Hi All,
Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews. BLUSH - see you made me blush again! You guys are good. Hugs! This chapter is a little slower, but thing should go a littlefaster in chapter 4.
Joy Ride Ch. 3
They torched the truck and left as soon as it was fully engulfed in flames. They climbed into Mel's mother's car. Mel pulled back onto Lean Road and headed for Jake's house, it was the closest to the junkyard, though still a few miles away.
Jake got out when Mel stopped the car a block from his house "See you guys at school on Monday, if I decide to show" he started to walk away.
"Remember, don't say anything to anyone. This is our secret. If you want to talk to anyone, talk to me" Ashley looked from one boy to the other.
"You forgettin' somethin' Ash? We're not part of your crowd at school. You just hang with us sometimes for kicks. You don't hang with us socially, you can't, Little Miss Cheerleader, you can't be seen with us and we can't be seen with you." Jake pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
"Look, here's my number, it's a private unlisted line, it rings only in my bedroom. You need to talk to someone, call me." She looked earnestly at each boy "I mean it, call, we'll talk. Jake, come to school on Monday"
"Why?" the boy tensed up and looked at the blonde pixie in the rider's seat of the Station Wagon.
"Because, we want everyone to think it's a normal day, you skip, a truant officer might find you-" she shoved her hair behind her ear and looked up through her eyelashes at him.
"So? It wouldn't be the first time" He jammed his hands into his pants pockets and shuffled his feet.
"Just do it, that way we know nobody told, no narks, no finks, no squealers" She looked from one boy to the other.
"Right, no narks, no finks, no squealers" The two boys recited. They knew the drill. They had been friends since they were little kids. But social pressures and peer pressures now separated them at school. The boys, being of lower income didn't hang, hell, couldn't hang with the rich, athletic crowd at school, Ashley's crowd. But the three could still hook up and run together sometimes. They showed Ashley the fun of the darker side of the streets and she footed the bill. It was a good trade. Usually.
"No one would believe you anyway" Ashley fingered her hair, breaking eye contact with Jake.
"Don't I know it, thanks for rubbing it in my face, Ash. Ya know, you can be a real bitch sometimes" Jake trotted away towards his home in the trailer park. Ash was only saying what was true. But it hurt when she rubbed it in like that.
"You didn't have to say that to Jake, you know how he feels about that. That's why he's cutting school more and more" Mel pulled away from the curb and headed in the direction of Ashley's home on the Upper East Side.
"I know, it was wrong me to say that, but it's true. That goes for you as well. No one would believe you; they would never believe that I had anything to do with this. There is no proof of anything"
"Yeah, I know. But a man is dead-"
"Pull over Mel, now" Her voice was firm.
Mel pulled over and stopped the car "What?"
"I know you are feeling a little guilty right now. I am too. I was driving, remember?" She leaned back in the seat and stared at the ceiling interior of the car.
"How can you be so calm about this Ash? How do you do it?" Mel's tone was plaintive.
"Ever wonder why I am on so many charities? So many committees? I make up for any bad I do by being twice as helpful, you see? I feel so good about all I do to improve life, it makes up for the times when I do stuff like… well, I've never done anything like this, but it'll be the same deal." She looked at her companion "Do you see what I'm saying here?"
"Yeah, I guess, but people will think I've weirded out if I start in on doing a bunch of charities or something" he leaned forward and rested his forehead on the steering wheel.
Ashley rolled her eyes "Start small. Just make a little change"
"Yeah? Like what?" he lifted his head.
"Start doing your homework or something, get a part time job, stuff like that. I'm really beat, take me home now, okay?" she stifled a yawn. "Don't take on the world, just a little change, you'll be amazed how people's attitudes will start to change towards you, trust me"
"Sure Ash, I trust you" he smiled at her and she returned it. His heart leapt in his chest when she reached over and patted his leg.
"Remember, just a little change, you'll see" she turned her face towards the rider's side window and looked out. Boys! She rolled her eyes and mentally snorted it was a good thing they were so dumb, it made them easier to manipulate.
Then she remembered the man. She clenched her fists. She was sorry about hitting him, but he was dead and buried. No one would ever know.
Ashley knew that she would have to use a few of her mom's sleeping pills to get enough rest over the next few days, at least until the pain dulled. She would go to bed early, do her homework to perfection, attend cheerleader practice. She would be extra good. She would make up for it. She would. She would. Her fingernails bit into her palms, she didn't feel it.
XXXX
"It's been hours! We gotta do something!" Hutch paced back and forth in front of Dobey's desk "No leads, no word, no nothin'! Nothing from the APB, nothing from the hospital, nothing from the streets" he slammed his fist down onto Dobey's desk, hard enough to knock over a Styrofoam coffee cup and the penholder. Coffee ran onto the floor.
Dobey handed Hutch some paper towels "That's why I'm holding a news conference in ten minutes. We will ask for the publics' assistance on this. Someone knows something, seen something-"
"I want to do it Cap'n, let me do it, I-I have to do this" Hutch's mind flashed over his thoughts from the day before. The awful things he thought Starsky had done and none of it was true. Guilt hurt. He had finally gotten in touch with Cindy and Bambi an hour ago, they had tired of waiting for the boys and had called a cab and went to a Disco to do some dancing until dawn.
"I wouldn't dream of stopping you" the big man made his way around his desk "Go wash up and comb your hair, I'll meet you in conference room D in five minutes" Dobey exited his office.
Hutch stared at the closed door for a second, collecting himself, then he too headed out. He had a plea for information to make.
XXXX
Hours earlier, deep in the woodsPain. All was pain. The world turned on it. Starsky tried to move. Pain bit him. It grabbed huge mouthfuls of him and yanked so hard, it took his breath away. He lay very still for a little while. It still hurt. Even breathing hurt. Why was it so hard to breathe?
Something was on top of him. Something was wrapped around him, pushing him from all sides. With great difficulty he moved a hand and touched the thing. It was smooth. It was smooth on his face. Smoothness surrounded him.
He managed to move one of his arms a bit and pushed. The smooth thing moved a little. He pushed again, harder this time. It moved again. Dirt trickled from somewhere and hit him lightly in the face and he clawed again at the smooth thing.
It hurt to move, but something made him push through the pain and claw some more. He clawed for a long time. Or it felt like a long time. Maybe it was forever. Perhaps this it what life was. Claw. Claw. Claw. Try to get something, but what? Claw some more.
A waft of fresh air tickled his nose. He inhaled deeply, until the pain screamed in rage and attacked him once more. He blacked out.
XXXX
Mel had made it home after refueling Mom's car. He snuck in the basement door and up the steps to his bedroom. Dad would be home from his third shift factory job in about two hours. He was cutting it close. He tiptoed to his room and entered, undressed and lay down on his bed. He was still too wired to sleep.
He thought about what Ashley said. It made sense. It made a lot of sense. Look at Ashley. She was perfect. Everybody loved her. No one but him and Jake knew she could really cut loose and be wild. Now she had trusted him enough to let him in on her little secret. Wow, could it really be that easy?
Maybe, just maybe, if he started doing his homework and maybe got a job… a little money, a little respect… just maybe she would like him a little more. She had stroked his leg all the way to her house and she had kissed him full on the lips when he had pulled over a block from her home to let her out. Maybe one day he would be permitted to drop her off at her front door… he touched his lips. They still tingled from the kiss.
He sighed and then set his alarm clock for eleven a.m. He would start on his homework then. It was Sunday, but he could get some of it done, maybe all of it. The teachers would freak out on Monday. Melvin fell asleep with a smile on his face.
His alarm went off at eleven and he rolled out of bed and turned it off quickly so it wouldn't wake his dad. Dad was meaner then hell if he got woken up for no good reason. Mel turned on his little black and white TV, he kept the volume real low so he wouldn't wake his dad, then he got dressed. He was gonna make good on Ashley's advice.
He lay on the bed trying to read the schoolbook. Why did he have to bring home his Biology book? 'Cause his mom expected him to bring something home. His parents didn't ask about his grades. They hadn't asked in years. As long as he passed and made the next grade, that's all they cared about.
He had found that out when he had nearly flunked last year. His dad had blackened both of his eyes when he found out his kid was close to flunking. Mel was careful to try just hard enough to make it to the next grade. One bad beating was enough to convince him of that; he had been sore for a week after that one.
"We interrupt our programming to bring you a special news bulletin. Coming to you live from the Bay City Police Departments Metropolitan Division-"
Mel turned the volume off. He hated the news, it was so boring and dull. He forced his eyes back to the Biology book. He read a paragraph and glanced at the TV to see if the news was over, nope, some guy with light hair was yapping. Mel's eyes started heading back to the boring book when a photo was shown on the TV. His eyes widened. It was the guy, the body… Mel reached over and upped the volume.
"-any information on Detective Sergeant David Starsky, please call the number on the screen, please help us locate him. Starsky, buddy, if you can hear me, please call me now. If someone has him, or knows where he is… please, please call this number, we can talk, that number again is-"
Mel turned the volume off again. A cop. SHIT! They had killed a cop! Mother pus bucket! He grabbed a pencil and wrote the number down. His hand shook so hard he broke the lead. He picked up a pen and scrawled the number down inside the Biology book. It didn't even look like his handwriting. His breath came in pants and his stomach knotted up.
The body had a name now. People were looking for the guy. Cops were looking for one of their own. The man was a cop! Mel broke for the door and dashed down the hall to the bathroom and tried to puke in the toilet. Nothing came out. His stomach had been empty for hours. That fact didn't stop his stomach from trying, really, really hard.
There was a soft knock at the door "Melvin honey, are you okay?"
"No, uhhh… I think I've got the flu or something" Mel rested his head on the toilet rim.
"There's a girl on the phone, she wants to talk to you, I'll have her call back"
Mel rose and opened the door "NO!" At his mother's fearful look in the direction of Dad's bedroom, Mel whispered, "No, I'll get it" He brushed past her and got to the phone "Hello?" seeing his mother standing in the kitchen archway, he picked up the phone and put it next to the front door, he opened the door and pulled the curly handset cord as far as it could go and closed the front door as tight as he could. The sun was bright and warm on his skin.
"Did you see it?" Ashley's voice was breathy.
"Yeah! Oh God! What're we gonna do?" Mel whispered into the phone.
"Same thing we talked about. Say nothing. Not to anyone! I gotta go now, and Mel?"
"Yeah?"
"I… I think I'm falling in love with you…remember, keep quiet, tell no one, no narks, no finks, no squealers. I'll see you in school tomorrow, bye!"
The phone clicked in his ear and the dial tone droned in his ear "bye Ashley" He leaned against the front door and listened as his inner mind replayed her words to him 'I think I'm falling in love with you' Wow! Ashley was falling in love with him.
He entered the front door and put the phone back where it belonged. His mother was waiting for him at the kitchen table.
"What happened to your nose? Did your father…? What happened?" she reached out to touch it.
Mel blocked her touch with his hand "Just a guy from school Mom, it's nothing, it's fine, I gotta study now, uh… there's a test tomorrow"
"Melvin, I know I don't say it very often, but I'm proud of you, you're really a good boy" she smiled at him "If your stomach is settled, I'll make you some soup later on, okay?"
"Thanks Mom" Mel ducked his head and went back to his room. He would do what Ashley said. He would study and he would make his mom proud. He would have to really earn the words she had just told them. He would do it. He had to.
XXXX
Hutch paced. His new world order revolved around pacing and waiting. It was now late Sunday afternoon and he was waiting. Waiting for nothing. He moved over to the coffee pot for a refill. A dark hand dropped over his and stopped him. He looked at the hand's owner.
"You've had enough of that stuff. You need to eat something" Dobey placed an apple in the blond's hand and curled the long fingers around the fruit. "Eat"
Hutch brought the fruit to his lips. It smelled great. He opened his mouth to take a bite but was stopped by a thought 'wherever he was, was Starsky getting anything to eat? Anything to drink? Or was he now beyond those needs?'
Dobey saw the look on the blond detective's face "Don't do that to yourself, Ken… Hutch, listen to me, you can't help him if you don't first help yourself"
"Platitudes Cap? You can't get me to eat, so you're gonna feed me PLATITUDES?" the words were spoken through gritted teeth.
Dobey rested a hand on Hutch's shoulder; he patted the knotted shoulder muscle twice "Come with me son, the BCFD just called, they extinguished a truck fire this morning, they think it was an old Dodge. Fire Chief Himsel saw the bulletin on TV and just called me. George from the lab is already headed to the scene. Not much left of it-"
Hutch was already putting on his jacket "C'mon Cap, what's the location?" his look was expectant.
"I'm not telling you. I'll drive you" Dobey checked his pockets for his keys, yep, they were there.
"Fine!" The blond snapped as he adjusted his jacket collar and headed for the squad room door.
XXXX
Hutch looked at the scene in dismay. The truck was reduced to a twisted shell. Everything that could burn or melt was gone, interior, windows, tires, everything. The responding fire trucks had driven all around the area and what evidence they hadn't destroyed, the hoses and the water did.
George wandered over "Not much to go on. I probably won't be able to find the VIN plate. The heat was intense, the plate may have melted-"
"Then why are we even here?" Hutch gestured angrily at the mess.
"Well, come here and I'll show you"
Hutch followed George to the heap and stared at it "What am I supposed to be looking at?"
"Look in the truck bed"
Hutch looked sideways at the man before looking at the truck bed "Again, what am I supposed to be looking at?"
"And you're the detective" George shook his head "Look at this" he picked a blackened item out of the bed and dropped it on the ground at the detective's feet. It didn't matter if he touched anything now. He had already taken pictures and measurements.
There was no hope of finding any fingerprints or any other evidence, the fire and fire department had seen to that. Not that they meant to destroy evidence, they were just trying to do their job, which was extinguishing fires. They had done that perfectly.
"It's a shovel, minus most of the wooden handle…" Hutch's head snapped up and he looked at the truck bed again, this time seeing the wheelbarrow, minus most of it's wooden handles and rubber tire. "Gardening stuff"
"Bingo!" George smiled at the blond "You are a good detective!"
"This is the vehicle!"
"Yep, looks like, there's even some damage to the hood and the front left side of the bumper. All of the headlight and turn signal covers have melted or shattered from the heat, but this damage looks like where your partner may have impacted it…" George's enthusiasm waned as he watched the blond pale. "Sorry" he shrugged "I didn't mean-"
Hutch patted the man's arm "I know"
"I've requested a flatbed to pick it up and take it back to the lab's garage, if I find anything, anything at all, I'll call"
"Thanks George" Hutch headed back to Dobey's car.
Dobey waved him over; Hutch sped up "What?"
"A man just called the hotline and said that he just noticed his work truck for his lawn care business was missing, a brown '65 Dodge pickup, I've got the address" Dobey waved the paper with the directions on it at the blond detective.
"Terrific!" Finally, pieces were falling in place. Perhaps this man knew what had happened to his partner.
TBC
Author's notes: A VIN is a Vehicle Identification Number.
