A Pound of Pain

 

(Epilogue to “A Thousand Pardons - You’re Dead”)

 

By Sylvia Gurinsky

 

 

Steve McGarrett stood over the bullet-riddled body of Sgt. Simms. “Call the wagon,” he told Kono Kalakaua.

 

He knew there’d be some explaining to do – to HPD internal affairs, and maybe to the district attorney’s office - about the number of bullets, considering Simms apparently had one gun, though he’d drawn it and shot it.

But how many deaths was Simms  responsible for? McGarrett thought. Four widows, one clerk and almost this girl. He couldn’t see Yoko Collins from his vantage point; she’d taken off the moment Danny Williams yelled out to Simms, “You’re under arrest.” He couldn’t see Danno, either, but knew he’d taken off after Yoko.

 

He turned to Chin Ho Kelly, who had just come down the stairs. “Get Chief Dann on the horn,” he said.

 

“It’s the middle of the night,” Chin said.

 

“He’ll be up,” Steve said. And with this investigation, he probably won’t sleep again for weeks.

 

“Where’s Danny?” Chin asked.

 

“He went to find Miss Collins,” Steve said.

 

Then, Steve remembered. Betsy. Who had known a lot more than she’d told him.

 

“Chin, when you’re done, come with me. We need to go back to Betsy’s.”

 

She sensed Danny, just steps behind her. It hadn’t been long, what they’d had. But it had been enough to make an impression on Yoko.

 

“Yoko?” he asked, softly. “Are you all right?”

 

She nodded quickly.

 

He walked up to her. “Are you hurt?” he asked. “Did Simms hurt you in any way physically?”

 

She looked at him. He was serious.

 

“He slapped me,” she said. “I don’t think it did any damage, though. Oh, I swallowed my gum when I ran from him,” she said. “That’s about it.”

 

He smiled. “Come on,” he said. “I’ll get you back upstairs.”

 

Yoko looked up at him. It wasn’t a come-on, she knew that. Then, she looked out and saw a police line and a crowd beyond it. Five-O and HPD had quickly and quietly evacuated the building after Simms had gone inside.

 

Danny noticed them, too, as he put his hand on Yoko’s elbow to lead her back to her apartment. As they walked back, he asked one of the HPD officers, ““Everyone else all right?”

 

“Yeah,” the officer said, “except that guy,” he added, pointing to Simms, still on the ground. Kono and another officer were standing next to the body.

 

Yoko flinched at the sight. Danny put a protective arm around her. “It’s OK,” he said gently, and walked her quickly past, motioning for the officer to walk with them.

 

When they got to the stairwell, he told the officer, “Take Miss Collins upstairs. I’ll be up in a few minutes.” As she looked at him, he nodded. The officer took Yoko up.

 

Danny walked to where Kono was standing over the body. “M.E.’s on his way,” Kono said.

 

“Geez, we got him,” Danny said, looking down at Simms. He sighed. “And then some.” Like Steve, he knew there were going to be a lot of questions. He looked around. “Where’s Steve?”

 

“He went with Chin to Betsy’s. That’s it for that bar,” Kono said. Danny nodded in agreement.

 

“I’m going upstairs,” Danny said. “You might want to give the tenants an update on the situation, when they can go back in to their apartments.”

 

“Yeah,” Kono said. “The girl all right?”

 

“Yeah,” Danny said. Physically, that is.

 

As Steve drove the Mercury, with Chin beside him, he thought back to Betsy’s words when he went to talk to her, right after Anna Stockton Schroder was killed.

 

What was it she had said? “In this lousy world, for every ounce of pleasure, there’s a pound of pain.”

 

Steve McGarrett had known Betsy Baker since he’d come to Hawaii. They’d met when, as the new Five-O head, he came into her bar, investigating the murder of a pool hall worker who’d frequented her place.

 

They’d become friends after they found out they came from the same New York neighborhood. Even though their lives had taken very different paths – Betsy rose from a bar hostess herself to own her own places, first in New York, then Hawaii when crime drove her out of her Brooklyn neighborhood – they shared a kinship that reflected the same modest origins.

 

She’d helped him through the years with a number of cases and had taken Steve’s teatotling ways with good humor.

 

Why? Steve thought to himself. What could have made her bend so that she’d get involved in this kind of scheme? Was it the dough?

 

In that last meeting with him, she’d complained about the high cost of the liquor and business being bad. I thought it was just talk, he mused.

 

He pulled into the lot of Betsy’s bar and parked. He and Chin got out. He heaved a sigh.

 

“Trouble, Boss?” Chin asked.

 

“Yeah, Chin,” Steve said tiredly, as much from the situation as the late hour. “Big trouble.”

 

Back at the apartment complex, Danny had gone back upstairs and inside. He nodded to the young officer; as the officer was going outside, Danny realized someone would have to make a statement to the press.

 

“Tell them I’ll have something for them in about 15 minutes,” he said. The officer nodded and went outside.

 

“Tell who?” Yoko Collins asked, coming out of her bedroom. She’d changed negligees, taking off the brown one and putting on a pink one. This time, though, she’d put a robe over it.

 

“The press,” Danny said.

 

“Oh,” Yoko said.

 

“You may have to deal with them, too, eventually,” Danny said. “And Yoko-“ he hesitated over his next sentence. “McGarrett and Chin Ho Kelly are on their way to Betsy’s. She was getting money from this scheme Simms had.”

 

“He’s arresting her?” Yoko asked. Danny nodded.

 

Suddenly, it all overwhelmed Yoko. The terrifying moments with Simms, the fate of Betsy, whom she liked a great deal, and now, the likelihood that she was out of a job. She collapsed to the sofa and began to cry.

 

Danny sat next to her and put an arm around her. She cried on his shoulder. He took out a handkerchief and gave it to her.

 

“So, Danny Williams, where did you learn that corn-fed courtesy?” Yoko asked when she’d managed to get down to a sniffle here and there.

 

“Down the road,” Danny said.

 

“You’re Hawaiian?” Yoko asked. This man was full of surprises.

 

“Yeah, I was born here,” Danny said, and gave Yoko a brief description of his early life, which both fascinated and horrified her as she heard the sad news of his parents’ and uncle’s demise.

 

He’d started to tell her about his coming to Five-O when there was a knock at the door. Kono stuck his head in. “They want you,” he said, meaning the press.

 

Danny took a deep breath and let it out. He looked at Yoko.

 

“You’d better get some rest,” he said. “It’s late.”

 

“Guess that’s it, huh?” Yoko asked. They looked at each other.

 

Danny stood up. “Thank you again for doing this,” he said.

 

He had turned around when Yoko called his name. He turned back to her.

 

“I want to hear the rest of your story, someday,” she said. “Anyway, it looks like I’ve got time.” She gave a small smile.

 

He walked back to her and gave her a brief kiss. “I want to hear your story, too,” he said, smiling back. Then, he turned and walked out, to the press.

 

Betsy Baker sat in the dark, smoking the cigarette attached to the holder, waiting. She’d had the radio on as she’d closed up, and she knew about what had happened to Simms.

 

There was a knock on the door. Betsy knew instantly who it was. “Come in, McGarrett,” she called out.

 

Steve entered, followed by Chin. Steve saw only the glow from Betsy’s cigarette. “Find a light switch,” he told Chin.

 

He stepped forward, slowly. He didn’t think Betsy had any tricks up her sleeve – they’d known each other too long – but he wasn’t taking any chances, either.

 

He stopped in front of her, just as Chin found the light switch next to the door and turned it on. Betsy was dressed in her usual pink, still made up from the previous night’s business. She looked up at him.

 

“Grab a chair, both of you,” she said.

 

Steve took a chair and sat, motioning for Chin to do the same.

 

“What happened?” Steve asked.

 

“Well, I told you about business being bad,” Betsy said.

 

“You have lots of friends, Betsy,” Steve said. “They would have been willing to help you.” Including me, he added silently.

 

“C’mon, McGarrett,” she said, between cigarette puffs. “You’re from the same place I am. You know about asking for charity-“

 

“Asking for charity would have been a lot better than what you did, Betsy,” Steve said, shaking his head. “And you could have helped us out – it would have helped you.”

 

Betsy nodded in agreement. “I’m not that smart,” she said.

 

“Yeah, you are,” Steve said. “You did a dumb thing – a very dumb thing. But you’re a smart dame.”

 

Betsy sighed and stood up. Steve and Chin rose when she did. “If I were really smart, I’d have figured out a way out of this,” she said, walking over to an ashtray, removing her cigarette from the holder and crushing it out. She held up the holder.

 

“Guess I won’t be needing this for a while,” she said, tossing it to Steve, who caught it.

 

“Maybe you’ll quit smoking, huh?” Steve said, walking over to her.

 

“In jail?” Betsy asked, shaking her head.

 

“Well, I’ll keep it for you,” Steve said, pocketing the holder. He led Betsy by the elbow to where Chin was.

 

“Book her, Chin,” Steve said. Chin started to take her out.

Betsy looked back. “Hey, McGarrett?” she called. Steve looked toward her. “Can you lock up? Key’s next to the cash register. You I trust.”

 

Shaking his head, Steve couldn’t help a small, rueful chuckle. He walked over to the drawer next to the register and pulled out the key.

 

He walked to the door, saw a sign and picked it up to put it outside. As he walked out, he saw that Betsy was already seated in the back of the Mercury, with Chin beside her.

 

Steve locked up and put up the sign, which said, “Closed.”

 

PAU