When Danny told him that his ex-wife's current husband, Stan Edwards, his daughter's stepfather, was a wealthy businessman, Jack had no idea what they were talking about until he saw the mansion they lived in.
As the car pulled into the gate, two stone lions of equal size lined the driveway. These weren't the round-headed, round-faced Chinese lions stepping on hydrangeas, but rather marble sculptures with a distinctly Greek aesthetic.
The neatly manicured lawns on either side of the driveway were roughly the size of three or four basketball courts. At the corner stood a small marble fountain, nearly two feet tall.
The house was a modern, lightweight steel-framed villa, and the garage alone took up nearly the size of an average-sized bungalow.
"Rachel, do you have a live-in servant?" Jack looked at the villa's half-open door, sensing something was amiss.
"No, I locked it when I left." Rachel, sitting in the passenger seat, also sensed something was amiss.
Danny, who was playing with his daughter in the back seat of the Camaro, peeked in and immediately pulled out his phone to call the police.
"911, what's the emergency?" the caller at the emergency center calmly asked.
"This is Detective Danny Williams, my ID is 7576. Please dispatch two squad cars to 4347 Coolio-Summer Avenue. There may be a break-in in progress."
"Roger that. The squad cars are on their way."
"Thank you."
After Danny hung up, Jack opened the car door and got out, one hand on his pistol at his waist, while keeping an eye on the villa.
"Danny, it's best to have Rachel drive Grace around the streets first."
Danny kissed his daughter's cheek. "Little monkey, you and your mommy should go for a ride. It'll only take five minutes at most. You'll see me before you even say 'I love you, Danno,' okay?"
The little girl nodded knowingly, her large, distinct black and white eyes glaring.
After Danny struggled to climb out of the reclining seat of the two-door, four-seater sports car, Rachel quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, shifted from the passenger seat to the driver's seat, and backed out.
Jack's trip to Hawaii was a vacation, after all, and he'd only brought his Sig Sauer P320-XTen sidearm. Even the flight required multiple declarations, and right now, it came in handy.
He and Danny, one in front and one behind, cautiously entered the house and searched it. Finding it empty, they returned to the door and explained the situation to the HPD (Honolulu Police Department) who had responded to the call.
Danny's face was grim. Besides feeling threatened by the fact that his daughter's room had been completely ransacked, there were other reasons.
Jack knew why. Any man would feel uncomfortable seeing the photos in the house—those intimate photos of his daughter and ex-wife with other men.
"The valuables in the couple's bedroom are all there—jewelry and expensive watches—but the rummaging clearly showed they had a purpose."
Jack seemed to be speaking to Danny, but he was actually addressing Rachel, who was still standing at the doorway, still dazed.
"So why don't you go in and pack some of Grace's and your things?" Danny's implication was clear: he wanted Rachel to take their daughter and live out of town for a while.
Rachel looked blankly at the house that was already cordoned off, then at Danny and was speechless, "You mean..."
"I suggest that you and Grace stay in a hotel for a few days until Jack and I figure out what's going on," Danny suggested.
"I've already informed Stan. He's on his return flight and will land in an hour at most. I'll discuss it with him when he gets home."
Rachel subconsciously wanted to refuse, but was frightened by Danny's sudden serious expression.
"You have two choices now. Either you take my daughter to stay at the Hilton Hotel, or she will stay with her real father tonight, the man who loves her most in the world."
Rachel looked at the man in front of her and suddenly felt a little strange, even though he used to be her husband. After a while, she adjusted her expression and said, "I'll go in and pack some clothes."
Watching his ex-wife disappear into the house, Danny sighed, "I'll bet my last tie that this matter is definitely related to Stan."
"Is there really someone wearing a tie in Hawaii?" Jack glanced at the time on his watch suspiciously.
"Rachel said Stan Edwards will be landing in an hour at most. Can you find his flight? Maybe I can arrange for your ex-wife's current husband to pick him up at the airport."
Danny pulled out his phone. "I'll have Kono check it out. She's the best at this sort of thing."
Ten minutes later, the silver Camaro was barreling down the highway toward Honolulu International Airport, Danny still rambling in the passenger seat.
"I'm feeling very uncomfortable. Honestly, I'm still in shock. That just happened has cost me at least five years of my life."
"No, you're fine. If you hadn't been hit by a bullet while fighting a criminal, you would have lived to be a hundred. Hawaii's pleasant climate keeps your body functioning well."
Jack patted his shoulder and cast a long-lasting healing spell. He discovered that his "uncle" was as strong as a bull, not at all like a middle-aged man over 40. At least he didn't have to worry about any physical issues when he went to the beach to pick up bikini girls.
He turned his head to look at Danny's expression and tried to persuade him, "In fact, you should accompany Rachel and Grace to the hotel. I told you that you can leave this matter to me. Your expression now makes me a little worried."
Danny frowned and looked at Jack who was driving with some confusion, "What's wrong with my expression? I'm normal now. You are also a policeman. Federal agents are also policemen, right? Tell me, do you think Stan is related to what happened today?"
"I agree with you on this point, but as an FBI psychological profiler, Danny, my dear 'uncle'... uh."
Jack felt a little awkward. The repetition rate of American names was too high, like him and Reacher, or the "Uncle Danny" in front of him and Danny Reagan in New York.
"As a not-so-experienced profiler, your expression tells me you're not going to the airport with me to pick someone up, but to beat up someone who's really pissed you off."
"Of course I have reason to be angry. My daughter lives in that house, and her bedroom is also ransacked every night.
If I find out Stan is involved, I'll encourage him to tell me everything he knows." Danny's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he spoke.
"But you're also a police officer, with a pistol and a badge on your waist. You're going to mess this up," Jack tried to appease the man obsessed with his daughter.
"I know the governor of Hawaii has given Five-O a lot of power, but I believe if you're dragged into court over something like this, you might not lose your job, but something more important.
Think about Grace's custody. Why did you move all the way from New Jersey to Hawaii? Do you want to lose your daughter again? Trust me, there's no need to overcomplicate things."
Jack's words hit Danny's sore spot, deflated him instantly like a popped balloon.
(End of chapata)