Feedback: If it feels right, please 'do it'.

Disclaimer: I make no money from this. Starsky and Hutch do not belong to me, I just borrow them, and promise to return them in the same condition I found them in. My characters do belong to me, and I can use them as I see fit, until they start fighting back.

Authors Note: I want to thank you Strut for your help finding the medical info. I found the research fascinating. Perhaps that's because of my twisted mind. Thanks Eli for your constant encouragement.

I have named this story, but it may change as I get further into it.

Chapter 2

"Come on Starsky, wake up." Hutch shook his friends shoulder. Starsky let out a groan, followed by an incoherent attempt at a sentence. Hutch could tell his friend was dreaming, and it sounded like a good dream.

Starsky could feel himself being pulled out of slumber. His body fought to stay put, enjoying a day at the beach with an imaginary flight attendant.

Hutch just shook him again, only rougher this time, yelling out his name, "Starsky!" snapping his friend out of his dream and back to reality with sudden jolt.

"Who… What..?" Starsky sat straight up in his bed, breathing heavily, ready for an attack, only to find his blond partner staring at him, smiling. Obviously amused at the sight of his startled expression. Starsky blinked several times, clearing his vision, then rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Very funny!" He retorted.

"Well, excuse me! Whatya want me to do, throw ice water on you?" Hutch smirked.

"Alright, alright. I'm awake now." He rubbed one hand down the entire length of his face.

"Lets get down to the station, Dobey should be in by now."

Starsky got out of bed, after a quick shower and shave, they headed out to see Dobey.

XXXX

"So you two think both of these murders are related?:" Dobey asked.

"We think there's enough similarities to check it out." Starsky explained as the two detectives sat facing Dobey's desk, in his office.

"Starsky and I want Cecelia Davis' case to be reassigned to us, permanently. If they are related, we'll need unrestricted access. If they're not, than at least you'll have two active detectives working the case."

"See here, I don't know how her case got overlooked." Dobey said defensively. "Must've been some kind of clerical mix up. I'm gonna look into it." Dobey waved his finger at both of them. "In the meantime consider the case reassigned."

"Thanks Cap'. Any idea when we'll get the Coroner's report from our Jane Doe this morning'?" Hutch inquired.

"I'm expectin' it later today. I'll let you know when it comes in."

"Great!" Starsky stated and then looked at Hutch. "Let's hit the streets. Put the word out on Cecelia Davis."

"Huggy's?"

"Where else?" Starsky smacked him upside the back of the head for asking such a stupid question.

"Hey!" Hutch raised his finger in warning at his friend, who just laughed. They left the Captains office with Starsky pulling the door shut behind him, a little harder than was really necessary.

"Starsky!" Dobey yelled after him.

XXXX

As they drove to The Pitts, Hutch reviewed the file on Cecelia Davis. "Jeez Starsk, listen to this," he said as he read from the file. "Both knee caps were broken, she had a fractured jaw, eight broken ribs, along with every finger on her right hand. According to the coroner's report these injuries caused significant discoloration and bruising to the skin indicating all injuries occurred while the victim was still alive."

"But why? She was nineteen, why would anyone do somethin' like this?"

"Hold on, there's more. Right ring and index finger nails appear acutely missing." Hutch continued.

"Acutely missing? What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Starsky shook his head.

"Starsky, someone ripped her fingernails out."

The curly haired detective had to swallow hard to keep the lump in his throat from choking him.

"Whitefield said the victim this mornin' was missing some fingernails." Starsky stated.

"That's right. And from what I saw, she was beaten to a bloody pulp. Starsk, I'm sure these two cases are related. Question is, why were these girls killed, and by who?"

"That, my friend, is where we come in."

Hutch nodded in silent agreement.

XXXX

The bar was empty, with the exception of two regular night shift workers, not many people were drinking at 11:45 in the morning. The two detectives sat at a table joined by their friend Huggy Bear. Hutch showed the thin black man a picture of Cecelia Davis' body, while Starsky explained the gravity of the situation.

"She was nineteen, Hug." Starsky pled. "We want the animal or animals that did this to her!"

"Word has it that she may have been doin' some prostituting and/or small time drug runnin' on the streets." Hutch elaborated.

"We wanna know who she was workin' for." Starsky threw in. "Her name was Cecelia, Cecelia Davis."

Hutch pulled out another photo from the file and handed it to Huggy. "This is what she looked like before someone had a field day on her."

"Man, that was one foxy lady, what a waste! I'll get the word out." He assured them.

"Thanks buddy." Hutch said, "You can hold on to that photo, if you think it'll help." He took back the one of her dead beaten body and placed it back in the folder.

He and his partner rose from the table, said their good-byes and headed for the car. As they reached the vehicle they heard the radio call them.

"Zebra 3, come in Zebra 3." Mildred called to them.

"This is Zebra 3, go ahead." Hutch responded into the radio, as he climbed in the passenger side of the front seat, his partner climbing behind the wheel.

"Zebra 3, I have a call from Captain Dobey."

Hutch looked at Starsky, "Patch it through."

"10-4, Zebra 3."

"Hutch? I just got a call from the Medical Examiner's office, it seems they have an initial report for you. Dr. Henry Bray wants you to meet him at his office."

"10-4 Cap'. We're on our way." Hutch returned the hand piece to the holder on the radio as Starsky started the Torino and headed downtown.

XXXX

The Coroners office was dismal and cold. Dark panel lined all four walls. Built in bookshelves went from floor to ceiling on three of the walls. The shelves held what appeared to be, an impressive library. There was a large oak desk, behind it was a high back, red leather chair. Starsky and Hutch sat in matching chairs opposite the desk. The tall blond noticed his partner fidgeting.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

"This place gives me the willies." He said as he nervously shifted in his chair. "It's dark and creepy."

"Relax Starsk. It's just an office." Hutch reassured him.

"It smells funny in here." He pouted.

The door opened quickly, causing Starsky to jump to his feet. Dr Henry Bray entered, he was the chief Medical Examiner on staff with the Bay City Police Department. He was called in early this morning to handle this case personally. He was an older man with grey hair and a stark white mustache and beard. Dr Bray carried a tan folder in and one hand and his bifocals in the other.

"Thank you gentlemen for waiting." He greeted them with an outstretched hand.

"I'm Detective Hutchinson, this is my partner, Detective Starsky." The three men exchanged firm hand shakes.

"We want to thank you for taking the time to handle this case, Doctor." Starsky acknowledge the Doctor's sacrifice of his day off.

"Well this is quite a difficult situation, officers, I sure hope you'll be able to catch the individuals responsible for this heinous act." The two officers looked at each other with a nod of confidence, then returned their stare back to the pudgy doctor. "You realize my report is strictly preliminary. We are still waiting for the toxicology reports and some additional x-rays I ordered, aren't back yet."

"We understand that, and appreciate the fact that you are trying to expedite this case." Starsky stated.

The doctor began his oral report, reading from his notes:

"Corpse, now referred to as Jane Doe, appears to be between 18-20 years old. External exam reveals no obvious malformations of any portions of the extremities or appendages. Left lower lateral chest wall shows abrasions and contusions with overlying rib fractures of rib numbers 6, 7 and 8. Right lower lateral chest wall shows more of the same with 5 more rib fractures. "

Both detectives took a deep breath, this wasn't going to be easy to hear. Hutch pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes and lowering his head. Starsky watched his partners distressed expressions, as the doctor continued:

"Body presents several other blunt force injuries to the head and trunk region. Teeth # 8, 9, 14, 24, and 25 have been completely avulsed. Lower jaw or mandible, has been fractured in two separate places. Left forearm presents fractured ulna and radius. Left ring and index fingernails acutely missing."

"Acutely missing?" Starsky recalled his earlier conversation with Hutch.

Hutch looked at his partner. "Eight broken ribs, a broken jaw?" He repeated. "Same as Cecelia Davis."

"Severe trauma appears to have caused left eye to dislodge from the orbital cavity." Dr Bray continued, ignoring their side bar conversation. "Both right and left hands and forearms showed over a dozen contusions and incised wounds consistent with defensive injuries."

"She went down fighting." Starsky commentated, giving Jane Doe a post mortem pat on the back for not giving up.

"Both patellae were broken." The medical examiner informed the duo.

"Doc, patellae? That's the knee caps, right?" Hutch inquired.

"Yes, that's right." He answered.

"Excuse me, Doctor." Starsky interjected, placing his thumb and forefinger by his lips in thought. He pointed at the Coroner, "Can you tell over what period of time she sustained all these injuries?"

"Well, it's not an exact science, but with the different healing stages each injury and the surrounding tissues were in, I would say the first broken bones, most likely, took place two and a half to three weeks ago. Starting with her knee caps, if I had to venture a guess."

"That would make sense. Bust her knee caps, you don't have to worry 'bout her getting away." Hutch reluctantly added.

"From the signs of the bruising, I'd say she was alive for most, if not all of these injuries." The doctor gave his professional opinion.

Hutch rose from his chair and started pacing the room, placing his hands in the pockets of his jeans, feeling a chill come over him.

"You see, once the deceased's heart stops beating, the blood is no longer under pressure. Although you can still bruise post-mortem, it is much more difficult to achieve the hemorrhage. It would take a great force to result in a very small bruise. Jane Doe's mottling or bruising of the skin, is so extensive, I'm certain that it occurred pre-mortem."

"T'riffic." Starsky mumbled in disgust. "Well, I think we have our answer." He said as he looked up at Hutch. "These two murders are definitely related."

"What's the connection, the significance of the eight ribs, two fingernails, and the other broken bones?" Hutch posed the question out loud for the three of them in the room to ponder.

"It could just be some perverted sense of routine, or this person is stamping their own mark on the victim." Starsky threw out.

Hutch snapped his head to look at his partner. "So everyone would know, when one of these killings happened, who did it. Like advertisement, in a way."

"You could be on to something." Dr. Bray was looking over the file on Cecelia Davis. "It seems to me that the similarities couldn't possibly be coincidence. And, whoever did this had some kind of medical training."

"What makes you say that?" Starsky furrowed his brow at the man.

"On both victims, the same ribs, I mean the exact same ones are broken. Ms. Davis was right handed, the nails of her right hand were removed in a smooth, bloodless fashion. Ms. Doe was left handed, her nails of her left hand removed the same way. This person is putting his signature on his victims."

"But why?" Hutch tried to rub away the headache pounding in his temples.

"That's the million dollar question." Starsky said sighing as he rose from the chair, offering his hand to Dr. Bray. "Thank you for your time Doctor." He shook his hand, as Hutch joined his partner in saying goodbye to the gentleman.

"If you think of anything else, please feel free to call us." Hutch offered. Oh, and when the final report is finished, if you could just let our Captain know, we'd really appreciate it."

With that, both men left the Medical Examiner's office and headed out to the streets, someone out there knew who this girl was, and what happened to her. They were determined to find out…

To Be Continued