S09E19 - “Blood Money Is Hard To Wash” - Plot

(Prepared by Bobbi Baker)


Act One

A football game takes place at night in Aloha Stadium with a large crowd in attendance. After the game, the crowds leave and the team cleans up in the locker room as they congratulate their quarterback (John Allen). Two thugs walk into the locker room asking for the Charlie's autograph but they're really there to beat him up!

At Five-O, Danno briefs McGarrett that Frankie Apollo (Clayton Naluai) and another unidentified goon beat up Charlie. Upon being released from the hospital, Charlie identified Frankie right away. Chin says the problem is that the goons are probably back on the mainland. Danno touched base with San Francisco PD and Frankie works for the Jovanko brothers: Albert (John Duke Russo) and Victor (Dane Clark) who are pair of medium-weight syndicate types. Chin adds Victor is in Honolulu, he claims for his health but the brothers'' specialty is money laundering. McGarrett is interested to know the real reason Victor is in Hawaii and wants camera surveillance on Victor, recording "everything he says and does".

Danno and Chin drive to Aloha Stadium trailing Victor there. Danno tells Chin to radio McGarrett as they look over the fancy limousine parked in a fire lane. Inside the stadium, Victor talks to the football team owner (Ed Sheehan) who can't understand why they're talking on the field. Victor tells Burt the place should be sold out with every game with Burt countering if they gave away the seats. Victor wants to know who Burt's been talking to but Burt doesn't give an inch. "Jovanko, I'd rather have cancer than sell my team to you". Victor ignores the comment asking about the quarterback and wondering how many more Burt has. Before he can answer, Danno walks down the stairs to the field. Burt tells Victor he's with Five-O and Victor wants to know what that means. Danno pulls out his badge, "Department of Laundry Inspection". Victor realizes he's at dead end for now telling Burt they'll chat later and leaves with his assistant (Lee Stetson). After they leave, Burt asks Danno when he thinks Victor will be back but if McGarrett has his way, Victor won't be back to bother Burt. They walk to the office with Danno telling Burt all about Victor.

Outside the stadium, Victor tells his associate they'll give it a day then take out another player. The associate warns against this because mainland strong-arm tactics won't work in Hawaii. Victor isn't swayed, "it's just Cleveland with coconuts. The weather may be different, but people are the same all over". Victor notices McGarrett leaning on his limousine but not knowing who he is until his associate says his name. Victor backs off, "I hope your badge isn't scratching my car". McGarrett pulls out an envelope as Victor tells him if it's a subpoena, he can give it to his lawyer/associate. McGarrett hands over a list of flights leaving Honolulu to San Francisco. Victor tells McGarrett he plans on doing quite a bit of flying in the future as he and his brother are looking to make some investments in Hawaii. McGarrett explains he knows the game they play: "I've learned about your new method of laundering money. You buy a legitimate business, such as a football team, and then you use the cash flow from the box office to wash all that dirty money that you make in drugs and other related rackets". McGarrett isn't buying one word of Victor's story of him and his brother being football fans and tells Victor to study the airline schedule carefully as several flights are leaving that afternoon. To put an exclamation point on his conversation, a tow truck arrives to take the limousine away! It's in a tow away zone! "Aloha, gentlemen". Victor isn't happy, "what do you wanna bet he makes pig of the month?"

Victor is out on a golf course discussing business with another associate Nathan (Jim Demarest) who isn't awake yet. As they play on, Victor offers to buy his two nightclubs as Nathan looks to close one. Victor offers him $500,000 for both because he likes Hawaii. Nathan smiles big at the offer but Victor looks down the hill at Chin in an observation van! Victor becomes enraged whacking the golf ball with everything he's got! Nathan says, "Not much height, but it was a straight ball, Victor".

At Five-O, they watch the film on Victor so far including his hissy fit on the golf course! The next place they see him is Kaneohe talking to another guy with Chin adding he made an offer on two buildings. Upon seeing the van again, Victor ducks back inside after trying to tear up the police equipment! The next spot is Victor having lunch with his lawyer and another man toasting a deal. Victor loses it again finding a microphone in a centerpiece throwing it toward the camera while cussing out the police. McGarrett and the Five-O team get some laughs from Victor's antics. McGarrett wants them to stay on him but with two men to a car because he foresees things getting rough before it's all over.

Victor paces his hotel suite as his lawyer warns him of not using rough tactics against Five-O like they did in San Jose. Victor is on edge because he's made no progress in five days. His lawyer warns against getting his heart rate up as his wife (Jo Anne Worley) gripes about Victor's blood sugar. She chides him to calm down and he knows she's right. Victor tells Ed that McGarrett is disposable while Ed tells him not to make it personal. As his wife makes him sit down to give Victor his insulin shot, the phone rings: it's Albert wanting to know what's going on and he's not too happy about not hearing from Victor for five days. Victor says, "say hello to Officer McGarrett ... Yeah, scoutmaster, Troop Five-O". Victor says he'll call back on a "clean phone".

Victor goes out to the sidewalk calling collect from a phone booth! He tells Albert about McGarrett being all over him. Albert doesn't want to hear any of it telling Victor to bribe him with Victor countering that it can't happen, "he's from Sunny-Good Street". Albert then moves on to the team, "what about his men? Some of them are bound to have a sweet tooth". Victor thinks that might be a possibility and Albert tells him in no uncertain terms to make it happen!

Chin is at the supermarket checking out and heads out to his car when a woman (Terry Takada) has a bag rip in front of him. As Chin helps to put up her groceries, she slips a package into one of his bags. Later in McGarrett's office, the package is opened: cash and lots of it! $25,000 "but it's blood money" and Chin laments that it's too bad they can't do something with it. McGarrett gets an idea; maybe they can do something with it!

Act Two

Poolside at the Ilikai Hotel, Victor's wife pleads for him to put his Medic Alert necklace on after he gets out of the pool. He doesn't want to get burned with it in the sun as he lounges in the chair. However, McGarrett interrupts his lounging warning Victor he shouldn't overdo the sun: they are only 20 degrees above the Equator after all. Victor gives McGarrett mouth about having him tapped and filmed but McGarrett tells him they have a warrant. Victor doesn't care, "well, my lawyer says he can throw it out of court and you can get busted down to a meter maid". McGarrett says that would "tragic" going on to tell him they've checked up with his lawyer and discovered the secretary, Betty Watanabe, tried to bribe one of the Five-O team. Victor is stoic wondering if McGarrett has something or if he's "fishing". McGarrett tells him he wouldn't lean on a "philanthropist of your stature," giving Victor a receipt for a $25,000 donation to the Kaahumanu Home for the Handicapped. When his wife compliments him on it, Victor tells her to be quiet and lay down as the bribe just blew up in his face. Victor mentions reclaiming the money and McGarrett would be very interested in seeing how that would work considering the money was a bribe to a police officer! Victor has had enough and his wife isn't happy about how he's acted since they arrived in Hawaii. He makes the decision to pack up and go back to San Francisco even though they are supposed to be there for another two weeks.

In McGarrett's office, Victor tells him in person that he's leaving and that he and Albert couldn't find anything to their liking to invest in. McGarrett isn't sad to see him leave even when Victor compliments him on running a "sharp operation". Danno is as skeptical as McGarrett staring down Victor as he shares the news. When Victor readies to leave, Danno asks, "would you care for a police escort?" as McGarrett chuckles. Once he leaves, Danno asks if McGarrett believes him: "not a word". McGarrett wants Duke to stay with him until his airplane goes wheels up. Later, Duke reports back that Victor is on his way back to San Francisco with no tricks up his sleeve, "unless he's got a parachute".

Victor and his wife land in San Francisco meeting Albert at the airport, as Victor wants to put things into motion right away. They go to a barbershop where Victor changes his appearance. Victor and Albert argue about going back but Victor is determined to move "in on that territory" and Augie (Terry Kiser), who Albert suggests to take over, can't handle McGarrett alone. Albert wonders if Victor isn't letting McGarrett get under his skin as he goes grabs Augie. Victor's wife is really worried now, as he acts more erratic than ever. Victor tells Anna to back off and not asks any other questions. She knows what's up, "It's McGarrett, isn't it? The policeman who came to talk to you about the money? You think he made a fool of you". She tells him to be careful and chases after him to give him his insulin handing it to Augie instead.

Victor and Augie return to Honolulu and begin their plan. Augie follows McGarrett as he returns to Iolani Palace and every other place he goes. Augie takes notes at every stop trying to find a pattern but there really isn't one. When Augie meets back with Victor, time is becoming an enemy as Augie has been following McGarrett for two weeks! Augie realizes there is one place he goes at the same time both weeks: the barbershop. Victor tells him that's it and he needs to contact Rulu to get a car. Victor tells him, "make it fast and make it clean".

Act Three

Augie and another guy cruise the strip mall where the barbershop is located. They keep circling like a shark looking for dinner in the ocean. McGarrett finishes with his haircut as Augie and the driver patrol the street. When McGarrett steps out, Augie aims a sawed-off double barrel shotgun, firing at McGarrett who runs back inside and shoots back!

Danno receives a fast response from HPD on the information McGarrett relayed him earlier. He radios McGarrett who is on his way to the courthouse. Danno tells him a guy giving the fake name of Paul Kalani rented the car from Palm Rental Car Company, returning it two hours later. The address he gave was bogus too, which doesn't surprise McGarrett. He believes "a heavyweight" is behind the attempt and tells Danno to contact San Francisco PD to see if Victor is still in the Bay Area.

At the hotel room, Victor isn't happy but it's not the end of the world. McGarrett didn't see Augie enough for a lineup but he did get the plate number: Rulu told him the police asked about the car. The phone rings: it's Albert wanting to know what progress Victor has made and to ask about the $25,000 donation he made! Albert isn't happy in the least as he's getting heat from other syndicate members and he really doesn't like the statue that was sent. The home that received the donation sent a letter to where Victor was staying and they forwarded it to San Francisco. Victor gets an idea telling Albert the $25,000 is about to pay off in a big way.

Victor goes to visit the home in person talking to the woman (Jean Tarrant) at the front desk. She offers him a tour but he turns it down as he is in kind of a hurry today. However, he takes interest in the statues they make. She tells them the home's residents make them and they sell them and other items as souvenirs. Victor would like to place a special order and the woman is too happy to oblige.

In McGarrett's office, Danno reports San Francisco PD hasn't seen Victor in weeks and they don't know where he is. Chin adds his office says he's in Chicago but it's not confirmed yet. Duke sys no one has reported seeing Victor in Honolulu. They then refocus on the Waimanalo case as Augie walks to the pay phone near the Palace.

The receptionist (E. Lynne Kimoto) takes the call, buzzing into McGarrett's office saying she has the governor on the line. When McGarrett answers, there is nothing but dial tone and he tells Lani they must have been cut off. She tries the governor's office again but is interrupted by a messenger (Gary Kau) walking in delivering a package. Lani accepts the package and takes it into the office. The team teases McGarrett about having a private life after all before Lani opens the box finding a beautiful horse statue and a card from the home. Lani places the horse on a table in the middle of the room and steps out to try the governor's office again. Lani puts the call through and McGarrett realizes too late, they've been set up when the governor tells him he didn't try to call Five-O. The horse explodes!

Act Four

An ambulance and fire truck arrive on scene as not only McGarrett was in the line of fire, but so was the whole team! Danno is by the door kind of out of it but together enough to direct the first responders to McGarrett and Chin. One guy directing the triage gets some rescuers to them before checking on Duke who has a broken arm.

Augie checks in with Victor from the hospital telling him he used enough explosive to "tear the office apart". Augie says he did, but McGarrett has "a rabbit's foot" while the hospital is "turning into a police academy. McGarrett's the top hog" but they may be in luck because McGarrett has been in surgery for a while. Victor wants results sooner rather than later.

Danno waits outside the OR as the doctor (Tommy Fujiwara) steps out. He's optimistic of McGarrett's chances even though he took a beating to include a depressed skull fracture. The doctor recommends Danno take care of himself and he leaves to do that running into Duke asking about McGarrett. Danno also wants to know about Chin who has two fractured ribs but he's okay. Danno orders, "H.P.D. post guards on the ground-floor stairways, as well as the elevators, maintenance doors, kitchen entrances," he wants everyone identified coming and going.

Victor paces the hotel room completely angry and frustrated in that there's no way into the hospital. Augie tells him, "well, that hospital is wall-to-wall pork, Victor. They're checking everybody's ID". Augie suggests backing off but Victor won't hear of it. The phone rings: Victor tells Augie not to answer it this time because he knows it's Albert wanting an update. Suddenly, Victor isn't feeling too good knowing he needs an insulin shot but he gets an idea.

Victor puts himself on the street and in diabetic shock! An ambulance arrives to take him to Queen's Hospital as an orderly mentions his tag. When they wheel him into the Emergency Room, a police officer checks his case and clears it. They settle Victor into his room and he thinks the hospital is in New York but the orderly tells him Hawaii and he needs to rest.

Later, Danno visits McGarrett's room as two HPD officers sit outside in the hall. When McGarrett asks how everyone is doing, Danno tells him they're pretty good considering the circumstances. Chin is even up and around complaining about the food. McGarrett warns Danno that Victor will try again and has a knack for finding "the soft spots" but Danno assures McGarrett "a germ couldn't get in here". McGarrett mentions the "Trojan horse" and Danno says they should have had Che (Harry Endo) check it out first. McGarrett cautions Danno to screen everyone carefully before Danno walks out.

That night, Victor makes his move climbing out of bed grabbing a small gun and silencer hidden in a cassette player. He then makes his way onto the floor where McGarrett's room is. Seeing the two cops by the door, Victor enters the women's room setting a fire in a trashcan. When both officers leave to investigate, Victor sneaks into McGarrett's room firing his gun but the joke is on him as Danno rips back the curtain with his gun drawn and Duke appears on the opposite side! Danno opens a door to reveal McGarrett standing with the aid of crutches telling Victor he was immediately identified by his Medic Alert tag! "Book him, Danno. Attempted murder, five counts".

This plot summary Copyright Bobbi Baker ©2020. No reproduction of any kind without permission.


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