Thanks to all who enjoy reading SB.
Also thanks to BLG!
Chapter 6
Starsky parked the pick up truck outside the grocery store to pick up some supplies. His truck was a dark red one, and for some reason he had grown quite attached to it. It had faithfully helped him keep the restaurant running in the last few months. Whistling cheerfully, he entered the grocery store.
"Hey Hank!" He shouted as he walked passed the shelves picking up what he needed.
"Hey Starsky, are you going to rob my shop clean again, huh?"
"Yeah," he answered. "Something like that."
"There's some new stuff in the back ya might want? It came in last week."
"Thanks man," Starsky nodded politely, and headed towards the shelves located in the back of the store.
Hank had been right. There were some things here which hadn't been here earlier. This was a small town, way out of range of Western Canada's main supply routes. New supplies were not coming in all that often. He picked up one of the flashlights, checking it out. "I could use this…," he said, throwing the light into the box he was carrying under his arm.
Then he stopped dead in his tracks.
Just in front of him, dangling form a shelf support were some light blue, four-legged stuffed dogs. They were small things with funny looking tufts of hair on their heads. He stared at them; they brought back some kind of memory.
Slowly, he raised his hand, carefully touching one of them.
A memory rushed upwards, an image of a desk, a feeling of pain, intense pain… in his stomach, and the realisation that he was going to die. He reached out for someone. A hand grabbed his. Looking up, he stared into a pair of rich blue eyes.
For a moment the image lingered. Then the memory faded.
Breathing heavily, Starsky found himself leaning against the shelf unit, clutching one of the blue stuffed dogs to his chest. He was sweating, and shaking all over.
"Hey man, are you all right back there?"
Starsky managed to stammer an answer, "Yeah, I just dropped the damned box."
He stood there for a while, trying to make sense of it all. Having dreams was one thing, but to have these images occur in the middle of the day was quite another. He didn't understand it. The images, the feelings, they all felt so real. But they didn't make sense. He didn't even own a desk for instance. He hated the things, so he had never bothered to get one installed.
Looking down at the blue thing still clutched in his hands, he realised he experienced that same feeling of loss again. Not only that, a moment ago he'd been sure he was about to die. Why? "Poison," his mind answered. But that was ridiculous. He had never been poisoned in his life! Such things just did not happen in real life.
Slowly he picked up his box from the floor.
The blue thing reminded him of blue eyes. He stared at it for what seemed like an eternity. Blue eyes…
But the memory started to fade, leaving nothing but the overwhelming feeling that something was missing from his life. Sighing, he put the dog in the box. "Guess you're coming home with me."
Chapter 7
"Hey pal, ready for duty?" Cheerfully Starsky walked into Hutch's front door, and headed straight for the fridge. Hutch leaned against the kitchen sink, wearing a green shirt with a flannel black and white shirt on top and brown pants underneath. He was drinking a white substance, containing ingredients which Starsky wouldn't even start to guess at.
"What are you doing?" Hutch said with a smile.
"Getting breakfast blue eyes, what d'ya think."
"Starsk, why don't you have breakfast at home like normal people? You come in here, every morning, expecting me to have dead slices of pizza, and a year supply of beer in the fridge … I don't even like pizza."
Starsky, who was wearing a blue T-shirt, blue shirt, jeans and right now his brown leather jacket instead of his vest, picked up exactly those items out of the refrigerator. Smiling, he straightened up, winking at Hutch, "I knew ya loved me." He jumped up onto the kitchen sink, continuing the conversation with his mouth full. "Ya know… for a man who hates pizza, you order it a lot," he teased.
Hutch did not answer to that at first; He put the glass down and picked up his jacket. "For your information I did not order out for that one last night, I cooked it myself."
Starsky was genuinely surprised, and took another bite. "Oh yeah? Hmm, it's pretty good. What did ya put on it?"
Walking past him, his partner replied with a straight face. "Same stuff I put in my cocktails every morning."
The brunet stopped chewing, and nearly choked on the bit he was about to swallow, before managing to spit the whole thing out into the sink"God, Hutch! You can't put desiccated liver on a pizza! It's sacrilege!"
Hutch just smiled. "You comin'?"
Frantically, Starsky tried to wash away the taste of the pizza with gulps of beer, and jumped down. Still muttering, he followed his partner out the door.
They took Hutch's car.
The brunet had the feeling that his partner needed to drive in order to keep his mind off current events. Trouble was, that Hutch's car, an old Ford, was exactly that… old. But it had character. Starsky had to give him that.
The morning passed completely uneventful. No signs of any killings, any crimes, or any criminals for that matter. There were no dealers on the streets, and now that Starsky thought of it, there were no users either.
He figured the department knew where Karl Forest was having his hide out, but since no evidence had presented itself, connecting him to these murders, the brunet hesitated to suggest they'd pay the man a visit. If it were up to him he would keep his partner from having any contact with that man whatsoever.
"Zebra three come in please."
Bored to tears right about now Starsky picked up the receiver. "Starsky here, what is it sweetheart."
Smiling, Hutch threw him a sideway glance. He shook his head.
"Switch to Tack Two for Captain Dobey."
"Sure thing dear-"
The blond snatched the receiver from Starsky's hand, before the flirting could become serious.
"Hey!" he protested, "I wasn't finished!"
"Always the charming one, Starsk…" Hutch interrupted him. "You know, one day you might find yourself getting married."
"Well," Starsky said as he switched channels on the radio. "Who knows?"
Hutch shook his head again, pressing the receiver's button. "Yeah, what is it Cap?"
The stern voice of Dobey filled the car's interior."There's been another murder, 224 Sea View Road. Apartment 4b. I want you two to check it out, before the Feds get there!"
Starsky's raised an eyebrow at Hutch.
"The Feds, Captain?"
"Yeah, they sped out of my office like two burned turkeys, when they got wind of this."
Hutch threw the receiver to his partner, and slammed the car into a higher gear.
"Cap'n," Starsky managed to ask, as he was trying to put the light on top, while at the same time being pushed back in his seat at the sudden increase of speed. "Did they talk to you about these murders?"
"They're not interested in the murders at all Starsky. All the Feds want is the dope causing them! They told me, in no uncertain terms, that they expect us to notify them if, and when we make a bust. Now see that you get there before they do!"
Starsky looked over to Hutch before answering. "Ten four Cap." He put down the receiver.
They picked up speed as Hutch rushed them through the light midday traffic. "Starsk?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't think it's just a matter of revenge buddy, there's more going on here."
"Yeah," he agreed, knowing exactly what his partner meant.
Huggy had all but told themKarl Forest's mission was to get to them. If Karl was connected to the murders he could have done them in order to get on the Detective's nerves, to make them go after Karl. Making a kill look like an OD would fit into that plan, knowing how much that would upset the both of them. After all, Karl was one of the few people who were aware of his brother's history with Hutch. However, all this, did not explain the Feds high interest in this drug.
Unless the drug was meant to do something other than kill.
All of a sudden Starsky's growing anxiety brought Lilly's words back to mind.
"His future feels very, very lonely… Something's going to get to him…"
He stared at his blond partner. The feeling of unease started to grow.
Apparently, Hutch picked up on it, and said, "I don't like it."
"Nope… me neither." He turned away from his partner, staring in the direction that they were going.
A thought began to form in his mind as he pondered over Lilly's words. A bad feeling began to rise in the pit of his stomach. It was nothing more than a hunch, but what if the drug was just being tested? Tested, until it was perfected, and could be used on…on…?
He barely suppressed a sharp intake of breath as his thoughts led him to a disturbing conclusion.
It's not us he wants at all. He thought with sudden clarity. It's Hutch… He just wants Hutch!
Tbc
