\\\\AN/ Sorry about the delay in posting. I have the covid virus and a mild case of pneumonia

CHAPTER 6

A faint smile tugged at Hutch's lips as he looked around the room where Starsky had spent his childhood years up until he was thirteen and his mother sent him to California to live with his aunt and uncle. The room still reflected the boy that Starsky had been. On the nightstand beside the bed was a framed picture of Starsky standing beside his father, who was dressed in his uniform, both of them smiling that same crooked smile. Starsky had grown into almost a mirror image of Micheal Starsky. They looked so much alike that it was eerie.

Hutch knew how much Starsky had loved and idolized his father. He also knew the story of how his father had been gunned down in the street in front of his home, dying in his twelve-year-old son's arms, a tragedy that had scarred Starsky emotionally and shaped the course of his life afterwards. It was one of the reasons that Starsky had followed his father's example and became a cop himself.

A baseball bat and a basketball lay on the floor in one corner of the room, partially covered by a well-worn and faded denim jacket. Some carefully constructed model cars covered the top of the dresser, most of them painted candy apple red. One wall was decorated with pages torn out of magazines showing pictures of flashy cars and pretty girls. Some long forgotten baseball cards lay scattered on the floor beside the dresser.

Hutch could close his eyes and almost picture Starsky in this room, feel his unseen presence, so close and yet so far away. Burying his face in the pillow, he could almost imagine Starsky's scent still clinging to the pillowcase beneath his head. I know you're out there somewhere, partnerHutch thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep And I'm going to find you or I'm gonna die trying.

Early the next morning, Hutch drove his rental car to the local precinct and introduced himself, explaining to the officer in charge why he was in the city. Since this was the same precinct where Micheal Starsky had been a cop for almost fifteen years, the officer that Hutch spoke too knew the Starsky family and promised Hutch any assistance he needed to help investigate Starsky's disappearance.

Hutch knew how difficult it would be since the case was over six months old and valuable time had been lost since the plane crash. Clues had been lost that could be invaluable and possible witnesses had long since disappeared. But the package received at headquarters back home proved that there was someone out there somewhere who knew the truth about what had happened to Starsky that day. Somehow, Hutch had to find that person and find out what they knew and how they came to be in possession of Starsky's personal effects.

When Hutch returned to the Starsky's home, he was not happy to find Nicky sitting at the kitchen table. He was in no mood to trade barbs with the obnoxious and brash young man. He had never liked Nick Starsky. He only tolerated him because he was Starsky's kid brother. Nick was too much like all the other punks that Starsky and Hutch dealt with every day on the streets back home. He may not have graduated to the big time but he had come awfully close more than once. Hutch knew he had already spent time in jail for petty theft and for possession of marijuana. He was certain that Nick was probably guilty of other crimes that he had just never been caught at.

"So, Hutch…" Nicky said with an irritating smile as Hutch came into the kitchen and sat down at the table, gratefully accepting the cup of coffee that Rachel offered him. "Ma says you're here investigating what happened to Davey."

"Something like that." Hutch said evasively

"You really think he's still alive?"

"That's what I intend to find out." Hutch said curtly, trying to hold his temper at the sarcastic tone of Nick's voice.

"And you really think you're gonna find out anything after all this time?" Nick said with thin smile, "I think you're just wasting your time."

"I guess it's a good thing for Starsky that I don't feel the same way you do about finding out what really happened to him." Hutch said tensely. Rachel glanced nervously between the tall blond and her younger son. She could feel the tension in the air and hoped that both men could control their tempers and their tongues.

"You ain't gonna find out what you need to know through your cop friends. You need somebody with a real connection to the streets." Nick told him

"Somebody like you?" Hutch asked not even trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice as he voiced the question.

"No, not me. Actually, I was thinking about an old friend of the family that could find out a hell of lot more than you ever will."

"Nicholas!" Rachel said sharply, throwing a warning glance at her son. There was a definite warning tone to her voice and Hutch had a suspicion that they had already had this conversation before Hutch came in. Whatever Nick had in mind, Rachel obviously objected.

"Oh come on, Ma." Nicky said with a smug smile "You afraid Hutch is gonna find out some of the family secrets if you ask Joe for help?"

"I think you'd better go now, Nicholas." Rachel said, deliberately cutting him off before he could continue.

Nicky threw his mother a dark look and then roughly shoved back his chair, knocking it over. "Whatever." He said in a disgusted voice. Throwing Hutch an equally dirty look, he turned and stormed out the back door, slamming it behind him.

Hutch jumped to his feet and sat up the overturned chair. He turned as Rachel slumped down at the table, an anxious worried look on her features. "Are you okay?" he asked her in a concerned voice, as he took his seat across the table from her.

"Don't worry about me." She reassured him with a thin smile "I'm fine. Nicky and I just don't see eye to eye about asking certain people for help."

"Who's Joe? Some local gangster friend of Nicky's that owes him a favor?" Hutch asked quietly.

Rachel was silent for so long that Hutch wasn't sure she was going to answer his question. Then she sighed softly and said "No….he's an old friend of the family." She paused and then added "Joe Durniak."

Hutch caught his breath at the name she mentioned. Joe Durnick was a mob boss. One of the biggest and well-known mob bosses in the country. Now he understood Nicky's statement about 'family secrets'. He kept silent, watching the flow of emotions that washed over Rachel's face. Finally, he reached out and touched her hand reassuringly. "It's okay." He said in a gentle, soothing voice "You don't owe me any explanations."

"Yes, I do." Rachel said decisively. "It's not the way Nicky makes it sound. Joe and my husband, Micheal, grew up together. They were best friends….much the same way you and David are. As they got older, they took different paths in life but they still remained friends. Joe always knew that Micheal wouldn't do him any special favors or look the other way when it came so some of Joe's 'business dealings' and Joe respected him for that.

I'm sure you know that Michael's murder was never solved. There was always strong evidence that it was mob related. Joe always felt guilty about that. He always wondered if the fact that they had childhood friends and remained friendly adversaries as adults had somehow marked Michael for retaliation from a rival mob. I know that Joe had a contract put out on two men after Micheal was killed that Joe believed were responsible for his death." She sighed and stood up to pour each of them another cup of coffee.

Hutch waited patiently for her to continue. "After Micheal died, Joe felt that it was his duty to watch out for Michael's family, a final sign of respect for their friendship. He put out the word on the streets that we were under his 'protection'. " Rachel's eyes clouded with sadness as she went on with her story "After Micheal died, David had such a hard time accepting it. He was so close to his father. He was so full of anger and pain….he started hanging out with a bad crowd, getting into trouble. I sent him away to save him….to keep him alive." She looked at Hutch somberly "Did David ever tell you why I sent him to California to live with Rosie and Al?"

"Just that he was getting into a lot of trouble here and hanging out with a gang of kids he shouldn't have been hanging out with." Hutch told her, not sure he wanted to hear the rest of the story but sensing that Rachel needed to tell him.

"He was attacked by a rival gang a few blocks from here. They almost killed him. They beat him with a baseball bat, broke several ribs and shattered his left ankle. Then they threw him off a three-story building. Luckily, he fell into an open dumpster that was filled with some old carpet remnants and that broke his fall, kept him from being killed." Hutch caught his breath at the images that flashed through his mind. Now he knew why Starsky was afraid of heights and why he had a weak left ankle that got sprained so easily. He forced himself to listen to the rest of Rachel's story "He was in a coma for almost a week. I did what I had to do to save him, to keep him alive. Joe gave me the money to send him away….to send him to California. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make in my life but I thank god every day that I did it. I saved my son the only way I knew how." A thin smile tugged at her mouth "If I hadn't sent him away….he wouldn't be the man he is today….he would have turned out just like Nicky."

"You did what you had to do because you loved him." Hutch said with a gentle smile, as he reached out and squeezed her hand, knowing how hard it had been for her to tell him about that part of Starsky's past.

"I'm just sorry that I couldn't protect Nicky the same way that I did David….but I just couldn't bear to send him away too. It was hard enough to do that with David."

"I'm sure it was."

"Joe tried to help out as much as he could over the years but I refused to let him do as much as he would have liked to. It didn't feel right. He stood for everything that Micheal was against….everything that Micheal died for." She took a deep breath to soothe her ragged nerves and looked at Hutch steadily "But Nicky is right about one thing….Joey might be able to help you find out what happened to David easier than the police can….easier than you can on your own."

"I'd make a deal with devil if it meant finding Starsky." Hutch told her "Can you contact him? See if he'll help me?"

"Yes…..I'll do it for David….and for you." She said softly as she pushed back her chair and walked into the living room to use the phone.