A Wrinkle in Time – Chapter 20

Dear Friends

I know it appears that Sam and Cokie have dropped off the face of the earth. Sometimes it does feel that way. We last saw each other in March of 2020. I (Cokie) was in Germany the last “open” week of civilization and made it back home on the last flight from Munich before Covid shut down our airports. 

Trust me when I say it has been a very dry two years. In more ways than one. 

Thankfully we are both healthy… and relatively sane and we hope all of you are the same. 

Our world has changed and is ever changing with hatred, bitterness, and strife. I hope and pray things will take a turn for the better. But it will take time and require each of us to dig deep down and begin to work for the future of all of us. Let’s all come out as victors!

OK, change of subject. Do any of you remember a little project we started… way back years ago? It was called A WRINKLE IN TIME and was a labor of love, for I think 19 chapters. 

Well, please sit down… and commence the drum roll, if you will. We actually have chapter 20 ready for any of you who are still interested in the outcome of Steve and friends. And we are working toward a completion. Really. We are finishing this thing.

For those of you who have written us off, I am sorry for the delay. We could use Covid, or any number of other things as excuses (it has been a tumultuous couple of years for both of us, and I know, many of you, too) but we want to see this story to the finish. I hope you also are still curious about the outcome.

Please bear with us. We are still plotting and writing. Never would I have thought this story would be so long. But when the story does take over, it HAS to be written. 

So… we present to you Chapter 20 of A WRINKLE IN TIME.  If you can, please drop us a line to let us know you are still here.

Sam and Cokie

Chapter 19 How we left off…

Wednesday Afternoon

After Freddie’s funeral, the team members were back at work, waiting on Steve and Catherine who had stopped at home to change out of their uniforms. The team’s afternoon plan was to go over the entire case piece by piece to try and fill in some gaps. On the screens above their heads were head shots of Jenna Kaye, Adam Noshimori and Kono.

“So, you solved this yet?” Steve asked, seeing his team hard at work when he and Cath came through the door.

“We just fill in the pieces,” Lou replied. “It’s the head honcho’s job to solve the damn thing.”

Chin shook his head. “And good luck with that.”

Steve set down one of the drink carriers they brought with them. “We just brought you some brain food, maybe that will help.” 

He and Cath began passing out coffee and a bag of their favorite sweets from one of their local shops. “Maybe this will help us get more creative.”

“You’re the man,” Grover said with a smile, accepting a cup and a soft chocolate cookie from Catherine. 

“What brought this on?” Danny asked, taking a beverage from Steve.

Steve shrugged. “Just a thank you for all your help this week. I-,” he glanced at Cath, “we really appreciate all of what you have done. You kept the ball rolling around here, and,” he paused once again, “you came to Freddie’s funeral. That meant a lot.”

“Of course we came,” Chin told him. “That’s what Ohana does.”

“Well, I appreciate it,” Steve said with a toast of his cup. He glanced up at the screen. “So, any progress at all?”

“Well, I had a very interesting call from Michelle Inoka when I got here,” Chin told him. “She was watching TV… by the way she said she was feeling much better and appreciated the police cruiser out front… anyway, on TV she saw Cousin Kono’s lipstick commercial.”

“Lip gloss,” Danny interjected.

“Whatever,” Chin said with a sigh. “Michelle realized Kono is one of the people she saw in the car before they were pushed off the road. She knew she had seen her somewhere, but couldn’t remember where until she was watching TV.”

“So, Kono lied about the car being stolen,” Catherine said.

“We busted that lie when Steve and I saw the Ferrari in the boat shed on Adam’s property,” John added. “And the pictures confirm that there is body damage to the car. Why they would do that to a Ferrari is beyond me. If it was me, I for sure wouldn’t use a Ferrari to push someone off the road.

“Totally insane,” Chin agreed. “Now we just need to figure out who the driver was.”

“I might be able to help with that,” a voice said from the doorway. They turned in unison to see who was there.

A split second later, Steve, Catherine and Lou all had their weapons trained on the intruder.

H50 – H50 – H50

Chapter 20

“Hands on your head,” Steve ordered, motioning upward with his gun. “Now.”

“Right,” the woman replied, quickly doing so. “I’m not armed,” Jenna Kaye told them, nodding her head toward her photo on the screen above. “I´m not surprised to see that up there. But I think I can be of help.”

Catherine and Lou moved closer to her, Cath holstering her gun to frisk her while Lou kept a vigilent eye on the woman.

“She’s clean,” Cath said and stepped back after taking the woman’s purse and removing the wallet. Steve lowered his weapon when Cath handed the wallet to him. He glanced at the Virginia driver’s license. “All right, Jenna Kaye. Explain.”

Jenna looked around. “No offense, but could we sit down somewhere? This might be a long story.”

Steve looked around at his team and motioned toward the conference table. “Lou, take her in. I’ll be there in a minute.” He locked eyes with Cath and she followed him to his office.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“I’m not sure, but we’ll hear her out,” Steve replied. “Instead of audio, set up the video equipment. We may want to review this in the future, depending on what she has to say.”

“Got it,” Cath replied, opening the door.

He glanced at his team. Lou was in the conference room, John and Chin were waiting at the smart table and Danny was in his office on the phone. Steve added, “I want everyone to hear this first hand. All hands on deck.”

Cath nodded and left the office. Steve saw her motion to John and Chin, then knock on Danny’s window, pointing toward the conference room. He also saw when Danny made the ‘just a minute’ motion before swiveling his chair to the wall.

Steve waited another few moments then walked to the kitchenette for a bottle of water. If this was a long speech, he would at least give the woman some water.

He opened Danny’s door and said, “Danny, we’re waiting,” before closing it at the surprised look on the detective’s face. He had just gotten seated when Danny opened the door to the conference room.

“Lt. Rollins, would you please begin?”

“Certainly,” she replied, pressing the button on the video equipment set up at the end of the table.

“I am Lieutenant Catherine Rollins of the Governor’s Task Force. It is,” she glanced at the clock on the wall, “14:48  on Wednesday, October 26, 2010.” She pointed at Lou who was seated next to her at the table. “Please go around the room and state your name for the record.”

“Captain Lou Grover.

“Detective Danny Williams.”

“Detective John McGarrett, retired HPD.”  

“Captain Chin Ho Kelly.”

“Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett, head of the Governor’s task force.” He turned to Jenna.  “And you are?”

Jenna looked at each of them before replying. “My name is Jenna Kaye and I have information that will help you in the death of former Governor Jameson. But I expect something in return. I came here willingly but won’t talk unless you guarantee my protection.”

“Protection from?” Steve prodded.

“Adam Noshimori, Kono Kalakaua and the rest of his syndicate.”

“I’m listening,” Steve replied, not daring to look at Chin, who he knew was taking the whole issue with his cousin rather hard. “But you need to start talking.” As an afterthought he set the water bottle in front of her.

She nodded her thanks and took a deep breath before beginning. “First, my terms. I want immunity for the part I have played in this and a new life for both my fiancé and myself. Witness protection, or some sort of protection from both Noshimuri and the CIA.” She looked at people gathered around the table, “And I know it’s a lot to ask, especially since you don’t know me.”

“The CIA?” Steve questioned. “You realize we aren’t in the position to make any promises without knowing what is going on.” He paused, then added, “But if your story is verified by the authorities, I will do my best to help you in some way.”

Jenna nodded, “Your word is good enough for now,” then continued, “As you learned, my name is Jenna Kaye. I know you are piecing together a case relating to Governor Jameson’s murder. I just hope when I am finished that this will all make sense. I am with the CIA,” Jenna stated like that would explain everything.

“You’re gonna tell me you are CIA?” Steve asked, disbelief clearly showing on his face. Glancing quickly at his colleagues, he was met with identical looks of skepticism.

“I am,” she confirmed.  “On administrative leave, but yes, I work as an analyst for the CIA.”

“Yet you also work for Adam Noshimuri?” Chin chimed in. “Care to explain that?”

Jenna nodded. “Through an unfortunate set of circumstances, yes, I have been working for Noshimuri,” she admitted. “Look, it’s a long story, so can I start at the beginning?”

Steve glanced around the table and then motioned for her to begin. “Yes, please begin, and don’t leave anything out.”

“Right,” she agreed with a nod. “For the past four years, I have been a CIA analyst working at Langley. I met my boyfriend, Josh at work about three years ago, before he and his task force moved to Hawaii to gain intel on Adam Noshimuri and his syndicate. The task force got too close for comfort and shortly after, Josh had a horrible accident while riding his bike. He was hit by a car and nearly killed. And the ‘accident’ was anything but… it was a hit. That much has been documented by the CIA. I came out here to see Josh…,” she paused, seemingly remembering a disturbing time for her. “By the time I got here, he was gone from the hospital.”

“Was he checked out by the CIA?” Steve asked, suddenly remembering seeing her at the hospital when they went to see Hess.

“No, but when I met with them, they alluded to the fact that Josh had gone rogue and had been working with Noshimuri and that his people had gotten to him. The CIA has since disavowed any knowledge of Josh even being here. I have seen the reports and his name has been scrubbed from everything. I do know Josh suspected there was a mole in the team he was working with, but he couldn’t prove it. And I also know that the mole was someone other than him. Once I arrived here, I started my own investigation into Adam Noshimuri. If you want confirmation of that, there is a red thumb drive in my purse with all my data on it. The black drive is what Josh had collected before his accident.”

Cath picked up the purse and set the drives on the table along with two cellphones. Chin reached for the drives and asked, “Is there encryption on these?”

“The password is ‘blue giraffe’ for both,” she replied, uncapping the bottle of water and taking a sip. “No firewalls.”

“We’ll check it,” Steve told her. “Please continue.”

“A few weeks ago, someone approached me at my hotel and said they would take me to Josh if I proved to them I was trustworthy. I couldn’t verify, but I assumed they worked for Adam. I only met with this one person. His task for me was to go up to this homeless man and talk to him. I did, and then the next day, he asked me to go again and take him a box of cookies. So, I did that as well. The next day I saw on the news that man had been poisoned. I was then reasonably sure that the cookies I delivered were the poison.” Jenna looked up, only now realizing that she had confessed of helping to murder someone.

“May I ask why you didn’t go to the police at that time?” John asked her.

“I was afraid. He said if I talked to anyone that I would never see Josh again.”

“Does he have a name?” Chin asked.

“Of course,” she said, rolling her eyes. “‘Mr. Smith’. Helpful, I know.”

“Does your hotel have a ccv system?”

“Doubt it,” Jenna replied, with a shake of her head. “It wasn’t a very upscale place. But I’ve since moved from there. Mr. Smith got me a place at the Hilton. I assume it was so they can keep an eye on me.”

“So, he has contacted you again?” Steve prodded her. “Did they take you to Josh?”

“No, there was another ‘test’. He asked me to go to the hospital and get information on a person named Victor Hesse. I did that and when I asked to see Josh, Mr. Smith told me to wait for further instructions. I waited and heard nothing for about a week until one morning he was waiting for me when I left my room.  He wouldn’t even talk about Josh, but put me into a cab for a trip to the airport. My instructions were to stand by the huge Aloha sign and I would be picked up.

When I arrived, I was met by a man and woman in a Ferrari. The man got out and told me to get in the driver’s seat. We waited there until the woman saw a black SUV pull away. She then ordered me to follow it.”

“Did you know back then who they were?” Catherine wanted to know.

“Not right away, but then an ad came on the radio, and she pointed out it was her commercial and said she was an actress. Of course, now I know that the woman is Noshimuri’s fiancée.”

“We followed the car to Kalanianaole Highway on the ocean,” Jenna continued her tale. “She ordered me to speed up and pass the black car. When I did, she grabbed the wheel and jerked it, hitting the other car in the front wheel well. I almost lost control of the car when she suddenly grabbed the wheel. The black car swerved but the driver sped up. When he fishtailed, he hit our car with his back bumper and then he tried to overcompensate.” Jenna paused before adding, “They went over the guard rail.”

She took a deep breath and glanced up at Steve. “I was then ordered to speed up again. A couple miles down the road she had me pull over into a parking lot and I was told to wait for an Uber that she had called. The same man that drove the car to the airport was waiting and he covered the Ferrari with a tarp and loaded it onto a flatbed. He and Kono quickly got into the truck and drove off. The last thing she said was, “If you think about talking…don’t.”

“I didn’t wait for their car – I ran into a nearby store, bought a tee shirt and a hat to try and change my appearance and ordered my own car. When we got close to the accident site, of course there was a big back up. I got out of the car and tried to find out from someone who was in that car… and if they were alive. I heard it was the former governor and realized then that I was being set up. I also knew that if Noshimuri did have Josh, I would probably never see him again.”

“Honestly, your story doesn’t make much sense. Why would they use you? Why would they use a Ferrari for such a hit? And most importantly, why would Kono be in the car with you?” Steve started to list all the huge plotholes in her story, but was interrupted by Jenna.

“I have no idea, but I swear that is what happened,” Jenna said and one could see she was just as puzzled as they were. “When I rushed back to get my things from the Hilton, Mr. Smith was already there waiting… inside my room.  He was angry that I had disobeyed their orders and warned that if I didn’t follow their instructions to the letter from now on, Josh would be killed.”

“I am sure we will find out why they thought you were useful to them,” Steve commented, his doubt at her story still evident.

“I have a question,” Cath began. “You asked for protection for both yourself and Josh. How did you manage to get him away from Noshimuri?”

“Believe it or not, it was all a lie. They never had Josh and were hoping he would contact me so that they could find him. Josh had infiltrated their business and they needed to keep him quiet. But to answer your question, Josh had managed to leave the hospital on his own,” Jenna replied. “I now know where he is and for the time being, he is safe. I will not divulge any information on him until this is over… one way or the other. That isn’t negotiable.”

“If all you say is true, I will need to speak with him to verify his part in this,” Steve reminded her. “That is also not negotiable. I find it hard to believe that he only contacted you now.”

“If and when we reach that point, I will agree.” Jenna stood firm on that point.

Steve leaned forward in his chair and laid his hands flat on the table. “You want immunity for yourself and your CIA boyfriend. So far, it appears you have only implicated yourself with three murder charges, so you still have a lot of talking to do. I don’t see anything in your story that would warrant any kind of help for you, or for your fiancé, whose involvement in all this needs to be checked out anyway.”

Jenna nodded her head. “Yes, I know. And it is true that I have implicated myself. But I would never have gotten involved if I hadn’t truly believed they had Josh. And,” she added with a grimace, “the minute I got involved, I was already in over my head.”

“Obviously,” Danny muttered under his breath, not believing a word he had heard so far.

“I have a question,” Grover interrupted. “Why did you believe Noshimuri had your boyfriend if he had already managed to leave the hospital on his own?”

“Josh had picked out an engagement ring. Before I came here, I knew he had already picked it up. Mr. Smith had it with him when he first approached me, saying he had it for ‘safekeeping’. I know it was the same ring that I had seen in Josh’s pictures. I asked to speak to him, but they refused, saying he was too weak, but getting better. Whenever I asked, there was always some excuse. But they never had him at all. And neither did the CIA. Josh was on the run because he said he didn’t know who in his office or any authorities he could trust. And when you meet with him, he will corroborate all that I am telling you.”

“To be perfectly clear, Ms. Kaye, you have given us very little,” Steve replied. “And none of it is easy to confirm.”

“I think I might have something you will be interested in…”

“We’re listening,” John said, impatient with the way this was dragging out. “And please make it worth our time.”

“It is,” she assured them. “Tonight at nine, a deal is going down on Sand Island. A container of weapons is being off-loaded from a cargo container and the seller refused to deliver if he could not meet Noshimuri one on one.”

“And just how the hell do you know about such a deal?” There was more than sceptism in Grover’s words.

“I overheard Mr. Smith and another man discussing that Noshimuri didn’t trust the set up and wanted all hands on deck, so to speak. An inside team will arrive at eight to keep watch on the site before Noshimuri shows up at nine. Adam is going to be in front of Pier 23 surrounded by his personal bodyguards. Three teams of two men each will be inside the adjacent warehouse. Unfortunately, no one mentioned who the seller was or how many men he will have.”

Steve waited until she was finished, then buffed out a smudge of the table with his thumb, collecting his thoughts before speaking. “You know, on the surface this sounds like a great opportunity for a major bust.”

Jenna nodded. “That’s what I thought, and I knew I had to bring it to someone.”

Steve held up his hand. “But… on the other hand, while I appreciate you showing up on our doorstep, this sounds to be a perfect trap. Jenna Kaye, I have no reason to trust you.”

“I agree,” John added while others around the table nodded.

“My question is,” Chin began, glancing at Steve. “How did you get here? You said they were keeping watch on your hotel.”

“Valid question,” Grover agreed.

“This morning, I walked to the Farmer’s Market and Mr. Smith followed, as usual. But as we were leaving, a car pulled up and the driver called him over. They spoke for several minutes, and Mr. Smith asked a lot of questions about where/when/how/etc. That is how I learned all this. After their conversation, he then turned to me and ordered me to go directly back to the hotel and stay there until I heard from him. He got in the car and they drove off.  I did go to the hotel, but decided it was time to take back control of my life. I threw my things together and left through the employee elevator, walked through the next two buildings and waited there for a car.” She pointed to the two phones on the table. “I bought my own burner phone after I arrived here and I used that phone to make the call. The other phone is from Mr. Smith. You can check the calls on both. They will confirm what I have told you.”

Catherine leaned across the table, looking Jenna in the eyes. “While I understand your willingness to get out of this situation, don’t you see that the two of them, talking openly about their plans in front of you, looks a bit suspicious.”

“That’s the thing,” Jenna replied. “On the surface, yes, but you’re wrong.  They were speaking in Japanese, thinking I couldn’t understand them. And even if they have my CIA file, my language studies have been redacted. I am fluent in Japanese and three other languages. I have never given them any idea that I understand what they are saying. They speak it freely among themselves whenever I am around.”

H50 – H50 – H50

After calling Duke and obtaining a police officer to guard Jenna in the conference room, the team convened around the computer.  Chin was actively throwing files up onto the screens… files which promised to be exactly what they had been looking for.

“Stop!” Steve shouted after one picture appeared. “Look,” he said excitedly, reaching down and enlarging it. “Right there… look who it is.”

The photo was dated 08.30.2010 and showed Adam Noshimuri on a street corner in a less-than-desirable part of town, talking to Pat Jamison who also looked very out of place. In the background, Jerry sat on the corner, staring at the two of them. And in a nearby gold Ferrari, they could see Kono sitting in the passenger seat.

“Cousin Kono…looks like you just can’t help getting into trouble,” Chin mumbled.

“She has a record?” Steve asked.

“Well, she had a Juvie record,” he replied. “Stupid stuff, until she and a friend stole a car. John, remember that? You helped walk me through what to do.”

“I remember,” John replied. “I also remember us warning her to clean up her act or the next time wouldn’t be so easy. Looks like that didn’t work.”

Chin nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face as he stared at the screen.

“What are you thinking?” John asked him.

“Steve?” Chin began. “How about we shake things up and pick up Kono? When we bring her in, she would think it is about us looking for her car. Little would she know that we know where the car is.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Steve agreed with a nod. “Since we are working on this, HPD can hold her until we return from the raid. That way, she and Adam can enjoy each other’s company in lock up.”

“I think that makes perfect sense,” Grover added. “Hit the company hard and fast.”

“Chin, do you want to do the honors?” Steve asked.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” he agreed, heading toward his office. “That second drive is ready to review if you want to begin.”

“I’m on it,” John said. “Who knew I would ever be computer savvy?”

“Surely not me,” Steve muttered with a grin.

“If Jenna’s Intel is correct, coupled with what we have seen here, this could be our one opportunity to take down Noshimuri, if we can put together a bust tonight,” Steve said quietly.

“Are you kidding me?” Danny asked loudly, his hands slicing the air. He pointed in the direction of the conference room. “I have been quiet until now, but she’s a whack job and this is a big time set up. What’s wrong with you people?”

“You don’t know that, Danny,” John said in a tone Steve remembered from his childhood. “How about we at least discuss it before you dismiss it as bogus?”

Williams threw up his hands. “Fine. But I’m telling you right now, whatever this crazy scheme of yours is, it better not get me shot.”

H50 – H50 – H50

“Is the Intel solid?“ Steve asked, looking at Lou.

“Sounded legit to me. I don’t think she would lie… I mean it’s about her life,” the big man replied.

“That’s not what I mean. We can’t be sure that Adam isn’t still using her.”

“You think this is a trap?” Lou asked and motioned to their set up. “What she said has panned out so far. Noshimuri’s goons got here at eight and got into position. That part of her story was correct.”

“Yeah.” Steve glanced toward the parking lot and replied, “Looks like we’re about to find out. Heads up, people, we’ve got company.”

Lou and Steve watched a dark blue BMW 8 Coupé pull into the parking lot, stopping at the very end of it. They could barely make out two people sitting in the car. Due to the darkened glass it was hard to tell if they were men or women. 

“Now what?” Lou voiced. “What are they waiting for? Hope they aren’t some bystanders at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“We’ll know soon enough,” Steve said, pointing to a second car pulling into the lot. “Everyone in place?” he asked.

“Copy that,” Cath replied. “Chin and I have eyes on the BMW.”

A black SUV rounded the corner, followed by an identical one that pulled in, turning around to face the exit. As the teams watched, the two front doors opened on the first SUV and the driver and passenger left the vehicle, closely watching their surroundings.

“Danny, are you and SWAT ready?” he asked, having received no response yet.

“Yes, Steven, thank you for asking. We are here.”

Steve rolled his eyes and glanced at Lou, whose eyebrows nearly danced off his forehead at the detective’s remark.

The back door of the SUV was opened, and Adam stepped out. At the opposite end of the parking lot, three people exited the BMW.

“They are certainly packing,” Chin’s voice echoed through the mics.

“Copy that,” Steve agreed. “Same here.”

“Oh my God,” they heard in their earpieces.

“Cath, what’s wrong?” Steve asked in worry.

“John, can you check something for me?” Cath ignored Steve’s question for the moment. “Daiyu Mei. Please check what you can find about her. She just stepped out of the BMW. My information was that she’s been dead for about three months.”

“Who is she?” Steve wanted to know.

“She’s an arms dealer, talking about major deals here. I only know that she was investigated, but I was only involved because of a link to one of my cases. My case didn’t pan out, so I really don’t have that much information about her.”

“What did we stumble into here?” Lou wanted to know.

“Guys, I think this is getting out of hand, we should pull back,” they heard Danny saying.

“What the heck are you talking about?” Lou said with an angry undertone. “So far, everything has run smoothly.”

“Too smoothly. Never a good sign,” Danny added.

“Williams, stay in position. Get ready with SWAT to move in,” Steve replied, making it clear that there was no room for discussion.

“Cath, you have a good eye,” they heard the older McGarrett over the com-link. “Daiyu Mei was rumored to die in a raid in Taiwan a few months back. No body was recovered. Not much is known about her other than the fact that she stays off the grid and has rarely been photographed. Wait… well, hell’s bells. This might be something.”

“What, Dad?” Steve asked while watching Noshimuri and two of his men walking toward the warehouse nearest the water, meeting Daiyu Mei and the two men from her car.

“Rumor has it that she and a gentleman named Wo Fat have been linked together.”

“And suddenly, you have your connection, Steve,” Catherine said.

“Things are falling into place,” he agreed. “Time to end this.”

After words were spoken between Noshimuri and Daiyu Mei, on her cue, one of the dock’s warehouse doors rolled upward, revealing two men inside, guarding several wooden crates.

With a nod from Noshimuri, his men entered the warehouse, opening two crates under the supervision of Daiyu Mei’s men. One held up a high-powered weapon, showing it to Adam. He then bowed his head toward the woman and removed his phone from his jacket. With a few keystrokes, he showed the screen to his seller, who in turn, checked her own phone for confirmation of a transaction.

“Wait for it,” Steve whispered into his mic.

A few seconds later, Daiyu Mei smiled and nodded before turning to head back to her car.

“Now!” Steve gave the command to go in, just as a volley of shots rang out.

H50 – H50 – H50