Hawaii 5-0 Fanfic - Ke Kapunakane

Part 2

 Steve watched the retreating back of Officer Kai. He realized he'd have to justify his taking of the case to the governor with a slight bit less drama and more facts. But it was the weekend. Hopefully they could wrap all this before the governor came back and found out about it.

He caught the motion out of the corner of his eye and turned as Paul approached. "Thanks, Steve. I owe you." He held out his hand and Steve shook it. "When I got the call this morning from Amy, I didn't know what to do. You were the only person I could think of." He looked back over his shoulder at his wife. "He is..." Paul's voice caught. "Was. All we had."

Steve closed his eyes, got his own emotions under control, and shoved them firmly into the tiny space in the back of his mind where they'd stay until he had time to process them later. He took a deep breath and put a hand on Paul's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll get to the bottom of this."

He could feel Paul's slight tremble. The man needed something to do to feel useful. He glanced over at his partner. "Danny. This is Paul Davis and his wife, Amy."

Danny nodded. "I'm deeply sorry for your loss."

Steve cringed. It sounded too professional. He noticed the folder, clutched in Danny's hand. "Go over the information with Paul and Amy. Make sure we've got everything we need."

"Right." Danny had gotten his cue. He could tell by the change in his softened smile.

Steve nodded toward the swinging metal doors. "I'll go have a chat with Max."

Danny gave him the 'better you than me' look and pulled Paul gently toward Amy.

Steve sighed and pushed through the doors into what he'd come to consider Max's personal space. The outer office was deserted so he continued into the exam room.

Max was at the far end, shuffling through a small cardboard box that sounded like it contained some type of metal objects. Steve cleared his throat and Max looked up. His expression changed from annoyance to surprise. "Commander! I wasn't expecting you."

Steve managed to glance over to the table where a white draped body lay. He nodded and turned back to Max. "We took over the case."

"Ah." Max put down the box and came toward the table.

"So what have we got, Max?"

Max pulled back the sheet to reveal the head and chest. Steve forced himself to look. It had been a couple of years since he'd seen Jeremy but the boy's face was still recognizable, in spite of the bruises caused by bloating. He looked up at Max.

"The victim died between midnight and one AM this morning. The primary cause of death is asphyxiation by aqueous saline."

He heard movement as Danny entered and walked toward the table. "In other words, he drowned in salt water. No shortage of that in Hawaii."

Max looked up, annoyed. "Most likely."

Steve crossed his arms and frowned. Something Max had said bothered him. "You said primary?"

Max pulled the sheet back from the right side of the body. Danny grimaced and backed up but Steve leaned forward. Something about the gashes looked odd.

Max pointed to the largest one. "He sustained deep lacerations on his right arm and side. By the fragments that I recovered from the wounds, I'd say they were caused by rusted metal."

Danny managed to hover in the background without getting any closer. "Somebody stabbed him with an old knife?"

Max shook his head. "Probably not. These wounds are jagged, not the clean cuts that a knife would make, even a rusty one."