Present Day
Crunch. Swish. Crunch. Swish.
The motion of the shovel was a constant, steady rhythm. Crunch. The blade of the shovel sliced into the snow. Swish. The snow flew from the shovel to land on the growing pile at the side of the driveway. There was no pause or hesitation in the movement, just the relentless crunch swish of the progress of the shovel. Simple; mindless. Numbing. Just the way Danny Williams wanted it.
O o O o O
Two Weeks Earlier
“He's gone, Steve.” Chin Ho's quiet words greeted Steve McGarrett as he burst into the Five-O office complex. “He cleared off his desk, gave me his files. And he left an envelope on your desk; asked me to make sure you got it.”
Steve barely acknowledged Chin as he headed straight to his office, closing the door firmly behind him. Once inside, however, his pace slowed, and his shoulders slumped visibly as he looked at the white envelope in the middle of his desk. Not only did that paper contain his second-in-command's resignation from Five-O, it also represented his own failure to control the circumstances which had led to this conclusion. Danny Williams was gone, from his team, from the islands, and the odds were not good that he would return.
In another part of the city, Dan Williams walked across the tarmac towards the waiting airplane. Dressed casually in a muted aloha shirt and slacks, and carrying only one small bag, the sandy-haired young man did not look back as he climbed the steps and entered the cabin. He found his seat, stowed his bag, and once he was seated and buckled in, closed his eyes to the world around him and kept them shut. Not even when the plane took off into the sunny sky, providing a spectacular view of Honolulu, did he open them to take one last look at the city that had been his home for most of his life.
O o O o O
Three Weeks Earlier
Monday
The week began just as any other: a sunny Monday morning, tourists on the beach and in the markets, and routine police business happening everywhere. Traffic tickets were issued, petty crime was investigated, and snitches were pressed for information on anything from thefts to the drug trade. The routine came to a screeching halt, however, when a single shot rang out and a man fell to the ground, already dead from a bullet to the neck.
At the sound of gunfire, Danny Williams, the second-in-command of Five-O, spun around and scanned the area behind him. Seeing no movement, he ducked in behind his car and grabbed the microphone from the dash. “Williams to Central; gunshots fired, request assistance!” he called, tossing the mike back and continuing to watch the area where the shot had come from. When the silence remained unbroken, Dan ventured out from the shelter of the vehicle. Half way up the block, a crowd was gathering around the prone form of a man on the sidewalk. Dan trotted up, showing his shield and waving the crowd back as he gently turned the limp body over. With a start, he realized the dead man was Johnny Parr, occasional thief, fence, and generally useful source for information on the street. And thirty seconds ago, Danny had been speaking to him in the bright morning sunshine.
The squeal of tires and the sound of a slamming car door heralded the arrival of Steve McGarrett. Taking in the scene in a single sweeping glance, Five-O's lead detective made his way to Danny's side. “What've we got, Danno?” he asked as he looked down at the body on the sidewalk.
“Name's Johnny Parr,” replied Danny. “He's got a few priors for petty theft, and for fencing others' hot goods, but he's been straight for the past couple of years. As a matter of fact he's been one of my more reliable sources for information on the street for most of that time.”
“Oh?” Steve looked up sharply at that revelation. “He was one of yours?”
“Yes, as I said, one of my better ones,” Dan said. “I'd been talking to him, over there by the corner. We finished up, I went back to my car, and I heard the shot.” He shook his head, frowning. “He was killed just after we finished our meet.”
Steve nodded and looked thoughtfully at the younger man. “What case were you seeing him about today, Danno? Anything specific? Any notable person?”
“That's just it, Steve. There was no specific case.” Danny looked perplexed. “This was just a casual check in with Parr, more a chance to pick up gossip from the street than anything else. It was just part of our routine.”
Tuesday
The second day of the week began with a bit of a scramble for Danny. Already running a bit later than he intended, he had one quick errand to run on his way to work. Clutching the bundle of clothing in one hand and his car keys in the other, he hurried through the parking lot towards his big black sedan. As he tossed the suits into the back seat, he glanced over at the white Mustang in the next parking spot. “Two more days, baby!” he murmured, as he thought ahead to the rare weekday off he had this week. His surfboard was already waxed and waiting to be affixed to the rack on his sports car. Forcing his thoughts back to the present, Danny climbed into his car and headed out of the lot.
Traffic was already getting heavy as Dan made his way to his routine Tuesday morning stop, a local dry cleaner that always seemed to take special care with his suits. Parking down the block from the shop, he picked up his bundle again and headed into the quiet, family-run business.
“Mr. Williams, good to see you!” Yan Lee, the bespectacled elderly owner of the shop was beaming as he greeted Danny. “But you're a bit late this morning, yes? I have your suits ready here for you!”
“Good morning, Mr. Lee. Yes, I am a bit late today.” Danny too was smiling as he handed over his dirty suits to shopkeeper and prepared to receive his clean ones. “Hope my boss doesn't mind; after all, we all have to look good on the job!”
Mr. Lee's eyes almost completely disappeared in his smile. “That is so,” he agreed. “You must be neatly dressed to protect our great islands from crime! See you next week, then, Mr. Williams!”
“Good-bye, Mr. Lee!” With a quick wave, Danny exited the dry cleaners and headed back down the sidewalk to his car. As he pulled back into moving traffic and drove past, he did not notice the figure, dressed completely in black, slip into the shop he had just vacated. He did not hear Yan Lee's soft cry of alarm as this figure pulled a knife. And he did not see the ensuing commotion as several HPD cars converged on the scene, responding to a report of an elderly man who was found, dead, with his throat slit.
Wednesday
The middle of the week arrived with a bang, literally, as a morning thunderstorm rolled through Honolulu. Danny and Kono, arriving at the Palace at the same time, dodged the raindrops together as they hurried up the stairs and into the shelter of the building. Grinning ruefully at each other, they shook off the droplets and headed up to the Five-O offices. Once inside, Danny grabbed a cup of coffee and entered his cubicle, shaking his head in dismay at the pile of reports awaiting his attention.
Several hours later found the whole Five-O team assembled in their commander's office. “Gentlemen,” Steve said. “Let's get this started. Individual briefings first, then we'll run through the set-up for Friday and the Governor's schedule at the Cherry Blossom Festival. Kono, why don't you begin please.”
One by one the men brought the lead detective and their fellow team members up to date on their current cases. Kono was working on a series of warehouse thefts; Chin was near to closing in on a ring of jewellery thieves that had been the downtown merchants' nemesis for months, it seemed. When it was Danny's turn to speak, he brought forward information on his files, finishing off with an update on the shooting of his informant two days earlier.
“HPD canvassed the area completely, and found no eyewitnesses. No shell casings, no weapon. It's as if the shooter disappeared into thin air. I checked into Parr's last few days, nothing out of the ordinary, no unusual contact or deviation from his normal life.” Danny snapped his notebook shut and looked up. “I'll keep at it, though.”
“Thank you.” Steve jotted a quick note on his pad. “Duke, what's on HPD's radar today, other than the Festival preparations?”
Duke nodded at Steve, and opened the folder in front of him. “Steve, there are no new developments in any cases that Five-O has any involvement in. There is, however, one new occurrence from earlier today that was flagged for Five-O's attention.” Here he turned and looked at Danny. “This was passed on to me by Patrolman Mark Kahama, Danny. He thought you might like to be aware of this.”
“Mark and I worked a beat together for a while.” Danny smiled at the recollection.
“His current assignment is in your neighbourhood,” Duke said. “He responded to a 'person down' call at your apartment complex this morning. The victim was identified as a Mrs. Veronica Wood, age 43, dead at the scene, with no immediate signs of foul play.” He shuffled his pages, then added, “HPD is waiting on the report from the coroner.”
Danny sat back in shock. “Mrs. Wood! She and her husband are the apartment complex property managers! As a matter of fact, I ... ” His voice trailed off as he paused, swallowing heavily. “I was just speaking to her this morning, on my way out to work.”
“Oh?” Steve eyed his second-in-command with concern. “What time was that, Danno?”
“I saw her at around seven thirty,” Danny replied. “It's almost the end of the month, and I make a point of speaking to Mr. or Mrs. Wood at this time every month. I pass off my next month's cheque, and I just see if everything is okay. I guess I kind of keep an unofficial eye on the place, to make sure there's no potential trouble brewing.”
“Stay on top of this file, Duke,” Steve instructed. “Anything pertinent, make sure Danno knows. And now, gentlemen...” he opened a thick folder on his desk. “Let's look at the schedule for Friday, and the Governor's appearances at the Cherry Blossom Festival. We'll be in groups of two, working with a team of HPD members and the Governor's own security detail.”
Kono nudged Danny before saying to Steve, “Okay, boss, which of us gets the introduction of the Festival Queen contestants this year? I'm sure it's my turn, Dan had it last year!” There was a general chuckle around the room as Steve handed out a sheet of paper to each detective; it turned to outright laughter as the men read their assignments – Chin and Duke were to be at the Festival Queen contestants' event, while Kono and Danny would be attending the Junior Chamber of Commerce luncheon!
Danny spent the rest of his afternoon and early evening in final security preparations for Friday's Festival events, making sure nothing was left to chance for the Governor's security. He made contact with his HPD team which, he was pleased to see, included his friend Mark Kahama. When he had cleared his desk to his satisfaction, Dan headed into his boss's office to touch base before leaving for the day.
“Steve,” Danny said as he entered McGarrett's inner sanctum. “If you have nothing else for me tonight, I think I'll head home. I've reviewed everything for Friday, no loose ends there.”
“Good, good,” replied Steve, looking up from his own stack of paperwork. “Anything else I should know, Danno?”
Danny shook his head. “No, nothing new since our briefing this afternoon. I plan to stop and see Mr. Wood, my building manager, this evening. Just to make sure he's okay, and see if there's anything I can do for him. And Steve,” Danny paused. “My day off tomorrow is still okay...?”
Steve allowed a small smile to escape. He knew Dan had been looking forward to his day off for a while, and that he had put in the extra hours necessary to clear up his workload. “Yes, Danno, tomorrow is still fine. Chin and Kono will be here, and we can run over any last-minute details for the Festival events on Friday morning. Go and enjoy your day!”
“Mahalo, Steve.” Danny's grin of relief was obvious. “See you Friday!”
Steve raised his hand in a quick wave as Dan left the office. A little tendril of concern unfurled in his mind as he thought about what his second-in-command had said with regards to visiting his building's manager, but he couldn't quite put a finger on what was bothering him. Sighing quietly, Steve returned his attention to the file in front of him, reassuring himself that the plans for Friday were as complete and comprehensive as he could make them.
Crunch. Swish. Crunch. Swish.
The motion of the shovel was a constant, steady rhythm. Crunch. The blade of the shovel sliced into the snow. Swish. The snow flew from the shovel to land on the growing pile at the side of the driveway. There was no pause or hesitation in the movement, just the relentless crunch swish of the progress of the shovel. Simple; mindless. Numbing. Just the way Danny Williams wanted it.
O o O o O
Two Weeks Earlier
“He's gone, Steve.” Chin Ho's quiet words greeted Steve McGarrett as he burst into the Five-O office complex. “He cleared off his desk, gave me his files. And he left an envelope on your desk; asked me to make sure you got it.”
Steve barely acknowledged Chin as he headed straight to his office, closing the door firmly behind him. Once inside, however, his pace slowed, and his shoulders slumped visibly as he looked at the white envelope in the middle of his desk. Not only did that paper contain his second-in-command's resignation from Five-O, it also represented his own failure to control the circumstances which had led to this conclusion. Danny Williams was gone, from his team, from the islands, and the odds were not good that he would return.
In another part of the city, Dan Williams walked across the tarmac towards the waiting airplane. Dressed casually in a muted aloha shirt and slacks, and carrying only one small bag, the sandy-haired young man did not look back as he climbed the steps and entered the cabin. He found his seat, stowed his bag, and once he was seated and buckled in, closed his eyes to the world around him and kept them shut. Not even when the plane took off into the sunny sky, providing a spectacular view of Honolulu, did he open them to take one last look at the city that had been his home for most of his life.
O o O o O
Three Weeks Earlier
Monday
The week began just as any other: a sunny Monday morning, tourists on the beach and in the markets, and routine police business happening everywhere. Traffic tickets were issued, petty crime was investigated, and snitches were pressed for information on anything from thefts to the drug trade. The routine came to a screeching halt, however, when a single shot rang out and a man fell to the ground, already dead from a bullet to the neck.
At the sound of gunfire, Danny Williams, the second-in-command of Five-O, spun around and scanned the area behind him. Seeing no movement, he ducked in behind his car and grabbed the microphone from the dash. “Williams to Central; gunshots fired, request assistance!” he called, tossing the mike back and continuing to watch the area where the shot had come from. When the silence remained unbroken, Dan ventured out from the shelter of the vehicle. Half way up the block, a crowd was gathering around the prone form of a man on the sidewalk. Dan trotted up, showing his shield and waving the crowd back as he gently turned the limp body over. With a start, he realized the dead man was Johnny Parr, occasional thief, fence, and generally useful source for information on the street. And thirty seconds ago, Danny had been speaking to him in the bright morning sunshine.
The squeal of tires and the sound of a slamming car door heralded the arrival of Steve McGarrett. Taking in the scene in a single sweeping glance, Five-O's lead detective made his way to Danny's side. “What've we got, Danno?” he asked as he looked down at the body on the sidewalk.
“Name's Johnny Parr,” replied Danny. “He's got a few priors for petty theft, and for fencing others' hot goods, but he's been straight for the past couple of years. As a matter of fact he's been one of my more reliable sources for information on the street for most of that time.”
“Oh?” Steve looked up sharply at that revelation. “He was one of yours?”
“Yes, as I said, one of my better ones,” Dan said. “I'd been talking to him, over there by the corner. We finished up, I went back to my car, and I heard the shot.” He shook his head, frowning. “He was killed just after we finished our meet.”
Steve nodded and looked thoughtfully at the younger man. “What case were you seeing him about today, Danno? Anything specific? Any notable person?”
“That's just it, Steve. There was no specific case.” Danny looked perplexed. “This was just a casual check in with Parr, more a chance to pick up gossip from the street than anything else. It was just part of our routine.”
Tuesday
The second day of the week began with a bit of a scramble for Danny. Already running a bit later than he intended, he had one quick errand to run on his way to work. Clutching the bundle of clothing in one hand and his car keys in the other, he hurried through the parking lot towards his big black sedan. As he tossed the suits into the back seat, he glanced over at the white Mustang in the next parking spot. “Two more days, baby!” he murmured, as he thought ahead to the rare weekday off he had this week. His surfboard was already waxed and waiting to be affixed to the rack on his sports car. Forcing his thoughts back to the present, Danny climbed into his car and headed out of the lot.
Traffic was already getting heavy as Dan made his way to his routine Tuesday morning stop, a local dry cleaner that always seemed to take special care with his suits. Parking down the block from the shop, he picked up his bundle again and headed into the quiet, family-run business.
“Mr. Williams, good to see you!” Yan Lee, the bespectacled elderly owner of the shop was beaming as he greeted Danny. “But you're a bit late this morning, yes? I have your suits ready here for you!”
“Good morning, Mr. Lee. Yes, I am a bit late today.” Danny too was smiling as he handed over his dirty suits to shopkeeper and prepared to receive his clean ones. “Hope my boss doesn't mind; after all, we all have to look good on the job!”
Mr. Lee's eyes almost completely disappeared in his smile. “That is so,” he agreed. “You must be neatly dressed to protect our great islands from crime! See you next week, then, Mr. Williams!”
“Good-bye, Mr. Lee!” With a quick wave, Danny exited the dry cleaners and headed back down the sidewalk to his car. As he pulled back into moving traffic and drove past, he did not notice the figure, dressed completely in black, slip into the shop he had just vacated. He did not hear Yan Lee's soft cry of alarm as this figure pulled a knife. And he did not see the ensuing commotion as several HPD cars converged on the scene, responding to a report of an elderly man who was found, dead, with his throat slit.
Wednesday
The middle of the week arrived with a bang, literally, as a morning thunderstorm rolled through Honolulu. Danny and Kono, arriving at the Palace at the same time, dodged the raindrops together as they hurried up the stairs and into the shelter of the building. Grinning ruefully at each other, they shook off the droplets and headed up to the Five-O offices. Once inside, Danny grabbed a cup of coffee and entered his cubicle, shaking his head in dismay at the pile of reports awaiting his attention.
Several hours later found the whole Five-O team assembled in their commander's office. “Gentlemen,” Steve said. “Let's get this started. Individual briefings first, then we'll run through the set-up for Friday and the Governor's schedule at the Cherry Blossom Festival. Kono, why don't you begin please.”
One by one the men brought the lead detective and their fellow team members up to date on their current cases. Kono was working on a series of warehouse thefts; Chin was near to closing in on a ring of jewellery thieves that had been the downtown merchants' nemesis for months, it seemed. When it was Danny's turn to speak, he brought forward information on his files, finishing off with an update on the shooting of his informant two days earlier.
“HPD canvassed the area completely, and found no eyewitnesses. No shell casings, no weapon. It's as if the shooter disappeared into thin air. I checked into Parr's last few days, nothing out of the ordinary, no unusual contact or deviation from his normal life.” Danny snapped his notebook shut and looked up. “I'll keep at it, though.”
“Thank you.” Steve jotted a quick note on his pad. “Duke, what's on HPD's radar today, other than the Festival preparations?”
Duke nodded at Steve, and opened the folder in front of him. “Steve, there are no new developments in any cases that Five-O has any involvement in. There is, however, one new occurrence from earlier today that was flagged for Five-O's attention.” Here he turned and looked at Danny. “This was passed on to me by Patrolman Mark Kahama, Danny. He thought you might like to be aware of this.”
“Mark and I worked a beat together for a while.” Danny smiled at the recollection.
“His current assignment is in your neighbourhood,” Duke said. “He responded to a 'person down' call at your apartment complex this morning. The victim was identified as a Mrs. Veronica Wood, age 43, dead at the scene, with no immediate signs of foul play.” He shuffled his pages, then added, “HPD is waiting on the report from the coroner.”
Danny sat back in shock. “Mrs. Wood! She and her husband are the apartment complex property managers! As a matter of fact, I ... ” His voice trailed off as he paused, swallowing heavily. “I was just speaking to her this morning, on my way out to work.”
“Oh?” Steve eyed his second-in-command with concern. “What time was that, Danno?”
“I saw her at around seven thirty,” Danny replied. “It's almost the end of the month, and I make a point of speaking to Mr. or Mrs. Wood at this time every month. I pass off my next month's cheque, and I just see if everything is okay. I guess I kind of keep an unofficial eye on the place, to make sure there's no potential trouble brewing.”
“Stay on top of this file, Duke,” Steve instructed. “Anything pertinent, make sure Danno knows. And now, gentlemen...” he opened a thick folder on his desk. “Let's look at the schedule for Friday, and the Governor's appearances at the Cherry Blossom Festival. We'll be in groups of two, working with a team of HPD members and the Governor's own security detail.”
Kono nudged Danny before saying to Steve, “Okay, boss, which of us gets the introduction of the Festival Queen contestants this year? I'm sure it's my turn, Dan had it last year!” There was a general chuckle around the room as Steve handed out a sheet of paper to each detective; it turned to outright laughter as the men read their assignments – Chin and Duke were to be at the Festival Queen contestants' event, while Kono and Danny would be attending the Junior Chamber of Commerce luncheon!
Danny spent the rest of his afternoon and early evening in final security preparations for Friday's Festival events, making sure nothing was left to chance for the Governor's security. He made contact with his HPD team which, he was pleased to see, included his friend Mark Kahama. When he had cleared his desk to his satisfaction, Dan headed into his boss's office to touch base before leaving for the day.
“Steve,” Danny said as he entered McGarrett's inner sanctum. “If you have nothing else for me tonight, I think I'll head home. I've reviewed everything for Friday, no loose ends there.”
“Good, good,” replied Steve, looking up from his own stack of paperwork. “Anything else I should know, Danno?”
Danny shook his head. “No, nothing new since our briefing this afternoon. I plan to stop and see Mr. Wood, my building manager, this evening. Just to make sure he's okay, and see if there's anything I can do for him. And Steve,” Danny paused. “My day off tomorrow is still okay...?”
Steve allowed a small smile to escape. He knew Dan had been looking forward to his day off for a while, and that he had put in the extra hours necessary to clear up his workload. “Yes, Danno, tomorrow is still fine. Chin and Kono will be here, and we can run over any last-minute details for the Festival events on Friday morning. Go and enjoy your day!”
“Mahalo, Steve.” Danny's grin of relief was obvious. “See you Friday!”
Steve raised his hand in a quick wave as Dan left the office. A little tendril of concern unfurled in his mind as he thought about what his second-in-command had said with regards to visiting his building's manager, but he couldn't quite put a finger on what was bothering him. Sighing quietly, Steve returned his attention to the file in front of him, reassuring himself that the plans for Friday were as complete and comprehensive as he could make them.