Disclaimer: This story was written purely for entertainment and is not for profit. It is not meant to trespass in any way on the holders to the rights of Starsky and Hutch.

I just wanted to say a big mahalo for everyone's concerned well wishes regarding the recent earthquakes that struck the islands. It just warmed my heart to know that I was so cared about . . . you folks sure know how to make a person feel loved. I am so blessed indeed!

Warning: "Episodes" might be considered a dark tale and contains some graphic scenes and foul language that may be offensive to some readers. This story also revolves around a paranormal/metaphysical genre; if this is not your cup of tea, then please refrain from sipping. I would hate to spoil someone's fun.

--oo Episodes oo-

By: Shawne 'til dawn

. . . CHAPTER 4 . . .

The sun had just about set when they finally called it a day. The two detectives wearily trudged into Starsky's apartment, the blond flicking on the lights and closing the door, while the brunet went immediately into the kitchen to take two beers out of the 'fridge.

Starsky tossed a cold bottle to his blond partner, "I don't get it Hutch, it's like she's disappeared. Every lead we had on her went cold. The rooms she stayed at were vacant. The APB turned up nothing. It's like she knows we're looking for her and she's staying one step ahead of us." The brunet opened his bottle and tossed the small, metal opener over to Hutch who caught it with his right hand. Starsky quickly unsnapped his holster and hung his piece over the edge of the closet door.

The blond opened his bottle and took a swig from it, feeling the cold brew slide down his throat. Hutch ambled over to the couch and sagged wearily into its cushions, "Well, at least we know she's not a student," he said, remembering their futile attempts of matching her description and name with the local colleges in the area. "Maybe she's been doing this for a while now . . . running, I mean . . . probably got good at it."

"Yeah, but what's she running from? You should've seen her, Hutch . . . she was shakin' at Huggy's." Starsky said, plopping down next to his partner on the couch, "I mean she's all alone out there . . ."

Hutch sighed and laid his hand on his partner's knee, "You and I both know there's a lot of monsters on the streets . . . whatever she's running from, it's scared her good."

"Yeah," Starsky said softly, his long, dark lashes hiding the expression in his eyes, as he used his thumbnail to rip through the wet paper that covered the sides of the bottle he held. If anyone knew about monsters, it was he and Hutch. Thinking of the young girl out there on streets all alone, troubled the brunet.

Hutch leaned his head on the back of the couch and sighed wearily. He rolled his neck against the cushions to look his partner, who by now, had peeled most of the beer label off, stuffing the wet peels in his empty bottle, the worry coming off of him in waves, "Hey . . . the bottle is half full remember?" the blond grinned.

Starsky snorted softly as Hutch gently slapped his thigh, "How 'bout if I call for a pizza huh?" the blond said, "We could order a pep . . ." The blond cut his sentence short when they heard a timid knock at the front door. "You expecting company?" Hutch asked the brunet, who shrugged and quickly stood.

Starsky walked over to the door and opened it to reveal the petite, Asian woman he and Hutch had spent the better part of the day searching for. "Hey!" the brunet said, his bright blue eyes widened in surprise.

The girl seemed to cringe, stepping back from the tall man of her dreams, "I-I am s-sorry if this is a bad time . . . I shouldn't have come, but I knew you were looking for me … I-I should go . . ." Mari stammered, color rising in her pale cheeks. Before Starsky could stop her, she quickly turned and started to run down the steps, her long, dark hair flying out behind her.

"Wait a minute," Starsky snapped as he raced after her, reaching out to grab her by both shoulders, turning her into his arms as she struggled to free herself.

Pain and light exploded behind her eyes the minute he touched her, time seemed to once again stand still. In her mind, she could see his deep blue eyes, wide with horror and etched in pain. The gleaming blade falling viciously in a downward arc, "Noooo," she cried out, her eyes rolling upward, as her body grew limp.

Starsky caught her slight frame as she fainted, and he carried her up the stairs, seeing Hutch at the top of the landing.

"What happened?" Hutch said, concern filling his sky-blue eyes, as Starsky easily carried the young woman inside and laid her on the edge of his bed.

"Dunno," Starsky said softly, reaching out to gently push away strands of hair from her pale face, "She started runnin', I grabbed her and she just collapsed."

"She's just a kid Starsk," Hutch said softly, his kind heart reaching out to the young unconscious woman, "Wonder what she's been through . . ."

Starsky sighed and carefully stood up, staring down at her lying still on his bed, "Guess we'll find out when she wakes up huh?" The brunet turned to look at his partner, " In the meantime, we should order that pizza . . . she'll probably be hungry."

"Yeah . . . I'll go do that right now," Hutch said, following his partner out from the bedroom, "Where you going?"

"Gonna get her backpack . . . she dropped it out on the stairs when she fainted." The brunet pointed out, as he walked through the front door. Starsky picked up the bag and carried it back into his apartment and put it on the couch. He listened as Hutch made the phone order for the pizza; the blond cop walked slowly over to the couch once he hung up, his pale, blue eyes locked on the bag.

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Starsky said, his dark blue eyes connected to the sky blue ones of his friend, who sat down on the couch next to the bag.

Hutch bit his bottom lip in indecision, "Yeah . . . but I don't think it would be ethical Starsk . . . why don't we wait until she gets up."

"I am up," a small voice came from the doorway, Mari looked to the bag on the couch, "There's nothing in there . . . go ahead and look if you want." she said softly. The young woman looked so small and defenseless, standing in the darkened doorway of Starsky's bedroom, that both detectives could feel a sense of protectiveness come over them.

"Hey Mari . . . how ya feelin' huh?" Starsky said, his voice low and gentle, as if he were speaking to a wounded doe, "Why don'tcha come out here and sit down for a bit . . . this is my partner Hutch, the guy with the annoyin' habits I was tellin' ya about at Huggy's . . ." Starsky said with a grin, when Mari's eyes nervously darted to the tall blonde.

"Hi Mari," Hutch said, his rich, soothing voice was both gentle and kind, "It's okay . . . no one else is here, but us. You can come out . . . we won't hurt you . . . we're policemen," he added, hoping that fact would put the young woman at ease.

"I know," Mari whispered, "But your badges and guns won't protect you . . . from him," she said sadly.

Hutch glanced over at his dark haired partner, who quickly returned his look, then grinned reassuringly at the girl, "Look, we can talk about it over some pizza," the brunet said enticingly, trying to charm the wariness from the girl's eyes. "It should be here in a little while. Why don'tcha you sit down and I'll get ya somethin' to drink. What would ya like?" Starsky asked.

Mari walked hesitantly out into the living room, her dark brown eyes taking everything in . . . from the neatly folded afghan on the back of the couch to the tidy kitchen the curly haired detective walked towards.

"If you have coffee . . . I would . . . most appreciate a cup." Mari hesitantly said, her voice soft and unsure; reaching the couch to nervously sit on the edge of it, "You have a very nice place . . ."

"It's home . . ." Starsky replied from the kitchen, as he put the coffee pot on the stove.

The Asian woman nodded, and looked down at her clasped hands, "Home," she whispered wistfully, so softly did she say this, that Hutch barely heard her. The blond could feel the sadness that emanated from the small woman beside him.

The brunet walked back out to the living room, "Hey . . . a kid like you shouldn't be drinkin' coffee."

Mari smiled for the first time, the haunted look in her eyes fading, revealing a serene and beautiful face, "I'm not a kid, I'm nearly twenty eight years old," she smiled shyly.

"You don't look a day over nineteen" Hutch said, eyeing the petite woman. He could tell that she was feeling very nervous and uncomfortable being alone with two men, and his heart went out to her as she looked uneasily around the place. The blond wondered about the man she kept referring to and he knew his partner was probably thinking the same thing, yet he knew Starsky was trying his best to make her feel comfortable so he didn't broach that topic. "The pizza should be here shortly," Hutch gently said instead, "In the meantime, can you tell us how you happened to find us here?"

"I know you've been searching for me all day, but so has he . . . and because of that, I walked with the shadows."

"The shadows?" the blond repeated, a frown marring his handsome features.

"The shadows are the people of the streets . . . the ones we walk by everyday and don't see with our eyes . . . or our hearts. These people fade into the background and are lost . . . they have no one . . . they are like . . . shadows." Mari said softly.

Starsky frowned, remembering the street bums and hookers who watched the body of the blond prostitute being carted away the other night. He realized then, that he couldn't clearly remember any of those people . . . their features were just a blur in his memory . . . dark and misty like shadows . . .

"I-I was able to find your home . . ." Mari said quietly, drawing Starsky's attention back on her; feeling uncomfortable under his bright, blue gaze, "B-because I have seen it before."

Starsky quickly glanced at his partner, then turned to look at the quiet woman, "You've been watchin' my place?" Starsky asked softly.

The dark haired woman quickly shook her head, "No . . . not like that!" Mari said, her eyes wide with fear, as she quickly stood up, "It m-must look like that, but I promise, I haven't been watching your place and I haven't followed you here . . . I just . . ."

"Hey . . . hey . . . take it easy," Hutch said soothingly, regretfully seeing the fear back in the young woman's face, "My partner didn't mean it like that . . . we both know you haven't been following us." The girl looked like a frightened rabbit about to run. The blond reached out and gently tugged her back down to sit on the couch, "It's okay Mari, we know you've been running . . . and we know you're able to see things or know things before it happens."

The Asian girl looked at the tall golden man sitting beside her, her eyes round and wary, "You know this . . . you know about my 'episodes'?" she whispered, her small voice barely audible in the quiet room.

"Episodes?" Hutch questioned.

"My dreams and v-visions . . . I call them that," Mari said in a whisper.

"That night at Huggy's . . . you had an 'episode' didn't you? You saw the blonde woman being dragged into the alley," Starsky said, quietly walking over to the couch to crouch down beside her, "You tried to warn me, but I let it happen . . . I didn't figure it out in time . . ." the brunet said softly, his deep blue eyes sad and guilt-ridden, "She was murdered last night . . . in the alley just like you said."

Mari closed her eyes and bowed her head, her long dark hair falling from her shoulders, "I know," she said quietly, "I 'saw' it all . . . I thought perhaps this time . . . maybe it would be different . . . that perhaps her life would be spared. I am sorry for the woman."

Starsky swallowed and glanced up at his partner who knew he was feeling bad. The blond winked compassionately at him and turned his attention to the tiny lady sitting beside him.

"Mari," Hutch said softly, purposely keeping his voice quiet and low, "Can you tell us anything about the man who killed her? Is this the same man who's been looking for you all day too?"

The Asian woman turned to stare at the blond man, "Yes. That is why I am here . . . to tell you everything I know. I-I made a decision that I wouldn't run anymore . . . not from him."

Mari turned to look at the brunet crouched at her feet, forcing herself to meet the intensity of his blue gaze, "I have come to warn you. He will be coming after you very soon. He dreams of you, and he hates you. He is evil; he has killed other ladies before the one last night, and he was watching you when you came out of the bar and grill. He killed that woman because he wanted you to know that he was finally here, and he didn't like how you turned her away. He wanted to show you that he was more powerful than you and he used his hands to strangle that blonde woman."

"Y-you mean that this guy has killed before?" Hutch asked, his growing concern for his partner evident on his face.

"Yes, but this time it was different. In all the other times, he has used a knife on every woman he captured, dragging them into his car, as he travels from state to state along the 1-5." Mari voice became even softer as she looked into the deep blue eyes locked on hers, "To you, he is known as the Interstate killer, but to me . . . he is the devil."

To Be Continued . . .