CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Starsky groaned as he started to regain consciousness. His whole body hurt from the beating he had received at the hands of the two gorillas that worked for James Gunther, Jr. As he became more aware, he took stock of his various aches and pains. His head felt like a crew of little men were trying touch pound their way out with their tiny sledgehammers and his could feel his broken ribs rubbing together whenever he tried to take a deep breath. His stomach ached where he'd been kicked around like a football and the food he had eaten earlier that day threatened to make a return appearance at any minute. He could only open his right eye, his left one was swollen shut and the side of his face itched from the dried blood that had dripped down his cheek from a gash above his left eye.
He tried shifting into a more comfortable position but found that almost impossible to do with his hands and feet tied securely. At first he thought it was dark outside or that the room he was in had no windows, but then he realized that he was blindfolded. He had always hated not being able to see what was going on around him. Being rendered sightless left him feeling vulnerable and helpless. Unable to see, he couldn't defend himself from an unexpected attack. Not that he could do that anyway with his hands and feet tied
Starsky had no doubt that Gunther intended to kill him, but death would not come easy. It would be slow and painful, drawn out to increase the brunet's suffering. Starsky was not afraid to die. He had faced death too many times in the past to fear it. For him, death would be a welcome escape. He wouldn't have to run anymore or be constantly looking over his shoulder for his enemies. His only regret was that he would die without being able to see Hutch just one more time. He felt a strange sense of calm settle over him as he accepted the inevitability of his own death. To the rest of the world. David Starsky had been dead for years, so there would no one to mourn his passing or to put his soul to rest in sacred ground.
He heard the sound of a door opening somewhere behind him. Instinctively, he tried to turn his head in that direction. Footsteps crossed the floor towards him, pausing a few feet away. Starsky lay still, listening and waiting for the attack he was sure to follow. He didn't have to wait long. Pain exploded in his left knee, forcing a ragged scream of pain from his throat. Before he had time to fully recover, mind numbing pain exploded in his right knee. Instinctively, Starsky drew his knees up towards his stomach, curling into a fetal position.
"Untie the bastard," Gunther's voice growled "He won't be going no place now."
The hated voice moved closer until Gunther was speaking into a curl covered ear. "Hurts like a son of a bitch, doesn't it. Just be thankful that all I did was bust your kneecaps…at least for now. We have plenty of time to play. You'd be surprised at how long you can torture a man without killing him if you know the right spots to hurt."
Starsky felt unseen hands untying the rope around his wrists and ankles, giving him a limited range of motion. Then the footsteps moved away and the door opened, then slammed shut again. Starsky lay there, still curled in a fetal position, trying to breathe through the pain that threatened to overwhelm him.
Once he had the pain under control, he raised shaky hands and used numb fingers to untie the blindfold that covered his eyes. Even that simple movement caused his body to scream in protest. Slowly, his weary gaze swept around the room he was being held prisoner in. With the rough hewn stone walls and dirt floor, the room appeared to be some sort of cellar or basement. The stuffy, musty smell in the air indicated that it hadn't been used in quite some time. There was one window high up on the far wall but the glass pane was smeared with layers of dirt and grime. The sunlight that filtered in was muted, leaving most of the room clocked in dark shadows.
The pain in his knees slowly subsided to a dull throb. As long as he didn't move, the pain was tolerable. Just one more thing to add to his growing list of complaints. From his time spent in Viet Nam when he was barely out of his teens, Starsky knew that Gunther's words were true. A man could be tortured relentlessly, sometimes for months, before his body finally gave out. But, Starsky didn't think that Gunther intended to keep him alive that long. He prayed that when it came his death would come swiftly, like a thief in the night. Still, it was not in his nature to give up without a fight. He knew that he had the power. He could taunt Gunther, goad him into finishing him off quickly. When he was backed into a corner, his mouth had always been his biggest weapon.
Starsky closed his eyes as his body closed down, pulling him into the darkness where he was safe, at least for the time being.
SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHS
It was shortly after midnight when Hutch and Huggy Bear crossed the state line into Florida. Once people began calling with sightings of the missing brunet, it hadn't been hard to figure out which direction he was heading in. Hutch pulled into the first motel he saw and got a room for the night. Both men were tired from their long drive and needed some sleep.
While Huggy was taking a shower, Hutch called his office. Alice answered the phone with a sweet honey toned greeting. "Hutchinson Investigations. This is Alice. May I help you?"
"Alice? It's Hutch. What are you still doing there? You should have gone home hours ago."
"I figured you'd be calling and I wanted to let you know about a couple of calls that came in this afternoon." She told him.
"Okay, shoot." Hutch told her as he stretched out his aching body on one of the twin beds and tried to relax.
"Okay, the first one came from a woman in Miami who said that Starsky was working as a dishwasher at the same club where she works. He's also living in the same rooming house a few blocks away. Her name is Angie McMiller and her phone number is 999-555-3421. She also said that she hasn't seen him for the last two days. He got off work at his usual time Tuesday night but never went home and didn't show up for work the next day."
"Okay, got it." Hutch said, scribbling down the woman's name and contact number even as he spoke. "What about the other call?"
"It was from a man who refused to leave his name. He said that Gunther knows were Starsky is and that you're too late." Alice said in a solemn voice. "He said that Starsky will be dead before you get there."
"Thanks, Alice." Hutch said gruffly, trying to conceal his concern at the last message. "You go on home now. Thanks for waiting there to give me the messages."
"Anytime, Sugar. Anytime," Alice said "I'll be praying for you and for Starsky too. I hope you find him before it's too late."
"So do I," Hutch muttered as he hung up the phone. He was lying there on the bed, staring sightlessly at the ceiling when Huggy Bear came out of the bathroom dressed in a pair of brightly colored pajamas.
"Any more news?" the tall thin black man asked as he pulled back the blankets on his own bed.
"Yeah, I got a phone number for a woman in Miami who said that she knows Starsky. He's living at the same rooming house she is and works at the same club a few blocks away."
"Hey, that's great," Huggy said enthusiastically.
"No, it's not. She hasn't seen him for the last two days. He left work but never made it home and didn't show up at work the next day." Hutch sighed heavily before continuing. "There was also a call from a man that refused to identify himself. He said that Gunther knew where Starsky was and that he'd be dead before I got there."
"You wanna get back on the road instead of spending the night here?" Huggy asked
"No," Hutch said in a heavy voice. "We both need some sleep. If Gunther has Starsky, he could already be dead. Leaving now or waiting till morning won't change that." He swallowed hard to dislodge the sudden lump in his throat. "According to the woman who called, he's been missing for two days…that's plenty of time for Gunther to kill him."
"Do you think he's dead?" Huggy asked, slumping down on the bed. "Do you think we're too late?"
"I don't know…" Hutch said in a forlorn voice. "I just don't know. I can't 'feel' him anymore, Hug…not the way I used to…"
"Then we need to keep the faith, my white brother." Huggy said "And we need to get some sleep so we can hit the road first thing in the morning. If Starsky's still alive, we're the only ones who give a damn."