MIND GAMES
Someone is after Starsky. Will Hutch be able to help Starsky find out who it is before it's too late?
Thanks to ProvencePuss for beta reading this story.
Chapter One
The insistent ringing in his ear pulled David Starsky from a deep sleep. Shit! Time to get up already? It feels like I just got to sleep! Keeping his eyes closed, he reached out and fumbled for his alarm; annoyed when the ringing continued. As his mind became more coherent, he finally realized it was the phone ringing and not his alarm.
" 'Lo?" he mumbled sleepily, snagging the receiver and dragging it to his ear. There was no immediate answer, but Starsky could hear someone on the line, breathing heavily in his ear. "Hutch?" he asked anxiously. He was wide awake now, his heart starting to pound in his chest. "Is that you? Are you okay?"
Automatically, his eyes shifted to the alarm clock sitting on his nightstand. Two am. There was still no answer to his worried inquiries. Before he could speak again, there was a sharp click in his ear as his mysterious caller hung up.
Muttering under his breath, Starsky hung up the receiver. Relieved that the caller hadn't been his partner in some kind of distress, he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. He was awakened again at 3 am by the ringing of the telephone. It was identical to the first call that had disturbed his sleep. The calls were repeated at 4 am and 5 am.
By the time Starsky's alarm went off at 6:30 am, dragging him out of bed to start another day, he was in a cranky, irritable mood from his interrupted rest. Shoving himself to his feet, he stumbled into the bathroom. Reaching into the shower, he turned on the shower, adjusting the water to a comfortable temperature. Stepping beneath the spray, he leaned forward, resting his hands against the tiled wall, letting the water pound down over his weary body.
Somewhat revived by his shower, he finally turned off the water and climbed out of the tub. Drying off briskly, he wrapped the towel around his slim waist, continuing with his morning routine. Finishing in the bathroom, he returned to his bedroom and rummaged through his closet for clothes. Holding his breath, he pulled on a pair of his favorite skintight Levis, and then sat down on the edge of his bed to pull on his Adidas. He pulled a light blue tee shirt over his head as he headed towards the kitchen for his morning coffee.
He had just poured his first cup of the day when he heard the distinctive sound of his partner's latest vehicle pulling up downstairs. A few minutes later, he heard footsteps on the steps and then the front door opened to admit his partner and best friend, Ken Hutchinson.
"Amazing," Hutch said with a tolerant smile. "You're up on time for a change." He helped himself to a cup of freshly brewed coffee, grimacing at how strong it was. "God, Starsk," he muttered "Did you need that much a jolt this morning?"
"Stuff it, Blondie." Starsky growled irritably. "I'm not in the mood this morning."
"Late night, huh?" Hutch said "Who was it this time? Karen? Becky? Or maybe somebody new?"
"None of the above," Starsky grumbled, finishing his coffee and immediately pouring another cup. "Somebody thought it was funny to call me every hour on the hour and breath heavy in my ear."
"Male or female?" Hutch asked with an arch of his eyebrow.
"Jeez, Hutch, I couldn't tell just from their breathing." Starsky quipped. "Guess I'm not as good of a detective as you are."
"Come on Starsk," Hutch said calmly "It was probably just kids playing around."
"Too bad there's no way to know what number they were calling from," Starsky complained, stifling a yawn. He frowned as a new thought occurred to him. "How would kids get my phone number anyway? It's not listed in the book."
"Oh, come on, buddy," Hutch said "They probably dialed it by accident the first time and then just decided to keep bugging you."
"I guess…" Starsky said, as he put on his shoulder harness, and then shrugged into a light windbreaker to conceal his weapon. "Let's give Dobey a thrill and show up on time for duty for a change."
The two men left the apartment and climbed down the stairs to the street. Starsky pointedly ignored Hutch's battered LTD and strode to his own car, a Candy Apple Red Torino with a broad white racing stripe. Unlocking the door, he slid underneath the wheel and leaned over to unlock the other door for his partner.
Hutch settled into the black leather seat and began to check the police issued equipment they carried in the car. Starsky turned the key in the ignition and the powerful engine roared to life. As he pulled away from the curb, Hutch reached for the microphone hanging beneath the dash to log them on duty for the day.
The day was relatively uneventful. The two detectives cruised the streets in their assigned district, stopping occasionally to talk to some snitches and other street people they recognized. They broke up a fight between a man and his girlfriend, recovered some stolen jewelry from a reputable pawnshop, and arrested a junkie who stole a woman's handbag right in front of them. They even managed to get off work on time for a chance.
They decided to stop by The Pits for a beer and something to eat before going home for the evening. Starsky was still irritable from his disrupted sleep and more than ready to call it a day.
Their favorite bar was just starting to fill up with the late afternoon trade when the two detectives arrived. Hutch led the way to their usual booth near the back of the room. No sooner had they sat down then the owner of the bar, Huggy Bear, sat two ice cold beers down on the table in front of them. The tall black man smiled at his two friends and said, "You two are in here early tonight. What happened? Did the bad guys decide to give you a break?"
"Something like that," Hutch said with a grin. He glanced at Starsky and then ordered for both of them. "Give us two specials, Hug."
"And an extra order of fries with mine." Starsky added, slouching down in his seat with a yawn.
"Those late nights are gonna get to ya yet, Starsky." Huggy teased him, turning to walk away.
"Why does everybody assume I'm tired because I had a hot date last night?" Starsky grumbled as Huggy left to get their food.
"Maybe because that's usually the reason you're so wiped out." Hutch said with a chuckle.
"Just wait until the next time some lovely keeps you up half the night and your ass is dragging the next day at work," Starsky said pointedly. "At least if I had that as an excuse, I'd have gotten something worthwhile out of it instead of somebody breathing heavy in my ear half the night."
"Cheer up, Gordo. After we eat, you can go home and catch up on your beauty sleep."
"That's just what I plan on doing." Starsky told him.
After eating their meal, the two men left the bar and Starsky drove Hutch back to his apartment so he could retrieve his car. Before he left, Hutch promised to pick Starsky up for work the next morning. Starsky started climbing the steps to his second floor apartment as his partner pulled away.
Unlocking his door, Starsky went inside and straight to his bedroom. Stripping off his clothes, he crawled into bed and was soon sleeping soundly. The calls started shortly after one am. By 6 am, Starsky was ready to pull the telephone out of the wall. After another disrupted night of sleep, he was in a foul mood. It was a mood that Hutch picked up immediately when he arrived shortly after 7:30 am.
"Somebody playing phone games with you again, partner?" Hutch asked sympathetically, noting the tired look on Starsky's face and the dark circles under his eyes.
"Yeah, they finally decided to stop around six o'clock this morning." Starsky growled.
"Did you get any sleep at all?"
"About two hours…give or take."
"Look, why don't you take off and get some sleep? I can cover for you with Dobey." Hutch suggested helpfully.
"Naw, I'll be okay," Starsky said. "We got that stake out this afternoon. I can catch some shuteye then."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," Starsky said a bit more sharply then he intended to. "Let's go, Blintz." He grabbed a thermos of coffee off the kitchen counter. He needed something to help keep him alert. His normal eight hour shift that day felt more like sixteen. By the time he got back home that evening, he was exhausted. He never even made it to his bedroom, falling asleep on his sofa instead.
That didn't stop the phone calls. They started again shortly after two am. At four am, Starsky took his phone off the hook so he could get some sleep. His front door slamming open at eight am aroused him from his slumber. Hutch crossed the distance between them in two steps and said anxiously, "Are you okay, Starsk?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Starsky said with a weary sigh as he shoved himself to a sitting position.
"You scared the shit out of me when you didn't show up to pick me up this morning." Hutch told him sharply. "Then when I tried calling you and couldn't get through, I got worried."
"Sorry. I took my phone off the hook around four this morning so I could get some fucking sleep." Starsky told him. "I must have been so tired I didn't hear the alarm."
"I think it's time we told Dobey about these late night phone calls," Hutch said "Maybe he can have a tap put on your phone so we can find out who's making them."
"I just want them to stop so I can get a decent sleep night's sleep." Starsky said wearily.
"We'll talk to Dobey as soon as we get to the office," Hutch said "And you can stay with me tonight. At least that way you can get a good night's sleep."
"Thanks, Blondie." Starsky said with a grateful smile. "Let me grab a quick shower and I'll be ready to go."
"I'll call us in and let Dobey know that we're going to be late." Hutch reached for the phone while Starsky headed for the bathroom.
Forty-five minutes later, the two detectives were sitting in Captain Dobey's office, explaining to their superior officer about the phone calls Starsky had been receiving for the past three nights that had been disrupting his sleep. The bulky black man leaned back in his chair when they had finished and said gruffly, "I'll have a tap put on Starsky's phone today. Let's hope it works and we can catch whoever's doing this." He looked at his two detectives questioningly. "You're not working on anything that big right now, are you?"
"No," Hutch answered for both of them. "I'm beginning to think this is something more personal."
"How about it, Dave?" Dobey questioned "Any old girlfriends that might be mad at you? Jealous boyfriends? Anything like that?"
"No." Starsky said firmly, shaking his head. "I haven't been seeing anybody on a regular basis lately. The last date I even had was a couple of weeks ago."
"With Ginger?" Hutch asked with a smile.
"No, with Janice." Starsky told him with an answering smile.
Dobey rolled his eyes as he listened to their banter. Starsky and Hutch both had the reputation of dating more than their share of the ladies. A rumor around headquarters was that they had even shared a few of them. Dobey cleared his throat to remind them of his presence.
"Starsky is going to crash at my place tonight," Hutch said, turning his attention back to Dobey. "That way he can get some sleep."
"That's a good idea," Dobey agreed. "As a matter of fact, why don't you two knock off early today? Finish up the reports on your desk and then you can go."
"Thanks, Captain." Starsky said, shoving himself to his feet. He left the room with Hutch on his heels. The two detectives slumped down at their shared space at the end of one of the long tables that the department used for desks. For the next three hours, they worked diligently on catching up on their overdue reports.
"That's it," Hutch said as he scrawled his signature at the bottom of the page and tossed the last completed report in their out box. "Let's get out of here, buddy."
Hutch drove to his Venice Place apartment and the two detectives went inside. Starsky slumped down on the sofa, struggling to stay awake, while Hutch fixed a quick supper of scrambled eggs with onions, cheese, and toast. By the time he was finished eating, Starsky was barely awake.
"Come on, sleeping beauty," Hutch said with a laugh, hauling Starsky to his feet. "Time for beddie-by." He assisted Starsky back over to the couch where the other man flopped down on his stomach and immediately fell asleep.
Hutch grabbed a spare blanket out of the hall closet and spread it over his sleeping friend. After washing up the few dishes from their hasty meal, Hutch retired to his bedroom where he read until shortly after eleven pm before turning in for the night.
The insistent ringing in his ear startled Hutch awake. He grabbed for the receiver before the phone could ring again and wake up Starsky. As his eyes darted to the bedside alarm, he noted that it was shortly after three am. "Hello?" he said. "There was no answer, just the sound of someone breathing heavily in his ear. "Who the hell is this and what do you want?" Hutch demanded a hard edge to his voice. There was a sharp click in his ear as whoever was on the other end of the line hung up.
"Who was it?" Starsky's voice said from the shadows of the doorway.
"I don't know. I think it was your fan club." Hutch said gravely. He reached out to switch on the lamp on the nightstand.
"How the hell did they know I was here?" Starsky said. His face paled as he answered his own question. "Shit! They're watching me."
"It looks that way," Hutch admitted grimly. "Or it could just be a coincidence. A wrong number or something."
"Come on, Hutch. After everything that's been going on with me for the past three days, you don't really believe that, do you?"
"No." Hutch admitted. With a determined gesture, he reached down and unplugged the phone line from the jack. "There's nothing we can do about it tonight. Go back to bed, Starsk. Let's both get some sleep."