Chapter 5

That afternoon, as Dobey had said, the two detectives from the metro turned up. It had been something of a problem choosing who was going to be on the case as all the team knew what had happened to the two popular cops and Dobey had had a steady stream of men volunteering. As it was he picked Swanson and Meredith with the usual photographer from forensics. Swanson was a friend of Hutch and Starsky, in fact he'd been with them at the academy, but he had a reputation for keeping his emotions out of the equation and Dobey trusted him to take the statement fair and square. He was a big bear of a man, looking more like a back woodsman than a Bay City cop. He habitually dressed in faded corduroy pants, worn at the knees and a lumberjack type tartan shirt, open at the neck to reveal a forest of hair on his chest that rivalled Starsky's. His hair was thick and black, cut short at the front and longer at the back and his bushy sideburns joined together with a thick beard to give him a look somewhere between Bluto from the Popeye cartoon and Grizzly Adams. His honest green eyes shone out of a ruddy face and he was never without a smile.

Joan Meredith had worked once with Starsky before, when Hutch had been shot by a girl running burglaries for a guy in the east quarter of the town. Although they'd gotten off to a rocky start, they'd both soon appreciated the other's finer qualities, especially when Meredith took Starsky into the park, wrestled him to the ground and pinned him there. She was maybe 5'5" with a shock of black curly hair cut short to emphasise her delicate bone structure and twinkling brown eyes. She too was a tough cookie and she and Swanson had hit it off right from the start.

They arrived at the hospital with Grogan the photographer shortly after 13:00 and Hutch met them in the reception hall. He greeted them and Meredith tried hard not to stare at the gaunt expression, the black circles under the ice blue eyes and the large red scar on the blonde's left forehead.

'Before we go up there, erm…….you will take it gently? Hutch said, kicking himself for sounding like a nervous civilian witness. What Traff had told him had left him feeling fragile and he wanted to make this process as easy and painless as possible for his partner. Meredith smiled.

'Just the basics Hutch honey' she said. 'You wanna go first?'

Hutch nodded. There was very little he could tell them about the actual shooting, although he gave them as much information as he could about the Northern Stars' membership and activities. What he couldn't and wouldn't tell them, of course, was what he did and saw whilst he was, to all intents and purposes, dead. The procedure left him feeling weak, cold and shaken and as if he was back reliving the whole ordeal. If that was the effect on his, how would his fragile partner take it?

After an hour, they made their way up to the brunette's room on the fourth floor. Once again, as they got to the start of the corridor Hutch asked the three detectives to be careful. 'He's been through a helluva lot and he …..he may not be the guy you thought you knew, ok?'

Meredith braced herself. She'd gotten on famously with the brunette after a shaky start and she even secretly had the hots for him. She really didn't want to see him sick in bed, but Dobey had given her very little information, preferring that his two officers had no preconceived ideas. As she walked into the room she let out a gasp.

When she'd worked with Starsky he'd been a six foot bundle of energy and charm topped by a curly wayward shock of mahogany hair, twinkling dark blue eyes and the most disarming smile she'd ever seen. The man before her now, clad only in navy blue pyjama pants was a shadow of his former self.

Starsky had managed to take a shower and wash his hair, although the water had stung fiercely at his wounds and so now his curls were once more their exuberant self. Nothing however could disguise the gaunt frame, the plough furrow ribs or the myriad of wounds across his chest and abdomen. He'd been sitting leaning back in the chair, eyes closed and fingers twitching against the bed, but as the party walked in he opened his eyes and looked towards the door.

He sat straighter in the chair forcing a smile onto his face as he saw Swanson, Grogan and Meredith.

'Hey beautiful' he said. 'Hutch didn't tell me Dobey was sending beauty and the beast'.

Meredith smiled and knelt down next to the chair, taking his hand in hers. 'Bet you say that to all the cops' she laughed.

'Don't get me wrong Shweetheart. He's the beauty. Ya proved that day in the park that you're the beast'. She reached up and gave his hair a playful tug.

'Ok, well now we've found the level of the conversation, shall we get down to work?'

The brunette braced himself, tying hard not to show just how anxious he was about the process. Since he'd woken up in the hospital, he'd tried so hard to block out the memories of the fortnight in the disused church. He'd almost convinced himself that if he ignored it long enough, the whole episode would just fade away. But now here they were to rake it all up again. He took a deep breath, looking towards the door at Hutch for reassurance.

'Ya gonna stay buddy? He asked softly.

'Only if ya want me to' the blond replied, both wanting and not wanting to know exactly what had gone on. He saw the almost desperate nod. For Gods sake please don't leave me now Blondie.

He settled himself down into the chair in the corner and waited as Swanson took out a portable tape recorder and inserted a fresh tape.

'Witness David Michael Starsky. Date 11th March 1975. Time recording started' he looked at his watch '14:07'

Meredith cleared her throat. 'So, David. Tell me in your own words what happened to you from 24th February onwards'.

Hutch saw his partner's hands ball into fists as Starsky tried to settle back in his chair.

Starsky closed his eyes, suddenly embarrassed at having to tell everything that happened to him. 'Hutch had been under cover in a group called the Northern Stars. I was running back up and I heard shots in the old factory. I went in, saw Hutch had been shot, made an arrest – One Aidan Ryan – and went with Hutch to the hospital. After a while when he wasn't getting any better, the Doc sent me home and my Army pal Thomas Trafford came by to keep me company. We visited Hutch again, came home from the hospital and went back to my apartment. We went in, two guys jumped us. Quinn and Podraig (Pat) Ryan, Ade's brother'.

'They held a gun at my head while they forced Traff to inject both of us with a sedative and next thing we knew we were tied to pillars in some kind of disused church.

After God knows how many days, you guys showed up and now I'm here'.

Meredith leaned forward. 'You said you were there almost two weeks. Did they hurt you during that time?'

Starsky snorted and looked down involuntarily at his body. 'Yeah, you could say that'.

She pressed on, seeing the sweat breaking out on the brunette's brow. 'Dave, I know this is difficult for you. But the court will need to know. How did they hurt you?'

Indigo eyes turned pleadingly to Hutch. He nodded his head in encouragement.

'Where do ya wanna start? They tied me to a table and asked me a shit load of questions and when I didn't answer as they wanted me to, Quinn dug his elbow into my stomach a few times'.

He heard Swanson talking into the microphone in a low tone. 'Subject had multiple bruises across abdomen resulting in ruptured spleen'.

'Go on' Meredith urged, seeing how difficult for Starsky to tell everyone of his experiences.

'When that didn't work, they took me into a cell with a sink in the corner. They dunked my head under the water a few times, then the last time, they punched me in the kidneys and I took a lungful of water. I kinda passed out then' he said ruefully. He glanced over at Hutch. It was the blonde's turn now to ball his hands into fists. Hard as it was for Starsky to relate, it was equally hard for his partner to have to hear about all the mistreatment he'd not been there to see.

Starsky was continuing, just needing to get to the end of the statement.

'After that, they went back to tying me to the table. They used a Tazer on me each time I answered their questions, but they wouldn't let up. they went on and on, asking the same thing time after time. Just like a broken record, same thing all the time. And I tried to answer 'em. I tried, but they just kept sticking that fuckin' Tazer against me till I couldn't think any more. Then I'd pass out, but when I woke up, they were still there…..still there…..still asking the same damned thing….same damned question.' his voice tailed off into hopelessness.

Hutch braced himself. Don't ask Joan. Please don't ask. He's done enough. There's enough on the tape. Please don't push it.

But the woman was nothing if not thorough.

'What did they ask?' she said gently, her hand on the brunette's arm feeling the tremors as they shook the man she'd known as one of the bravest on the force.

He looked at his lap, then closed his eyes against the memories. 'Don't…I can't…..don't want…..'

Hutch rushed forward, pulling Meredith away. 'Can't you see he's done enough? You've got enough on your tape now to nail those suckers and throw away the key. Just leave him alone now huh?' he pleaded with the woman cop.

Meredith saw the look in the blonde's eyes, but tried one last time.

'Dave? What did they ask you?' she ducked down till she could see the weary face, smiling encouragingly.

Starsky was lost in his thoughts and refused to look at her. She stood up stiffly. 'Ok. That's fine. We just need the photos now. Can you lie on the bed honey?'

Starsky didn't seem to have heard her and Hutch put his hand on his friend's arm, pulling gently. 'Starsk, just lie down a while and they can get their photos huh? C'mon buddy, that's it'.

The injured cop levered himself out of the chair and lay down mechanically on the bed, arms above his head as he stared at the ceiling, giving Grogan a good view of the burns and surgical scars. He lay stock still as the photographer pushed and pulled him around, getting the lighting right and the best angles. He never said a word, just stared at the ceiling, but Hutch could see the hands twitching again and knew the warning signs.

Roughly he pushed Grogan away. 'Ok, ya got your evidence. Just leave him alone now huh?' he said as he stood by the bedside, longing to give his partner some comfort. Meredith stood at the other side, her hand resting on the bed.

'That's it Starsky' she said quietly. 'Just a final thing'.

Hutch braced himself. No Meredith Don't. Please don't do this. Please?

But the cop wasn't privy to Hutch's thoughts and pressed on. 'Tapes not running now, Starsky. But I'm curious. Ya want to tell me what they kept asking.

Oh god lady. Ya had to ask.

Hutch saw his partner's hands contract into fists, grabbing handfuls of the pillow close to his head. He started to mumble, quietly at first but getting louder.

'Three lights……two hundred and seventy five tiles on the ceiling……fifteen bars on the bedhead…….three lights, or was it four?...no three lights……saw three lights….'

The curly head was thrashing from side to side on the pillow as Hutch roughly pushed the woman away from the bed and took hold of his partner's shoulders.

'Starsk? Starsky, c'mon buddy, stay with me here huh? Starsky, don't…ssh….don't count….' He looked at the three cops in the room.

'GET OUT' he yelled at them as they made for the door, shock on their faces. He saw a look of panic in Meredith's eyes and concern on Swanson's face. 'Get the nurse….NOW' he yelled, going back to his partner.

'Three lights……seven button on shirt……..one clock, but three……three lights' the mumbling became more feverish and Hutch picked his partner up in his arms, clutching the body to him.

'Sssh partner….s'ok….don't count. Please stop. Don't do this babe, please don't. It'll be ok……Ssh'

He felt the brunette's body pull away from him and looked around desperately for the doctor, fighting with his partner on the bed, trying to hold him down as Starsky's ramblings became more violent.

'I saw three….mother fuckers….three. There were three and you know it……three damned lights and you know it….' Starsky was panting now as though he'd run a marathon and nothing Hutch could say seemed to penetrate the nightmare world he was suddenly trapped in. Hutch tried to hug him again, but Starsky pushed the blonde away, fear in his stormy eyes.

'No….get away from me…..you left me, never came back…..I told you there were three, but you wouldn't believe me' he sobbed, hands fighting the blond away.

The doctor rushed in hearing the shouts from down the corridor. He took one look at the state of his patient and rushed out again, returning moments later with a loaded syringe. Hutch looked on in horror.

'Don't give him that Doc. For Gods sake don't drug him. Just help me calm him down' he pleaded still struggling with the brunette on the bed.

But Mark ignored the blonde's cries and plunged the needle into the vein standing proud on the injured cop's neck. Hutch put his arms around Starsky rocking him as slowly the drug took effect and he felt the body sag against him, the ranting finally ceasing. He laid the body gently down on the bed, and stroked the sweat slick hair back from his partner's face. Starsky looked peaceful now, but Hutch turned on Mark

'What did ya have to do that for? You didn't need to drug him. That's you doctors answer to everything isn't it? Just stick a needle in and everything will be ok? But it won't will it? Ya could have just helped me while I talked to him….' He slumped onto the chair in despair.

Mark knelt by Hutch's side. 'Dave's had a bad time. This was always going to be tough on him. Right now he needs complete rest and the only way to ensure that is to sedate him. And you need rest too. I'm ordering you to go home and get a full nights sleep. He won't wake for a while now and when he does, I'm going to give him another dose. Now go'.

Hutch was spent. He had no fight left in him to reason or bargain with the doctor. He got up and stroked Starsky's brow.

'Just sleep Starsk huh? Be back tomorrow. Just rest babe'. And he turned and staggered from the room.