THE EDGE OF DARKNESS
CHAPTER 7
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The customers, the cook, dishwasher and waitresses all crowded around Huggy's still body. They were all scared. But they needed to get some sort of plan and first up was to make sure Huggy was okay. They all felt lucky to still be alive. The encounter with the mad man reinforced everyone's belief in a guardian angel.
Eddie knelt down beside his boss.
"Hey Huggy, man, you okay?" Eddie was a rotund, normally happy man and had been the cook at The Pits for a year. From somewhere behind him a towel magically appeared in his hands and he wrapped it around Huggy's neck.
Huggy groaned and tried to pull away from the touch. He opened his eyes but shut them again when the ground below him tilted and the forms in front of him changed shapes.
"Starsky... Hutch...!" Huggy managed to form a few words. He wanted to go get help but he was stuck. He couldn't move his arms or legs. He felt like an elephant had landed on him.
Again, Huggy made an effort to speak and move at the same time, not a good combination in his present state. He tried to raise his head but the ground rose up to meet him again as he tried one more time to make a request.
"Bay... City... P.D!" Huggy groaned and shut his eyes.
One of the customers, Rob Nicely took action. He told them they needed to get out of there quickly. He suggested getting Huggy to a car and going directly to the police station. He figured that's what Huggy must've been trying to say.
"Those two names, are they cops at the precinct or ya think they're the unlucky ones in there?" Rob pointed his head in the direction of the bar as he lit another cigarette, more out of nervousness than enjoyment.
Betty recalled her playful moment with Starsky. She sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes as she spoke.
"Yeah, they're the one's in there. Regular customers. We gotta go for help!" Eddie wrapped his beefy arms around her as she broke down in tears again.
This time the group moved as one. They pulled Huggy to his feet and moved off toward their cars. They were all too scared to do anything but form a convoy as they went directly to the police station like Huggy suggested.
Just like a swarm of refugees, they crowded around the intake desk at the precinct, begging to speak to Captain Dobey. They all spoke at once, giving their version of the nightmare to the confused but meticulous night desk cop. They all pointed to Huggy who at that moment huddled on a wooden bench, holding a towel over the back of his neck. He tried to follow the conversations around him, but the pain in his head and gut burned and he doubled over, almost landing head first on the floor.
The cop on duty tried to reach Captain Dobey on the phone but had trouble making himself heard over the noise and confusion. He pulled the phone away from his ear when Dobey kept yelling for him to speak up. The captain grew frustrated and decided to investigate the ruckus for himself.
Long before anyone saw him, Captain Dobey's big voice preceeded him.
"Whithers, can't you control this area better? What are all these people..." The captain stopped ranting when he noticed Huggy's lanky frame folded up on the bench. His radar kicked in. Starsky and Hutch. If Huggy's here, where are his two detectives?
"Go get the medics,NOW!" Captain Dobey started barking out orders. He directed that everyone be sent to an interregation room big enough to accomadate the milling, terrified witnesses. He'd sort out the details later but he just knew that this scene had something to do with the emergency report he'd received not long ago about Stone Crawford. Again, his heart jumped at the thought of Starsky and Hutch at the mercy of the escaped convict. He rubbed his head as he thought about disappointing Edith-- again. There was no way in hell he'd make it for dinner tonight. Through the years, she had remained supportive and just took all the delays and cancellations in stride. He was grateful for her understanding and loving nature.
Now back in Dobey's office, Huggy still refused to go to the hospital until he knew the fate of his two friends.
Huggy didn't remember being dragged and pushed into a car. However,he did remember that the stray dog he'd been feeding had bared it's teeth at him. He rubbed the back of his head again and accepted the cup of water and two aspirin that Captain Dobey handed him.
"Tell me again Captain, what's goin' on?" Huggy winced as the cold water and aspirin hit the inside of his stomach. The dizziness came back and he shut his eyes against the spinning room. He groaned and leaned forward, his long arms resting on his knees.
"Huggy, did ya get a look at who did this? Here, look at this picture and tell me if he's the one you remember." Captain Dobey pushed himself away from the desk as he reached for the mug shot of Stone Crawford. Prison officials confirmed that Joe Glover had been assigned to transport Stone to the maximum security prison but did not arrive with his prisoner. They found the dead, shattered body of the prison guard in an alley not far from Huggy's. The convict was now believed to be armed and dangerous.
Huggy grabbed the picture and stared at it. He waited till his vision cleared. He shook his head to wipe away the black dots that continued floating past his eyes.
"Man, he's one ugly dude! No wonder Special snarled at him. That's him captain. He whacked me up side my head but I got a look at him." Huggy handed the picture back and pulled the towel back over his neck. The once white towel was stained with fresh blood. He looked up at the captain but shook his head at the unspoken demand he knew would be next out of the big black man's mouth.
"Huggy, you probably have a concussion. Maybe broken ribs. You've got to have..." Captain Dobey got no further in his observation when the bar owner interrupted him.
"Captain, with all due respect... If that freak let us all go, then that means.. shit, what about Starsky and Hutch?" Huggy tried to stand up but fell back into the chair, weak and dizzy. "Captain, I ain't goin' nowhere till I know my boys are alright, you dig?"
"Huggy, yeah -'I dig'-. But I'm already on this. We've got cars surrounding your place now, watching. But we've got to be careful here. Trust me, we'll do all we can. I'm worried too, ya know?" Captain Dobey paced the office and stopped in front of Huggy. He looked into the dark brown eyes and his own unspoken fear stared back at him.
Captain Dobey made a frustrated sound and went back to sit behind his desk. He decided to change gears for a minute. He needed time to think and time to plan.
"What's this about a dog?" The captain leaned forward, staring at Huggy while he played with his pencil.
"Yeah, a stray dog's been hanging around my place. He seems to like the Huggy specials I feed him. I can't get real close to him yet, but I remember he growled and snarled at me just before my lights went out. Maybe the mutt saved my life."
Huggy let out a long sigh and rubbed at his chest. He still felt dizzy but at least the room wasn't spinning. He tried standing again and this time was successful. He walked to the door and leaned against it as he continued to watch the big police captain watching him. Huggy saw something in the other's eyes that scared him.
"Captain, what ain't you tellin' me? You know more than you let on." Not wanting to push his present stability, Huggy folded himself into the leather chair in the captain's office. It was soft and felt good against all his aches and pains.
"The other's from your bar said they heard gunshots. They weren't sure how many but at least two." The captain watched as Huggy pushed himself forward in the chair. The lanky bar owner visibly swallowed and groaned.
"Huggy, also I don't have to tell you what that guy was convicted of. But we also found the guard who was transporting Stone Crawford to the maximum security prison. Ummm... he was shot... in the face with his own gun. He was dead when the police found him. They weren't far from your bar. Huggy, this was planned against Starsky and Hutch. I can't lie to you. We have a team on this right now. In fact, I'm just waiting till I get the word that they have a phone line ready and I'm gonna try to talk to him before we move in."
The room got quiet as both men thought of their friends. Huggy remembered other times the duo had been in trouble. A year or so ago, he had been in this same room with Hutch and the captain, trying to figure out where Starsky was being held. That time it took all three of them to put the pieces of the Simon Marcus puzzle together. His friends had always been lucky before and came out the other side of the conflict battered and bruised but ultimately, they survived. What about this time? What did the gun fire mean? Couldn't be Stone was dead or this whole thing would have been over long ago. It only meant trouble.
Captain Dobey just sat and prayed. He was pretty sure that a man like Stone Crawford wasn't concerned about his future and had no problem with violence. Violence against two detectives who he most likely thought responsible for his downfall. Perhaps the man had already killed one of the detectives? Dobey shook his head, trying to wipe away the negative, ugly picture that ran through his head. He had to be positive and have faith that it would all work out.
He pushed himself up again out of his chair as he reached for the phone. It was time for answers and he knew where to start. The crime team should be set with the phone hook up. He stabbed out the number of the extension, waited for a voice on the other end and spoke in short sentences, barked out a few reminders and slammed the phone down.
"Damn it! I don't understand the delay. Maybe I should..." The phone rang and stopped any other words the captain may have been about to say.
Captain Dobey listened for a minute, spoke quickly and gave his approval. He put his hand over the mouthpiece and told Huggy what was about to happen.
"You keep your mouth shut now you hear? I'm being connected to your bar and I'm gonna talk to Stone Crawford. You say one word and I'll have you thrown out of here and arrested for obstructing justice." The captain held up his hand to stop Huggy's response when he heard the other end of the line begin to ring.
On the other end of the line, the phone rang loud and shrill in the empty bar. Hutch looked over at Stone. Hutch wanted to keep Starsky calm but the jangling noise made the dark haired man twitch.
In the captain's office two men held their breath as the conversation with the dangerous Stone Crawford unfolded.
Huggy listened carefully to Captain Dobey's side of the conversation.
"This is Captain Harold Dobey of Metropolitan Police Division. Give yourself up now and no further action will be taken against you." The large man listened intently, gripping the phone in his hand.
"Yes I understand but let me speak to one of my men. We know you're holding Detective Hutchinson and Detective Starsky there. I want to know they are both alright." Dobey sat forward squinting as if he was trying to concentrate on something more than just the words coming through the line.
Stone hesitated, listening to the fear in the Captain's voice. In the few seconds it took for the stringy haired convict to hand over the phone to Hutch, Captain Dobey and Huggy exchanged worried glances. They both held their breath until they heard Hutch's voice.
After Stone handed the phone to Hutch, the gunman moved away to take up a position beside Starsky. The connection crackled as the blond's shaky hand accepted the life line and held it tight against his ear.
Stone watched as he stood over Starsky. The confirming voice in his head was proof that everything would work out. But now, Stone had to pay attention to what was going on in front of him.
Starsky felt panic rise in his chest as he lost sight of his partner. The dark haired man on the floor tried to wiggle into a safer position but the movement sent shivers and spasms through his body. Realizing that to move meant pain, he settled on concentrating on Hutch's voice. He tried to ignore the man standing above him.
Back in Dobey's office, the Captain reached out to his detectives the only way available to him. He tried to keep his voice level. But, he couldn't keep the uncertainty out of his words.
"Hutch? You boys alright? Where's Starsky?" Dobey pushed the speaker button on the phone so that Huggy could hear this part of the conversation. Harold felt he needed another ear. There was something going on in the bar but he hadn't been able to identify the background noise. He wasn't sure there'd be time to question Hutch before Stone took over the phone again. It was weird how easily he'd given up control in the first place. Dobey wondered what kind of sick game his two detectives were up against.
Huggy sat forward, ignoring the pains and nausea that threatened to overtake him again. He needed to know what was going on. He took a deep breath as Hutch began to speak.
" Yeah Cap. I'm okay. Ummm... Starsky's hurt but he'll make it."
Hutch hesitated before going on. He wasn't sure how much he could say before Stone got angry.
The Captain wanted Hutch to talk as long as possible. Dobey held onto hope as long as he could hear the blond's voice.
"You think Stone would let a medic in there to help? Maybe one of the men could come in and overtake the guy?" The captain thought fast, coming up with anything that might give them an edge.
"Not a good idea Captain. He shot Starsky for no reason." The vulnerable and spent inflection was plain in Hutch's voice. Both Huggy and Dobey concentrated. Huggy was sure he heard something like crying.
" Stone wants to be the one to waste Starsky and me. He's crazy Cap! I'm convinced of that" Hutch finished his sentence but as his voice trailed off the bar owner and police captain heard something else on the other end of the phone.
It was an audible hit to a solid object. A sharp intake of breath followed by a cry of pain. The noise was loud. There was cracking sound and static but the connection remained.