ROAD WORK AHEAD: EXPECT DELAYS
CHAPTER 12
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Huggy tried to remain calm. He wanted to say this just right. He didn't want anything of what he was about to say to be misunderstood.
"Captain, I walked a little further up the road and saw something very weird. Ya gotta have a look for yourself." He was breathless with the need for action and a desire to help. He wanted someone to tell him what was going on.
Captain Dobey sighed but started walking in the direction that Huggy indicated. He stopped to turn toward another detective to make sure he was coming with them.
The three men walked forward, Huggy walking a bit faster, silently urging the men to walk faster. They all stopped at the same time once they saw the dumpster, the woman chained to it and a metal shed beside that. The woman had stopped struggling and had slumped to the ground. Her restraints were long enough and loose enough to allow her to sit beside the dumpster. She leaned back, resting her head against it.
'Excuse me miss?" Dobey quietly asked the mysterious woman. She didn't respond right away so he moved closer to her and bent down to touch the top of her head.
Her head snapped up, her eyes angry but they also had a foggy look to them. She stared at Dobey, then Huggy and back to Dobey. She attempted to stand up and grudgingly accepted Dobey's support as she swayed and leaned against the refuse container.
She drew her self up to her full height before she spoke. When she did speak, all the anger and frustration that had built up was directed toward the men standing in front of her.
"I sure as hell hope you've got a chain cutter on you because if you don't, you ain't no help to me." She shook the chain connecting her to the dumpster to emphasize her point.
She felt woozy and was having a hard time keeping her eyes focused.
'Look here miss, you better start telling us what's going on. How'd you end up like this?" Dobey grew impatient and now wanted answers. Maybe she'd know what happened to Starsky and Hutch.
"Quit calling me 'miss'. Sounds like some old maid or something. My name's Billie, I'm the contractor for this damn road project." She lost her balance and landed back on the ground. She put her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead there for a minute.
"Billie, I'm Captain Harold Dobey of the Bay City precinct. I'm missing two of my men who were known to be traveling this road. They've disappeared and seeing that you're in a somewhat of a compromised position, maybe we can help each other."
"This has been a day from hell." Billie grumbled. She remained on the ground and resumed rattling the chain that connected her to the big metal container.
"Just get this damn chain cut off me!" Her voice rose to an angry decibel by the time she got to the last word.
Captain Dobey's voice rumbled with frustration. He began to wonder if this woman had anything to do with his detective's disappearance. She was a beautiful woman and he wouldn't put it past the two men to have gotten in some kind of trouble as a result of meeting her. He had no intention of letting her go until he got some answers.
"Look here, Billie, just tell me if you've seen either of these men today." Dobey pulled out the police I.D. pictures of Starsky and Hutch. He showed them to the still fuming woman and watched her face carefully as she studied the photos.
She hesitated a bit too long which confirmed the captain's belief that Billie knew more than she wanted to share.
"Let me just explain something to you. These two men are detectives in my department. I think that somehow you're involved with them and right now, you're in no position to lie to me."
Billie gave another angry shake of her chain and glared at the police captain.
"Yeah I saw both of 'em," she snarled. She pointed her chin at Hutch's picture. "That one, though, I'd like to strangle him. He really pissed me off, that blond haired sneak…" She stopped herself from continuing, realizing she'd already given too much in the way of her involvement with the handsome blond. The implication of what she'd just been told, hit her. She hissed out another string of complaints against the blond.
"I shoulda guessed about Hutch. A detective huh? That blond was a smooth operator alright. He sure is good under cover!" She giggled in resignation and annoyance.
The captain had heard enough. He had a sneaking suspicion about what she referred to. Knowing both men, he could come to a pretty accurate conclusion about all of this. She was involved with something illegal, of that he was certain and somehow, Hutch had found out.
"Who did this to you Billie? Was it one of these men?" Dobey pointed again at the picture of his detectives. Something better start to make sense soon.
"No it was some other wise guy. He came up behind me, grabbed me around my throat, told me his name was Harry and then forced a smelly rag over my face and the next thing I knew…" Her voice trailed off but she shook her restraints once again.
Dobey wiped his hand over his face. So many questions; too much muddled information that didn't connect.
Huggy had been standing off to the side, listening to the conversation but also, the metal structure caught his attention. He started walking around it to get a better look. He passed to the back of it then around to the front where the door was. It was fastened with a pad lock and a loop of chain, securing the door tightly. He slapped his hand against it, figuring that they'd reached a dead end. Billie had seen them, but it didn't seem like she would willingly provide any more information.
Huggy was about to rejoin Dobey and the other detective when he stopped. He had only gone a few feet away from the door when he thought he heard something. Billie was still ranting and cussing about being let go, but Huggy thought he heard something else. He rested his ear against the door but didn't hear anything. He stepped back and grabbed the pad lock and shook it then kicked at the door. There, he was sure he heard a voice, muffled and faint but he was sure of it now. Someone, perhaps Starsky, maybe Hutch or possibly both of them was in there?
"Captain, make tracks man. Somebody's in here!" He rapped on the door again and this time, there was a definite banging answer from inside.
