5-0

Chapter 5

I wake up to my alarm with a smile on my face. Last night after work Steve helped me move some furniture into my house. It was nice just getting to know him more. As far as I'm concerned we're friends, although I'd like to be more. The point is, I had fun with him and that's all that matters. I am quick to get in and out of the shower and get dressed. Just as I got finished, my phone rang, I was quick to answer.
"West?"
"Hey this is Danny, we've got a case," says Danny, sounding mildly annoyed.
I let out a groan, "On a Saturday? You've got to be kidding me."
"Nope, we're meeting the governor at the morgue," Danny replies.
I eat breakfast, and by the time Steve and Danny get here, I'm done and all cleaned up.
We walk into the morgue, side by side, as Danny continues to give us weird sideways glances.
"There's something different about you today. You, uh get a new haircut?" Danny asks Steve.
"No."
"New cargo pants?" Danny asks, causing Steve to smile slightly. "What was that?"
Steve frowns in confusion, "What?"
"I believe you just smiled. You almost appear to be happy."
Steve frowns as I let out a small laugh, "You don't think I'm a happy person?"
"You know, I'm sure you have your moments, you know, like when Guns & Ammo put out their holiday gift guide, or Rambo retrospective comes on TV. But when the Governor calls us down to the ME's office on a Saturday, I ask you, what is it that you could be so happy about. "
I frowned in confusion wondering what made him more than usual angry, then I realized, "Oh you had Grace this weekend."
"Yeah. I just dropped her back off at Rachel's. So just a recap... I got a broken knee, I got a daughter I barely get to see, now I work on Saturdays, okay? So, life's grand, know what I mean?"
I hear the loud clicks of heels and turn to see the Governor walking up to us, and I immediately stand up straighter and turn to her. "Gentlemen, lady, thank you for coming. An 18-year-old's body was found off Waikiki this morning."'
"That's HPD's jurisdiction." Steve states.
The Governor  shakes her head, a sad look on her face, "Not this time." Off in the distance, I hear piano music playing, and I frown in confusion seeing as this is the ME's office. "Oh, that's right. You haven't met Dr. Bergman yet. " The Governor states as she begins to lead us down the hallway. "Max is a tactile thinker. Playing music is part of his process. Some people say he's a savant, I think he's a genius... Max?"
Max holds up a finger telling us to wait as he continues to play with his other hand. When he's done playing his song, he stands up, glances at us through his glasses mutters something, along the line of Edematous airways, then walks into his examining room.
"Nice to meet you too," Danny calls out.
As soon as we all walk into his dimly lit room he begins explaining,"The victim exhibited pulmonary edema, petechial hemorrhaging, and froth in the airways. Cause of death is definitely drowning." He slowly pulls the sheet to reveal the pale, lifeless young blonde, causing the Governor to gasp and look away, I'm assuming she knows the girl.
"Does that mean we're not dealing with a homicide?" the Governor asks, still looking away.
"No. It doesn't mean we're not dealing with a homicide." Max states, letting out a sigh. "Oh, sorry. That was a double negative. It means it still could be a homicide." He then moves the sheet to show her arm, which has dark bruises, consistent with restraints. "See these linear contusions on her wrists? They're ante mortem."
"Ligature marks. She was restrained." I state.
"That' right. She has defensive wounds as well." Max continues.
Steve nods, "So, she put up a fight."
Max finally looks up at the three of us, "Yes. Also, hello. I'm Max Bergman."
Danny gives him a strange look, "Hello Max... "
"Hey, Max."
"Hello."
"Uh, Governor, do we have an ID on the victim?" Danny asks.
The Governor nods sadly, "Her name is Amanda Reeves. Her father's Michael Reeves, the US Ambassador to the Philippines, and a very old friend. Which is why I promised I'd put my three best people on it.
I let out a sigh and pull the sheet over the girl so the Governor doesn't have to look at that anymore, "What are they doing in Hawaii?"
"They vacation here every year. Uh... the girls went to a movie last night, but they never made it home," she explains, looking down at a picture.
Danny's eyes widen, "Wait did you say, girls. Uh, as in more than one."
She hands us a picture of the Ambassador and his family, his wife, and two girls, one of them being the girl only a few feet away from us. "A-Amanda's sister, Robin, is still missing. Coast guard set out divers this morning, but, uh, there's no sign of her.
"So Robin Reeves may still be alive."
We then follow the Governor to the Reeves' vacation home where they had been staying for years now. A place that I'd assume was always filled with cheerfulness, was now filled with sadness and worry. The place was busy, security and other staff all over.
"Always wanted Amanda and Robin to have a normal upbringing, but it hasn't been easy." The Ambassador explains.
"So they were stationed with you at the Embassy in Manila?" Steve asks from beside me.
The Ambassador nods, "Yeah, for the last two years. Before that, it was, uh Budapest.  Keeping the family together has always been.. Important to us."
"Yeah. Of course, growing up in foreign countries with a security detail shadowing your every move is not exactly an ideal childhood." his wife adds.
Danny lets out a small sigh, "Did they, by chance, have a detail with them when they went out last night?"
"Well in the Philippines it's one thing, but we've been coming to Hawaii since the girls were little. I guess we just didn't think it was necessary." The Ambassador explains.
"They were just going to the movies." his wife adds with tears in her eyes.
The Governor grabs onto the wife's hand, "Don't blame yourself. We're going to find Robin. We are. I promise."
I look over at Steve cringing slightly when she says that. A promise like that, in this kind of situation, just isn't a good one to make. In kidnapping cases, you can do all of the right things, but things just don't end the way you want it to.
"You know, it's possible that your daughters were targeted because of your ambassadorship. Did you make any enemies during your time abroad?" I ask.
"I'm a representative of the United States in an unstable region of the world. It comes with the territory." The Ambassador explains.
Danny nods, "How about in the Philippines itself?"
"The US gives a lot of aid to that country. Most of the population is grateful for our assistance."
"Yeah, but not everybody appreciates the help. I mean, there's always radical elements who resent our presence." Steve explains.
"Michael, did any of them ever threaten you?" The Governor asks.
Michael shrugs, "Office receives dozens of threats. The security bureau keeps all of that on file."
"Mrs. Reeves, you were a founding partner in Sowersby Financial. Is it true that you recently sold your stake in that company?" Danny asks.
She nods, "Yes, but how is that relevant?"
"Well, because ma'am, you just cashed out of Sowersby for over $12 million. If we have that information, it's safe to assume that other people do too." Steve explains to her.
Her eyes widen at my statement, "What? Are you saying that Amanda's dead cause I have money?"
I let out a sigh, "I'm sorry, but, these high-profile cases are usually about money."
"Then how come there hasn't been a ransom demand?" Michael asks.
"I don't know," Danny replies.
We then head back to headquarters, to figure out a plan of action.
"Checked with the state. No credible threats against the ambassador in the last three months." Chin states.
Kono frowns in confusion, "Okay, so this doesn't add up, why kill one girl and keep the other one alive?"
"Well if it's a ransom attempt, it could be to show that they mean business," Steve suggests.
"HPD has a unit at the house. There's still no ransom call, so we still have no motive."
Steve nods, "Okay, so we focus on how the girls were abducted. 75% of kidnappings are usually carried out by people the victims already knew."
"We ran a background check on the ambassador's staff, and everyone seems clean." Kono states.
"What about the new guy. That security consultant, Russell Ellison?" Chin asks.
Kono pulls up a picture of him, "His story checks out. Ambassador just flew him in from the mainland, and, uh, his plane touched down after the girls were abducted."
Steve's phone rings," McGarrett... On the way." He hangs up, then looks over at us, "Quinn, Kono, and Chin, you guys stay here and dig deeper, Danny lets go."
When they leave, I head to a coffee shop, getting coffee for us, seeing as it was already 8, and we weren't going anywhere any time soon. I then go into my office, and begin looking through more of the threats against the Ambassador."