Broken Doll-Chapter 13
The few hours of sleep Hutch grabbed at home only succeeded in making him feel his fatigue even more. Not that he really got any sleep; he tried to keep from worrying about his partner by thinking about the case, but that only made him worry about Starsky all the more. It was a vicious cycle that was only broken by the buzz of his alarm. And now, as he entered the garage elevator at Parker Center, he resisted the need to rest his eyes.
"Hold the elevator!" At the feminine shout, Hutch pushed his hand between the doors, stopping them just as they were closing.
A small woman in uniform stepped in, half shrouded behind a stack of small boxes and folders. "Thanks, Hutch," she said cheerfully.
"You're welcome, uh…" Hutch stammered for a name.
"Emma. I work in records." He could hear the slight disappointment in her voice at his lack of recognition and struggled to place her in his mind. "We met at the Pig Bowl last year when a group of us went out to the Pits to celebrate after the game."
Immediately, Hutch was able to place her; she was the cute blond in the picture at Mrs. Talbert's home! "Of course, I remember you, Emma. Emma Talbert, right?" He could kick himself for forgetting someone as cute as her. "I didn't recognize you with all the boxes."
Emma giggled in a light way and set her bundle down. "What floor?"
"Oh, uh…five." The blond felt a blush beginning to warm his ears as he realized he'd forgotten to start the elevator. Emma pushed the lit circles for the fifth floor, then smiled at Hutch. "Thanks. But don't you work on the third floor?"
"Usually, but I have some files I need to get to robbery. Hey, did Starsky get the file I left for him last week?"
"Which file was that?"
Emma lifted her boxes into her arms as the doors to the fifth floor opened. "The Elizabeth Mallone case." Hutch's stomach clenched. He grabbed Emma's arm before she could exit.
"Why…why did you do that? I mean, you didn't leave a note, anything." He didn't know if he should be angry or relieved at this discovery, but he did know that he needed more information.
The tiny blond officer gave him a bewildered look and took her arm back. Hutch, for his part, looked apologetic. "Because he seemed interested in it when we talked about the case at the Pits. I told him I'd drop it by when I had a chance to find the file. Did I do something wrong?"
"You're beautiful, you know that?" Hutch grabbed her in a bear hug that surrounded both her and her boxes, which she immediately dropped. Hutch was ecstatic, he remembered that night over a month ago (or at least parts of it); both he and Starsky were beat up and crumpled from the football game, then drank way too much at the celebratory party afterwards. Keeping with tradition, the handsome barkeep called a cab and sent them home to sober up. Yep, the night was a blur for Hutch, and he knew Starsky remembered even less (from the questions Hutch had to answer in the morning). But he still had a question for Emma.
"Was it you, then, who took the file to his apartment?"
Emma put her hands against her burning cheeks. "Yeah, when I came upstairs to talk to him about the file, I heard he'd gone home sick. So I thought I'd drop it off for him and see how he was doing, you know, see if he needed anything. I knocked, but no one answered. The door was unlocked so I let myself in. When I saw his bedroom door was closed, I decided to let him sleep, so I left. I heard he's in the hospital now. I'm really sorry, Hutch. I hope I didn't make things worse, you know, with the case and my asking him to work on it."
"He's going to be just fine, Emma, just fine." Hutch leaned down to kiss her lightly on the cheek and stepped back into the elevator letting the doors shut. He had some great news to give his partner.
O0O
Hutch sat in his usual hard plastic chair at the end of Starsky's bed watching him sleep. He'd successfully made it past the nursing station without being stopped and, guiltily, waited for his partner to wake up. An hour later, he was half way through an article on inspiring jack-o-lanterns in Better Homes and Gardens, when a voice behind him made him jump.
"I thought I told you to go home?" Dr. Ness stood with her hands on her ample hips.
Hutch quickly stood, dropping the magazine on the chair. It promptly slid off, landing partially open on the floor. Hutch bent over to replace it on the cold plastic seat, only to have it slide off again. He picked it up, and held it curled in his hand, embarrassed at being caught. "I thought I would check and see how he is. But he was sleeping, so I was just sitting here…uh…reading…" Boy, that sounded lame, Hutch thought.
Dr. Ness smiled graciously and patted his hand. "If you want to stay and watch him sleep, that's fine, Ken. But I gave David a tranquilizer; he won't be awake for another several hours."
Disappointed, Hutch walked over to Starsky and lightly squeezed his shoulder. "I have some great news for you, buddy. But it will have to wait till I get back. So don't go anywhere, okay?" He handed the magazine to the doctor and moved toward the open door. "There's someone I need to meet with. If he wakes up before I'm back, could you…"
"I'll tell him you'll be back. You know, Ken," she looked directly into his eyes, "you being here for David, that has really meant a lot to him. I think, no, I know that it has also helped speed his recovery. You're a good friend."
"I haven't been such a good friend lately." He sighed as he left.
O0O
The office of Billy Grippo Antiquities Dealer was located in a pristine brick warehouse in the old part of Bay City. Back in the fifties and sixties, this part of town had been a haven for drug dealers, gangs, and other scum. The crime rate soared and no citizen in their right mind would set foot down there after dark. Hell, not even during the day, Hutch thought. But about eight years ago, the new city council decided to renovate the area by bringing in businesses and building condos for the rich. As Hutch looked around, he realized the plan worked. The streets were clean and trees lined the sidewalks. Benches and decorative silver garbage receptacles stood on each block surrounded by fall flowers. Specialty shops filled the store fronts and the café society walked the street. Shaking his head at the flaunted wealth, Hutch stepped out of the rain into the elaborate office of Billy Grippo.
A stunning secretary sat behind a huge mahogany desk, and greeted Hutch with a cordial smile. "How may I help you, sir?"
"I'm here to speak with Mr. Grippo."
"I'm sorry; Mr. Grippo is in a phone conference right now, Mr…"
Hutch was prepared for this. After all, when had they ever gotten in on their first attempt? He flipped his wallet open, flashing his badge at the red head. "Detective. Now, please tell your boss Detective Hutchinson is here to speak with him about Elizabeth Mallone."
"But he…" She looked uncomfortable, but stopped talking when Hutch pointed a finger at her.
"Tell him I want to speak with him now."
The secretary rose from her chair and moved gracefully to the door behind her. With a small knock, she opened it a fraction. "Sir, a man who says he's a detective is here and wishes to speak with you."
"Tell him I am busy!" a voice shouted from inside the room shouted.
"I did, sir, but…"
"But I insisted on seeing you now." Hutch finished her sentence as he pushed the door completely open and inserted himself into the room.
"I will have to call you back, Henry." The man Hutch assumed was his target put the phone heavily into its cradle and frowned. He was a tall, slender man who appeared to be in his early sixties. He had delicate looking hands, Hutch noticed, and his eye brows were thin and peaked, giving him a stern look. "Bring us some coffee, please, Virginia."
The alluring red head left the room, closing the heavy door behind her.
Billy Grippo stood and offered his hand to the detective. "What brings you here today, Detective? Nothing wrong with my merchandise, I trust," he said in an affronted tone.
Hutch shook his hand and gestured for the older man to sit. "No, nothing like that, Mr. Grippo. I'm actually here about an old case that's recently been reopened." Billy raised his black eyebrows in question. "Does the name, Elizabeth Mallone, mean anything to you?"
If the man was guilty, he didn't show it as he answered. "Ah, yes. I will never forget Liz. She was a beautiful woman. Such a tragedy her death was." He spread his fingers out in front of his face and examined his manicured nails.
Hutch silently noted the lack of emotion. "Can you tell me how your address book ended up in her possession?"
"I wondered where that went."
"Are you telling me it just disappeared?"
Billy moved over to the bar and poured himself a scotch on the rocks. "May I offer you a drink, Detective?"
"Just answer my question." Hutch turned his gaze to the pictures hanging to the right of Billy. All were sepia toned, indicating they'd been taken long ago. Billy spoke.
"Yes, that is what I am telling you, Officer."
"Detective. Do you have an explanation as to how it may have just disappeared?" This was going to be a long interview, Hutch feared.
Billy laughed and ran his fingers through his short silver hair in a nervous gesture. "I had a business relationship with the young lady. Everyone knew it. The police even interviewed me at the time. I had nothing to hide then and I have nothing to hide now." He shifted his hands in an open gesture. "Oh, good, just set the tray over there, will you?" He directed his secretary to the glass topped table and waited for her to set out the coffee before he finished. "She was an actress and I owned several theaters. It was just natural that we should spend time together."
Hutch rolled his eyes. "I bet. About the missing address book…"
"She would stay at my home on occasion and, after one such visit, I noticed it was missing." The lack of feeling in his voice and gestures was disquieting.
"Any reason you know of that she would take your address book? I mean, that seems kind of odd, doesn't it?"
Billy swallowed the last of his scotch. "On the contrary, I own a large house and have many visitors. Things go missing all the time. There is really nothing more I can tell you, Officer. I am afraid I am just a waste of your valuable time."
Hutch knew there was more to the story than he was being told, but now wasn't the time to force the issue. Really, he just came here to get a feel for the mafia boss. "Those pictures," Hutch gestured to the faded ones on the wall, "is that your family?"
"Yes." Hutch detected loathing in his voice. "This one on top is of my sister and me. The one below is of the two of us with my Mother and Father."
Moving closer, Hutch saw a close resemblance in the siblings. "Are you the same age?"
"Yes, we are twins."
"Oh?"
Billy turned his back on the picture and returned to his desk. Sitting, he exhaled in ennui and answered. "She was a nurse during the war. It is World War II I am speaking of, of course. Anyway, I digress. She returned and went to work for the VA. She travels all around the county now, setting up rehabilitation rooms for our veterans. I don't see her as often as I would like, sadly." Hutch found that last statement hard to swallow.
"And the rest of your family?" Hutch couldn't put his finger on it, but something was here, he could feel it niggling at the back of his mind.
"My parents both died long ago, Detective. Now, I have work to do. If you will excuse me." Billy picked up the phone. "Virginia, will you get Mr. Worth on the line for me?"
The interview was over and Hutch left feeling as if he had missed something big.
O0O
"I tell you, Starsk, the guy is creepy." Hutch was filling his partner in as they both hungrily ate the dripping cheeseburgers compliments of Huggy Bear.
Starsky stuffed an extra large bite of sandwich into his mouth and chewed slowly, savoring every delectable bite. His stomach hadn't encountered solid food for a long time, and he was going to savor every luscious moment.
"Man, you are eating like you never seen food before." Huggy curled his lip at the juice dripping down Starsky's chin and shoved a napkin at him. "Were you raised in the jungle? Wipe your face, Tarzan?"
Starsky rolled his eyes then sunk his teeth into an equally large and greasy bite, sauce dribbling down his chin onto the napkin now tucked into his gown collar. The glow on his face was of pure ecstasy.
"The guy's taller than me, Starsk. And I had my boots on." Meaning, he was wearing cowboy boots that added about an inch to his own six foot height.
Starsky joyfully devoured his last bite before focusing on the subject. "What else did you find out?"
"He wasn't exactly forth coming. He did say he has a twin sister who apparently travels a lot. You know, there were two pictures of his family hanging in his office, and in both of them, no one was smiling. It was actually kinda creepy, like something outta one of those novels you read."
"How would you know, Blintz? I don't remember ever seeing you read one a dem?" Starsky wiped his crimson lips and tossed the crumpled napkin toward the trash can, missing.
Hutch jumped up to retrieve it and tossed it into the metal container. "It's not like you haven't related every gory detail to me during our painfully long stakeouts." Hutch looked perturbed, but Starsky knew it was all just for show. Secretly, he thought his partner enjoyed hearing the stories of ghostly horrors, but would never let him know that he knew. Starsky smiled.
"Least he tells you about 'em when you ain't got nothing better to do. Last month, your boy pinned me down in the middle of dinner rush and told me all about dis unfortunate girl getting swine entrails poured all on top of her. Three tables in the vicinity overheard and walked out. Shoulda charged you, going all on about that nasty book you was reading."
Starsky rolled his eyes at Huggy's tirade and Hutch smiled at the joke.
"Hey, Hutch," Starsky asked, bringing them to the subject at hand. "Did Grippo say what his sister did for a living?"
"She's a nurse."
At that precise moment, things clicked smoothly into place for Starsky. And, from his partner's expression, Hutch had caught on, too.
"She's a nurse," they said together.
Huggy sat up straighter in his chair. "Am I missing the punchline?"
The clang of the bedside phone stopped Hutch from explaining the revelation to Huggy.
"Hutchinson," he answered and turned to Starsky mouthing 'Gail,' to indicate the ME was on the phone with him. "Yeah, he's doing much better. In fact, he just finished a Huggy Special." Hutch laughed and Starsky frowned, knowing it was a joke at his expense. Hutch put a reassuring hand on his partner's neck and winked. "So, what'd you find?"
He was silent for a long while, listening to Gail about the evidence she had extracted from the body. Starsky signaled to Hutch to share the phone, anxious to be part of the action, but Hutch ignored the wild gesticulations; focused instead on the information he was learning. "Anything more? Thanks, Gail, I owe you one. Okay, I'll tell him." Hutch hung up and stood silently pondering for a moment.
"You gonna tell us what she said, or do I have to beat it outta you, Blondie?" Starsky anxiously fidgeted his toes in bed, like a preschooler waiting for a surprise.
"The fingernail she found was a Lee Press-On Nail, the kind you can find at any drug store. It has a print on it she's running now. There was also a long brown hair not belonging to the vic…uh…Anna…"
Starsky saw the worried glance Hutch gave him and offered a nod of his head. "Sokay, Hutch. Go on with what you were saying."
"The hair was found wrapped around Anna's fingers. It appears to have been pulled out, but when Gail put it under the microscope, it was an old follicle."
"Can hair get old?" Huggy asked.
Hutch sat at the edge of the bed, picking at the blanket nubs. "Witnesses saw a woman at the Mallone site. Now, we have a fake nail, a long strand of hair…"
"It's a woman, Hutch. Our killer is a woman." The astonishment passed between both sets of blue eyes.
To Be Continued