The room was tided up nicely, the bed was made, there were no clothes on the floor and mist from the air fresher was keeping the place smelling sweet, but as Dobey had said Hutch didn't noticed. He just stared out the window focusing on nothing out there.
Huggy bustled around the room, still trying to make it look homey. He'd taken the liberty of going over to Hutch's place to see if he could salvage anything. Seeing the apartment in ruins had been hard enough, but going inside had been ten times worse. He had found a few things in the bathroom that were more or less intact. Hutch's guitar unfortunately did not survive. It was heartbreaking for Huggy to think that the two things that Hutch held dear had died in the same room.
The best stroke of luck though came in the form of a white scruffy teddy bear hidden under the bed. Its fur was tinged with black soot, but apart from that it looked fine. Huggy wondered if the bear would do Hutch more harm than good, but there was only one way to find out.
"Hey Hutch," Huggy said gently as he approached his friend. "I brought you some things from your place" Hutch didn't react to Huggy's words, which came as no surprise to the tall black man. Huggy placed the things on the table next to Hutch's chair, but paused when he picked up the bear. He tossed it over in his hands a few times, stilling trying to work out if it was a good idea to show Hutch the bear, but considering the state he was already in Huggy doubted the bear could do much worse.
"I hope you ain't too big to be cuddling up with teddy bears," Huggy said softly as he gently laid the bear down on Hutch's lap. Partly relieved party disappointed he saw no change in Hutch. He blinked his eyes a few times as the bear flew past his vision, but that was all.
Huggy was at a lose, he wanted to do more for his friend, but he knew the only thing that would get Hutch talking would be seeing Starsky alive, but that was not possible. He was gone and if something weren't done for Hutch it wouldn't be long til he went too.
"Hey man," Huggy said as he crouched down in front of Hutch "You know if you ever feel like talking they'll always be someone around to talk to. I'm hear most of the time and Dobey is only a phone call away" Hutch blinked, but part from that remained unresponsive. Absent-mindedly Huggy's hand reached out to stroke the soft furry head of the bear.
"I miss him too Hutch," He said softly. "I understand it must hurt, but…"Huggy forced himself to be silent. How could he say such a thing, how could he say he understood when he had never lost a partner before? It was true he had lost friends in the past, but the had never had a special bond with any of them, not like the one Starsky and Hutch shared, a bond that was pulling Hutch into the grave to be with his partner.
There was an awkward silence, at least for Huggy as he continued to stroke the bear in Hutch's lap.
"Ya hungry," He asked, just to break the silence. He wasn't at all surprised when he got no reply. He was getting used to it. "I'll get you a sandwich or something" He stretched to his full height and made his way over to the door. He took one quick look over his shoulder, but there was still no movement. He sighed and left the room.
Down in the main bar Huggy stopped to get himself a beer. He didn't usually drink that much during the day, but under the circumstances he wasn't surprised how many beers he was getting through.
Opening his beer took his attention away from what was going on around him, so when Diane tapped him on the shoulder he almost jumped clear off the ground.
"Hey baby, what ya trying to do give me a heart attack" Diane rolled her eyes.
"I thought you'd like to know, there's a guy over at the bar asking about Hutch" She said, indicating to the man with her head. Huggy followed her gesture and found a tall, middle aged man standing at the bar, his collar turned up and a hat covering most of his hair. Huggy didn't recognise the man, but he had a strange feeling he knew who it was. Huggy finished opening his beer and made his way across the bar.
"What can the bear do for you today?" He asked, as he leaned across the bar. The man tilted his hat back slightly to get a better look at the skinny man.
"I'm looking for a detective by the name of Hutchinson" The man said, his eyes moving from side to side as he spoke "I've been told you might know where he is"
"I might, but then again I might not, who are you to want to know?"
"Adam Peters, I have some business I need to discuss with the detective, I've been told he comes here a lot" Huggy tried his best to keep his expression blank. He was not the best liar in that world, Starsky and Hutch knew that better than any one, but he had no choice now. He had promised Dobey he would protect Hutch and that's exactly what he was going to do.
"Yeah, well, he's a cop and my patrons aren't exactly the most law abiding" Huggy kept his voice very low in case any of those 'patrons' were listening.
"Do you know where I might find him?"
"Sorry my man, but he ain't been in here a while and thank God. I don't need any more trouble with the pigs" He hated saying the word, but he had to make his act as convincing as possible. The man slammed his fist on the bar and stared blankly at the wall. Huggy decided not to say anymore and just took a few sips from his beer.
"Do you know where else he may spend his time?" 'Adam Peters' asked. Huggy shrugged.
"Afraid not, it ain't one of my hobbies to follow the personal lives of cops" Peter's stared Huggy in the eyes, possibly working out whether he believed what he was being told. Huggy took another sip of his beer.
Without so much as a thank you Peters pushed away from the bar and left The Pits. Huggy immediately ran round the bar and searched for Diane, who he found serving two customers sitting at the back.
"Hey baby, where are those two cops assigned to watch Hutch?"
"Hey went out to get a spot of lunch, said they'd be back soon" Huggy smacked his fist into his palm. He didn't understand why they couldn't have eaten in The Pits, after wall they did serve food.
Huggy looked across the bar at the closed door and made a decision. It would take too long to call Dobey for assistance and he knew Hutch was going to be no help, so Huggy made up his mind to follow the mysterious man, after all if this man was looking to do away with Hutch it was Huggy's duty as a friend to help catch him.
"Look after the bar for me baby, I got an errand to run" With that he grabbed his coat and ran out the front door. He searched the streets and found his mystery man getting into a car in the far distance. Huggy jumped into his little yellow bug and waited for the man to drive away before he pursued. As he sat back and waited he sighed deeply. He had no idea if this was a good idea, but he had no choice, he had to do this for his friend.
Adam Peter's car sped off down the street and Huggy waited until it was a good distance away, but still in sight before he started up his own car and chased after it.
It was no use and Starsky knew it, no matter how much he tried he could not free himself from the ropes that bound him. His wrists were swelling up and his arms ached more with ever pacing minute. He hoped that Alex would return soon and either let him go or choice another form of interrogation since now Starsky not only feared his shoulder would dislocate, but also that he'd suffer a heart attack. He knew from reading various reports that a human's heart couldn't take the strain of hanging the way Starsky was for long. How long Starsky wasn't sure and frankly he didn't want to find out.
In the distance he heard the sound of a car parking by the house. Starsky prayed it was some one other that Alex, someone who could help him. The door opened and closed with a slam, giving him the impression that it was not his saviour. He heard some movement in the other room and the distinct sound of metal clanging against something hard.
"Alex," Starsky called. He got no reply. The movement stopped and the whole place was silent. "Alex" His only reply was more movement. He sounds were getting closer and a second later he saw a figure appear in the doorway. He knew instantly that it was Alex, but it was not the man that caught Starsky's gaze. Alex was holding a can of gasoline in one hand and a box of matches in the other. Starsky felt his mouth go dry and swore his heart skipped a beat.
"No"
TBC
I love a good cliffhanger. Hehehehe.
