This is a crossover with the TV series 'Nash Bridges' but it's mostly a
Starsky & Hutch fan fiction! The story takes place in the present time.
San Francisco
The yellow taxi made its way slowly through the San Francisco morning rush hour; its driver cursing under his breath with a heavy foreign accent, while the passenger in the back was taking in the sights around him. The early spring sun was reflecting on the buildings, the warm and pleasant air flowing through the open windows of the cab.
After a fifteen-minute ride the taxi arrived at the pier and the passenger paid his fare, giving a generous tip to the driver. Then the tall man exited and the cab drove off to pick up the next rider.
The man stood still for a while and looked at the large barge lying in front of him at the pier. After checking his watch the Blond walked up the ramp of the barge and into the unique police station. This was the place of the Special Investigation Unit of the San Francisco Police Department, SIU for short. Inside men and women were busy working on their assignments. The visitor walked up to the closest desk where a woman was filing papers. "Excuse me. Could you please tell me where I can find Captain Bridges?" the man asked. "He is back there, the gentleman with the gray suite," came the reply from the woman as she pointed to two men in the back of the barge. The man said his thanks and walked over to the police officers.
"Captain Bridges? I'm Detective Hutchinson from the Bay City Police Department," the man introduced himself. "Oh yes, I was expecting you," Nash Bridges said. "Did you just come in this morning?" he asked as he motioned for the Detective to follow him to one of the desks. "No, I flew in last night," the other man answered as both men sat down. "I have the paperwork here," Nash said as he looked through some papers. "So far we haven't found Fong. But he was seen in Chinatown and I'm sure he is hiding out there. You'll be working with Inspector Leek; he should be coming in soon." Nash handed the papers to Hutchinson and continued, "How is your father doing? Still working the streets with his partner?" "Yeah, they'll probably do this until they retire or die of old age, whichever comes first," the Detective said with a laugh. "My father told me he met you some years ago at a conference." "That's right. It was a weekend conference in Sacramento. We had a great time," Nash replied as he thought back to that time fondly. "Ah. There's Harvey. Come along, I'll introduce you." Both men got up and walked to a man who had just entered the police station and was now walking to his desk.
"Harvey! This is Detective Patrick Hutchinson. He is here to find Fong Jiang and bring him back to Bay City,' Nash said. "Hi," the Inspector said with a smile and shook hands with the Detective. "Nash told me we'd be working together." "Nice to meet you, Harvey. You can call me Pat." Harvey Leek was almost as tall as the visiting Detective. He wore a Greateful Dead armband on his arm and a red beret on his head of curls. The two men started to talk about their case and Nash left them alone. Hutchinson took an instant liking to the quirky Inspector and knew the two would get along fine. He had been worried a little although his father assured him that Captain Bridges was a good man and so must be his officers.
"Okay, let's go and see if we can find Fong," Harvey said after they finished reviewing the papers. "Maybe today is our lucky day." The two men walked out of the police station and the Inspector led them to his blue Ranchero. "Nice car," Hutchinson said impressed, as he looked the vehicle over. "What year is it?" Harvey happily gave him the answer and both men climbed into the car.
"Is this your first time in San Francisco?" Harvey asked his colleague as he started the car and drove off. "Yeah," came the reply. "What I have seen so far looks very nice. Better then I imagined." "Glad you like it. Hopefully you'll only see the good side of the city."
As they were driving they were making small talk about Harvey's obsession with the Greateful Dead, Pat's father, Harvey's partner Evan who was on vacation and other things.
Soon they arrived in Chinatown and Harvey parked the car in front of a restaurant. Once they stepped inside they heard quiet instrumental music flowing out of hidden speakers. Harvey looked around and then walked confidently to a small table where three men were sitting. The Detective followed him and then stood beside Harvey. The three men at the table were dressed in dark, expensive looking suits. "Wang! Long time no see," Harvey said with a smile to the man in the middle. "Inspector Leek, it's a pleasure seeing you again. What brings you here?" the man replied with a fake smile. The two men to his side had serious looks on their faces as they scrutinized the two police officers. "I want you to tell me where I can find Fong," Harvey said. "Is he back in town?" Wang asked innocently in return. "Come on, Wang. You know very well he is here somewhere. So just cut the crap and tell me where he is hiding," the Inspector demanded. "I'm sorry, Inspector. I really don't know where he is. But I will ask around if you want me to." "Yeah right," Harvey mumbled under his breath. "You better don't lie to me, Wang," he said in a louder voice and after staring at the Chinese man for a second turned around and left, followed by Pat.
After questioning more people with no successful results Harvey and Hutchinson wanted to get some lunch. The decided on a small Chinese Diner down the street. The two men had a pleasant lunchtime and after finishing their meals decided to continue looking for Fong. The Detectives spent the better part of the afternoon asking around and following tips but didn't have any success.
"Well, I think it's time we head back to the SIU," Harvey said at last with disappointment in his voice. Pat agreed and they both drove off towards the pier.
Hutchinson waited for Harvey who finished up minor paperwork. Just then Nash came over. "Hey guys! Want to go with to Joe and me to Ana Mandara to grab some dinner?" The two men agreed and soon the foursome where off to the restaurant. The group had a wonderful dinner and still stayed for some time to talk and relax. It was almost 10 o'clock when Pat tried to stifle a yawn. "I think I better get going. It sure was a long day and I'm tired." "Inger is probably waiting up for me anyways so I should be going too," Joe said with a sigh. The four men got up and after saying good-bye to Nash and Joe the other two Detectives walked to Harvey's car and Harvey drove Pat back to the hotel. "See you in the morning, Pat. I'll pick you up at 7.30," Leek said. "Sounds good. See you then," Pat replied, thanked the other Detective for the ride and went inside the hotel.
It was later in the morning the next day when Harvey and Pat received a tip from Wang about the whereabouts of Fong. He was hiding at a warehouse in Chinatown. After driving to the warehouse the two Detectives waited for the back up they had requested. It didn't take long for the squad cars to arrive and everybody got into position. Pat was excited. He would finally arrest Wang and bring him back to Bay City. Harvey was also hoping Wang's tip was right and they would finally nap Fong Jiang. He went inside the building after Pat but didn't get far when there was suddenly a loud explosion and everything went black.
"Come on, Hutch! Pick a card just one more time! I know I'll get it right this time," Starsky said. "You've said that the last six times. Admit it, you'll never guess the card. Your book is lying or you didn't read it right," Hutch said with a smile. "I won't pick another card!" he finished. "Please?" Starsky asked with a pleading voice and look that Hutch knew he couldn't resist. "Oh fine! But this is the last time!" Starsky's face lit up and he held the cards towards Hutch, spreading the stack out a little bit. Hutch pulled out a card and looked at it. It was the Queen of Hearts. He handed the card back to Starsky without letting him see it and Starsky put it under the stack. Then Starsky shuffled the cards with his eyes closed. He finally was finished and after taking away several cards held one up confidently. "This one!" he proclaimed and held up the 10 of Diamonds. "Wow! How did you do this? You picked the right card, Starsk!" Hutch faked surprise. "See! I told you I could do it. Want to try me again?" the brunette Detective said eagerly. "No!" Hutch almost yelled and Starsky knew it was better to lay off now.
"Tell me again why we have to do this stakeout and don't let some rookies do the job?" Hutch asked after ten minutes, trying to get more comfortable on his seat. "Because we want to get our hands on Sanders ourselves, partner. After the time we've already invested in that creep we should follow through to the finish and not let some rookie blow the case," Starsky told the Detective next to him. "Yeah, I know," the Blond said quietly.
The two Detectives had been sitting in their car since 7 o'clock in the morning. They were waiting for their prey, Sanders, to show up at the residence they were observing. So far they had no luck and it was almost noon.
"Hungry?" Starsky asked and reached for the lunch they brought along. "Yes," Hutch replied and Starsky handed him his sandwich and drink. Both men ate in silence, still watching the building. "Will you stop that!" Starsky admonished after Hutch threw the sandwich wrap on the backseat. "In case you haven't noticed, this is a new car! Don't just throw your trash around." "Sorry, Starsk," Hutch said while rolling his eyes. "I'll pick it up later." "You bet you will!" Starsky said and eyed the offending paper. He had just gotten the car some months ago and still remembered the look of his partner when he showed them their new ride, a Mustang. "Starsky, how could you?" Hutch had whined. "It's a nice car but what was wrong with white? Did you have to have it painted like a tomato again?" he finished, shaking his head.
Starsky smiled as he remembered that day but was interrupted in his daydreaming by the radio. "Control to Zebra 3," the voice said through the radio. Hutch picked up the microphone and answered. "This is Zebra 3,"he spoke "Captain Ascot wants to see you in his office immediately. He said it is very important." 'We're on our way," Hutch replied and put the microphone back. "Guess we have to come back for Sanders another time," the blond Detective said and Starsky drove off towards the station.
They arrived at the office of their superior and were greeted by the grim looking Captain. Ascot had become the two Detective's new Captain after Dobey's retirement some years ago and after some time getting used to each other they all got along fine.
"What's up, Cap?' Starsky asked as he walked over to one of the chairs and sat down, his feet resting on the desk. "You better sit down, too, Ken," Ascot motioned to the other chair. Hutch did so with a worried look on his face. Like his previous Captain, Ascot only called him by his first name when it was getting serious. 'Uh-oh, he also didn't tell Starsk to put his feet down. This must be really bad,' Hutch thought and after looking at his partner sat down on the only other free chair across the desk.
"I received a call from the San Francisco Police Department. As you know your son went up there to arrest Fong Jiang," the Captain began, looking at Hutch. "Yes, I talked to him before he left. What happened, Cap?" Hutch asked in a voice that sounded more like a croak. An uneasy feeling had come over him and a million thoughts went through his mind, none of them good.
"Pat was working with his assigned partner from the SFPD. They followed up on a tip they received about Fong's hideout. They walked into a trap. After they entered the building a bomb went off. Pat died instantly," Ascot said quietly. There was a sharp intake of breath coming from Hutch. "I'm really sorry," the Captain said sincerely. Hutch didn't move and Starsky on the seat next to him couldn't believe what he had just heard. He got up quickly and was immediately at his partner's side, kneeling next to him, one hand on the other man's shoulder the other on the others knee. "My God! I'm so sorry, Hutch," he told his partner, his eyes filling with tears. Hutch still hadn't moved but then he slowly turned his head to face Starsky. "Pat is dead," Hutch said quietly. "I...this can't be. Starsky, please tell me it's not true?" the Blond said pleadingly to his partner, tears now streaming down both men's faces. "I'm sorry, Hutch, I'm sorry," was all Starsky could say and held his partner now in an embrace, trying to comfort him as much as he could.
Four days had past since Hutch had received the devastating news of Patrick's death. He had been to San Francisco with Starsky to identify the body of his beloved son, a task he had hoped never to have to do. In the city on the Bay they met with Captain Bridges and also visited Inspector Leek at the hospital. He had sustained serious injuries from the blast but was expected to recover.
The partners had brought the body of the slain Detective back to Bay City and it was now the day of the funeral. The church on Madison Avenue was full with people paying their respects, most of them fellow police officers and friends, among them the police chief and the mayor. Captain Dobey and his family were also in attendance, sitting behind Hutch who was in the front row next to his youngest son James, and Starsky. Nash Bridges and his partner were also at the service together with the SFPD chief of police.
The service was beautiful, with several speakers. Afterwards a parade of police cars and motorcycles escorted the casket to the cemetery, where only close family and friends bore witness to the burial. When it was over the people dispersed and only Hutch, James and Starsky were left. James also turned to leave. "Dad? Are you coming?" he asked. "I'll meet you at the car in a moment," Hutch replied. James glanced at Starsky who nodded his head in approval and then walked towards the car that was parked along the cemetery road.
"You okay?" Starsky asked and laid his arms across his partner's shoulders. "Yeah," Hutch replied after a short pause. "I'm just glad Anna didn't have to go through this," he continued with a sigh. His wife had died four years earlier after a short illness and now their son's name would be added to the tombstone. "James is going back to Denver in two days. I finally convinced him that I'll be alright," Hutch said. "And then we can go to San Francisco. I already talked to Nash about it." "Are you sure still want to go?" Starsky asked. "I owe it to Pat, Starsk. I won't stop searching until we will get Fong. Together we can do it." the Blond replied. "I'm with you all the way, buddy," his partner added. "And when Fong is in jail, it is time for me to retire," Hutch continued quietly. This statement didn't surprise Starsky but he wasn't expecting it right then. "I have to be there for James. He doesn't have anybody else left and I don't want to push my luck. He's lost enough people already," Hutch stated. "I understand that," Starsky said. "We are getting too old for this anyways. Soon we'll have to chase the suspects with walkers," he added with a smile and Hutch couldn't help but laugh at the image in his head.
Three days later the two Detectives were once again on a plane to San Francisco. They arrived at 11 am and headed to their hotel. "Let's get lunch," Starsky said after they got settled in their hotel rooms. Hutch agreed reluctantly. He wanted to go see Nash as soon as possible but knew that if his partner wouldn't get any food soon his mood wouldn't be the best.
Lunchtime was a silent affair. Starsky enjoyed his meal but Hutch, who hadn't eaten well since the day he was told of his son's death, was just pushing his meal around the plate, eating once in a while. Starsky had noticed his partner's lack of appetite from the beginning but still wanted to hold back in saying anything. 'I give him a couple more days,' the dark haired Detective thought as he watched his partner closely.
When the Detectives left the restaurant they took a cab that took them to the pier where Nash's offices was. They found him sitting behind his desk, talking on the phone. After the Captain hung up he greeted his two visitors and motioned them to follow him outside on the deck.
"Any news?" Hutch asked, looking expectantly at Nash. "We've got no lead on Fong so far. Seems like he just vanished into thin air. But we found Wang," Nash said. "Yeah? Where is he?" This time it was Starsky who spoke up. "He's at the morgue. Some swimmers found him floating in the water yesterday," the Captain replied. "He's been dead for some days, shot to death," he continued. "Damn!" Hutch whispered and looked out over the water. There was silence for moment. "How's Inspector Leek?" the Blond asked, still looking over the water. "He's much better. The doctor said he can leave the hospital in three or four days," Nash answered. "That's good," Hutch said quietly. Again there was silence.
"So what's our next step? Where should we start looking?" Starsky asked finally. "I've heard rumors that Fong left the country but I think he's still in Chinatown," Bridges said. "I'll give you a list of people you can contact. Somebody has to know where he is. It's on my desk." The three police officers walked back inside and Nash grabbed some papers from his desk. "Here's the list. And these are statements that you are here on official business," Nash continued and handed the two Detectives the papers. "Here's also a key for the blue Chevy in front of the station. That'll be your ride while you're here." Starsky and Hutch took the papers and key, thanked the Captain and turned to leave. "There's one more thing," Nash said and the other two men turned around. "Keep me informed. I had a tough time talking the chief into allowing you guys to come here and work on this case. Don't give him a reason to come down on me." "We'll let you know when we get anything," Hutch said and then left with his partner.
Starsky and Hutch walked to the blue Chevy and Hutch slid behind the wheel. "I better do the driving here. Don't want to scare the citizens," he said with a grin. Starsky begrudgingly took the passenger seat. There was a map of the city on the dashboard and he took it and looked for Chinatown. After giving Hutch the directions they drove off to find the first person on their list.
Hutch parked the car on the side of the road and the two Detectives walked up to the front door of an older building. The door was open and the duo went inside. "What's the number?" Hutch asked and Starsky looked at the sheet of paper. "Twenty-three," was the answer. After finding Apartment #23 Hutch knocked at the door. A few seconds later an older Asian man opened the door slightly. "Yes?" he asked. "Good afternoon," Starsky said. "We are looking for Simon Lee. Is he here?" "What do you want from him?" the man asked with a heavy accent. "We are with the police and would like to ask him some questions," Starsky replied. "Is he in trouble?" the man spoke up once more. "No," this time it was Hutch who was talking. "We just would like to ask him some questions. He might be able to help us." The man seemed to think about this for a moment and then gestured for the two Detectives to come in.
Starsky and Hutch walked into the modest apartment and the man called to someone in Chinese. A young man, not much older than twenty, came walking out of a room on the side. The older man said more in the language the two visitors couldn't understand. The youngster looked shyly at Starsky and Hutch. "I am Simon Lee. What do you want from me?" "Hello Simon. I'm Detective Starsky and this is Detective Hutchinson," Starsky said and motioned to Hutch. "We would like to ask you some questions about Fong Jiang." At the mention of that name Simon visibly blanched and took a step back. "I can't help you. I don't work for him," he said. "We have heard you are in contact with some of his men," Hutch said. "It's not true! They wanted me to join them but I didn't." "But you met with them several times, didn't you?" Starsky asked. "A friend of mine introduced me to Wang. He wanted me to join but I refused. They came to me more times but I told them no." Hutch looked at Starsky but he just shrugged. "What about Fong? Do you know where he is?" Hutch asked. "I don't know," Simon answered. "I heard that he is hiding. But I don't know where he is," he continued. "Okay. Thanks," Hutch said and Starsky followed him outside.
"What do think?" Starsky asked. "I don't know. Could be he's lying to us. But I couldn't tell," Hutch answered. "Yes. He seemed scared, too," his partner added. Both men walked up to their car and got in. They looked over the list and saw that another person's address on the list was just around the corner. Both men exited the car again and walked to their destination.
The address was a restaurant called 'The Golden Wok'. Starsky followed Hutch inside and were greeted by a small man. "Good afternoon. Party of two?" the man asked in a friendly voice. "We are actually here to talk to Tiny Sam," Starsky said. "He is working at the bar," the greeter told them and pointed to a tall man. Hutch followed his partner over to the bar. "Tiny Sam?" Hutch asked the man behind the counter. The man was anything but tiny, the two Detectives had to look up at him. "Who's asking?" Tiny said annoyed. "We are with the police and would like to ask you some questions," Starsky said. Tiny glanced at them. "What do you want to know?" "We are looking for Fong Jiang and were told you could help us." "I'm sorry but your information is wrong. I can't help you," the tall man said with a fake smile. "I heard Fong left town and went back to Hong Kong." "When did you see him last?" Hutch asked. "Some weeks ago when he came here for dinner. He was a regular but since I haven't seen him for a while it must be true that he left the country," Tiny answered. "Well, if you hear anything call this man," Starsky said and handed the bartender one of Nash's cards. "I will," the tall man said and took the business card.
"He's lying," Hutch said after the two Detectives had left the restaurant. "He knows something. I think we should keep an eye on him." "I agree," Starsky said and both men walked towards their car. "Where to next?" Starsky asked as he took out the list. They decided on the next person and drove off. They gained no information from that contact and tried two others with no results. "I can't believe this!" Hutch said frustrated as he leaned back on his car seat. "Somebody has to know something! Let's go back to Nash and see if he found out anything," the Detective added and soon they were on the way to the pier.
But Nash didn't have any news. "Sorry guys, no luck so far. But I'm sure something will come up soon," the Captain said confidently. "Maybe you should call it a day and continue tomorrow," he suggested. But Hutch didn't want to stop. "Come on, Hutch. Tomorrow is another day. Let's get something to eat and then relax a little bit," Starsky said. The Blond didn't really want to eat. He wanted to find Fong. After all that was what he came here for, to find the killer of his son. But Hutch knew that they should probably continue tomorrow and reluctantly agreed. They said their good- byes to Nash and drove to a small restaurant he had suggested.
The two Detectives had a pleasant dinner and when they were finished it was still early in the evening. "Do you want to go back to the hotel or what do you want to do?" Starsky asked. "Let's go to the hospital. I would like to talk to Leek," Hutch said after a while. They had been to the hospital on their first visit but the Inspector had been unconscious at the time.
Starsky and Hutch arrived at the hospital around 7 o'clock and asked for Inspector Leek at the front desk. The nurse told them the room number and reminded them that the visiting hours would end in an hour.
Standing in front of the door to the room Hutch was reluctant to enter. "We don't have to do this," Starsky said quietly to his partner. But Hutch had to talk to Leek. He knocked at the door and entered.
Harvey Leek was sitting in his hospital bed leaning with his back against the pillow. He wore a sleeveless tie-died shirt and was reading a book. His right arm was bandaged and he had a large band-aid over his left eyebrow. When the visitors entered Harvey looked up from his book. "Can I help you?" he asked with a smile. "Uhh...I hope we're not disturbing you. I'm Detective Ken Hutchinson and this is my partner David Starsky," Hutch said as he walked toward the bed. "Oh. It's nice to meet you," Harvey said and reached out his hand. Hutch shook it and then Starsky did the same. "I'm sorry about your son," Leek continued and looked down at his hands. "Although I only spend a few days with him I knew he was a great guy." He looked at Hutch hoping not to see hatred in his eyes. But there was only sadness. "He was," the blond Detective choked out. Then there was an awkward silence.
"Nash told us you can leave this place in a few days," Starsky finally said and Harvey nodded. "Did you find Fong?" Leek had the courage to ask. "Not yet. But we will," again it was Starsky who spoke. "I promise I will help you find him as soon as I get out of here," Harvey said. Starsky picked up a picture on the nightstand. It showed a little boy of about four years old. "That's my son Jerry," Leek said proudly. "He's cute," was Starsky's reply. "We should be going now," Hutch abruptly said. "Thanks for coming by," the San Francisco Detective replied. "I really appreciate it." They said their good-bys and the two partners left the room.
After leaving the hospital Starsky walked towards the car but realized that Hutch was not following him. He turned around and found his partner walking to a little garden next to the hospital. The dark haired Detective followed Hutch and found him sitting on a bench starring at a fountain.
"Hey," Starsky said and sat down next to Hutch. "You okay?" Hutch kept looking at the spraying water and it took a while until he answered. "I don't know, Starsk. You can't imagine how often I was wishing this past week that Leek had died instead of Pat. Why did he live and my son had to die?" Hutch turned around and looked at his partner. "This man has a little kid and I wanted him dead. How terrible is that?" he almost spat out. "What kind of person does this make me?" Hutch added quietly. "A grieving person," Starsky answered. "Look, it's perfectly normal to think that way. Why was Pat the first one to go in the building, why was he the one to come up here and not another Detective. There'll always be 'whys'. You don't really wish Harvey's death. I know it, deep down you know it and I'm sure Harvey knows it." Starsky got up and put his hand on Hutch's shoulder. "Come on. Let's go to the hotel and get some sleep. Tomorrow we want to hit the streets early." Hutch looked at his partner, got up and then both walked back to their car.
The next morning the two Detectives first visited the SIU. They talked to Nash and his partner Joe and then headed out in the blue Chevy. After some unsuccessful attempts at reaching people they wanted to talk to they chose the next person on the list.
"There's the house," Starsky said and pointed at a blue townhouse on the left side of the road. Hutch parked the car and both men walked to the door. Starsky knocked and after a moment a middle-aged man opened the door. "Good morning Sir," Hutch said. "We are with the police and..." Hutch hadn't finished the sentence when the door was slammed shut. The two men looked at each other and then Starsky knocked again at the door. "Police! Open the door!" he shouted. Suddenly the garage door on the side opened and a black car sped out. Hutch cursed and both Detectives hurried to their car. "Fong was in the car," Starsky said. "Did you see him too?" he asked. "Yeah," Hutch answered.
Hutch was trying to keep up with Fong's car while Starsky was on the phone with Nash. Since they didn't know this city he had a hard time keeping up with the street names they were on. "Okay, we are now on...Clay Street!" the Detective spoke into the phone. "Watch out!" he suddenly screamed when a truck drove out in front of them. Hutch hit the brakes and swerved to avoid a collision. When the truck had past the black car was nowhere to be seen. "Damn!" Starsky said. "We lost the car," he told Nash on the other side of the phone. The spoke for a little longer on the phone and then hung up. "Let's go back to the townhouse," Starsky said to Hutch and the Blond turned the car around to drive back.
At the house they were met by two police officers that also worked at the SIU. Together the four men went inside the blue building. "Who's the guy who lives here?" Hutch asked and Starsky checked the list. Michael Dow was the owner of the townhouse and they assumed he was the person who opened the door for them. The place was thoroughly searched but they found nothing useful.
After stopping for some lunch Starsky and Hutch drove back to the SIU to see what they could find out about Dow. When they got there only Joe was there, Nash was at a meeting with the chief. Joe told them everything he knew about the suspect and suggested they look for him at a place called 'Lucky Seven'. Sooner or later he would always show up there to feed his gambling needs. The two visiting Detectives said their thanks and drove off to the casino.
The 'Lucky Seven' was close to the University of San Francisco, on O'Farrell Street. Traffic was bad and it took Starsky and Hutch almost forty-five minutes to reach their destination. The casino was painted light yellow and looked unassuming. After parking the car the men walked into the casino. Inside the 'Lucky Seven' were quite a few people playing slot machines, roulette and blackjack. The Detectives decided to split and explored the casino by themselves. None of them saw Dow, just like they had expected. "Let's stake this place out," Starsky suggested. Hutch agreed and both men walked back to the Chevy.
Several hours had passed and there was no sign of Dow. "One more hour and then we should call somebody to take over for us," Hutch said. "How many others are on the list?" he continued. "Only two more," Starsky replied after looking at the paper. "Maybe we get lucky with one of them?" he added. "I sure hope so. We could need a break!" Hutch replied.
The hour was almost up when a young man came walking down the sidewalk towards the 'Lucky Seven'. "Hey! Isn't that Simon Lee?" Hutch nudged his partner. "You're right. Wonder what he's doing here," Starsky said. The man was the first person on the list and they had talked to him the day before. Lee walked passed them on the other side of the road and straight into the casino. "Let's see if he's meeting anyone," Hutch said and both men exited the car and walked once more into the casino.
Inside they saw Lee talking to a bartender before he walked off to another room. Starsky and Hutch followed leisurely without drawing attention to them. The other room was smaller then the main hall. There were no slot machines, only roulette and blackjack tables. The young man walked to another man whose back was facing the entrance of the room. Two rather large bodyguards stopped him but then let him through after he said a few words to them. He was now talking to the man sitting at a blackjack table. Starsky and Hutch were watching from the nearest slot machine outside of the room. "I would like to know who he's talking to," Hutch whispered. "Can you make out his face?" he said to Starsky. "No, I can only see his back," came the answer.
Lee and the other man were talking for some time. Then the mysterious stranger turned around to face the young man. "I don't believe it! It's Dow!" Starsky said after recognizing the man who opened the door of the townhouse. "How did he get in here?' "Beats me," Hutch replied with a shrug. They saw how Dow handed an envelope to Lee. "Let's get out of here before one of them sees us," Starsky suggested and the two men walked back outside. This time they didn't go back to their car though but waited next to the entrance, one on each side.
It didn't take long for Lee to come out of the casino. "Hello Simon. What are you up to?" Starsky asked. The young man stopped dead in his tracks then suddenly turned around where he almost collided with Hutch. "Hi there," the Blond said with a smile. "You didn't want to run from us, did you?" he continued. "What do you want from me? I told you I don't know where Fong is," Simon said angrily.
"What were you doing here?" Starsky asked. "I was gambling. I'm not doing anything illegal, I'm old enough!" Lee answered confidently. "We saw you talking with Dow in there so just cut the crap," Hutch said and shot an angry look at they young man. "And he gave you this," Starsky spoke up and snatched the envelope from Simon. "How much money is in here?" the Detective asked as he looked into the envelope and thumbed through the bills. The young man stayed silence. "Well, you better come with us. We want to ask you some questions," Hutch said. "I'm not going anywhere with you!" Simon almost shouted. "You can come with us for questioning or we can arrest you and haul your ass in," Starsky was threatening. "You can't do that!" Lee said but was becoming more nervous now. "You bet we can!" Hutch said with an icy stare. "So what will it be?" he followed up. Simon decided it was better to go with the two Detectives. "Okay, I'll go with you. But I've got nothing to say!" he said defiantly. "Kids," Starsky mumbled and shook his head as the three walked to the car.
At the SIU Nash met them and all three police officers were questioning Simon. The young man still denied knowing anything about the whereabouts of Fong Jiang. "Why did Dow give you the money?" Nash asked but Lee didn't answer. "Is this to buy your silence?" the Captain continued. "What would he do if you would talk?" Hutch asked. "There is nothing to talk so he won't do anything," Simon said. "But let's say you would change your mind and talk to us, I assume Mr. Dow wouldn't be happy," Hutch spoke once more. "I guess not," Lee said quietly. The three Detectives smiled. "Well then. You should know that we picked Dow up after you left the 'Lucky Seven'. We will just let it slip to him that you couldn't keep your mouth shut and were eager to help us," Nash said. "You can't do that. That's a lie!" Simon was clearly nervous now and looking from one interrogator to the other. They had Lee where they wanted him and the three police officers knew it. Simon was still young and inexperienced with the police. "Or," Starsky said, "you could tell us everything and Dow will never know where we got the information. What do you think?" he looked at they young man.
There was silence, while Simon was thinking his options over. He really had no choice. If Dow would think he ratted he would be dead as would his father. "Okay, I'll talk. But I want assurances," Lee said. "What do you want?" Nash asked. "Dow can never find out. I need protection as well as for my father. Dow would kill us if he found out!" Simon said, now nearly on the edge of crying. "We can help you out," Nash offered. "And Dow will never find out," he added.
"Fong...he's at a house in Seacliff," Simon began. "I swear I don't have much to do with him and his men! I'm only a courier," he continued. "What about Dow?" Nash asked. "He is Fong's second," the young man answered. "What happened to Shi? I thought he is the second?" Nash asked surprised. "Shi? He's been dead for two months. I heard he wanted a bigger share and of course Fong didn't like that," Simon said with a hollow laugh.
"What do you know about the murder of Detective Hutchinson's son?" the Captain continued the questioning. "You mean the police officer who died in the warehouse last week?" Lee asked. "Yes," Hutch said quietly. Simon looked at his hands on the table in front of him. "Fong ordered Wang to set up the trap. I was there when they were talking about it. Dow was there, too. That's all I know about it."
"What's the address of Fong's house at Seacliff?" Starsky asked. "I don't know," Simon answered apologetically. "I only know it is a big blue mansion on Garden Avenue. There is supposed to be a dragon over the door. But I don't know for sure, I've never been there," he continued. "We'll check it out," Nash said and called an officer over. The police officer escorted Simon to the holding cell while Nash left with Starsky and Hutch to get a warrant.
It was almost 10 pm when the threesome where met by Joe at Fong's mansion. Simon had been right, there was a dragon at the door. Several police officers surrounded the building and Nash knocked at the door. "Police! Open up!" he shouted. There was no answer and Ronnie, one of the police officers, knocked the door in. The two Bay City police Detectives and the SIU personnel rushed inside the house as did other police officers. The house was empty but they found evidence of people having been there just recently. "I can't believe we missed him!" Hutch yelled and slammed his hand against the wall. Starsky walked over to his partner. "We'll get him soon," he said with a reassurance he didn't really feel. "I want this whole house searched from top to bottom," Nash ordered his men. "You two should go back to the hotel," he gestured at Starsky and Hutch. "It's been a long day." The two Detectives reluctantly agreed and a police officer drove them to their car at the SIU.
It was next morning at breakfast when Hutch suggested they should go back to Fong's mansion and look around some more. Maybe there was a clue that the officers missed at their search. After calling Nash and telling him about their intentions the duo drove off to Seacliff.
They Detectives looked at everything throughout the house but couldn't find anything of interest. Starsky held out his hands. "I could swear somebody was in here before we rushed into the house," he said. "Well, they couldn't just have disappeared into thin air," Hutch said from the other side of the room where he was looking at a bookshelf. He picked up a book and looked through it. After returning the first one he took out another bigger book and flipped through it. The Detective was just starting to put it back on the shelf when he hesitated and took a closer look at the wall behind it. Suddenly he started to take off more books. "What are you doing?" Starsky asked curiously. "There's something behind this shelf. It looks like a door or something," Hutch replied. Starsky came over and together they pushed the shelf aside. There really was a door. It had no handle so Hutch slowly pushed against it, his gun at the ready. The door opened to a small room. It was sparsely furnished with a sofa, table and small cabinet. "Will you look at that," Starsky said more to himself. "Fong must have gone in here when he realized the police was around and then just waited until everyone was gone. Look at the screen on the wall. It shows several rooms of the house!" he continued impressed. "And see what's on the floor," Hutch said pointing to a trap door. A rag was lying beside it like it had been pushed aside and was normally covering the door. Starsky and Hutch looked at each other for a moment before Starsky crouched down and slowly opened the trap door.
The duo made its way down a few stairs to a tunnel. As they walked along with their guns in their hands motion lights went on as they passed them. After the Detectives walked for about 50 feet there was another set of stairs leading up to another trap door. Starsky went first and slowly opened the door. He went through the trap door, followed by Hutch. They were in an empty shed. After exiting the shed Starsky and Hutch saw a huge yard in front of them. At the other end was a big house, surrounded by trees and bushes. To the left on the other side of a fence they could see Fong's mansion where they had just been a few minutes ago.
The police officers slowly walked towards the house when they heard voices speaking in Chinese behind some bushes. Starsky and Hutch crouched by the greenery and inched closer for a better look. "Fong!" Hutch said quietly. Indeed Fong Jiang was sitting at a table talking to Michael Dow. Another man was standing near. The Detectives recognized him as the bartender they had questioned days earlier, Tiny. Starsky motioned to Hutch and the two split so they could come from both sides. After each of them reached their destination they made final eye contact.
Suddenly Starsky and Hutch simultaneously sprang out from behind the bushes, their guns pointing at the threesome. "Police!" Hutch yelled. "You are under arrest!" For a few seconds the three Asian men seemed surprised. Then all hell broke lose. Tiny pulled out a gun trying to shoot Starsky. The Detective was faster and shot the tall man. Meanwhile Fong had thrown the table over and ran towards the yard together with Dow. Hutch followed and after checking on Tiny Starsky came two. "Hold it! Police!" the Blond yelled once more but the two fleeing men didn't stop. Just before the shed the Asians split, running of in different directions. "Fong's mine!" Hutch called over to Starsky and followed his suspect. Starsky went after Dow.
Fong Jiang ran past the shed under trees until he came to a maze made out of tall bushes. He took one last look at his pursuer and ran right in. "Damn!" Hutch cursed under his breath and also ran in between the greenery. He didn't have Fong in his sight anymore and was just hoping he hadn't lost him for good.
After five long minutes Hutch finally found the way out of the maze. He came to a sudden halt as he found himself about fifteen feet away from the cliffs overlooking the ocean. The view was breathtaking with the Golden Gate Bridge to the right and for a moment Hutch was in awe of the sight. Suddenly there was movement to his left and Fong ran out from behind a bush. Hutch followed and was finally able to tackle his opponent. The two men fought for a while until Hutch had the upper hand, pointing his gun at Fong's head while holding him upright against a rock by his shirt with the left hand. "How does it feel, Fong? Facing Death!" the Detective said through clenched teeth nudging the gun harder at the Chinese' head. "You killed my son and now I will kill you!" Hutch spat out as Fong looked at him with a scared expression.
"Don't do it, Buddy!" Starsky was saying quietly as he slowly walked closer. "He's not worth it." Hutch looked up at his partner with tears in his eyes. He was torn inside. He had wanted to see this man die. But Starsky was right. He wouldn't be better than this scum if he would go through with it. Slowly he pulled the gun away from Fong's head. Starsky sighed with relief. "Turn around!" Hutch ordered and Fong obeyed. The Detective took out his handcuffs and cuffed the Asian man behind his back. Then Hutch pulled Fong up to a standing position and pushed him forward. "Move!" he yelled and all three men walked away from the cliffs. "Where's Dow?" Hutch asked as they walked toward the shed. "I cuffed him to a tree over there," Starsky replied and pointed over to the side.
Later that day Starsky and Hutch were at the SIU meeting with Nash and Joe. They were doing their finally paperwork. "Great job, guys!" Nash congratulated them. The four still talked for some time when Harvey Leek walked in. "Hey Harv!" the Captain greeted his man. "How are you doing?" he asked. "I got a clean bill of health," Leek answered. "The Doc said I should take it easy for a while but can go back to work. So here I am," he finished. "Detectives," Harvey acknowledged Starsky and Hutch. They shook hands and after talking some more the Bay City police officers said their good-byes to Nash and Joe. Then Harvey drove them back to their hotel. The Detectives wanted to rest a little before leaving the next day.
The sun was shining brightly a few days later when Hutch was half kneeling in front of Patrick and Anna's graves. He laid some flowers on the ground and bowed his head. Then the Detective got up and walked over to his partner who was standing to the side to give Hutch some minutes alone. The two men looked once more over to the graves when Starsky laid his arm on Hutch's shoulder. "Let's go home partner," he said and the Detectives walked towards the exit of the cemetery.
THE END
July 2004
San Francisco
The yellow taxi made its way slowly through the San Francisco morning rush hour; its driver cursing under his breath with a heavy foreign accent, while the passenger in the back was taking in the sights around him. The early spring sun was reflecting on the buildings, the warm and pleasant air flowing through the open windows of the cab.
After a fifteen-minute ride the taxi arrived at the pier and the passenger paid his fare, giving a generous tip to the driver. Then the tall man exited and the cab drove off to pick up the next rider.
The man stood still for a while and looked at the large barge lying in front of him at the pier. After checking his watch the Blond walked up the ramp of the barge and into the unique police station. This was the place of the Special Investigation Unit of the San Francisco Police Department, SIU for short. Inside men and women were busy working on their assignments. The visitor walked up to the closest desk where a woman was filing papers. "Excuse me. Could you please tell me where I can find Captain Bridges?" the man asked. "He is back there, the gentleman with the gray suite," came the reply from the woman as she pointed to two men in the back of the barge. The man said his thanks and walked over to the police officers.
"Captain Bridges? I'm Detective Hutchinson from the Bay City Police Department," the man introduced himself. "Oh yes, I was expecting you," Nash Bridges said. "Did you just come in this morning?" he asked as he motioned for the Detective to follow him to one of the desks. "No, I flew in last night," the other man answered as both men sat down. "I have the paperwork here," Nash said as he looked through some papers. "So far we haven't found Fong. But he was seen in Chinatown and I'm sure he is hiding out there. You'll be working with Inspector Leek; he should be coming in soon." Nash handed the papers to Hutchinson and continued, "How is your father doing? Still working the streets with his partner?" "Yeah, they'll probably do this until they retire or die of old age, whichever comes first," the Detective said with a laugh. "My father told me he met you some years ago at a conference." "That's right. It was a weekend conference in Sacramento. We had a great time," Nash replied as he thought back to that time fondly. "Ah. There's Harvey. Come along, I'll introduce you." Both men got up and walked to a man who had just entered the police station and was now walking to his desk.
"Harvey! This is Detective Patrick Hutchinson. He is here to find Fong Jiang and bring him back to Bay City,' Nash said. "Hi," the Inspector said with a smile and shook hands with the Detective. "Nash told me we'd be working together." "Nice to meet you, Harvey. You can call me Pat." Harvey Leek was almost as tall as the visiting Detective. He wore a Greateful Dead armband on his arm and a red beret on his head of curls. The two men started to talk about their case and Nash left them alone. Hutchinson took an instant liking to the quirky Inspector and knew the two would get along fine. He had been worried a little although his father assured him that Captain Bridges was a good man and so must be his officers.
"Okay, let's go and see if we can find Fong," Harvey said after they finished reviewing the papers. "Maybe today is our lucky day." The two men walked out of the police station and the Inspector led them to his blue Ranchero. "Nice car," Hutchinson said impressed, as he looked the vehicle over. "What year is it?" Harvey happily gave him the answer and both men climbed into the car.
"Is this your first time in San Francisco?" Harvey asked his colleague as he started the car and drove off. "Yeah," came the reply. "What I have seen so far looks very nice. Better then I imagined." "Glad you like it. Hopefully you'll only see the good side of the city."
As they were driving they were making small talk about Harvey's obsession with the Greateful Dead, Pat's father, Harvey's partner Evan who was on vacation and other things.
Soon they arrived in Chinatown and Harvey parked the car in front of a restaurant. Once they stepped inside they heard quiet instrumental music flowing out of hidden speakers. Harvey looked around and then walked confidently to a small table where three men were sitting. The Detective followed him and then stood beside Harvey. The three men at the table were dressed in dark, expensive looking suits. "Wang! Long time no see," Harvey said with a smile to the man in the middle. "Inspector Leek, it's a pleasure seeing you again. What brings you here?" the man replied with a fake smile. The two men to his side had serious looks on their faces as they scrutinized the two police officers. "I want you to tell me where I can find Fong," Harvey said. "Is he back in town?" Wang asked innocently in return. "Come on, Wang. You know very well he is here somewhere. So just cut the crap and tell me where he is hiding," the Inspector demanded. "I'm sorry, Inspector. I really don't know where he is. But I will ask around if you want me to." "Yeah right," Harvey mumbled under his breath. "You better don't lie to me, Wang," he said in a louder voice and after staring at the Chinese man for a second turned around and left, followed by Pat.
After questioning more people with no successful results Harvey and Hutchinson wanted to get some lunch. The decided on a small Chinese Diner down the street. The two men had a pleasant lunchtime and after finishing their meals decided to continue looking for Fong. The Detectives spent the better part of the afternoon asking around and following tips but didn't have any success.
"Well, I think it's time we head back to the SIU," Harvey said at last with disappointment in his voice. Pat agreed and they both drove off towards the pier.
Hutchinson waited for Harvey who finished up minor paperwork. Just then Nash came over. "Hey guys! Want to go with to Joe and me to Ana Mandara to grab some dinner?" The two men agreed and soon the foursome where off to the restaurant. The group had a wonderful dinner and still stayed for some time to talk and relax. It was almost 10 o'clock when Pat tried to stifle a yawn. "I think I better get going. It sure was a long day and I'm tired." "Inger is probably waiting up for me anyways so I should be going too," Joe said with a sigh. The four men got up and after saying good-bye to Nash and Joe the other two Detectives walked to Harvey's car and Harvey drove Pat back to the hotel. "See you in the morning, Pat. I'll pick you up at 7.30," Leek said. "Sounds good. See you then," Pat replied, thanked the other Detective for the ride and went inside the hotel.
It was later in the morning the next day when Harvey and Pat received a tip from Wang about the whereabouts of Fong. He was hiding at a warehouse in Chinatown. After driving to the warehouse the two Detectives waited for the back up they had requested. It didn't take long for the squad cars to arrive and everybody got into position. Pat was excited. He would finally arrest Wang and bring him back to Bay City. Harvey was also hoping Wang's tip was right and they would finally nap Fong Jiang. He went inside the building after Pat but didn't get far when there was suddenly a loud explosion and everything went black.
"Come on, Hutch! Pick a card just one more time! I know I'll get it right this time," Starsky said. "You've said that the last six times. Admit it, you'll never guess the card. Your book is lying or you didn't read it right," Hutch said with a smile. "I won't pick another card!" he finished. "Please?" Starsky asked with a pleading voice and look that Hutch knew he couldn't resist. "Oh fine! But this is the last time!" Starsky's face lit up and he held the cards towards Hutch, spreading the stack out a little bit. Hutch pulled out a card and looked at it. It was the Queen of Hearts. He handed the card back to Starsky without letting him see it and Starsky put it under the stack. Then Starsky shuffled the cards with his eyes closed. He finally was finished and after taking away several cards held one up confidently. "This one!" he proclaimed and held up the 10 of Diamonds. "Wow! How did you do this? You picked the right card, Starsk!" Hutch faked surprise. "See! I told you I could do it. Want to try me again?" the brunette Detective said eagerly. "No!" Hutch almost yelled and Starsky knew it was better to lay off now.
"Tell me again why we have to do this stakeout and don't let some rookies do the job?" Hutch asked after ten minutes, trying to get more comfortable on his seat. "Because we want to get our hands on Sanders ourselves, partner. After the time we've already invested in that creep we should follow through to the finish and not let some rookie blow the case," Starsky told the Detective next to him. "Yeah, I know," the Blond said quietly.
The two Detectives had been sitting in their car since 7 o'clock in the morning. They were waiting for their prey, Sanders, to show up at the residence they were observing. So far they had no luck and it was almost noon.
"Hungry?" Starsky asked and reached for the lunch they brought along. "Yes," Hutch replied and Starsky handed him his sandwich and drink. Both men ate in silence, still watching the building. "Will you stop that!" Starsky admonished after Hutch threw the sandwich wrap on the backseat. "In case you haven't noticed, this is a new car! Don't just throw your trash around." "Sorry, Starsk," Hutch said while rolling his eyes. "I'll pick it up later." "You bet you will!" Starsky said and eyed the offending paper. He had just gotten the car some months ago and still remembered the look of his partner when he showed them their new ride, a Mustang. "Starsky, how could you?" Hutch had whined. "It's a nice car but what was wrong with white? Did you have to have it painted like a tomato again?" he finished, shaking his head.
Starsky smiled as he remembered that day but was interrupted in his daydreaming by the radio. "Control to Zebra 3," the voice said through the radio. Hutch picked up the microphone and answered. "This is Zebra 3,"he spoke "Captain Ascot wants to see you in his office immediately. He said it is very important." 'We're on our way," Hutch replied and put the microphone back. "Guess we have to come back for Sanders another time," the blond Detective said and Starsky drove off towards the station.
They arrived at the office of their superior and were greeted by the grim looking Captain. Ascot had become the two Detective's new Captain after Dobey's retirement some years ago and after some time getting used to each other they all got along fine.
"What's up, Cap?' Starsky asked as he walked over to one of the chairs and sat down, his feet resting on the desk. "You better sit down, too, Ken," Ascot motioned to the other chair. Hutch did so with a worried look on his face. Like his previous Captain, Ascot only called him by his first name when it was getting serious. 'Uh-oh, he also didn't tell Starsk to put his feet down. This must be really bad,' Hutch thought and after looking at his partner sat down on the only other free chair across the desk.
"I received a call from the San Francisco Police Department. As you know your son went up there to arrest Fong Jiang," the Captain began, looking at Hutch. "Yes, I talked to him before he left. What happened, Cap?" Hutch asked in a voice that sounded more like a croak. An uneasy feeling had come over him and a million thoughts went through his mind, none of them good.
"Pat was working with his assigned partner from the SFPD. They followed up on a tip they received about Fong's hideout. They walked into a trap. After they entered the building a bomb went off. Pat died instantly," Ascot said quietly. There was a sharp intake of breath coming from Hutch. "I'm really sorry," the Captain said sincerely. Hutch didn't move and Starsky on the seat next to him couldn't believe what he had just heard. He got up quickly and was immediately at his partner's side, kneeling next to him, one hand on the other man's shoulder the other on the others knee. "My God! I'm so sorry, Hutch," he told his partner, his eyes filling with tears. Hutch still hadn't moved but then he slowly turned his head to face Starsky. "Pat is dead," Hutch said quietly. "I...this can't be. Starsky, please tell me it's not true?" the Blond said pleadingly to his partner, tears now streaming down both men's faces. "I'm sorry, Hutch, I'm sorry," was all Starsky could say and held his partner now in an embrace, trying to comfort him as much as he could.
Four days had past since Hutch had received the devastating news of Patrick's death. He had been to San Francisco with Starsky to identify the body of his beloved son, a task he had hoped never to have to do. In the city on the Bay they met with Captain Bridges and also visited Inspector Leek at the hospital. He had sustained serious injuries from the blast but was expected to recover.
The partners had brought the body of the slain Detective back to Bay City and it was now the day of the funeral. The church on Madison Avenue was full with people paying their respects, most of them fellow police officers and friends, among them the police chief and the mayor. Captain Dobey and his family were also in attendance, sitting behind Hutch who was in the front row next to his youngest son James, and Starsky. Nash Bridges and his partner were also at the service together with the SFPD chief of police.
The service was beautiful, with several speakers. Afterwards a parade of police cars and motorcycles escorted the casket to the cemetery, where only close family and friends bore witness to the burial. When it was over the people dispersed and only Hutch, James and Starsky were left. James also turned to leave. "Dad? Are you coming?" he asked. "I'll meet you at the car in a moment," Hutch replied. James glanced at Starsky who nodded his head in approval and then walked towards the car that was parked along the cemetery road.
"You okay?" Starsky asked and laid his arms across his partner's shoulders. "Yeah," Hutch replied after a short pause. "I'm just glad Anna didn't have to go through this," he continued with a sigh. His wife had died four years earlier after a short illness and now their son's name would be added to the tombstone. "James is going back to Denver in two days. I finally convinced him that I'll be alright," Hutch said. "And then we can go to San Francisco. I already talked to Nash about it." "Are you sure still want to go?" Starsky asked. "I owe it to Pat, Starsk. I won't stop searching until we will get Fong. Together we can do it." the Blond replied. "I'm with you all the way, buddy," his partner added. "And when Fong is in jail, it is time for me to retire," Hutch continued quietly. This statement didn't surprise Starsky but he wasn't expecting it right then. "I have to be there for James. He doesn't have anybody else left and I don't want to push my luck. He's lost enough people already," Hutch stated. "I understand that," Starsky said. "We are getting too old for this anyways. Soon we'll have to chase the suspects with walkers," he added with a smile and Hutch couldn't help but laugh at the image in his head.
Three days later the two Detectives were once again on a plane to San Francisco. They arrived at 11 am and headed to their hotel. "Let's get lunch," Starsky said after they got settled in their hotel rooms. Hutch agreed reluctantly. He wanted to go see Nash as soon as possible but knew that if his partner wouldn't get any food soon his mood wouldn't be the best.
Lunchtime was a silent affair. Starsky enjoyed his meal but Hutch, who hadn't eaten well since the day he was told of his son's death, was just pushing his meal around the plate, eating once in a while. Starsky had noticed his partner's lack of appetite from the beginning but still wanted to hold back in saying anything. 'I give him a couple more days,' the dark haired Detective thought as he watched his partner closely.
When the Detectives left the restaurant they took a cab that took them to the pier where Nash's offices was. They found him sitting behind his desk, talking on the phone. After the Captain hung up he greeted his two visitors and motioned them to follow him outside on the deck.
"Any news?" Hutch asked, looking expectantly at Nash. "We've got no lead on Fong so far. Seems like he just vanished into thin air. But we found Wang," Nash said. "Yeah? Where is he?" This time it was Starsky who spoke up. "He's at the morgue. Some swimmers found him floating in the water yesterday," the Captain replied. "He's been dead for some days, shot to death," he continued. "Damn!" Hutch whispered and looked out over the water. There was silence for moment. "How's Inspector Leek?" the Blond asked, still looking over the water. "He's much better. The doctor said he can leave the hospital in three or four days," Nash answered. "That's good," Hutch said quietly. Again there was silence.
"So what's our next step? Where should we start looking?" Starsky asked finally. "I've heard rumors that Fong left the country but I think he's still in Chinatown," Bridges said. "I'll give you a list of people you can contact. Somebody has to know where he is. It's on my desk." The three police officers walked back inside and Nash grabbed some papers from his desk. "Here's the list. And these are statements that you are here on official business," Nash continued and handed the two Detectives the papers. "Here's also a key for the blue Chevy in front of the station. That'll be your ride while you're here." Starsky and Hutch took the papers and key, thanked the Captain and turned to leave. "There's one more thing," Nash said and the other two men turned around. "Keep me informed. I had a tough time talking the chief into allowing you guys to come here and work on this case. Don't give him a reason to come down on me." "We'll let you know when we get anything," Hutch said and then left with his partner.
Starsky and Hutch walked to the blue Chevy and Hutch slid behind the wheel. "I better do the driving here. Don't want to scare the citizens," he said with a grin. Starsky begrudgingly took the passenger seat. There was a map of the city on the dashboard and he took it and looked for Chinatown. After giving Hutch the directions they drove off to find the first person on their list.
Hutch parked the car on the side of the road and the two Detectives walked up to the front door of an older building. The door was open and the duo went inside. "What's the number?" Hutch asked and Starsky looked at the sheet of paper. "Twenty-three," was the answer. After finding Apartment #23 Hutch knocked at the door. A few seconds later an older Asian man opened the door slightly. "Yes?" he asked. "Good afternoon," Starsky said. "We are looking for Simon Lee. Is he here?" "What do you want from him?" the man asked with a heavy accent. "We are with the police and would like to ask him some questions," Starsky replied. "Is he in trouble?" the man spoke up once more. "No," this time it was Hutch who was talking. "We just would like to ask him some questions. He might be able to help us." The man seemed to think about this for a moment and then gestured for the two Detectives to come in.
Starsky and Hutch walked into the modest apartment and the man called to someone in Chinese. A young man, not much older than twenty, came walking out of a room on the side. The older man said more in the language the two visitors couldn't understand. The youngster looked shyly at Starsky and Hutch. "I am Simon Lee. What do you want from me?" "Hello Simon. I'm Detective Starsky and this is Detective Hutchinson," Starsky said and motioned to Hutch. "We would like to ask you some questions about Fong Jiang." At the mention of that name Simon visibly blanched and took a step back. "I can't help you. I don't work for him," he said. "We have heard you are in contact with some of his men," Hutch said. "It's not true! They wanted me to join them but I didn't." "But you met with them several times, didn't you?" Starsky asked. "A friend of mine introduced me to Wang. He wanted me to join but I refused. They came to me more times but I told them no." Hutch looked at Starsky but he just shrugged. "What about Fong? Do you know where he is?" Hutch asked. "I don't know," Simon answered. "I heard that he is hiding. But I don't know where he is," he continued. "Okay. Thanks," Hutch said and Starsky followed him outside.
"What do think?" Starsky asked. "I don't know. Could be he's lying to us. But I couldn't tell," Hutch answered. "Yes. He seemed scared, too," his partner added. Both men walked up to their car and got in. They looked over the list and saw that another person's address on the list was just around the corner. Both men exited the car again and walked to their destination.
The address was a restaurant called 'The Golden Wok'. Starsky followed Hutch inside and were greeted by a small man. "Good afternoon. Party of two?" the man asked in a friendly voice. "We are actually here to talk to Tiny Sam," Starsky said. "He is working at the bar," the greeter told them and pointed to a tall man. Hutch followed his partner over to the bar. "Tiny Sam?" Hutch asked the man behind the counter. The man was anything but tiny, the two Detectives had to look up at him. "Who's asking?" Tiny said annoyed. "We are with the police and would like to ask you some questions," Starsky said. Tiny glanced at them. "What do you want to know?" "We are looking for Fong Jiang and were told you could help us." "I'm sorry but your information is wrong. I can't help you," the tall man said with a fake smile. "I heard Fong left town and went back to Hong Kong." "When did you see him last?" Hutch asked. "Some weeks ago when he came here for dinner. He was a regular but since I haven't seen him for a while it must be true that he left the country," Tiny answered. "Well, if you hear anything call this man," Starsky said and handed the bartender one of Nash's cards. "I will," the tall man said and took the business card.
"He's lying," Hutch said after the two Detectives had left the restaurant. "He knows something. I think we should keep an eye on him." "I agree," Starsky said and both men walked towards their car. "Where to next?" Starsky asked as he took out the list. They decided on the next person and drove off. They gained no information from that contact and tried two others with no results. "I can't believe this!" Hutch said frustrated as he leaned back on his car seat. "Somebody has to know something! Let's go back to Nash and see if he found out anything," the Detective added and soon they were on the way to the pier.
But Nash didn't have any news. "Sorry guys, no luck so far. But I'm sure something will come up soon," the Captain said confidently. "Maybe you should call it a day and continue tomorrow," he suggested. But Hutch didn't want to stop. "Come on, Hutch. Tomorrow is another day. Let's get something to eat and then relax a little bit," Starsky said. The Blond didn't really want to eat. He wanted to find Fong. After all that was what he came here for, to find the killer of his son. But Hutch knew that they should probably continue tomorrow and reluctantly agreed. They said their good- byes to Nash and drove to a small restaurant he had suggested.
The two Detectives had a pleasant dinner and when they were finished it was still early in the evening. "Do you want to go back to the hotel or what do you want to do?" Starsky asked. "Let's go to the hospital. I would like to talk to Leek," Hutch said after a while. They had been to the hospital on their first visit but the Inspector had been unconscious at the time.
Starsky and Hutch arrived at the hospital around 7 o'clock and asked for Inspector Leek at the front desk. The nurse told them the room number and reminded them that the visiting hours would end in an hour.
Standing in front of the door to the room Hutch was reluctant to enter. "We don't have to do this," Starsky said quietly to his partner. But Hutch had to talk to Leek. He knocked at the door and entered.
Harvey Leek was sitting in his hospital bed leaning with his back against the pillow. He wore a sleeveless tie-died shirt and was reading a book. His right arm was bandaged and he had a large band-aid over his left eyebrow. When the visitors entered Harvey looked up from his book. "Can I help you?" he asked with a smile. "Uhh...I hope we're not disturbing you. I'm Detective Ken Hutchinson and this is my partner David Starsky," Hutch said as he walked toward the bed. "Oh. It's nice to meet you," Harvey said and reached out his hand. Hutch shook it and then Starsky did the same. "I'm sorry about your son," Leek continued and looked down at his hands. "Although I only spend a few days with him I knew he was a great guy." He looked at Hutch hoping not to see hatred in his eyes. But there was only sadness. "He was," the blond Detective choked out. Then there was an awkward silence.
"Nash told us you can leave this place in a few days," Starsky finally said and Harvey nodded. "Did you find Fong?" Leek had the courage to ask. "Not yet. But we will," again it was Starsky who spoke. "I promise I will help you find him as soon as I get out of here," Harvey said. Starsky picked up a picture on the nightstand. It showed a little boy of about four years old. "That's my son Jerry," Leek said proudly. "He's cute," was Starsky's reply. "We should be going now," Hutch abruptly said. "Thanks for coming by," the San Francisco Detective replied. "I really appreciate it." They said their good-bys and the two partners left the room.
After leaving the hospital Starsky walked towards the car but realized that Hutch was not following him. He turned around and found his partner walking to a little garden next to the hospital. The dark haired Detective followed Hutch and found him sitting on a bench starring at a fountain.
"Hey," Starsky said and sat down next to Hutch. "You okay?" Hutch kept looking at the spraying water and it took a while until he answered. "I don't know, Starsk. You can't imagine how often I was wishing this past week that Leek had died instead of Pat. Why did he live and my son had to die?" Hutch turned around and looked at his partner. "This man has a little kid and I wanted him dead. How terrible is that?" he almost spat out. "What kind of person does this make me?" Hutch added quietly. "A grieving person," Starsky answered. "Look, it's perfectly normal to think that way. Why was Pat the first one to go in the building, why was he the one to come up here and not another Detective. There'll always be 'whys'. You don't really wish Harvey's death. I know it, deep down you know it and I'm sure Harvey knows it." Starsky got up and put his hand on Hutch's shoulder. "Come on. Let's go to the hotel and get some sleep. Tomorrow we want to hit the streets early." Hutch looked at his partner, got up and then both walked back to their car.
The next morning the two Detectives first visited the SIU. They talked to Nash and his partner Joe and then headed out in the blue Chevy. After some unsuccessful attempts at reaching people they wanted to talk to they chose the next person on the list.
"There's the house," Starsky said and pointed at a blue townhouse on the left side of the road. Hutch parked the car and both men walked to the door. Starsky knocked and after a moment a middle-aged man opened the door. "Good morning Sir," Hutch said. "We are with the police and..." Hutch hadn't finished the sentence when the door was slammed shut. The two men looked at each other and then Starsky knocked again at the door. "Police! Open the door!" he shouted. Suddenly the garage door on the side opened and a black car sped out. Hutch cursed and both Detectives hurried to their car. "Fong was in the car," Starsky said. "Did you see him too?" he asked. "Yeah," Hutch answered.
Hutch was trying to keep up with Fong's car while Starsky was on the phone with Nash. Since they didn't know this city he had a hard time keeping up with the street names they were on. "Okay, we are now on...Clay Street!" the Detective spoke into the phone. "Watch out!" he suddenly screamed when a truck drove out in front of them. Hutch hit the brakes and swerved to avoid a collision. When the truck had past the black car was nowhere to be seen. "Damn!" Starsky said. "We lost the car," he told Nash on the other side of the phone. The spoke for a little longer on the phone and then hung up. "Let's go back to the townhouse," Starsky said to Hutch and the Blond turned the car around to drive back.
At the house they were met by two police officers that also worked at the SIU. Together the four men went inside the blue building. "Who's the guy who lives here?" Hutch asked and Starsky checked the list. Michael Dow was the owner of the townhouse and they assumed he was the person who opened the door for them. The place was thoroughly searched but they found nothing useful.
After stopping for some lunch Starsky and Hutch drove back to the SIU to see what they could find out about Dow. When they got there only Joe was there, Nash was at a meeting with the chief. Joe told them everything he knew about the suspect and suggested they look for him at a place called 'Lucky Seven'. Sooner or later he would always show up there to feed his gambling needs. The two visiting Detectives said their thanks and drove off to the casino.
The 'Lucky Seven' was close to the University of San Francisco, on O'Farrell Street. Traffic was bad and it took Starsky and Hutch almost forty-five minutes to reach their destination. The casino was painted light yellow and looked unassuming. After parking the car the men walked into the casino. Inside the 'Lucky Seven' were quite a few people playing slot machines, roulette and blackjack. The Detectives decided to split and explored the casino by themselves. None of them saw Dow, just like they had expected. "Let's stake this place out," Starsky suggested. Hutch agreed and both men walked back to the Chevy.
Several hours had passed and there was no sign of Dow. "One more hour and then we should call somebody to take over for us," Hutch said. "How many others are on the list?" he continued. "Only two more," Starsky replied after looking at the paper. "Maybe we get lucky with one of them?" he added. "I sure hope so. We could need a break!" Hutch replied.
The hour was almost up when a young man came walking down the sidewalk towards the 'Lucky Seven'. "Hey! Isn't that Simon Lee?" Hutch nudged his partner. "You're right. Wonder what he's doing here," Starsky said. The man was the first person on the list and they had talked to him the day before. Lee walked passed them on the other side of the road and straight into the casino. "Let's see if he's meeting anyone," Hutch said and both men exited the car and walked once more into the casino.
Inside they saw Lee talking to a bartender before he walked off to another room. Starsky and Hutch followed leisurely without drawing attention to them. The other room was smaller then the main hall. There were no slot machines, only roulette and blackjack tables. The young man walked to another man whose back was facing the entrance of the room. Two rather large bodyguards stopped him but then let him through after he said a few words to them. He was now talking to the man sitting at a blackjack table. Starsky and Hutch were watching from the nearest slot machine outside of the room. "I would like to know who he's talking to," Hutch whispered. "Can you make out his face?" he said to Starsky. "No, I can only see his back," came the answer.
Lee and the other man were talking for some time. Then the mysterious stranger turned around to face the young man. "I don't believe it! It's Dow!" Starsky said after recognizing the man who opened the door of the townhouse. "How did he get in here?' "Beats me," Hutch replied with a shrug. They saw how Dow handed an envelope to Lee. "Let's get out of here before one of them sees us," Starsky suggested and the two men walked back outside. This time they didn't go back to their car though but waited next to the entrance, one on each side.
It didn't take long for Lee to come out of the casino. "Hello Simon. What are you up to?" Starsky asked. The young man stopped dead in his tracks then suddenly turned around where he almost collided with Hutch. "Hi there," the Blond said with a smile. "You didn't want to run from us, did you?" he continued. "What do you want from me? I told you I don't know where Fong is," Simon said angrily.
"What were you doing here?" Starsky asked. "I was gambling. I'm not doing anything illegal, I'm old enough!" Lee answered confidently. "We saw you talking with Dow in there so just cut the crap," Hutch said and shot an angry look at they young man. "And he gave you this," Starsky spoke up and snatched the envelope from Simon. "How much money is in here?" the Detective asked as he looked into the envelope and thumbed through the bills. The young man stayed silence. "Well, you better come with us. We want to ask you some questions," Hutch said. "I'm not going anywhere with you!" Simon almost shouted. "You can come with us for questioning or we can arrest you and haul your ass in," Starsky was threatening. "You can't do that!" Lee said but was becoming more nervous now. "You bet we can!" Hutch said with an icy stare. "So what will it be?" he followed up. Simon decided it was better to go with the two Detectives. "Okay, I'll go with you. But I've got nothing to say!" he said defiantly. "Kids," Starsky mumbled and shook his head as the three walked to the car.
At the SIU Nash met them and all three police officers were questioning Simon. The young man still denied knowing anything about the whereabouts of Fong Jiang. "Why did Dow give you the money?" Nash asked but Lee didn't answer. "Is this to buy your silence?" the Captain continued. "What would he do if you would talk?" Hutch asked. "There is nothing to talk so he won't do anything," Simon said. "But let's say you would change your mind and talk to us, I assume Mr. Dow wouldn't be happy," Hutch spoke once more. "I guess not," Lee said quietly. The three Detectives smiled. "Well then. You should know that we picked Dow up after you left the 'Lucky Seven'. We will just let it slip to him that you couldn't keep your mouth shut and were eager to help us," Nash said. "You can't do that. That's a lie!" Simon was clearly nervous now and looking from one interrogator to the other. They had Lee where they wanted him and the three police officers knew it. Simon was still young and inexperienced with the police. "Or," Starsky said, "you could tell us everything and Dow will never know where we got the information. What do you think?" he looked at they young man.
There was silence, while Simon was thinking his options over. He really had no choice. If Dow would think he ratted he would be dead as would his father. "Okay, I'll talk. But I want assurances," Lee said. "What do you want?" Nash asked. "Dow can never find out. I need protection as well as for my father. Dow would kill us if he found out!" Simon said, now nearly on the edge of crying. "We can help you out," Nash offered. "And Dow will never find out," he added.
"Fong...he's at a house in Seacliff," Simon began. "I swear I don't have much to do with him and his men! I'm only a courier," he continued. "What about Dow?" Nash asked. "He is Fong's second," the young man answered. "What happened to Shi? I thought he is the second?" Nash asked surprised. "Shi? He's been dead for two months. I heard he wanted a bigger share and of course Fong didn't like that," Simon said with a hollow laugh.
"What do you know about the murder of Detective Hutchinson's son?" the Captain continued the questioning. "You mean the police officer who died in the warehouse last week?" Lee asked. "Yes," Hutch said quietly. Simon looked at his hands on the table in front of him. "Fong ordered Wang to set up the trap. I was there when they were talking about it. Dow was there, too. That's all I know about it."
"What's the address of Fong's house at Seacliff?" Starsky asked. "I don't know," Simon answered apologetically. "I only know it is a big blue mansion on Garden Avenue. There is supposed to be a dragon over the door. But I don't know for sure, I've never been there," he continued. "We'll check it out," Nash said and called an officer over. The police officer escorted Simon to the holding cell while Nash left with Starsky and Hutch to get a warrant.
It was almost 10 pm when the threesome where met by Joe at Fong's mansion. Simon had been right, there was a dragon at the door. Several police officers surrounded the building and Nash knocked at the door. "Police! Open up!" he shouted. There was no answer and Ronnie, one of the police officers, knocked the door in. The two Bay City police Detectives and the SIU personnel rushed inside the house as did other police officers. The house was empty but they found evidence of people having been there just recently. "I can't believe we missed him!" Hutch yelled and slammed his hand against the wall. Starsky walked over to his partner. "We'll get him soon," he said with a reassurance he didn't really feel. "I want this whole house searched from top to bottom," Nash ordered his men. "You two should go back to the hotel," he gestured at Starsky and Hutch. "It's been a long day." The two Detectives reluctantly agreed and a police officer drove them to their car at the SIU.
It was next morning at breakfast when Hutch suggested they should go back to Fong's mansion and look around some more. Maybe there was a clue that the officers missed at their search. After calling Nash and telling him about their intentions the duo drove off to Seacliff.
They Detectives looked at everything throughout the house but couldn't find anything of interest. Starsky held out his hands. "I could swear somebody was in here before we rushed into the house," he said. "Well, they couldn't just have disappeared into thin air," Hutch said from the other side of the room where he was looking at a bookshelf. He picked up a book and looked through it. After returning the first one he took out another bigger book and flipped through it. The Detective was just starting to put it back on the shelf when he hesitated and took a closer look at the wall behind it. Suddenly he started to take off more books. "What are you doing?" Starsky asked curiously. "There's something behind this shelf. It looks like a door or something," Hutch replied. Starsky came over and together they pushed the shelf aside. There really was a door. It had no handle so Hutch slowly pushed against it, his gun at the ready. The door opened to a small room. It was sparsely furnished with a sofa, table and small cabinet. "Will you look at that," Starsky said more to himself. "Fong must have gone in here when he realized the police was around and then just waited until everyone was gone. Look at the screen on the wall. It shows several rooms of the house!" he continued impressed. "And see what's on the floor," Hutch said pointing to a trap door. A rag was lying beside it like it had been pushed aside and was normally covering the door. Starsky and Hutch looked at each other for a moment before Starsky crouched down and slowly opened the trap door.
The duo made its way down a few stairs to a tunnel. As they walked along with their guns in their hands motion lights went on as they passed them. After the Detectives walked for about 50 feet there was another set of stairs leading up to another trap door. Starsky went first and slowly opened the door. He went through the trap door, followed by Hutch. They were in an empty shed. After exiting the shed Starsky and Hutch saw a huge yard in front of them. At the other end was a big house, surrounded by trees and bushes. To the left on the other side of a fence they could see Fong's mansion where they had just been a few minutes ago.
The police officers slowly walked towards the house when they heard voices speaking in Chinese behind some bushes. Starsky and Hutch crouched by the greenery and inched closer for a better look. "Fong!" Hutch said quietly. Indeed Fong Jiang was sitting at a table talking to Michael Dow. Another man was standing near. The Detectives recognized him as the bartender they had questioned days earlier, Tiny. Starsky motioned to Hutch and the two split so they could come from both sides. After each of them reached their destination they made final eye contact.
Suddenly Starsky and Hutch simultaneously sprang out from behind the bushes, their guns pointing at the threesome. "Police!" Hutch yelled. "You are under arrest!" For a few seconds the three Asian men seemed surprised. Then all hell broke lose. Tiny pulled out a gun trying to shoot Starsky. The Detective was faster and shot the tall man. Meanwhile Fong had thrown the table over and ran towards the yard together with Dow. Hutch followed and after checking on Tiny Starsky came two. "Hold it! Police!" the Blond yelled once more but the two fleeing men didn't stop. Just before the shed the Asians split, running of in different directions. "Fong's mine!" Hutch called over to Starsky and followed his suspect. Starsky went after Dow.
Fong Jiang ran past the shed under trees until he came to a maze made out of tall bushes. He took one last look at his pursuer and ran right in. "Damn!" Hutch cursed under his breath and also ran in between the greenery. He didn't have Fong in his sight anymore and was just hoping he hadn't lost him for good.
After five long minutes Hutch finally found the way out of the maze. He came to a sudden halt as he found himself about fifteen feet away from the cliffs overlooking the ocean. The view was breathtaking with the Golden Gate Bridge to the right and for a moment Hutch was in awe of the sight. Suddenly there was movement to his left and Fong ran out from behind a bush. Hutch followed and was finally able to tackle his opponent. The two men fought for a while until Hutch had the upper hand, pointing his gun at Fong's head while holding him upright against a rock by his shirt with the left hand. "How does it feel, Fong? Facing Death!" the Detective said through clenched teeth nudging the gun harder at the Chinese' head. "You killed my son and now I will kill you!" Hutch spat out as Fong looked at him with a scared expression.
"Don't do it, Buddy!" Starsky was saying quietly as he slowly walked closer. "He's not worth it." Hutch looked up at his partner with tears in his eyes. He was torn inside. He had wanted to see this man die. But Starsky was right. He wouldn't be better than this scum if he would go through with it. Slowly he pulled the gun away from Fong's head. Starsky sighed with relief. "Turn around!" Hutch ordered and Fong obeyed. The Detective took out his handcuffs and cuffed the Asian man behind his back. Then Hutch pulled Fong up to a standing position and pushed him forward. "Move!" he yelled and all three men walked away from the cliffs. "Where's Dow?" Hutch asked as they walked toward the shed. "I cuffed him to a tree over there," Starsky replied and pointed over to the side.
Later that day Starsky and Hutch were at the SIU meeting with Nash and Joe. They were doing their finally paperwork. "Great job, guys!" Nash congratulated them. The four still talked for some time when Harvey Leek walked in. "Hey Harv!" the Captain greeted his man. "How are you doing?" he asked. "I got a clean bill of health," Leek answered. "The Doc said I should take it easy for a while but can go back to work. So here I am," he finished. "Detectives," Harvey acknowledged Starsky and Hutch. They shook hands and after talking some more the Bay City police officers said their good-byes to Nash and Joe. Then Harvey drove them back to their hotel. The Detectives wanted to rest a little before leaving the next day.
The sun was shining brightly a few days later when Hutch was half kneeling in front of Patrick and Anna's graves. He laid some flowers on the ground and bowed his head. Then the Detective got up and walked over to his partner who was standing to the side to give Hutch some minutes alone. The two men looked once more over to the graves when Starsky laid his arm on Hutch's shoulder. "Let's go home partner," he said and the Detectives walked towards the exit of the cemetery.
THE END
July 2004