Dr. Cornett fixed my cast. Listen, honey, I have to ask you some things, is that okay?" Steve didn't want to use her to get information on her mom and step-father, but under the circumstances, he would be honest to a point with her.
"Uncle Steve, why is there so much noise there? Are you on a case? And sure, you can ask me anything, but I'm having trouble hearing you."
Steve walked over to a police unit, and crouched down behind it, to lessen the noise. "Is that better?"
"Yes. Are you mad at me, Uncle Steve?"
Steve would have rubbed his eyes, but his one good hand was holding the phone. "I'm upset right now, honey, but definitely not with you. You know how you want to be treated as an adult, not as a kid? Well, I think you need to be treated as an adult, too, so that's how I'm going to do things from now on. Listen, Gracie, I'm at your dad's house. It caught on fire, and I need you to be real strong, and not panic. Okay? Someone blew up his house, honey. The news will carry the story any minute now, if it's not already breaking news. Are you okay, honey?"
"I think I should sit down. I am in the kitchen, getting milk." Steve heard the scrape of a stool by the breakfast island. "I am trying really hard not to cry."
Steve felt tears tracking down his face. Grace was being so brave. "Gracie, it's okay to cry. I'm kindof crying too. But I need to ask you some questions. They are going to seem strange, but I just need you to answer them."
"Okay. Is Daddy's house all gone?"
"Yes, sweetie. It's all gone." Steve heard what sounded like tissues being pulled from a box. "You tell me when I should ask the questions, okay? You can cry if you need to. It's okay."
"I want Danno back." Grace's voice was so vulnerable, so sad. There was a pause and Steve heard his partner's daughter blowing her nose. "Okay. Ask."
"Okay. Did anyone leave your house after Kono and I were there earlier?"
"The housekeeper went to get Charlie from the Christmas Party. I didn't hear any other car leave."
"So Stan didn't go anywhere? I mean Step-Stan."
"Stan is fine. He keeps trying to get me to drop the Step part. I've been hanging on to it. Kindof to bug him." She remembered the question. "He and mom have been arguing a lot since you and Auntie Kono left, but I don't think he went anywhere."
"Oh, so you are not getting along that well with Step-Stan?" If it was good enough for Gracie to call him that, it worked for him too.
"Not since mom got pregnant again. It's like Charlie and I have become invisible. He only thinks of the new baby."
Steve was surprised, and not surprised. "I'm very sorry, Gracie. He should never ignore you or your brother."
"It's okay, Uncle Steve. I've been trying to ignore him for years. He doesn't like Danno. If he doesn't like Danno, he might as well not like me either. I try to protect Charlie from realizing he doesn't like our daddy. Mom is oblivious."
The things Steve hadn't known! "Does Danno know how you feel about Step-Stan?"
"No. He would want me to be respectful, and I am! But we have a sortof rule that we leave Step-Stan out of our minds when we get to spend time together. He doesn't know that, when mom first said she was pregnant, Step-Stan thought she and Daddy had, uhm, uh, you know, like it was with Charlie? They had some arguments about that. I am not supposed to know, since they both ignore me, and I keep quiet so they don't know I can tell when they are arguing. They only do that in their room. I'm supposed to think everything between them is just fine, but it's not."
"He thought the new baby was Danny's?" Steve was shocked, and his voice showed it.
"Yeah. Daddy and I talked after Mom told the truth about who Charlie's dad is, and he told me he and Mom made a mistake, and it wasn't a good thing he did, and that Step-Stan had every reason to dislike him. But he could never be sorry about Charlie, and he told me it took him awhile to get over being mad at Mom for lying to him about Charlie. It was the first time he really treated me like I wasn't a kid."
The things Steve realized he didn't know about his partner. He was immensely proud of him, and that started his eyes leaking tears again, which he wiped away with his shirt after putting the phone down for a second. "I'm glad you told me, sweetheart. I'm glad he's treating you more like an adult. He wants you to stay small and innocent, but he is proud of how you are growing up." This, Steve knew for fact.
"He's the best Daddy, ever."
"He is. Okay, I have some more questions, or I'm gonna bawl right here, and then all the people will see it."
"Hold your breath, and then ask me the questions. You have an Image To Maintain." Steve could hear her capitalizing those words.
"Yes, I do." He cleared his throat, and dove in head first. "Okay, last night. Were you still awake when they got back from the airport?"
"Yeah. I had to hide, though. I wasn't supposed to still be up, but I had a paper to finish, and it took ages. I was getting milk, like I am now. Or was. I've gone back to my room."
Steve asked Grace a number of questions, and the answers she gave were that Stan and Rachel had come in around 12:30 am. Stan was wearing his favorite leather jacket, which was black and expensive, and had a distinctive leather piping to the front placket. His luggage was two bags, a large and a carry on that matched, in a deep blue with black corner patches and handles. Rachel was wearing what she'd been wearing when visiting Danny and Steve earlier, and since Steve hadn't prompted her about it, he could tell Rachel hadn't changed.
"Why were they so late? I thought Stan's plane was due at 8:30."
"Mom was complaining at how long she had had to wait for him. His plane was delayed till close to 11, then they got dinner at some all-night café. They usually do that if his plane is late." She paused. "Do you think they hurt Daddy?" Her voice had a sharp edge to it, like she was working toward outright anger.
Steve was very quick to tell her that they were making sure everyone had an alibi, and that meant even checking out Step-Stan. "He doesn't like Danno, either. But could I ask you not to let them know that we talked, uhm, or at least not the questions part?"
"I promise I won't let them know. Uncle Steve, thanks for treating me like an adult. I need to help if I can, to get Daddy back. I really need to feel like I'm helping. He … he's hurting, I can feel it, in his heart. Like, like he doesn't understand this, and he desperately wants out, wants to be back with us, but he can't yet, and he's trying so hard to not panic, and he's very worried that he doesn't have a lot of time left." Grace was crying again. "I just know it, Uncle Steve, please don't tell me I'm making this up. He has a kitten with him. He calls her Angel. I can see him, but the picture isn't right, but it's him."
Steve was beyond startled, and then wondered why he felt that way. He was getting images of Danny, feelings, so why wouldn't his daughter? The kitten part was a shock, but maybe that was the plush toy he had felt earlier. A kitten named Angel? "I feel things too, sweetheart. I know he's in a bad way, and trying to get out. But what do you mean, the picture isn't right?"
Grace burst into tears, but hushed herself. "I'm glad you feel things too! He needs us so bad! The picture isn't right, because he doesn't have his hair anymore, Uncle Steve. Someone took it away. Daddy is refusing to even touch his head. But there is a mirror. I saw it when he looked in the mirror."
Steve had to cover his shock, and his fury. He believed Grace. "Honey, I have to ask you one more thing. Are you feeling hungry a lot?"
"Yes!" was the surprised reply. "I settled on milk tonight because Mom keeps track if I sneak a snack. But I bought some candy bars at school today, and she doesn't know about those. I've had 4 already today."
"But you're not feeling thirsty?"
"No. Just starving. I must be getting ready to grow again."
Steve hoped to keep her thinking just that, because what he thought was going on was something he hoped Grace never realized. "I bet you are! You'll be taller than Danno!"
Gracie laughed, the first laugh of the whole call. "He won't like that."
Steve grinned too, so his voice would. "He will have to deal with it, won't he? Listen, Gracie, I promise to ask you more questions, but it's late enough now that you should get to sleep. Don't watch the news, and don't fret about what the TV says. I will tell you the truth, as soon as I know it. You tell me anything else you get a feeling about, because I think Danno is communicating with you, like he is with me. What do you think of Angel?"
"Oh, Uncle Steve, she is so cute! She loves Daddy! He plans to keep her! She chases her tail! I adore her! Oh, gotta go, Mom's prowling. Bye, Uncle Steve!"
The phone went dead, and Steve leaned against the patrol car, feeling desperately hungry, angry, and so glad Danny had a kitten named Angel. And furious that whoever had locked him in the box had cut off his hair first. He was going to do serious damage to whoever did that, and destroyed Danny's house.
He called Kono. "Anything?"
She sounded unhappy. "I've got tons of pictures of both Rachel and Stan at the airport, with luggage, and dammit, I'm glad they have alibis because Danny would be crushed if it was them, but I wanted it to be them so we could use the thumbscrews and find Danny!"
Steve told her what Grace had said they were wearing, and she confirmed it. "Right times, right outfits, it's really easy to recognize Rachel's face, and the guy is Stan. His name is on the flight manifest, and he went through security, and it all checks out. How is Grace? Did she take the news of the house, uh, how did that go? Is the house a total loss?"
"Burning splinters and rubble. And Gracie just wants Danno back. I don't think the loss of the house has hit her yet."
"Abby is still checking camera footage, I'll help her on that now. I guess we have to broaden the net. You and Chin still going to talk to Lou?"
"Yeah." Steve sighed. "I don't think it's him, but we have to be thorough. Listen, pull up any footage near Danny's house for yesterday night, too. And the area where the accident took place. And I want every photo they took of inside Danny's house. I wanted to see if anything was out of place from what I remember. Photos are all we have now."
"On it, Boss."
Steve sat there, staring at his phone, before he called Lou. It was late, but still, this couldn't wait.
Lou answered after four rings. His voice was not friendly. "Well, well, well, if it isn't McGarrett. Been awhile. So come on over, and we'll talk about what I'm seeing on the news right now. You want to know if I burned down Danny's house, right?"