Feedback: Always shamefully solicited, but please remember, none of us are professionals so when critiquing, be lenient.
Disclaimer: I own no one, and nothing. The OC's are ours and the idea is loosely based on a movie called 'The hitcher', no infringement on the copyright is intended. The names have been changed to protect the innocent, namely, me!
Author's Note: This story is being written with the help of a couple of very important people to me. Thank you Eli for your contributions and encouragement, also written with the constant help of Brook, (she is, and always will be my sounding board.)
Red
Chapter Five
Hutch sat in Dobey's office, listening to him bellowing loudly, his voice booming through the room.
"Of all the lame brain ideas," Dobey shouted, "I don't know how you let that partner of yours talk you into covering for him…trust me, when he gets back, his ass is mine!"
Hutch nervously wiped his hand down the length of his face. "Listen Cap'n, the only reason why I told you is because I'm worried about him, something's wrong, I can feel it." He pled with the large black man for understanding.
"Well if you ask me, I think you're blowin' this whole thing out of proportion, all over a lover's quarrel…He's probably just on his way home." Dobey spewed as someone knocked on his office door. "Come in!"
Hutch didn't even look up to see who was entering the room. "Cap, even if he was running behind schedule and he was on his way home, he'd call me, he'd check in."
"You sure 'bout that?" Dobey asked.
"Well what about his radio…why isn't he answering that?" Hutch argued.
"Has something happened to Dave?"
Hutch turned around to see Helen standing by the door. "Come on in, take a seat." Dobey instructed as Helen sat in the chair next to Hutch's.
"What's wrong?" She asked her voice shaky.
"When was the last time you saw or heard from Starsky?" Dobey questioned her.
"Night before last at his place, why?" She said, her eyes shifting from Dobey to Hutch nervously.
"Well Hutchinson here says that he left town yesterday and was due back in this morning and never showed up, has he called you in the past thirty-six hours or so?" Dobey continued.
"No." She said abruptly, her eyes staring at Hutch as he avoids her gaze.
"Cap'n, I told you, she's the reason he left town, he wouldn't have called her…Now why are we wasting time here? We need to put an APB out on him and his car." Hutch pled.
"Just calm down Hutch, ever stop to think that maybe you don't know the whole story?" Dobey stated as he looked back at Helen. "Now you're sure, he hasn't called or come by since you saw him at his place?"
"I'm sure…Ken what's wrong…why are you so worried?"
Hutch looked at his partner's ex-girlfriend, "Because Helen, he left town after you…" Hutch looked over at Dobey and then back at Helen, "…well night before last, he was called me last night and was coming home…he didn't show up."
"Maybe he changed his mind." Helen tried to explain Starsky's absence.
"Not without telling me, he didn't." Hutch snapped. "Listen Cap, I am going looking for him with, or without your help." The tall blond stood as he prepared to leave the room.
"I'm going with you." Helen retorted as she rose from her chair as well.
Hutch's head snapped in her direction, "Haven't you done enough?" He said as Dobey's telephone rang as both of them looked to their superior as he answered the phone.
"Dobey!" He shouted into the phone and then paused as the person on the other line spoke.
Hutch and Helen both saw the concern on their Captain's face grow as they could have sworn he paled.
"When…?Where…?"
Dobey looked at the two detectives standing before him, the terror in his eyes becoming very evident.
"Are you sure about the car…? I'll have an officer there in less than two hours…" Dobey slammed the phone down and didn't even get a chance to speak.
"What is it?" Hutch nearly jumped down Dobey's throat, the knot in his stomach tightening to an unbearable level. "Is it Starsky?"
"I'm afraid so…" Dobey avoided eye contact.
"Oh God…" Helen whispered as her hand rose to cover her mouth.
"It seems…" Dobey paused and took a deep breath before continuing, "They've found his car, about an hour and a half from here…" He wrote down the address on a piece of paper for Hutch and tore it off his pad handing it to the anxious blond, "I told then I'd have someone up there ASAP…"
Hutch turned and bolted for the door.
"Hutch!" Dobey stopped him as the blond turned to look at him…"Son, they've found a body…fitting Starsky's description…in the trunk…" Dobey vaguely heard Helen's gasp as he saw the color drain from the tall Nordic's face. "He wasn't carrying any ID…"
Hutch didn't speak, he didn't respond, he just turned and rushed out of Dobey's office with one thought on his mind…Starsky…Helen was two steps behind him, having to run twice as fast to cover half the distance.
"I'm going with you." She called out to him.
"Like hell you are." Hutch shouted back, not missing a step or even turning around to face her.
"Try and stop me." She quipped as she managed to keep up with him.
Hutch did his best to ignore his trailing puppy dog as his heart raced, Dobey's words playing back in his mind…Body fitting his description…Starsky's car has been found…He felt everything around him moving in slow motion as he hurried to the garage and jumped into his LTD. He started the engine and wasn't surprised to see Helen get in the passenger side of his car.
"Look Helen, I'm really in no mood right now." He said as his eyes remained focused straight ahead, "Get out." He commanded as she fastened her seat belt and refused to answer the nervous blond. Hutch shrugged his shoulders, "Suit yourself." He responded as he peeled away from the station on his way to find his partner.
XXXX
"You killed him." Starsky said in a monotone voice, not believing what he had just seen with his own eyes. His captor was able to kill with no remorse, no feeling whatsoever. For the first time, Starsky was afraid for his own life.
"I'm hungry, how about you?" Kevin asked as he looked over at Starsky who swallowed hard.
The brunet detective didn't answer, he remained silent, obedient.
"How 'bout MckieD's? Want something from Mc Donald's?" Kevin offered politely.
"Not hungry." Starsky knew he would regret those words, he knew soon, he would be hungry, and soon he would need to eat.
Kevin pulled up to the drive through speaker box as the crackling voice spoke to him from the great beyond. A female's voice resonated, or at least he thought it was female…
"Welcome to Mc Donald's may I take your order?"
"Well yes you may…" Kevin said cheerfully. "I would like a plain hamburger, small fry and a small coke." The kidnapper looked over at Starsky as Kevin's pale blue eyes met his, "And gimme an order of chicken nuggets and some ranch dressing on the side…"
The auburn haired man took the liberty of ordering for Starsky, and deep down inside, Starsky was grateful for that, he wouldn't be doing anyone any good, least of all himself, if he didn't keep up his strength.
"An' a couple of waters…" Kevin finished the order and waited for the faceless person to repeat it.
"Please pull forward…" They were instructed.
As Kevin moved slowly forward, he leaned to the side and pulled his gun out of his waistband and placed it under his right leg on the seat. He looked over at Starsky making sure that his handcuffed wrists were fully behind his back and nothing was showing and then he gave him a warning.
"Pull any funny stuff an' I won't hesitate to blow the bitch at the window away…you hear me?" He informed the detective as he reached in Starsky's jacket pocket and retrieved the brunet's wallet, pulling out two bills, both twenty's. "You are such a good boy scout David, you always come prepared." Kevin said as he shoved the wallet back into Starsky's pocket.
Starsky let his head rest back on the seat as he felt his body aching from his toes to his head. It didn't help the situation that he was getting ill, his chest hurt as he started to cough. His lungs burned with every inhale as his leg throbbed with every coughing spasm. The belt was still wrapped tightly around his upper thigh and the bleeding had almost completely stopped.
He coughed again as he bent forward and spit the phlegm that found its way into his mouth, onto the floor board of the car. He quickly looked at his leg and noticed that the bullet had appeared to go through his thigh as he could see both the entrance and exit wounds in the front and back of his leg. For a brief moment he felt relief as his hair was grabbed and his head snapped back into the upright position. He saw that they were approaching the cashier's window.
"Don't say a fucking word." Kevin seethed.
All of Starsky's training hadn't prepared him for this. Kevin was definitely a loose cannon and the brunet didn't know whether he could try to engage him in a conversation or whether he should be quiet like he had been instructed. No police manual covered this scenario, or maybe it did, that could have been the day he was absent. He wished that his partner was here, things would have been so much different, he always kept a level head, he knew how to handle this situation.
Kevin pulled up to the window and smiled broadly at the young woman that was working that particular station.
"Well hello there gorgeous." Kevin spewed sweetly as the young girl batted her long eyelashes blushing profusely. "How is your day going?"
Starsky felt his stomach slowly tightening into a tight knot, the young girl at the window appeared to be about 16 years old. She should be in school or dating the quarter back of the high school football team, not working the drive up window at a fast food restaurant, meeting the likes of the scum that sat before her now, Starsky thought to himself.
"Well, it's goin' just fine…That'll be $7.35," She said as she leaned halfway out the window, with her arms crossed over the counter as she flirted right back with him.
Kevin handed the girl a $20 bill as he let his fingers linger against her soft skin, rubbing her hand gently. She giggled as he winked at her as she pulled back in side the window.
"I'll get your change." She whispered coyly at the kidnapper.
"You do that, Kristie," He noted her nametag as she tried desperately to not show her interest.
She retrieved his change from the cash drawer and reached back out the window to place the bills and coin in the palm of his hand, letting her fingers linger there briefly. Kevin smiled back at her as Starsky sighed heavily, this whole scene revolting him. This is how young naïve women fell prey to dangerous murderers and rapists everyday. The general population was far too trusting, not cynical enough like he was… Then he remembered how he stopped his car to help the young stranded motorist in the first place and he cursed his own naivety.
"What time you get off tonight?" Hearing Kevin say those words caused Starsky's head to shoot up in shock.
"She's just a kid." Starsky mumbled as the fist around his heart tightened and he inhaled in fear for the girl in the window.
"Yeah? Well so am I." Kevin responded as he lifted his right leg and gently rubbed the butt of the gun in warning to the detective next to him.
"I won't let you hurt her." The brunet stated defiantly, "You'll have ta' kill me."
"I'm outta here in about three more hours, why?" She asked as she handed them their drinks and food. "You wanna come back?"
"Maybe I will, sugar…maybe I will." He said as he dropped the car into drive a squealed out of the driveway as Starsky finally exhaled, being able to breathe once again.
Starsky was tossed into the door roughly as Kevin shot around the building and out the side driveway recklessly, not even looking to see if the coast was clear. He whooped out loud in sudden burst of odd joy that both startled and scared the seasoned detective.
They drove for over an hour as Starsky watched his surroundings go from populated to rural over the course of their journey. As the area became less traveled, his optimism over being rescued dwindled. He allowed his head to rest against the back of the seat as he tried to will away the monstrous headache that pounded in his temple with every beat of his heart. He allowed himself to drift off briefly, allowing sleep to wrap its warm, painless arms around him.
XXXX
Hutch and Helen pulled up on scene, both of their stomach leaped as the saw Starsky's car bordered by yellow crime scene tape. The flurry of activity was dizzying as several officers scurried about, photos were being taken and evidence was being collected. Hutch slowly jammed his car into park as he started to get out of the car, Helen grabbing him by the arm, stopping him. Their trip had been a quiet one, but they both understood one thing, if this was Starsky, their lives would never be the same.
"Ken," she gasped, her eyes fixed straight ahead as she swallowed hard, "Dear God, please don't let it be him." Her voice cracked as she squeezed his arm.
Hutch knew at that moment that whatever had happened between her and his partner didn't change the fact that they loved each other dearly. Sometimes people who love each other just can't be together, shouldn't be together was more like it. They were like water and oil, impossible to get the two to blend, to mix evenly and share the same space without separating.
She loved him so much it made it hard for her to do her job, and he loved her so much, it made it nearly impossible for him to function as a somewhat sane man.
Hutch placed his large hand over hers, gently patting it. "Why don't you wait here Helen?" He said concerned for her emotional state. It struck him that just this morning he was so angry with her for hurting his friend that he could have told her off without giving it a second thought, and now he was sitting here with her, sharing the same fear, the same hope.
"No, I'm going with you; just give me a second okay…" She pled as she took a deep breath and opened her door, remaining in the car as she tried to concentrate.
She wasn't sure when he came around to her side, but next thing she knew Hutch was standing beside her, helping her out of the car, supporting her with his arm.
"You sure you wanna do this?" He asked one more time before proceeding.
She simply nodded as the moved forward towards Starsky's car. The trunk was open and a yellow plastic sheet covered a huddled mass in the compartment. It was obvious to the seasoned detectives that under that inconspicuous bright tarp, some poor deceased soul was being shielded from the general public. The number of observers gathering around the crime scene was growing. Morbid onlookers that were hoping to grab a quick peek of the recently departed.
Time seemed to slow to a snails pace as Hutch and Helen came closer and closer, for one split second, Hutch wanted to turn and run, he didn't want to look under the sheet, to be the one to tell them that this was indeed, Detective David Michael Starsky, the best partner and friend that anyone could hope for. He felt his heart skip several beats as his stomach contents threatened to show themselves all over the pavement. He took a calming deep breath, trying to ease his nerves, give himself some needed oxygen as he felt his head spinning with the adrenalin surging through his veins. He literally could hear his heart beating, his deep raspy breathing echoing around him. He didn't even notice the uniformed officer approach him from his left.
"Are you the detective from Bay City that came to ID the body." He said nonchalantly as if this was just another routine case.
Hutch looked at the insensitive officer with cold icy blue eyes as he increased his hold around Helen. "I am the detective from Bay City, but I am hoping to be able to tell you guys that you need to keep looking for my partner."
Helen's body tensed up as she and Hutch approached the trunk of the Torino, Hutch kept his arm around Helen's shoulder as he reached down to lift the yellow tarp.
The tall blonde's knees nearly buckled as he heard the gasp and then uncontrollable sobbing that came from Helen as the both realized that the victim wasn't their mutual loved one.
"Oh thank God." Hutch gasped as he bent forward breathing heavily.
"Hutch it's not him, it's not him!" Helen exclaimed as Hutch pulled her tightly into a embrace of relief.
"I know Helen, I know, it's okay…we'll find him…" Hutch tried to reassure her as she still had a hard time keeping control of her emotions.
"But where? Where is he?" She asked pulling back, her eyes filled with tears as she searched his for reassurance. "He left because of me Ken, he's out there because of me."
"Shhhh." He consoled her at the same time he was thinking about the truth in her statement. "Don't do this to yourself."
After calming Helen down and getting her back into police mode, they both approached the lead detective handling this homicide to gather any information they had so far retrieved from the scene.
Detective Sergeant Alan Murray related to the two officers his findings.
"We found blood in the front seat on the driver's side, on the front left fender more blood was sprayed across in about a twelve inch diameter. More blood in the trunk, looks like two different types. A small bullet was lodged in the tire well." We have several preliminary fingerprints, hard to tell how many different sets. The Crime Lab is processing those as we speak." He orated professionally as he realized what these two had just been through. "Detective Hutchinson, can we get you two anything?"
Hutch drew a hand down the entire length of his face, the weariness becoming more and more evident as the day went on. "How about a room for the night," he looked over at Helen, "make that two." He held up both fingers indicating the number of rooms he was requesting. "We aren't leaving here until we figure out which way my partner went." He vowed.
"There's a witness." Murray blurted out as Hutch's head shot up in anticipation. "Well sort of."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Hutch asked bewildered.
"We found him hiding in the bathroom over there." The detective pointed in the general direction of the gas stations men's room. "He is pretty traumatized, not speaking to anyone…we had him taken to the hospital for evaluation. They said they would call us when they feel it would be okay for us to question him."
"I wanna see him." Hutch said leaving no room for argument. "Now."
XXXX
Hutch and Helen ran through the sand on a beautiful beach, the panic and terror in their faces caused Starsky to cringe. He tried to scream at them, to encourage them to run faster…the two people he loved most in this world were literally running for their lives. Helen stumble, falling to the ground. Hutch turned to pick her up as she frantically grabbed for his arms, his shirt. Behind her Kevin closed in, his eyes radiating evil as he raised his gun and took aim. Hutch looked up at him, panic washing over his face as he moved in slow motion as he held up his hand in a futile attempt to stop their attacker from accomplishing his goal. Screaming out, he looked back, locking eyes with Starsky, pleading for his help. The brunet couldn't move, he wasn't bound or tied to anything, he just couldn't move, couldn't help, couldn't stop what was happening before his eyes…
"Staaarrrsskkkyyy!" Hutch yelled out, his voice low and distorted like a 45 rpm record being played at 33 rpm.
The brunet looked down at Helen, struggling to get up off the sand, she was crying as she looked to the brunet for help. A shot rang out as the ting of the bullet whizzed through the air seemed louder and more magnified than normal. Starsky's eyes were wide in horror as he watched the bullet pierce his girlfriend in the middle of the back, her eyes immediately showing the pain and life that escaped her soul instantaneously.
Starsky felt his heart drop, he looked at Hutch who was now running towards their attacker, making one more valiant attempt to stop him. He stopped in mid stride as another bullet rang out, blowing through his chest and dropping the tall blond to the ground. Starsky looked up at Kevin, their eyes meeting, the smile on the malevolent mans' face causing Starsky to shout at the top of his lungs as he lurched forward…
Starsky sat straight up as he immediately felt the sweat dripping from his face. He was looking right into Kevin's face as the kidnapper had a hold of the detective's leg, squeezing it harshly. His lungs burned as he panted heavily. Next thing he felt was a warm liquid being poured over his wound, then the intense burn as the fluid entered the hole that the bullet had left behind.
"Jesus Christ!" He seethed through pursed lips as he rocked back and forth, his arms still restrained behind his back. Once the initial wave had subsided he looked up into the pale blue eyes of the red head.
"Yer lucky, looks like the bullet went clean through, betcha it hurts though…" Kevin noted as he finished examining Starskys injury.
"Why don't you just kill me? Why the game?" Starsky gasped through deep breaths.
" 'Cause I like you, you're not like the others, you're different…" Kevin said almost empathetically. "I don't want you to go yet, it's not your time. But make no mistake, when your time comes…I won't hesitate…" He laughed as he took a deep swig off the bottle of whiskey and stood and walked away.
To Be Continued…