MIND CONTROL
CHAPTER SIX
Hutch stood at the edge of the ravine, silently staring down into the canyon at the burned out hulk of the car. The color was indistinguishable, the metal burned and scorched from the intense heat of the flames. But it didn't matter. Hutch would have known his partner's car anywhere. His veiled eyes watched as the corpse was removed from behind the wheel and placed into a black body bag. A body burned beyond recognition, the limps drawn up and contracted from the heat.
No one dared to approach the big blond. Most of the men gathered there knew the history between Starsky and Hutch, the depth of their friendship and their legendary partnership. Even the few who didn't know Hutch sensed that it would be in their best interest not to disturb the man staring over the edge of the cliff into the canyon. Hutch stood rigid, almost at attention, with a closed off look on his face and a haunted expression in his ice blue eyes.
Captain Harold Dobey, a large burly black man in his early fifties, cautiously approached the grieving detective. He had been notified as soon as the burned out vehicle at the bottom of the canyon was identified as being Starsky's car. It had been Dobey's unpleasant duty to inform Hutch of the discovery. He had insisted that Hutch ride to the scene of the accident with him, realizing that the big blond was in no condition to drive himself. Hutch hadn't said a word since they had left headquarters and since arriving at the scene, he had been standing there, staring at the activity in the valley below. His silence, his rigid control over his emotions, was unnerving and totally out of character for the big blond, especially where David Starsky was concerned.
Dobey laid a gentle hand on Hutch's shoulder and said quietly, "There's nothing more we can do here. Why don't you come back to the house with me? You don't need to be alone right now."
"It's not Starsky." Hutch said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "I don't know who it is…but it's not Starsky."
Recognizing the signs of shock when he saw them, Dobey took Hutch by the arm and tugged gently, easing him away from the edge of the cliff and back towards his car which was parked a short distance away. Hutch's movements were slow and jerky but he didn't resist the Captain's direction. Dobey opened the car door and settled the big blond into the passengers side of the vehicle. Dobey's own emotions were in turmoil. Starsky and Hutch had worked for him for almost ten years and, over time, had become almost like part of his own family. They were not only the best team of detectives on his squad, they were also close personal friends.
He had watched Hutch almost fall apart after Starsky was gunned down in the police garage. He had watched the big blond hunt down the man responsible with a single minded determination. And he had watched Hutch come to life again when the doctors said Starsky would live. The big blond had devoted himself to his partner's care, nursing him back to health and even taking an extended leave of absence to be there for him after Starsky was released from the hospital. They were like two halves of the same whole, complete only when they were together. They drew their strength from one another and when one was hurt, the other one felt his pain. They were soul bonded at the most fundamental level. At times, they even seemed to share a psychic connection, carrying on an entire conversation between themselves without ever saying a word. It could be unnerving to witness, even to someone like Dobey who had grown used to it over the years.
Dobey knew that the preliminary reports on the accident all pointed to the possibility of suicide. There were no skid marks, no signs of any other tire tracks on the lonely stretch of highway. It was also a theory that Dobey knew Hutch would never accept. The big black man was at a loss as to how to proceed. Taking Hutch home with him seemed to be the best solution at the moment. His wife, Edith, had always had a soft spot for both young detectives and his daughter, Rosie, considered them her favorite Uncles. Dobey hoped that the loving environment of his family and his home would help Hutch through the initial stages of grief. Other than the few words he had muttered back at the accident site, Hutch didn't say a word all the way back to town.
The Dobey home was located in a quiet residential neighborhood in an upper middle class section of town. Most of the neighbors were blue collar workers with children still living at home. Dobey pulled into the driveway in front of the two-story white frame house where he had lived with his family for almost fifteen years. The front door burst open and his eight year old daughter, Rosie, came running out to greet him. When she saw Hutch in the front seat beside her father, she clapped her hands and squealed happily. "Uncle Ken! Uncle Ken!" She paused, a puzzled frown on her face. "Where's Uncle Dave?" she asked innocently "Didn't he come with you?"
"Rosie, why don't you go in the house and tell your mother that Uncle Ken is joining us for supper and that he will be our guest for a few days?"
"Yes, sir." Rosie said, immediately obeying her father. As she turned and ran back into the house, Dobey glanced at Hutch who was still sitting in the car, staring through the windshield at the Dobey home. There was an expression of such profound grief etched on his face that Dobey felt his own heart ache in response.
"Come on, son." He said, opening the car door and helping Hutch to climb out of the vehicle. "Let's go inside." Numbly, Hutch followed Dobey's instructions, still without speaking. It seemed to be taking all of his concentration just to force his body to go through the motions. Dobey knew that kind of rigid control couldn't last forever and when he finally broke down, Hutch was going to need someone close to pick up the pieces. In the past, the person he could always count on being there to do that was Starsky but this time, Starsky was the reason he was in such unbearable pain.
Edith Dobey met her husband at the front door. She took one look at Hutch's stricken face and empty eyes and knew at once the reason why he was there with her husband on a weekday afternoon. She exchanged a glance with her husband, her eyes flooding with unshed tears, as she watched her husband lead the docile blond up the stairs towards the second floor guest room.
"Mama," Rosie's childish voice said from behind her. "Why is Uncle Ken so sad? Is something wrong with Uncle Dave? Did he get shot again?"
Edith turned to gather her youngest child in her loving embrace. "I'm sure Daddy will tell us what's going on when he comes back down. Right now he's helping Uncle Ken."
The precocious child nodded solemnly. As a police officers daughter, she had already learned at an early age how dangerous that job could be. She had been seriously traumatized when Starsky was gunned down in the police department parking lot. She hadn't been allowed to see him while he was in the hospital but she had seen him after he was released. She had seen how frail and fragile her favorite Uncle was and had witnessed his painful recovery firsthand.
She followed her mother into the kitchen to help start supper. It was a long time before her father joined them. He slumped down at the kitchen table and buried his face in his hands, sighing heavily. Leaning against her father's side and seeking the warmth of his embrace, Rosie said quietly "Something bad happened to Uncle Dave, didn't it?"
"Yes, baby." Dobey said, raising his head and catching Edith's loving gaze from across the room. He took a deep breath before delivering the devastating news to his wife and daughter. "There was an accident up in Benedict Canyon. Starsky's car went off the road and exploded. He didn't make it."
"He got burned?" Rosie asked in an alarmed voice, her eyes searching her father's face questioningly. "Did it hurt?"
"No, baby." Dobey said reassuringly, putting his arm around Rosie's slender shoulders and giving her a tight hug. "I'm sure he didn't suffer." He gave his daughter another heartfelt hug and then playfully swatted her on the butt. "Why don't you go outside and play so I can talk to your mother?"
Rosie knew she was being dismissed so the adults could talk privately. She nodded solemnly. "I love you, Daddy" she whispered, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I love you too, Rosie." Dobey replied, feeling the burn of tears stinging his eyes as he watched her slowly walk over to the back door and let herself out. He had done his best over the years to keep the violence of his job away from the family that he loved but sometimes it was impossible, especially since Starsky and Hutch had become so much a part of their lives.
As the door shut behind her, he looked at Edith and said, "There were no signs of anyone forcing him off the road or skid marks to indicate that he lost control of the car."
"You're not suggesting that David…." Edith said, her words trailing off as her mind refused to consider the implications of her husband's statement.
"That's the way the preliminary report is going to read." Dobey said "All the evidence at the scene suggests that David deliberately drove off the edge of the road."
"Then the evidence is wrong. It has to be. David would never do anything like that."
"According to the police psychologist, he's been seriously depressed every since the shooting. I'm worried that the letter from the review board stating that the department was placing him on permanent disability status may have been the last straw."
"But do you really think he'd kill himself?"
"I don't know. I just don't know. We'll have to wait and see what the investigation turns up. In the meantime, I think Hutch needs to stay here with us."
"Of course. He shouldn't be alone right now. How is he?"
"About the way you would expect. The only thing he's said since I got the call about the car being found was that it wasn't Starsky in the car." He paused and then added, "The body was too burned for visual identification. We'll have to rely on the fingerprints and dental records for a positive ID."
"My god, hasn't Hutch been through enough in the past year? First he comes so close to losing David after the shooting and now this? He'll never make it…he'll never be the same…not without David at his side."
"I know. That's what worries me." Dobey admitted "With Starsky gone, we could very easily lose Hutch too. I already took his gun away from him and hid it."
"Unfortunately, we can't watch over him twenty-four hours a day for the rest of his life." Edith pointed out. "All we can do is pray for the good lord to watch over him for us."
Harold Dobey nodded. He stood up and walked over to his wife, pulling her into his arms and holding her close, as they shared their mutual grief over the loss of one friend and their concern for another.