CHAPTER 8

Starsky moaned as consciousness slowly returned along with a terrible pounding in his head. His eyelids felt like they were glued shut but he finally managed to open them enough to make out his surroundings. It was dark wherever he was and it was cold enough to make him silver since he was still naked. He seemed to be in some small windowless room. He could vaguely see the outline of a doorway to his left.

As he became more alert, Starsky began to access his condition. His hands and feet were securely tied, tight enough to make his hands numb. Besides the pounding in his head, the left side of his face throbbed and the rest of his body felt like he'd taken a few good punches while he was unconscious. He closed his eyes in resignation to whatever lay in store. Any other time, he would have counted on Hutch to find him but this time that wasn't an option. Hutch was gone and didn't even know that Starsky was in trouble.

Hutch lay back on the musty smelling mattress in the flea bag motel he had been holed up in for the past two days. He hadn't been able to bring himself to leave Bay City entirely so he had been lying low so nobody would recognize him. This was the third motel he'd been in, moving every few days and checking in under assumed names to hide his identity.

He hadn't been eating much and it showed. He was also drinking heavily. Alcohol was the only thing that seemed to numb the pain enough for him to catch a few hours of sleep without dreaming about Starsky. He had dyed his hair brown to help conceal his identity and had bought some ragged clothes at a thrift shop to help him blend in on the street. He'd even shaved off his mustache to further alter his appearance. It had been exactly two weeks since he'd walked out on his old life and it already felt like it had been a lifetime.

Unlike most of the other rooms he'd been in, this one furnished a tiny black and white TV on a stand sitting against the wall at the foot of the bed. The sound was scratchy and the picture was blurry and snowy. Not that Hutch gave a damn. It just provided some noise in the background to chase away the silence in the room.

Hutch tipped back the bottle and swallowed a gulp of whiskey. He felt the liquor burn its way down his throat and to his stomach. Things were starting to blur around the edges but he was still much too sober. He closed his eyes and tried unsuccessfully to sleep.

Suddenly, something on the television caught his attention and his eyes snapped open. He struggled to focus his gaze on the grainy image.

His heart raced when he saw a picture of Starsky flash on the screen. Staggering to his feet he walked over to the TV and turned up the sound straining to make out the words accompanying the picture.

This is Heidi Bowman of channel 12 news. The Bay City Police Department has reported a missing officer. The officer's name is Detective Sergeant David Starsky. Detective Starsky has been missing since sometime Monday. Anyone with information concerning Detective Starsky's whereabouts is asked to call Captain Harold Dobey at 555-6013. You may remain anonymous.

"Starsky…" Hutch whispered in a broken voice as he reached out with a trembling hand to touch the screen as if he could touch Starsky through the glass. "What have I done?"

Hutch swayed as he straightened up his knees threatening to buckle as the alcohol he'd drank began to catch up with him. Ignoring his condition, Hutch stumbled for the door. If Starsky was in danger, he could no longer stay away. He had to find him. Since he still didn't have a vehicle Hutch tried to flag down a cab outside the building. But, none of the cab drivers wanted to pick up a fare that looked like a common drunk who couldn't afford to pay for his ride. But, Hutch didn't let that discourage him. With a determined stride he began to walk down the crowded street. Most of the pedestrians shied away from the shabbily dressed man with the haunted eyes that brushed past them.

Hutch had to walk for eighteen blocks before he found himself in more familiar territory. A light rain had begun to fall sobering him up significantly by the time he finally reached his destination. Taking a deep breath he opened the door and stepped into Huggy's Den.

The bar was crowded with the usual late afternoon trade. Power drinkers, hookers looking for a quick trick to satisfy their pimp, cheating spouses looking for a one night stand, and businessmen stopping for a drink on their way home from the office. Hutch shuffled to an empty stool at the far end of the bar near the entrance to the kitchen.

Huggy Bear was working behind the bar. He barely noticed the drunk that took a seat at the end of the bar although there seemed to be something about the man that Huggy found familiar. Finishing with one of his regulars Huggy walked down to the end of the bar wait on his new customer. As he approached, the man raised his head and stared at Huggy with a pair of ice blue eyes that Huggy would have known anywhere.

"Hutch?" He said in a stunned voice. "Is that you?"

"I need to talk to you, Hug. Alone." Hutch said in that arrogant tone that Huggy knew so well.

"I don't think you and me have anything to talk about, Hutchinson." Huggy said in a tightly controlled voice. "Do you have any idea what you did by walking out on Starsky like that? And now he's missing no thanks to you!"

"Damn it, Hug! That's why I'm here!" Hutch said trying to ignore the pounding in his head. "I have to find him!"

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you took off and left him out there on his own without anyone to watch his back!" Huggy snapped in an irritated voice. He was worried sick about Starsky too and none of his usual sources seemed to know anything about his disappearance.

"Huggy, please," Hutch pleaded "Can't we just go somewhere and talk for a few minutes?"

Huggy considered for a moment and then nodded curtly. "Go upstairs. I'll meet you there in ten minutes."

Hutch nodded and slid off the stool. He walked over to a partially hidden stairway on the other side of the swinging doors that led into the kitchen. He climbed the steps to the second floor of the building where Huggy kept two rooms for friends who needed a place to stay for a few days or his regular customers who'd had too much to drink to drive home.

Hutch entered the first room at the head of the stairs and closed the door behind him. He paced the room impatiently as he waited for Huggy to appear, too wired to sit down. His alcoholic buzz was starting to wear off and Hutch's head was competing with his stomach to see which one hurt the most.

Finally, Huggy came in. He looked at Hutch glumly, folding his arms across his chest. "Okay, so talk." He said coldly.

"Hug, I can't prove it but I think I my father had something to do with Starsky disappearing."

"Why? What would your old man have to do with somebody grabbing Curly?" Huggy demanded.

"Because he hates Starsky. He threatened to kill him if I didn't quit my job and leave town." Hutch said gruffly.

"Hey, I know your folks weren't happy when you decided to become a cop but why would your old man hate Starsky so much?"

"Because," Hutch said with a defiant tilt of his chin and murderous glint in his eyes. "Starsky is a Jew and I found out that my father was a Nazi during the war."

"What?" Huggy exclaimed in a stunned voice unable to believe what he was hearing. "You gotta be shitting me."

"I wish I were," Hutch said with a heavy sigh as he sank down on one of the chairs sitting at the tiny table sitting under the only window in the room. "Look…it's a long story and I don't have time to get into it with you right now…but my father called about a week after we got back to Bay City. He told me that if I didn't quit the force and leave town…then he would have Starsky killed."

"And you believed him?"

Hutch snorted. "Of course I believed him! My father has always been a cold, unfeeling bastard and I never knew why until I discovered his dirty little secret. He has the money and the connections to get someone else to do his dirty work for him."

"So how are you going to find out if he had anything to do with Starsky disappearing? It could just be a coincidence."

"I'm going to ask him but I need your help. I need some clothes and a gun."

"Why don't you just call Dobey?" Huggy suggested "I know for a fact that he hasn't officially turned in your resignation yet."

"That figures." Hutch said with a smirk. He shook his head. "But, this is something I have to take of by myself. Now can you get me a gun or not?"

"Oh, yeah…I can get you a gun alright. But, it's gonna cost ya."

"How much?"

"At least three hundred if you want a good with extra ammo and not some Saturday night special."

Hutch pulled his wallet out of his hip pocket and took out three one hundred dollar bills handing them to Huggy who tucked them in his pocket.

"I'll get you some new threads and have Diane bring you some coffee and food." Huggy said as he turned to leave.

"Hey, get me some stuff to get this shit out of my hair too, will ya?" Hutch added.

Huggy glanced over his shoulder with a grin and said, "You got it. Starsky sees you with your hair like that and you'll never hear the end of it."