CHAPTER SEVEN
"Fuck!" Starsky growled, as he sorted through his wallet once more, frustrated, as his anger increased rapidly.
"What's wrong?"
"I can't find my credit card!" Starsky snapped, angrily shoving his wallet back into his jeans. "And my last twenty bucks is missing too."
"It's okay. I got it," Hutch said, taking an extra five dollar bill from his wallet to pay for Starsky's lunch.
"Jessica wanted the card last night, and I told her no. she must have taken it while I was asleep."
Distracted by the missing money and credit card, Starsky found it hard to keep his mind on work for the rest of the afternoon. Tied up in an arrest close to the end of the day, Starsky was later than usual getting home that evening. He found Jessica lounging on the sofa, the remains of a take out meal littering the kitchen table.
"So, you finally decided to come home," Jessica said when the brunet walked in the door.
"I called and told you I was going to be late," Starsky said, poking through the leftovers to see if there was anything left for him to eat. There wasn't, so he opened the refrigerator and took out a TV dinner to put into the oven.
Once again, the brunet found himself wondering how he had ever allowed his life to end up in such a mess. A careless mistake in the heat of passion, and now he would pay for that mistake for the rest of his life. The only thing he had left to focus on in his rapidly crumbling marriage was the baby.
Jessica's due date was still almost three months away but, Starsky had already made up his mind to tell her that he wanted a divorce as soon as the baby was born. He would continue to provide financial support for the child, but Jessica would be on her own, and he was going to demand that he have an active role in his child's life.
Without Jessica's knowledge, he had already talked to an attorney and preliminary papers were being drawn up. The lawyer would file them as soon as Starsky gave him the go ahead. Starsky had agreed to pay over half his bi-weekly pay for child support, more than he was required to, but in exchange, Jessica had to agree not to leave Bay City with the baby and to give Starsky his freedom without a long drawn out court battle.
Turning back to face his wife, Starsky said, "Did you take my credit card last night?"
"I told you I needed to pick up some things today," Jessica said almost defiantly.
Struggling to control his temper, Starsky advanced on his wife and held out his hand. "Give it to me," he demanded.
"You know, David, you're turning into a real prick," Jessica said as she reached between her breasts and pulled out the missing card. She held it out to him. "Go ahead. Take it. It's maxed out anyway."
"And you're turning into a regular bitch," Starsky said as he grabbed the card and stuffed it into the back pocket of his jeans. "Why'd you even marry me? You sure don't love me."
"You don't love me either, darling…so I guess we're even. You knocked me up, and I wasn't about to let you get away with it."
"I told you I'd take care of you and the baby!"
"Yeah…and I'm the one who'd get stuck with raising the kid by myself. You could just go on with your life and never have to look back, but I'd have a constant reminder every single day." Jessica's words were harsh and bitter, her anger and animosity rising to the surface.
"And how is this any better?" Starsky demanded. "The way things are now we'll end up hating each other before the baby's even born."
"But, at least my baby will have your name! It won't be a little bastard that everybody will be talking about. They won't be looking at me like I'm some kind of whore."
"People are talking anyway, Jessica," Starsky reminded her glumly. "It's no secret that I married you because you were pregnant."
"So what? That's still better than the alternative!" Jessica hissed as she sprang to her feet and ran into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
Starsky knew the door would be locked against him and he would be spending another long night sleeping on the couch.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jessica still asleep and Starsky was running late for work when there was a knock at the front door. Starsky pulled on his shoulder holster and fastened the buckle before pulling open the front door. He was startled to find his younger brother, Nicholas, standing there with a wide grin plastered on his face.
"Surprise, big brother!" Nicky said, in a cocky voice, ignoring the irritated expression on Starsky's face. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"
"What are you doing here, Nicky?" Starsky asked in a surprised voice, stepping aside. Separated at a young age, the Starsky brothers had a strained relationship. They seldom saw each other. The last time had been over four years ago when Nicky had came to Bay City for a visit that had turned out to be an excuse to make a quick buck. Some harsh words had been exchanged between the two brothers when Starsky confronted him about the source of his income.
"Hey, is that any way to greet your little brother? I'm in town on business for a few days and just thought I'd stop by."
"What kind of business, Nicky?" Starsky asked in an annoyed voice as he finished dressing, pulling on a blue windbreaker over his shoulder harness and gun.
"The legitimate kind," Nicky told him with a smirk. "Don't worry. I learned my lesson the last time." He glanced at the pillow and blanket on the sofa. "Ma told me you had to get hitched because you got careless. She kick you out of the bedroom already?" Nicky chuckled, amused at his own little joke.
"Fuck you, Nicky," Starsky said with a hint of anger in his voice. "I'm late for work. I gotta go."
"How about you and your new bride meeting me for dinner tonight? My treat. The Pit Stop on Twenty-ninth street. Seven o'clock. Is that good for you?"
"I don't know," Starsky said. "We'll see…" He left it at that with no solid commitment as he ushered Nicky out onto the stoop and closed the door behind him. Nicky walked ahead of his older brother to a sleek silver corvette that was parked behind the Tornio.
"See you at seven. Don't forget." Nicky climbed into the corvette and gunned the engine as he backed out of the drive and peeled off down the street.
Starsky sighed as he unlocked the Torino and slid in behind the wheel. He wondered what the real reason was for his brother's impromptu visit. He probably wanted to borrow money, as usual. A grim smile tugged at the edges of Starsky's mouth. Nicky was going to be surprised when he found out that Starsky was broke and teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.
Hutch was waiting a bit impatiently when Starsky pulled up in front of his apartment. His foul mood was immediately apparent to Hutch.
What's wrong now?" Hutch asked as he climbed into the car. "Not another round with Jessica about moving back to New York?"
"No," Starsky said with a heavy sigh, the rear tires squealing in protest as he pulled away from the curb. "Nicky's in town."
"Terrific," Hutch snorted. "What's he after this time? Money?"
"Probably. I didn't have time to find out."
"You're just not having any luck at all lately, are you?" Hutch asked with a thin smile.
Starsky grunted, taking a corner a bit too sharply and throwing Hutch sideways against the door.
"Hey, watch out," Hutch complained, rubbing his injured shoulder in protest.
"Sorry." Starsky said, slowing down to a more reasonable speed for the rest of the drive to headquarters. He smiled at his partner apologetically. "It's just that I've got enough to deal with right now. I'm not up for a visit from Nicky."
"Hopefully, he won't be here long. He'll try to put the bite on you for money, and when you tell him you don't have it, he'll split."
"I hope you're right because I'm spread thin enough as it is. Any tighter and I'm gonna snap like a rubber band."
The brunet pulled into his favorite parking spot right in front of police headquarters. Although there was a private parking lot for police vehicles behind the building, Starsky seldom used it unless he had to. There was a dejected slump to his shoulders as the two men limbed the steps to the front entrance.
Shortly after two that afternoon, Starsky answered a phone call to find Jessica on the line. Since she never called him at work, his first concern was that something was wrong with the baby.
"Are you okay? Is anything wrong with the baby?"
"Of course I'm okay," Jessica said dryly. "Thank you for asking. I just got off the phone with your brother. He told me about inviting us to dinner with him tonight. I told him we'd be happy to."
"You shouldn't have done that without checking with me first," Starsky told her gruffly.
"Why? So you could say no? We never do anything together anymore. I'm going, and I'll expect you to be there, too. God knows it's about time I met some of your family. Seven o'clock, and don't be late."
There was a soft click as she hung up before Starsky could object.
"Damn it," he hissed as he slammed down his own receiver with more force than he needed to.
"What now?" Hutch asked in a worried voice. "There isn't anything wrong with the baby is there?"
"No. Nicky called Jessica and told her about inviting us to dinner tonight. She accepted for both of us."
Hutch smiled sympathetically. "Sorry, pal. Try to keep from killing either one of them. I don't want to have to bail you out of jail. It wouldn't look very good on your record."
"You're a regular comedian today, Blondie," Starsky grumbled. "Keep it up, and I'll make you come with me."
"No, thanks. Nicky and Jessica at the same time is something I can do without."
"Me too," Starsky growled. "But, I don't have a choice. They both think they're entitled to a piece of me."
"Well, I'm sure they'll both be on their best behavior. Maybe they'll be so busy trying to impress each other that they'll forget you're even there."
Starsky grunted as he turned his attention back to the report he had been working on before being interrupted by Jessica's call. He had a feeling it was going to be a long day and an even longer night.