Chapter 9

Weeks later:

On a Monday morning, the whole team was at headquarters. They worked late last night and finally closed a case. Now all they had to do was do the paperwork.

Suddenly a person came through the glass door into the hall and looked around curiously. Steve noticed her, stepped out of his office and approached the person. It was a girl, no more than 16 years old, black cargo pants, white t-shirt with "Hawaii" printed on it, blue eyes and light brown hair that shimmered almost golden where the sun's rays hit it and reached about her chest.
"Can I help you?"

"Are you Steve McGarrett?"

"Yes, I am, and in case you don't know, we're a task force for big crimes, so..."

The girl just cut Steve off mid-sentence without showing any sign of insecurity.
"I know and I need your help. My name is Helen Alex Upton."

That was a shock. At first Steve just stood there and stared at Helen. The last name had triggered something in him. A memory from a long time ago. As soon as he had broken out of his shock, his logical thinking began again.
"Are you related to Liana Upton?"

Helen nodded. "Liana is or rather was my mother, she passed away two weeks ago. Before that, we both lived in Coronado."

Helen talked about it like it was nothing and Steve only had two possible explanations for that. Either she didn't care and was even glad about it, or she was incredibly good at suppressing her emotions.
But Steve knew Helen's mother's name only too well. Prior to his time with Catherine, he had been stationed in Coronado, where he had met Liana Upton.

"I'm sorry for your loss. And what about your father?"

Helen gave Steve a look he couldn't quite interpret. But then she answered him.
"I don't know it. Mom never told me much about my father. Only that he left her after he found out she was pregnant. Otherwise, she never wanted to talk about it."

Lost in thought, Steve nodded.
"I understand. And what do you need my help with now?"

"You must investigate my mother's death."

"Your mother's death? In Coronado? You do know we're a task force for Hawaii?"

Helen gave him a look that nearly killed him.
"When I was going through her things after my mother died, I found a newspaper article about you and your team and what successes you had already had and I thought if anyone could solve my mother's death, it would be you."

Flattered, Steve pointed to his office door.
"Okay, then come to my office."

He held the door open for her and then followed her.

Danny had been closely following everything that was happening in the hall from his office and was just about to join them when he saw Steve's face. He had never seen such an expression from Steve. It was a mixture of insecurity, anger, dismay and he would almost say love? Danny restrained his curiosity and sat back down, keeping an eye on his boss and best friend.

Steve pointed to the couch in his office.
"Please have a seat."

As casual as ever, he sat down on the edge of his desk, but his emotions were on a roller coaster inside him.
Liana. He had never quite forgotten her. She had been his first love, back in Coronado. Steve's mind wandered. He had spent every free minute with her back then. He had met her on his twenty-fifth birthday. Instead of going home, he'd partied with Freddy and a few other Seals at Danny's Palm Bar. At the time, Liana was studying art history at UCSD and waited tables to earn some extra money.
They had already had a lot to drink and Freddy had just grabbed Liana and put her on Steve's lap, which the young woman didn't find funny at all. The next day Steve had gone back and apologized for Freddy's behavior while inviting her over for coffee. After that he devoted almost all his free time to her and soon they were a couple. But then the next assignment for him as a seal had come. They were supposed to leave that night, and actually Steve shouldn't have told her anything. However, Freddy had his back when Steve threw himself in his car and drove to Liana to say goodbye and promise to come back as soon as possible. Once the mission was over, Steve returned to Coronado, but Liana was gone.
He had looked and asked for her everywhere back then, but nobody had been able to tell him where she had gone. She had left the university and given notice in the bar. After that, her trail was lost. He hadn't even known her parents to ask. Her father must have died in an accident when she was four and her mother remarried afterwards. But he didn't know her name. He stayed behind angry and disappointed.

Now his gaze wandered back to Helen. Steve recognized a lot of her mother in her.
"Then tell me. What happened?"

"Two weeks ago I came home from school and my mom wasn't there, which wasn't unusual as she sometimes had to work late. But when she still wasn't there that evening, I got worried and tried to reach her. Since I was unsuccessful, I went to the police and they asked their manager."

"Sorry to interrupt you. Where did your mother work?"

"She was a data analyst at the NSA and stationed at the Naval Base in Coronado. Her supervisor said that she left hours ago. So the CPD searched the way from the base to our home and also found her car. Well, she was still inside, but only her death could be determined. The car was parked on the side of the road and the reason given was that it had gone off the road, but I know for a fact that it wasn't. I know my mom, she drives very carefully and that would never happen to her. I think it was murder."

"Wow, wait a minute, slow down. I'm very sorry about what happened to your mother and I believe you know her very well, but sometimes accidents happen. It may well be that an animal crossed the road and she tried to avoid it, or that she was distracted by something. And if the CPD says it was an accident, then it must have been. They have already dealt with many traffic accidents and therefore have the corresponding experience."

"I don't care about their experience! I'm pretty sure it was murder!"

"Okay, what makes you so sure?"

"My mom took a driver safety class last year. Afterwards, the organizer asked her in my presence why she would have needed it at all, she was one of the best drivers he had ever had in his course.

"Okay, I'll take a look at your mother's case with my team and an HPD officer will watch over you in the meantime."

"Thanks, but I'm 15 years old, so I'm old enough to take care of myself and I can help you."

"Fine, stay here then. But it may be a while before we can start. We must first ask the CPD that they give us access to the accident report. In the meantime I will speak to my team and you can wait in my office or get something to drink. There is a vending machine down the hall."

Helen just nodded and Steve made his way into Danny's office and opened his door. Danny was already looking at him expectantly...