Danny eased his LTD into the driveway of the Governor's official residence, parking the car next to Steve's big Mercury. Two more Five-O cars, further up the drive, belonged to Chin Ho and Kono, and several HPD blue-and-whites bathed the scene in eerie, flashing illumination from their rooftop light units. The drive through the early morning darkness had felt strange to the young detective; shadows had seemed more prevalent than usual, all macabre shapes and fantastic angles that filled the spaces between the streetlights. More than once Danny had been convinced he had seen movement in the murky recesses along the road, only to find himself looking at fences, or low shrubbery and hedges in front of darkened houses. Shaking his head in dismay and blaming his overactive imagination on the vivid nightmare still fresh in his mind, Danny stepped out of the vehicle and headed toward the open front doors of the mansion.
"Ah, Danno, there you are. Good." The disembodied voice of the Five-O chief echoed in the entranceway before the senior detective stuck his head out of one of the many doors lining the hall. "Come in here, please," he added, gesturing for Danny to enter.
Dan stepped into a spacious, bookshelf-lined room with a large desk at one side; clearly this was the Governor's study. Just as clear was the extensive damage: chairs overturned, hardcover volumes pulled from the shelves, and most prominently, the shattered glass and frames of the large window on the far wall of the room. Kono and Chin were standing next to it, examining the debris on the floor. Steve and the pyjama and robe-clad Governor were near the desk, the latter clutching a file in his hands and rifling through it with a worried frown.
"Whew, this is quite the mess!" Danny raised his eyebrows as he surveyed the scene in front of him. "What have we got here, Steve?"
"A typical break-and-enter that is anything but typical," came the cryptic reply. At Dan's confused look, Steve continued his explanation. "Firstly, there doesn't appear to anything missing, despite the fact that there are several valuable pieces of artwork on display in this room, and some highly confidential government reports stored in the wall safe. The only motivation so far appears to be vandalism."
"Well, it looks like they did a pretty thorough job of it," Danny observed wryly, glancing around the room again.
"Yes, but that's not the really interesting part." Steve was still sounding cryptic. "Go ahead, Governor, tell Danno what you saw."
Governor Paul Jameson looked distinctly uncomfortable as he closed the file he was holding. "I heard the crash when the window was broken. I'm a light sleeper, and still wasn't really settled in when it happened," he began. "I couldn't get the house security team on the phone, so I called HPD. And then," he took a deep breath. "I came downstairs to see what was going on. I could hear the noise coming from the study, so I opened the door..." The Governor shook his head slowly before continuing. "I have never seen such an odd assortment of people in my life. Tattered, torn clothing, wild unkempt hair, and their faces...! They seemed greyish coloured, with scars and twisted expressions, and wild eyes." Jameson paused, clearly disturbed by the memory. "When they saw me, they sort of ... shuffled ... over to the window and crawled through the open frame, right over all the broken glass! By the time I got to the window and looked out, they had disappeared into the darkness," he concluded. "But I could still hear them out there, making all kinds of strange noises."
"Oh?" Danny looked curious and apprehensive at the same time. "What kind of noises, Governor?" he enquired.
"Strange noises," the Governor repeated. "Grunting, moaning sounds that just faded away after a few moments." He stared out the open window briefly before turning his focus back to the detectives. "It was not a sound I want to hear again, gentlemen. You must capture these ... hoodlums ... as quickly as you can."
"We will, Governor, you can be sure of that." Steve spoke up immediately to reassure the worried man. "And I'll also have HPD post extra security, both here and at your office. I don't think you need fear a return visit from these particular vandals."
"Zombies." In the silence following the Five-O chief's statement the low-voiced pronouncement was clearly heard from the other side of the room.
The three men turned and looked across the room. "What was that, Kono?" Steve asked. "I didn't quite catch it..."
The big Hawaiian shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. "I said, zombies," he repeated. "Not vandals. We're talkin' 'bout da undead here, boss."
Steve's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, while the Governor frowned in annoyance. Danny schooled his features into what he hoped was a neutral expression, a small trickle of apprehension snaking its way across the back of his neck.
"I don't think we're dealing with anything ... otherworldly, Kono," Steve finally said, breaking the charged silence that hung in the wake of his detective's rather unexpected statement. "Vandals with an unusual flair for the dramatic, perhaps, but nothing more ominous than that."
Kono looked mutinous for a moment, then shook his head and turned back to the damaged windows. "Okay, boss," he muttered. "I'm just sayin' we need to be watchful. We don't want to mess wit' dem."
"Governor." Steve again spoke to reassure the older man. "We will get to the bottom of this, and soon. We'll be finished up here in a little while, and you've already given me your statement. Why don't you head back upstairs? The HPD guard will remain in the house after we've gone."
Paul Jameson took a long look around the room before replying. "All right, Steve," he said, putting down the file he had been holding and moving toward the door. "I'll leave you to your investigation. But I do expect an update later this morning."
"Of course, sir." Steve's reply was prompt. "Good night, Governor."
The Five-O chief watched as the politician exited the study, then turned his focus back to the three detectives. "Chin, Kono, since it will be light within the hour, I would like you to stay and have a complete look through the grounds. See if you can find any trace of our intruders. Danno, you can interview the security personnel and anyone else that was here in the residence tonight. Maybe one of them heard or saw something."
"Okay, boss."
"Sure, Steve."
With the replies still echoing in the room, Steve headed for the door himself. "We'll meet back in the office in a couple of hours, gentlemen," he said as he took his leave.
In the sudden quiet that followed Steve's departure, the remaining Five-O detectives blinked and looked at each other for a moment. Finally Dan broke the silence. "Zombies, Kono?" he queried. "You don't really believe that, do you?"
"I say we take no chances, bruddah," the big Hawaiian said firmly. "It's Halloween. Da time of da undead walking in da night."
Danny again felt the shiver twitching in his shoulders, and forced himself to smile at his friend and compatriot. "Well, what we believe is unimportant," he declared. "Steve will never accept a story of the supernatural, so we'd better get the facts and head back to the office as soon as possible."
"Ah, Danno, there you are. Good." The disembodied voice of the Five-O chief echoed in the entranceway before the senior detective stuck his head out of one of the many doors lining the hall. "Come in here, please," he added, gesturing for Danny to enter.
Dan stepped into a spacious, bookshelf-lined room with a large desk at one side; clearly this was the Governor's study. Just as clear was the extensive damage: chairs overturned, hardcover volumes pulled from the shelves, and most prominently, the shattered glass and frames of the large window on the far wall of the room. Kono and Chin were standing next to it, examining the debris on the floor. Steve and the pyjama and robe-clad Governor were near the desk, the latter clutching a file in his hands and rifling through it with a worried frown.
"Whew, this is quite the mess!" Danny raised his eyebrows as he surveyed the scene in front of him. "What have we got here, Steve?"
"A typical break-and-enter that is anything but typical," came the cryptic reply. At Dan's confused look, Steve continued his explanation. "Firstly, there doesn't appear to anything missing, despite the fact that there are several valuable pieces of artwork on display in this room, and some highly confidential government reports stored in the wall safe. The only motivation so far appears to be vandalism."
"Well, it looks like they did a pretty thorough job of it," Danny observed wryly, glancing around the room again.
"Yes, but that's not the really interesting part." Steve was still sounding cryptic. "Go ahead, Governor, tell Danno what you saw."
Governor Paul Jameson looked distinctly uncomfortable as he closed the file he was holding. "I heard the crash when the window was broken. I'm a light sleeper, and still wasn't really settled in when it happened," he began. "I couldn't get the house security team on the phone, so I called HPD. And then," he took a deep breath. "I came downstairs to see what was going on. I could hear the noise coming from the study, so I opened the door..." The Governor shook his head slowly before continuing. "I have never seen such an odd assortment of people in my life. Tattered, torn clothing, wild unkempt hair, and their faces...! They seemed greyish coloured, with scars and twisted expressions, and wild eyes." Jameson paused, clearly disturbed by the memory. "When they saw me, they sort of ... shuffled ... over to the window and crawled through the open frame, right over all the broken glass! By the time I got to the window and looked out, they had disappeared into the darkness," he concluded. "But I could still hear them out there, making all kinds of strange noises."
"Oh?" Danny looked curious and apprehensive at the same time. "What kind of noises, Governor?" he enquired.
"Strange noises," the Governor repeated. "Grunting, moaning sounds that just faded away after a few moments." He stared out the open window briefly before turning his focus back to the detectives. "It was not a sound I want to hear again, gentlemen. You must capture these ... hoodlums ... as quickly as you can."
"We will, Governor, you can be sure of that." Steve spoke up immediately to reassure the worried man. "And I'll also have HPD post extra security, both here and at your office. I don't think you need fear a return visit from these particular vandals."
"Zombies." In the silence following the Five-O chief's statement the low-voiced pronouncement was clearly heard from the other side of the room.
The three men turned and looked across the room. "What was that, Kono?" Steve asked. "I didn't quite catch it..."
The big Hawaiian shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. "I said, zombies," he repeated. "Not vandals. We're talkin' 'bout da undead here, boss."
Steve's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, while the Governor frowned in annoyance. Danny schooled his features into what he hoped was a neutral expression, a small trickle of apprehension snaking its way across the back of his neck.
"I don't think we're dealing with anything ... otherworldly, Kono," Steve finally said, breaking the charged silence that hung in the wake of his detective's rather unexpected statement. "Vandals with an unusual flair for the dramatic, perhaps, but nothing more ominous than that."
Kono looked mutinous for a moment, then shook his head and turned back to the damaged windows. "Okay, boss," he muttered. "I'm just sayin' we need to be watchful. We don't want to mess wit' dem."
"Governor." Steve again spoke to reassure the older man. "We will get to the bottom of this, and soon. We'll be finished up here in a little while, and you've already given me your statement. Why don't you head back upstairs? The HPD guard will remain in the house after we've gone."
Paul Jameson took a long look around the room before replying. "All right, Steve," he said, putting down the file he had been holding and moving toward the door. "I'll leave you to your investigation. But I do expect an update later this morning."
"Of course, sir." Steve's reply was prompt. "Good night, Governor."
The Five-O chief watched as the politician exited the study, then turned his focus back to the three detectives. "Chin, Kono, since it will be light within the hour, I would like you to stay and have a complete look through the grounds. See if you can find any trace of our intruders. Danno, you can interview the security personnel and anyone else that was here in the residence tonight. Maybe one of them heard or saw something."
"Okay, boss."
"Sure, Steve."
With the replies still echoing in the room, Steve headed for the door himself. "We'll meet back in the office in a couple of hours, gentlemen," he said as he took his leave.
In the sudden quiet that followed Steve's departure, the remaining Five-O detectives blinked and looked at each other for a moment. Finally Dan broke the silence. "Zombies, Kono?" he queried. "You don't really believe that, do you?"
"I say we take no chances, bruddah," the big Hawaiian said firmly. "It's Halloween. Da time of da undead walking in da night."
Danny again felt the shiver twitching in his shoulders, and forced himself to smile at his friend and compatriot. "Well, what we believe is unimportant," he declared. "Steve will never accept a story of the supernatural, so we'd better get the facts and head back to the office as soon as possible."