Open Your Heart
Chapter 1: Interrogation
Hutch stood outside the interrogation room and watched the sweat bead on Ben Sinclair's forehead. Ben was a little man, short, stocky in stature, and usually short on luck. It had taken the effort of both partners to finally take him down, and get him cuffed and under control. Well, under control may not be the right word, because even while cuffed he managed to knock Starsky off balance and break free long enough to get a hard kick into Hutch's upper thigh. After they had him in leg restraints, Hutch cut his hand on an open knife while searching Ben for weapons.
Hutch felt his mood darken as he glared through the mirrored window at the little man. He looked at the clock and kneaded his temples. They hadn't had a chance to eat since they clocked in sixteen hours ago, no wonder he had a headache.
The sting of the antiseptic brought his focus back to Minnie. He impatiently shifted his weight from one foot to the other as she wrapped the white gauze around his finger. He didn't want or need the attention she was giving him.
"The cut isn't too deep Hutch, but you still might want to have a nurse at emergency check it out for you." Minnie looked up at him, "You hear me?"
"Ya, thanks Minnie, I'll do that." He gave her a slight smile and they both knew he wouldn't be going to the emergency room.
Hutch backed up and leaned against the wall opposite the window and continued watching Ben. He slid his hand down to rub his thigh, it felt tender, he could tell it was going to be a nasty bruise.
Starsky returned from Dobey's office and handed Hutch a carton of milk, half a sandwich, and a couple aspirin, "You ok?"
"Ya, just tired."
"He's a pretty strong little guy." Starsky stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth, "He got you pretty good with those pointy cowboy boots, good thing he missed his intended target".
"Ya." Hutch scowled more and straightened back up, "You ready to go in there?"
"Not really. Despite what Reed says, Sinclair's a small operator. I'll be surprised if he knows anything." Starsky dug into his pocket for his lucky coin, stepped into the middle of the hall, "Good cop or bad cop? Call it", and flipped the coin high into the air as Hutch finished the last bite of his sandwich.
Hutch's hand shot up and snatched the coin in mid-air before it could return to its owner, "I'll take bad cop", and he slipped the coin in his pocket, "might as well put this bad mood to some use".
His partner's sudden movement took Starsky by surprise so he simply nodded his agreement. "That's my lucky coin then."
"Really?" Hutch paused at the interrogation room door. He turned back and gave Starsky a wink to let him know he was ok then forcefully shoved the door open.
Sinclair jumped at the sudden burst and focused his full attention on the men in the doorway. Hutch stood tall, broadened his shoulders and steadied his glare on Sinclair. Starsky stood back, even though he knew his partner was in the 'bad cop' role he still gave him extra space.
Time seemed to stand still until the gnomish man finally looked toward Starsky, breaking the powerful hold he was being held under. Hutch only huffed, stalked across the room and leaned against the wall, never once moving his eyes off Sinclair.
Starsky cleared his throat and went into his role. He pulled out a chair and sat on it backwards, "Ok Ben, let's talk."
The detective team of Reed and Marshall had uncovered information, but mostly rumors, about a large drug shipment coming from out of the country. It was supposed to go down sometime within the next couple of weeks. None of their snitches had been able to confirm anything solid. Even Huggy was coming up empty, which was unusual. Huggy had enough contacts that he regularly could dig up information on any named scumbag within a twenty-four hour period. The whole department had been tagged to assist where needed and Reed thought Sinclair knew something.
For over an hour they sat talking about the weather, the baseball season, the movies playing at the theater downtown, the new strippers at Maxwell's, and just about anything and everything else Ben could think of to sidestep their questions. Both detectives were becoming weary. Hutch was getting stiff from their earlier scuffle and was tired of waiting for Sinclair to miss a beat or make some smartass comment so he could pounce and turn up the pressure.
However, completely out of character, Sinclair sat and babbled about nothing. He gambled they didn't have anything on him, so he was just bidding his time, waiting for them to get tired. "Listen, I've had a job for three weeks now. I'm keeping my nose clean."
Hutch crossed the room and stood directly in front of the man, "Where are you working Ben and is it legal?"
"I told ya already, I work for Maxwell as security for the girls."
"Hutch leaned closer, "Here's a news flash, prostitution is illegal."
"I work security, protecting those girls." Sinclair leaned back and smirked, "I don't charge them, and they don't charge me, two consenting adults; ain't illegal."
The partners looked at each other, their interrogation was going nowhere, and the charges they had were weak. While they did find drugs, it was such a small amount that it would be laughed at if they tried to push the charges. He was more valuable to them on the outside if he would cooperate and provide some tangible information.