Chapter 8

"Can you give me the names of the other four victims and where they lived?" Hutch asked Doctor Barnes, watching carefully as he drew a vial of blood from Starsky's forearm.

"I suppose I could. I don't see any harm in it. May I ask why you want to know?" the doctor asked with a curious glance at the big blond. He was more than a little intimidated by the man and his temper. He hovered over his friend like a lioness protecting her cub, questioning every test and every bit of medication that the doctors gave him. When the brunet was awake, he just smiled indulgently at his friend's behavior.

"Humor me. I'm a cop." Hutch said "I want to check them out. See if I can find any connection between them."

"We've already done. We didn't find anything."

"Maybe you just didn't look in the right places. You've got nothing to lose by letting me take a shot at it." Hutch said "Maybe I'll come up empty too…but cops are suspicious by nature and it just seems a little coincidental to me that there's been four separate victims in the past five years…all dead because of some mysterious unidentified virus that you've never seen before and you still have no idea how any of them got infected with it in the first place."

"I'll get the information together for you and have it ready for you this afternoon."

"Thank you."

The doctor finished drawing the blood and left the room. Starsky's fever was up again but so far his lungs had remained clear. But he had developed new symptoms that clearly showed that the virus was still hard at work. He was nauseated most of the time and vomited frequently, the sight and smell of food enough to make him sick.

He also suffered from debilitating muscle cramps that left him curled up in a fetal position on the bed, clutching his stomach, and whimpering in pain. Powerful pain medications brought him some much needed relief but put him into a drugged stupor that left him confused and disoriented. He was starting to lose weight and the doctors were considering putting him on a supplemental source of nutrition through his IV.

Hutch tried to stay positive even though it tore him apart to watch his best friend suffering so. It brought back too many painful memories that Hutch had tried desperately to forget. When Starsky had a hangnail or a mild case of the flu, he milked it for all it was worth, whining for attention. But when he was really sick or seriously injured, he got quiet and kept his suffering to himself. Over the years Hutch had become an expert on caring for Starsky and knew how to read the signs to measure the level of pain the brunet was in and when he needed to be medicated, even if Starsky objected. Hutch refused to let his stubborn partner suffer needlessly as long as it was in his power to offer him some relief.

"Hu'sh?" Starsky whispered without opening his eyes.

Hutch immediately leaned over the bedside railing and said, "Right here, pal. What do you need?"

"Water…"

Hutch reached for the pitcher of ice on the bedside table and carefully spooned a few pieces past Starsky's parched lips. The brunet sucked on the ice gratefully and opened his mouth for more. Hutch smiled affectionately. The gesture reminded him of a baby bird looking for food, all without ever opening his eyes. He gave Starsky some more of the crushed ice, hoping that he would be able to keep it down. Sometimes he could and other times, it came right back up. The doctors were concerned about dehydration and had added a second IV to help his body maintain enough fluids.

Hutch had reluctantly called Starsky's mother in New York that morning and told her about Starsky's condition. She was coming to California as soon as she could get a flight and Captain Dobey was making arrangements to pick her up at the airport. His family was graciously putting her up at their home while she was in town. Rachel Starsky was a strong women but Hutch had heard the fear and pain in her voice when he told her about the virus that was invading her eldest son's body.

Noticing that Starsky had drifted back to sleep, Hutch decided to take a short break and stretch his legs. Sometimes it felt as if the walls of the room were closing in around him, making him feel claustrophobic. Starsky had only been in the hospital for seven days but it already felt like a lifetime to Hutch.

Later that afternoon, Doctor Barnes stopped by to give him a list of the names and other information he had on the other victims of the mysterious virus. Scanning the paper the doctor had given him, Hutch immediately noticed that all four of the other victims were roughly the same age as Starsky. One was two years older and one was a year younger with the other two being the same age. Hutch frowned, wondering if that was some kind of connection and made a mental note of it. As the doctor had stated, they were all from different parts of the United States and from different lifestyles.

Making himself comfortable, Hutch found a notebook in the bedside table along with a pen. He began taking notes, writing down the most pertinent information.

The first victim to become infected was named Joe Skyler. He was 38 years old and worked as a fireman. He was a divorced father of three and lived in New Jersey. He had died within two weeks of getting sick.

The second victim was named Bruce Ryon. At 35, he was the youngest of the four victims. He was single and worked as a construction worker in Florida. He had died three months after getting sick and had lived the longest of the four victims.

The third victim was named Bill Westinghouse and he was 36. He came from a wealthy family in Texas and worked on the family ranch. He was married to his high school sweetheart. He had died 6 weeks after being infected.

The last victim was named Scott Mckenzie and he was also 36 years old. He was an alcoholic with a long criminal history that included several felonies. He was on parole at the time of his death and was working odds jobs in his neighborhood. He lived in Utah. He had three ex-wives and six children that he never saw and didn't support.

Hutch sighed as he looked at the list he had complied. The only similarity he could see between the four victims was their ages. He decided to call Minnie Kaplin at police headquarters. She was the department computer whiz. Maybe she could dig up another connection between the four men that Hutch failed to see. After making sure that Starsky was still sleeping peacefully, Hutch left the room to make his call.

Minnie readily agreed to do an extensive background check on each of the four victims. She had a soft spot for both detectives, especially Starsky. She affectionately called him a "naughty boy" and loved to tease him outrageously. Starsky enjoyed flirting with Minnie and eating the special treats that she baked and brought in for the entire squad. Even Hutch didn't object to breaking his normally healthy diet for one of Minnie's fattening treats.

She told Hutch that it would take several days to compile the information since she would have to do it in addition to her other duties. Hutch resented the delay but knew that he would have to be patient. If anyone could find out the minute details of the victim's lives that someone else might overlook, Minnie would. Promising to keep her posted on Starsky's condition, Hutch ended the call and hurried back to Starsky's room. As Starsky's condition worsened, every second he spent with him became more precious to Hutch. He had already requested and been put on an indefinite leave of absence from work, refusing to leave Starsky's side unless it was absolutely necessary.

Captain Dobey had reluctantly agreed to his request. He hated having to do without his two best detectives on his squad but he knew that Hutch would refuse to work the streets with another partner, even temporarily. During Starsky's long recovery from Gunther's attack, Hutch had voluntarily taken desk duty, concentrating all his efforts on building an air tight case against Gunther and his henchmen, dividing his time between the office and the hospital. When Starsky was finally allowed to go home, Hutch had moved in with him to be his primary caregiver during the rest of his recovery. Hutch had never regretted it. He would have sacrificed everything, even his job, to take care of Starsky. That's how close they were.

Dobey also told Hutch that the tests on the food and other items from Starsky's apartment had all come back negative. So that was another dead end on trying to figure out how Starsky had contracted the virus. Hutch realized how foolish he had been by taking a chance drinking a beer and eating a sandwich when he stayed at Starsky's apartment before he knew if it was safe. His exhaustion was interfering with his thinking. Starsky would have killed him if he came down with this thing too.

But this time, there were no bad guys to track down. No paper trails to follow to link the culprit to the crime. There was nothing he could do except set at Starsky's side and watch him deteriorate a little bit more every day. He prayed that he would be strong enough to endure the days ahead and what they held in store for the two friends.