Emily McGarrett's POV
Finally, I make it to the palace. I had gone to the Crime Lab with hope that Eric could figure out what was on the camera.
I walk to the computer table, everyone else soon gathering with me. "Emily, what'd you find out from Eric?" I typed a few things on the table.
"Well, we know that the camera was placed there about two months ago. The last thing recorded was us down below. But, the time of death, which was confirmed by Noelani, was around ten o'clock last night." I pull up the video log, playing the clip. "Our only problem is, from nine forty-five to ten thirty, it's snow." I fast forward through the clip. "It picks back up at ten thirty-one. And we see his body."
"Speaking of him." Kono says, tapping a few things once I move to the side. "Our victim is Kai Hulla. He was eight years old and lived in Pearl City."
"Pearl City? That's a long way from home for a kid to be out at ten o'clock." Steve says, looking at Kono.
"That's what I thought. So I did some more digging, and as it turns out, Kai was reported missing almost two months ago. Pearl City police eventually had to move on from the case."
"Parents?" Steve asks.
"Yeah. I talked to them. Someone told them that Kai was dead." Kono says, pulling the attention of all of us.
"HPD?" Danny asks.
"No. A police officer came to their house over a month ago to tell them Kai was dead."
"Do they know which department the officer was from?" I ask Kono, who shakes her head. "So we can assume this officer wasn't actually an officer then?" Everyone nods in agreement.
"Emily, you and Danny go talk to Noelani, see if she can tell you anything we don't know. Chin and Kono, go talk to the Pearl City police officers that were in charge of this case."
"And where will you be?" I ask.
"The Governor called." I nod, accepting this excuse. Danny and I walked to his car without a word.
He begins the drive, not saying a word until we're almost five minutes away from the Medical Examiner's Office.
"So what's the plan? We're just not going to talk the rest of our lives?" I shake my head.
"It happened weeks ago, Danny. I'm not even worried about it." He scoffs.
"If you didn't want to go out with me, you could've just said something. Instead I've waited around while you wandered about the island with Special Agent Perfect." I go to retort back, but catch myself as I re-examine his words.
"Are you jealous of Tony?" I ask, watching his side profile as he drives.
"No, Emily. Don't be so conceited." I roll my eyes at him before turning to look forward again.
"I'll try not to be." I say coldly, opening the car door before he could even put it into park.
"Emily, listen, I'm sorry, okay?" I nod.
"Noted." We walk into Noelani's office before going to the autopsy room. "Do you have anything for us?" I ask, watching as she examines the liver.
"The amount of bruising and scarring suggests that the victim was tortured within his months of being captured. On top of that, it seems that there was continual sexual assault considering his anal ca-"
"Okay, thank you, Noelani. Anything else?" Danny asks.
"His liver. It seems to be one of someone who had been intaking obscene amounts of alcohol for their entire life. I found DNA under his fingernails. I sent it to Eric almost ten minutes ago, so you should be getting a match at any time." I nod, beginning the walk away from the little boy on the metal table.
"Thanks Noelani." I say, walking briskly out of the office. Once Danny starts driving in the direction of the palace, I open up my phone.
"What are you doing?" Danny asks at a red light.
"Buying a plane ticket. But you should really be watching the road."
"We're at a light. Why are you buying a plane ticket? Where are you going?"
"I'll be back." I leave it at that, ignoring him the rest of the way.
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5:39 p.m.
"Officer Jim O'Connell is the one we talked to. He said there was only ever one lead that was good enough to follow, but the kid was dead before they could go find him." Kono started.
"And then he said there was an officer from Kaneohe Police Department who called and said they had found his body. The officer on the phone said someone was informing the parents so there was no need for them to look into it. They closed the case and that was it." Chin finished.
"Okay, so there is an entire month where this kid is presumed dead. Except for the fact that Noelani told us he had only been dead for a couple of hours. What happened in that month?" Danny asks, looking over the information displayed on the TV.
"What was the lead?" I ask Kono.
"A man by the name of Hu Dona; Kai's paternal uncle. Kai never knew his biological parents because he was adopted. His biological parents have quite the wrap sheet, but they assumed Hu was better fit for the title of kidnapper because of two things." She taps on a couple of buttons on the table, catching my attention even further.
"He's kidnapped Kai before?" Danny asks, shock in his voice.
"Kai was a newborn at the time, not even a month old yet. Two weeks after he was taken, Hu gave Kai back to his biological parents. Not even a week after that, Kai was put up for adoption." Kono says.
"So the biological parents were looking out for Kai? Why didn't they just turn Hu in?" I ask.
"Oh, they did. And thirty minutes after he was put into prison, he was released." Chin shook his head with irritation.
"So how do we find this guy?" Danny asks.
"Hu Dona, as it turns out, is a very rich man. But, Steve is already on his way to pick him up, just to have a chat." I nod my head, a tad confused.
"Dona is rich and powerful, right?" I ask rhetorically. "That usually means bodyguards. How is Steve expecting to actually get him to cooperate?" Kono shrugs.
"He told me he'd be here in thirty minutes. And that was twenty-eight minutes ago." I nod, accepting this information.
My phone begins to ring in my pocket. I pull it out, confused by the name written at the top.
"Hey, Abbs, is everything okay?" I walk away from the group and into my office. I take a seat in my chair, moving some papers around on my desk.
"Of course. Everything is wonderful! I can't believe you didn't tell me you were coming to DC!" I chuckle, shaking my head.
"How did you find out?"
"I was going through incoming flights to DC for a case and I saw your name." I chuckle.
"Listen, Abby, you can't tell anyone, okay? It's kind of a surprise and I don't want anyone to know on my end either."
"My lips are sealed. Hey, you'll be able to meet Nick. He's the new guy."
"I thought there was two?" She hums.
"Yeah, we did, Quinn. But she left. How did you know about them?"
"Tony. He and Tali stayed with me for a couple of weeks. Actually, he just left this morning." I can almost hear her excitement.
"I miss Tony." I chuckle.
"Hey Abbs, who're you talking to?" I hear in the background. It was Bishop.
"Can I say your name?" She whispers into the phone, causing me to chuckle.
"Sure."
"It's Emily." Abby says happily. Then a few seconds later, the phone is on speaker. The only reason I can tell is because the music blaring in Abby's lab got higher in volume.
"Emily, when are you coming back?" I smile at the sound of Bishop's voice.
"Soon, Ellie, soon."
"Good. It's been crazy since you left. I definitely need another one of those drinks you made." I chuckle.
"Will do, Ellie. Thanks for the chat Abbs." Then I cut the call, smiling to myself as I get up and walk back to where everyone else was.
"Everything okay?" Chin asks. I look up from my gaze to notice he was the only one here.
"Yeah. Where's everyone at?"
"They're in interrogation." He responds. "You sure you're okay?" He looks up from the table to catch my eyes.
"I'm fine. I just want to catch the guy who did this." I reply.
"We already did. Hu Dona just confessed to having Kai killed. He held him for two months but he wasn't of use in the end." I turn to look at the three walking in, shocked at Steve's words.
"Signed confession?" I ask.
"Yeah. He's downstairs with Duke writing it all out." I nod, satisfied with the outcome of this case.
"Drinks? On me." Chin asks, pointing to the door. I shake my head while the others reply.
"I'm in." Kono says, throwing an arm around her cousin.
"Sounds good." Danny says, taking a last glance at me before walking to his office.
"I'll be there, but I need to do something first." Steven says.
"Okay. Emily?" Chin looks at me.
"No. Mahalo. You guys have a great night." Chin nods with a smile on his face.
"Some other time then?" I nod.
"Definitely." I reply, waving the three off before walking into my office.
I grab only the things I need: my phone, my wallet, my credentials, my keys, and my gun, which I would have to leave in my car when I got home. There's a knock on my office door while it's being opened. I look up, noticing it was Steven.
"What's up with you?" He asks, watching as I move all important papers into my locked drawer.
"Nothing much. What's up with you?" It seemed a bit skeptical, I'll admit. But my lazy retort was the best thing I could come up with.
"Emily, stop for a second." I pause, looking up to meet his ocean blue eyes that were so much like mine. "Are you in danger?" I shake my head. "Then why are you acting so strange?"
"I'm not acting strange, Steven. I'll talk to you later, okay?" He shakes his head, but I gather the few things I was going to take and walk towards him. Once reaching him, I stop and plant a kiss on his cheek. "I love you, Steven." I can hear him grunt in disapproval.
"Emily.." I walk down the corridor, opening the glass door when I reach it.
I stop to eat at Kamekona's, deciding I wouldn't eat on the plane. When I get out, I notice the rush was just dying down from everyone wanting to eat dinner.
"Sista, where ya been?" I raise my eyebrows at Kamekona.
"What do you mean?"
"You haven't eaten at Kamekona's in at least a week." I chuckle.
"Sorry, Kamekona. It's been a little busy." He shakes his head.
"No problem, Sista. What can I get for you?" I order, walking to the side of the truck to wait when I was finished. I decided to get it to-go, not wanting to waste time considering I need to pack for at least a month. I'm not even sure how long I'll be gone.
"Emily!" I look up from my hazy state to see Nahele walking towards me with my food.
"Mahalo." I say, a smile on my face.
"Are you not joining the others?" I raise my eyebrows in confusion. He points behind me to a table with my team sitting around, drinking beers. I shake my head.
"I'm leaving for a little while. Look after Steven, will you?" He nods.
"Is everything okay?" I nod reassuringly.
"I'll see you soon, Nahele." I pull him in for a hug, walking away after we pull apart. I can feel the eyes on the back of my head, but I ignore them.
Once arriving home, I eat my food quickly, not wanting to waste any more time than I already have.
I pack up my biggest duffle bag with clothes before packing up my backpack as well. Chances are, I'll just be using the backpack to carry my gear around in, but I pack it with things that wouldn't fit in my duffle.
At seven fifteen, I find myself calling a taxi. And almost ten minutes later, I hear the familiar honk outside. I gather my things, walking out the front door without looking back. After loading everything, I got in, smiling at the elderly man.
"Honolulu International, please." He nods, taking off down the driveway. We turn onto the road just as Steve stops to pull into the driveway. I knew it was coming, but I still sighed when my phone began to ring. "McGarrett." I say into the phone.
"Where are you going?" I grunt in irritation, debating on telling him the truth. I know he won't stop looking until he's found me, not that I'm trying to hide.
"DC." I state.
"Why?" I shake my head, looking out the window.
"Listen, the only reason I told you is to save you time in looking for me. My leftovers are in the fridge. I won't be back to eat them before they go bad." I pull the phone away from my ear, listening to his shouts on the other end. I press the red button, creating a silence.
I'm at the airport in another ten minutes, thanking the driver while handing him the money I owed. "Have a safe flight, Miss." I nod, thanking him.
"Mahalo." He drives off and I walk inside. Within the next hour and a half, I'm on the plane, ready for takeoff.
I decide on sleeping, knowing that the time zone will be different.
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