Old Home Week

Chapter 1: The Mobster

Leaving one of Honolulu's swankiest hotels after a conference with the head of security, Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett was yanked backwards by a grip on his arm. Detective Danny Williams jerked his partner behind a decorative pillar; then peered around it toward the front desk.

"I don't believe it!" he said in a state of agitated excitement.

"What?" Steve asked.

Danny brushed back his fair hair and scratched his stubbled chin. "It's like seeing the Statue of Liberty set down next to the Arizona Memorial." Before Steve could ask "What?" again, Danny continued. "That older man there, the snappy dresser? He's Gino Sculatti, and I never thought I'd see him outside of New Jersey."

"Gino who?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Look, I accept that you know the dossier of every major terrorist."

"And most of the minor ones," Steve added smugly.

Danny rolled his eyes again (clockwise, this time). "Then would you accept that I know criminals, especially East Coast criminals?"

"Sure. He's a criminal?" Steve said, nodding his dark head at the older man.

"Where I come from, he's THE criminal," Danny answered with something like admiration in his voice.

"Then let's go talk to him," Steve suggested.

"Let me handle it." Sensing resistance from his boss, Danny searched for a Hawaiian comparison. "Steve, treat this man with respect, as if he's the head of the New Jersey kapu. I'm begging you. Let me handle it."

"All right, Danny." Danny just looked at him. "All right!" Steve reiterated. "I'll follow your lead. What about the muscle?" he asked.

"You can slap them down if they get frisky, but leave the old man to me."

"Okay." Danny looked at him doubtfully. Steve crossed his heart.

"One more thing," Danny said. "Call me Danno in front of this man and I will find a way to hurt you."

Steve hung back as Danny strode toward the front desk, saying in a voice that echoed in the quiet lobby, "Gino Sculatti! I never would have believed it. Imagine seeing a familiar face so far from home."

The dapper man had stiffened at the first word. One of his associates moved quickly to intercept Danny.

"I think you've made a mistake," he said in a gravelly voice. A cane tipped with a faceted crystal the size of a Grade AA large egg came around to tap him on the chest. He shut his mouth immediately, dipped his head and stepped back to let his boss face the detective.

"Detective Williams is too experienced a police officer to mistake me for someone else, Bobby. We've known each other too long."

"Almost ten years, Gino," Danny agreed. "But imagine my surprise to see you here."

"Yes, it is a surprise," Sculatti said, not as if it was an enjoyable surprise. "I had forgotten you moved to Honolulu. Someone should have reminded me." His words were mild, but his three companions winced.

"You knew I'd left town." It wasn't a question. Sculatti kept tabs on all his friends and foes.

"I did, but after you left my, ah, sphere of influence, I'm afraid I lost touch," he said apologetically.

"It happens," Danny replied magnanimously. "I, on the other hand, continue to follow your career with interest."

"Yes, you would." That also went without saying. "I remember now. You moved to be near your daughter. How is little Grace?"

"Getting bigger every day. She got first prize in her school essay contest the other day."

"You must be very proud."

"And how is your family? Gino Junior doing OK in Rikers? He must be about ready to get out." Danny sounded sincerely interested.

"He is. With a favorable parole board, we hope to have him back with us by Christmas."

"That should make his kids happy."

The old man's flinty eyes softened. "Yes. They're looking forward to it. They hardly remember what it's like to have him at home."

Steve didn't like the way Sculatti's three friends were looming over Danny, though Danny didn't seem to care. The height-challenged detective must be used to people looming over him, Steve thought. They were hardly likely to do anything to Danny in a public hotel lobby, but Steve disapproved of the way they were moving to surround his partner. He decided to insert himself into the equation. At 6-1, McGarrett could loom with the best of them.

He stepped forward into an opening behind his partner before the goons could close the gap. One bumped him; then recoiled from the unexpected intrusion.

"Danny, you find some old friends from back home?"

Danny got a warm feeling. It was nice when your partner had your back.

Sculatti regarded this stranger. Steve met the cold gray eyes evenly, with a flicker of a smile at one corner of his mouth. Not a cop, Sculatti assessed, but dangerous all the same. Maybe more dangerous, if he wasn't bound by all those cop restrictions.

"I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to say that Detective Williams and I are friends," the old man said. "Merely longtime acquaintances. Though I have made many gestures of friendship over the years, the detective, alas, has declined to accept any of them."

"Thank you for that," Danny said. "This is my new boss, Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. Steve, this is Gino Sculatti, president and CEO of Sculatti Family Enterprises, what some people — who don't understand the laws of libel and slander — call the Sculatti Family Crime Syndicate.

"Sorry, never heard of it." Steve shrugged.

Sculatti tensed at this perceived slight. Danny rocked backwards, bringing his heel down gently on Steve's toe, reminding him who was in charge. The detective shook his head.

"No offense meant, Gino. Commander McGarrett isn't a cop, so he isn't in the know."

"I'm still learning," Steve said apologetically.

Sculatti relaxed. "Not a cop?" he asked Danny. "But you're still a detective?"

"It's complicated," Danny admitted. "We're in a new state police task force called Five-0. We look into pretty much anything the governor asks us to. Things like, oh, organized crime."

He smiled brightly at the crime boss. "So, what are you doing in Honolulu, Gino?"

Gravel Voice decided it was time to interfere. "The boss's business is none of yours," he growled. He put his hand on Danny's chest to push him back, and found his arm twisted painfully behind his back.

"Don't touch my partner," Steve said mildly. "You might have cooties."

"He's not a cop, but he's handy to have around," Danny confided to Sculatti, who regarded his man with disgust.

"Did I tell you to touch the detective?"

"No sir."

"Please release him," Sculatti said to Steve. "We're causing a fuss in this fine hotel."

"Since you asked so nicely." Steve released the goon with a shove that sent him several steps away from Danny.

"So, to repeat myself, what are you doing in sunny Honolulu? I never expected to see you any farther west than Camden."

"The younger generation. Always wanting to see something new." The two young men next to Bobby stiffened, as Danny's attention turned to them. "My nephews wanted to hold a business conference with some of our top people and New York City just wasn't exciting enough any more," Sculatti said regretfully.

"Kids!" Danny exclaimed. "At least it gets you out of the jurisdiction."

Steve saw a twinkle of humor in the old man's eyes. Damned if Sculatti didn't like Danny.

"I hope you get to see some of our beautiful scenery," Steve said, fishing for information.

"Steve's practically a member of the Chamber of Commerce," Danny confided.

"We do have a sightseeing trip planned for tomorrow," Sculatti answered, in the tones of someone who was going along against his will. "And a luau for tonight."

"I'll tell hotel security to take real good care of you," Danny promised.

"Yes, I supposed you would."

Danny started away, forcing one member of the entourage to step out of his path. He looked back when Sculatti called him.

"Detective, do you remember that last gesture of friendship I offered?"

"Yes."

"I could still make that happen."

Danny raised his eyebrows. "Even here, Gino?"

Sculatti shrugged. "It never hurts to have friends."

"I think I'll still decline the offer, Gino. It would upset my daughter."

"Your decision."

Steve waited until they were well out of earshot before he asked some of the questions that were bothering him.

"If you're being so respectful, why do you call him 'Gino'?"

Danny shook his head in disbelief. "That's cop protocol. Look, you know we like to call suspects by their first names. We're impolite that way."

Steve understood that. It was a way of establishing dominance.

"OK? So, if I called him Mr. Sculatti or he called me Danny, you'd be sure I was on his payroll. We're respectful, but we're not friends."

"I get it. When he mentioned Grace, was that a threat?" Steve asked. He didn't think it could be or Danny would have gone ballistic.

"No, I said he was old school. He was just being polite. He doesn't go after family."

"And you were being polite, asking about his son?"

"Well, I felt responsible. I was the one who put Gino Junior away."

"And yet his old man is still polite to you?"

Danny shrugged. "It was just business."

"And what was that bit about the gesture of friendship?"

"Ah." Danny paused thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "When I was in the middle of my divorce and knew I was going to lose Grace, Gino offered to whack Rachel for me."

"What?"

Danny gestured him to keep it down; then shrugged. "He said he could make it look like an accident. All I had to do was call a number and say where Rachel would be, then all my problems would be over."

Steve just stared at his partner who didn't meet his eyes.

"You have no idea how tempted I was, Steve. I hated her so much then, but I couldn't for Grace's sake — and for my own."

"Because he would have owned you."

"He would have owned me," Danny agreed. "And I didn't think I would react well to being owned."

"News flash!" Steve snorted. He didn't need to be told something as obvious as that.

— H50 —

Back at Five-0 headquarters, Danny picked up the phone in his office and dialed a number he didn't have to look up.

"Captain Erickson, please. Tell him it's a voice from his past from Honolulu."

In New Jersey, the graying, lantern-jawed captain punched line 1, "Danny Williams! I thought I'd gotten you out of my hair permanently!"

Two detectives filling out paperwork, looked up as the familiar name resounded in the squad room.

"Hey, cap," Danny answered breezily. "Didn't know you had enough hair to worry about."

Erickson rubbed his shiny dome and smiled. The two detectives chitchatted a bit about family and friends; then Erickson asked the question Danny hated.

"So, what's the weather like there?" the captain said wistfully, looking out the window at a sleety drizzle.

"80 and sunny, another beautiful day," Danny answered as if he was discussing a funeral.

The springs squeaked in his chair as the captain leaned back. "You always were perverse. Most people would be happy to be in sunny Hawaii in mid-winter."

"Funny you should say that," Danny pounced on the opening. "You'll never guess who I saw in Honolulu today."

"What!" When he heard the news, the captain sat up so fast his chair springs rang like a bell. The detectives in the squad room appeared at his door as if they'd teleported. "No, I didn't know. But I should have." Danny heard a threat in his voice that wasn't meant for him. Erickson covered the receiver and said to his men, "Danny says Gino Sculatti is in Honolulu."

"Is he sure?" one detective said doubtfully. Erickson gave him a look. "Never mind. Danny wouldn't make a mistake like that."

The detectives rushed back to their phones to follow up on the strange development.

"No, we hadn't heard," Erickson told Danny. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Sam falling down on the job?"

"Sam's had the flu this week, but that's no excuse for the rest of my people."

"Let me know what you find out," Danny said. He gave the captain his cell number. He paused; then said seriously. "I don't like it, cap. Something is going on. As much as I miss New Jersey, I don't want to import its gangsters to Hawaii."

"I still trust your instincts, Danny. We'll get right on it."

After hanging up, the captain stood in his doorway. "Why is it I need a detective in Hawaii to tell me Gino Sculatti has left town?" he roared.

The detectives pretended to be too busy on their phones to answer.

— H50 —

The captain's callback came the next day.

"Hey, cap," Danny gave his usual greeting, but didn't get any farther. Erickson spoke hastily. Danny's eyes widened. "What? What? But that …" He listened some more. "Wait, let me think." With his hand on his forehead, Danny considered the implications of the captain's news. "It's a takeover. It's got to be. Those nephews of his brought him here to get him away from his loyal troops." Danny sat up straight. "It's a hit! It's gotta be. Not in my town!" he declared; then couldn't believe he'd said that about Honolulu. "Gotta go, cap. Gotta save a gangster."

Shoving his phone in his pocket, he burst into Steve's office. "Come on, we've got to prevent a murder!" he barked. Without waiting for a reply, Danny galloped out the door.

"Governor, I've got to go," Steve said hastily into the landline. "Danny said someone's going to be murdered. No, he didn't say."

He hung up on the governor's, "Go!" His long legs covered the ground as he bounded down the stairs, scattering bystanders. Steve charged out the door, just in time to slap the fender of the Camaro going by. Danny halted impatiently, giving Steve just enough time to tumble in before he hit the accelerator.

The driver of a red Cruze about to turn into the parking garage had to stand on her brakes to avoid the silver bullet flying past.

"That was Danny!" Kono Kalakaua exclaimed; then hit the accelerator in pursuit.

"And Steve," Chin Ho Kelly added as he switched on the lights and siren. He pulled out his phone and called the friend who wasn't driving like a maniac in the car ahead.

"Steve, we're right behind you. What's going on?"

"I don't have a clue," Steve answered. He put the phone on speaker. "Danny, what's going on?"

"Gino Sculatti Junior was shanked in prison this morning. No one would kill the old man's son, unless they were gonna kill Gino, too. I think his nephews plan a takeover, that's why they brought him 5,000 miles from his power base."

"And they were going sightseeing today," Steve remembered.

"That's the perfect time for an 'accident,'" Chin agreed.

Chewing his lower lip, Danny narrowed his focus to the road ahead. His lights and siren were on, but Danny knew the lights in his front grille weren't as visible as the light bar on top of a blue and white. Danny didn't want to save a mob boss at the expense of a mother pushing a stroller across the street.

Steve flinched as Danny took a corner on two wheels.

"Watch out for …"

"I see him," Danny answered. "Do I complain about your driving?"

"Constantly," Steve answered. To be honest, Danny had a knack for driving in traffic, seeming to divine when another driver was about to intrude on his path. Steve would have insisted on changing places if they were on a dirt road, but city streets were Danny's bailiwick. "Tell me why you're about to kill us in order to save a mob boss?"

Danny sighed ostentatiously. "Intel, Mr. Intelligence Officer."

"You mean, you think he'll roll over on his people?"

"If his people betrayed him, yes." Danny bared his teeth in a wicked grin. "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse. Call Colin and see if he's seen them."

Steve called the hotel's chief of security who had been keeping an eye on Gino since Five-0 warned him.

"Gino and his nephews just went out the back door toward the parking garage," Steve reported.

"Where's Gino's bodyguard?" Danny asked.

Steve warned Colin about the suspected assassination attempt and told him to search for gravel-voiced Bobby. Colin said he'd block civilians from the garage. He also described the Sculatti's rental car.

"There," Steve told Danny. "The black sedan just coming out."

Danny skidded to a halt blocking the sedan while Kono cut to the left to prevent any retreat. The officers took cover behind their open car doors, weapons at the ready.

"Police!" Danny announced. "Gino Sculatti, step out of the car," the detective ordered. "All of you, out!"

The driver, nephew Ricky, made a gesture of protest, as if he might reach for a weapon. From the back seat, Gino rapped his shoulder with his cane. "Behave," he ordered.

Gino got out, arms spread wide, cane held between two fingers. The two front seat passengers got out sullenly, showing empty hands.

"Detective Williams, there must be some mistake. I haven't broken any laws — in your jurisdiction," Gino said with a mild attempt at humor.

"You're the one making the mistake, Gino," Danny said gently. "I'm not arresting you. I'm offering to take you into protective custody."

"What do you mean?" The old man felt his heart clench at the pitying tone of Danny's voice.

"I'm sorry to tell you that your son, Gino Junior, was murdered in Riker's this morning."

Gino staggered and had to put his cane down to the ground to support his weakened knees. "Murdered? Who would …?"

"Who could order a Sculatti murdered except another Sculatti?" Danny answered.

"Don't listen, Uncle Gino," Marco Sculatti said scornfully. "Williams is just trying to trick you."

"Really? Where's Bobby, Gino? Where's your bodyguard?" Danny asked.

Gino looked uncertain. "The boys said he was sick, that raw fish at the luau last night."

"So here you are, without your faithful bodyguard, about to head off into the wilds of Oahu where a corpse might never be found," Steve pointed out.

The old man shook his head in disbelief.

"Steve." Colin came out of the hotel, careful to stay out of the line of fire. "We just found a sick man in their suite. He's unconscious. I think he's been poisoned."

"That's pretty bad fish," Steve said sarcastically.

"You've offered me many gestures of friendship over the years," Danny told the shocked Gino. "Now, I'm offering you one. Come with me now. We'll keep you safe in exchange for information."

"It's a trick, uncle," Marco said urgently.

Danny grinned. "You don't have to tell us anything until you can confirm I'm telling the truth." Gino hesitated. "This is a limited time offer," Danny warned.

Ricky suddenly snarled and, despite at least two guns pointed at him, reached for the pistol under his shoulder. Before he could draw the weapon — whereupon he would have been shot by Steve — Gino brought the weighted cane down on his nephew's collarbone. The young man dropped to his knees in agony.

"Now I believe you're stupid enough to kill my son," Gino said with dignity. "Detective, I accept your proposal. I'll tell you anything you want, if you can protect my grandchildren."

"Already done," Danny assured him. "Captain Erickson sent Sam after them as soon as he heard about Gino Junior."

The old man relaxed. He knew the Jersey detective was reliable. "Ah, Detective Podolski. You must miss your old partner."

"Yeah." Danny's voice went soft as he remembered when life was perfect — when he had a reliable partner, a wonderful wife and a little miracle baby named Grace.

Steve must have heard something in his partner's voice, because he looked over concerned and maybe a tiny bit hurt — because if Steve could recognize Danny's "tones," Danny could recognize Steve's "faces."

"Yeah, I miss Sam," Danny admitted, smirking at Steve. "But the partner I have now is pretty good. He's a little rough around the edges, needs a little work, but he has potential."

To be continued