CHAPTER 2
The crowd of people in the private lounge had grown larger as phone calls were made and other family members and friends arrived to wait for news on the fate of flight 219. The sound of voices throughout the room were muted and hushed as the anxious crowd talked quietly among themselves. Hutch and Captain Dobey stood in the far corner of the room eyeing the subdued activity around them. Hutch was drinking a cup of coffee that Captain Dobey had gotten for him out of the vending machine, barely noticing the foul bitter taste.
"Maybe Starsky took a later flight." Dobey said hopefully.
"He called me last night and said he'd be on this flight." Hutch said in a voice that was void of any emotion. "He would have let me know if he changed his plans. He knew I was picking him up." To outsiders, Hutch appeared calm and in control but Captain Dobey knew him well enough to know that it was a façade.
"Have you called his mother?" Dobey knew that Rachel Starsky needed to be notified but he dreaded the idea of having to be the one to make that call.
"No." Hutch said in a grave voice, the line between his eyes deepening as it did when he was under a lot of stress "Not until we know for sure that the plane is down."
"If the news is bad, she needs to hear it from you and not on the six o'clock news." Dobey said pointedly.
"I know that, Captain!" Hutch snapped in an irritated voice that was sharp with anger and frustration. Dobey ignored the outburst. Hutch took a deep breath and exhaled slowly "I'm sorry, Cap. I didn't mean to snap at you. I just don't want to upset her until we know for sure."
"I know." Dobey said putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. He cared about all the men under his command, but Hutch and his partner were his best team and close personal friends of the Dobey family.
Hutch glanced up as the door to the lounge opened and a tall thin black man dressed in an outrageous ensemble consisting of a bright yellow shirt, a multicolored vest and shiny black pants entered the room. The man's soft brown eyes swept across the room until he spotted Hutch and Dobey standing in the corner. With a confident stride, Huggy Bear joined them. Huggy was a close friend and sometime informant of the two detectives. He had left the restaurant/bar he owned and managed as soon as Hutch called him and came directly to the airport to wait for news about Starsky.
"Any news yet?" Huggy asked anxiously as he joined the them.
"Not yet." Hutch told him, as he finished the coffee and threw his cup into a nearby
trashcan. He had stopped smoking years ago while he was still in college but the sudden urge for a cigarette to soothe his ragged nerves was almost overwhelming.
"Curly's got nine lives. You wait and see he's gonna be okay."
"I wish I could believe that, Hug. But this time Starsky's luck might have just ran out."
The three men fell into an uneasy silence each of them lost in their own thoughts.
Starsky had a significant impact on each of their lives. Huggy Bear had been friends with Starsky since he moved to Bay City when he was thirteen and Huggy knew some of his darkest secrets. Captain Dobey had been his superior officer for almost seven years and even though he got annoyed with the impetuous and often frustrating man, he sincerely liked Starsky. And Hutch was his partner and his best friend, but that friendship went far beyond any friendship either of them had ever known. They were true soul mates in every sense of the word and had been ever since the day they met at the police academy over ten years ago.
They had become even closer after Starsky was gunned down in the police parking garage and almost died from his injuries. Five direct hits to his torso had caused massive damage. He was a medical miracle, a man who shouldn't have survived his injuries but did.
When he got out of the hospital, Hutch had moved in with Starsky to care for him and nurse him back to health during an intensive recovery period that took almost a year to complete. Starsky had fought long and hard to re-qualify to go back on the streets as Hutch's partner.
The voices in the room fell silent as the doors opened to admit four men, all dressed in the official uniforms of the airline. One of them was the head of security who had talked to Hutch earlier. Everyone's attention focused on the four men as they walked over to a long table at one end of the room. Standing shoulder to shoulder in front of the table, the tallest of the four men, stepped forward and said,
"My name is Peter Madison and I am Vice President of International Airlines. These gentlemen with me are William Scott, head of airport security, his assistant James Peterson, and my assistant John Livingston." He paused briefly after the introductions were made and let his eyes sweep across the anxious faces gathered around the room. "I regret to inform you that at 1:25 P.M. today, International Airlines flight 219 crashed approximately 70 miles outside of Kansas City. There are no reported survivors."
The room immediately burst into chaos at the announcement that none of the friends and relatives gathered there wanted to hear. Several people started shouting questions at the four men representing the airlines and LAX. Several other people broke down into tears, cluthing at each other for support. Dobey and Huggy both immediately turned their attention to Hutch. The blond's face had drained off color, every muscle in his body tensing. He would his grief tightly under control until they were alone. He would not break down in front of anyone not even his friends.
The spokesperson for the group of representatives facing the crowd raised his hand for silence. When the room was relatively quiet he said, "We'll try to answer any questions you might have but remember that at this time our information is very limited concerning the crash of flight 219."
"Are you sure there were no survivors?" several people called out at the same time voicing the most important question to most of the people in the room.
"At this time, there are no reports of any known survivors." Mr. Madison replied solemnly. "Passenger lists are being faxed so we can compare the lists of who was actually on the plane and any passengers that may have missed the flight or rescheduled."
His eyes scanned the room again, "Representatives from the airlines will be available to assist friends and family members with further details as they become available."
"What caused the crash?" someone else yelled out from the back of the room
"At this time we are not at liberty to say." Mr. Madison nodded at the other men beside him and continued, "I'm afraid that's all the information we have available for you at this time. Please remain here and representatives from the airlines will let you know more information as soon as it becomes available."
As the four men started to leave the room, Hutch shoved his way through the crowd. As the men reached the doorway, Hutch caught up with them and said sharply "Hold up a minute. I have some more questions I need answered!"
The four men paused and turned to look Hutch cautiously. Mr. Scott recognized Hutch from their earlier encounter "Oh, yes….Detective Hutchinson, isn't it?"
"Yes. My partner was that plane."
"Why don't we go to one of the conference rooms where we can talk in private?"
Dobey and Huggy joined Hutch as he left the room with the airport representatives. They walked down a long hallway to a large conference room and went inside. Mr. Scott shut the door behind them and said "I'm afraid we really don't have any additional information for you gentlemen at this time."
"I'm Captain Harold Dobey from the Bay City Police Department" Captain Dobey said, stepping forward and taking control of the situation. "An officer from my department was supposed to be on that plane and it is imperative that I know as soon as possible if Detective David Starsky was one of the passengers on board that flight or not."
"Captain, I understand your concern and I sympathize with you. I assure you that we will let you know about your man as soon as we possibly can"
"What caused the crash?" Hutch demanded
Mr. Madison gazed at him for a moment before deciding to answer "Initial reports indicate that there may have been a bomb on board the plane. In view of the fact that your man was a passenger on that plane then I have to wonder if he might have been the reason that someone would plant a bomb on the flight."
"He was in New York on vacation visiting his family!" Hutch growled, his eyes flashing coldly at the man's words. "If someone wanted to take him out, I don't think they'd plant a bomb on one of your planes to do it!"
"Hutchinson! Stand down." Dobey said firmly. He turned to give the airline officials an icy glare. "Before you make any accusations involving one of my men you'd better make sure you have the evidence to back it up!"
"Captain Dobey, Detective Hutchinson…" Mr. Madison said politely "No one is making any accusations…we are just considering all the possible theories behind the crash. Obviously the fact that one of the passengers just happened to be a police detective from our fair city has to be considered as a possible motive for someone to plant a bomb on that plane."
"Like the Captain said, you'd better make sure you have plenty evidence to support that theory before you go making any accusations about my partner!" Hutch growled in a cold, deadly voice.
"Gentlemen, please…." Mr. Madison said realizing that the situation was reaching the critical point. "No one is making any accusations at this time. A complete investigation will be conducted to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the crash." He looked at the other three men coolly "Now, if you will excuse us….we have other pressing matters to attend to."
As the other four men representing the airlines left the room, Hutch began pacing the office, muttering obscenities under his breath as he fought to control his anger. Dobey and Huggy sat down on the leather sofa sitting against one wall to wait for him to vent his frustration. None of them could bring themselves to say the words out loud, but they all knew that it didn't look good as far as Starsky was concerned.
