Chapter 10
It was 8 o'clock that night when Jess' VW car drew up at the back of Guild Lodge. That morning she had telephoned the receptionist telling the woman that she had developed a sore throat and she didn't feel well enough to come into work. It went against all her ethics to tell the lie, but as she and Marie had discussed, the more she was around Matwick, the more she left herself open to the doctor asking questions.
For the rest of that day, the two girls made their plans. Jess spoke to an Aunt who had gone to work out of town for a while. She owned a cottage at the foot of Pendle Hill. The small house nestled into the side of the hill and was surrounded by trees so that from the road passers-by would hardly know that it was there. Without telling her Aunt exactly why she needed the place, Jess asked if she could stay for a few days and the Aunt agreed, telling her where to find the keys to the front door and how to switch on the power. Marie went in to work briefly but she too declared she was sick. Once free of the ward, she had slipped into one of the store rooms and had selected some basic materials she felt might be needed to tend to Starsky's wounds. Feeling like a first class thief, Marie had smuggled the stuff out and hot footed it back to her home.
The stage was set and now Jess and Marie needed the main player, or players if they could find Hutch too. As darkness fell, the two girls dressed and prepared themselves.
Marie got out of the car and pulled ineffectually at the tiny mini skirt that she had decided to wear. With the skimpy halter neck top which left little to the imagination and was decidedly wrong for the wintery weather, Marie was happy to follow Jess quickly into the warmth of the Lodge. Both girls pushed open the back door and quickly walked down the corridor, hugging the wall and keeping an eye out for orderlies, nurses or, god forbid, Matwick himself.
The Lodge was quiet fortunately. Visitors were discouraged in the evenings and most residents were medicated and sedated by 7.30 leaving the staff to eat, relax and go off duty. With change over at 8, the two girls had timed their entry perfectly.
Jess hurried down the stairs to the basement with Marie hot on her heels. At the foot of the steps the girls stopped and regrouped.
'Are you ready?' Jess asked.
Marie pulled a lipstick out of her bag, applied the scarlet to her lips and fluffed her waist length black hair. 'How do I look?'
Jess grinned nervously. 'So long as Jim isn't gay, you'll be fine. Are you absolutely sure you're ok with this?'
Marie took a deep breath and adjusted her halter neck. 'As sure as I can be. But promise me this honey. Next time you fall for one of your patients, make sure I'm out of town before trying to break him out.'
Jess nodded, peeped around the corner to check the coast was clear and then nodded.
'Show time.'
Marie turned the corner and shimmied down the hallway on her stiletto heels towards the orderly's station, her mini skirt barely covering the essentials. Jess watched her knock on the orderly's door and a moment later walk into the room before Jess turned her own attention to room 320.
Marie pushed into the orderly's room to see Jim getting himself comfortable in front of the monitors and laying out a vast array of food to see him through the night. He turned as Marie entered, obviously expecting someone else but at the sight of Marie in her mini skirt and top, his eyes popped out of his head.
Marie smiled in what she hoped was a seductive manner. 'Hi. I was looking for the way out, but I seem to have lost my way' she said, swinging her hips as she walked over to the open mouthed man.
'I can um... I can show you the way' Jim stammered.
Over the man's shoulder, Marie could see Jess on the monitor as she got to Starsky's door. She came closer to Jim and pushed her hand against his shoulder, smiling down at him. 'I just bet you can' she smirked as she straddled his legs and sat down on his lap, running her fingers through his hair. 'Maybe you could explain it to me?'
Jim smiled and licked his lips. All his birthdays had come at once.
Jess inserted her pass into the electronic lock on the door and let herself into the dim interior of room 320. The lights never went off completely in this part of the building and as her eyes adjusted, Jess saw Starsky sitting in a wheelchair. Softly she crossed the small place towards him and as she got to the chair she gasped in horror, her hands automatically going to her mouth.
Starsky sat impassively, a drip running into his right arm and his chin touching his chest. His eyes were closed and had it not been for the broad leather strap around his chest, anchoring his body to the chair, he would have fallen to the floor.
'Starsky?' Jess whispered, her hand reaching instinctively to card through his matted curls. There was no reply and she tried again, this time shaking the cop gently as she spoke his name.
'Starsky it's me, Jess.'
Very slowly, Starsky opened his eyes a crack and raised his head a little. 'Huh?'
'Starsky, open your eyes for me. It's me, Jess. We have to get you out of here. Please. Dave. Davey open your eyes.'
With difficulty Starsky did as he was told. The potent drugs running through his system made his body feel heavy as lead, his mind clouded and foggy. She called him Davey. Only his Mom and one other woman called him Davey. Could it be? Was he really back with her?
'Terry?' he slurred. 'Honey...'
Jess tried again, critically aware that Marie was distracting the orderly as best she could in the next room. In desperation she slapped Starsky across the face, the blow designed to sting rather than hurt. 'Starsky it's me Jess.' The girl looked at the typing on the dip bags above the chair and cursed. There was enough sedative to knock out an elephant! 'I'm here to get you out. Work with me huh? Come on Starsky. Wake up!'
The urgency in the woman's voice finally penetrated the fog in Starsky's mind and he raised his head and squinted at the wavering face in front of him. 'Jess?' he whispered.
'Yes! Yes it's me, Jess. I need to get you out of here. Can you walk? Here. Let me undo the strap.'
Quickly, with shaking fingers Jess worked at the buckle of the strap around her patient's chest whilst Starsky tried to orientate himself. That morning, just after Jess had gone, three goons had come into his room and had kinda sat on him whilst they fed the needle into his arm. He'd fought them but he was not in the best shape and they were stronger. Another few bruises were added to his catalogue of injuries. After that he felt warmth running into his veins and then a big black hole of nothing in particular. He dimly remembered one of the orderlies coming in to see him. The big man had slapped him around a little and had licked a long wet streak up his face before turning him over and... his mind tried hard to blot out the memory of the violation. After that he found himself strapped into the chair as the drugs ran into his veins keeping him in a twighlight world. Now he struggled to keep his mind focussed on the woman at his side.
Eventually Jess had the chest strap unbuckled. Starsky started to fall but corrected himself, the room spinning madly around him as he grabbed for the arms of the chair. His mind was foggy, clouded so that he hardly knew whether this was reality or a dream. The drugs in the drip made him feel sick to his stomach and each time he moved his eyes the room spun around him. Jess' voice seemed to fade in and out and each time he stopped making himself move, he felt such heavy tiredness take him over that he permanently hovered between sleep and wakefulness.
'Starsky please, try to stay with me huh? Here, lean on me. We don't have much time here.' Jess pulled Starsky's left arm until it was around her shoulder, levering the brunet from the wheelchair. In passing she wondered whether she should take the chair as well, but the elevator was at the far end of the hallway, past Jim's room and Jess couldn't risk having the orderly spot her. She heaved once more and Starsky got shakily to his feet.
Jess looked at the drip bag hanging from the stand. She had no time to disconnect it and in any event a sudden withdrawal of the drug could certainly kill Starsky. And so she grabbed it, held it between her teeth and set off for the door, almost dragging Starsky with her.
The journey up the stairs and towards the back door was one of the worst journeys of Jess' life. Starsky was almost a dead weight against her body. So sedated was he that he found difficulty in just lifting his feet to walk alongside her, but finally, sweating and panting with exertion, the couple made it to the car where Jess opened the door and Starsky gratefully climbed inside and immediately lay down on the back seat. In a moment, and despite the bitter cold he was asleep. Jess hung the drip from the passenger grab above the back door of the car and got into the driver's seat. A moment later, having seen that Jess was clear from the monitor in Jim's room, Marie made her excuses and left the orderly with a grin on his face and a stain on the front of his trousers.
As Marie got into the car she looked over the top of her seat at the man in the back. Silently she appraised him.
'He was worth it' she said finally. 'But he looks really ill. We need to get him somewhere warm where I can have a closer look, but remember sweetie, I'm only a nurse. He may need more help than I can give him.'
'You've already done more than most friends would ever do. We'll be fine.' Jess let the brakes off and allowed the car to coast down the slight incline towards the Lodge gates. No use in alerting anyone to their presence by starting the engine. As soon as she was clear of Guild Lodge, Jess gunned the engine and made her way quickly back to her Aunt's cottage.
The house wasn't large but it was cosy. The Aga was still lit and the house exuded warmth. With the lamps lit and the curtains pulled against the dark, Marie and Jess manage to guide Starsky into the sitting room and onto the sofa. Marie took a critical first look at the man.
'These drips says thorazine and temazepam. My God, did they want to overdose him? What do they usually use at the Lodge?
Jess pursed her lips. 'Olanzapine, Temazepan. Maybe Thorazine. I told you Matwick gave him special treatment.'
'Well he isn't going to need this any more, but he's going to have one helluva come down from them' Marie said. Carefully she disconnected the drip and put the bag to one side. Gently she took the needle from the vein in Starsky's arm and winced at the ulcerated flesh. Meanwhile Jess was at Starsky's head, once more trying to revive him.
Gently she ran her fingers through his curls, sidling onto the sofa so that his head was in her lap. At her touch, indigo eye blinked open for a moment.
'Hey, there you are' Jess smiled at him.
Starsky looked up into the girls face. He knew her, he knew he did but his mind was clouded by the drugs and he struggled to comprehend what was going on.
'Hey' he whispered although just forming the words was exhausting.
'You're safe Dave. You're out of the Lodge. Away from Matwick. We're going to look after you now.'
Starsky rolled his head. 'Not me. Hutch... need to find Hutch.'
'I know. I know you do, but right now we need to make sure you're ok.' Jess held on to Starsky's shoulder as Marie's probing fingers hit the broken rib. He writhed and hitched a breath through clenched teeth.
'Sorry. I'm sorry' Marie said softly. 'It's ok. Try to sleep. The effects of the drug will wear off and you'll feel better once you've slept some.'
Starsky closed his eyes. Whilst it felt so good to have someone look after him, and even better to be out of Matwick's clutches, even his drug addled brain held so many questions. How had they got him out? Where was he? Could they be trusted? Was this another of Matwick's sick games? And where was Hutch? So many questions and so hard to think. The girls hands on his body felt good and for the first time in weeks he felt safe. Slowly the questions receded as sleep overtook him and his body relaxed against Jess' lap.
'Is he going to be ok do you think?' Jess asked Marie quietly.
The other girl sighed. She had waited for Starsky to relax before she started to ease away his tee shirt and bathe his wounds of which there were many. 'Like I said, I'm only a nurse but so far as I can tell he has at least one broken rib and another fracture that's almost healed. There's more cuts and bruises than I've seen on a car crash victim. He's gong to hurt for a while yet, but yes, I think he should be ok. You did good, girl, getting him out of there.'
Jess nodded pensively. 'Now we just need to find the other one.'