Chapter 1
The present
All I want is black bean soup
And you to make it with me...
His voice was thin and reedy in the blackness. How long had he been singing? He had no idea, the hours days and weeks blended into one long red haze of pain. The usual silky, velvety country singer's voice had disappeared to be replaced by a rasping parody of his usual vocal accomplishments. Hutch sang only for company and comfort. He sang into the blackness as his mind closed down to those few words… All I want is black bean soup and you to…….there was something wrong? He should have something else…..A guitar. The blond struggled to look down at his bandaged hands, secured to the sides of the cot with soft medical restraints and laughed hysterically into the dark. Can't strum a guitar now, can ya? By the looks of them, he wouldn't be able to do much with them any more.
It wasn't just his wrists that were secured by the restraints. His ankles, chest and neck were similarly tied down and had been for as long as he could remember. He could hardly feel his legs and arms any more, the lack of movement making them numb and useless, the joints stiff and aching.
Just outside his field of vision, he heard a noise. A door opened and let a sliver of cold neon light into the room he'd been kept in. Unseen hands pushed the blindfold back down over his eyes and started to undo the buckles on the restraints. Another round was about to begin and the flaxen haired cop didn't think he'd survive any more pain. In his misery and fear he shouted out to whoever might listen.
'NOOOOO'
But the hands ignored him anyway.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
2 weeks ago
'You gonna be OK Blondie? I'll only be gone a couple of days I think, a week at the most. Ma's coming out of hospital tomorrow an' Nicky's conveniently out of the country. So until Aunt Rebecca gets there, it's up to me'. Starsky was packing his things as he spoke, pausing now and again to add extra socks and tee shirts to the overnight bag.
It never failed to amaze Hutch that given his partner's sometimes erratic behaviour, he was so tidy and methodical when it came to his possessions and private life. Starsky had once told him that it all stemmed from spending three years in the Army, but Hutch suspected there was more to it than that. Underneath it all, David Starsky was a neat freak!
'So you'll have to do everything for her?' Hutch asked as he passed a tube of toothpaste and the brunette's toothbrush.
'Pretty much. Her hip replacement went well, but she has to stay off her feet as much as possible for a while, just till it heals'.
Hutch made a face. 'What, everything? Cooking? Please God not that!'.
Starsky paused. 'What ya tryin' ta say, huh? Ya don't think I can look after my own Ma?'
'Oh I'm sure you'll clean her apartment to within an inch of its life and tidy her into a corner, but can she live on beef burritos and onions for a whole week till Aunt Rebecca gets there?'
Starsky threw a newspaper at the blond and snorted. 'I'll have you know I can make Chicken soup as well as the next man. Wouldn't be much of a good little Jewish boy if I couldn't, would I?'
'I could come with ya?'
Hutch liked Rachel Starsky. She was a tiny woman who ruled her brood with a rod of iron, tempered with as much love as her tiny frame would allow, and then some. Starsky had always been her favourite and Hutch had come to treat her almost as an extension of his own somewhat dysfunctional family.
'She'd love ya to come, but you know what she's like. If she has visitors she has to cook an' I'd never be able to keep her sitting down like the Doc wants. But thanks anyway. Besides, who'll argue with Dobey if we're both away?'
Both men busied themselves with the rest of the packing, grabbed some lunch and watered Starsky's one plant before setting out for LAX. On the way, the brunette was still fussing. 'Ya gotta be careful buddy. Promise me? With that lunatic out on the streets we don't know what'll happen next'.
Starsky was referring to two murders that had happened in the past two weeks. Both victims had been male professionals, mid thirties with blond hair and blue eyes, and more than one cop at the Metro had made the connection with Hutch. There had been some jokes, but mostly with a sense of urgency beneath them. "Watch your back, you're no different than them". But Hutch was careful. He'd even taken to locking his apartment door when he was at home.
So he returned the brunette's gaze levelly. 'Will you stop being a mother hen? I'll be fine. Safer 'n' your mother will be when she has to cope with your cooking'. He shook his blond head and chuckled. 'Besides, have ya seen Gonzalez recently? He's a man mountain. If anyone can look after me he can'.
Jose Gonzalez was a new cop at the precinct. He was fulfilling the 'fill in' role at the moment. If anyone didn't have a partner for one reason or another, Gonzalez filled in. Hutch had taken an immediate liking to the big guy, especially when he came into the squad room the first day with a tofu burger and power shake. From that moment on, he and Starsky had invited him on a couple of nights out and the odd ball game. Although Hutch didn't usually like to work with anyone else when Starsky wasn't around, he didn't mind so much this time. And if there was a blond hater on the streets, who better to watch his back when the brunette wasn't there?
They pulled into the parking lot at the airport and Starsky got out, retrieving his bag from the trunk. Notorious for not liking goodbyes of any description, Hutch knew better than to go with the brunette into the airport. Instead he merely flipped a quick wave to his partner as the curly haired cop trudged his way into the departure hall. Turning the car around, Hutch headed back into the lunchtime traffic and aimed for the Pits.
As he drove he mulled over the scant information they had on the murders. Two men, both 35 but from different areas of the town. Both professional although one was a dentist and one a stock broker, so no readily identifiable connection there either. Both men had had horrific injuries, but whereas one had been shot, the other had been strangled. At first the two murders hadn't been linked together. It was only the fact that both men had been missing for a few days and when their bodies were discovered, they'd both had some of their injuries tended to that had connected the two together.
Hutch shook his head. There were some real sickos about, that was for sure. He pulled his battered, much loved car into the alleyway at the back of the Pits and went in through the back door of the bar. Getting his eyes used to the dim light after the bright afternoon sunshine, Hutch finally found Huggy Bear, the Pits' owner clearing tables at the back of the room. The blond waited until Huggy had finished then stood at the bar while his friend and informant poured him a cool beer.
'So, what ya got for me Hug?' he said, taking an appreciative pull at the amber liquid.
Huggy leaned forward conspiratorially. 'Word on the street is that a guy called Mark Harley has been looking for a Kenneth Hutchinson. Never seen this guy Harley before, but with investigations into the murders goin' on, I thought you should know'.
Hutch knitted his eyebrows, concentrating. 'Harley? Mark Harley. Name doesn't mean anything to me. Unless he's from outa town. Ya got anything else?'
'Nada amigo'. Word is that it's not real healthy to be friendly with any blond blue eyed guy right now. If he happens to be a policeman too, that's double trouble'.
'Oh, hey, I'm not that bad' the blond feigned distress. 'Talk like that an' I'll get a complex, ya know'.
The barman sniggered. 'If the goon with the blond fetish gets ya, you'll get more 'n' a complex.. You be careful my man, 'specially if you're cruising' alone. How longs Starsky gone for?'
'Till his Aunt can look after his Mom. Maybe a week. But I got backup. Remember Jose?'
Huggy chuckled. 'Well with Mr 'Built like a brick cabin' at your side you should be safe'.
Hutch finished his beer and headed for the door. 'Ya hear anythin' else Hug, ya know where I am'.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Across town three figures were huddled around a table in the small front room of a large clapboard house.
'You seen him yet?'
'Sure, but he's always with that dark haired one'.
'That's Dave Starsky. They're inseparable'.
'Well not any more. He went to the airport this morning'.
'So Ken's on his own?'
'Seems that way. Perfect opportunity. We get him while he's on his own. When d'ya want him?'
'Now! The other two you brought were close, but they weren't Ken. I want him'.
'We get him tonight, then. Are you ready?'
'I've been ready for weeks. I've got the equipment and the room. It's all set up. I had my practice with the other ones. He'll love it'.
'We'll wait till its dark and jump him at his apartment'.
'Be careful. Don't want anyone to see. It has to be a surprise!'.
'Oh it'll be a surprise alright. Just not the sort he's used to'.
'Aint that a fact? Stupid cop!'.
The sound of a slap.
'Don't you bad mouth him. You don't know him'.
'Nah, not yet. But he's gonna get to know us pretty quickly' the voice said with a wicked laugh.