Chapter 4

Starsky left,closing the door behind him. Hutch flipped through the channels on the TV and couldn't find anything that held his attention. He remembered the neighbor he met yesterday and how strange he was. He managed to get into the wheelchair and looked out of the window that was on the side of the living room. He peeked from the side of the curtain without moving it. He could see the neighbor's house from there. Hutch saw a small blue car pull up and the neighbor got out of the passenger seat. He was wearing light tan pants, his dark brown shirt was neatly tucked in and he had on brown dress shoes. The driver was wearing a dark colored suit. Hutch couldn't tell if it was dark blue or black. He had on a white shirt and a tie that matched the suit. Hutch's neighbor did not look happy and stomped off into the house followed by the other man. Hutch couldn't hear anything that was said.

Hutch moved to the guest room where he could see the neighbor's living room. He was being careful not to be seen. Hutch could see the two men and appeared as if they were arguing. Hutch saw his neighbor raise his fist in the air and the other man pointing a finger at him.

Hutch was so engrossed in watching his neighbor he didn't hear Starsky come back and he jumped when Starsky came in. "Geez, Starsk, you sure know how to scare a guy."

"Whatya doin? I thought you were going to stay put until I got back."

"Uh, nothing." Starsky wheeled Hutch back to the living room. Hutch sat back on the couch being careful not to put any weight on his right foot.

Starsky went into the kitchen and took a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water. He opened the pill bottle and handed one to Hutch. "Here, take this."

Hutch took the pill and swallowed some water. Handing the glass back to Starsky he said, "Thanks."

Starsky sat next to Hutch on the couch and picked the remote up again. He started searching through the channels. He finally stopped on a cooking show. A chef was making chili. Starsky jumped up and searched through a drawer in Hutch's desk until he found a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote down the recipe as Hutch watched the show. "I gotta admit, Starsky, that does look good."

"I'll call Jeanne and have her bring the stuff here and I'll make it tonight if you want. We can all eat here."

"That'd be great."

When the show was over, Starsky called Jeanne and asked her to pick up the ingredients for the chili. She said she'd be happy to.

Starsky, Jeanne and Debbie were in the kitchen making the chili. Starsky was wearing a white apron with a red heart in the middle of it. In the middle of heart were the words 'Kiss the Cook.' Kenny was on the floor helping Davey put the bookshelf together and Hutch was on the couch when the news came on. Hutch saw a picture of a man who had been found dead. "Shhh. Starsky, come here!"

Davey and Kenny stood up and Davey was holding the side of the shelf and Kenny was screwing the screw in place. They both looked at Hutch.

Starsky heard the sense of urgency in Hutch's voice. He was still holding the onion in his hand when he walked into the living room. "What is it?" Debbie and Jeanne were right behind him.

Hutch pointed at the TV. "That man. Starsk, I saw him next door earlier today, when you went to get my pills."

Starsky moved his eyes from the TV to Hutch, "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. I may be retired but I know what I saw. And I'm telling you I saw that man next door. Listen."

The newscaster said, "The body of Ronald Becker, a 34-year-old Bay City resident, was found around three this afternoon in a ditch on Beach Avenue. Investigators are looking into the death. Foul play is expected. In other news…"

Hutch turned the TV off. "I need to call Chief Sterling and see whose investigating this." He took his phone out of his pocket and dialed the station.

"Is that what you were doing when I came back? Spying on your neighbor?"

"Hello, this is Ken Hutchinson I'd like to speak to Chief Sterling." He covered the speaker with his hand, "I wasn't spying." He noticed everyone looking at him. "Okay, maybe I was, but he was acting really strange, Starsky, and you know it."

"I grant you that."

Starsky was standing next to Hutch and heard him talking to Chief Sterling. He could only hear Hutch's half of the conversation. "Hello, Chief. Who's investigating the Becker murder? Johnson and Reynolds, good. Tell them I have some information for them." There was a short pause. "Yeah, I'll be home all night, remember I broke my ankle. I'm not going anywhere for a while. Thanks." Hutch hung up the phone and put it back in its case. "He's going to get Johnson to call me. It may a while though, he's with Reynolds in booking."

"Dad you mean that man that was murdered was next door earlier?"

"That's exactly what I mean, Davey, and I want you to stay away from that place."

"Yeah, sure," Davey said

"Honey, what did you mean when you said he was acting strange?" Debbie asked. She was still holding the tomato she was about to cut in one hand with a knife in the other.

"Starsky and I paid him a little visit yesterday."

"We were going to help him move some boxes in, but he was less than friendly."

"That's putting it mildly, Buddy. He was very rude and I don't know…but there's something about him that bothers me. I want you guys," he looked at the boys, "to stay away from him." His request was met with silence. "I'm serious. Stay away from him; don't even go near his house."

"I got it, Dad," Davey said. He moved so that he was holding the other side of the bookshelf.

Kenny was placing another screw in place and said, "Sure, Uncle Ken. We'll stay away."

Hutch nodded at the boys and turned his attention toward Debbie and Jeanne. "That goes for both of you, too."

Debbie bent down to kiss Hutch on the cheek and almost poked him with the knife. Hutch moved to his right dodging it just in time. "You're dangerous with that thing."

Debbie realized what she almost did and looked horrified. "I'm sorry. I didn't get you did I?"

Hutch chuckled. "No, you didn't get me." She bent down and she kissed him.

"Hutch, are you saying your new neighbor killed that man on the news?"

"No. I'm just saying I saw him over there earlier today and I think Johnson and Reynolds should check it out."

"Hey, let's get this chili on. I'm gettin' hungry," Starsky said as he tossed the onion in the air and caught it.

Starsky turned and headed for the kitchen. "Starsk?" Hutch called.

"Yeah, Pal?" Starsky spun around and look back at Hutch.

"You do believe me don't you?"

"Hutch, of course I believe you. If you say you saw Becker at your whacko neighbor's place, then you saw him."

"Thanks."

Starsky shook his head as he went back to the kitchen. Hutch turned the TV back on and the boys went back to work on the bookshelf.

About the time the bookshelf was completed, the chili was done. Starsky unfolded the wheelchair that was leaning against the wall by the couch and moved it next to Hutch. Hutch stood up putting all of his weight on his left foot while keeping his right foot off the ground. Starsky supported his shoulders with his hands as Hutch pivoted and sat in the wheelchair. The move was executed with such precision that it looked as if they had practiced it a million times. The others were already seated at the table when Starsky wheeled Hutch in. Davey scooted his chair back and stood up. "Sorry, Dad. I didn't think about the wheelchair." He removed another chair from the table to make room for Hutch.

"It's okay, Son."

Starsky set the breaks on the chair and carried the pot of chili to the table. Debbie and Jeanne had the bowls already out. Debbie started dishing the chili and handed the first bowl to Hutch. He thanked her and set the bowl in front of him. "So, boys, how did it go yesterday? I'm sorry I wasn't here when you got back."

"Dad it was great! Seth, Thompson and I went to see Huggy about the case they're working on. Huggy told them he heard the next shipment of cocaine was coming in next Tuesday. He wasn't sure, but his contact was going to find out. It was neat to see them in action. I mean the whole thought process, bouncing ideas off each other like and Uncle Dave. I hope I get to ride with them again. I was hoping for a bank robbery or a real bust but it was fun."

"Being a detective is not all fun and games, ya know."

"Yeah, a lot of time is spent sitting in a car," Starsky added.

"In the heat, rain or cold with a bored partner," Hutch said as he glanced at Starsky.

"Or one who wants to chat about the merits of springtime or his philosophy of life," Starsky stuck his tongue out at Hutch. Everyone chuckled.

"Okay, then," Davey said dragging out the words.

"What about you, Kenny? What did you do?"

"Austin and Martin are working on a theft ring that's moved into the downtown area. They think it's being led by the Rodriguez brothers. We spent part of the morning looking for them. We finally spotted them and tailed them to a warehouse. Austin thinks it's where they're storing the stolen merchandise until they find buyers. They're going to get a warrant and bust them in a few days. Until then there's nothing they can do but watch them."
After dinner, Jeanne helped Debbie put the dishes in the dishwasher while Davey and Kenny went to Davey's room in the basement. Starsky grabbed a couple of beers and wheeled Hutch onto the front porch. It was a nice warm evening and there was a soft cool breeze blowing. The moon was only half full, but its brightness illuminated the front yard. Hutch couldn't help but look toward his new neighbor's house. Debbie came outside carrying the cordless phone. "It's for you, Dear. It's Johnson."

Hutch took the phone. "Thanks." He put the phone up to his ear and proceeded to tell Johnson everything he saw earlier that day. Johnson thanked him and said that he would get a search warrant by morning and pay the neighbor a little visit. Hutch assured Johnson that he would be safe tonight.

Starsky, Jeanne and Kenny stayed until about ten then they headed home. It was Monday and the boys had school the next day so they didn't want to be out too late. "Are you sure you're gonna be all right tonight? I don't like that nut case living next to you."

"We'll be fine. He doesn't know I saw anything. You go on home. I'll call if I need you."