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End of the Rainbow (1/3)

As the partners sat in Steve's office at HQ, the sun filtered through the blinds, casting shadows across the room while they reviewed a piece of information. Danny couldn't help but think back to all the film noir movies he used to watch on rainy afternoons with Nonna. If he listened closely, he could almost hear the unmistakable tones of Humphrey Bogart as Phillip Marlowe in The Big Sleep.

"The muzzle of the Luger looked like the mouth of the Second Street tunnel, but I didn't move. Not being bulletproof is an idea I had had to get used to."

"Same, Phillip. Same,"he thought to himself with a small smile.

He was broken out of his reverie by Steve's voice.

"Are you listening to me or am I just talking to myself?"

"Sorry." Danny scrubbed his face with his hand. "I was just back in New Jersey for a minute eating popcorn and watching old movies with Nonna."

Steve smirked. "Sounds like a fun afternoon, but if it's ok with you I need you back here."

Danny rolled his eyes. "You're much less fun than Nonna but whatever. I'm here. What were you saying?"

"I was asking how many years this case has been cold?" Steve said. "As far as I can tell there hasn't been any serious investigation for decades."

Danny leaned forward from his seat on the couch, his eyes scanning the files spread out before him on the coffee table. "You're probably right. Last entry I can see is from 1998. It wasn't my jurisdiction but I remember the case. Everyone remembers the case. A bunch of mob guys disappear off the face of the earth-that's big news.

"They put a lot of manpower on it. Hell …if I remember correctly there was even a task force. But they could never find a trace of the guys. The whole state was buzzing about it but nobody talks to the cops in a situation like that for fear they'll be the next to turn up missing. There were still parts of the state that stuck to the wall of silence principle in the 90's.

"You know what they say. 'It seemed like a nice neighborhood to have bad habits in'."

Steve's eyebrows creased. "Who says that?"

"Phillip Marlowe."

Danny watched his best friend's eyes for a flicker of recognition and saw nothing. So he tried again.

"The Big Sleep. Raymond Chandler. Humphrey Bogart. Does any of this ring a bell?"

"I've heard of Humphrey Bogart."

Danny huffed. "We really need to expand your film horizons."

"Well that's gonna have to wait," Steve said. "Tell me what else you remember about this case. Because these files sure as hell don't give much detail."

"I'm not sure there ever was much detail," Danny said. "Over the years a few of the guys turned up dead here and there, but they never found the whole crew."

Steve looked up and smiled as Catherine walked into the office holding a file folder and greeted them both. "Lea greased some wheels and I managed to talk to the man who headed up the original investigation. His name is …" Catherine grinned. "You're not going to believe this. Phillip Marlowe."

"Yes!" Danny clapped his hands together. "I remember that now. Everyone in the department always teased him about his name."

"He's a really interesting man," Catherine said. "He's retired now but he told me the fact that this case was never solved has always bothered him, so he still checks in on things from time to time to see if anything new has popped up. He was actually able to fill in a few of the gaps."

"Seems like he might be a useful resource," Steve said. "Because there's a whole lot of nothing in these files for the last two decades. These guys could be anywhere. What makes anyone think they're in Hawaii, let alone on Oahu?"

"It was actually Phillip who spotted something and called the chief of police at HPD suggesting we take a look at this case," Catherine replied. "The chief gave the governor's office a heads up since this has the potential to involve other jurisdictions, and potentially even the FBI. Guess where a link to the missing guys surfaced?"

Danny looked up, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. "Right here in our little slice of paradise?"

"Exactly," she answered. "A gold bar from a bank robbery in Linden, New Jersey showed up on the north shore last month. A group doing a beach cleanup actually thought it was fake but just to be safe they turned it into the authorities. But … before they did they took some pics as a joke and posted them on social media. Marlowe saw the post, noticed some distinctive markings on the bar, and called HPD."

"And that's where we come in," Steve told his best friend. "I don't care how quietly they've been living, or how many years they've been straight, guys like that never really change."

"Once outside the law you're all the way outside." Danny said in his best Bogart impression.

"Very nice." Catherine smiled. "The Big Sleep?"

"Yes!" Danny nodded. "Your wife has much better taste in movies than you."

"Wherever they are." Steve shook his head and continued. "They need to be tracked down, and you may have just the extra insight we need to get that done."

"So how do we know they're actually still here in Hawaii and that they didn't come here on vacation, stash the gold, then head back to New Jersey when they realized what an unrelenting heat box this place is?"

"Do you really think they would have left without the gold?" Steve asked.

"Maybe all the sunshine drove them mad," Danny suggested.

"Wherever they are, we're gonna find them," Steve said resolutely. "And if it isn't here, we'll pass the information off to the local police department wherever they are."

"Oh goodie!" Danny rolled his eyes. "A road trip to some middle of nowhere place where mobsters go to disappear. I can't wait."

"I don't think there will be any need for a road trip," Catherine said.

"Wait." Danny's eyebrows rose. "Do you mean they may have been here for the whole twenty five years?"

Catherine nodded. "Looks like it. Once HPD found out the gold was real they started contacting their organized crime sources. Everyone claimed not to know anything, but after doing a bunch of interviews they got a call on the tip line. According to the anonymous caller, these guys have been living a quiet life under the radar right here on Oahu." She smiled at them. "It's time to put an end to that."

TBC

Tune in on Monday for Chapter 2

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