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.
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 8 . . .
"Well?" Dobey barked, the minute Hutch came out, "How is he?"
The tall blond detective sighed; dry washing his face, as he wearily walked towards his Captain, and sat down heavily in one of the cushioned chairs in the living room. The tall blond looked to his hands and saw that they were stained with his partner's blood. The sight shook him and he stammered, "They're g-gonna remove that blade in his side now," Hutch said softly, worry and concern evident upon his face, as he continued to stare at his hands, "H-he wants me to go out and find that girl, Mari . . . wouldn't settle down until I promised." Dobey handed Hutch his handkerchief and the blond smiled a weary thanks and began to scrub at the dried blood on his hands.
"What're you going to do?" Dobey asked, knowing that his blond detective was torn with indecision . . . not wanting to leave here without knowing the condition of his partner, yet feeling the burden of the promise he made to Starsky, its heavy weight tugging on his conscience.
Hutch sighed heavily, lifting light blue, weary eyes to his captains', dragging his hand through his hair, as he eyed the large black man sitting across from him, "I don't know . . . I-I guess I should head out . . ."
"I put as many men as I could afford to out there on the streets to look for the girl," Dobey said gruffly, wanting to ease the tired blond's mind, "Why don't you just wait here until you hear from the doctor. Anyway, you'll only be distracted out there, wondering about that partner of yours. If they find her Hutch, we'll be the first to know."
"They're not gonna find her Cap, especially if she doesn't want to be found." Hutch said in a quiet voice, "She's walking with shadows right now . . ."
"What?" Dobey said, one brow rose in question, as he looked his detective in the eye.
"Nothing," Hutch sighed, "It's just that she's been on the run for so long, she's perfected that skill."
"So what's been going on with this girl? Did you find out anything else about her?"
"She came over to Starsky's place last night. Captain, she said the man who killed that hooker is also the same man we've dubbed as the Interstate Killer. He's here now in Bay City. This creep has murdered and raped so many women over the years and for some strange reason, Mari has the ability to "see" the horrific things he's done. She thinks that he's linked to her somehow . . . psychically . . . like he knows her every move, and that for some strange reason, Starsk is connected to all of this. She said she knows that the killer is going to try to kill her and Starsky too."
"Well," Dobey snapped, "Why the hell didn't you bring her into the station . . . if what she said is true and this is the Interstate Killer, then she should be under protective custody. We're also going to have to call the Feds in on this case. They've been tracking this killer for a while now, but he's always eluded them." Dobey frowned, and then reiterated, "You should've called me right away."
"We would've Cap, but then she took off through the bathroom window . . . she knew the killer was coming and she didn't want to lead him to Starsky's place . . . she called me from the store she was at, and told me that. In the meantime, Starsky went out to look for her and this happened." Hutch said softly, as he filled his Captain in on the details.
"Do you know if Starsky got a look at his assailant?" Dobey questioned.
"I don't know, it was pretty dark and seeing Starsky hurt the way he was, I didn't even think to ask if he saw the guy." Hutch replied. "In any case, I think Mari knew Starsky was going to be attacked because she called the ambulance, that's how we got help there so fast. I thought at first, that it might have been the back-up officers who arrived on the scene who called it in, but Roberts said it was an anonymous call from a woman."
"And you think this anonymous caller was her?" Dobey asked.
"Who else could it be? And then, she came back to help. She had a towel with her . . . if it wasn't for that, Starsky might have bled to death . . ." Hutch said with a shudder.
Dobey frowned, "You think she had another one of her . . ."
"Episodes . . . she calls them 'episodes' . . . her visions I mean," Hutch interjected.
"And you really believe what this woman claims? That she is a psychic?" Dobey asked, his brow once again rising skeptically.
"What do you think I believe?" Hutch asked, his voice quiet and soft, as he looked his Captain in the eye, "The question is . . . what do you believe?"
Dobey's frowned deepened; his dark, brown eyes were bloodshot as he glared at his detective. A few seconds later the large black man sighed, then gruffly said, "Well, obviously I believe something . . . or I wouldn't have gone through all this trouble of arranging this medically equipped safe house right?"
"Yeah," Hutch said, his voice warm with affection for his large, disgruntled Captain, who at times, was more of a father figure to both he and his curly haired partner, "I never got to thank you for that . . . for trusting me enough to do all of this for Starsky."
"Well . . ." Dobey said softly, his voice mellowing a bit, feeling uncomfortable with the emotion that was shining in the blond's gaze, "I would have done that for any of my men."
"Yeah," Hutch said quietly, knowing that his Captain had a soft spot for the both of them despite what he just said, "But thanks anyway . . . it means a lot to me . . . and to Starsk."
For a long while both men sat quietly, deep in their own thoughts, as time dragged slowly by. Finally Hutch reluctantly got to his feet, drawing the attention of his captain's gaze.
"You leaving?" Dobey asked.
"Yeah," Hutch said softly, "I made a promise to Starsk . . ."
"Detective Hutchinson?" Dr. Bernstein said, coming towards them, as Dobey also struggled to his feet.
"We've removed the blade," the doctor said, handing the bloody knife in a clear plastic bag to the tall blond, "I believe this is evidence, although Detective Starsky's prints must be all over the handle."
"Yeah, it is," Hutch said, gingerly taking the bag, seeing the blade stained with a light shade of red and knowing that it was his partner's blood, made the tall blond feel suddenly weak. He anxiously lifted pale, blue eyes to the doctor's face and tried to read his expression, "How is he doctor?"
"Despite how awful it looked, your friend was very lucky. The blade missed his vital organs by mere inches. The damage he received on his lower abdomen from the laceration, believe it or not, was worse. He's lost quite a lot of blood and we had to replace it intravenously with three units while we stitched him up. The abdomen has many tiny blood vessels that run throughout it and as such, any wound to that area will bleed profusely. It's a good thing you had that towel to staunch the flow of blood." Bernstein said.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Hutch asked, feeling the weakening sense of relief beginning to wash over him.
"Detective Starsky needed several stitches on the inside, as well as twelve stitches on the outside to close up the wound to his lower mid-section. We're starting him on an antibiotic drip to prevent infection, however he was very fortunate in that the blade hadn't sliced deep enough to rupture his intestines. He's also suffered a slight concussion. It appears he hit his head against the wall or the street when he fell. Like I said before, all in all, your friend is a very lucky man." Bernstein concluded.
"C-can I see him?" Hutch asked, needing to see for himself that his partner was fine.
Dr. Bernstein pulled off his scrub cap, and wearily pinched the bridge of his nose, before looking the blond in the eye, "They're cleaning him up now and he'll be under heavy sedation. Any type of puncture wound is extremely painful, Detective Hutchinson. He'll sleep well for another hour or two, before he starts to wake up. We'll probably have to keep him on a regime of painkillers until the pain becomes more bearable."
"Thank you doctor," Dobey said, "For coming to the safe house like this and for saving the life of one of my men."
The doctor smiled briefly, as he shook the hands of both men, "Although this has been highly unusual, I am glad that it turned out the way it did for Detective Starsky. We will be packing most of this equipment up, however, he will have a nurse here to attend to his needs and monitor his stats. She is highly qualified and will alert us at once if there are any signs of infection.
"Thank you doctor," Hutch said again, feeling ever grateful that once again, his partner was able to cheat the grave. The tall blond watched as the doctor walked away, before turning to his Captain.
The rotund Captain looked at his blond detective, a big smile on his face, "The boy had me worried for a bit," Dobey finally admitted.
"Yeah," Hutch agreed, "Look Cap'n, Starsky will be out for a couple of hours, I'm gonna swing back to his place. I just remembered that Mari left her backpack at Starsky's. Maybe there's something in there that can tell us more about her."
"Okay," Dobey said, "I'm gonna leave in a little bit too. I want to take a peek at your partner first, maybe sit with him for a while, and then I'll head on down to the station, once the men who are going to watch over your partner arrives. Keep your radio on Hutch. If one of the units out there finds her, we'll call you."
"Listen Captain, could you do me a favor if you get to the station before me?" Hutch asked. At Dobey's quick nod, the blond cop continued, "Last night I wanted to run a check on any missing redheaded, green-eyed females in the Oregon area. Mari said she saw the Interstate Killer raping and murdering a woman with this description. You might also call the Oregon State Police and let them know about the possible shallow grave the body was put in."
"She saw that too?" Dobey asked. At Hutch's nod, the large man asked, "Do you know around where the body was buried?"
"She wasn't too sure on that; it was probably somewhere in the mountains. She could smell pine trees. She said it was a shallow grave that the killer dug and that the elements and animals probably already did a number on the victim's remains." Hutch said, suppressing a shudder as an image of shoveled dirt falling over green moonlit eyes came into mind.
"Okay," Dobey said again, "Want me to take that in too?" the captain said nodding to the clear plastic bag holding the knife used on Starsky.
Hutch looked to the bag he held in his hand and lifted it at eye-level, "Nah, I'll take it with me . . . if I find Mari, maybe she can get a reading on this knife that will lead us to the killer. In any case, I'll bring it to the station and give it to the lab once I get there, but I already know they won't find anything except Starsky's prints on it. I'd rather place my bet on Mari . . . if we can find her in time."
To be continued . . .