She's Not There

By M. Willow

Chapter Eleven

The two men had moved to the living room. Starsky sat on the floor, his legs crossed, while Hutch had to content himself sitting opposite on the sofa. He watched his partner intently, could see the tension in his body, the way Starsky looked at him as if he were saying goodbye.

"I've known two women with eyes like that, Hutch. If Kira left a message, maybe this whole thing started back over ten years ago. Maybe Susan is here because of it. But you need to understand why she's got such a tight hold on me, and why I was sick enough to let it go on."

Starsky pushed his legs up and wrapped his arms around them. Hutch waited, glad to finally understand what was happening to his friend, yet sad that telling him caused the brunet so much pain.

"I met Jenny Alexander right after I got back from Nam," Starsky said, his voice low. "I had moved back to New York, thinking I wanted to be near my family, but I couldn't see them. I wasn't worthy of being in their presence after what they'd done to me back when I was a POW. That's how I wound up standing on the river that day. I was…I was thinkin' about just ending the whole thing. But I couldn't."

Hutch's heart skipped a beat, imagining the pain his partner must have felt to have even considered ending his life, but he remembered the nightmares that made Starsky scream out at night and he wasn't so naive to think that one year as a POW hadn't had an affect on the brunet.

"Jenny was a real beauty. She had these eyes that were a light shade of green with golden flecks. If ya looked at her in the right light they looked sort of golden. That's the way she looked the day I first met her."

Starsky smiled, the memories warming his rugged features. "She came up behind me when I was standin' on the river, then she stood right next to me, almost like she could see my turmoil and was my guarding angel." Starsky paused. "She had hair like mine; curly but the color was pure red. God, I was tongue-tied. Couldn't say one word to her, so we just stood there watching the sun go down. Then, like an idiot, I just turned and left. Didn't say one word." He met Hutch's eyes. "Can you imagine me, tongue-tied and letting a beautiful girl like that go?"

"Hutch shook his head, smiling. "Can't say I've ever seen it."

"Yeah, but I was smart enough to spend the next weeks lookin' for her. And one day, I guess I got the timing right and there she was. Man, we were intense. You know how it goes when you fall hard, can't get enough of each other. Don't care who sees?"

Hutch nodded his head.

"Yeah, well it was how it was with Jenny and me. Thought it would go on like that forever. She saved me from my demons." Starsky raised his hand pushing his fingers a little far apart for emphasis. "I was this close to asking her to marry me, but every time I was about to do it, she would interrupt."

Hutch was surprised at Starsky's admission. He'd never heard about Jenny and figured the relationship must have been casual. He would never have imagined his partner had been that serious about anyone other than Terry.

"One day, over dinner," Starsky continued. "She told me why. She told me why we could never marry." Starsky again wrapped his arms around his legs and rocked gently. "Jenny's folks had money. Parents probably could have brought the entire world and had money left over. Jenny had come to New York to get away from the Alexander money and the Alexander insanity that ran in her family."

Hutch searched his memory for the Alexander name. The Hutchinsons were rich and social circles crossed often. It didn't take long for him to recall Paul Alexander, a wealthy financier. A man who'd come from nothing to something in just over five years. He was ruthless, or so Hutch had heard, but the first time he'd met him he'd just been the man with the golden eyes.

It was the 1950's and Hutch and his family were spending the season in Paris. Paul Alexander had been there with his family, a wife and a girl named Jenny. The girl had eyes like her father and curly red hair that nearly reached her waist. Hutch couldn't remember anything else about her, and he could hardly remember what she looked like, but he would never forget the eyes. Still, he didn't want to tell Starsky about that now, so he stayed quiet.

"I had seen hell back in Nam," Starsky said, gazing into Hutch's eyes. "I had…I had to deal with stuff I didn't know what to do with. Jenny helped me to battle my demons. I wasn't gonna let her go because she had a few of her own." He paused. "I told her that I loved her. Nothin' was never gonna change that. She told me that she would move in with me if I promised to call her dad if she started acting strange. And I promised, but I also promised that I would never leave her. It didn't matter about the insanity. Didn't matter because I loved her that much."

Starsky started to rock his body back and forth. "She finally agreed to move in with me, but she wanted to wait before agreeing to marriage. Told me that she wanted to make sure she didn't go crazy. By then I was driving a hack and had started to see my family again. Jenny didn't like that too much. Guess she saw it as a threat. Before it had been just the two of us and I was livin' off my savings. Now there was Ma and Nicky and the cab."

Starsky stood up and came to sit next to Hutch on the sofa. "She tried to talk me out of seein' my family, but it would have been like cutting my arm off, so I turned her down. That's when the threats started. First against me and then Ma and Nicky. She told me she didn't want anything else in my life but her. She told me that even death itself couldn't stand between us. That I was hers forever and she would hurt anyone that stood in the way."

Starsky hunched forward, his breaths coming quick. Hutch moved his hand behind Starsky's back, rubbing his neck until his breathing slowed and he was able to speak again. "Later on she apologized. Said she was just angry and didn't mean it. And I believed her, but Ma started to get phone calls. Someone would call and not say anything. I lied to myself and said it had nothin' to do with Jenny. And then Nicky was attacked one night when he was comin' out of a club. Someone snuck up behind him and hit him with a baseball bat. Nearly killed him."

Hutch let out a breath. "Jenny?"

"Nicky said all he saw was a shadow, but he was pretty sure it was a man. Kept sayin' he would have known if it were a girl. But you know Nick."

Hutch knew him well enough to know that Nick wouldn't want anyone to know he'd been hit by a girl. It would have ruined his reputation.

"And then I lied to myself again. Said it couldn't be Jenny. Ma got more calls and finally she actually heard a voice." Starsky closed his eyes. "The voice said she better leave town if she knew what was good for her. Ma said it was a woman and that the voice sounded muffled, like it was disguised."

"Did you confront Jenny?"

"Yeah. She told me that it was against the law to do that. She didn't deny it though."

Hutch thought back to Susan and the incident in the bar. She had been bold like that, too.

"I couldn't prove a thing. After awhile, I started to think I was imagining it. We went on with our lives. Started planning our wedding."

Starsky rubbed his head, then leaned back on the sofa. "Man, there were times when she seemed normal and I would forget all about my suspicions. She was so sweet. Like an angel, but there were things about her that didn't add up. She was a…" Starsky blushed, stealing a glance at Hutch. "Intense in bed. Went from acting like a virgin to a ah…, well, I wasn't exactly a prude, but there were some things I wouldn't do. She pushed the limits. And I was still in love with her."

Starsky started breathing hard again and Hutch grabbed his hand, holding it tightly. "Easy, buddy. Going to be okay. You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"I gotta, Hutch," Starsky said, looking at him. "I can't go on like this. I can't keep lying to you."

"You're not lying to me, Starsk. You don't need to tell me this. We can figure this out without you saying a word."

Starsky smiled, but it was bittersweet. "You don't know what that means to me. But you gotta know that all these years, all the time we've known each other, I been hidin' this. I pretended that the nights I woke up screamin' was because of Nam. But it ain't true. It was because of her. Because of Jenny. Now Kira is dead and this whole thing with Susan got to be related. I need you to know what you're dealin' with here." He paused.. "I don't expect you to be here when I finish tellin' you this, but you still need to know, cause if what I'm suspecting' is true, your life's in danger."

"I'm not going anywhere, Starsk. You've got to know that."

But Starsky shook his head. "You don't know how much I want that to be true. But wishin' ain't gonna make it so."

Hutch moved closer to the brunet. "Remember, me and thee. Nothing going to change that."

Starsky looked at him for a second, then took a deep breath and continued. "Two months passed and nothin' strange happened. Ma said she had stopped getting the calls and Nicky was back in the street, completely recovered. Jenny said she was over her jealousy and wanted a relationship with my family, so we started going over to see Ma," Starsky paused, then continued. "Jenny acted like she loved Ma. She even got along with Nick. I lied to myself again and forgot my suspicions. I kept creating this dream world where everything was okay and she wasn't losing her mind. And then everything came falling down on my head. It started when Jenny claimed Nick made a pass at her. Nick had done that sort of thing before so I told her to forget it and that I would talk to him. Set him straight. But when I brought it up with him, he denied it. I believed him because he wouldn't lie about stuff like that. But I was still in denial. I figured Jenny just misread the signals. Nick, even then, was sort of flirtatious."

The Nick Hutch knew would have proudly bragged about hitting on Starsky's girl. Apparently he hadn't changed much.

Starsky ran a hand through his hair. "Then one day I got back from work and found her waitin'. She had a girl with her and said she wanted to try somethin' new. I

was…shocked when she told me she wanted a threesome. It seemed even beyond her."

Starsky blushed. "Hutch, you know me. I mean…it wasn't as if I hadn't done stuff like that before. It was just that I loved Jenny. I didn't want anyone else."

Hutch nodded his head. He knew his partner had had his fair share of threesomes, they both had. And two attractive women was the ultimate aphrodisiac, but not when they were in love.

"I told her no," Starsky said. "Told her that I didn't want to do it. She told me she knew I wanted the girl. That she'd seen me lookin' at her the other day and that's why she hired her. But Hutch, I had never laid eyes on that woman before. I didn't know who she was and I didn't want anyone but Jenny. We argued and the girl left, but Jenny said she was going to keep an eye on her, because she knew all about the affair we were having. That the voices told her what we did in the cab. Later, she told me she had only been testing me."

Starsky stared at Hutch as if committing his face to memory. "Jenny started to come to the cab station, making a scene about two of the female dispatchers that worked there. Said she knew I was sleepin' with both of them. It didn't matter that I kept denying it. And then less than a month later the girl that was in our apartment was found dead. It was all over the streets and the newspapers even had a picture of her."

"Murdered?" Hutch said, incredulously.

"Drug overdose, they say."

Hutch felt the blood drain from his face, remembering when he thought he would meet that same end.

"Sorry, Blondie," Starsky said, rubbing his back.

Hutch was struck by the man his partner was. Here he was reliving the worst moment in his life, and yet he still found time to comfort him. "I'm okay. Sorry."

"You Sure…"

"Yeah, just a little flashback."

Starsky leaned forward and dropped his head into his hands. "I was pretty sure Jenny did it, but she said she'd been at a movie the night it happened. I couldn't prove she wasn't. I started asking questions around town. I went to the cops and told them that I believed the girl was murdered, but I didn't mention Jenny, just told them they should check into it. They told me they already had. And that she was just one more junkie that had made a bad ending with the end of a needle. But I knew I had to do something. I still loved Jenny, but if she was killin' people, I had to stop her."

Starsky looked at Hutch, splaying his hands. "I called her father. Told him what had happened. He didn't even seem surprise. Told me to keep her in the house and that he was coming the next day. Then I called Nicky and told him to keep an eye on Ma. That's when I found out that Ma was still getting calls. She just didn't want to upset me."

Starsky ran a hand down his face. "Paul, Jenny's father, showed up the next day. I had taken the day off and told Jenny I wanted to spend it with her. Kept her in the house. She actually thanked me for takin' care of her."

Tears sprang in the brunets eyes and he wiped them away. "Her father showed up with two men and they…they went to get her. I would never forget the look of betrayal on her face. I…I told her I was sorry, but she needed help. She started fighting then. I wanted to go with them, but her father wouldn't allow it. Said it would be distracting for Jenny. But the whole time they were getting her out of the house, she kept screamin' for me. She was like a wild thing, fighting, clawing at the men. Tryin' to get to me. Said she was coming back for me. But they finally got her out of the house. "

Starsky dropped his head into his hands, his breathing hard, body shaking. "Just give me a minute, Hutch."

Hutch rubbed the brunet's back until the shaking subsided. Then Starsky went on.

"I thought it was over. Paul told me he would have her institutionalized. He said she would get the help she needed. I couldn't prove what happened to that poor girl, so I didn't think I had a choice. I was wrong. I should have forced the cops to believe me. Shouldn't have left her to her father. Should have done everything I coulda to stop her from going after more people. But I didn't and Jenny escaped from her father and killed again."

"How many?"

"Two. Those two women from my job. The ones Jenny accused me of sleeping with."

"How did they die?"

"House blew up. Looked like a gas explosion, but I knew different. Three women were dead and they all knew me. And Jenny."

Hutch whistled. "No proof?"

"You got it. I knew she'd covered her tracks again. They weren't gonna find anything and she was gonna keep on killin'. I had Nick take Ma out of town because figure she was comin' for them next. And then I waited. I knew she would come back for me and less than a week later she showed up."

Starsky stopped talking and stared at Hutch. It was silent in the room, like everything in nature was waiting. And then his partner's soft voice. "She walked in the door and started talkin' like she didn't remember what had happened. She wanted to go on a picnic, just the two of us. I went in the bedroom and called her father. He was my only hope. I just needed to get her locked up, somehow. Anyhow, he was still at the hotel, hoping Jenny would show up. I let him know she was with me and that I would bring her to him. He argued about it, wanted to come and pick her up again, but I wasn't gonna take any chances this time. I was planning to go all the way to Boston and watch them put her in the mental hospital. I couldn't afford to take the chance that she wouldn't get away again."

Starsky looked down at his hands. "I got Jenny in the car. She thought we were going on a picnic so all the while I was drivin' she kept going on about what a good time we were gonna have. Damn near killed me to hear it, knowing where I was really taken her. I didn't notice when she got quiet."

Starsky started to rock back and forth, his eyes wide. "She was sick, I knew that. And I promised to take care of her. It was my responsibility to make sure she didn't hurt anybody. My responsibility, but I was too much in love to see the truth until it was too late."

Starsky looked down at his hands like he could see blood there, but Hutch covered them with his. "You did the best you could for her, Starsk. You can't blame yourself."

"But I do. I can't stop blaming myself."

Starsky leaned back against the sofa. Hutch could feel the tension in the brunet's body and he tightened his grip.

Starsky went on. "She got real quiet. I looked at her a few times and she was just staring out the window and then she said that she knew where I was taking her and thanked me. After that, all hell broke loose. She started tryin' to jump from the car and I was holding on to her for dear life, trying to steer the car and keep her in it at the same time. She was screaming, telling me I had betrayed her. Still trying to get…to get out of the car."

Starsky clutched Hutch's arm, but he wouldn't look at him. "I kept tryin' to drive and she kept fighting. We had just made it past this curve in the road. There wasn't as much traffic and I couldn't keep going, what with her hitting me and everything. So I tried to swing over into the right lane. And then…oh god, a truck….I didn't see….I didn't know. I swerved the car trying to avoid the truck, and somehow the car wound up going down a hill."

Hutch was holding on to his partner's arm as Starsky suddenly doubled over.

"Next thing I know, I was comin' to on the road. I had been thrown from the car. I couldn't see very well. And my head hurt. I saw the car…the flames…Oh, god…oh, god…she was screaming and I…I couldn't…I couldn't move. I was laying on the ground and couldn't move."

Starsky stopped talking, taking deep breaths, tears falling down his face. "She kept calling my name and trying to get out of the car. The flames kept getting higher and all I did was watch. I watched her burn. I smelled my Jenny burning in that car and I didn't do nothin' to try and save her." Starsky wiped his face. "Then I saw this guy coming toward me and blacked out. I woke up four days later in a hospital. By then they had already had the funeral and there was nothin' left of my Jenny."

Starsky was sobbing uncontrollably now and Hutch pulled him to his chest. "Not your fault, Starsky. Not your fault. You had a concussion. You couldn't move because of it. You've got to see that."

"I killed all those girls. I watched Jenny die. I could have seen the truck. I could have pulled her from the car. I could have stopped her from killin' those girls. Don't you see, I knew she was sick. A thousand times I coulda done something to help her. Four people are dead causa me." Starsky pulled away, rubbing his hands as if he were washing something away. "I look at these hands and I see blood. I see their faces asking me why I couldn't save them. I see Jenny asking me why I let her do it. I look at my face in the mirror and I see a monster."

Starsky was talking fast now, nearly hysterical. "All those deaths because of me. Oh, god. I gotta get away. I gotta…" he clutched his head as if still hearing Jenny's screams. "I see all of them at night, asking me why I didn't do somethin' to save them and I ain't got an answer for them except I was selfish."

Hutch tried to hold Starsky as he bolted for the door, but the brunet was strong and determined to get away. Hutch moved quickly and caught him by the arm. "You're going to stay here and listen to me."

Starsky was breathing hard but he didn't say anything.

"It wasn't your fault. You get it? You went to the police station. You made sure your family was safe. And you called Jenny's father. You did all that you could. It just didn't have a happy ending."

"You don't understand. I'm a monster. I let my love for Jenny get in the way of doing something that would have saved all those lives. Ma and Nicky coulda died because of me too."

"So you're human. You wanted to believe Jenny, but you still did something. It wasn't your fault the cops didn't believe you. And you're not a monster. You're my best friend."

"How can you bare the sight of me now that you know?"

"You mean now that you've admitted to loving someone?" Hutch reached over and grabbed Starsky's neck with his hand and pulled the brunet into his arms. "Get this through your thick skull. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to see your ugly mug as long as I'm on this earth. And there's never going to be a day that I won't be grateful that God put you in my life."

And Hutch felt his partner relax against him.

"Oh, God, I thought I'd lost you," Starsky murmured.

"Not that easy to get rid of me."

Starsky pulled back, wiping his eyes. "Okay, but this is getting too soapy." He smiled and so did Hutch.

"Well then, let's get out of here, or Dobey will have both our hides."

--

There were only a few detectives milling around in the early morning hours at Parker Center. Hutch had spent the past hour listening to Simonetti go on about how he would have his badge. But Hutch wasn't worried. There was a witness, a man who'd been out walking his dog and had seen a man exit the alley carrying a gun. He had a reasonable description of the killer, a man who'd been described as about six feet with salt and pepper hair. The dog walker had gotten so close that he'd even seen the color of the man's eyes which were gray. Right now he was with the police artist having a sketch made.

And since the killer had been shot by Hutch, it was reasonable to expect that he would seek medical help. Hutch already had Huggy listening out for reports of a wounded man who needed to have a bullet removed.

Now, both detectives sat in the office with Dobey.

"Kira left a letter for you two," Dobey said, handing Hutch the letter. "We found it in her pocket."

Starsky came up to sit on the arm of Hutch's chair, his arm draped across his shoulder. Hutch opened the envelope and found the folded letter. He opened it with shaky hands, suddenly feeling the warmth of his partner's hand on his shoulder.

Dear David and Ken: If you're reading this, it means my suspicions were real and I'm dead. I know you'll never believe it, but what started off as merely an assignment, turned into something even I hadn't expected: I fell in love. For the first time in my whole rotten life, I found two men who made my heart melt.

But I must warn you. I will assume that I was murdered. If that is the case, only look to a woman named Karen. I don't know her last name. She was merely a woman who hired me to get information on both of you and finally to break up your friendship.

David, I believe that the woman I know as Karen is in actuality Susan Shepard. If I'm right you may be in danger.

I don't have evidence; I can't prove it, so call it cop instincts. I've followed her, yet I've never been successful at it. And recently, I felt like someone was following me.

I want both of you to watch out. And I want you to know how sorry I am that things couldn't have ended differently for us. I truly loved you both.

Kira

Hutch fought tears as he put the letter back in the envelope and handed it to Dobey. He felt his partner's hand increase its grip on his shoulder and leaned back into the warmth that was Starsky.

They all three sat, listening to the drum of the air conditioner, each lost in thought.

For Hutch, Kira had meant salvation from the deep depression he found himself in. She had brightened his day, made him see the good in life again.

And for Starsky she had meant a return to love.

Hutch had to ask himself if he would have found his way back to life had it not been for Kira. It was Kira that made him see that the most important person in his life was still there for him. Starsky had loved him through his betrayal. Had loved him through the darkest part of his despair. But Hutch hadn't known how much he'd been loved until his partner forgave him for his greatest sin.

He heard Starsky stifle a sob and turned to see the tears glistening in his eyes. Hutch touched his hand and looked into the indigo depths of his eyes. They said nothing, mindful of the fact that they were not alone, but the words were spoken in the touch between them and Hutch knew that one day they would celebrate the woman Kira was.

"Kira's last words…tell me again," Dobey said, quietly. He'd been called right after the shooting. The big man sat at his desk, unshaven and looking a little shaken by the incident. Hutch had survived a close call with death. He'd survived only because he had heard a cat and turned just as the first shot was fired. For Dobey, a man who had become like a father to him, this was unnerving.

Hutch turned around and faced the big man. He wiped the tears from his eyes and found his voice. "Green eyes, golden eyes. Medusa."

Dobey let out a breath and then wiped his brow. "Anything else?"

Starsky stepped forward, leaning on the desk. "What's up, cap'n. You look like you know somethin'."

"Yeah, but I need all the pieces." He pointed to both of them. "And you two are hiding something."

Starsky sat down in the chair opposite the blond.

Dobey looked perplexed. "All right, cut the crap. One of my best men been shot at. The other one's been walkin' around for weeks looking like he's seeing a ghost. Then Kira leaves a letter talkin about Karen and Susan, two women I've never heard of. Tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Maybe I am seeing a ghost," Starsky said, his voice low, distant.

"What are you talkin' about, Starsky? What the hell is wrong with you?" Dobey was practically shouting, his patience running thin.

Starsky leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. The partner's exchanged glances and a thousand words were spoken. Finally he looked at Dobey. "There's something you should know." And he told the captain everything. At the end of it, Dobey leaned back in his chair.

"You say she has green eyes?"

"Yeah," Starsky said. "Both women. Looks golden in the right light."

Dobey wiped his brow with a handkerchief. "Medusa, Hmm." He looked thoughtful, then started to speak. "Got a story to tell you. 1972…maybe 73'. Killer. One witness who said he saw someone with very light green eyes kill a man. Five other killings that year. Obvious hits. There were other witnesses that got close enough to see her. They both described a green-eyed woman, but the descriptions didn't match. The killer is bold. She can hide her eyes, but it's her calling card. Sort of like Zorro with the big letter Z. Twenty-five killings with the same MO. Eventually they started calling her the Medusa."

Hutch let out a breath. "You saying that Susan is…"

"A hitwoman?" Starsky added.

Both men exchanged glances.

"I ran a print on her," Hutch said. "Should be coming back any minute."

"I doubt it tell us anything," Starsky said. "A person with her skills wouldn't be that clumsy."

"Besides, there was never a print at the crime scenes," Dobey added.

"So what's our next move?" Hutch asked, looking at his partner and then Dobey. "We just can't march in there and arrest her. She would be out before our shifts over."

"And you can bet she wouldn't hang around for long," Starsky added.

"So what do we do? We've got to stop her. Even if we can't get her for the crimes she's already committed, we can't just let her stay on the street."

"I say we bring her in. Put her before the few people who saw her. Maybe they can identify her." Dobey said.

"What good would that do, Cap'n?" Starsky said. "You said, yourself, that nobody's ever seen her real face. Can't arrest a woman for having green eyes."

"Less than two percent of the world population has green eyes," Hutch said. "Even fewer that light,"

Dobey sighed. "But you're right. We couldn't hold her on that." He slammed his fist down. "She kills right in front of our faces and doesn't serve one day in prison."

"What type of hits are we talking, Cap'n?"

"Strictly high-class. Politicians…rich people. All over the world."

Silence followed and the three men contemplated their present circumstances. Hutch was pleased to see color returning to his partner's face.

"How does she kill, Cap'n?" Starsky asked, running a hand through his hair.

"Broad daylight. Likes to get up close and personal. Walks up to a man on the street and blows his brands out. Never looks the same way twice. They call her the Medusa because rumor has it that anyone sees her real face is dead."

"Ancient Greek mythology," Hutch began. One of the Gorgon sisters. Medusa was the one who turned…"

"Men to stone if they looked at her face," Starsky continued, surprising Hutch. He'd never known Starsky to get interested in Greek Mythology.

"Saw the movie," he answered by way of explanation. "It was about a man who discovered some villagers were killed by being turned to stone. Think it was called "The Gorgon" or something like that."

Hutch shook his head, amazed at the types of films the brunet watched. "Okay, similar to the myth only this one goes, if you see her real face, you're dead."

"Yeah," Starsky agreed.

"Which means either we've seen her real face or the phony one."

"I'm betting on the phony," Starsky said. "We're both still alive."

"But Kira isn't and for all intents and purposes, I shouldn't be alive either."

Starsky stiffened. "Don't say that, Hutch."

"Sorry. But I believe Susan hired someone to do it so she wouldn't have to dirty her hands. If I hadn't ducked at the last moment, I wouldn't be here now."

Dobey cleared his throat. "She's a master of disguises, but the green eyes are her calling card. One time she posed as a bag lady. Knocked the guy off in front of his house. The next she was a maid. Actually killed a man as he slept. The other maid described her as an Asian woman with pale green eyes. She was a high-priced lawyer once. Killed the guy right in the court room. She was black that time. Had light green eyes. Can't say I ever recalled seeing blacks with that eye color."

"So why Starsky?" Hutch asked.

Starsky shrugged. "Because she looks like Jenny?"

"Did Jenny have a sister?"

"Only child." Starsky answered.

"You sure about that?" Hutch asked. "I remember Paul Alexander. It's just possible he had more than one daughter."

Starsky raised an eyebrow. "You knew Paul Alexander?"

"Met him a few times when I was part of his circle. I was a kid, so I know him mostly by reputation."

Hutch never felt comfortable talking about his past as the rich kid of two uncaring parents. Starsky understood that, so he moved on quickly and answered the question.

"Jenny didn't mention her, but maybe she didn't know."

Hutch went to the water cooler and filled two cups with water. He came back and handed one to Starsky who drank gratefully, then he leaned against the wall near Dobey's desk. "So somehow Susan or whatever her name is, finds out about Jenny and decides to become her. Why?"

"Don't know. Says she's in love with me."

Hutch came to stand behind his partner's chair, hands on his shoulders. "But why?"

"I'm a lovable guy. What can I say?" Starsky smiled and Hutch felt the tension ease from his partner's body.

"Unless she is Jenny's sister and she's looking for revenge," Hutch said. "How much does she resemble Jenny?"

"Nearly identical, especially with the red hair."

"Got any pictures?"

"No, couldn't bear to look at them so I destroyed all of them."

"So if we're talkin' revenge…"

"Don't think so," Starsky said. "She had plenty of time to get me. Could have killed me a thousand times by now, but she went after you."

"Possible she knows how close you two are," Dobey said. "Get to you by killing your best friend."

Hutch shook his head. "She's a hitwoman, Cap'n. If it was vengeance, looks like she'd get a better kick out of killing me herself. And then letting Starsky know she did it and why. No, I'm thinking she really is in love with Starsky and wants to get me out of the way."

"Because, like Jenny, Susan doesn't want anyone else in my life," Starsky added, thoughtfully. "She wants to be the only one. She'll kill anyone that gets in her way."

Dobey nodded his head then looked uncomfortable. "Starsky, I hate to get this personal, but I need to know. "Are you sure this isn't Jenny? I know you said she's ten years younger and you saw her burn in the car. But maybe that guy you saw before you blacked out, got to her in time. Maybe…"

"Not a burn on her and I've seen every inch of her," Starsky added, his face red.

"Okay," Dobey said, "but we still got a woman who for all intents and purposes looks and acts like a woman she supposedly has never met. How did she get that kind of information?"

Hutch had considered this earlier after hearing Starsky's story. There were only two ways she could know about Jenny in enough detail to become her. Either she knew the woman or someone provided enough information to carry it off.

Hutch looked at his partner. The brunet was looking better and he hated to bring this up, but he had to. "Maybe she was hired by Paul Alexander. Maybe he hates you because you were unable to save Jenny."

Starsky swallowed hard and Hutch could see the pain briefly flick across his eyes, but when he spoke he was all business. "Possible. But there were certain details he couldn't know about."

Dobey cleared his throat again. "I don't want to be indelicate, but…"

"Certain intimate techniques," Starsky added quickly.

Dobey dropped his head, looking embarrassed. "What we do know is that she's a cold blooded killer who's got to be stopped. If we don't do it, she'll go on."

"Then I'll stop her!" Starsky said. "I'll stop her. Something I didn't do ten years ago."

Hutch shook his head then came around to perch on the edge of the captain's desk, facing his partner. "No way, Starsky. You're not going back there."

Starsky stood up, grabbing Hutch's arm. "What choice I got? More blood on my hands? Watch her add to her list of victims?"

"I don't like it."

"And I don't like her going after you."

Both men stared defiantly at each other, then turned to look at Dobey when he suddenly shouted, "Don't I have a say in this? Starsk, I agree with your partner. You're not going back in there because you look like hell and ya ain't thinking straight."

"Don't matter what I feel and look like," Starsky countered. "I'm the only thing ya got. How long they been chasin' her. How many people dead?"

Dobey stared at him for a second.

"Don't like it." Hutch said, knowing his partner was right. "Don't want you going in alone."

"Ain't gonna be alone. You're going too."

Hutch stared puzzled. "How? She's not exactly a member of my fan club."

"Easy. You're going to beg her forgivness and we're going to wait for her to come after you again. We both know this isn't the end. I'd rather she come after you on our terms than hers. This way we can get her and throw her in jail."

Dobey shook his head. "I don't like it. It's dangerous."

"What else we got, Cap'n?"

Dobey sat quietly. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay," he finally said.

"Not okay. I don't like you being there alone, Starsk. I can't be there every second of the day. I can't watch your back."

"You can't watch it if she goes free either. How long before she figures out I betrayed her and go after both of us?"

"And what if she kills you in your sleep?"

"I'm not waitin' for her to make another hit on you, Blondie. You and I both know that she couldn't have been in that alley. That witness said it was a man, which means it's someone she hired. We gotta put a stop to it and there's only one way to do it."

Both men locked eyes. Hutch knew they had no choice. If Susan went free, they'll both have blood on their hands.

"The hitman is probably trying to get out of town." Dobey said, drawing both their attention. "She's not likely to hire someone else to do her dirty work this time. She'll try for you again, Hutch."

Hutch locked eyes with Dobey. "Kira thought she might be murdered. She left that letter as a warning. This whole things been in the works for months, long before Susan said she got here."

Dobey nodded his head.

"I'm betting the killer made her make that phone call," Hutch continued. "And that it was the same man that shot at me. "It would have looked like a robbery. Would have looked like I met Kira in that alley to have sex and a robber surprised us. It sounds like this whole thing is about discrediting me before I died so Starsky would hate me."

"And then Susan would be left to pick up the pieces," Starsky added, distractedly.

Starsky locked eyes with Hutch. "And like Jenny, Susan would have gotten away with murder, only this time, she'll keep killin' because that's her job. I won't go through that again. Got enough blood on my hands to last a lifetime."

"Then," Hutch said, coming to his feet. "We go in."

TBC