SINS OF THE FATHER

Hutch discovers a dark secret that could change his friendship with Starsky forever.

Warning: Please be aware that this story deals with some sensitive subjects that may offend some people. Do not read if topics related to Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust offends you. The views expressed in this story are not the views of the author. This story was written for entertainment purposes only.

CHAPTER 1

"Babe, are still sure that you really want me to tag along?" Starsky asked his partner as he folded a clean shirt and tucked it inside the suitcase lying open on their bed.

"Starsk, I can't do this without you," Ken Hutchinson said as he dug through a drawer for clean socks and underwear. "If I didn't have to sign these papers concerning the trust my grandfather left me, I wouldn't even go to Duluth."

"Are things really that bad with your folks?"

"My father disowned me when I told him I was dropping out of med school to be a cop."

"But, that was five years ago," Starsky said "He must have gotten over it by now."

"You don't know my father," Hutch said with a snort. "According to him I'm a disgrace to the Hutchinson name. And until I come to my senses and do the right thing I'm not welcome in his house." He turned his head and looked at his partner and best friend, his eyes pleading for Starsky to understand. "I can't go back there alone…"

"Aww, Buddy…" Starsky said sympathetically "I didn't know it was that bad. Why don't I finish this and then you can come back to my place and crash there tonight? That way you don't have to pick me up in the morning."

"Okay," Hutch said with a relieved smile. He tossed a handful of clean underwear on the bed and watched as Starsky stuffed it into the suitcase.

'You sure you're gonna need all this stuff?" Starsky asked "You said you were only gonna be there overnight."

"It's better to be prepared then to get there and find out that I forgot something I might need," Hutch said absently as he walked left the sleeping alcove and into the bathroom to gather his shaving kit.

"Fat chance," Starsky mumbled as he closed the suitcase securely. "You got your whole wardrobe in there."

"What?" Hutch said as he came back into the room in time to hear Starsky mumbling under his breath but not clearly enough to hear his exact words.

"Nothing," Starsky said with an innocent smile. "Hey, how about if we stop on the Pits and grab a bite to eat on the way to my place?"

"Sure, sounds good to me." Hutch said agreeably as he grabbed his suitcase off the bed and followed his partner out the door.

The Pits was a nondescript bar and grill in downtown Bay City. The owner was a lanky black man who went by the name of Huggy Bear. Only the Internal Revenue Service, the department of motor vehicles and his mother knew his given name. Besides being one of Starsky and Hutch's best informants he was also a close personal friend of both detectives. They had only been partners for the past two years since they both achieved the rank of detective but their partnership was already one of the most successful in BCPD history. And Huggy Bear had been invaluable when it came to solving some of their most high profile cases.

The bar was crowded with the usual evening hour's crowd. Hookers looking for a trick, college students out slumming, power drinkers, single men and women looking to hook up for the evening, cheating spouses, and the occasional spouse looking for them. The bar had the reputation of having good food at reasonable prices and Huggy kept the troublemakers under control.

Hutch led the way through the crowd to their favorite booth in the back of the room. Several friends called out greetings to the two men and some of the more flirtatious women reached out and tried to cop a feel as they passed by. As they slid into the booth across from each other, one of Huggy's waitresses appeared at their table and sat two frosted mugs of beer down in front of them.

"Thanks Rita," Starsky said with a wink.

"It's Anita, not Rita. Remember?" the petite brunette reminded him in a chiding tone. "You two eating or just drinking?"

"Eating. I'll have a cheeseburger with a double order of fries and a side of onion rings." Starsky leaned back in the booth and stretched his long legs out underneath the table, his gaze automatically sweeping the room with the alert, watchful eyes of a cop.

"And I'll have a Chef's Salad with low fat ranch dressing on the side," Hutch told her, his lips curling into a smirk at Starsky's choices. Their dietary habits were as different as their taste in cars. Hutch envied Starsky sometimes. His more hyperactive nature kept Starsky fit and trim despite his junk food diet and lack of exercise. Hutch had to jog and work out in the gym to keep off the extra pounds even with his more healthy diet.

Anita strolled off into the crowd with an exaggerated sway to her hips that brought a smile to both men's lips.

"She's got her eye on you, Blondie," Starsky teased his partner playfully.

"Me? You're the one she flirts with," Hutch shot back with a grin. "I can just see a bunch of little Starsky's running around waiting for daddy to come home."

"Not likely…not for a while anyway," Starsky said with a laugh. The bantering between the two friends continued until Anita returned with their food. A comfortable silence fell between them as they began to eat, alternating bites of food with sips of their beer.

They were just finishing their meal when Huggy Bear sauntered over to their booth. Grabbing a chair from a nearby table, he turned it around and sat on it backwards, resting his arms on the padded back as he grinned at his two favorite customers.

"Well, well…if it isn't the dynamic duo," he said "You two here to pay your bar tab?"

"Don't get paid till Friday," Starsky said with a smile. "Guess you'll have to wait until then."

"That's what you told me last week," Huggy scoffed "And the week before that. And the week before that. By the time you do get around to paying me you'll owe me your whole paycheck." They all laughed. Starsky and Hutch knew that Huggy didn't mind them running a tab and Huggy knew that he would get paid eventually. Reminding them of how much they owed him was just Huggy's way of teasing his friends. "You two gonna be here tomorrow night? I got a new special I'm trying out and I need Starsky's expert opinion."

"No can do, Hug," Starsky told him apologetically "Hutch has to go to Duluth on some business and I'm going with him."

"Finally taking your better half home to meet the folks, huh?" Huggy said with a sideways glance at Hutch. Although Starsky and Hutch were closer than brothers, they were not a 'couple' and Huggy knew that. He just liked to mess with them about acting like an old married couple most of the time.

"Not hardly," Hutch said a bit more sharply then he intended. "I don't even plan on seeing my parents if I can avoid it."

Huggy arched an eyebrow questioningly. "Sounds like there's a story there."

"Some other time, Hug," Starsky said coming to his partner's defense automatically. He knew from their previous conversation that the topic of his relationship with his parents was a sore spot for the blond.

"I read ya," Huggy said "The bear knows when to shut up." He rose gracefully to his feet and replaced the chair at the table. "I talk to you turkey's later. I gotta go make sure my staff isn't stealing me blind."

"We should be going too," Hutch said.

The two men rose to their feet and made their way through the crowd to the front exit. Their flight to Minnesota left early the next morning and they both were looking forward to a good nights sleep.