Feedback: Anytime, any place, any where.
Disclaimer: I make no money from this. Starsky and Hutch do not belong to me, I just borrow them, and promise to return them in the same condition I found them in. My characters do belong to me, and I can use them as I see fit, until they start fighting back.
Authors Note: FFQ, I hope this is more to your liking. I hope you let me know. Thanks Eli for all your kind words.
I have named this story, but it may change as I get further into it.
Someone To Cry For Me
Chapter One
It was a cool night. Several police cars had already blocked off the alley along with the surrounding streets, by the time Starsky and Hutch had arrived on scene. The alley was dirty and damp.
The Torino screeched to a halt, headlights on high beams, emergency lights flashing and the red mars light blinking on top of the roof. Both detectives got out of the car, Hutch flipping up the collar of this jacket as Starsky zipped his, to protect them from the chill.
They entered the long dark alley, dumpsters and trash lined both sides. There was a flurry of activity, officers running around collecting evidence. The flashes of the cameras taking photos of the crime scene and the tan coroners van parked in the middle, both back doors opened wide.
The body had already been covered in a crisp white sheet. It lay about forty feet from the back door of an all-night Italian restaurant. Apparently one of the employees was taking out the trash and discovered the brutally beaten body of a young woman.
Two uniformed officers had already taken his statement. Hutch knelt next to the covered body with Starsky standing over him. Officer Tom Whitefield gave the two detectives a synopsis of information gathered so far.
"Body was found approximately 12:10 this morning by Gustave Panderini. Deceased is Caucasian female, between 18-25. Body shows multiple contusions and lacerations, along with several obvious broken bones. No ID found… "The officer handed Starsky a Polaroid taken of the body."
Hutch lifted back the sheet revealing a heavily bruised face. Both he and Starsky winced at the sight of the brutality this young woman must have endured.
Officer Whitefield continued. "… Evidence shows she was killed at another location and dumped here. Preliminary exam by Coroner shows several avulsed teeth, likely caused by traumatic force, left eye dislodged from socket, two missing fingernails…"
"Jesus Christ!" Hutch ran his hand across his face. No matter how many times they were subjected to the evils of man, it never got any easier.
"Have R&I run a cross check with any missing persons reports fitting the victims general description." Starsky instructed Whitefield, waving him on his way. They had heard enough. Starsky knelt next to his partner. "Whatdya thinking'?"
"I'm thinkin' she either pissed someone off pretty badly, or we have a real sicko on our hands." Hutch said, covering the body back up.
"Yeah, I think you're right." He concurred slapping Hutch on the upper back as he stood back up, placing his hands in his jacket pockets. His partner quickly joining him.
Hutch rubbed his hands together blowing warm air into them, his brow furrowed.
"You okay?" Starsky could see the distress on his friends face.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He thought for a moment. "You know , sometimes I just don't get it. I mean, how someone does something so horrific, so barbaric like this…"
Starsky could see that the condition of the body had gotten to Hutch more so than usual. Brutal murders were hard for both of them. They had to learn to turn off their emotions, but sometimes that just didn't work. Especially when it came to women or children.
"Well, I say we find the creep an' keep this from happenin' to anyone else, ever! Whatdya say?" Hutch nodded in silent agreement, trying to fight back the stomach contents rising through his body.
They both returned to the heated interior of the Torino.
"What's say we stop by Huggy's, put some feelers out there." Hutch suggested. "Maybe he can pick up something of the streets."
"Good idea." Starsky replied as he started the car, reviving the engine.
XXXX
They pulled up in front of the Pitts, Starsky parking in the only spot available. He gunned the motor one more time before silencing the engine.
When they walked through the door, they were quickly greeted by their friend.
"Well, well, well, look what the cat drug in." Huggy teased. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked as the two detectives took seats at the bar.
"Hey Huggy." Hutch acknowledged.
"Can I interest you two in a cocktail? Perhaps one of my Huggy specials?" He offered.
"Just coffee for me Hug." Starsky ordered.
"Make that two." Hutch agreed holding up his two fingers.
A disappointed Huggy threw his dish towel over his left shoulder.
"You two are seriously bad for business." The thin black man complained, as he retrieved two saucers and two cups from behind the counters and placed them in front of the detective. "So what brings you two here, in the middle of the night? It sure in the heck ain't my incredible coffee." He said as he filled their cups.
"Need your help, Hug." Starsky explained.
"What else is new? What is it this time? Animal, vegetable or mineral?"
"We got a dead body, about four miles from here. Young woman, white, blond hair, early 20's. Found her in the alley behind Adamo's Italian restaurant." Starsky recapped.
"We want you to keep an ear out, Hug. See if anyone's braggin' 'bout the killing or looking for someone missing, maybe. She was beaten pretty badly," Hutch described. "I'm not sure if they're gonna be able to ID her anytime soon, could you do that for us?"
"Consider it done, my friend."
"Thanks Huggy." Starsky stated, as the two men finished their coffee. The dark-haired detective reached into his pocket, retrieving a 5 dollar bill, throwing it onto the counter. "Keep the change." he said, as he and Hutch rose from the bar and returned to the vehicle.
"Where to now?" Starsky asked, looking to his partner.
"Let's head to the station, see if R&I has come up with any possible leads through missing persons." Hutch responded.
"I also want to cross-check any similar murders, say in the past twelve months, with the same M.O." His partner elaborated.
"You thinkin' serial killer?" The blond asked inquisitively.
"I'm sayin' we can't rule anything out, and I think the sooner we start checkin' into it, the sooner we can rule it out." With that, Starsky cranked the steering wheel sharply, accelerating, causing the Torino's tires to squeal as he pulled a U-turn on the deserted street.
XXXX
Once they were back at the station, which was minimally staffed in the wee hours of the morning, R&I had given Starsky and Hutch a list of about eight similar homicides over the past 12 months, but if they wanted the files, they'd have to pull them themselves, which of course they did.
After collecting all the records they returned to their desks in the empty squad room. The only detectives in at this hour, were ones with no lives, or ones called in on new assignments. Tonight, the detectives felt like they fell into both categories.
With the exception of one of the eight cases, the only similarities were that they were female, under 30. The one case that caught the detective's interests was the murder of a 19 year-old girl about seven months ago. She too, was brutally beaten and apparently tortured before she was eventually killed. It took two months for them to finally identify the body as being that of a teenage runaway from Ohio. She had run away about three years earlier when she was just sixteen. Little was known about her whereabouts from the time she left her family from the time she left her family to the time her corpse turned up. There was speculation that she had been in Bay City for about two years, mostly running the streets, involved in prostitution and small-time drug dealing for a local pimp.
Her name was Cecelia Davis. Other than her family in Ohio, nobody really cared about her death until now. Looking over the file and the photographs of the beaten girl, Starsky and Hutch both felt, they both knew, these two murders were somehow related. Their job now, was to figure out how.
"Hey Starsk? Who was assigned to work the Davis case?" Hutch asked.
Rummaging through the paperwork, Starsky answered, "Knight and Peterson."
Hutch thought for a moment, raising one eyebrow at his partner, who returned the expression. "Aren't they on extended leave? Knight was injured last month."
Snapping his fingers at Hutch, he remembered, "That's right! And Peterson is on vacation, gone for three weeks."
"Yep."
"You mean to tell me that their cases weren't reassigned?" Starsky exclaimed.
"Well, it doesn't look like this one was." Hutch answered.
"What are you sayin'?" Starsky knew exactly what his friend was getting at.
"I think we need to take this case. I think this one and the one for tonight are related. If we solve one, we solve the other." Hutch explained.
"Okay, but I think you better ask Dobey. He's still pissed at me for toilet papering his office and wrapping his furniture in aluminum foil."
"He's still ticked about that?" Hutch chuckled.
"Yeah. I'm lucky I only got a week of traffic duty."
"Okay, I'll ask him first thing in the morning. What say we go catch a few hours sleep while the crime team wraps things up in the alley."
"Sounds good." Starsky responded. Knowing that they only had a few hours, Starsky posed, "Your place or mine?"
They both knew it would be best for them to travel to one destination. Wherever they chose, the other detective would sleep on the couch.
"I'll flip you for it." Hutch regretted the offer the moment he said it, he never won at this game.
Starsky fished in his pocket and retrieved a coin, placing it on his index finger and thumb. "Call it." He said, as he flipped it high into the air.
"Heads!" Hutch blurted out.
Starsky caught the coin in midair and slapped it on the back of his hand, peeking at it quickly. "Tails! I win! My place it is." He said, as he returned the coin to his pocket.
"Damn." Hutch cursed in disappointment.
Hutch never looked at the coin, he never asked to. He trusted his friend, maybe that's why he always lost at that game…
To Be Continued…