CHAPTER 4
Starsky groaned as he opened his eyes. His back hurt from sleeping on the hard floor of the semi, even if it had only been for a few hours. It had been almost nine A.M. before they had reached the next venue and he'd been able to climb into the back of one of the trucks for some much-needed sleep before helping to set up for the show.
He shoved himself to his feet and stretched, twisting his head from side to side to work out an annoying kink in his neck. He rubbed his hand over his morning shadow and wondered where he was supposed to shave and wash up before he started his day.
"Hey, glad to see you're up," a voice said from outside the truck. Starsky took a few steps forward so he could see the face that went with the voice. It was another one of the road crew, a man in his mid-twenties with a deeply-lined, weather-beaten face and long blonde hair pulled back into a pony tail. His hair was that muddy color often referred to as 'dirty blonde' and was badly in need of a good brushing. Starsky remembered his name was Randy. "You hungry?"
"Yeah. What time is it anyway?" Starsky asked as he jumped down from the back of the truck.
"It's almost one. Me and some of the other guys are going across the street for breakfast."
"Is there some place I can shave and wash up later?" Starsky asked as the two men fell in step together.
"You'll have to use one of the bathrooms in the stadium. You'll learn real quick to figure out where the best places to eat are and the closest place to clean up before a show."
"How long you been doing this?"
"Since I was a kid. My dad was a picker for Bill Anderson for a while."
Starsky nodded as if he knew who Bill Anderson was. He decided it wouldn't be in his best interest to make his ignorance of the world of country music obvious. He needed to fit in with the tight knit group of roadies. If anyone knew the 'real dirt' on Mandy and the rest of the road crew, it would be the men that blended into the background as they did the grunt work.
As they approached the front gate, Starsky was surprised to see a crowd gathered just outside the fence. They were chanting, "Mandy, Mandy, Mandy!'
"Do they always do that?" Starsky questioned his companion.
"Yep. Every show. You get used to it after awhile."
"Aren't you worried? I mean, I heard that somebody has been stalking the star of the show."
"Goes with the job," Randy said offhandedly. "You always have some fans that get a little carried away. You got the fans that come to every show and follow the star around the country. They're relatively harmless. Then you get the real weirdos. Those are the ones you have to watch out for."
"Like this guy."
"Yeah. Like this guy."
"Any idea who it is?"
"No clue. I guess that's why Mandy asked your friend to join the tour." Randy tossed Starsky a grin. "Sometimes it pays to have a girlfriend in Mandy's position."
"Hutch is just doing a favor for a friend. He's not expecting to get anything out of it."
"Yeah, well, your friend has a good voice. He could make it in this business if he really wanted too."
""Hutch doesn't have any interest in doing this for a living. Like I said he's just helping out a friend."
"That's too bad," Randy said as he shoved open the door to a McDonald's across the street from the arena. Four other roadies were already waiting at a booth in the back of the room. Peter and Jerry were older than the typical roadies, both in their mid-fifties with graying hair, while Tommy and Pete were both younger, barely out of their teens.
Starsky was content to sit back and listen to the other men talk shop and swap stories as they ate their breakfast.
When they returned to the lot behind the arena, Starsky immediately noticed the police car parked near the rear entrance. Mandy and Hutch stood near the doorway talking to two uniformed police officers. Mandy was obviously upset and Hutch had one arm around her shoulders.
"Looks like Mandy got another note from her secret admirer," Jerry commented. Unaware that Starsky already knew about the stalker, he explained, "Somebody's been leaving her love notes and flowers before every show for a few weeks now. It's really starting to freak her out."
"And nobody can figure out how he gets the flowers and notes in her dressing room without anyone seeing him," Pete added.
"Maybe it's somebody connected with the show," Starsky suggested
"The first thing the cops did was check everyone working for the show," Randy told him. "They said nobody connected with Mandy looked suspicious."
Starsky already knew that, but he and Hutch had agreed that they themselves still needed to check out everyone connected with Mandy or the show. They never left anything to chance. That was one of the reasons they were so successful at their jobs. He nodded at Hutch in passing as he followed the rest of the crew into the building to start unloading the equipment. They would find time later to talk and compare notes.
Starsky was hooking up some cables backstage when Hutch appeared at his side. In a quiet voice, he said, "Somehow our friend got on Mandy's bus and left the flowers there this time."
"That sure makes it look like someone connected with the show." Starsky paused to wipe his brow. "A stranger couldn't just walk on that bus without being noticed."
"Unless someone connected with the show got them on there."
"Either way, it looks like someone with the show has to be involved."
"Makes sense. That would explain how the stalker knows exactly where Mandy is going to be at any given time."
"Or how he could find out confidential information like her room number if she's registered at a hotel."
"I called Dobey with a list of names. He's going to start the background checks and get back to me as soon as he can."
"If someone with the show is connected, then things just got a lot more personal."
"Yeah, and our list of potential suspects just tripled."
That night's show went off without any problems and Hutch's performance was received well by the audience. He was embarrassed when a young girl lingering back stage actually asked him for his autograph.
"How'd you get back here, honey?" Hutch questioned her as he scrawled his name in the notebook she had given him.
"Oh, my dad knows some of the crew. They always let me come backstage at one of Mandy's shows." She took back the notebook and strolled on her way.
Hutch frowned as he thought about the girl's answer to his question. It was just another example of how lax things were at Mandy's shows. His eyes swept over the chaos in the backstage area wondering how many other people were there because they knew someone who knew someone connected with the show. This assignment was getting more and more complicated. It was time for a meeting with Mandy and her manager to lay down some new rules.
Spotting Mandy's manager, Hutch walked over to him with a determined stride.
Lewis smiled broadly when he saw Hutch and gushed enthusiastically, "The crowd loved your set. I had no idea you could actually sing."
Ignoring the back handed compliment, Hutch said, "Starsky and I need to discuss some things with you and Mandy after the show."
"Sure, just as soon as Mandy finishes doing autographs."
Hutch shook his head. "No autographs tonight. This is important. We'll meet with you and Mandy in her trailer after the show."
"Mandy's fans will be mighty disappointed if she doesn't give autographs after the show."
"I'm sure they'll survive. We'll see you and Mandy after the show." Hutch turned and walked away without giving him a chance to argue any further.
He found Starsky and filled him in on the meeting after the show.
"Good idea, Blintz," Starsky told him. "I caught two guys backstage tonight that had no business being there. They claimed they were just looking for the men's room."
"As if there weren't clear signs pointing them out," Hutch grunted with a shake of his head. "How can anyone be expected to protect Mandy with this kind of security around her?"
The two detectives met with Mandy and her manager on her bus after the show. The three men waited while Mandy changed from her stage clothes into a comfortable pair of jeans and a tee shirt. She got a bottle of spring water out of the refrigerator, sat down on the pull-out sofa with her legs tucked up beside her and looked at Starsky and Hutch solemnly.
"Okay, what did you want to talk about?"
"The security around you sucks," Starsky said bluntly. "People can get back stage without a pass or any kind of screening."
"And we feel that it's too dangerous to allow you to sit on the stage for two or three hours after the show giving the audience autographs," Hutch added. "It puts you in a vulnerable and unprotected position."
"So what do you suggest we do to correct those problems?" Mandy asked, as she impatiently waved off her manager's objections. He kept quiet, but the expression on his face clearly showed his disapproval.
"First, no more autograph sessions after the show," Hutch said. "At least not until we catch whoever is doing this. Second, better security backstage to keep out the people who don't need to be back there."
"Mandy's fans expect her to give autographs after the show," her manager said insistently. "That's the way it's always been done."
"Not after tonight." Starsky's tone was firm and final. "At this point, anyone waiting in that line is a potential threat to Mandy."
"That's fine," Mandy said, waving off her manager's protests again. "We'll just tell the fans that I won't be able to give out any autographs for a while. I'm sure they will understand. What else?"
"There obviously needs to be a guard posted to keep unauthorized people from going on your bus," Hutch told her. "This stalker is getting bolder and bolder. Sooner or later he's going to make a move against you personally."
"Okay, we'll do whatever you suggest," Mandy agreed. "I just want his guy caught so I can get on with my life without looking over my shoulder all the time."
"That's what we're here for," Hutch promised with a warm smile.