Silent
Writer: Zebra 3 and Me
Plot: A vicious assault on one of the partners.
CHAPTER 1
Hutch emerged from Frankie's Gym just after closing time. Since he and Starsky had been working odd hours on the Rawlings drug case, Frankie let him come in for a workout thirty minutes before closing, and let him stay a little after the other patrons went home.
"So you and Starsky are night watchmen, huh?" Frankie asked as he opened the door to let him out and began to lock up for the evening.
"Close, Frankie. Close."
"Where is your dark half anyway?"
"Tied up with a girl. I mean, er, you know."
"You said your car's in the shop. Need a ride home?"
"No. Nice breeze tonight, Frankie, I think I'll walk to Huggy's."
"Huggy Bear Brown?"
"Uh oh," Hutch grinned. "I think I said too much."
Frankie winked. "He's a good man."
Hutch raised a hand in goodbye and started out of the alley toward the sidewalk.
"Oh hey!" Frankie shouted.
Hutch turned around.
"Tell Starsky he left his Army jacket here. I locked it up for him."
Hutch raised a farewell hand, then continued toward the sidewalk.
He whistled a tune as he walked. Then the whistle turned into a hum, and the hum into the first few lines of a new song he'd been writing at home.
Life was good. He and his partner had busted District Attorney Mark Henderson, prevented a massive dynamite explosion in front of City Hall, and were now working the Rawlings case. His father, Will, had called to congratulate him on a job well done and said he was proud of him.
His voice was half-murmuring, half-singing as he repeated the phrases he'd written on a legal pad at home: "Seems to me…when the breeze…comes to me…"
His reverie was interrupted by a sound behind him, but when he looked over his shoulder, saw only a cat leaping across the tops of metal trashcans in front of a print shop.
Shrugging, he turned around and kept walking, and that's when another sound came behind him.
Turning halfway around, he saw three figures with iron pipes coming from an alley, and reached for his gun just as the brick hit his face from another direction.
Now that he was dazed, the four figures came and assaulted him with boots and pipes, even after he was motionless on the ground, then carried him into an alley to a dumpster and dropped him in.
CHAPTER 2
Huggy opened the back door of his restaurant and set out one big trash can, then a second.
He started to go back inside, but something light a few feet down his alley—Hutch's hair and the white sleeves of his jacket—caught the faint glow from inside the restaurant.
He was crawling toward Huggy on hands and knees.
Blood dripped from a gash at his hairline, from his nose, and from his mouth.
"Hutch!"
Huggy moved toward him.
Hutch opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. His arms trembled from shock as he tried unsuccessfully to rise up from his hands and knees, finally collapsing at Huggy's feet.
"Boy, what happened?"
Hutch lay gasping on his side, hand groping for Huggy's and finding it.
"I'm getting' you inside," Huggy said. "Callin' an ambulance. You just hold on to Hug."
But Hutch wasn't holding on to anything. He looked around with dazed eyes, as if unsure of his surroundings as Huggy pulled him up and helped him through the back door. "Sure did a number on you."
Once inside the restaurant, Hutch's knees buckled, and Huggy had to lower him to his side again, took off his own jacket, folded it, and put it under his head. Then he ran to the phone to call an ambulance first, then Starsky.
When Huggy returned to Hutch, he saw that his friend was clutching his throat, struggling to breathe and stay conscious.
Huggy sat in the floor and pulled Hutch into his lap.
Again Hutch tried to say something, but could only gasp for air.
Huggy's voice wavered as he caught Hutch's imploring hand again.
"Don't you go anyplace, blondie. You stay right here."
CHAPTER 3
Huggy snatched Starsky by the arms when he ran through the emergency entrance.
"He's in bad shape, Starsk."
Starsky tried to pull from his friend's grip, but Huggy held tight.
"Doctor Abram says keep you out here for now. They need to work on him. He got beat up pretty bad, but they said he's gonna make it."
Starsky looked toward the emergency room's double doors.
"Did he say who jumped him? Or what happened?"
"I don't know. He wasn't in much condition to talk."
Starsky's voice grew quiet, and he looked away so Huggy couldn't see his wet eyes. Then he pulled away from Huggy's grip and began to pace, just as Dr. Abram came from the emergency room, and didn't stop pacing, even when the doctor spoke:
"Captain Dobey is with him right now," Abram told both of them. "His father has been called. He has a concussion, some internal bleeding, multiple bruises and abrasions, but surprisingly, no broken bones. Boot prints are visible where the attackers stomped on his throat, and that's what we're most worried about. He's lost his voice and the ability to speak due to some damage to his larynx, and it could be permanent. If his voice doesn't return as it should, we may do surgery, but there are no guarantees. It's a wait and see thing. Right now we're working on keeping the swelling in his throat down and making sure he's breathing properly. He's heavily sedated and we're moving him to ICU. Frankly, he's lucky to be alive."
Starsky's right shoulder slumped against the wall, trying to absorb the information.
"I have to see him," he said softly. "Now. He needs to be guarded. The sickos that did this could come back."
Dr. Abram looked at Huggy, then at Captain Dobey as he came from the emergency room.
"I understand," the doctor said. "But as I told you, he's sedated."
Dobey moved closer to Starsky.
"I'm thinking it's Rawlings. Or it could be random violence. Or any of the other five hundred thousand enemies you two have out there. I'll assign it to Stein and Craig, and do some work on it myself, but you need to stay here with your partner."
Starsky raised his head to look at him. "You think you gotta tell me that?"
Dobey patted his shoulder, then nodded to the doctor and Huggy as he walked out.
"I got some people to contact about the Rawlings thing," Huggy said as he gripped Starsky's forearm. "I'll call you and the captain if something turns."
CHAPTER 4
ICU.
Starsky slowly entered Hutch's room and walked hesitantly toward the hospital bed, reliving the fear and dread he'd felt as he'd approached his father's casket when he was ten years old.
Hutch's features were bruised and scuffed, his eyes were closed, and he was breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.
A nurse was present, checking the devices that were helping his partner.
"Why the wrist restraints?" he asked the nurse.
"The medics said he was a little combative in the ambulance," she said checking the IV. "We don't want him pulling anything out. It's just a precaution."
Starsky put a hand across Hutch's forehead and leaned down, speaking even though Hutch was asleep, even though he knew there wouldn't be an answer.
"Hey, buddy. It's me. I'm gonna be right here with you until you get better."
CHAPTER 5
True to his word, Starsky stayed in the hospital room the rest of the night, dozing in a chair next to the bed.
It was daybreak when Starsky woke up to find his friend looking groggily at him.
A smile immediately came to Starsky's face as he leaned closer to the bed and placed a hand on Hutch's arm.
"Finally wakin' up, huh? Good to see you again."
Hutch nodded and made a listless attempt to move his wrists from the restraints.
"Easy," Starsky said. "Don't do that. Nurse'll come by to set you free. And don't try to talk. Not that you could with the ventilator, but still…"
Hutch nodded, turning his hand palm up so that Starsky could clasp it.
"Hey," Starsky said as he looked toward the door, "here comes a nurse now."
But his partner had already fallen back to sleep.
CHAPTER 6
Hutch slept most of the day. Huggy dropped by to sit with him while Starsky met with Captain Dobey just outside in the hall.
"Huggy busted your Rawlings case wide open," Dobey told him. "He found out there was a girl he and Rawlings both dated a few years ago. Huggy got her to give up Rawlings' location, so Stein and Craig picked him up at a hotel near the airport. He's being held for questioning on that drug shipment, and Hutch's assault. The drug charges might stick, but he was offended by the idea of leaving a cop alive. I'm leaning toward a random act, maybe a street gang out for some kicks. But we'll keep digging. When Hutch is stronger, he'll be able to provide us with descriptions and more details."
Starsky nodded. "Appreciate the update, Cap."
"How's he doing?"
"Better. Out of it most of the time, but he's comin' around."
"Good. His father on the way?"
"Supposed to be here tomorrow."
The captain started down the hall, then stopped at the elevator and turned.
"Oh, by the way. A Terry, a Berry, and a Sherry stopped by the precinct to talk to you, and left their numbers. Triplets, huh?"
"Well, um, I was kind of with them the night Hutch got hurt."
"You might want to return their phone calls. They were a distraction to the other officers in the squad room."
"Yeah," Starsky smiled as his superior got onto the elevator. "I'll take care of it."
CHAPTER 7
Hutch was asleep most of the day and night, but awake the next morning when his father, Will, arrived at the hospital.
Starsky sat quietly in the corner of the room as Will nodded hello to him and moved over to the bed. He leaned over to give his son a kiss on top of the head.
"Ken? I'm here, son. I'm praying for you."
Hutch's eyes fluttered open and he looked up. With the wrist restraints gone, he was able to reach a hand up toward the man.
Will took the hand and held it to his chest, just below the cross necklace he wore under a plaid shirt.
He was an older man, just past seventy, with a quiet, attentive demeanor that Starsky had seen in his partner many times. Now the frail gentleman had tears in his eyes as he watched his son breathe with the help of a machine.
When Starsky saw Will's knees give way a little, he took his chair over to the bed and helped him sit down.
"Thank you," Will said. "Are you his partner?"
"That's right. David Starsky."
Will held out his free hand and shook Starsky's.
"Happy to meet you."
With Will Hutchinson's scuffed shoes, white socks, plain clothes, and humble demeanor, one would never guess that, besides preaching, he had made a small fortune designing, building, and selling farm machinery.
"Ken, I wouldn't let your mother come with me. She has the flu, and I didn't think it would be healthy for either of you. She sends her love."
"Um, Mr. Hutchinson," Starsky said, "I think he fell asleep again."
Will saw that Hutch's eyes were closed, but he continued to hold his son's hand.
Starsky sat down on the floor and leaned back against the wall.
"Who would do something like this to him?" the man asked with a quiver in his voice.
"We think it's gang-related. Our captain has men assigned."
"I talked to the doctors, and they said Ken would be all right, but may have some trouble with his larynx. It'd be a shame for him to lose that pretty voice of his. I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, but he used to sing to me in church growing up. He was so nervous about it, but I encouraged him. I said, 'Just sing to me, son, like I'm the only one here'."
"Well, they aren't sure what's gonna happen there. Let's hope for the best."
"You know, I'm really proud of him for following his path. It's a dangerous job, but I guess the desire for justice and doing for others is stronger than self-preservation. Must have been all those detective novels we read together while he was growing up. That, and the fact that I'd very seriously considered being a gumshoe myself. I was torn between law enforcement and preaching. The call to preaching won out, obviously."
Starsky smiled a little. "Hutch does a little preaching of his own once in a while. Especially at me."
Will smiled a little at that. "I'm thinking of staying here in Bay City, to help him recuperate."
Starsky folded his legs Indian-fashion and leaned toward him. "Mr. Hutchinson, I know how badly you must want to help him, but I speak for him when I tell you he wouldn't want you anywhere near him until his attackers are caught."
"Do you think I care—"
"No," Starsky said gently as he placed his hand on the man's knee. "I know you don't care about the danger. But Hutch does. And since he's my partner, I have to do what's best for him. He's my best friend, Mr. Hutchinson."
"I know. He told me."
"He'd never forgive himself if something happened to you. He doesn't need the worry. Just…go back to Minnesota, and let us find whoever did this. That's the best thing you can do for him right now."
The man took a handkerchief from his back pocket and dried his eyes. "I don't want to leave him, but I don't want to burden him more than he already is…"
"That's right."
"And you two can come and spend a couple of weeks with us whenever you want to. Your next vacation even."
"Love to."
When Will put his handkerchief away and moved to get out of the chair, Starsky assisted him to his feet.
Will leaned down to kiss his son's forehead again.
"Goodbye, Ken. I love you." Looking back at Starsky, he said, "He said he trusts you with his life."
Starsky nodded.
"Keep me informed, will you?"
"I will," Starsky said walking him to the door.
"Oh, this is for Ken," Will said taking something from his back pocket and handing it to him. "Will you give it to him?"
Starsky opened his hand, and Will placed a paperback detective novel in it.
"I sure will."
Will gave one last look toward the hospital bed.
"You take care of my boy, David. And if you don't know it already, you will one of these days. When he pushes you away is when he needs you the most."
"Yeah," Starsky whispered with a lump in his throat. "Kinda figured that one out."
The two shook hands again, and then Will made his slow way down the hall toward the elevator. Now Starsky realized why Hutch seemed to be an old, square soul.
CHAPTER 8
Hutch slept the rest of the morning, and just before noon, a nurse came in. Starsky watched her take a small flashlight from the pocket of her uniform.
"Ken," she said lifting his eyelids. "I'm going to shine a light in your eyes."
After she did, she turned the light off and put it away. Then she said, "Can you move your fingers?"
He did as she asked.
"And how about your feet?"
He moved those too.
She looked at Starsky. "Doctor Abram will be in tomorrow to examine him and discuss removing the ventilator."
"Thanks," Starsky said.
After she left, Starsky opened the detective novel and began to read aloud to his partner.
CHAPTER 9
Huggy came to sit with Hutch so that Starsky could go home, take a shower, check with Dobey, and make a few phone calls. Then they traded places again—Huggy going back to the restaurant, Starsky taking his place next to Hutch's bed.
By next morning, the swelling in Hutch's throat was down, he was breathing easier, and the ventilator was removed, but he was still unable to speak.
When he was moved to a recovery room, Starsky handed him a pocket-size notepad and pen.
"You're gonna like that new pen," Starsky told him. "It writes even when it's upside down."
Hutch laid the pen and pad of paper on the bed next to his right thigh.
Starsky made a point to ask him questions that could be answered with a yes or no.
"Remember your dad being here?"
Hutch gave a nod.
"Seems like a good man."
Hutch gave another nod.
It was past three that afternoon when Mrs. Ramos and her twelve-year-old son Kiko stopped by, bringing Hutch a pair of blue jeans and a white hooded pullover that he had left at her house. But the woman looked distressed today. Her son Kiko looked even worse, his young face expressing turmoil.
"What's going on?" Starsky asked. "Hutch'll be out of the hospital before you know it."
Mrs. Ramos put a hand on the back of Kiko's neck and moved him toward the bed.
"Hutch, Kiko has something to tell you."
Hutch looked from the boy, to the boy's mother.
Kiko spoke with his hand gripping the chrome bed rail.
"Hutch, I…there was this gang that kept asking me to join. They wanted me to carry drugs for them, break into some places, steal some purses from old ladies, even hurt some people. They said courts go easier on kids. I told them I couldn't. They said I could if I didn't have a cop for a Big Brother. They got really mad at me. I should have told you. I'm really sorry."
Hutch picked up his pen and wrote on the notepad with a weak hand, It's all right. You did the right thing. Don't worry about it.
When the boy's head lowered in shame, Hutch put his hand over Kiko's, which was still gripping the bed rail.
"He gave Captain Dobey the names of the gang members," Mrs. Ramos told Starsky. "I guess they'll go to juvenile detention?"
Starsky nodded. "Some of them could be tried as adults."
Mrs. Ramos caressed Hutch's hand. "Please get better soon."
CHAPTER 10
Starsky stood by the window in Hutch's recovery room.
"Ken," Dr. Abram said with his clipboard in his hands, "I'm going to release you in a few days, so I want you up and moving around until then. As for your ability to speak, it's still iffy. We'll keep checking it on a weekly basis, but in all honesty, we should hope for the best, prepare for the worst. I'll come back around."
Propped up in a sitting position in the bed, Hutch gave no reaction.
The doctor nodded to Starsky, then left.
"Wow," Starsky said softly. "That's…"
Hutch's fingertips pinched the place between his eyes.
"Hey," Starsky whispered as he sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed Hutch's hair. "It's gonna be okay."
Without looking at him, Hutch turned onto his side away from him, closing his eyes.
CHAPTER 11
That night Starsky was brought out of his chair by the sound of Hutch rapidly panting in his sleep.
"Hey, buddy," Starsky said going to the bed and taking his shoulders. "Just relax. Breathe slow and easy. You're okay. It's just a dream."
Hutch's eyes came open and met his partner's, making an effort to slow his breath.
"That's it," Starsky said. "That's the way."
He waited until Hutch drifted off to sleep again, then sat back down to doze.
But when he woke up in the morning, Hutch was gone.
His hospital gown was on the floor, along with the notepad and pen Starsky had given him.
"He must have slipped out during the night," a nurse told Starsky at the nurse's station.
"No kidding."
CHAPTER 12
Huggy was just getting out of his car near Hutch's cottage when Starsky parked behind him.
Together they walked to the front door, and Starsky knocked.
"Hey, Hutch! Open up! Me and Huggy came by to see ya! Not a good idea leavin' the hospital so soon!"
To their surprise, the door opened and Hutch stepped out in the clothes Mrs. Ramos had brought to the hospital.
Pale, Hutch moved between them and started walking away.
Starsky took a step to go after him, but Huggy gripped his arm.
"Give him some time alone."
CHAPTER 13
Starsky busied himself by catching up on reports in the squad room. Anything to expend his nervous energy.
In the middle of the night he found himself driving past Hutch's place. The LTD was in the shop, so it was hard to tell if Hutch were home or away, but the house always looked and sounded quiet.
Huggy tried keeping him busy at the restaurant by talking to him and playing pool or pinball.
Starsky even dropped by Frankie's Gym to work out his frustration on the punching bag.
Dobey tried to talk to him about his partner, but Starsky changed the subject or suddenly had something else he needed to do.
When Will Hutchinson called to check on his son, Starsky told him that Hutch hadn't regained his voice, but not to give up hope. He also informed him that the juvenile gang had been apprehended and would have their day in court. Two of them were just shy of being eighteen years old.
CHAPTER 14
Starsky gave his partner a couple of days to be alone, like Huggy said, then decided it was time to go check on him again. When Hutch didn't come to the door, Starsky took the key from under the mat and unlocked it. Walking inside carrying a takeout box, he said, "I have some homemade chicken soup and some of Hug's favorite herbal tea."
Hutch was sitting at the kitchen table. He watched Starsky set the box on the counter next to the sink, then wrote the word No on a notepad and held it up for him to see.
Starsky ignored him and opened the refrigerator, finding it empty except for half a bottle of goat's milk. There were no dishes in the sink, nor was there any food in the cabinets.
"You haven't been eating," Starsky told him. "You need to keep your strength up."
Hutch didn't write anything.
Starsky sat down at the table. "Look, buddy. I wouldn't like it either if I were in your shoes. But the doc says there's a chance you'll get your voice back. We just have to think positive. In the meantime…" He reached into the pocket of his Army jacket and set a stack of pocketsize notepads and pens on the table between them. "Please talk to me."
Hutch swiped the notepads and pens off into the floor, then walked over to his guitar and picked it up, swinging it like a baseball bat against the wall one time, making it splinter into pieces.
He then walked over to the piano and pounded his hands on the keys, making dark, distorted sounds.
Then he turned and looked at Starsky, hand to his throat, tears in his eyes.
"Hutch," he said with tears in his own eyes as he rose to his feet. "I know things are comin' down around you, but there is more to you than…"
Hutch opened the door and gestured for him to go.
"No," Starsky said standing in the same spot. "I ain't goin'."
Hutch walked over to him, grabbed him by the jacket, and hustled him across the room, where he shoved him out the door, closed it, and locked it.
Through the sheer curtain on the door, Starsky saw him sinking to one knee next to the sofa with his head down, crying.
CHAPTER 15
Starsky went into Huggy's just before closing time and took a seat at the bar.
"It's been weeks now, Hug. Even Doctor Abram doubts he'll recover his speech. We have to admit that he won't be able to talk again."
"Man, I don't even like thinking about it."
CHAPTER 16
His own guitar in hand, Starsky visited Hutch again. Again, not bothering to knock, just unlocking the door with his own key and letting himself in.
It was afternoon and the cottage was quiet.
"Hutch?"
Hutch's piano and broken guitar were gone. Looking down into a small wastepaper basket next to the sofa, he saw the song Hutch had been working on before the assault, torn in half.
Starsky went to stand in the doorway of his friend's bedroom.
Hutch lay in bed, on his back, hands folded behind his head and looking at the ceiling.
He watched Starsky prop his guitar in the corner, then watched him take a sign language paperback from his jacket pocket and toss it to him.
Hutch hurled the book back at him.
Starsky ducked, picked it up, opened it, and walked to the bed and sat down.
"Hutch, look. This has everything you need. Here's the sign for coffee, car, guitar, lunch, home, etcetera. Even friend."
Panting, Hutch reached for a small notepad under his pillow and scribbled, Leave.
Starsky looked through the book until he found the sign for "leave", and made it for him with his hand. "If you want me to leave, sign for it."
Lips pursed, eyes flashing, Hutch made the sign for it.
Starsky got up and walked from the bedroom, but Hutch ran after him and caught his arm just outside the doorway.
Starsky turned.
Hutch moved his head no, eyes begging him to stay.
Starsky walked toward him, and Hutch collapsed into his arms in tears.
CHAPTER 17
Huggy looked surprised when Starsky and Hutch walked into his place together that night, but smiled as he put two beers on the counter. "Now this is what I call a special occasion."
Hutch opened the sign language book on the counter and signed, I'm hungry, as he showed Huggy the picture.
Huggy thumbed through the book, nodding approval. "I'll bring you a Hutch special. All the seaweed-tuna patties you can eat."
CHAPTER 18
The next week went by with Hutch learning more words to sign, and Starsky dropping by the cottage to learn with him.
One evening when Starsky came by the cottage, Hutch had a steak dinner ready, and when they were finished, Hutch took Starsky's guitar and they sat at the table as he began to strum the song his partner had retrieved from the trash basket and taped back together.
"Hey," Starsky said. "That's beautiful."
Hutch mouthed the words "Thank you," but realized that the words were a hoarse whisper too.
Starsky stared at him.
"Starsk?" Hutch asked with wide eyes as he whispered again, holding his throat. "I think…"
"Yeah," Starsky said with encouragement as he leaned forward and patted his arm. "I think so too. But take it easy, okay? Don't say too much until tomorrow when you can see Doctor Abram. We don't want to overdo it."
CHAPTER 19
Hutch sat on the doctor's exam table, Starsky at his side.
After Dr. Abram gave Hutch a general checkup, he examined his throat, and the verdict was, "It looks good, Ken. It's been a long time coming, but it's finally healing."
"Good news, man," Starsky said. "But what about singing? Will he be able to sing again?"
"You won't know until you try," the doctor said. "But I wouldn't attempt it for another month or two, just to be on the safe side. Just keep pampering your throat and everything should be fine."
"Pampering?" Starsky echoed. "Are you kidding? We'll get honey, lozenges, sage, warm salt water gargle, steam bath, you name it. We'll do it."
Hutch held his hand out to the doctor and whispered, "Thank you," then he and Starsky left the hospital.
As they were getting into the Torino, Hutch signed, My car?
"Sure, I'll take you to the shop to pick it up."
As Starsky turned the key to start the car, Hutch put a hand on his arm and whispered, "Thanks for being there for me, partner."
Starsky smiled and gunned the engine.
"My pleasure, buddy. Now let's go get that prairie schooner of yours while I'm in a good mood."
The End