Through the Years

Chapter Twenty

We Are Family

Part Three

Minnie had found a portable chalk board somewhere. At the top was taped the note from the shooter. They really had no idea where to start. They did not even know if the shooter was a man or woman. She had created three columns. Recently released, still in prison, and died in prison. For the recently released and still in prison they were looking for someone who had lost family because they were in prison. For the people that had died in prison, they were looking for family left behind. It had been two days and they were starting to get discouraged. The boys were due to be released from the hospital this afternoon, and they couldn't go home yet. Minnie had placed about two dozen names on the board.

Starsky was looking through a file, "Hey Minnie, don't you already have a Minchon up there?"

Minnie looked, "Sure do Starsky, what do you have?"

He handed her the file, "Another Minchon."

Babcock looked up, "I have one too."

Hutch and Simmons put down the files they were looking at.

Minnie had all three files open, side by side, on the table.

"Here we have John, Lewis, and Seth Minchon. They are brothers, or were." She looked up, "They are all dead."

Hutch walked around the table to stand beside her, "What happened Minnie?"

"According to these files. You boys busted them together selling drugs in the high school. Two kids overdosed, so they got hard sentences. Seems Lewis got into a fight in the yard, that turned into an all-out battle. John and Seth tried to help Lewis, and they all wound up dead, along with two other inmates."

Starsky spoke up, "I remember them. The youngest one was what? Eighteen? He seemed upset about the kids that died, but not the brothers. Hutch, do you remember the uncle? He went crazy when the boys were sentenced."

Hutch had been looking at the files, "Yes, the mother's brother. He had raised the boys from the time their mother died, ten years?"

Minnie had been looking through more files. "I found him. Seems Lewis was named after his uncle. His name is Lewis Athens."

Babcock shook his head, "If you found a file on him Minnie, that means he has a record too. Is there any other family?"

Minnie and Hutch had been looking through all four files. Minnie answered, "No other family. I think that is the only way Athens got the boys when their mom died. He was all there was. Looking through this file, I think you guys need to be careful. If he is the one after you, he is quite a bit unbalanced. He is also an Army trained sniper."

Hutch picked up the files and nodded towards his partner, "We are going to take these to Dobey, you keep looking. This might be our guy, but I want to keep looking in case he isn't."

The partners made their way to Dobey's office. Halfway there, they met the captain headed in their direction,

Hutch started to talk but was cut off by his boss.

"You two, get to the hospital. Something has happened and I have units headed that way now. We can't raise the officers that were on the door, and the room is empty."

The files dropped to the floor as the men ran towards the exit. Dobey grabbed the nearest uniform and told him to get the files back to the conference room and tell Simmons and Babcock to head to the hospital. He then headed out himself. If Abby, Terry, and the boys were missing, he would have to be there to keep HIS boys grounded so they could find them.

Starsky and Hutch blew right past the nurse's station. They were headed for the room their wives and sons had been in and were in no mood for discussion. They got to the room to find it empty, well almost empty. All the personal belongings were there. The women's purses and the toys brought in for the boys to play with were scattered around the room. It looked like someone had thrown a temper tantrum. The room was pretty torn up. They both turned, reaching for their weapons, when they heard someone coming towards the room fast. A nurse rounded the doorway and froze. They both relaxed just a bit realizing she was not a threat.

"You went by so fast I did not have a chance to tell you I overheard an aide telling a young man I had never seen before what room your boys were in. I know about the threat, so I called the room. I explained to Mrs. Starsky what I heard, and she said she would handle it. A minute later she called back, told me they were going to whatever empty room they could find on the sixth floor. She also told me that I was to tell only one of you or Captain Dobey."

Starsky took her face in both hands and kissed her cheek, "Do you know which room they are in?"

She blushed just a little, "No, but I have a list of all the empty rooms on that floor. It is the maternity floor, and it is a little slow right now."

Hutch chuckled, "He has had six kids born in this hospital and I have had two. We know it is the maternity floor."

The captain had walked in just in time to hear this and chuckled too. "Am I to assume they are safe?"

Hutch answered, "We think so, but we won't know for sure until we find them. Once we do, I think we should move them to the hotel."

Hutch started out the door, but Starsky grabbed his arm.

"Wait a minute Hutch. Something feels wrong."

Hutch stopped and looked back at his partner. He didn't know what Starsky was thinking but trusted him completely. He wanted to find their family and make sure they were safe. They had both learned that taking a moment when one of them thought something was off just made sense.

Starsky turned to the nurse, looking at her name badge, "Ms. Rutledge, what did the person the aide talked to look like?"

"Well, he was a young man, probably somewhere in his late 20's. Very short brown hair, almost an army cut. Slim build and about five foot eight. Please, call me Joyce."

Just as she answered, Simmons and Babcock showed up. They did not even realize they were interrupting anything because they were so excited.

Simmons handed Hutch a file, "It can't be Uncle Lewis. He committed suicide a week after his nephews were killed."

Starsky dropped his head, "So, we are back at square one?"

Babcock shook his head, "Not exactly. You know Minnie is amazing. She kept digging after you guys left. There is a son. Lewis Athens had a son. He is twenty-seven years old and was discharged from the army under less than honorable conditions because he got into too many fights."

Simmons took over, looking at the file. "The last fight he got in; someone came very close to dying. He was court martialed and thrown out. Not before getting to be a top-notch sniper, just like his dad. His name is Craig Sumter. That is why he didn't show up right off. He has his mother's name."

Hutch was looking over his shoulder, "Is there a mug shot in there?"

Simmons handed a photo to Hutch who showed it to Joyce. He could see it on her face before she spoke.

"That's him. That's the guy I saw talking to the aide about your boys."

Hutch looked at Starsky, "What set you off?"

Starsky pointed at Joyce, "I didn't catch it at first. More worried about the wives and kids. She said she saw a young man talking to the aide. No one would mistake Lewis Athens for a young man. Especially not a nurse who is younger than he would have been. Then I started wondering if the person trying to hurt our families was watching to see where we went. It is obvious he was here and not happy about not finding them."

Dobey took over, "We need to figure someone is watching for us to lead him to his targets. We are not going to do that. Joyce, can you get information on what rooms are empty on other floors without leaving this room?"

She looked puzzled, "If I can use the phone I can. What are you looking for?"

Dobey smiled, "A distraction."

She made her phone call, then the six of them discussed how to proceed. It was decided the nurse leaving the room would attract the least attention. She would leave and go back to the nurse's station. There was plenty to keep her busy there while the other five left the room at different times, going in different directions. Captain Dobey went out to his car and left. At least it looked like he left. He headed toward the station until he was sure he wasn't being followed. He then went back to the hospital, only he went to the back service entrance. He settled in to wait.

Simmons and Babcock went down the stairs one flight to the third floor. They started at one end and worked their way to the other. They went into each empty room on the list and stayed for ten minutes. Starsky and Hutch took the elevator to the eighth floor and were doing the same thing.

Meanwhile, looking like she was performing regular rounds, Joyce had the biggest part to play. There was finally some good to come out of all the time the detectives spent at the hospital. Doctors were not always happy with them, but they always treated the staff with respect. Right down to the janitorial crew. They were well liked, and she was using that to play her part in keeping their family safe. She found two janitors that had been around for a while. They knew Starsky and Hutch and always appreciated how kind they were. She had them get two large laundry carts and head to the sixth floor. She then gave them the list of empty rooms and notes from the detectives for their wives. They were to go into each room and pull all the linen off the beds, filling the carts. When they came to the room where the women and boys were, they were to go into the carts also, covered with linen. She told them to hit every room, even after they had their passengers. Then head straight down to the service dock. They would be met there. She went back to her duties, knowing they were in good hands.