Years earlier than this, in Cabot Cove, a widowed Rebecca Kinkaid (Nina Foch) stayed with her now-widowed son, Matt Kinkaid (Ken Howard), and his two young sons, Jeff Kinkaid (Ted Henning) and Danny Kinkaid (Robert Duncan McNeill), who have since relocated to Honolulu, Hawaii, to operate a nearby sugar plantation, and, subsequently, a hotel, which Matt manages, while his now-adult suns support opposing candidates for an open seat in this year's Hawaiian Senate race.
Danny Kinkaid serves as campaign manager for "Family Values" platform candidate D.A. Randall Thompson (Tom Hallick), they operating a somewhat positive campaign, or at least until a spy from the opposing camp videotapes the married candidate Thompson in a park after dark in the close company of a young female.
Jeff Kinkaid has been nominated by his party as that opposing candidate, with a staff which includes his buddy Boone Aldrich (Marty Rackham), plus Campaign Manager Liz Dougherty (Gretchen German), who each tries to convince Jeff to broadcast the scandalous Thompson footage, which would probably conflict with his family values platform.
Danny, however, requests that his brother's camp destroy the tape, while running errands one day, when he's not busy trying to hack into computers, swimming in the bay, or romancing fiancée Sharon Matsumoto (Tamlyn Tomita), a no-nonsense Detective with the Honolulu Police Department.
When D.A. Thompson asks Danny to get the goods on Banker Brett Reynolds (James F. Kelly), who deals in allegedly illegal campaign contributions for the oppostion with the threatening underworld figure Martin Osborn (David Tress), Danny arranges for the bank to hire computer expert Joe Yoshanaga (Steve Park), from the Thompson campaign, to figure a way to transmit Reynolds' secret file to Danny's computer at the Kinkaid Sugar Mill office because Reynolds' computers have built-in safety devices, which would report file copying.
Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) has by now arrived for a vacation of relaxation, and to visit her dear old friend Rebecca Kinkaid and family although Liz Dougherty has leaked Jessica's arrival to the press, which requests her presence for potential interviews, which Jessica politely declines.
Rebecca and Jessica conduct Hawaiian types of activities, such as enjoying outdoor receptions with the family and their employee Ben Kamaka (Ata Scanlan), as well as Sharon, who accompanies Danny, and Liz, who accompanies Jeff, suggesting that they announce their engagement.
But Jeff maintains that he's too engrossed as the senatorial race takes vindictive turns, and such announcement might appear as a cheap publicity stunt.
And then, as Danny swims into the open bay, a small inflatable motor-craft driver in a duct-tape-patched wet-suit encircles him, pitching buckets of shark bait around his unprotected person, using the raw bait as an intended murder weapon. Jessica observes some of this action from shore, but she nor anyone is able to explain Danny's absence.
Detective Sharon Matsumoto investigates Danny's disappearance, while Jessica snoops around Danny's office, to the objection of D.A. Randall Thompson, but she derives enough of a clue from a memo entry upon his calendar book to figure that Brett Reynolds' secret files have been transmitted to the Sugar Mill, this supported by Rebecca's observation that Danny's motorbike is missing from her porch, and so he may just be alive after all.
Yet as Jessica accompanies Sharon to the Sugar Mill, they discover the computer equipment destroyed, behind someone's holding a pistol over a body, which the standing individual claims to have stumbled across, as the trio encounters a "Death in Hawaii."
The cast is rounded out by Karen Lew as Registration Clerk, Ryal Haakenson as Desk Man, Vern Monnett as Soundtrack Contributor, and Steve Ruge as Matt, Honolulu P.D. Detective.
This episode marks the first acting role for Ata Scanlan, the second of two "MSW" guest roles for Nina Foch, the third of three each for Tom Hallick and Ryal Haakenson, and the sixth of six "MSW" guest appearances for Ken Howard.
Nina Foch, who began her film and television acting career in 1943, has unfortunately since passed.
Danny Kinkaid serves as campaign manager for "Family Values" platform candidate D.A. Randall Thompson (Tom Hallick), they operating a somewhat positive campaign, or at least until a spy from the opposing camp videotapes the married candidate Thompson in a park after dark in the close company of a young female.
Jeff Kinkaid has been nominated by his party as that opposing candidate, with a staff which includes his buddy Boone Aldrich (Marty Rackham), plus Campaign Manager Liz Dougherty (Gretchen German), who each tries to convince Jeff to broadcast the scandalous Thompson footage, which would probably conflict with his family values platform.
Danny, however, requests that his brother's camp destroy the tape, while running errands one day, when he's not busy trying to hack into computers, swimming in the bay, or romancing fiancée Sharon Matsumoto (Tamlyn Tomita), a no-nonsense Detective with the Honolulu Police Department.
When D.A. Thompson asks Danny to get the goods on Banker Brett Reynolds (James F. Kelly), who deals in allegedly illegal campaign contributions for the oppostion with the threatening underworld figure Martin Osborn (David Tress), Danny arranges for the bank to hire computer expert Joe Yoshanaga (Steve Park), from the Thompson campaign, to figure a way to transmit Reynolds' secret file to Danny's computer at the Kinkaid Sugar Mill office because Reynolds' computers have built-in safety devices, which would report file copying.
Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) has by now arrived for a vacation of relaxation, and to visit her dear old friend Rebecca Kinkaid and family although Liz Dougherty has leaked Jessica's arrival to the press, which requests her presence for potential interviews, which Jessica politely declines.
Rebecca and Jessica conduct Hawaiian types of activities, such as enjoying outdoor receptions with the family and their employee Ben Kamaka (Ata Scanlan), as well as Sharon, who accompanies Danny, and Liz, who accompanies Jeff, suggesting that they announce their engagement.
But Jeff maintains that he's too engrossed as the senatorial race takes vindictive turns, and such announcement might appear as a cheap publicity stunt.
And then, as Danny swims into the open bay, a small inflatable motor-craft driver in a duct-tape-patched wet-suit encircles him, pitching buckets of shark bait around his unprotected person, using the raw bait as an intended murder weapon. Jessica observes some of this action from shore, but she nor anyone is able to explain Danny's absence.
Detective Sharon Matsumoto investigates Danny's disappearance, while Jessica snoops around Danny's office, to the objection of D.A. Randall Thompson, but she derives enough of a clue from a memo entry upon his calendar book to figure that Brett Reynolds' secret files have been transmitted to the Sugar Mill, this supported by Rebecca's observation that Danny's motorbike is missing from her porch, and so he may just be alive after all.
Yet as Jessica accompanies Sharon to the Sugar Mill, they discover the computer equipment destroyed, behind someone's holding a pistol over a body, which the standing individual claims to have stumbled across, as the trio encounters a "Death in Hawaii."
The cast is rounded out by Karen Lew as Registration Clerk, Ryal Haakenson as Desk Man, Vern Monnett as Soundtrack Contributor, and Steve Ruge as Matt, Honolulu P.D. Detective.
This episode marks the first acting role for Ata Scanlan, the second of two "MSW" guest roles for Nina Foch, the third of three each for Tom Hallick and Ryal Haakenson, and the sixth of six "MSW" guest appearances for Ken Howard.
Nina Foch, who began her film and television acting career in 1943, has unfortunately since passed.
