CHAPTER 14

Hutch emerged from her room and found his partner leaning against the wall in the corridor clutching his side and watching as a nurse wheeled a 5-year-old little girl past him. Her little blonde curls shown through the bandage she had wrapped around her head and her deep brown eyes were friendly and bright as she smiled up at him when she noticed him. He returned her smile as his mind pictured what Cassie might have looked like at that age. He thought about Jim. He was supposed to keep her safe
and now he felt that he had let him down.

Hutch watched the little girl and witnessed the smile that had been exchanged between them. He smiled too and they both watched as she was pushed further down the hallway. She kept her head turned and her eyes focused on them until she disappeared through a doorway.

Hutch looked at his partner who was still staring down the hallway.

“Hey…She’s asleep. I should take you back upstairs before they send out a search party.” Hutch told him as he leaned a hand on his shoulder.

“Hutch…” Starsky spoke without looking at him. “Why do you suppose she acted that way?”

“She’s traumatized. It’s probably a normal reaction. Maybe she ‘s to embarrassed to have you around right now.” Hutch said in an attempt to comfort him.

“No Hutch…it’s more than that.” He spoke as he finally turned to face his partner. “Did you see her face when she looked at me?”

“You shouldn’t read too much into it. She’s still under the influence of the drug, remember. She could have thought you were Tony…you’ve seen what PCP can do to the mind.”

“She seemed to have no problem recognizing you.” Starsky pointed out to him. It just didn’t make any sense.

“Look…” Hutch said suddenly to change the subject. “Let’s just wait until she wakes up again. The drug will have worn off by then and I’m sure she’ll want to see you.” Hutch told him knowing how hard it must have been for him to keep his distance.

“I’m not feeling too good Hutch.” He confessed. “I gotta go back upstairs and rest…but promise me that you’ll come and get me as soon as she wakes  up.”

“I have to go back to the station…” Hutch told him. “I still have to interrogate Tony and the others.”

“We shouldn’t leave her alone.”

“I’ll call Huggy…he’ll stay with her for a while.” Hutch suggested. “As soon as I’m done at the station…I’ll come back.”

“You think he’ll come?” Starsky asked knowing that this was his busiest time of night.

“Business has been slow lately…Angie can handle The Pits.” Hutch assured him. “I’ll talk him into it.”

“You can call him from upstairs…after you help me get back to bed.” He said as he clutched his side a little tighter and leaned a little on Hutch’s shoulder as he pulled his weight from the wall.

“C’mon…” Hutch said with a grin as he grabbed him gently around the ribcage with his right arm and extended his left hand to offer a little more support.

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Huggy didn’t hesitate when Hutch asked him for the favor. He was fond of Cassie and since business had been moving at a snails pace lately…he was glad to have the excuse to leave. He had just hired two new waitresses and Angie could handle the small crowd he expected to come in a little later on that night. His customers were regulars and he knew they wouldn’t
cause any trouble.

Hutch went back to her room to watch her as she slept until Huggy arrived. The room was quiet except for the sound of her steady breathing and Hutch was on the verge of drifting off himself when he heard the light knock on the door.

Huggy pushed the door open slightly to peer inside and Hutch rose to his feet to greet him. Discovering that he had the right room…Huggy stepped inside and reached his hand out to give Hutch a friendly handshake as he spoke….

“How she doin’…” Huggy asked in a whisper.

“She’s gonna be alright. Hey…thanks for coming over.” Hutch told him as he released his handshake.

“Poor kid…” Huggy replied…hanging his head as he spoke.

“Yeah…” Hutch said softly.

“Starsk upstairs?”

“Yeah…room 412…” He told him. “He wants you to call him as soon as she wakes up, but I’ll probably be back by then.”

“Just go do what you have to…we’ll be fine.” Huggy said to him with a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Me and Cas have been here before.”

He remembered how much time Huggy had spent with her when she was in the hospital the last time. He was part of their extended family and he had been like an uncle to Cassie. He had stood beside them at times when most other people wouldn’t have. Hutch knew how lucky they were to have him around.

“I’ll try to make it fast.” He said with a weak half-smile.

“Take your time…” Huggy said as he reached for the chair that Hutch had been sitting in earlier and turned to position himself in it. Then he pulled a hardback book from his jacket pocket and a piece of paper from the center that he had been using for a bookmark.

“See ya Hug…” Hutch told him as he walked out.

Huggy waved him on as he closed the door behind him slowly. The book was on black history and it was one of many that he had checked out of the library lately. He had been reading a lot of them…trying to ‘get back to his roots', as he liked to call it.

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Hutch took the teenagers into the interrogation room one at a time to ask them what had happened at Tony’s house that night. They had all been either drunk or high so he was glad that he had given them some time to sober up. A couple of the  boys…including Tony were still pretty out of it. But David had only taken a few drinks…no drugs…so he was the most coherent out of the bunch.

Tony had told him nothing as he had expected. Even after he had thrown him up against the wall and threatened him with a number of possible outcomes that could result from his recent behavior…all he got from him was a smug drug induced laugh.

As the officer pushed David into the room and grabbed him by the shoulders to force him down into the chair…Hutch paced the room nervously. He had gotten pretty frustrated with the rest of them and he was now ready to take it out on this kid.

The door was closed and they were alone in the room. Hutch continued to pace the floor angrily for a moment as David sat watching him in fear.

Finally he walked over to the table and slapped his large hand down suddenly in front of him…causing a loud sound to echo in the room and the young boy’s whole body to jump.

“I don’t have time to stand here and be lied to.” Hutch said angrily as he looked into David’s eyes with a cold gaze.

“I didn’t want to do it…” David said almost about to cry.

Hutch could see the terror in his face and knew that he would be able to get him to crack. So he played up his anger a little more to raise his level of fear.

“You’re in a hell of a lot of trouble…I could walk out of here right now and they’d probably lock you up until you’re Forty!” Hutch told him as he continued to glare at him.

“It was Tony…I swear man…it was all Tony.” The boy confessed.

“But you did it too didn’t you?”

“Yes…but I didn’t want to…I swear…he made me do it.”

“Well…I can’t help you…unless..” He let his words trail off on purpose…to bait him for his next suggestion.

“Unless what?”

“Unless your willing to sign a sworn statement…giving us all the details.” Hutch told him. “If you do…I can get them to go easy on you.”

“I can’t rat out my friends…NO WAY!”

Hutch grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him a little as he spoke.

“Wake up David…You think Tony gives a shit about you? He’s going down for two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder on a police officer…and rape.” Hutch told him. “And you’re gonna go down with him?”

“Hey…I didn’t kill nobody man…you can’t do that!”

“You wanna bet?”

“Ok….Ok….” He said as he gave in. “What do you want to know?”

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  chapter 15
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