Co-written with Brook
Authors note. We thought long and hard about this story - would people like it, wouldn't they? It's a fictional character - neither of us wish to imply that the supernatural exists or not - that's for each person to decide for themselves. Any similarity to a werewolf, living or dead is pure coincidence! Our thanks to Shawne for looking over this story and my apologies to another well known writer for whom I have a lot of respect. I'm sorry honey, I know we talked, but the damned thing just wouldnt stay in my head, so I had to put it down on...um...computer.
Lycanthropy is the ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a wolf, or take on wolf-like characteristics.
Story set 5 months after the events of "Echoes" by this author.
Moonshadow – Chapter 1
She returned to the cave to lick her wounds. Figuratively speaking of course. Her green eyes glowed in the semi darkness and she lay down on the compacted sand as she lifted her tank top to reveal the bullet wound on her side. As she watched, the bullet forced its way out and the power of the moon started its insidious work on restoring her body to health. It was one of the better things about Lycanthropy – the remarkable strength, the enhanced hearing, sight and smell and the ability to heal at an accelerated rate.
She lay panting slightly at the tightening of her flesh as she thought back to the battle on the beach. He'd put up a fight, that one. Not as easy as the others and although the scent of his blood filled her nostrils, Lya knew he wasn't the one who'd killed her mate. This one had been strong, but not strong enough. He'd never have been able to take on Ethan and win. No, he wasn't the one she needed to find. The one who would take Ethan's place in her life and rule the wolf world she lived in. She shook out her long dark hair and as the moon started to wane, she watched idly as her nails shrank back to normal size and the blood lust left her system.
And she slept, dreaming of Ethan's powerful body against hers and longing for another mate to come and take his place
'Don't ya sometime wonder what it'd be like if you were an only child? What if you were the only little Hutchinson runnin' around the streets huh? Wouldn't ya be lonely?' Starsky asked as he drove through the almost deserted streets.
'No idea what you mean.'
'Well think on it. If I didn't have Nicky I'd be….'
'Less stressed?' Hutch asked with his eyebrows raised.
'Yeah but…'
'Less worried about your Mom?'
'Well that as well but….'
'And probably a whole lot richer' Hutch finished with a flourish.
The brunet admitted defeat on that point, but carried on regardless. 'Fine, so maybe my baby brother aint the perfect example, but you had a different childhood. Duluth's a whole lot more….. civilised than the streets I grew up on in Brooklyn.'
Hutch sighed, his crystal blue eyes squinting against the midday sun. He lowered the sun visor, jammed his sunshades onto his nose and sighed again. 'I accept we grew up in different parts of the country, an' while you were playin' cops an' robbers on some street corner, I was balin' hay on my Granddaddy's farm. But I still had times when I was lonely. In fact, I was lonely most of the time' he ended wistfully.
Starsky glanced sharply sideways at his partner. Sometimes the revelations the blond told him about made him squirm or get angry or just want to hug the guy. He waited for an explanation.
'Well don't get me wrong. For most of the time, I guess it was great. Granddaddy Wilbur had a big farm about ten miles outside of town. Mostly arable, but he had some beasts too. An' when Mom and Dad were off on their tours 'round the country for some prize ceremony or other, or even if they just wanted to get rid of their annoying little son for a while, they used to pack me off there.'
'And you were lonely?'
'Well when I say lonely, I guess not really. I mean. Mom never wanted animals in the house, so I never got to have a pet at home….'
'Well me neither' Starsky added. 'We had a budgie once, but the damned thing coughed itself to death with the fumes from the cars. After that, apart from ladybugs in jars I pretty much stuck to keepin' Nick in check. He was better'n any pet coz he got spendin' money that I could make him give me.'
Hutch rolled his eyes. 'And you wonder why he turned out like he did! Anyhow. When I was on the farm, Granddaddy let me have any animal I wanted. So, I had Max the dog and a real cute pony called Crunchie. We used to follow Granddaddy round the farm. It was fine.'
'But ya said you were still lonely.'
'I know. I guess I was actin' like a spoiled brat. I shouldn't complain. It was the kinda Tom Sawyer childhood that most boys would die for. It's just that it hurt ya know? Mom and Dad would jet off 'round the country an' take my sister with 'em while they parcelled me off to the farm. She was pretty an' tidy an' didn't knock the wine glasses over at the dinner table, so she got to go with them. I think I was kind of an embarrassment they wanted to hide.'
'So you were never close, you an' her?' Starsky asked.
'We were ok. I guess we didn't argue or nothin.' We never really saw that much of each other. But she's 5 years younger than me an' we never really….. well between her goin' with them on their tours when we were younger, an' then later the kidnap and the bust up with my Dad….. No, I guess we were never really close. It's only in these last few years that we've really started gettin' to know each other better.'
'So tell me again why she's comin' to stay' Starsky asked. 'It ain't that I don't want to see your family Blintz. God knows you've put up with Nicky enough times in the past. But, why now?'
'Karen is divorcing. Mrs. Marissippio got fed up of the Canadian borders and the cold and snow so when her husband got himself hooked up with a cheerleader who's 10 years his junior, my firebrand of a sister said enough was enough and headed for the hills. Or headed for the ocean and the sunshine. She's looking for a place down here and I said she could stay with me while she found one.'
'And what time does her plane land?'
The blond fished his watch out of his pocket and looked at it. 'About 3 minutes ago. Shit. I hate bein' late, she'll wonder where we are.'
'S'ok, we can still make it. She's gonna have to collect her bags first.'
'Starsk, the airport is still ten miles away. With the best will and the slowest baggage handlers in the world we….'
The curly haired cop grinned. 'It's quiet, we aint gonna be pulled for it. Slap the light on and buckle up.'
Hutch grinned, jammed his knees against the dashboard, slapped the magnetic light onto the roof and closed his eyes as his partner ramped his speed up to 90 and shot off along the freeway. It was Sunday and there was little traffic and a speeding cop car was nothing unusual, so they made good time. As they finally pulled to a stop outside the arrivals hall and doused the sirens a surprised looking woman stood back from the sidewalk, then smiled broadly as her brother climbed out of the car. Hutch walked over, hugged her tightly and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She returned the greeting then pulled away to hold him at arms length.
'Ken, you look great!' she said, giving him the once over.
'You too' he responded, slightly taken aback. He'd expected her break up to leave her older and looking more worn out. Instead Karen Hutchinson was glowing with health and vitality. Though she was her sibling's junior by five years, her face had a fresh quality to it making her look younger than her thirty years. Contrasting sharply with Hutch's still haunted expression from his time spent in rehab after his last mission with Diego Mariposa, the blond woman shone with vigour, her piercing blue eyes dancing with delight at seeing her older brother. For a moment, Hutch became lost in them and it was only with difficulty that he pulled himself away when he heard the muted cough behind him.
'Oh, um…. Yeah, Dave's here too.'
The brunet came forward and smiled at her, quelling a lot of his usual exuberance. Starsky had little contact with any of the Hutchinsons over the years. He'd accompanied Hutch to Duluth on a few social occasions, notably Van's funeral, Richard Hutchinson's 60th birthday party and a few other small affairs. But the Hutchinson clan had kept him at arms' length and he truly preferred it that way. But Karen had rarely been there, having made her own life up north and this was only the third time in all his years of partnering Hutch that he'd actually met her. She was like the "lost Hutchinson" and seemed so unlike her stuffy and very much anti Semitic family. Although he'd tried to make it clear to them time and again that he didn't practice his faith they seemed to see a neon sign over his head that read Jew and treated him like a social pariah. Karen seemed so much more open and he responded in kind.
'Hi' he said quietly and was surprised when Karen enfolded him in her arms and hugged him warmly.
'Dave. We've never really had the chance to meet properly have we?' she said happily. 'I'm so looking forward to staying with you and Ken for a few days. Thanks for having me.'
'No problem' he said, slightly stunned at her attitude to him and as he pulled away it suddenly struck him that she was a remarkably attractive woman. He'd expected a younger version of Mrs Hutchinson, with angora twinsets, pearls and not a hair out of place. Instead he saw a woman of perhaps 5'4" with a curtain of almost white blond hair, the brightest blue eyes he'd ever seen and a smile that could melt the polar icecaps. He knew women found Hutch attractive and the blond had all the "All American" "boy next door" charm and looks any mother would wish for their daughter, but his partner seemed almost plain in comparison to his staggeringly gorgeous sister. He snorted to himself and led the way back to the car and the three of them squeezed into the front seat as they made their way down to the coast and drove along the coast road back to Bay City.
Karen's long blond hair blew in the breeze as they drove and she and Hutch kept up a steady flow of conversation as Starsky drove, listening and occasionally adding his own thoughts. By the time they'd made it back to Hutch's apartment it was as though Starsky had known the woman all his life. She was smart, funny and easy to get along with and so much of a surprise to him now that she was away from the stuffiness of the rest of her family that the brunet found himself slipping under her spell and wondering what kind of an idiot her husband was for dumping her for a younger woman.
Starsky stopped the car outside the steps up to Venice Place and leaned over to peck Karen on her cheek.
'Aren't you coming up?' she asked as Hutch got out.
'Sorry honey. Have to be on duty in an hour. I'm just gonna go home an' get changed then I'll be back for Hutch' he explained. 'See ya for dinner tonight?'
'Sure. And thanks for the ride from the airport' she said, leaning into the car with a conspiratorial air 'I prefer riding in style to having to sit in his apology for a car.'
Hutch swatted her on her rump and snorted. 'I heard that!'
She straightened. 'You were supposed to. I guess it's the same nondescript heap you've still got?'
'It's a 1970 Kansas Brown LTD' Hutch said in a dignified voice.
There was a snicker from inside the Torino. 'Yeah right' they heard Starsky's voice say as he floored the gas and sped away in a squeal of rubber.
The brunet drove home swiftly. They were on duty again in less than an hour and heavily involved in a gruesome set of murders that had been occurring of late. His mind was still on the latest victim, a young man of perhaps 23 or 24 found dead on the beach three days ago. His body had been washed up by the tide and despite the effects of the salt water on his body it hadn't taken a coroner to tell them the cause of death. His throat had been ripped clean out leaving a gaping wound which was obviously fatal. At that point they were still awaiting the identification of the body from forensics and he and his partner were hunting for leads.
The curly haired cop bounded up the steps to his apartment. Throwing his keys down on the table by the door as he headed for the bathroom. He showered quickly then with a towel wrapped round his waist he stood in front of the bathroom mirror, soaped his face and started to shave. Lost in his thoughts, he jumped sharply as the telephone rang in his living room and he cursed as the corner of the blade slipped and cut a neat furrow down the side of his neck.
He dabbed at it with a towel as he padded barefoot into the other room and grabbed the phone.
'What?' he snapped testily, the towel coming away from the deepish wound stained red.
'There's been another one. They just found it' his partner's voice sounded down the line. 'Dobey wants us there as soon as.'
'Another body? Shit! That's the….'
'Fourth in three months, I know' Hutch said. 'The usual crowd are gathering. There's already talk…'
'Oh Jeez! Won't they leave it? Its just sensationalism' Starsky grunted. 'I'll be there in ten.'
The brunet put sown the phone and dabbed again at the free flowing blood on his neck. Damn! Another body. And what state would this one be in?
Over the preceding months, horror stories had flown around the city. Stories of the bodies being the victims of witchcraft or worse. Stories of black arts being practiced on the beach at midnight, and oddly all four murders had occurred around the time of the full moon, fanning the theories of ghouls and ghosts and things that go bump in the night. Among the crowd always on the scene were the usual happy clappy hippy set, who surrounded the investigation site and set up a ring of chanting, candle lighting and hand waving and generally got in the way. And for once, the usually gullible brunet wasn't falling for the mumbo jumbo.
Hutch had been surprised that Starsky hadn't immediately reached for the cloves of garlic and wooden crosses, but Starsky refused to be drawn and had been dignified when he's said that all that stuff was behind him. Hutch had snickered and carried on but over the investigations it had been the blond who had got jumpy around the bodies and Starsky who had remained calm and detached. But with the discovery of a prospective fifth body, even the sable haired cop was beginning to lose his cool.
