Author's note: I'm really sorry I left it hanging like it did and it took me so long to get the next chapter up. I hope it's worth your wait. I had a bit of writer's block and I am writing on a notebook so I can only write for a few hours at a time before I have to wait for the batteries to charrge. Enjoy!

Chapter 8

Starsky whirled back around and looked at her. Jill was pointing a shaky finger at the pig on top of Hutch's desk-or what was left of the ceramic animal. The head had been shattered, several jagged pieces lying on the surface and a note had been stuck in the gaping hole. The dark haired man moved over to the desk and picked up the piece of paper by a corner to read, the letters cut out of a magazine or newspaper:

'Hey, pig! You're dead, Hutchinson!'

Jill swayed on her feet and dropped down into Hutch's chair. She felt as though a hand was clenched around her throat. Someone was threatening Ken—someone wanted him dead. Joe Rogers had almost succeeded in killing him, now someone wanted to finish the job. Sheer panic swept through her, fear for her husband. "They want to kill Hutch! Dave, who?"

"Jill, I hadn't told you before but I guess you need to know now. Joe Rogers is out on bail." Starsky said quietly.

"Joe? You think he wants to finish the job on Hutch?"

"Wait, there's more. The feds have Rogers in protective custody. He's going to testify against a drug kingpin named Reynoldo Rosetti. When Hutch was in uniform he arrested Rosetti and he made threats against Hutch and the other officers."

"But, Dave, that was what-10 or 12 years ago? Why would this Rosetti hold a grudge that long?" Jill's head was spinning, trying to take in the shock of the threat against Ken and what Starsky was telling her about Rogers and Rosetti. It was just too much to grasp. She couldn't wrap her mind around it.

"I don't know. I don't even know if I'm on the right track. All I have are little pieces that don't add up to squat and a gut feeling that I'm right. I'm gonna call Dobey and get a uniform on Hutch at the hospital." Dave glanced at his watch. It was a little after 9. He knew the Dobeys went to church on Sunday mornings, but it was early enough that maybe he could catch the Captain before he left. Starsky punched in the number and waited. After three rings, Dobey answered.

"Yeah-Dobey-"

"Cap'n, Starsky. We now have a direct threat to Hutch. We found his pig with its head shattered and a note threatening him."

"His pig? What pig?" Dobey sounded as if he thought Starsky was punch drunk from staying up all night.

"The pig. You know the pig on his desk -at the station." Dave explained. Geez, didn't anybody remember the silly pig on Hutch's desk? He guessed that it was such a fixture now nobody paid any attention to it anymore.

"What did the note say?"

Starsky told him and Dobey asked,

"What's your best guess about who sent this message? Do I need to call Minnie in for computer work?"

"It wasn't signed, but I'm guessing Rosetti."

"Rosetti? And what evidence do you have that he's involved-besides what Hutch told me last night about a vague threat?"

"None-yet, Cap'n, but I'll get it. It's a gut feeling."

"And DA's don't convict on gut feelings, Starsky!" Dobey growled."You'd better get some hard evidence-and fast."

"I know. Can we talk about this later?" Starsky underlined the last word with his voice.

"Is Jill there with you?"

"Yes-" he had to keep his side of the conversation as noncommittal as possible as he desperately tried to shield Jill from any more shock. She already looked like a deer caught in the high beams of a car.

"Was she there when you found the note?"

"Uh-huh-"

"And you don't want to talk while she's standing there?"

"You got it, Cap'n. No sense in that, is there?"

"All right, get the pig and the note down to the lab. Maybe there'll be something there. Take Jill home. I'll get a black and white on their apartment. And I'll see you at 2."

"See you later."

Starsky dropped the receiver into the cradle and turned back to Jill. Her face was still white, but she wasn't shaking anymore. "You want some water, Jill?"

She looked up at him, still disoriented, blinking as if she had just come out of a deep sleep. "What?"

"A drink—of water?" he mimed drinking from a cup.

"Uh-no, thank you, Dave."

Starsky squatted in front of her and his indigo eyes caught her green ones. They were still filled with a deer in the headlights look. "Jill, I really think we should go back to the apartment. You've had a shock. We'll call Hutch and tell him we'll be in later."

Dave's eyes were filled with concern and she understood why, but she felt her place should be with her husband right now. "No! I want-I need to be with Ken!"

"Jill, honey, there's been a threat made against his life. He wouldn't want you caught in the crossfire." Starsky tried to reason with her.

"Please, Dave- we'll only stay a few minutes. You'll be with me on the way to the hospital-and once we're inside, we'll be safe with the officer outside his door. Besides, you know he'll ask why we aren't coming in if we don't--" her green eyes pleaded with him.

"All right-" he sighed. Starsky couldn't argue with that. His partner would ask why they had missed a visit. "Let's go. We have to make a stop at the lab to give them the note and the pig."

"Why?" she was puzzled for a moment, then it dawned on her. "Oh, fingerprints!"

"Yeah, maybe. I think Rosetti would be more careful than that—but it's worth a try." Starsky looked around the squad room for something to put the shattered pig and the note in so he wouldn't leave his fingerprints, settled on a coffee mug and placed the evidence inside. He and Jill left the squad room.

Jill and Starsky entered Hutch's hospital room about an hour later. The blond man was still sleeping. The fever last night had taken a toll on him. He was pale, his face as white as the pillow beneath his head, instead of the almost normal shade it had been just yesterday. He was also restless, moaning in his sleep, caught in the throes of a nightmare or just the pain, Jill couldn't tell. She crossed over to him and placed her hand on his forehead to smooth back his blond hair. At her touch Hutch stopped moaning and his sky blue eyes opened.

"Hi, hon-" she smiled and leaned down to kiss him.

"Hi yourself-" Hutch took advantage of her position and brought her down to him in a one armed hug. All of the fears for his life flooded over Jill again and she squeezed him even tighter. She found his ear and whispered into it:

"I love you so much, Ken-" as tears formed in her eyes. One escaped and trickled down her cheek to drop on his neck. He felt the wetness and pushed her away gently so he could look at her. Hutch swept away another tear with one finger.

"Hey, what are the tears for? I'm okay." Hutch's smile grew wider, then he looked from her to his partner who had come up behind Jill and again saw something on Starsky's face, instinctively telling him something was wrong. The blond man's smile faded. "What? What happened?"

"Someone bashed in the head of your pig and left a threatening note, Hutch-" Starsky replied quietly.

"My pig?" Hutch echoed, scrubbing his face in puzzlement.

"The pig on your desk. We think it's Rosetti."

"What did the note say?" Hutch growled, his anger now kindled.

"Pig, you're dead, Hutchinson'-" Jill supplied the answer to his question and Hutch's gaze snapped back to her.

"You saw it?" his gaze flew back to Starsky. "You let her see it?"

"She saw it first, Hutch. She came up with me to the squad room. I wasn't gonna let her sit in the car outside-alone."

Hutch caught the meaning of his partner's words: Starsky had been protecting her just like he promised Hutch he would. He just hadn't expected the threat that awaited them at the station. "Yeah-okay, so there's been a direct threat. Now does Dobey think we can do something? I want Jill protected, Starsky." Hutch shook his finger at his partner and attempted to sit up, groaning when the shoulder wound protested the movement. Starsky and Jill moved to either side of the bed and helped him to a sitting position, then Jill put a pillow behind his back.

"Yeah, you got it, partner. I'm meeting with Dobey at 2. We're gonna decide our next step. And there's a uniform outside your door. Now he'll put some uniforms outside your apartment, too. And I'll still be there to protect her."

"Will you two stop talking about me as if I'm not even in the room?" Jill broke in.

"We know you're here, Jill." Hutch turned his head to look at his wife. "Now you know I don't usually tell you what to do, but in this case I want you to do everything Captain Dobey and Starsky tell you to do." he told her sternly, his index finger coming up to wag in her face. "Please, Jill-" his face softened and his icy blue eyes glowed with love and concern. "For me?" his good hand reached out for hers and he squeezed it.

"Yes, Ken-" she replied meekly. How could she resist complying with his request when he looked at her that way? Their eyes locked and held and silent communication passed between them.

'I love you. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you.'

'I love you, too. I'll do anything you say.'

Then the spell was broken and Jill changed the subject.

"My parents called last night."

"Oh? How are they?" Hutch's tone turned warm. He liked his in-laws.

"Fine. Mom wanted to hop on the next plane out here when I told her about you—and my exhaustion."

"I hope you talked her out of it." Hutch became alarmed. "We don't need your mother in the middle of all this."

"I did. She's not coming. But she told me to tell you they're thinking about you."

The conversation turned to other topics, then Starsky checked his watch.

"I'd better get Jill home so I can be at the station at 2 to meet Dobey."

Jill kissed Hutch good-bye and Starsky squeezed his partner's good shoulder, then they left the hospital to return to the Torino. Starsky headed for the Huthcinson's apartment. True to Captain Dobey's word, a black and white sat a few hundred yards from their place. As Starsky brought his car to a halt and they exited the Torino, the uniformed offficer got out of his car and came over to them. He was probably in his late 20's, a kind looking man with sandy brown hair and brown eyes. Starsky recognized him as Donovan Connelly, a three year veteran of the force who was getting ready to take his detective's exam, a good upstanding cop.

"Hi, Connelly-" Starsky greeted him, then introduced him to Jill. "Jill, this is Don Connelly. He'll take good care of you."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Hutchinson. I wish it was under better circumstances. We all want you to know that we're all thinking about Hutch." The respect for her husband was unmistakeable in the younger officer's voice.

"Thank you. And call me Jill." she extended her hand and he shook it.

"Okay, Jill." he grinned at her.

"Would you take her upstairs? I've got a meeting with Dobey."

"Sure."

"I'll see you later, Jill." Starsky grabbed her hand and squeezed it, then returned to his car and went back to the precinct. Parking in his usual space in front, he entered the station and went back to R and I to get Suarez' file.

He had a few minutes before his meeting with the Captain to look at it. As he expected, it was short. The kid had only one arrest when he was 18—the one that sent him back to prison where he was killed. All of the rest of his arrests were juvenile arrests and the file was sealed. As Hutch had told him, Ritterman and Marshall were the arresting officers. Again there was no mention of Guitterez or Witherspoon anywhere in the case. Suarez had been knifed to death by a fellow prisoner named Nicky Caputo. He made a note of that and read on. The kid had been placed in Children's Protective Services when his mother died. Then Starsky saw a name he never expected to find in this file.

Jill Sutherland was the case worker.

Hutch's Jill!

Starsky checked again, shuffling through the pages. It was there—in black and white. The dark haired detective sat back in his chair and scrubbed his face with his hand as a thought struck him. Jill had ties to Rosetti, too—or at least to his son. Did that mean she was a target, too, and not just because she was married to Hutch? Rosetti could have a beef against her also!

"Starsky!" Captain Dobey's growl broke through Starsky's reverie.

"Huh? Yeah, Cap'n--" Dave picked up the file in front of him and followed the big man into his office. Starsky dropped down into one of the chairs in front of the Captain's desk. "Cap'n, Jill has a tie to Rosetti herself—apart from being Hutch's wife." he began the meeting without preamble.

"How?"

Starsky laid the file in his hand on the Captain's desk and shoved it across to him. "She was a case worker on Rosetti's son Orlando Suarez when he was a teenager. I just found it in his file. That could explain why Rosetti waited 12 years to make his move. He didn't know Hutch and Jill were married until now—two birds with one stone and all that."

Dobey studied the file in front of him so long that Starsky thought the Captain had forgotten his presence in the room. "Cap'n?"

"Yeah, Starsky, I heard you. It makes sense. Rosetti could have a beef against Jill, too. So you'll need to see Jill's files. I'll get a warrant so you can search them. Jill will have to go into her office tomorrow." the black man sat back in his chair and dragged a hand through his short hair. "This gets more complicated by the hour. What do you want to do?"

"Hutch and Jill are both safe, for now, Cap'n. But I think I oughta get Jill and go back to the hospital to talk to her and Hutch together. I think Hutch knows things he doesn't know he knows. And maybe Jill will remember something, too."

"Okay. Did you tell Hutch about the pig?"

Starsky nodded. "And I took it down to the lab and asked them to put a rush on it."

Dobey nodded in acknowledgment, then they both fell silent for a moment, then Dobey broke it. "You know we may have to separtate Jill and Hutch-and she may not get to see Hutch for the duration of his stay in the hospital. If your theory is correct, then it's too dangerous for them to be together."

"I know—and that's gonna wound Hutch more than anything Rosetti could ever do to him. Jill, too, for that matter. Let's wait on that, Cap'n. Let's see what Jill's files tell us before we make a move in that direction. If my theory is correct, then it's possible that Rosetti won't make a move until Hutch is out of the hospital and back home again so that gives us a couple more days to find him."

"Do you have a last known address on him? A place to start, at least?"

"Last known was a hotel on Main. It burned down two years ago. No one knows where he is now. Word is that he moves around a lot so no one can get a bead on him."

"The feds might have an idea where he is." Dobey suggested.

"I'll check on it, Cap'n." Starsky took out his notebook and made a note.

"Anything else?"

"No." Starsky rose to his feet and flipped his notebook shut. "I'll go back to the hospital."

"If anything comes up, you let me know. I'll be at home. I'll see you back here at 8 tomorrow morning. I want an update."

Starsky left the Captain's office and went downstairs to R and I to return the Suarez file, then picked up Rosetti's file and made a copy of Hutch's report on the arrest. He stuffed it in his back pocket and picked up the receiver of a nearby phone to punch in the number of the hospital. He'd called it so much in the past few days he knew it by heart now. After three rings it was answered. He asked to be transferred to the 4th floor nurses' station. They told him that Hutch was still sleeping from the latest round of pain killers he'd been given shortly after Starsky and Jill left him that morning. He asked to speak to the doctor, telling him that they needed to make an exception to the rule that Jill could only see Hutch once a day so she could come back to the hospital again-- it was police business. Then Starsky pushed the hang up button and punched in Jill's number. After four rings, a sleepy voice came through the wires.

"H'lo?"

"Jill, this is Dave. Look, I'm sorry to wake you. I need to talk to you and Hutch about this case at the hospital. Meet me there in twenty minutes."

"Me? What can I tell you?"

"It turns out this involves an old case of yours. I'll fill you in when you get there. Get Connelly to drive you."

"Okay-" Jill still sounded puzzled, but she had promised Ken she would do whatever Dobey and/or Starsky told her to do. "I'll see you in a little while."

Starsky arrived first at the hospital, parking his Torino near the entrance and went in. He took the elevator up to the 4th floor and went into 414. Hutch looked like he had just been awakened and the nurse had him sitting up. He looked a little better than he had that morning, but his face was still a shade paler than normal. The sky blue eyes lit up with welcome when he saw his partner.

"Hi-what are you doing back here?" When he saw the serious look on the dark haired detective's face, the smile faded. "What happened? Jill?"

"No, no, she's fine. She'll be here any minute. I asked her to come back."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you yet."

"Starsky!" Hutch snapped. Usually he trusted his partner when he was being mysterious like this and went along, but today it just irritated him.

Ignoring his partner's outburst, Starsky pulled up one of the chairs in the room to sit down next to the bed. "Hutch, I want you to try to remember something-anything-about the threats Rosetti made against you."

"I've told you everything I remember."

"I don't think you have. Think back. There's gotta be somethin'. I think you know somethin' you don't know you know."

"Oh, that makes a lot of sense, Starsk!" Hutch snapped sarcastically.

"Think! 12 years ago. You and Corlew made the arrest."

"You've seen my report!"

"I want to hear it from you." Starsky shot back. "And to help you remember I brought a copy of your report."

"Oh, all right--" Hutch finally conceded defeat. He knew it was fruitless to try to get Starsky off this line of questioning. He was like a bulldog with a bone. Starsky pulled the report out of his back pocket and handed it to the blond man. Glaring at him and sighing, Hutch grabbed it from his partner's hand and read through the report.

As he was reading, the door opened and Jill came into the room. She crossed over to the men and leaned over to kiss Ken, then she looked over at Dave.

"Hi-I don't know why I'm here, but I'm here."

"Why are you dragging her into this, Starsk?" Hutch asked, mystified and a little peeved at his partner.

"Just-read the report." Starsky brought the blond man's attention back to the paper in his hand. Hutch tried to recall the scene.

"'Suspect was handcuffed. Minor was taken from suspect. Suspect told police that minor was his son. The kid fought us all the way, yelling and kicking. Yelling 'Papa" over and over again. It was really pitiful. Corlew finally had to cuff the kid across the mouth to shut him up. That's when Rosetti went crazy, yelling about police brutality and how he was going to get even with all of us pigs who had brought his son down.'"

"That could explain why he destroyed the pig on your desk. Anything else?"

"The kid kept yelling something in Spanish. Wait, let me think." Hutch lifted his good hand to his forehead and rubbed it. "Um-m, pennies. No, money! What's money in Spanish?" the word suddenly came to him and he snapped his fingers. "Dinero! That was it. Some kind of money."

"The money from the drug drop?"

"No—I don't know." now Hutch scrubbed his face and grimaced, then pounded his fist into the bed. "Dammit, I can't remember. It's just been too long, Starsky."

"Okay, buddy. Take it easy. I'll give you an easy one now. What was the kid's name?"

"I told you that yesterday."

"I know. I want you to tell me again—with Jill here."

"Now wait a minute. Why?"

"She's involved more than you know." the dark haired man turned to Jill and said, "The kid's name was Orlando Suarez."

"Orlando Suarez?" she echoed.

"You know him?" Hutch's head snapped around and he stared at her in astonishment.

"Yes. he was one of my first cases." then her eyes widened. "Oh, my God, you're right! Rosetti's son! Why didn't I make that connection when you told me you suspected him of destroying the pig?"

"Well, you had other things on your mind at the time." Starsky said gently. "So, Jill, Dobey's getting a warrant this afternoon so we can go through your file on Suarez. You'll have to go into the office tomorrow. Now can you think of any reason why Rosetti would hold a grudge against you?"

"N-no-" the full impact of the implications of her involvement with Suarez and Rosetti suddenly hit Jill and she started shaking. "So you think Rosetti could come after me, too? Ken-" she fumbled for her husband's hand and clenched it tightly. He pulled her down to him and held her in a one arm hug, trying to calm her. Hutch could feel her trembling and, ignoring the pain in his shoulder the movement caused, he drew Jill into both arms. He needed to hold her, no matter what the pain. This wasn't just about him anymore. Jill was involved and all he could think about was keeping her safe. If only just holding her would do that...If only all of his love for her could keep Jill out of harm's way because then he would know nothing would ever happen to her. Jill's trembling arms clung to him as she buried her face into the corded muscles of his chest. Clouded with anger, his sky blue eyes sought out his partner's indigo blue ones. Again the silent communication of many years of friendship passed between them.

Why did you have to do this? Hutch pleaded with him.

I'm sorry, buddy. Do you think I liked it? She had to know, Hutch. Starsky replied. You know we'll do everything we can to keep her safe.

I know. I just wish it didn't have to be this way.

Then another thought clicked in the blond man's mind and he said aloud to his partner:

"So if Rosetti is gunning for both of us, Jill and I can't be-together-in the same place."

"What are you saying-we can't be together?" Jill spoke in a weak and tear smothered voice as she lifted her head from his chest and her green eyes searched his pale blue ones for an answer.

"Jill, hon, think about it. That's what Rosetti wants—to take us out together. Isn't that your theory, partner?" Hutch's eyes shifted to Starsky's. Jill's eyes darted over to Dave, too, as she straightened up.

Starsky nodded. "That's what we think. We won't know for sure until we see Jill's files—or she can remember something about why Rosetti would want to ki-hurt her." Dave couldn't bring himself to say 'kill her'.

"So I can't visit Ken anymore? And do I have to leave the apartment?" Jill asked in a strangled voice. She grabbed her husband's hand again. This was turning out worse than she first thought. Jill was so sure she and Ken could have handled this as long as they could be together, to give each other strength. But now it seemed they were even taking that away from them.

"As far as we know, Rosetti doesn't know where you live so as long as the detail is there, you should be safe at home. But yes, Jill, it isn't safe for you to be here-or anywhere- with Hutch."

"Come on, Dave, surely Rosetti wouldn't do anything in a hospital. It's too-public. I mean it's not like he would plant a bomb or anything." Jill was grasping at any available straw, her mind refusing to wrap itself around this situation.

"He wouldn't need to. It would be easy to whack you and then put something poisonous in Hutch's IV. And a hospital would be the perfect place because it is so public. Anyone can get in here. They can't lock the doors." Starsky paused a moment, then added: "So when Hutch gets out of here, we may need to take him to a safe house. I'm sorry."

Jill's eyes flew to her husband's as she bit her lip to keep herself from crying. From the warring emotions on Hutch's face, it was painfully obvious he was torn between wanting her to be safe and wanting her by his side. The fact that the two were mutually exclusive in this situation was pure torture for him. Starsky's heart wrenched, too, at the sight. He was not used to denying his partner anything it was in his power to give and the fact that he was the one who had to bring up this solution was torturous for him. Silence sat between the two men and Jill as they all contemplated the situation in front of them.

"There's no other way?" Jill finally broke the stillness in a choked voice. Then a thought hit her and she added:

"Wait, you can bring me to the hospital, Dave. You won't let anything happen to me." To her this was a simple solution to the problem. Why did Ken and Dave make it so difficult by suggesting that she and Ken had to be kept apart?

"I'll run it all past Dobey. He's calling the shots on this and I think in this case we really should follow his orders." Starsky replied as he and Hutch exchanged glances. It wasn't as easy as Jill made it sound. There were still too many variables, too many of those little pieces that didn't add up. Too many loose ends. Too much theory, too little facts.

They talked about other things for another hour, then the nurse came in to tell them visiting hours were over and Hutch needed another round of pain killers. After a lingering kiss from Hutch, one she savored in her heart, Jill and Starsky left the room and took the elevator down to the first floor to exit the hospital. They took the Torino to the Hutchinson's apartment. Jill washed down her sleeping pill with a glass of water and was soon sound asleep while Starsky settled on the sofa and found a basketball game to watch on TV.

Jill was awakened a few hours later by the jangling of the telephone. Sitting up, she reached for the receiver on the telephone on the nightstand and swept it up to her ear on the third ring.

"H'lo?" she said sleepily.

"Hello, Jill—this is Edwina Hutchinson."

The stilted, clipped voice of Ken's mother came through the wires and Jill was immediately fully awake. She had an almost irresistable urge to snap to attention. She settled for sitting up in the bed.

"Hello, Mrs. Hutchinson." Even though she didn't mean for it to happen, Jill's tone became stilted, too. She didn't know her mother-in-law very well and her infrequent calls made Jill uncomfortable. As it had been when Ken and his younger sister Chrystina were growing up, the elder Hutchinsons were very busy people, their father with his many business holdings and their mother with her charities so they rarely had—or even made—time to call their 'wayward' son who, besides moving halfway across the country from Minnesota, had deeply disappointed his father when he didn't follow the career path for which the elder Hutchinson had groomed him: to become a lawyer—and had chosen to become a cop instead, a big step down from what a son of his should be, in the elder's opinion.

"Is Kenneth there? I am calling to wish him a happy birthday." Birthday? Jill calculated. It was only July! Hutch's birthday was more than a month away. Did the woman not even know when her son's birthday was? As if she figured out what Jill was doing, the elder Mrs. Hutchinson continued: "I realize it is early, but Russell and I are going to England tomorrow so we will not be in the country on Kenneth's actual birthday." And heaven forbid that they make an international long distance call on the actual day, Jill thought. According to Ken, even though Russell Hutchinson had lots of money, he was very tight with it.

"No, ma'am, he isn't. I'm sorry I didn't call you. Ken's in the hospital. He was shot during a domestic dispute shootout five days ago."

"How badly was Kenneth hurt?" a hint of concern crept into Mrs. Hutchinson's voice.

"He was wounded in the thigh and the shoulder. He lost a lot of blood and the wound in his leg became infected twice, but he is fine now."

"Good, I am glad to hear that. But of course his job is so dangerous that wounds are to be expected." She couldn't even drum up any sympathy for her son, Jill thought. Any other mother of a cop would be beside herself with worry: Hutch had told her Dave's mother had been when he was shot by Gunther's goons. But not calm, cool, collected Edwina Hutchinson. Far be it for her to worry about her son. "How are you, dear?"

Jill cringed at the only endearment Mrs. Hutchinson used for anybody. She was not really sure her mother-in-law really wanted to know: it was just a perfunctory question. Jill thought back to the telephone call she had had from her own mother. Talking to her was so much different than talking to her mother-in-law. Any warmth and real caring was missing from this conversation.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Hutchinson. I've been resting during the day. I fainted from exhaustion the other day."

"Oh, dear, you must take care of yourself—for Kenneth's sake. You won't do him any good by wearing yourself out." Her tone lacked any real conviction that she cared about either Jill or Ken. As a matter of fact, Ken's mother sounded almost—bored.

"I know. I will. How are Chrissie and Hank and Kari?" Jill asked after Hutch's sister and her family.

"Chrystina and Henry and Kari are fine." Mrs. Hutchinson emphasized Hutch's sisters' given name and her son-in-law's given name, not the nickname Ken had given his sister when she was little and her husband's nickname. Nicknames were not dignified—any diminutive of their names was frowned upon. Mrs. Hutchinson still didn't understand how her daughter could have named her daughter 'Kari', a given name that sounded too much like a nickname for her taste.

"Well, I must hang up. I have some packing to do for our trip. Please give Kenneth my wishes for a happy birthday when you see him."

"I will, Mrs. Hutchinson. Good-bye."

Jill slipped the receiver back into the cradle and threw the covers back on the bed. She got up and went down the hallway to the kitchen where she found Starsky piling pastrami and cheese high on rye bread. He grinned at her as she came in.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Who was on the phone? I figured it wasn't the hospital since you didn't come to get me."

Jill shook her head. "Mrs. Hutchinson. She called to wish Hutch a happy birthday—early."

"But his birthday isn't for another month yet."

"They'll be in England so they won't be here."

Starsky shook his head. It really was sad such a great guy like Hutch had two parents who had had such little time for him when he was growing up—and still did. But Starsky figured it was their loss. They didn't know what a caring, compassionate, sensitive man their son had turned out to be, despite their neglect. He tore his thoughts away from that and to the sandwich he was making.

"I can make two of these if you want. Then there's a Godzilla movie marathon on Channel 6."

"Count me in."

Starsky was late again. He thought he had set the alarm to give him plenty of time to get ready the next morning, but slept right through it. Luckily Jill had set hers since she had to go into the office today and shook him awake in time to take a quick shower and eat a slice of toast. But it was still a little before 8 when he got on the road and the station was a good twenty minute drive away, longer if he was unlucky enough to get stuck in traffic. However, his luck held. Traffic was light and he cruised along at the speed limit. Tapping on the steering wheel to a song in his head, he was startled when the radio squawked.

"Zebra Three-Zebra Three—come in." Dobey's brisk, urgent voice came through the radio. Starsky reached over and picked up the microphone.

"Zebra Three-what is it, Cap'n?" as it had over the past few days every time he got a call over the radio or by telephone, his heart jumped in his throat, thinking it was news of another complication with Hutch. So he wasn't prepared for this news.

"Starsky, they just found Joe Rogers' body—in the alley behind the laundromat on First."