CHAPTER 11

As he watched the puppy eat his dinner…he listened to the record play softly in the background. It echoed through the apartment and drifted lightly onto the night air as he sat in the doorway quietly.  The song “How Deep is Your Love” had just begun to play and his thoughts were wandering back to a night…not long ago.  When she was so deathly sick.  The night Hutch had come over and they rushed her to the hospital.  He didn’t know why that particular memory had decided to surface.

It was her favorite Bee Gees tune.  The one she played over and over again. The one that made her reach for the volume control knob in the car every time it played on one of the local stations.  It was her song…as much as if they had been thinking solely of her when they composed it.

His thoughts focused on that night as he allowed himself to relive it again. He had felt so helpless as her fever shot higher and the pain in her side left her in a state of delirium. He would just as soon erase it from his memory all together if not for that one moment that he didn’t want to forget.  The moment when in her weakened and feverish state of mind she had reached out to him…with a kiss. So sweet…so tender…and so full of love. It was a moment that he knew…he would remember for the rest of his life.

He continued to listen to the music as it played. There were a few words that surfaced in the lyrics that he had always felt a connection to…he listened as they were sung in harmony.

“Cause’ we’re livin’ in a world of fools…breaking us down…when they all should let us be…we belong to you and me.”

His tears feel a little faster as he listened to them…and held a picture of her face in his mind.  He could even hear her laughter if he tried…as it seemed to echo softly through the trees in the night air.

The phone rang so suddenly that it caused his body to jump.  He had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that the sound had actually taken a few seconds for him to recognize.

He stepped back inside…to shut and lock the back door as he reached for the
phone on the wall.

“Yeah..” He said after clearing his throat quickly.

“I just thought I’d call and see how you were doing.” Hutch’s voice came through the line softly.

“I was just going to bed.” He said in an attempt to put his worried partner’ s mind at ease.

“Good idea.” Hutch told him. “Try and get some sleep…they’ll call us if they find him. He can’t leave the city without us knowing. It’s just a matter of time.”

“Yeah…night Hutch.” Starsky said in a soft voice. Hutch could hear his partner’s disbelief through the receiver.  Hell…deep down he didn’t believe it either. There are just too many ways to sneak past a roadblock.

“Goodnight buddy.” Hutch said as he held the phone in his hand and waited for the click on the other end before setting it back down.  If Prudholm didn’t surface soon…if he vanished without a trace before they could ask him.  There would never be a resolution to the mystery…and her memory would never give him any peace.  Hutch sat there wishing to God there were something more he could do for him.

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They had decided to wait until nightfall to leave.  It would be easier to steal a car in the dark and make their escape.  They would drive for a while until they could find an airport somewhere in another city to take the flight to New York.

Prudholm had sent Randy out for some food while he and the other man played cards and watched the clock.

“So how long do we wait here?” The other man asked as Prudholm dealt the cards.

“Patience is a virtue.” He told him as he began to deal. “Haven’t you ever heard that one before?”

“But they’re looking for us.” He said in a worried voice. “You got the whole damn police force pissed at us.”

“Pipe down and quit your whining.” Prudholm said annoyed. “We’ll leave when the time is right.”

“No more phone calls…No more games…we’re just gonna leave.” The young man told him as if posing a question.

“I’ve already played out my hand.” He answered him. “He’s gonna suffer…that’ s all I care about.”

A knock on the door sent Prudholm to his feet to open it.  After a quick confirmation it was opened and Randy walked in with a few small containers of Chinese food from down the street.

They all three sat down together and began to open up the boxes as they passed the food around.  Randy picked one of them up and walked over to the bed as he placed it down gently.

“You hungry?” He asked as he pushed it over to her slowly.

“Go to Hell.” She said in a very weak voice as she turned away from him to face the wall.

“Have it your way sweetie…It don’t bother me none.” He told her as he picked it up and began to eat from it.

“Hey George…what are we gonna do with her anyway?” The other man asked as he took a sip of his drink.

“I know a guy in New York who’ll give us top dollar for her.” He said with a smile. “If she’s a virgin…He’ll pay even more.”

“That means hands off Randy.” The young man said a little louder as he looked towards the bed.

Randy had been sitting near her…still eating from the container.

“I don’t want her anyway…all she does is cry…she’s getting on my nerves.” He told them.
 

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  Chapter 12
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