Chapter 9

After dumping the plant at Hutch's, they spend the rest of the day touring their beat. Hoping to catch a glimpse of the boy, but either he'd been seriously scared off, or their detective's skills needed some brushing up, because there was no sign of him anywhere.

Hutch concluded wryly that the last reason might be a distinct possibility since his head wasn't feeling any better at the end of the day. He knew he should be in bed. But with these murders going on he couldn't afford it.

"God I'm so hungry, even your plants look appetizing," his partner complained sadly, closing his eyes for a second.

"Starsky!" Realizing the car in front of him had stopped in front of a crosswalk, Hutch gave a startled yell. His partner hit the breaks just in time. They jerked forward as the Torino's bumper halted its forward motion only inches from the beige Corvette in front of them.

The brunet shot Hutch an angry glare, warning him to keep his mouth shut. Pointing out that he shouldn't be driving as the lack of food wasn't working well on his concentration, was not something Starsky wanted to hear right now.

Hutch complied, mainly because an argument about this could very well mean his head would explode. Instead he reached for the receiver and signed them out. Starsky didn't say a word, pulling over when Hutch motioned for him to do just that.

He shot the blond a puzzled look as Hutch stepped out and waited on the sidewalk. "Well, are you coming? I thought you were hungry?"

Starsky's eyes went large as he noticed the Italian restaurant.

"Soft food buddy, you're getting pasta."

"Really?" A multi million dollar smile lit his face as his eyes brightened with the prospect. He looked at his partner as if he'd just given him the moon.

Hutch couldn't help but let a shy smile escape. "Yes, really. Come on."

Starsky gave an excited yelp and exited. "I promise you Hutch, no more moodiness from now on!"

His partner's cheerfulness actually made the blond's headache lessen slightly. Okay, Hutchinson, the only thing to remember now is not to fall over into your lasagne out of weariness and all will be all right with the world.

That night, sleep wouldn't come. Hutch's fearful reaction towards him kept playing over and over in his head. Starsky knew he shouldn't fret over it so much, but he couldn't help it. The problem was that every time he looked at Hutch, his heart concurred that this was a big deal.

Although Hutch tried to uphold the image of the unconditional love and trust he so craved for, Starsky knew that they both were very well aware of the sadness going on between them. A sadness that Starsky kept seeing in that one tear Hutch had shed.

When he finally did fall into an uneasy slumber it was only to lie fully awake again three hours later. There was no use in trying to get to sleep now, so he got up, got dressed and decided he might as well take the Torino out for a spin. The fresh air would do him good and who knows, he might even run into that little thief. With a soft click he locked the front door behind him.

An hour later Starsky was tired to the bone. The sun wasn't up yet and the beach he'd parked the Torino on was still covered in the quietness of predawn. The sea breeze blowing in through the open window had done him a world of good. Certain now that he would sleep through World War Three at this point, he started the engine to head home.

A shadow filled the powerful beams of the Torino's head lights; a black hole, absorbing all light and vision, as if the night had manifested itself in front of him.

It moved out of the light.

Snapping wide awake, Starsky reached for his gun locked in his holster, knowing he would never make it.

The shadow aimed, speaking in a monotone voice. "This is where your journey ends, Detective."

Starsky's head snapped back in pain as the projectile hit him point-blanc through the open window. He never saw a face, never knew what hit him.

But Stef did.

Hutch rubbed his face with his uninjured hand, only to cover his mouth, trying desperately to keep the demons at bay that threatened to overwhelm him. He was sitting behind the wheel of the Torino he'd found abandoned on the beach. The driver's door stood wide open as he looked out over the empty ocean basking in the early morning light, not really seeing it. Closing his eyes, he shook his head at the implausibility of the situation.

Why the hell was this happening again?

His injured hand shot out in anger, hitting the steering wheel hard. A small part of him was glad for the distracting pain it caused shooting up his arm. Hutch tried to let the resulting anger take control, but failed to succeed as events from the past days caught up with him, ruthlessly breaking down his barriers.

He took a couple of deep breaths. Why the hell did he feel so damn scared this time? What happened to the resolve, the anger he'd felt the last time Starsky had disappeared? A memory slipped in. Of a time and place he did not want to recall.

He'd been chasing Simon's goons through half the desert and was now standing upon the small dune in the middle of nowhere. Sand and silence were all that surrounded him. The hot sun did nothing to thaw his heart which was slowly freezing over by the icy grip of fear. The empty black van behind him only served to feed his anxiety some more.

He panted heavily, putting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

In the distance the lonely form of the red Torino stood out amidst the dry bushes and small whirlwinds of sand that danced across the barren ground. The car was a beacon presenting the life he'd managed to build up until now, a life which anchored him to the ground, to the big city, to being a cop… to Starsky. Right now the Torino was all that kept him from being blown away in the emptiness of the scorching dessert, the emptiness of the harsh city life he was leading.

He fought to suppress the familiar feeling of loneliness that had always been a part of him in the past.

For the car was empty… And Starsky was gone.

Anger set in.

He'd not let a creep like Simon destroy everything he had worked so hard for to accomplish. With grim determination he stood up straight, purposefully taking in the hot air. He had no alternatives left. Although he shivered at the thought of that man touching his soul again, he knew it was time to talk to Simon again.

This was when it had started, when the seeds of fear and doubt, planted by Simon, had managed to find their way inside him, had rooted inside his heart and proceeded to grow upon the essence of his soul.

Sirens pulled him back to the present, where there was no Simon, where the anger just wouldn't come.

He stared at the hole in the windshield, a silent witness of what had happened. Somewhere in the night, someone had managed to tear his world apart…yet again.

As the squad car entered the scene, Dobey saw a lone figure leaning against the hood of the Torino. Both the car and his Detective looked quite lost beneath the large overhang of the rocky cliff that closed off the beach.

Bracing himself he stepped out of the black and white, this didn't look good, the grim look he spotted on the blond's face already telling him what was wrong.

Hutch wasted no time with pleasantries. "It seems he was alone when they hit him Captain."

"Hit him?"

Hutch stepped back from the car to get out of the way of the crime team, now swarming all over the Torino. He motioned to the open window.

Dobey's heart sank to his stomach. "Hit him as in shot him?"

Hutch's gloved hand held up an extremely sophisticated iron pin, sporting small feathers on one end.

"A tranquilizer dart," Dobey spoke softly.

"And not you're standard one either; these little beauties are very accurate, very sophisticated."

The Captain carefully took the dart from the blond's hand. "These are only used by specialists, and I don't mean vets. Special Forces use 'em, as do highly skilled professionals, like-"

"Thieves" Hutch finished.

Dobey looked up. "This is beginning to look like quite an organization. I'll have the lab run this over, see if it contains anything that may help us, but I doubt it. Pros wouldn't leave this behind if it would lead us anywhere."

Hutch turned around to stare at the surroundings. "

What was Starsky doing here in the middle of the night anyway, Hutchinson?"

The blond turned back, opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words. He just threw his hands in the air and turned away again. Dobey frowned. This wasn't the Hutch he'd come to know. "Well?"

"I don't know, Captain!" His Detective answered, frustration colouring his words. "I don't know… um… sometimes, he drives over to the beach to relax."

Dobey's eyebrows shot up in surprise as Hutch's explanation didn't sound the least bit credible, since Starsky was a city boy all the way. "He does? Are you sure we're talking about the same Starsky here?"

"Yeah," Hutch spoke quickly, the casualness of that word instantly taking away the Captain's doubt.

Probably one of those things Starsky picked up from Hutchinson Dobey smiled inwardly. God bless the day those two met.

"I guess they were just waiting for the right moment," Hutch continued. "Did the lab come up with anything else?"

"Yeah, I was about to call you on that when this happened." Dobey suddenly frowned, noticing the bandage on the blond's wrists. "What the hell happened to your arm?"

Agitated Hutch quickly put his hand in his back pocket. "Nothing, I got a little accident last night. Captain, the lab?"

"Your hunch was correct. It seems that there's some blood missing from the bodies of these killings you're investigating. And the blood found on the floor isn't enough to account it."

Hutch opened his mouth in awe. "How much blood?"

"A couple of glasses."

The blond fell silent for a while before speaking up again. "Captain, we've been going at this the wrong way. We assumed the killings were done by burglars, in order to cover up their tracks."

"You think the missing blood was taken purposefully?"

"Absolutely, we're not looking for thieves. We're looking for a bunch of murderers who happened to take the jewellery along with them when they were done."

Dobey motioned to the Torino. "You think these were the same men?" He fervently wished he hadn't made that connection as he saw his Detective pale a little.

"There's only one person who can tell us that, Captain." The blond's words turned bitter, "And I'm going to find him, even if it means I have to turn over every rock in this city to do so."

Without a further word Hutch turned and headed for his LTD on top of the cliffs.

Dobey watched him leave. Hutch had not been telling him the whole story. The tiredness in the Detective's eyes had betrayed him. He had not been as angry as Dobey had expected him to be. With Starsky gone… that scared him more than anything. Hang in there Detective, we'll find him… one way or the other, we'll find him.

Tbc