Witness Part Two

Steve and Danny returned to HQ where Chin and Kono had already begun to pull together the files from recent cases of high end jewelry thefts on the island.

"These guys …" Chin swiped three pictures up onto the overhead screens, "Are currently in prison. Two of them are awaiting trial. One has already been sentenced to 15 years. This guy…"

He enlarged the center picture, "Is Rico Miliani."

"I remember him." Danny studied the picture. "We arrested him last year."

"That's right," Steve said. "He was hitting houses on Diamond Head, wasn't he?"

Chin nodded. "HPD is sure he was part of an organized ring. There were 7 robberies, all with very similar MOs, over the course of the last 3 years. Perpetrator entered the house during daylight hours, only targeted high end jewelry, and slipped out without disturbing anything else or setting off an alarm. From what we know of Miliani, he doesn't have the brain power to plan something like this himself."

Steve studied the picture, trying hard to remember the exact details of the case. "Any word on accomplices?"

"Not yet," Kono said. "They were hoping he'd flip on whoever his boss is in return for a reduced sentence but I checked with the assistant PA handling the case and she said so far he's keeping his mouth shut."

"Apparently HPD has an undercover agent close to infiltrating the ring," Chin said. "We can't talk to him but I have an appointment to talk to his handler later this afternoon."

"Same area of town," Steve said. "The cases could be related."

"Could be," Kono agreed. "Or there could be a new scumbag in town trying to make a name for himself."

"So far all we really have is Maya's description of the guy," Steve said. "It's not a lot but it's a start. Chin, you and Kono talk to the undercover agent's handler and then see what you can dig up on any of Miliani's known associates. Danny and I are gonna pay a visit to Larry Laemoa at Halawa."

"Just what my day was missing," Danny grumbled. "A prison visit."

"If anyone has any insight into where someone would fence something like what was stolen from the Malikoa's, it's Laemoa," Steve said. "We're gonna have to move fast before the jewelry gets shipped off the island."

"We're on it," Chin said as he shut down the smart table. "We'll let you know as soon as we find anything."

Hours later, Danny and Steve sat at the kitchen table at the beach house after a long day of contacting anyone on the island who might have any idea who had the missing jewelry and who might be in the market to buy it.

Having both missed dinner, they were eating eggplant parm sandwiches while doing a little more brainstorming before calling it a night.

"Cath, this is great, thanks again." Danny saluted with his sandwich. "Nonna-level delicious."

"You're very sweet. I figured you hadn't stopped for a real dinner. The kids insisted before they went to bed that since you were dropping Steve off late, we save dinner for Uncle Danny, too. I'm taking Cammie for a potty break," she said. "There's more on the stove and a ton of bread. Help yourselves."

"Clearly my godchildren are the best," Danny smiled, wiped his mouth on a napkin and faced Steve. "So, why does it feel like we spent all day talking to anybody who knows anything about the local jewel thieving scumbags and still aren't any closer to finding out who broke into the Malikoa's?"

Steve placed his tablet on the table and took another bite of his sandwich. "Because that's exactly what happened." He rubbed his hand over his face. "It's not gonna do any good to have Maya sit with a police artist because of the mask. But we may need to have her sit with a specialist in interviewing children and see if she can remember anything else. Even if it seems insignificant we need something to use as a starting point. Right now we're just throwing things at the wall and hoping something sticks."

Danny nodded his agreement. "Did Malikoa send over the pics of the missing pieces so at least we know exactly what we're looking for?"

Steve glanced at his tablet. "Looks like they just came through. A diamond necklace, an antique emerald ring, a diamond brooch, and interestingly, several carats of loose stones removed from various family heirlooms that were scheduled to be repurposed into small pendants to auction off for charity." He scanned the rest of the report Duka had forwarded. "Total value of just over five million dollars."

Danny let out a breath. "Dude had expensive taste. Now we need to find out who'd be interested in buying a haul like that on the black market."

"Lots of people would be interested, is my guess," Steve said. "The question is who could actually make it happen. This isn't gonna be a regular fence situation."

As if on cue, Catherine re-entered the room. "I can call Henderson over at the FBI if you want, get a list of anyone who might be able to handle a deal this big. Chances are it's gonna be someone with mainland connections. They're gonna want to get that stuff off the island ASAP."

Steve smiled. "Thanks, Cath. That'll speed things up. And I'm sure Henderson will be thrilled to hear from you." He looked at Danny and grinned. "He has a bad case of Rollins-itis."

Catherine barked a laugh. "That is so not a thing."

"It really is," Steve teased.

"I'll call him right now," she said while grabbing her phone. Before she dialed she asked, "You're sure Maya was okay? That's a lot for a 10 year old to go through."

"She was great," Steve replied. "A little spooked, but after we talked a little she calmed right down and was determined to help."

"Good for her," Catherine said. "I'll check in with Esme tomorrow, see if they need anything."

"Of course you will," Steve responded with a soft smile.

Catherine leaned against the counter. "You know, the kids asked about the whole situation earlier. Apparently even elementary school has a grapevine and DJ heard what happened from Michael," she said, a smile tugging at her lips. "And of course Angie wanted to hear every detail. DJ was happy Maya was okay and Angie wanted to know if you caught the bad guy yet because she had some ideas."

Steve chuckled, the sound echoing through the room while Danny nodded, a grin forming. "Tell her we'll try to make her proud by solving this one fast. And I think talking to DJ tomorrow might put Maya even more at ease."

"I'll have them talk when I call," Catherine said and stepped away to call Henderson. "Anything to make Maya feel as safe as she possibly can."

At HQ the next morning, Steve tapped his fingers against the smartboard, his eyes on a map of possible fences and interested buyers compiled from information gathered from HPD, the FBI, Larry Laemoa, the PA's office and a handful of CI's. "First, we need to narrow down our list of suspects. By the time we check into all of the people on this map the jewelry will be long gone."

Just as they began brainstorming ways to eliminate some of the suspects, Steve's phone rang. "McGarrett," he said, followed by, "Esme, is everything okay?"

Danny leaned forward, curiosity piqued.

"Everything is fine. It's just that Maya thinks she remembers something else and she wants to come down to your office and tell you about it."

"We can come to you," Steve offered. It's no problem at all."

"Thanks, but she was really hoping we could come to you. She hasn't said but I think she really wants to see your office. She's very interested in what it looks like."

Steve smiled. "Bring her down. We'll give her a tour."

"Thanks. We can come now if that's possible. Maya's insistent that what she has to tell you is important and you need to hear it right away."

"That's fine," Steve said. "I'll call down to security and tell them to send you straight up."

"Thanks. See you soon."

As Steve disconnected the call he looked at the rest of the team. "Maya's on her way. She remembered something else. Let's hope this is the break we need."

TBC Wednesday

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