Smiling to himself, he placed the last piece of garland across the doorway leading the office beyond. The sign on the door proclaimed the name of the leader of this dedicated group of people. He would have to move fast though because the top two occupants of this office frequently either worked late or came in early, hours ahead of the rest.

‘Now for the final touch.’ Taking four leafy silver gray bit of stems adorned with a thin red ribbon out of his sack, he secured to them in the middle of each doorway. After which a little bit of frosted dusting was sprinkled on each stem. Standing back, he surveyed his handiwork. Satisfied he smiled. ‘Just the right touch. They have all worked hard for this,’ he said touching his finger to the side of his nose and disappeared.

*****

“You do good work, Danny,” said Jenny when she saw the young detective come into the office.

He stopped and looked at the colorful items, which had mysteriously appeared. “I didn’t do this Jen. Both Steve and I were out on a stake out late last night. Kono and Chin took over our watch at 1 AM but we didn’t come back here.”

“Well, someone did,” said Jenny looking at the draped garland and festive decorations placed around the office.

“Maybe we should check to see who might have signed in or out during the night,” Danny told her as he opened the door to McGarrett’s office. Inside he noticed the stark lack of holiday decoration. “Well, they didn’t get in here,” he said after closing the door.

“Thanks Fred. I’ll let Danny know,” said Jenny who had called the security desk downstairs per Danny’s request. “Fred said no one checked in or out after you and the boss left last night.”

Suspicious of the fact that someone had broken in, Danny walked over to his office. “Don’t touch anything else right now Jen. I need to get Che up here,” Danny told her, concerned that a breach of security had happened.

*****

“And Che couldn’t find any clues?” asked McGarrett handling the end of one of the garlands. He had arrived later that morning after having a meeting with the Governor.

“Nothing, not even a smudge of a print other than ours,” replied Danny.

“Maybe Kono and Chin did it before they took over their turn on the stake out,” suggested Jenny.

“Maybe, but I don’t think so,” said McGarrett looking around to see if anything else had been touched or moved. “Well, it doesn’t look like thing else was touched, so let’s get back to work. Two HPD officers replaced Kono and Chin earlier this morning so we’ll need to work out our next step.”

“It doesn’t look like Stoner Wild is going to make any type of move soon,” commented Danny.

“I’ve got a feeling he will Danno. He’ll need a fix and soon and that’s when he’ll lead us right to who’s his supplier is.” Having opened the lanai doors, the tall detective stood at the threshold looking out at the bright sunlit park. Groundskeepers were putting up decorations on the temporary bandstand erected for the various bands playing Christmas songs this year on the Palace grounds.

Joining his boss at the door, he noted how similar the garland down there looked. “You don’t think some of them could have done this?”

“Hmmm, what?” Looking again at the bedecked area, McGarrett shook his head. “No, if they had, how did they get in and where are their prints?”

“True,” Danny agreed. The Wild case was just a normal case and it should break soon, but the appearance of the decorations was a true mystery. He would need to see about beefing up security a bit more.

*****

‘Somehow I knew he’d be here,” the entity silently said. With a cherub type of smile, he went about his work. Finished for now, he surveyed his work. Waving his hand, a spattering of dust fell over the sleeping man. ‘This should help some.’

*****

Danny came in early the next morning. He had checked with the security desk before going up to the office. He had noted that McGarrett hadn’t checked out during the night. He knew what that meant - his boss had again spent the night on the white couch in his office.

Shaking his head and smiling, he bounded up the stairs. Once inside, he noted the coffee pot was empty. After fixing some, he poured two mugs of the dark brew. Gripping both mugs in one hand, he opened the door to McGarrett’s office. As soon as he entered, he stopped dead in his tracks almost dropping the mugs.

There before him were more seasonal decorations, only these were draping the windows and the edge of the big Koa wood desk. He glanced around for a second more before noticing his boss sound asleep on the couch.

Placing the mugs upon the desk, he walked over to his friend. “Steve,” he said gently shaking McGarrett’s shoulder.

Waking up almost immediately, McGarrett looked up at the perplexing expression of his young friend.

“I thought you said you didn’t put those things up in the outer office,” stated Danny pointing to the newest collection of decorations.

Rubbing his eyes for a second, McGarrett looked around his office, in particular to where Danny was pointing. Raising his eyebrows, he got up. “I didn’t.”

“Then how did these get in here?”

“I’m not sure,” McGarrett said surveying his office.

Going over to the phone, Danny called Che Fong. “I suppose he’ll find the same thing in here. Whoever is doing this is crafty - really crafty.”

“Yeah and I don’t like it having someone being able to break in without us knowing about it.”

“Shoot, you were here and you didn’t even know how they got in,” Danny commented.

McGarrett shot him a warning look. “Well, while we wait for Che, how did the stake out go?” he asked after opening his bottom drawer to retrieve his shaving kit he always kept there.

“We got a break. Officer Olena and I caught him red-handed making a deal with none other then Cory Sapid,” replied Danny with a big smile. This had been the last big case this month and everyone wanted it closed before the holidays.

“Oh really? I was wondering when he was going to pop up. I take it you’ve made them both reservations in their own eight by ten cells.” McGarrett had finished his shave and walked over to the small restroom attached to his office.

*****

“I’m not surprised Che didn’t find anything again,” said Jenny smiling at how the person had decorated his boss’s office had bedecked the room. She examined how the garland had been attached to the desk. An almost unperceivable piece of tape secured it to the polished wood. The small ornamental balls were of blown glass and looked hand painted. Each one had a different Christmas scene on it along with what looked like the date it was done.

“Why do you say that?” asked McGarrett.

“Well, just take a look at what has been put up and when. It’s just as plain as can be,” she said with conviction.

“How so?”

“Well, for years we’ve all been so busy at this time of year that we’ve failed to spruce up our office. After all, we are here almost more than we are at home. I’m not surprised that a ‘spirit of Christmas’ has done this.”

“Huh? You think it was some sort of spook?” asked a disbelieving Irishman who now unknowingly stood directly under the mistletoe positioned above the doors to the lanai.

“Not a ‘spook’ but a spirit, what else could it have been?” replied Jenny, who walked over to plant a kiss upon his cheek.

Danny struggled to suppress a chuckle. Smiling, he watched his friend’s expression.

A rosy flush crept up the cheeks of the Five-0 chief. Not normally one for open affections, he didn’t know what to do about the brazen forwardness of his usually reserved secretary.

“Uh hmmm, okay everyone - let’s get back to business,” ordered McGarrett.

*****

‘I think this will fit in just nicely here,’ he said. Several small fine-bone porcelain figurines were placed beneath a wooded covering where a scattering of straw was laid. A brilliant star was positioned above the covering and a halo’d winged angel hovered between the two, their hands pressed together in prayer, their eyes soft and jubilant.

*****

“Oh my. This is nice,” said Lani, one of the other secretaries in the Five-0 office.

“What’s that?” asked Jenny stepping over to her co-worker’s side.

“This nativity scene. Did you bring that in?”

Jenny looked over the heavenly setting and marveled at the complexity of each piece. “Oh my, how beautiful. No, I didn’t bring it in, but I think I know who might have.”

“Oh? Who?”

“Well, as you know there’s a mystery as to who’s been putting up all these decorations. If it isn’t Steve, it’s got to be the Spirit of Christmas,” Jenny said with conviction.

“No way,” Lani replied, “I don’t think there’s actually a spirit - like that of a ghost - but the spirit within. Maybe it’s one of the other guys. You know how much Kono likes to celebrate Christmas.”

“If it’s one of them, then they aren’t owning up to it when the boss has questioned them.”

“True, but I still think it’s one of them. It’s got to be. Who else could it be?”

*****

‘Nice, very nice. This should help with the feeling.’ The apartment he entered was clean and neat, just like the desk this person occupied during the day. Noiselessly he went about his business, placing a decoration here or there. The closed door to the bedroom was no boundary for him. The slow evenly measured breathing told him the occupant in the bed was deep in sleep. He smiled as he waved his arm above the sleeping person.

‘Two down and ten to go,’ he said placing his finger against the side his nose.

*****

Danny stormed into the Five-0 office. While he was a little later than normal, he was put out that the mysterious break ins had now included his own home.

“Steve, we’ve got to do something about these break ins,” he said as he plopped down in one of the chairs in front of the large desk.

“Why? What’s gone on now?” asked McGarrett.

“Whoever it is, they’ve now started to do things elsewhere and it’s getting spooky. I woke up this morning to find garland put up all over my apartment and a couple of mistletoe at each of the doorways.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t one of your many girlfriends?”

“No way! None of them have a key to my place.”

“Interesting. And all of this happened while you were asleep?”

“Yeah, like I said, it’s getting spooky.”

“Maybe you’re just over reacting. Do you want Che to go over your place?” suggested McGarrett. He was serious but having some fun too watching his young friend squirm.

“Nah, I don’t think he’d find anything. But we’ve got to do something about it. What if they hit the other’s homes?”

“Well, if they do, I don’t think any harm is meant. After all, all they do is decorate.”

*****

‘An interesting man, this Hawaiian, while he’s dedicated, he’s also the one who believes the most. It shouldn’t take more than a blink to complete this mission.’ Finished, he walked over to the side of the bed. The light dusting slowly settled onto the lone occupant. Satisfied, he left. These simple actions were repeated at two other homes.

*****

“I’m tellin’ ya Steve, someone was there!” an excited Kono said chomping down on one of the many pastries Jenny had brought in.

“Join the crowd. Both Lani and Jenny had their visitor last night too,” Danny told him.

“This just isn’t right man. We’ve got to stop them, whoever they are,” Kono told him. In mid-bite, he stopped and put the pastry down as he quickly walked over to Lani who was standing under the mistletoe above his cubical door. Once there he reached over and gently turned her had so she faced him and gave her a kiss.

Surprised, Lani blushed giving him a big smile. “Why Kono, I didn’t know you cared so much.”

“Huh? Oh yeah, I do but I can’t explain why I did that, but I liked it,” Kono confessed, his tan skin flushing.

Lani laughed at the big Hawaiian’s discomfort. “So do I.”

*****

‘This one is easy. Cupid was right, he’s ripe for the picking but so is she,’ he said sweeping both of his arms over the sleeping couple. He didn’t put up any garland, but instead replaced the old ones with new. ‘They’ve had the spirit for years. Only right to replace the old with the new. Goodnight lovers. May the spirit of Christmas remain as fresh in your hearts as it was during your first one with you first blessed child.’

*****

“I don’t know why all of you are upset. Nothing has happened at my place,” proclaimed Chin Ho Kelly.

“Nothing? How did you manage to not be visited?” asked McGarrett. It had looked like everyone in the office was going to be affected by this mysterious visitor. So far each night this month, someone came back in saying they were intruded upon.

“I don’t know Steve, but we were affected,” said Chin. “Maybe Duke had the visitor. Has he shown up yet?”

“He called and said he’d be in later. Had to go see about his daughter’s car. It blew a tire on the freeway and got towed. She doesn’t have the money to get it out, so she called ‘papa’.” Just as he finished, his desk phone rang.

“Chin Ho, Five-0.”

“Chin, Mia. Did you buy new ornaments?” Mia had told her husband she was going to pull down the boxes of Christmas decorations so they could start putting them up. When she went out to the garage, she couldn’t find the old boxes anywhere, but found several boxes of new bulbs and garland. Even the old lights were gone, replaced with new.

“No, I thought we were going to wait a few more years to do that. Why what’s happened?” Chin asked her.

“Well, all the stuff is gone, nothing is there…”

“You mean we’ve been robbed?” Chin asked interrupting her.

“I don’t know. But there are new boxes where the old ones were. Remember, we went through them last month and set them down on the floor after sorting through them,” she told him.

“Yeah. A lot of them were almost shot.”

“Well, they’re pau - gone - no where to be found,” Mia told her husband.

“Don’t touch anything. I will be right over,” he told her. After hanging up, he explained to the others what had happened. “Do you think Che can find anything?”

Both McGarrett and Danny shook their heads. “I don’t think so. Why don’t you and Kono go check it out? If it does look like we might have something, then call Che, but there’s no sense in having him waste his time.”

“Right Steve,” both he and Kono said as they left.

*****

“How many more years do you have before you get to go to college Tommy,” Kono asked the eldest of the Kelly clan.

“Year after next. Dad wants me to do something other than to go into law. I thought I’d get my business license and go into management, maybe of some big hotel or something,” Tommy told him eagerly his mother giving him a hug and Chin beamed with pride.

“Good boy,” Kono told him. The four of them walked into the garage. There on the floor were about eight large boxes. Even from the garage door, they could tell these boxes were new. There wasn’t any of the dents or dust on them like old boxes would have had, plus the boxes were sealed up tight with tape, not the folded over portions the old boxes had.

“You looked for the old ones?” Chin asked Mia.

“You bet Dad. She came back inside asking me if I had moved the boxes, but I haven’t been in the garage at all this week,” Tommy chipped in before his mother could answer.

“They’re not anywhere Chin,” replied Mia. “We’ve looked. I even went over to old Mike’s asking him if he saw anyone near the garage. He said he hadn’t seen anyone.”

“This is freaky Dad,” said Tommy following Kono over to the front of the old stone garage. His gaze followed each of Kono’s moves as the detective looked and felt for any signs of forced entry.

“Just like the other cases - nothing,” said Kono. “The boss is right though, no sense sending Che over here.”

“So what are we to do with this new stuff?” asked Mia.

Shrugging his shoulders, Chin walked over to one of the boxes, picked it up and walked towards the house. “Might as well use them.”

*****

‘Good thing Sandy gave me some of his sand,’ he said blowing a small handful of the precious material towards the tall lean silver haired Hawaiian. The affect happened quickly. Barely able to stifle a yawn, the man got up, stretched for a minute before going into his bedroom in preparation of going to bed.

Once the man had laid down sleep came fast. Seeing this, he went into the other room, there his work commenced. ‘He’ll enjoy this. Even his new girlfriend will like it,’ he said as he put on the final touch. As with the others, he swept his arm over the bed of the sleeping man.

The next stop was to Lahala’s home, Duke’s present girlfriend. There he didn’t have to do much work as she was already in bed and sound asleep.  ‘Nine down, one to go. And there will just be enough time to do all of this before the big day.’

*****

The alarm clock blared in Duke’s ear. Reaching up, he slapped it off. Yawning, he rubbed his grit-filled eyes.

“Damn, I was tired. That’s the first good night’s sleep I’ve had in a long while,” he said to himself.

After showering and dressing, he went out to get his breakfast. When he stepped into his livingroom, he stopped. Everything had been festively decorated. There was even room made for a tree, if he so wanted one, something he didn’t normally bother with, what with being single.

“Well, I’ll be. I guess it was my turn,” he said walking over to the small kitchen.

A half an hour later, he walked into the Five-0 office. “Hey Steve, the ghost of Christmas present visited me last night.”

“Not you too? This is a bit much. So when will all of this end?” said Kono.

“Probably at Christmas. Didn’t you label this anomaly ‘the Spirit of Christmas’ Jenny?” asked McGarrett. So far none of their efforts had brought any answers to this mystery, but for some reason, he wasn’t really worried about it. It didn’t seem to threaten anyone and only added to the enjoyment of this year’s holiday.

“Yes, I had. I guess I’ve sort of accepted it in a way. Speaking of Christmas, has everyone finished their shopping? Remember, you’ve only got today and tomorrow. Christmas is right around the corner. And don’t forget, the party is here in the office this year,” Jenny said reminding everyone to be there.

*****

‘One more stop and this is a special one,’ he said. The apartment was impeccably clean with a very feminine feeling yet a contemporary one too. A large parrot saw him enter, but the bird didn’t squawk at the sight of the stranger. He knew who this was and felt comfortable being in his presence as did other animals when he came near.

‘Is she up there Buddy?’ he asked the bird looking up at the open stairway leading to the bedroom. ‘Have you watched over her? She’s special you know, the only one for him. His love for her will be carried by him for a long time, even after she’s gone.’ The bird didn’t make any noise, just cocked his head to the side and then bobbed it up and down in agreement.

‘She’s perfect, but now to make sure this year is special for the two of them,’ he said lightly dusting her with the special frosting made up just for her.

‘I’ll have to hurry though if I’m going to put in the final touches everywhere. Tomorrow night I’ll almost be to busy to do them. But I think this will work out fine.’ Satisfied with the final touch, he once again laid his finger next to his nose before disappearing.

*****

The party was set for 4 PM, an hour before everyone would leave. It almost seemed like the all the criminals on the island had taken off for the holidays. No one was reporting any acts of crime anywhere.

“Steve, you’ve outdone yourself again. This ham is great. You’ve got to give me the recipe for it,” proclaimed Mia.

“All I did was mix some brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and pineapple juice together and put it in the oven.”

“Really, it’s so simple. Mine has never come out this favorable and tender,” Mia told him. Impulsively, she reached over, grabbed his shirt to pull his head down before planting a kiss on his cheek.

“Moving in on my gal, Boss?” Chin Ho teasingly asked his boss stepping over to his wife’s side.

A bit flustered at the charitable act, McGarrett flushed as he searched for the right words to respond. “I…a…”

“Sorry Mr. McGarrett, I couldn’t help it. Look what you’re standing under,” Mia told him pointing upward.

Above him was another mistletoe. Shaking his head, McGarrett smiled and returned the peck on the cheek. “Merry Christmas Mia.”

“Merry Christmas Steve. You’ll need to watch were you stand you know. Tis the season,” she told him then she and her husband walked over to the tree.

“Hey, Boss, when did you do all this?” he asked pointing to the Christmas tree. Beneath it were several gifts wrapped in holiday paper.

“I didn’t, I thought maybe one of you did, what with all the other stuff being done,” McGarrett said handling one of the presents under the tree. His eyebrows shot up when he realized it had his name on it.

A knock at his office door interrupted any further conversation. Jenny walked over and opened it. “Lahala, how great it was that you could make it. Duke’s over there next to Kono who hasn’t managed to eat everything on the table.”

Lahala walked over to the table and put down her tray a pu’pus delicacies, which made Kono smile. “Leave some for the others Kono,” she teased the big Hawaiian, stretching up a little to give him a peck on the cheek.

“I don’t get much of these, you know,” Kono said biting into one of the coconut cake squares she had made.

“Don’t believe a word he says. He’s got enough girlfriends to bake a ton of it for him. By the way, where is Vicki?” Danny asked him.

“She’s visiting her parents on the mainland,” replied Kono who now saw Lani standing over at his cubical. A compelling feeling came over him, making him set down his plate and walk over to the youngest of the three women present.

Normally a quiet and reserved woman, Lani had only been with the office six months. Jenny’s plea of getting help had landed her the job. Secretly, she had a crush on the Hawaiian behemoth and deliberately offered her secretarial skills to him. Seeing him start to walk over to her, she contemplated wither or not she should meet him half way or try to avoid him. She decided, instead, on staying put. Her decision rewarded her when Kono slipped his muscular arm around her waist pulling her closer so he could plant a kiss square on her lips. For the rest of the evening, the two were inseparable.

*****