Chapter 13

Hutch skidded to a halt outside the small hospital room having driven across the city at break neck speed with the mars light flashing and sirens blaring. He'd tried to get hold of Dobey on the car mic. but the Captain, who had been working for 19 hours straight, was off duty for the night. And so, with only himself to rely on, the blond had broken every speed record know to man to get to the hospital, Shane Lewis' implied threat ringing in his ears.

He stopped outside the small room and looked in. Starsky was led on his side, his face away from the door. The sheet was pulled to his waist and, typical of the brunet, he wore no top, revealing the neatly taped dressings covering the five long, red wounds on his back. The curly head lay smothered in the pillows, extinguished almost and as Hutch walked quietly into the room and round to the other side of the bed he couldn't help smiling at the picture of the handsome man, safe in bed and asleep.

Ugly bruises marred the familiar face, but Hutch noticed that the drip had been removed and there was an empty coffee cup on the nightstand. He sat quietly by the side of his sleeping friend, calming the heart that had hammered in his chest on the way over. It was too simple. Too easy for Lewis to wind him up. They had to find him and they had to stop him. Now. Before he could do any more damage. Hutch sat back in the chair, his body accustomed over the years to moulding itself to the uncomfortable, hard chairs that habitually found themselves into waiting rooms and bedsides. Despite his nerve jangling ride over, he was tired, not just physically but emotionally and the heat of the room warmed him through, making him drowsy. Slowly, his eyelids drooped and his chin sank onto his chest and within minutes, the blond was fast asleep, snoring gently at the side of the brunet. Perhaps an hour later, one of the nurses walked into the room to check on her patient. Starsky was still sound asleep and it seemed a shame to wake him, but she needed to check his vitals and to do that he needed to be awake. She reached out and gently shook the bare shoulder above the sheet, stepping back in alarm as the curly haired man cried out and jerked his arm away from her. Starsky looked up, shamefaced as he saw it was a nurse and no-one more sinister.

'M'sorry' he muttered, shuffling around until she could gain access to his arms.

'Don't worry honey. With what you've been through, I'm not surprised you jumped' she said kindly.

And then it hit the brunet. "With what he'd been through". There it was – he was officially a victim. Damn. He didn't want this. He hated being cosseted like this. It made him feel claustrophobic. He said nothing more as the woman pumped up the cuff around his arm and jammed a thermometer under his tongue. But he knew he needed to get out of there, quickly before he plunged even further into his depression. When the nurse had finished her checks and had written on the chart at the bottom of his bed, he leaned over and shook Hutch's knee.

'Hutch? Hey, Blondie!'

The big man groaned, stretched and opened his eyes, rubbing a hand over his face as he straightened his aching back.

'Hi buddy'.

'Hutch, what're ya doin' here? You said you were gonna go home an' get some sleep. M'not goin' nowhere ya know. B'sides, I aint go no pants'.

Hutch grinned at the "in" joke, but instantly became more serious when he remembered why he was back in Starsky's room. 'I had a call last night. Seems we've been attracting some attention'.

'Yeah? Why do I get the impression it wasn't from your Ma?'

'You made a real hit with Shane Lewis partner. He's been watching you ever since….' Hutch saw the brunet's eyes narrow at the mention of the rape, but carried on bravely. Starsky was right – he couldn't skirt around the topic for ever. '…..since he attacked you. He um…. mentioned he had a way through my front door too'.

The curly haired man's face paled. 'Oh shit! Be careful Blondie. He's crazy. While he had me he was sayin' things…stuff. I was kinda fuzzy but I remembered he threatened me that he'd kill me an' get to you next. Hutch, I need to get outa here. We need to be out there lookin' for him'.

Hutch snorted. 'You aint goin' nowhere. What're ya gonna do? Protect me? Starsk, you can't even walk straight right now! You're in no fit state to be pounding the streets. Leave it to me. I'll get some guards put on your door here…' he held up a hand as his partner started to object. '….guards on your door. You're safer here and you still need to rest. Leave it to me….'

oOo

'I am not leaving this to you Hutchinson! You're too close and you've just said that Lewis has you as his next target!' Dobey's voice was raised in concern more than anger.

'But Cap'n, I know the…know the guy. I've been t tailin' him for…'

'Don't "but Cap'n" me! I've told you you're off the case. I have two detectives here from San Diego. None of the boys here are gonna get this one. You're all too close to Starsky. And yes, I know that any one of you would make this the best investigation this precinct has ever seen, but I'm not risking a conviction on anything' he held up his hand as Hutch started to speak again. 'It's final Hutch. You're off the Ripper cases'.

The blond slammed his hands down on the desk top. 'Starsk and me have spent the past 6 months following Lewis. We know him. We know his moves, how he operates, what he does. I've lived, ate, slept and breathed Shane Lewis and…..'

'You can put that knowledge to good use by telling the two new people all about him' Dobey yelled. His voice softened. 'I know you're hurtin' Hutch. We all feel for you and your partner, but you've gotta understand this. We need him behind bars. We need him serving life in Folsom. And if that means we farm out the investigation to guys who aren't personally attached to the case, then that's what we do'.

'And who are the two hot shots you got lined up?' Hutch asked angrily

'You can meet 'em now. They arrived half and hour ago. They're waiting outside'.

Dobey opened the door to his office and motioned for the two waiting officers to come in. The San Diego precinct had sent their finest, anxious that any prospective cop killer would be dealt with quickly and now Jenna (Kosy) Kosielski and Matt Stubbs walked into the room and nodded a greeting to the blond. Hutch nodded back, determined to try to be civil although he still smarted from the idea that he would be unable to deal with the investigation.

The woman walked over to Hutch and held out her hand, 'Detective Hutchinson. Hi. I'm Kosy. My partner over there is Matt. I just want you to know that we'll leave no stone unturned on this one. You and your partner deserve the best'.

'And you're it' Hutch asked non committally.

'We're good yeah' the man behind her said without a trace of big headedness. 'But we still need your help. Your Captain says you've been onto this guy for months. So tell us about him. What's his MO and where does he hang out?'

Hutch appraised the two officers. Kosy stood around 5'5" tall and weighed no more than 125lbs. She had pale, almost white blond hair cut in a flattering style which hugged a sweet face that registered both intelligence and compassion for the flaxen haired cop. Her blue eyes appraised the man easily and she could see the hurt, anguish and anger in Hutch's crystal blues. Dressed in black jeans and a black top, she looked young, almost too young to be taking on the investigation, but Hutch determined to reserve judgement.

Behind her, Matt Stubbs stood waiting for introductions. The man was a barrel on legs. Standing just short of 5'7", his round, slightly perplexed looking face was supported by a body that was as broad as it was tall. And yet there was hardly an ounce of fat on the man. His arms refused to lie straight next to his chest due to the large biceps and corded forearms. His body cinched in at his slimmer waist, but then his large, muscular legs stretched the fabric of his jeans to their limit. He looked every inch a weightlifter, but the effect was softened by a face that was good humoured, honest and friendly.

Despite himself, Hutch liked both immediately.

Introductions over, the two sat down and waited expectantly.

'Hutchinson, tell them what you've had so far' Dobey said.

For the next hour and a half, Hutch went over the past cases with the duo, explaining the murder victims, how Shane had raped them first, the links to the books in his house, the bleach, the cigarettes and the notes he'd left behind. He handed round copies of the files that Dobey had had prepared and they bent over them, perusing the details and asking strategic questions. Hutch went on to explain what had happened to his partner, telling them that although Starsky could ID Lewis, cops had been round to Shane's house immediately and the flake wasn't there and his place had been cleaned out – not a surprise, but more than an inconvenience..

'So he was last seen…'

'Leaping out of Starsky's bedroom window at about 6:05 yesterday morning' Hutch grunted. 'God knows where he is now, but you can bet your bottom dollar that he aint anywhere round here'.

'We need to see your partner' Kosy said. 'I've seen his statement and there are things I want to ask him. Is he up to it?'

Hutch blew out his cheeks. 'I don't know. Ordinarily he's so tough I'd say yeah, go for it. But this is so raw. So damned personal. He needs time'.

'I know Hutch, but time is what we aint got' Matt said gently. 'What say we go over to the hospital now while the going's good huh?'

oOo

Hutch sat back on his sofa, head in his hands and a copy of his partner's statement in front of him. He'd taken the two San Diego cops over to the hospital and had sat by as they'd questioned Starsky about certain things he'd written down. It was the first time Hutch had heard the full story and he felt physically sick at what had happened to the smaller man, but he remained quiet and let Starsky talk.

Starsky, for the most part tried to be cooperative. He hated the fact he had to explain things. He hated even more that he'd had to explain things to a woman – that to him was yet another violation heaped on top of all the others. And so by the end of two hours, he was tired, his wounds were beginning to hurt viciously and Hutch could see the exhaustion written in every line on his bruised face. Kosy saw it too and snapped her notebook shut.

'That's enough for today Starsky. We'll be back around later, maybe when you're not as tired' she said kindly.

The brunet eyed her with suspicion. 'I told ya all I can remember. I wrote it down. What else is there? Just get out an' find the bastard huh?'

'Sure thing. We'll get him, trust us. We'll see you around' Matt said as they headed for the door. Once it was closed the brunet turned to Hutch.

'What the fuck is Dobey playin' at?' he yelled, his face red with fury. Hutch had seen it coming through the long interview; the stormy look in the deep blue eyes; the muscles tensing in the brunet's jaw, and he'd braced himself for the inevitable explosion.

'I tried Starsk. I tried to keep a hold of this, but Dobey was adamant. And he's right. If we do this by the book, Lewis can't wriggle out of it. That's why he's gone. He knows that this time he made a mistake. You can ID him and he hasn't got a defence!'

Starsky said nothing, but he still stung from the interview. Why couldn't they just go on as before and work the case between them?

'You have no idea! You have no fuckin' idea what this is doin' to me' the brunet said softly. 'It's like he's there all over again and this time there are folks watchin' an' making notes, like some kind of freakin' exam!'

'I know buddy, an' if there was any other way, God help me I'd take it, you know that. We just gotta hang in there and pretty soon it'll all be over' Hutch said soothingly. But at the back of his mind he knew that of Lewis was arrested, talking to Stubbs and Kosy would be just the start – a walk in the park compared to court.

During that afternoon, the doctor had been back around to see the brunet. He'd checked the notes on the chart and had had a quick look at the wounds which were doing well. Finally he pronounced the brunet ready to go home and before he'd gotten the words fully out of his mouth, Starsky was getting up and getting into the clothes that Hutch had brought for him.

For Starsky the drive home had been great. Although too sore to actually rest his back against the seat, just being dressed in his familiar jeans and tee shirt and worn leather jacket had felt good, and driving through the city with the blond at his side, he could, for just a few minutes, forget what had happened to him and what was still to come.

Hutch had insisted on bringing him to his apartment, not wanting Starsky to be alone, and secretly, despite his protestations, the brunet had been happy to comply. He was tired and soon after 8:00, he got into Hutch's big bed and was asleep within minutes.

And outside in the living room, Hutch read his partner's statement through for the first time. He wondered how Lewis had managed to drug Starsky to begin with, before injecting him with the paralysing agent, and reread the part where Starsky had said he'd brushed his teeth and had felt odd afterwards. Now he wandered over to the phone and called the number Kosy had left with him.

'Hi, it's Hutch. Um….I was readin' and well….have the forensics guys look over the toothpaste? He says he felt odd after he'd brushed his teeth and the Doc at the hospital said he'd been drugged to begin with. The contents of my partner's ice box don't run to anything too special that would hide a drug. It's just a hunch, but toothpaste'd be flavoured enough to hide a nasty taste'.

Kosy agreed and thanked him and Hutch went back to his reading. Just before midnight, he got to those words…."and then he hit me, got on top of me and raped me. It happened twice during the night and I tried to stop him, but my muscles wouldn't work. The shot he gave me paralysed me so that I could see and hear and feel, but I was unable to move……"

Hutch shuddered involuntarily and threw the papers down. He'd read enough. With a shiver, he bolted off the sofa and into the bathroom and lost the beer and his meagre supper down he pan.