I had a great vaction. Thanks for waiting!
Chapter 16
Starsky sat outside Hutch's apartment waiting for him to come out. Normally it was no big deal, but Starsky found he was nervous and was worried about the incident last night. He got some food and felt better after eating, and Hutch had ensured that the arrest was filed correctly. All that was in the past, but now he was debating on whether or not he should discuss the "melting radio" incident with his partner. He felt fine for the most part, but those little moments concerned him. What if it happened during a chase? While he was driving? He needed his body in good form. He wondered for the umpteenth time just how long the drugs would be in his system.
He remembered that it took Hutch a long time to recover after his encounter with Forest's goons. But he had been beaten senseless before he had been given the drugs. The body could only take so much and it needed time to heal.
But I was not beaten to a pulp. It was only the drugs. Why is it still coming back? His jaw had hurt for a good while though, so he must have taken a punch at some point. He couldn't remember when it happened though, and he really did not care.
He wondered how Hutch felt a month out. He knew that at this point his partner had still been fighting cravings, and suspected that is why Hutch went on his health food stint. Too bad he never really had gotten over it…
The passenger door opened and Hutch slid into the car. He was wearing tan pants and a plaid shirt. The leather of his well worn tan jacket creaked as it met the leather of the seat.
"Mornin'," He said around a mouthful of toast.
"Good morning," Starsky replied.
"Feeling any better?"
Starsky gave a little sigh and started up the car. "Yeah."
Hutch looked out the window while finishing up his breakfast. It was a nice day. The sky was blue with puffy clouds that had an orangish tint that was becoming more and more common these days. High was supposed to be in the low 60's and he liked that.
"You want to tell me about what's going on?"
"Not really, but I guess I should." Starsky sighed again and looked over his shoulder before passing a slow moving white Buick with a little old lady in it. He thought about what he would say.
"Ok. Shoot."
Starsky decided the best way to start would be a search for information. "How were you feeling at this stage?"
Hutch didn't answer right away. He really did not like thinking about that time, but he knew his experiences might help his friend. He continued to look out the window.
"I was angry. I still wanted the stuff, but I didn't."
"Did you have flashbacks?" Hutch turned to look at his friend. He thought Starsky looked tense.
"Flashbacks?"
"Yeah." Starsky stared straight ahead, avoiding eye contact.
Hutch thought for a moment, looked down and fiddled with the napkin that he had carried his toast out on. "I thought of them more as cravings, though at a month, they were not nearly as strong as they had been. Why? Are you having flashbacks?"
"I think so."
Hutch was concerned with this information. "How?" he asked in a calm voice.
Starsky drummed his fingers on the wheel as he drove. "Well," he didn't quite know how to say it. "It's really not that bad."
"But?"
"Ok. Like last night, while I was outside waiting, I saw the radio melt. Sometimes the room will start to spin."
"Do you need for me to drive?"
"What? And get us killed? No."
"You're never going to forgive me for the dune buggy, are you?
"Nope." Starsky laughed. Getting back on subject he added, "Anyways, I've eaten."
"Eating helps?"
"Yeah."
"So that's why last night…"
"Yeah. It doesn't last long."
Hutch looked out the window again and thought about what was going on. "Anything else? Cravings or that sort of thing?"
"Nope. Only this intense desire to find and beat the crap out of Julie. I never thought I would say that about a girl, but she is no girl. She's a monster."
The radio came to life. "Zebra-3, zebra-3."
Hutch picked up and answered.
"Patch through from Captain Dobey."
"Go ahead."
"Hutchinson, I want you and Starsky to go by Mercy Hospital."
"Why all the way out there?"
"It's about that girl involved in last month's incident - Michele. She was found this morning in an alley. The report I received is that she had been beaten and drugged and left for dead. The hospital staff can fill you in on the details."
Starsky looked over at his partner, dread in his face.
"Ten-four Captain. We're on it." He pulled out the mars light as Starsky turned around and accelerated for the trip across town.
later
"SHE has stopped breathing a couple of times. I had to put her on a ventilator. Her legs were broken, I guess to keep her from running, and she also sustained a head injury, which has me concerned. She has various bruises across her body, as if she was whipped with something, and finally she was overdosed with barbiturates. She was lucky, she was found soon after she was dumped. The ambulance crew had a hell of a time keeping her breathing on the way here."
"When will she wake up? Do you know?"
"I do not anticipate she will be on the ventilator much longer. We are trying to flush some of the barbiturates out of her system, but it will still take some time for that amount to be fully cleared. The head injury is what is keeping me from giving you a good timetable. I doubt she will be coherent within the next 24 hours. However, we can contact you when she does wake up."
"I would appreciate that, doctor." Hutch replied professionally. "Can you tell me where she was found?" he asked as he wrote out their contact information and gave it to him.
The doctor gave him the location noted on the paperwork left by the ambulance crew.
Starsky thanked him and added. "We will need to see Michele. Can you show us where her room is?"
The doctor walked with them to the ICU room where a nurse was busy with the IV fluids. Deep red marks encircled Michele's wrists where they had been tied. They could see the marks left by a whip across her face and arms. The doctor added that they were heavy across her back and her feet. "She was tortured, probably for about 12 hours by the looks of things, prior to being dumped."
Hutch turned and walked out the door. Starsky thanked the doctor again before following his partner out into the hallway. He found Hutch leaning on a wall, his left hand on the bridge of his nose. Hutch took a deep breath and brought his hand down.
"It was Julie."
Starsky leaned against the wall next to his partner, fighting the urge to vomit. His stomach settled quickly, but his anger only grew. "We don't know that for certain, Hutch, but it's a reasonable place to start."
Hutch rubbed his hand across his mouth. "We've underestimated her."
Starsky did not answer for a long moment. "If she is out for revenge she is going to be quite upset to know that she did not succeed. It would help if we give the papers a short statement of a body found in an alley. That should keep Michele safe. But you know, if she thinks she succeeded with her sister, she might be coming after us next."
"Yes." Hutch heaved a great sigh. "Come on, let's go update the Cap'n."
Starsky pushed off of the wall and started walking out of the hospital. Hutch fell into step beside him.