Chapter 6 (conclusion)

"I was sorry to hear I missed you yesterday when you came by, Commander," Tiffany James said as she ushered Steve and Danny into her office. "I heard you were asking about Leonard Kapalaua."

"When was the last time you saw him?" Steve asked as she closed the door behind them.

He looked around the office which could be most charitably described as a chaotic mess. There were stacks of paper everywhere interspersed with empty pizza boxes, half empty cans of soda and bottles of beer. The dust was thick enough to write your name in and the smell of stale cigarette smoke hung in the air like a cloud. A large plate glass window looked out over a small marina.

Tiffany indicated they should take a seat but both men chose to remain standing.

"Suit yourself," she said and sat behind her desk.

Tiffany James was doing everything possible to give off the air of someone unconcerned about the fact that 5-0 was in her office, questioning her, but she was failing miserably. She clasped her hands in front of her in an attempt to appear nonchalant, but the whiteness around her knuckles revealed her true state of mind. The faint tap tap tap sound coming from underneath her desk betrayed the fact that she couldn't keep her feet still. Her tight lips more closely resembled a grimace than a smile.

Her muscular build made it clear she worked out regularly and her many tattoos seeme designed to intimidate. Danny thought that the death skull on her throat and the bloody heart on her left bicep were especially nice touches. THey fit in well with several framed death metal posters that dotted the walls and the baseball bat with several nails stuck through it leaning in the corner.

His eyes met Steve's and knew that his partner had clocked the potential weapon right away.

But for as hard as she was trying to give off an air of hardened confidence, Steve and Danny saw something different.

Fear.

"When did I last see Leonard Kapalaua?" she said, more to herself than to Danny and Steve. She tilted her head and her eyes seemed to be searching for the answer on the ceiling. "It has to have been about eight months ago. Right before I sued him for trying to pin his insurance scam on me."

"The way we understand it the two of you were in it together," Danny said.

Tiffany shook her head. "Not true. My business is 100% legitimate. He tried to use my information to bilk money from people back on the mainland but that had nothing to do with me. You'll see when we get to court. I didn't have anything to do with whatever he was up to."

"Then why did the two of you lease a boat together?" Steve asked.

The tightening of her jaw and the increased speed of her blinking would have been imperceptible to anyone not specifically looking for them.

"We didn't."

The tapping sound from under the desk sped up.

"He forged those documents."

"I assume you're aware that his arm turned up inside the stomach of a shark at the aquarium," Steve said.

"Really?" Tiffany pretended to be shocked. "Leonard is dead? That's a real shame but I guess you reap what you sow. It was probably one of the people he scammed who killed him."

"Who said he's dead?" Steve asked. "All I said was his arm was in a shark that was taken to the aquarium for treatment."

"Well …" Tiffany stammered. "I just assumed. I mean if your arm ends up cut off and fed to a shark…."

"We never said the arm was cut off before it was fed to the shark," Danny pointed out.

"This is ridiculous." Tiffany huffed. "You're twisting my words. I didn't know the guy was dead but if you're waiting for me to say I'm sorry he is, it'll be a long wait. If you let me know his next of kin I'll be sure to send flowers."

Steve crossed his arms over his chest. "So you're claiming you weren't aware he was in Honolulu?"

"I have no idea where he goes or what he does," Tiffany shot back.

"And we won't find any signs of him on your boat?" Danny asked. "The one currently being searched by the other members of our team?"

Tiffany's eyes shot to the window.

"Oh, not that one." Danny pointed to a boat moored in the slip directly in front of them. "Or that one either," he said, indicating the boat next to it. "We're searching the one you keep tied up on the other side of the marina. Tucked away where you think no one will see it."

All of the blood drained from her face.

"The one with the registration number that matches one on a boat spotted in the area around the time the shark was captured and brought to the aquarium to be treated for an injured tail." Danny shook his head. "A couple of fishermen in the area made a point to write down the number because they said it looked to them like the boat intentionally tried to hit the shark. That's how her tail got injured."

"Other than that she wouldn't have been at the aquarium and we would never have known about the arm." Steve smirked. "Ironic, huh?"

The office door opened and Chin and Kono entered followed by Tiffany's harried young assistant claiming they had barged straight past her.

"It's fine." Tiffany waved the younger woman away.

"There's definitely blood on that boat," Chin said. "Max is running some tests but he said based on the amount, it looks to him like it might be from more than one person."

Tiffany was now covered in flop sweat.

"We also found a marine saw and a couple of big filet knives with blood on them," Kono added. "They're on their way to the lab as we speak."

All eyes turned to Tiffany James.

For a few seconds she looked like she was going to try to hold strong but then the reality of what was happening fell on her like a ton of bricks and she crumbled.

"None of this was my idea," she said. "I might have hated Kapalaua but I would have never wanted him to be cut up and fed to the sharks."

"So whose idea was it?" Steve asked.

Tiffany bit her lip. "I want a deal before I'm gonna say anything."

"No way the PA will give you a deal without knowing exactly what kind of information you have," Danny told her.

"Let's just say there are some powerful people around here who wanted someone to use as a fall guy if a big shipment went missing from the docks." Tiffany paused, the wheels turning in her brain almost visible to everyone else in the room. "But now that I think about it …"

Chin, Kono, Steve, and Danny could all see the exact second the lightbulb went on over her head.

"I was the one who had a connection to Kapalaua. If he took the fall it wouldn't be long before the cops were lookin' at me."

Steve and Danny nodded as the look on Tiffany's face became one of pure anger.

"I ain't nobody's fall guy. You better call the PA's office and the feds too," she raged. "If I'm goin' down I'm taking some people with me. Now I want to see my lawyer."

An hour later, Tiffany James was in custody and the team was headed home. The PA's office and the feds would be taking the lead from here.

"We're meeting at 7:00 a.m. to watch Hilda being released back into the wild then we're headed over to the zoo to visit Felix," Steve said as they left the building. "Everyone is welcome to come along."

"Leilani and I will be there," Chin said. "She's been watching the news as much as possible trying to catch glimpses of Hilda."

"Adam's out of town but I'll be there," Kono said. "Sounds like fun. Maybe we can stop and grab something to eat between Hilda's release and the zoo."

Steve looked at his partner.

"I was gonna sleep in," Danny grumbled. "Maybe have a late breakfast and watch some college football."

Steve shook his head. "If that's what you wanna do. But the kids are gonna be disappointed."

Danny sighed good-naturedly. "Gabby and I will be there."

"You know what we need?" Steve grinned. "A collective noun for a group of people who like spending time together on weekends even after working together all week."

"That's an easy one," Danny replied. "La Famiglia."

# THE END Thanks for Reading

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