The Peake Sisters
Authors Note: This story contains adult situations and language. Please consider this before you read if you are easily offended.
Thank you Hilly for agreeing to beta and be a 'blooper scooper', but mostly thank you for your time and suggestions.
Chapter 1: Being Followed"Damn", sighed Starsky as he stared into his car's side mirror watching the traffic coming up behind him.
"What's wrong partner? Forget something?" inquired Hutch as he looked over at his obviously irritated partner. It was a normal Monday morning, they were on their way to work and he didn't see why his partner was upset. The sun was shining; the day held the promise of being warm and beautiful.
Starsky intently watched a motorcycle pass in the next lane before answering, "Nothin', just noticed that cycle coming up behind us, thought it was someone else".
Hutch was puzzled, his friend sounded annoyed, "Who'd you think it was?" He tried to think of the people they knew that rode cycles, but couldn't think of anyone that would annoy his partner like this.
"Ah, it's nothing. I guess I'm letting my imagination get the best of me"
"Whoa buddy, what's going on?" questioned Hutch.
"Remember I told you how I saw that nice looking bike a few weeks ago?"
"Ah…no not really", stammered Hutch, trying to remember.
"You know, I told you about the paint job. Candy Apple Red almost matched the Torino's color, lots of chrome, really a nice looking bike. Remember now?"
"Oh ya…" Hutch paused, he really didn't remember, but by the tone in his partner's voice, it seemed important that he should remember, so he agreed.
"Well, I've been seeing the same bike on and off for the last couple of weeks, only now it has a white stripe on the tank. Almost like the Torino's stripe."
Hutch wasn't having any luck understanding the significance of a bike painted like the Tomato. He could see his partner was irritated, so he tried to come up with something positive, "Probably admired your car, and wanted to match it. Take it as a compliment, Starsk." Then for levity he added, "Either that, or you both have bad taste in paint jobs and vehicles."
"Hey, the Torino is a good car and the paint job is magnificent!" he shot back defensively. "And whoever that guy is, he's put some time into that bike."
"I'm still not following you buddy, what's up? Why so irritated?"
"Well, the last couple of times I've seen the bike, the guy pulled up beside me and just kept looking at me."
"Maybe he thinks you're cute." Hutch laughed.
"That's not funny"
"So what's he look like?"
"I can't tell. I can't see his face. He always has that full helmet on with a dark visor. But I know he's looking at me, I could feel his eyes on me, feels like he's glaring at me."
"Do you get the feeling he's dangerous?" concern was creeping into Hutch's voice now. They'd seen it before, pull up next to a car, have a second person on the bike pull out a gun and blow the person away, then be gone thanks to the speed and agility of a motorcycle.
"No, not really. I think he's trying to challenge me to a race or something. I'd just like to see the face that's staring at me, that's all; I don't like not being able to see his face."
"That wouldn't make sense Starsk, even as tuned as the Torino is, a bike would have faster acceleration and agility."
"So you finally admit the Torino is tuned and a good machine?"
Hutch smiled, he'd been caught. Think quick Hutchinson. "Well, as much as you work on this thing, it should be in some tuned condition, but as I said, a bike would have faster acceleration and agility, which would leave this tomato in the dust."
"But you're admitting the Torino is tuned?"
"Ya, ya, I'll admit it's in some sort of tuned condition. Now that I know about your motorcycle buddy, we can keep our eyes open for him. Maybe even pull him over and have a little talk with him and see who he is and what he's up to."
"Probably nothing, but thanks."
The week passed and Hutch had all but forgotten about their conversation. Starsky hadn't mentioned seeing the bike again and didn't seem to take notice anymore when a cycle passed. Starsky chalked it up to his over active imagination and appeared to have forgotten about it.
Hutch was the first one to spot the two bikes as they were returning from a court hearing. He gestured to the approaching intersection and said, "Hey, is that your buddy up there waiting for the light? Red with a white stripe looks familiar."
"Ya, that's him, and he's got a friend with him this time", observed Starsky.
"Well as luck would have it, you have a friend with you this time too."
Starsky stopped for the red light and the rider on the red bike saw the Torino and motioned to the other rider. The bikers pulled out onto the street moving in the same direction as Starsky and Hutch were traveling. When the light changed again, Starsky accelerated to catch up with the bikers. "Feel like making a routine traffic stop?"
"Yes, I do believe I saw an unsafe lane change back there."
"I believe you're right, Ollie! Shall we?"
Hutch put the mars light on the roof and flipped on the siren. The bikers pulled over and Starsky pulled the Torino in behind them. "Maybe now we'll get to the bottom of this."
As they were about to step out of the car, their radio screeched "All available units, all available units, armed robbery in progress Fifth and Main, possible hostages." The partners looked at each other, that address was two blocks away; they couldn't take the time to pursue these bikers now. Their radio screeched again repeating the same message, as two squad cars barreled past them, sirens blasting.
They jumped back into the Torino and as Starsky was watching to pull out, Hutch looked at the bikers, preparing to tell them it was their lucky day, but when he looked at them, he froze. "Starsk, before you pull out into traffic, look at your biker."
"Huh? Can't take the time for him now Hutch, it'll just have to wait." As he glanced toward Hutch, he saw them. "What the hell?" But another squad car rushed past, and Starsky floored the Torino into traffic. Hutch looked at the bikers and shrugged his shoulders.
The robbery was at a small convenience store. Negotiations between the armed man and the police lasted until midnight when the hostages were finally released. Starsky and Hutch took their position at the back of the building and were starting to enter when two gunshots rang out. In that split second, it was all over.
There was another hostage in the building. A young teenage girl who had been hiding in the back of the store had been killed. A solemn mood engulfed everyone on site, and during the next few hours the officers and medical personnel performed their required tasks as if on autopilot. It was one in the morning when they climbed back into their car and left the scene. Neither man said much, both just wanting to go home, shower, and sleep.
The next morning they pulled into the police parking lot at the same time, both still in a sober mood from the previous night's activities and lack of sleep, silently walking together toward the building. As they approached the steps in front of the Metro building, they joined a group of officers talking. They exchanged greetings, and paused to see if the girl had been identified yet. After a brief update, one officer asked, "Hey, did I see you have a couple bikes pulled over yesterday? You guys trying to get back into traffic control?"
"Boy, they looked like a couple of real dangerous felons, didn't they?" added his partner.
"But what I want to know is did you get a date before you gave them a ticket?"
"Ya, very funny Henderson." Starsky replied dryly as he started walking into the building with Hutch following. When they were on the elevator and alone, he looked over at Hutch and said, "Ok, so we both saw the same thing right?"
"Ya buddy. The motorcycle guy that's been tailing you is quite an attractive red head."
"Ok, that's what I saw."
"And, her riding companion was very nice looking also", Hutch said with a smile.
"Saw that too." Starsky replied with a big grin.
They decided to look up an old friend Mitch Bernet who worked in the Motorcycle Department at Metro. They had been in the academy at the same time. Like them, he was single, so they were betting he would know their motorcycle ladies.
"Oh, you're probably referring to the Peake sisters; you can't miss that red hair. The red bike you're describing sounds like what the younger one would ride, she loves red. Don't remember it having a stripe, but I know she's always on a red bike", said Mitch.
"Their dad owns Peake Motor Sports over on Randall Drive; you know the place, don't you?
"I know the place, but I've never been there", replied Hutch. "Doesn't he work with the department promoting motorcycle safety or something?"
"He sure does. He supplies smaller bikes and allows us to use the lot behind his business for our motorcycle training classes. He even worked with some politician and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles so we're allowed to administer the test to new riders", explained Mitch. The motorcycle training classes was Mitch's idea about five years ago and it took off. It led to a promotion for him, and was his program to run. He was quite proud of it.
"Well, it's to his advantage. More riders on the road mean more people buying his motorcycles." inserted Starsky.
"It's more than that. Yes, it's to his benefit, but he really loves cycles and believes in riding safe. He brought up his kids that way too. Sometimes his daughters work with us on training days."
"Mercedes, that's the older one, thinks it gives the ladies in our classes more confidence when they see her and her sister riding". Mitch smiled and added, "She's pretty special, ah… both of them are really nice."
"And don't forget beautiful! Ya, but the younger one, she's spunkier, what's her name again?" asked his partner Scott as he turned toward Mitch.
"Meredith."
"Ya, that's it, Meredith likes to show off a bit more, sorta like challenging the guys in the classes. She's like a cheerleader, pumping the ladies up that they can ride as good as any guy, while pushing at the guys that they can't let themselves be outdone by a girl."
"And it's the younger one, Meredith, who rides the red bike with the white stripe?" Starsky asked for confirmation.
"Well, like I said, Meredith has always ridden a red bike; I don't remember a white stripe, but she loves red. She knows how to detail and air brush, so a white stripe wouldn't be out of the question," said Mitch. "Hey Starsk, she's a nice girl, she's not in any kind of trouble is she?" He had noticed Starsky's mood and could tell this wasn't a casual visit or Dave Starsky simply chasing a skirt.
"No, she's not in any trouble. Just curious about them." Starsky replied. "Not every day you see girls like that on motorcycles."
"Good, Meredith is that cute little sister type, don't want to see her in any trouble."
"Hell, it's not every day you see girls like them, period!" added Scott giving a long appreciative whistle.
Mitch told them more about the Peake family. Their mother had been killed in a car accident when they were young. Their father was left to raise two girls, and was a very attentive father. Given his business and love of motorcycles, the girls both became very proficient riders. Mercedes was a business major, and should be the most likely choice to take over the business from her father. Whereas, Meredith was the creative spirit, taking art and graphic design. She had an eye for color, and was becoming famous for her custom bike designs.
The father had remarried a few years after the death of his wife to a nice woman, and they had a son. His new wife also had a daughter from a previous marriage who was around the same age as Meredith and Mercedes. When the two Peake girls started turning into young women the contention in the family started. They both looked just like their mother and it created tension with the new wife. Meredith started perming her hair so it looked different, but Mercedes embraced and played up the fact that she looked like her mother. The two sisters purchased a house together and moved out on their own a few years ago to get away from their stepmother.
The stepsister sometimes worked at cycle shop but not on a regular basis. The son Michael was big into motor cross racing and held several national titles. Unfortunately, he seemed to have a knack for getting into trouble, but so far only minor stuff. The father had a blind eye where his son was concerned, and had been very permissive with him.