Part II

The atmosphere at The Pits was pretty dismal when the door opened about half an hour later. Breezing in, singing 'Happy Birthday' off-key while holding a white box obviously from a bakery, was Starsky himself. Both of the waitresses and Huggy stared at him. When it dawned on him that they were staring instead of covering their ears, Starsky stopped singing, puzzled.

"So...? Where's the big blonde lummox?"

It took another minute, but Huggy found his voice.

"Damn, Starsky, we didn't think they'd release you so quick. Hutch must've just missed you."

"Huh? Release who from where?"

That was when Huggy took a look outside at the gleaming and not even dirty (let alone wrecked) Torino. Being mad won out over being relieved.

"I'm not sure how you talked Dobey into playing along with that dumb stunt, Starsky, but Hutch is gonna kill you and for once? I'm gonna help him do it. Man! You scared the hell outta all of us!"

It was the very evident confusion on Starsky's face as he sat down the box on the counter that finally got through Huggy's anger and made him halt his rant. Coming closer, he looked straight into Starsky's eyes.

"Whoa - wait. You got no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Not a clue. Please? Fill in the blanks?"

"Hutch was here, sitting right there, when a uniform came in. Said Dobey sent him to get Hutch because you'd been in an accident. He went with the officer to head to the hospital to check on you. Man, even for Hutch, Hutch was pale."

Starsky stared for a minute, processing that, then suddenly snapped out.

"Phone!"

Huggy pulled over the phone he kept behind the counter and placed it near Starsky, who immediately grabbed the receiver off the cradle and started dialing. Impatiently, his leg bounced as the ringing started, willing it to be picked up faster.

"Captain Dobey. Please tell me you sent for Hutch."

It had been one of 'those' mornings for the Captain and Starsky's call wasn't promising to improve it any.

"Why would I send for either of you jokers on your days off? I already see more of you than I do my own family."

Dobey moved the phone from his ear slightly as the receiver clattered against the counter. Starsky could be heard yelling Hutch's name in the background as Huggy picked up the handset.

"Still there, Captain Dobey? This is Huggy Bear. Yeah, sorry about that, let me give you the condensed version. Uniform came in here and said that you'd sent him to get Hutch and take him to the hospital cause Starsky had been in a traffic accident."

"Listen, Huggy - you tell Starsky to stay put. I'm on my way."

"Will do."

The door reopened and Starsky came back in a lot slower than he'd gone out. He had a piece of paper in his hand and a look on his face that was somewhere in-between puzzled and pissed. Huggy didn't say a word as Starsky came back over to the counter and slammed the paper down.

"This was on Hutch's car. What the hell is this supposed to mean?"

Very gingerly, Huggy put his fingertips on the paper and turned it around to read it. The penmanship on the note was almost painfully neat - almost like something that someone would have turned in for a grade. Some how that make the words on it seem worse than if they'd been scrawled.

You took mine - now I have taken yours. Make the funeral arrangements.