CHAPTER 10

Two days passed. Despite his efforts, Hutch was no closer to finding Starsky than he had been the day he had discovered his partner was missing. As his concern grew, his patience grew thin. He prowled the back stage area like a panther on the loose. He glared at anyone who dared get too close, and the look from those ice-blue eyes was enough to send most men on their way. Anyone who knew the big blond well knew that this was a good time to give him his space and not antagonize him. Until he found Starsky, alive and relatively in one piece, he would be a very dangerous man to cross.

Since the road crew for Mandy's show was not aware of Starsky and Hutch's partnership, rumors flew concerning the exact nature of the 'relationship' between Hutch and his missing friend. Some not-so-bright members of the crew didn't seem to care who overheard them spreading rumors. A trio that always hung together were talking among themselves as Hutch strode through the arena.

"What do you think, fellas?" the leader of the trio drawled to his companions as Hutch approached them. "I say he's on the receiving end. I bet Curly pounds him into the mattress every night." He grinned wickedly when he noticed that he had Hutch's attention. "Or maybe he just puts a collar and leash on Blondie and lets him suck him dry."

The words had barely left his mouth when he found himself pinned against the wall with Hutch's forearm firmly pressed against his throat.

"Spewing that homophobic shit is a good way to get yourself killed," Hutch hissed in a cold, calm voice that was enough to send a chill down the back of the bravest of men.

Calvin Byerly was not a brave man. He instantly began to cower and whimper at the rage he had evoked in the blond.

"Hey, man…you know how it it…people talk. Me, I don't care who you sleep with, ya know?"

He tried to smile but gagged it back when Hutch's forearm pressed harder, threatening to cut off his air.

"People talk and little assholes like you just repeat what you've heard, right?" Hutch growled. "Maybe even add a little twist or two of your own to make it a better story?" His eyes narrowed dangerously, and he leaned in close so he could whisper in the smaller man's ear. "How about I show you just what my partner and I do at night…and during the day, too…"

"Hey, man…let me go!" Calvin made a halfhearted stab at a show of bravado. "I know my rights! You attacked me! I can call the cops and get you arrested for assault!"

Hutch smiled a cold, sinister smile. "Go ahead. Ask for Detectives Starsky and Hutchinson. They're a couple of real bad asses. Ask anyone in the department. They've got quite a track record when it comes to busting heads."

He released Calvin so quickly that he fell to his knees, gasping for breath and clutching his throat with both hands. Without a backward glance, Hutch walked away while Calvin's two pals crept back to help him to his feet.

The encounter with Calvin had helped to release some of Hutch's anger and frustration, but he was still on the edge. He decided to talk to Mandy again and see if there was anything they had missed in their previous interviews that could be useful now. As he neared her bus, he could hear loud voices coming from inside. Mandy's voice he recognized. The male voice he did not. Concerned for her safety, he picked up his pace pausing when Mandy's voice said, "We are not having this conversation again, Jimmy! You already know how I feel, and I'm not going to change my mind!"

Since her words made it clear that she was not in immediate danger and obviously knew her companion, Hutch paused outside the bus to listen to their conversation, ready to intervene at the first sign of trouble.

"And you know how I feel! Or doesn't that matter anymore?" the man's voice yelled angrily. "Maybe we should just call things off right now!"

"Go ahead! It's not going to change things!"

"Mark my words, darling…this isn't over. Not by a long shot!"

Hutch took a step back out of sight as the door to the bus slammed open and a man jumped down the steps and hurried away. From the description he had of Mandy's hometown boyfriend, it was her fiancé, Jimmy Dalton. Hutch stood there for several moments, deep in thought. Things had just taken an unexpected turn. Was this somehow connected to the case? Without bothering to knock, he pushed open the bus door and stepped inside.

"Just get out, Jimmy! We can talk about this later!" Mandy said as she stepped out of her private part of the bus. Her eyes widened with alarm when she saw her visitor was Hutch and not her fiancé. Flustered and embarrassed over what he may have overheard, she said, "Ken, I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else."

"Like your boyfriend slash fiancé?" he asked in a casual tone. "Jimmy, isn't it? Jimmy Dalton?"

"You obviously overheard what just happened," Mandy said with a heavy sigh. "But, it's not what you think. It was just a stupid fight. That's all."

"Not if it has anything to do with my partner's disappearance it isn't," Hutch declared firmly.

"It has nothing to do with you or David," Mandy said, tears shimmering in her eyes. "It's just something that Jimmy and I can't agree on, that's all. It has nothing to do with what's been happening on this tour."

"Why don't you tell me what it's all about and let me decide that." Hutch suggested.

"I told you it's private, and I don't want to talk about it with you or anyone else." Her voice raised a notch in irritation. To Hutch that usually meant that the person he was talking to had some information that he needed to know.

"We can always go downtown, and I can have you held as a material witness until you decide to talk to me." He watched her face closely as he pressed the issue.

"You can't do that! Tonight is the Award Show!" Mandy began to cry real tears. "Please…please just let it go."

Hutch wasn't insensitive to the pleading tone in her voice, but he had a job to do; so he pushed a bit more than was necessary.

"I can't. My partner's life is at stake. Now talk to me, or we go downtown."

Hutch could be quite intimidating when he chose to be, especially when it concerned his partner's safety and well-being. His gut was screaming at him to follow his instincts, and his instincts were telling him that whatever was going on between Mandy and her fiancé in private was somehow tied into his and Starsky's case. He determined to find out just how the two things were connected, and he didn't give a damn whose toes he stepped on along the way.

Mandy sank down on a comfortable chair and covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook with silent tears while Hutch waited patiently for her to decide to cooperate.

Finally, she took a deep breath, exhaled slowly and raised her eyes to meet Hutch's steady gaze. "Before I left on this tour, I found out I was pregnant. It would ruined everything…so I took care of it. Jimmy was furious when he found out. He blamed my career and wants me to give it all up to settle down and be his wife." She took another deep breath. "And I can't do that. I've worked too hard to get where I am. Things are finally starting to fall in place for me, but Jimmy can't understand that."

"Has he threatened you in any way?"

"No, Jimmy would never do that. And he has every right to be angry. I went behind his back and got rid of the baby without talking it over with him first. But, he keeps telling me that the only way he can forgive me is if I give it all up and marry him. He wants me to announce that I'm quitting after the awards show." She looked at Hutch forlornly. "How am I supposed to do that? I love him. I do, with all my heart. But, I love my career and I can't turn my back on either one."

"How far do you think Jimmy will go to force you to quit?"

"I don't know. He keeps threatening to break up with me if I don't quit, and I could see him doing that."

"What about anything else? Could he get violent?"

"No. Jimmy's not that way. But, he does have a temper, and he likes to have his way."

Hutch nodded without speaking. In his experience, those where exactly the type of men who could turn violent under the right circumstances. Just because Mandy had never seen her fiancé become violent, that didn't mean that the tendency wasn't there. And getting an abortion without his knowledge could be a pretty good trigger for that violence. Hutch decided it was time to do a little more digging into Jimmy Dalton's past.

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