Outside the Honolulu airport, in front of a limousine offering a high-end shuttle service, the driver was loading luggage into the trunk. Jack approached and greeted a middle-aged white man who had just gotten into the backseat.
"Hello, Stan Edwards?"
"What's up?" Stan Edwards's face darkened upon seeing the FBI ID in Jack's hand.
Danny's ex-wife's current husband, though a bit wrinkled, was a handsome old man with a face that perfectly matched the traditional European and American aesthetic, a high nose, deep eyes, sharp features, and a well-maintained figure.
After being ushered into the passenger seat of the Camaro by Jack and seeing Danny squeezed into the backseat, the current husband finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Danny? Why did you do that?"
He looked from Jack, who had started the Camaro and driven off, to Danny, who had curled up in the backseat, feeling aggrieved, and momentarily confused.
Well, there was nothing he could do. After all, even though this sports car boasted four seats, the back two were incredibly cramped.
Jack is now 1.86 meters tall, and Stan Edwards is over 1.80 meters tall, so Danny, who is less than 1.70 meters tall, has to bear the brunt of the burden.
"You know, Stan." Danny put his head into the driver's seat to make himself more comfortable.
"Since I had my daughter, I have to face many things I have never experienced before. I have to buy her toys, buy her lots of beautiful little dresses, send her messages every day to chat with her, and the mobile phone bill is so expensive no matter what package I choose.
But there is one thing, one thing I never expected, and that is carjacking. I never thought that my baby who is not even 10 years old would experience such a thing.
So I will only ask you once, Stan, what kind of trouble did you get into?"
"This has nothing to do with me, Danny. I was just as shocked as you when I heard about it. You know, I've always considered Grace my own,"
Stan was interrupted by Danny in a calm tone, though his words weren't particularly polite. "Shut up, Stan. I need to tell you something upfront. The guy driving you right now is an FBI profiler.
He's taken down more terrorists and drug dealers than you've ever seen on TV."
He turned to Jack and said, "Tell him, tell this idiot, Jack, if he's afraid, if he's hiding fear inside!"
Being used as a human lie detector was a new experience for Jack. He helplessly said to Stan Edwards, "Mr. Edwards, although I'm only in Hawaii on vacation, this isn't a federal case.
But Danny is my family, and so is Grace. It won't be difficult for me to make this a federal case. So I have to remind you, as a knowledgeable businessman, you should know that lying to an FBI agent is a felony."
"If it were before, I would have come to you alone and beat you up in public until you told the truth.
You should thank Jack, you know? Thank him for enlightening me, for advising me not to complicate things, and for telling me to give you a chance to resolve the dispute in an open and honest way.
So I'm giving you a chance, and I hope you understand that you have only this one chance. Before that, I want to remind you one last time.
It was because of you that someone pointed a gun at my daughter." Danny finished his words in one breath and leaned back heavily.
The car was silent for a long time. Stan, whose nose was already slightly sweaty, opened his mouth twice in succession, and then he told the truth as if he had made up his mind.
"You know I'm a real estate businessman, right? Not long ago, I saw Bruce Hoffman, the local property commissioner, and that guy gave me a 'bill', just like ordering a meal at a high-end restaurant.
Everything was clearly priced, but even after I agreed to the amounts, the guy kept trying to raise the price, using all sorts of excuses.
So during our last meeting, I recorded our conversation with a recorder and threatened to report him.
"So that's what they're looking for, the recording, right?"
Danny slammed his fist on the back of his chair, startling Stan. "Danny, I swear to God, I didn't expect this..."
"Why didn't you just come to me?" Danny's words stunned Stan.
"Are you kidding?" He turned back to look at his ex-husband in surprise.
Danny glared at his current husband. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"
"No, I mean... I don't know what to say. Damn it, believe me, I didn't expect that bastard to threaten my family.
You know, I love Rachel and Grace, and I would never do anything that would hurt them. I've already walked away from this deal,"
Stan said, his words a bit incoherent as he tried to explain.
"Okay, stop it. "Danny stopped him from saying the next thing," What you should do next is to hand over the recording to me and then stay in my office. Someone will protect you there.
Rachel and Grace will stay at the Hilton Hotel for the next few days until the whole thing is over."
-
"What are you going to do next? "After sending Stan to the "Five-O" office, Jack and Danny returned to his car.
This case is not complicated. From the perspective of federal law, the one-party consent rule is implemented in wiretapping and recording.
As a party to the conversation, whether it is a phone call or other call, Stan can legally record it as long as he wants to, and use it as evidence in court.
Most states in the United States adopt the one-party consent rule that imitates the federal government, and Hawaii is one of them.
Of course, some states also use the all-party consent rule, such as California and Florida. In these places, the consent of all parties involved in the conversation and call must be obtained before recording can be made. Otherwise, not only will the recorded evidence be invalid, but the behavior will also be deemed illegal.
Therefore, this matter does not require Jack, the federal agent, to intervene. Danny can easily handle it alone, but seeing how aggressive he looks now, it is obvious that he plans to do something else.
"Of course, go have a good talk with some asshole. Danny hung up the phone and reached for his car keys.
Half an hour later, Danny got a dossier from HPD, glanced at the photo, made a few calls, and drove Jack to a restaurant downtown.
"Are you the real estate commissioner?"
A bald, middle-aged man in a linen suit, who had just paid the bill, saw Danny approaching him with a beaming smile and instinctively extended his hand.
"Yes, that's right, I'm Bruce Hoffman."
(End of chapter)