Chapter Text
“Grab your gear. We’ve got a dead sailor” announced Jane. Jesse, Kai, and Lucy grabbed their gear and headed for the Kahale Ranch. With morning traffic, the drive took a little longer than expected. The guys could tell there was something up with Lucy. She hadn’t been herself for the past few weeks. Jesse didn’t have Kai’s gentle touch, so Kai took it upon himself to start the conversation.
“Are things, ok? You’ve been a bit off since you went undercover.”
“Yep, couldn’t be better.”
“You know you can talk to us about anything, anytime?”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
The short tone wasn’t really Lucy’s style, and Jesse knew it. The drive to the ranch was a little tense and with 30 minutes still ahead of them, he couldn’t take much more.
“What Kai is so gently trying to get at is, are things ok with you and Whistler? She hasn’t come around much, and you shut down at any mention of her. I know you don’t like to talk much, but if something has you preoccupied, we need to know about it. For your safety as well as ours in the field.”
Dammit Jesse! Stop making sense and leave me alone. You know I love to stew in hurt and anger. Just leave me be.
“The long and the short of it is we’re not together anymore. She’s not the person I thought she was.”
“I’m sorry, Luce” the guys responded in unison. They knew that Lucy wore her feelings on her sleeve. She felt deeply about almost everything, and it pained them to see her this way. “Meh, it’s fine. The best way to get over someone, is to get underneath someone else” Lucy said with a wink. “Uh, yeah, sure” coughed Jesse. No one, not even Lucy, bought this.
The team arrived on scene to find Commander Chase completing her preliminary exam. “Your victim is Seaman Moses Moore, 19 years of age. At first glance, it appears that he was struck with a blunt, cylindrical object along the left orbital bone and the right parietal. Time of death estimated to be about 3-6 hours ago. Of course, I’ll be more precise when I can do a more thorough exam.” “Thanks, Doc” answered Kai.
While Kai worked with Commander Chase, Jesse and Lucy spoke with the ranch hands and Mr Kahale, the owner of the ranch. Mr Kahale was clearly shaken by Moore’s death. “Who would do something like this? He was a kid with a big heart. Have you told his parents? Does Marcus know?”
“Our investigation is in its beginning stages, Mr Kahale. We will notify the family now that a positive ID has been made. Anything you can tell us about Moses and his work here is a big help” assured Lucy.
While Mr Kahale was eager to help in the investigation, the ranch hands, Jeffry Akana and Carlos Montoya, were less than helpful. Akana seemed irritated by their questions. Claimed he had minimal contact with Moore. Montoya had only been with the ranch six months and didn’t have much to share.
The team returned to Pearl to find Jane and Ernie in the War Room. “What do you have?” asked the SAC. “Seems like Moses Moore was a great kid. Enlisted last year after graduating high school. The oldest of two children. Has a younger brother, Marcus, who has special needs. From what we learned; Moses doted on his little brother. He’s the reason Moses volunteered at the ranch” started Jesse. “Kid’s been volunteering for the past 4 years with the ranch’s special needs after school program. Helps with the kids, the horses, even so much as mucking the stalls.”
“I did a background check, and the kid is a saint” quipped Ernie. “Good grades in high school, no debt, no run ins with the law, just a good kid. Parents seem like good people too. With not much on the Moore family, I turned to the group at The Kahale Ranch. Albert Kahale, third generation rancher, inherited the ranch about 10 years ago. His goal was to improve the ranch’s image and public presence and he’s succeeded. He’s a community activist and loved amongst the locals. Looked at his financials and doesn’t seem to be hiding anything.”
Jesse piped up, “we got the impression Kahale was a stand-up guy. Seemed really upset by Moore’s death. Answered all of our questions and mentioned he’s going to help take care of any funeral costs. On the other hand, my ‘Spidey Senses’ flared up when we met Jeffrey Akana. Guy seems like a real dirtbag. The other ranch hand, Montoya, didn’t have much to say. Just started at the ranch.”
“Thanks, Ernie,” said Jane. “I’d like you to investigate the two ranch hands, Carlos Montoya and Jeffrey Akana. I have a gut feeling that there’s a connection to the ranch. Lucy, check in with Commander Chase to see if there are any significant autopsy findings. Jesse, talk to the family. Kai, head out to the base and talk with his CO. We need to find out more about this sailor.” “Yes, boss” answered the team in unison. As the team departed from the War Room, Whistler approached.
Calm and collected on the outside, she was a nervous wreck inside. Since Cara’s arrival (and immediate departure), her interactions with the Team (well, Lucy) were less than positive. The last thing she wanted to do was to make Lucy upset again. No matter what she tried; it was never right. But she couldn’t stop doing her job because of Lucy. So, she pulled herself together and entered the War Room.
“Hi Jane. I have some information that might be helpful.” “Hey, Whistler. Right now we have nothing, so anything is helpful.”. “I was going through some of our recently closed cases and stumbled upon the name Graham Akana. He’s Jefferey Akana’s older brother. Was put away early last year for his involvement in drug smuggling and distribution. Not a nice guy.”
“This is good info. I’ll have Ernie see what else he can dig up on Graham. Thanks, Whistler. And, you don’t have to tiptoe around the office. A certain someone left to talk with Chase,” Jane added with a soft smile. Reading people was one of Jane’s strengths. She could see that Kate and Lucy missed each other. Kate was afraid of hurting Lucy again, while Lucy couldn’t get beyond her hurt right now. She hoped it wouldn’t go on for too much longer. One grump in the office was enough, two was getting to be a bit much.
The team reconvened after lunch. Well, Ernie came running through the Bullpen with his squeaky Crocs rambling about everything he’d found. “Whistler pointed us in the right direction! The Akana family has connections with, I guess you’d call it, the drug arm of the Bratva. Meet Paul Akana, father of Graham and Jeffrey. Started out as a low-level runner back in the late seventies. Worked his way up and oversaw everything on the Island and SoCal. Killed in an FBI shootout in 2003. Graham followed in papa’s footsteps. Started running in late high school. Moved to the mainland in 2010 to oversee imports in Seattle. Arrested in 2021. Baby brother appeared to have escaped the life. Graduated high school and went to community college and studied communications. Works part-time at both The Kahale Ranch and Huntington Stables.”
“Excellent work, Ernie. Let’s shift our focus ov-“ but Jane was cut off.
“I have more, Boss” Ernie interjected. “Jeffrey Akana has come into a bit of money over the past few years. Like a $50,000 deposit here and there. Don’t ask me how, but I found his pay stubs from both employers and the extra dough wasn’t from overtime. I also looked at each facility. Kahale Ranch is on the up and up. Huntington Stables seems a bit sketchy.”
“Sketchy how?” questioned Jesse.
“Huntington Stables markets itself as a premier horse breeding farm, producing show and race horses from the best pedigrees. Problem is, they haven’t produced any winners in over five years. In the red for at least that long. But their facilities are state of the art.”
“Hmm. Lucy, what did you learn from Chase?”
“Seaman Moore died from blunt force trauma to the head. Two blows; one to the face and one to the R side of his head. He likely was struck once in the face and then turned to run, and the attacker hit him in the back of the head. Instrument was likely something round and skinny. Likely metal. But what was interesting, are the traces of cocaine she found on his shirt. Almost like someone grabbed him by the front of his shirt during an argument.”
“Interesting. Look, it’s getting late. Let’s call it a night and hit things with fresh eyes tomorrow morning. Jesse, pair up with Lucy and head out to the Stables. Hopefully you’ll learn more about Akana and his time there. I’ll go with Kai and interview Akana. I have a feeling he’ll lead us to something. Ernie, continue with your dive on the Akana family and Huntington Stables. Get some rest and I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
“Night, Boss” responded the tired foursome.
Morning came much earlier than anticipated. Lucy hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in who knows how long. Well, she knew exactly how long. It was since that bitch, Cara, arrived and ruined everything. Since then, she went back and forth between anger and sadness. Across town, Kate was feeling the same. Her bed was empty, and she couldn’t bring herself to see Lucy’s sad brown eyes. She didn’t know how much more she could apologize. Every time she tried; it made Lucy angrier. She tried giving her space, but that seemed to make things worse. Oh well, duty called, and Lucy and Kate pulled themselves out of bed and marched on with their days.
Jesse and Lucy headed out to Huntington Stables. Charles Huntington couldn’t meet with them, but the Stable Manager, Wally, was more than happy to show them the grounds. With her wealthy background, Lucy was well versed in horse breeding and the money it took to run such an establishment. When they arrived on the grounds, she could see that substantial renovations had been done. “There must be at least $5-10 million worth of equipment in this place. What’s weird is that there aren’t many horses around” Lucy told Jesse. “Excuse me, Wally, where do you keep the prize studs and mares?”
“That’s an excellent question!” You could see Wally’s enthusiasm grow as he started to talk. “Our facility is unique in the sense that we help customer’s procure genetic material and assist with the insemination process. We don’t actually have any horses of our own.”
“Um, genetic material?” asked Jesse.
“What Wally is trying to tell us, is that Huntington helps horse owners acquire sperm from champion studs at other facilities and then inseminates the mares here on the grounds. Right?” interjected Lucy.
“Exactly!” Wally was even more excited now. “We reach out to our worldwide contacts and have the sperm harvested and stored in special containers that are cooled to specific temperatures. We also keep a library of frozen sperm for our customers who wish to continue with a specific blood line for years in the future. If you come with me, I can show you where we keep everything. It’s absolutely fascinating!”
“I bet” said Jesse while arching his eyebrows in mild disbelief. As they followed Wally, Jesse mumbled to Lucy, “so this is what rich people do for fun…freeze horse sperm?” “Well, there are only so many charity benefits and galas to attend” Lucy said with a wink.
Wally led them into the insemination laboratory. “Here are our freezers. And over there, are our special refrigerators that are specifically set to 40 degrees. These samples must be used within 24-48 hours of procurement. As you can see, we actually have two samples ready. The mares are coming in later this afternoon for insemination. You can stay and watch if you want!”
It was kind of fun to see someone so excited about their job. Lucy hated to burst his bubble, so she let him down gently. “Thanks, Wally. That’s a generous offer. But we really need to head back to the office. You’ve been more than helpful. Before we go, I do have one last question. What does Jeffrey Akana do at the Stables?” Lucy smiled because out of the corner of her eye she could see Jesse mouth “thank you.”
“Oh him” Wally’s tone had lowered, and his enthusiasm was gone. “He’s been here part time for about 5 years. He helps with procuring the specimens. You know. Getting the shipments, logging them, and making sure their properly stored.”
“You don’t seem to care for him much” Jesse stated. “Any reason why?”
“He’s very good at his job. But there’s something about him I don’t trust. Ever since he started, there’s been a lot of new faces. I keep my nose out of it. I’ve been here for 15 years and don’t plan on retiring anytime soon.”
“Thanks again for your time, Wally” Jesse said extending his hand. “We’ll be sure to reach out if we think of anything else.”
The team reconvened at Pearl later that morning. Once takeout was ordered, they did a rundown of the morning’s interviews. Lucy shared their findings. Kai and Jane learned that the group at Kahale Ranch had similar feelings on Akana. They also learned that many new faces were coming around the Ranch asking for Jeffrey. All hours of the day. Akana, again, wasn’t very forthcoming with information and shut down completely with the mention of his family. After each pair did their debrief, Ernie and Kate excitedly entered the War Room with news. “We…” the duo stated in unison. “After you” Ernie said motioning to Kate.
“Thanks. Ernie and I went through financials and shipping records. Huntington is in the red. But they’ve managed to dole out $7 million for a state-of-the-art facility. They import sperm from various ranches. Shipments typically come express freight. Ernie found a pattern with the shipments.”
Ernie took over the presentation and with a click of a few buttons, projected shipping manifests onto the War Room screens. “Turns out the number of shipments exceeds their insemination roster. Those that we could match to the roster were signed for by Wally Foster. Those that we couldn’t match were signed for by Jeffrey Akana.”
“Great work, team,” said Jane. “Right now, most of what we have is circumstantial. Let’s work on crossing the T’s, dotting the I’s, and nail the guy.”