Chapter 4

Starsky arrived at Hutch's apartment just as Karen was finishing her shower. She heard the door open and her brother talking as she stepped from under the stream of water and she reached for the towel, looking round for something to wear to walk from the bathroom into the bedroom. She cursed for not having brought her change of clothes into the room with her and finding nothing but the large towel, she wrapped it round herself, took a deep breath and opened the door.

The two cops were deep in conversation and as she opened the door Starsky looked up and took in the sight appreciatively. The towel covered Karen's essentials, but little else and it was apparent to the brunet that long legs and slim figures ran in the Hutchinson family. With her wet hair slicked back and her face devoid of makeup, he realised just what a natural beauty she was and his heart gave a small jump of delight. Idly he wondered how Hutch would take it if he decided he wanted to pursue the ex Mrs Marissippio for a date.

Karen blushed at the brunet's attention. Her brother's partner had such a direct, piercing way of looking at her that she felt she might as well have not been wearing the towel. She felt stripped naked by his unwavering gaze and colour rushed to her cheeks as she mumbled something under her breath and quickly opened the bedroom door and disappeared inside. Hutch watched with a slightly amused expression on his face as Starsky stood watching the pretty blond woman. With his arms hanging down and his head slightly on one side, he looked like a little terrier watching for it's owner to bring the leash for a walk and the picture needed only to be completed by a lolling tongue and pricked ears.

As Karen closed the bedroom door behind her the brunet let out the breath he'd been holding.

'Down boy' Hutch snickered. 'On a cop's salary you couldn't afford her.'

'Wouldn't mind tryin.' Jeez those legs… go all the way….and her eyes an'….' The curly haired cop stopped himself quickly suddenly very aware that this was Hutch's sister and not some girl he had seen at the local night club. He cleared his throat self consciously. 'Sorry' he grinned 'but ya gotta admit she's hot.'

The blond raised his eyebrows. 'Really? Hadn't noticed. Incest is still illegal in Minnesota.'

'No I didn't mean…. I mean she's…well she's…. but not like…..' Starsky stopped, seeing the grin on his partner's face. 'How come she got all the looks an' you're so butt ugly?' he smirked and ducked away from the cushion Hutch threw at him.

The meal that night was a pleasant, fun filled affair. Starsky curbed his enthusiasm for the newly divorced woman, fully aware that while she was beautiful, she was also way of limits. Hutch was solicitous around Karen and the brunet found it oddly touching to see just how protective of his sister Hutch was. The woman seemed to take it for granted, and Starsky, who had only ever had Nicky, the sibling from hell to deal with, found it cute to see how the two Hutchinsons interacted. Not that Karen was a walkover. She was astute, smart and had her own well informed opinions on world affairs and more than once Starsky became lost in the debates as Karen's rapier mind and Hutch's equally quicksilver brain debated topics as wide ranging as politics to pets. Quietly Starsky sat back and let the two become reacquainted, smiling to himself at just how alike they both were. Two sets of flaxen hair gleamed in the candlelight from the table, piercing crystal blue eyes flashed in passion over some point or other and slim frames hunched over the table as they became embroiled in yet another friendly argument.

For the most part, the brunet enjoyed the evening. From what Hutch had told him of his family life, he'd expected Karen to be a clone of their mother – dour and sour and clad in designer clothes. But she wasn't. Karen Hutchinson was as homely as apple pie, as astute as Nixon and as beautiful as the Mona Lisa, with the same enigmatic smile. Almost the perfect woman and Starsky felt a pull at his heart that he couldn't have the same easy going and ultimately strong relationship with his own brother. But he and Nicky were estranged not just by distance, but by background. Cop and felon did not mix well and it was no secret that Nicholas Marvin Starsky liked to dance on the opposite side of the rail tracks, preferring to get his money through drug dealing and running for the local gang bosses. Honest toil and Nick Starsky were as different as chalk and cheese and his brother was a constant source of worry for his Mom and pain for the brunet. Starsky sighed contentedly. It was nice to see that Hutch had found his sister again after all these years and that they still had a bond.

As the evening was coming to a close and the last dregs of the red wine from the excellent bottle Starsky had brought from home had been poured, the telephone jangled to life and Hutch frowned. He got up and snagged the receiver.

'Hutchinson.'

Starsky watched as the frown deepened and his partner nodded once or twice then put the phone down. 'Evening's cut short. They want us down at the beach again' he announced, picking his gun and holster up from the hook by the door.

'Another one?' Starsky asked as he got up from the table and wiped his lips with his napkin.

'A fresh one. They say it can't have been more than a few hours old. They want us down there now.' Hutch walked over and kissed Karen on the cheek. 'Sorry Sis. Work calls. Leave the dishes in the sink I'll deal with 'em tomorrow.'

She returned the kiss and waved him away. 'Just go. I'll tidy up. Shall I lock up or do you still not carry a key?'

The blond grinned. 'Over the door' he admitted. Just leave it on the latch huh?'

Starsky too kissed the woman, lingering a little longer over the task than Hutch had and as he drew away he again lost himself for a second in the depths of her eyes. 'The food was wonderful' he said softly. 'Sorry I wolfed it down so fast, but the taste was fantastic!'

She smiled at him, feeling that familiar pull. If this hadn't been her brother's partner and if she hadn't been quite so raw from her relationship breaking down, maybe….'

'Just go. And guys……watch each other's backs huh?' she said, grinning as they headed for the door.

As they drove down to the beach, both men prepared themselves for the next grizzly sight and as they parked up along the coast road and got out, they could already see the patrolmen down by the waters edge and another tiny figure with a flashlight. Perry Turner had also arrived at the scene. The beach was illuminated by a large, white moon dominating the horizon. It cast a silvery cold light over the water, highlighting the foamy tops of each wave that hit the shore with a soft hiss and accentuated the shadows of every hollow in the sand.

They trod carefully over the shallow dunes although there was enough moonlight for them not to need torches and as they started to walk down the hard packed sand to the edge of the water Perry looked up and turned off her flashlight. She walked towards the two detectives and drew them away from the uniformed men still surrounding the naked body, its flesh luminous and pale in the cold light.

'What've ya got?' Hutch asked.

'It's definitely another werewolf kill' the tiny woman nodded at the corpse. 'Throat ripped out again, but the wolf didn't have time to finish feasting. The body is still bleeding – it didn't suck it dry.'

Starsky gave an involuntary shiver. 'OK, this is beginning to creep me out. What're we lookin' for, Lassie with fangs?'

Perry gave him a withering look. 'We're looking for a wolf who's lost their king. They're scared, lonely and out for revenge. And no, we aren't looking for a huge wolf with a man's face. The lycanthrope we're looking for will look much the same as you or me. Maybe longer hair, brighter eyes, longer nails, but a human shape, certainly not like a huge dog.'

At that moment, one of the patrolmen who'd been scouting the scene gave a shout and the three detectives looked up.'

'Starsky, I got footprints over here' he shouted. 'Headin' that way' he pointed to a rocky headland in the distance. The brunet put his thumb up indicating he'd heard and turned back to his partner. 'Wanna go play with the puppies?' he asked.

Hutch nodded. 'Fine. Maybe we'll get lucky.'

The three set off up the beach, keeping to the water's edge where the sand was firmer and easier underfoot. The trail was patchy. The owner of the footsteps was light on their feet and there were tracts of sand which bore no mark at all.

'It's typical wolf behaviour' Perry said. 'They're light on their feet, just like a wolf. Difficult to track for the most part, especially in a forest. Here on the beach, we have an advantage. Even a wolf would have to fly to avoid leaving tracks. And that's one thing they can't do.'

'So you're sure it's just one?' Starsky asked, kneeling in the shallow water beside one of the footmarks. It looked ordinary; smaller than he'd have expected, almost delicate, the only difference from a normal footprint being that the toe nails seemed to dig deeper into the soft sand.

'Yes, there's only one set of tracks, and usually wolves live solitary lives. They'll only get together when the Luprex requires it, for wolf councils or maybe to mate' Perry said thoughtfully.

'And if we find this werewolf, how do we take it down?' Hutch had his gun in his hand and he looked at it uncertainly. 'BCPD don't issue silver bullets as a rule.'

Perry shook her head. 'You don't have to kill it' she said. 'What is it with men and guns? You think you have to kill anything that gets in your path. This is still a person we're dealing with. Stronger, yes. Quicker yes, but still a person. There's no need for killing.

Starsky stopped in his tacks. 'Make your mind up lady. Either it's a wolf or it's a person. Which are ya gonna go for?'

'It's a person afflicted with a disease – lycanthropy. Would you kill someone with pneumonia, or malaria?'

The brunet snorted softly. 'If they're gonna kill me first, yeah, I would. So my partner is askin'. How do we do that?'

Perry sighed. 'Silver bullets will hurt them more than normal ones, but they're no more deadly than those in your guns right now. To kill a werewolf you need to shoot through the heart, or rip out the heart or decapitate them. Any other sort of injury they'd be able to heal. They'd be sick for a while, but they'd heal a lot faster than a full human.'

'Great' the brunet grunted as he checked the magazine in his gun. 'Shoot for the heart. Got it.'

Perry put her hand on his arm. 'But only if they're going for the kill. Please? I know these people. I can almost certainly reason with them. Give me a chance huh? Before you let Messrs Smith and Wesson speak for you?'

They reached the headland and as they started to pick their way over the rocks strewn around the rocky outcrop, the flaxen haired cop looked up at the cliffs above them. About fifteen feet up and partly hidden by a small bluff there was the shadowy entrance to a cave on the leeward side of the cliff. He nudged his partner's arm and nodded at it.

'Wanna go check it out?' Hutch asked quietly.

Starsky looked up at the rocks and swallowed hard, memories of climbing rocks on the Caribbean island all too vividly returning. Suddenly Papa Theodore's mad giggling sounded in his ears and he shivered in the cool night air.

'Wouldn't be my first choice, no, but I guess we should. After you?'

Hutch started to climb, his long legs eating up the rock face and in no more than a few strides he found a small track leading up to the cave mouth. He stopped and waited until Starsky and Perry had caught up with him and then the three cautiously walked on up the steep gradient, hugging the wall of the cliff and keeping to the shadows. Starsky pressed his back firmly to the rock, refusing to look down at the beach below and fairly soon they stood at the opening to the cave. It was narrow, but as Perry shone her flashlight inside they could see that it opened out into a cavern beyond.

As they went inside, they switched on their flashlights and scanned them around the rocky room, their beams piercing the darkness like lasers. At the back of the cave, there was a rocky wall which cleaved in two showing two smaller passageways leading back into the darkness.

Hutch nodded at them. 'Right or left?' he asked.

'Neither, but if I'm pushed I'll go with left' Starsky muttered.

'Fine. Be careful huh?' Hutch grinned as Perry followed him into the darkness.