ROAD WORK AHEAD: EXPECT DELAYS
CHAPTER 7
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Beth pressed her palms into her eyes. Damn Jimmy. They'd taken the car without thinking. That was the trouble she always got into when she was with him. She was so turned on by the dimples on either side of his face, that all he had to do was wink at her and she'd do anything to please him.
"I don't see why we just can't get the hell out of this town and go straight to Mexico. We both get jobs and start all over again… besides who really cares about either one of us except each other and I 'm hungry so why don't we…" Beth stopped to take a breath.
Jimmy winced. Beth had a hell of a body but man, the way she chattered constantly… made his ears hurt.
It was strictly a spur of the moment action to take the car. Once Jimmy saw the guy on the ground, he just panicked. He was on parole and one more mistake he'd be back in jail.
"Honey, do me a favor and shut up. You know I love ya but I gotta figure out what to do here. We should dump this car pretty soon." Jimmy switched on the radio, hoping to drown out Beth's voice. He was beginning to regret that he'd gone after her in the first place.
His hand beat in time to the song on the radio. But it was soon drowned out by another noise, one that he didn't anticipate.
"ZEBRA 3, COME IN ZEBRA 3. MESSAGE FROM THE CAPTAIN."
Jimmy stopped drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He looked over at Beth who was busy filing her nails. Not until the voice sounded again did she look up from her task to question him with a glance.
"Just our damn luck. That guy I beat up must be a cop! I'm in deep shit now." Jimmy pursed his lips and put his finger up to them, warning Beth to be quiet.
"Starsky, pick up will you? Dobey's breathing down my neck. Cooperate now. No games!" The driver and passenger had no way of knowing that Captain Dobey was pacing back and forth in the control center. His detectives should have called in an hour ago to report about their meeting with Harry Hawkins.
Jimmy took a turn off the highway and made his way to the nearest town. He'd continually cautioned Beth to keep her mouth shut. He knew he'd have to pick up the mike and press the button in order to be heard, but his guilt and fear made him edgy. He felt like he was being followed, like the person on the other end of the line could tell who he was and what he was doing. He turned into an alley and headed down the next one until he decided they were far enough off the main road. He turned off the engine, thinking, planning his next move. The whole time they'd been driving, the voice on the radio kept getting more insistent until the woman's voice was replaced by a gruff, angry male voice.
Jimmy got out, ran to the passenger side of the car. He didn't want to abandon the car but he needed time to decide what to do. Knowing this was a cop car, he figured they'd be looking for the owner. But he needed to put space between himself and the problem, if only for an hour. Standing beside the car, he was glad that for once, Beth didn't question her man's actions as he opened her door and grabbed her hand. She blindly followed after him, not really having a choice as his grip tightened around her wrist. They slipped in between the slats of the building next to the car. Obviously Jimmy wasn't the first person to find peace within these walls. Jimmy led them into the small opening. He let go of Beth as he slumped against the wall. He slid to the floor, holding his head, wondering what to do next.
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Back at police headquarters in Bay City, Captain Dobey paced like a caged lion. He stalked back and forth, which irritated the hell out of Minnie. She tried her best to reach Starsky and Hutch but got no response. She sure hoped they weren't playing one of their games. If they could see how Dobey was fuming, they'd give everybody a break. The boys had a reputation for pretending that their radio wasn't working or that the line was full of static and ignoring the call.
"Here, give me that!" Dobey growled at Minnie as he grabbed the mike and switched it on.
"Hutchinson! Starsky! You hear me? Where the hell are you? Starsky!" He slammed the mike down on the desk, causing Minnie to jump as her captain continued to grumble.
"Get me that snitch… Harry… they were on their way there and were supposed to keep in contact." He continued walking the width of the small room. Minnie hated to remind her boss that no one knew how to get in touch with Harry.
"Captain, relax will ya?" Minnie pushed her glasses further up her nose. "I can check with Huggy to see if he knows. But remember, Harry's a pretty strange character. He covers his tracks even with Starsky and Hutch." She ducked her head as she felt rather than saw the brown eyes that pierced her back with impatience.
She tried to raise Zebra 3 again but this time, got nothing at all. She switched to another frequency, requesting that they do the same. A few minutes later there was still no response.
"You think they're alright? Even they wouldn't stay out of touch this long no matter how much they wanted to avoid you." She pushed her chair back and stood up, facing Captain Dobey. He'd stopped pacing, listening to the concern in her voice.
He slid his fingers through his hair and sighed. What kind of trouble were those two in now?
"Minnie, do the best you can. If you have to call Huggy, do it. If I have to chase after those two…" His anger dissolved as he thought about his two favorite detectives. Flashes of Hutch down a mountain side, trapped under his car, visions of Starsky battered and bruised by Simon Marcus' goons: these were all past adventures which he only hoped would not be repeated. He'd rather think they were deliberately trying to avoid him rather than the memories he'd like to forget about but couldn't.
Suddenly, his fear grabbed his imagination and he felt the need to investigate the situation for himself.
"Minnie, I didn't mean to jump down your throat. But I think I'll just go to Huggy's myself and ask him what he knows. Those two better be relaxing somewhere with a beer and girl between them so I can wring their necks!" Dobey tried to relieve the tension in the room with humor. But the attempt only heightened Minnie's inner feeling of trouble. She offered an encouraging smile to the captain as he hurried from the room.