Jmhenderson
(Part one is Rainy Days and Mondays)
Stephanie looked around Huggy’s bar,
a bit tired after pulling both the breakfast and lunch shifts. But the tips had been really good, and now
there was the chance of maybe seeing Hutch.
Sometimes he and Starsky were able to come in for a quick bite to eat. Although it was rare, she was hoping this
was one of those times.
When she felt the hand on her
shoulder, she knew it had to be him.
Turning around, she discovered it to be Huggy, and her face showed her
disappointment.
“Sorry it’s just me, Steph,” he said
with a disgruntled shrug, “but there’s a phone call for you.”
“Thanks Huggy. Sorry, I didn’t mean to look that way,” she
told him, hoping her smile would make up for it. He smiled back at her and she felt all was forgiven.
She grabbed the phone eagerly, hoping
that Hutch was calling her as he had done so many times before when they were
out on a case and not able to come by the Pits.
“Hello?”
“Miss White?”
“Yes, this is she. Can I help you?”
“My name is Evan Daniels. I own a club on the north side of town.”
“And?” Her impatience was evident in her voice, tired from the day’s
work and disappointed that the caller wasn’t who she had expected.
“Well, ma’am, I read your
advertisement for private investigating in the classifieds, and I was wondering
if you’d be available by next week.”
“That depends, Mr. Daniels. What seems to be the nature of your
problem?” She was proud of her
professional tone, especially since she had butterflies in her stomach already
from the pure excitement of getting a call on her ad. She was glad that she had advertised Huggy’s as a second phone
number to be reached in her ad.
“Do you think we could meet somewhere
to discuss this? I don’t mean to be
rude, but it’s rather complicated, and I think it best if we discussed this in
person.” Daniels also kept a
professional tone about him.
“Yes, I think we could do that. Where and when would you like to meet? I’m available after three today if you’d
like,” she offered.
“That would be good. Unfortunately I can’t be gone from here too
long, as I run this establishment. And
with the problems I am experiencing, I would prefer not to be gone from it for
very long periods of time.” She could
almost hear exasperation in his voice.
“Would you prefer that I meet you
there?” Her professional tone held a hint of concern.
“Would you mind? I would really appreciate that. Oh, but, could you come in as an applicant
for a job? It wouldn’t be wise to come
in announcing yourself as a private detective.”
“Certainly. What time?”
“How about after the dinner rush,
say, around 8:30?” Stephanie’s
shoulders slumped. She was going to
have to cancel her dinner with Ken. She
paused before giving her answer, albeit briefly.
“Alright. I’ll see you then. We can
discuss your case, and if I take it, we’ll discuss my fee and compensations.”
“Thank you, Miss White. I’m looking forward to it.”
Stephanie hung up after writing down
the name and directions to the place.
She couldn’t help but let the excitement building up within her escape. She squealed with delight and spun herself
away from the bar, landing herself directly in the arms of none other than Ken
Hutchinson.
“Whoa there!” he said, returning the
huge smile that crossed her face.
“Ken!” she hollered, practically
jumping off the ground and in his arms as she hugged him.
Starsky just stood behind them,
smiling gently as he shook his head.
“When is the honeymoon gonna be over
for you two kids?” he said teasingly, making them both look at him and laugh.
“I just got a job!! A paying, professional, bona fide, real gig
as a private investigator!!!! I don’t
believe it!” Stephanie was in a world
all her own, happily jumping up and down as Hutch looked at her proudly and
Starsky looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.
Suddenly she seemed to deflate a little. “But I have to meet my prospective client
tonight. I’m sorry Ken, but I’m going
to have to cancel our dinner. I’ll make
it up to you?”
“Sure,” Hutch said sincerely. “Say, I know, why don’t I go with you?”
“I’d like that, but, no. I have to do this on my own. You understand, don’t you?” Stephanie’s eyes were worried now, not
wanting to hurt his feelings, but desperate to make this work by herself.
Hutch’s eyes sparkled with love. “Sure, I understand, baby. You just be
careful. Okay?” Stephanie smiled
appreciatively at her man and nodded in agreement.
“Hey!” Starsky began, hitting Hutch
on the arm, “That means you can come
over for pizza and finish that chess game we started! Hey, we can even watch a movie or somthin’! Boys night and all that!”
Hutch rolled his eyes and grinned at
Stephanie, pulling her into a hug and whispering, “You know you’re going to owe
me big for this, don’t you?” his words purposely loud enough for Starsky to
hear.
All three were laughing heartily.
When Stephanie entered the
restaurant/night club, she was pleasantly surprised by the classy
atmosphere. The outside was nothing
fancy, almost misleading to the beauty held within. Floors were covered with a deep, rich, carpet of red with white
linens and tablecloths on each table, complete with candlelight to enhance the
‘mood’. It seemed to be a forties motif
with elegant paintings along the walls and crystal chandeliers throughout the
dining area. There was a large stage
with beautiful, deep blue floor length curtains behind it, and live
entertainment featuring a man with a piano on stage, delivering smooth jazz
tunes to the delight of the many patrons still there even at such a late dinner
hour. Stephanie was highly impressed.
Mr. Daniels acted as host, and as
soon as Stephanie introduced herself, sat her at a table and joined her within
a few moments.
Offering her a brandy, she accepted,
and he placed a glass down in front of her, as well as one for himself. She sipped as she soaked in all the
atmosphere of this charming place.
“Thank you for coming so promptly,
Ms. White. My problem is of a personal
nature and I felt hiring you would help keep this as discrete as possible. I could call in the police, but I would
rather not inflict this establishment with such poor publicity if at all
possible.”
“Just what, exactly, is the nature of
the problem, Mr. Daniels?” Stephanie asked, wanting to get to the heart of the
matter. Mr. Daniels took a deep breath
as he swilled the brandy in his glass, then let his eyes meet back to hers.
“Simply put, embezzlement. I have four employees that run my registers,
both bar and dining room. One of them
is stealing me blind. But I can’t
pinpoint exactly when and where it is happening. I could take measures, but by doing so it would alert the thief
that I’m on to him or her and thus it would probably stop it before the person
could be caught. I want this to be clean
and quick and ended. And I am willing
to pay your fee and a very nice bonus if you can help me.”
Stephanie looked around, then back at
him with the calmness of a seasoned private detective.
“Mr. Daniels, you don’t even know
what my fee is.”
“No, Ms. White, I don’t, but I do
know that whatever it is, it would be worth it to stop my hard earned money
from being taken away right from under my nose.”
Stephanie took a moment to reflect
his words, and confidently looked him in the eyes.
“I charge a flat fee of one hundred
dollars a day and all expenses incurred reimbursed.” She tried not to show her nervousness, almost holding her breath,
waiting for his response.
“Done.”
Stephanie wanted to scream out loud
in glee. Instead, she grinned at him
slightly. “And in what capacity will
you explain my presence here to your employees?” she asked calmly.
“Well, I could always use another
waitress. But, ah, well, I don’t
suppose you carry a tune, do you?”
Stephanie looked at Mr. Daniels with a little surprise.
“Not professionally, however, one of
my first jobs around here was doing singing telegrams.” She looked around the
dining room. “I do love jazz and blues. I probably know all the words to any song
your piano player knows.”
Evan Daniels face broke into a wide
grin, and Stephanie responded by returning it.
“Ms. White, would you care to give me
an audition? Perhaps right now?”
She wanted to laugh, but his facial
expression told her he was serious. She
downed the brandy that was left in her glass.
“Okay.”
Stephanie stood up, and walked over
to and up the steps of the stage and slinked her way over to the piano
player. As he readied himself to begin
another number, she leaned over and whispered in his ear, making him smile as
he began playing for her.
And the rest, as they say, was
history.
Introduced by none other than Evan
Daniels himself to the audience and employees, Stephanie White was hired as the
newest singing member of the establishment.
Stephanie could not help but smile
the whole trip home. She would catch
herself now and then, and giggle girlishly when she did.
Walking into her apartment, she
noticed the time on the wall clock and scowled. Here it was after 11pm.
She had to be at Huggy’s to work by 7am, and was so wide awake that she
knew sleep would not come easily.
When the phone rang, it startled her
out of her train of thought.
“Hello?”
“Steph, it’s David. Uh, I’m at the hospital with Hutch. Honey,
he’s been shot and …” He’d heard her
gasp, but silence now filled the phone from her end.
“Stephanie? Stepanie?”
She was already out the door, running
in pure panic towards her car.
When Stephanie arrived at the
hospital, she noticed Starsky standing at the nurse’s station, flirting with a
pretty young nurse who seemed to blush at his charms. Stephanie felt the anger rising within her as she walked briskly
towards him.
Not knowing that she had arrived,
Starsky was taken aback when she grabbed his arm and jerked him around to face
her.
“You’re out here flirting with the
nurses while Hutch is hurt somewhere in this hospital? He was shot, and all you can think of is
your libido? What’s wrong with you?!”
Tears were forming in her eyes, and Starsky could see the fear and concern that
had prompted her attack on him. He
smiled, seeing Hutch walking up behind
her.
Hutch gently placed a hand on her
shoulder, and she jumped, not knowing anyone was behind her, releasing her grip
on Starsky’s arm.
“Hey baby, didn’t mean to scare you.”
Stephanie, tears falling down her
cheeks, looked him over. He had a few
scrapes on his face and left arm, and his right arm was bandaged, apparently
where the bullet had struck him.
“Are you alright? What happened?” Her voice was shaky, and more tears filled her eyes in relief.
Hutch smiled, putting his left arm
around her in a loving embrace.
“I’m fine. Although I think you may
have hurt my partner there, attacking him like you did,” he said with a
grin. Suddenly her face showed her
embarrassment at her less-than-subtle approach on Starsky.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I, I didn’t
mean to …”
“S’alright. You were just worried about the blonde wonder. If you’d have let me finished telling ya on
the phone about him you’d have known he was okay. I just didn’t want ya finding out tomorrow after the fact, ya
know?”
She moved to hug Starsky. He reacted in mock fear of her advance,
making them all laugh as they started walking out the emergency room.
By the time she took Hutch to his
apartment and got him settled comfortably in bed, it was nearly 2am. Looking down at the sleeping man, she
resigned herself to catch a few hours sleep there, thankful that she had
clothes at his place as well. Letting
him rest, she took a shower, coming back in wearing only his robe as she walked
quietly around the bedroom in the dark, setting his alarm clock so that she
could get to work on time from there.
Still being as quiet as possible, she
slipped out of the robe and into the bed beside him. In less than a minute, his arm was wrapping around her, enjoying
the feel of her bare body as his hand explored it freely. He leaned himself over to her, kissing her
gently at first, then more deeply and passionately.
Her last thought before losing
herself in his passion was that she really didn’t need the sleep. Sleep somehow seemed over-rated now.
Starsky arrived at Hutch’s apartment
around 7am, ready to pick up his partner and head on into the precinct, He was also ready to watch the show as Hutch
would try to explain to Dobey that he was fine and wouldn’t need desk duty,
while Dobey would argue differently. He
saw Stephanie’s car parked behind Hutch’s and smiled, knowing that Hutch had
been well taken care of. As he opened
the door of the stairway that lead up to Hutch’s place, he was knocked down and
somewhat tackled by Stephanie, who was rushing outside at the same time he was
heading in. Both tried to keep the other
from falling, and ended up on the sidewalk, Starsky on the ground and Stephanie
on top of him.
“We’ve got to stop meeting like
this,” Starsky said slyly. Stephanie
looked down at him and laughed.
“I am so late! Huggy’s gonna kill me! Are you alright?”
They helped one another to stand, and
Starsky’s hand stayed on her arm as he spoke.
“How’s he doing?”
“His arm hurts a little, but I think
he’s fine. I changed the dressing on
his wound and he’s probably just finishing up his health elixir right about
now,” she answered, smiling. Starsky
smiled back, and for a moment, they stared at each other.
Finally, Stephanie looked at her arm,
still in Starsky’s grip.
“If I don’t get to work, I’m going to
tell Huggy it was your fault for my being late instead of taking the blame
myself,” she told him, grinning impishly.
He laughed a bit nervously as he
released his grip, and she smiled as she turned and walked briskly towards her
car.
As he walked up the stairs, Starsky tried to compose his thoughts
before entering his friend’s apartment.
Shrugging it off, he let himself in, ready to start another day.
<><><><><><><><><><>
Stephanie’s day was rushed, to say
the least. Arriving at work a half hour
late, the whole morning was spent trying to make up the time and feeling guilty
about it. And she was tired. The only
thing that kept her moving, aside from how busy it was, was the excitement she
felt when she thought about the new job she’d be starting in only three days.
When she got home, it was nearly
nighttime. But that was because she had
to go shopping for evening wear. After
all, you can’t be a singer in a classy lounge without a few gowns suitable for
the occasion. And since they fell under
‘business expenses’, she made sure they were very appropriate.
After putting the gowns away and
taking a quick shower, Stephanie sat down on her couch to watch the evening
news. She thought briefly about fixing
some dinner, but that thought, as well as all others, left her easily as sleep
crept in.
Hutch had decided to stop by
Stephanie’s after work to make sure that she was all right. Considering how much sleep she’d had between
her need to take care of him and a few needs she aroused of his own, he just
wanted to see for himself that she’d gotten home okay and maybe even talk her
into going out for dinner. When he
arrived, he found it a little disturbing that there were no lights on in the
apartment even though her car was in its’ space. Figuring that she was probably asleep, but needing to know for
sure, he decided to let himself in with the key she had just gifted him with
only the week before. He smiled as he
held it in his hand, and then got out of the car.
++++++++++++++++++
Stephanie entered Huggy’s bar only to
find it empty. She knew she should be
worried over the whereabouts of everyone, but instead found herself somewhat
entranced by the music that played on the jukebox. Listening to it more closely, she heard the words to “Killing Me
Softly” playing and began singing along with it, enjoying the flow of the music
and the soft lights that flashed in rhythm with various colors. She was almost drifting to the music,
walking towards the bar when she saw him.
David Starsky was standing beside the
bar, holding a single red rose out to her.
She looked at the sparkle in his eyes and smiled as she walked to him. First she accepted the rose, then his hand,
and they began to dance to the music, holding each other tightly as they swayed
across the floor. When the music
stopped, she was looking at the passion in his eyes, knowing it was meant only
for her. He leaned in towards her face,
his breath hot against her lips, and kissed her. So soft were his lips on hers, so sweet his taste. As his tongue began to explore her lips, she
began to do the same, and soon they were kissing so deeply and so passionately
that she felt her body giving in to the heated rush.
+++++++++++++++++++
“Stephanie?”
She moaned at the masculine whisper.
“Stephanie? Honey, wake up.” Hutch
nudged her arm until her eyes fluttered open, slowly focussing on his.
“Ken?” Suddenly she realized where
she was, and jumped forward, feeling awkward as the guilt from her dream
overwhelmed her. Hutch grabbed her arm.
“Hey Steph, are you okay? Did you have a bad dream?” He pulled her
back towards him, and held her, and she gratefully fell into his hold,
embracing him tightly.
Starsky arrived at the precinct ahead
of Hutch, much to the surprise of many an officer who saw him sitting at his
desk. He accepted the jokes and nudges
half-heartedly, too busy trying to concentrate on the case he and Hutch had been
working on. Things weren’t adding up,
and he’d thought about it on and off all night, unable to sleep well enough to
free it from his mind.
When he last woke at five that
morning, he decided to shower and go on into work, hoping to review the case
files and see something; anything that they might have missed before. There had to be a pattern, at least he hoped
there was, because the death toll was climbing and the department was on their
backs because of it. Besides, his mind
needed to focus on something other than the thoughts of Stephanie which tried
to sneak in every now and then, ever since their ‘run-in’ the previous morning.
As if on cue, Hutch walked in,
smiling at his partner who was buried in a stack of files in front of him.
“I can’t believe you’re here before
me,” Hutch said, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
“Couldn’t sleep,” Starsky half
mumbled, his eyes remaining on a file opened in front of him.
“You too, huh? Stephanie was the same last night. I think she was just too tired after the
past couple of days she’s had.” Hutch
smiled at the thought of her. “She was
finally drifting off to sleep when I left.
I even called Huggy and got her the morning off. Left her a note for when she wakes up in a
panic later on.” Hutch chuckled and
Starsky looked over the file at him.
“Yeah. Well, I couldn’t sleep and this case kept buggin’ me. I was hoping to find something we missed,
but so far, I haven’t come up with a damned thing.” Starsky rubbed his eyes then looked down at his empty cup. He got up with the intentions of filling it
when Captain Dobey walked in, summoning them into his office.
As soon as the door was closed, Dobey
pulled a file from under his arm and handed it to them.
“Hit number six. This morning at two o’clock. As soon as the bar was closed, two
unidentified men came in and took the money, killing the bartender in the
process. It seemed to be a different
set of thugs until one of the patrolmen found this. The Captain reached into his pocket and pulled out a clear
plastic baggie, handing it towards the two detectives.
Inside the bag was a thank you
card. One of six, connecting each of
the robberies/murders together.
“Well, looks like they’re branchin’
out,“ Starsky said in disgust.
“Yeah, and they seem to have lost
what little conscience they used to show.
The bartender was killed after giving them the money, and never put up a
struggle according to the other witnesses.
One girl was so upset they had to take her to the hospital. Seems she lost it when one of ‘em laughed
through their mask after the bartender was killed, then aimed the weapon
towards her. Seemed to get his rocks
off making her hysterical,” Dobey’s
voice rose with anger, “Now I want you two to find out who these lunatics are
before they go on another killing spree!”
Starsky and Hutch were at a
loss. There was nothing they could say,
and they’d found no links so far to connect these crimes together other than
the thank-you cards left at each scene.
Silently, they got up and left their
Captain’s office, Hutch grabbing the latest file as they walked out.
Starsky grabbed the other files on
his desk and they left the precinct and headed towards Huggy’s.
“Man, am I glad to see you guys. Hutch, what’s up with that woman of yours?”
Huggy asked, walking up to the detectives as they entered the bar.
“Huggy, what are ya talkin’ about?”
Starsky said with an annoyed tone, trying to keep the files from falling out of
his grip and as he pushed his way past Huggy towards a booth. Huggy and Hutch followed and the two
detectives sat down.
“What are you talking about?” Hutch asked Huggy Bear.
“She’s in the back. For the moment that is. Came in here about a half hour after you
called. Said she was fine and wanted to
work. I ain’t been able to stop
her. She looks like a walkin’
zombie. You gotta get her home.” Huggy winced as he heard the crash of dishes
in the kitchen. “Hell, you gotta get
her home before she finishes dropping the rest of my dishes!”
Hutch nodded, getting up to go find
Stephanie, and Huggy sat down, shaking his head as he looked across the table
at Starsky and grinned.
“That girl don’t know how to take a break. Looks like she hasn’t slept in a week. Gotta love her loyalty to the job, but man, she’s gonna get sick
if she doesn’t get some rest soon.”
“Did she say why she wasn’t
sleeping?” Starsky asked nonchalantly as he looked through the pile of files
scattered across the table.
Huggy shook his head ‘no’. “Just acted like nothing was wrong. I’m guessing a good ten hour nap oughta take
care of it.” He looked up in time to
see Hutch walking Stephanie out of the kitchen.
Starsky looked around, following
Huggy’s stare. He saw Stephanie and his
face filled with concern. God, she
looked worn out. They walked towards
Starsky, who grabbed up the files and leaned towards Huggy as he stood up.
“Huggy, I need you to put those ears
of yours to the streets and see what you can come up with on these robberies
going down. Will ya do that for me?”
“You got it. Now please, y’all take the lady home or I’m
gonna give her a sedative!”
“Already taken care of,” Starsky
replied, grabbing the files in one hand and his keys in the other.
Stephanie smiled at Huggy, who
grinned back at her.
They arrived at her apartment within an
hour of their arrival at Huggy’s.
Starsky watched silently as Hutch walked her inside, grinning as she
argued about being treated like a scolded child. She sat on the sofa as Hutch went in the kitchen and set about
making her some tea. Starsky sat across
from her in a chair, watching as she fought the sleep that tried to take her
over.
Her eyes met his as they became
heavier, and he grinned at her.
“Don’t fight it. Just let it happen. You’ll feel a lot better if you do.” He watched as her eyes finally closed. She still had a grin on her face when her
head nodded back, and sleep finally was able to take over. By the time Hutch returned with her tea she
was out, so much so that he was able to carry her into the bedroom without disturbing
her. Starsky watched from his seat as
Hutch laid her down, taking the spread from the foot of the bed and gently
placing it over the sleeping form.
Before they left, Hutch took the
phone off the hook and wrote her a small loving note, which he left on the
coffee table for her.
They then decided on going over to
Starsky’s place, after first going back to the precinct so that Hutch could get
his car and be able to leave Starsky’s without imposing on his friend.
After going through all the files
many times over, both men were rubbing their eyes after five hours and were a
bit frustrated, to say the least. Each
decided a break was in order and Starsky ordered pizza.
Eating in silence, each man grabbed
files again, hoping to spot something they’d missed. Huggy hadn’t come up with anything yet, and their patience was
wearing thin. When they’d checked in
with Dobey, his anger over the case didn’t help when Hutch told him there was
still nothing new.
“Well, I’m going to head back over to
Stephanie’s and see how she’s doing,” Hutch said, taking his empty plate and
setting it in the sink. Starsky drank
the last of his soda from a glass and set it back down on the coffee table as
he stood up. But something caught his
eye.
“I’ll see you in the morning,
Starsk.”
“Hmm? Uh, no, wait a sec.” Starsky picked up the file that he was
staring at. “Well, would ya look at
that.” Starsky turned towards Hutch,
the file in his hand, but Hutch was already right beside him.
“What do you see?”
Look at the names of the places
they’ve hit.” Starsky said, pulling a sheet of paper out with each name in
alphabetical order.
“Yeah, Starsk. What about them?”
“They’re in alphabetical order.”
“Starsk, that’s because Millie put
them in that order when she typed up that list. That’s all.”
“Uh-uh. Look at the dates beside them.
These all happened one behind the other.” Hutch looked at the sheet, realizing his friend was right. He then walked into the living room,
returning with Starsky’s phone book.
They sat down at the kitchen table
and looked through the white pages, then the yellow, hoping to see the same
order of appearance as the robberies had occurred.
“Well, should’ve known it wouldn’t be
that easy,” Hutch announced as he got up from the chair.
“Yeah, well, something’s up. That ain’t no coincidence,” Starsky said as
he slammed the phone book down on the table.
“Look, you’re tired. I’m tired.
Let’s just let this alone till the morning, then we can start fresh,
maybe see something else that we’ve missed,” Hutch offered, putting a hand on
Starsky’s shoulder. Starsky grinned at
his friend and nodded in agreement.
“See you in the morning,” Starsky
said, walking him towards the door.
“Hey, you want me to pick you up or you want to drive in again?”
“Hutch smiled. “I’ll probably stay over at Steph’s
tonight. I’ll drive in again and meet
you there.”
“’Night, pal,” Starsky said as he
closed the door.
Starsky took a hot, relaxing
shower. Wearing only his robe, he
grabbed a beer and turned on the television as he made himself comfortable on
the couch. He picked up one of the
files again and began looking absently through it.
When he heard the footsteps behind
him, he jumped up, wondering who had access to his apartment and how he was
going to get to his gun from across the room.
He was very surprised to see Stephanie
standing there.
“Hey! You look a lot better than you did earlier today!” he told her,
and he was right. Dressed in blue jeans
and a tank top, her features were almost glowing. The tiredness that had shown clearly around her eyes earlier that
day was gone, and the light makeup
she’d applied only accentuated her beauty.
“Where’s Hutch?” he asked, looking
around her, trying to keep from staring.
His efforts didn’t work. She was
stunning, and his eyes refused to look elsewhere.
“I came here to see you. Alone,” she said, walking slowly over to
where he stood. Soon her face was only
inches from his own.
She placed her arms around his
shoulders, and he backed away a step, not understanding what was happening.
“I’ve been feeling confused. I’ve seen the way you look at me when you
think I’m not watching. You feel it
too, don’t you?” She took the step he’d
taken away from her, bringing her face alongside of his. She placed her cheek against his.
“I think I’m falling in love with you. And I don’t know what to do about it,” she
whispered in his ear.
He pulled his face from hers and
looked directly into her eyes. They
were sincere. And he had to admit it to
himself: Yes, he’d felt it, too.
His lips moved in on hers, kissing
her deeply, enjoying her taste, enjoying her warmth, and enjoying the feel of
her as she returned it in full. Their
arms encircled each other, feeling, touching, and igniting desire wherever they
landed.
He picked her up, holding her gently
in his arms as he took her into the bedroom, gently laying her across his
bed. All thoughts of morality and his
best friend left him, seeing only the woman who lay in front of him, inviting
him to join her. His passion was fierce
as he laid across the bed beside her, touching and feeling all of her, kissing
her deeply and enjoying the feel of her hands as they opened his robe. His hands moved under her top, and she moaned
in pure pleasure as they reached their destination.
When the phone rang he jumped from
the sofa, falling almost head first onto the floor.
Slightly disoriented, he reached over
the couch and grabbed the phone.
“Yeah.”
“Your boys just made another hit,”
Dobey began, “Get your partner and meet me at the Laredo Lounge on Parham
Road. I tried calling him but didn’t
get an answer.” Dobey’s voice was harsh
and Starsky knew it was bad.
“Yeah Cap. We’ll be there in a few.”
Starsky hung up the phone and walked
into the bedroom, throwing his robe across the bed as he grabbed his jeans,
finding their fit a little tight as he gathered his shoes and dressed, heading
out the door in a matter of a few minutes.
Starsky knocked hard on the apartment
door, waking Hutch and Stephanie, who were both sleeping peacefully when he
arrived. Hutch was still dressed, only
having to put on his shoes. As he sat
on the sofa to get them on, Stephanie wandered into the living room in her
robe; hair a mess, rubbing the sleep from her eyes when she finally noticed
Starsky standing in front of her.
“Hi David,” she said quietly, still
not totally awake. He grinned at her.
“You look better than ya did
yesterday.” He offered, trying to push the dream out of his thoughts.
“Come on Starsk. I’m ready,” Hutch said, walking over to
Stephanie and kissing her on her forehead.
“You, young lady, need to go back to bed,” he said, smiling. She grinned at him and gave him a mock salute.
“Yes sir!” she teased.
Starsky and Hutch were on the scene
within thirty minutes of leaving Stephanie’s apartment. Dobey was barking at various patrolmen,
giving orders left and right, his disgust from this latest crime very obvious. He noticed Starsky and Hutch as soon as they
came in.
“Where the hell have you two been?!”
he bellowed. As both men looked at him
in silence, his hard facial expressions softened a little.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, then looked
around. “They killed three this
time. Injured six others. They didn’t even wait for the place to close
first. Same MO: Ski masks and leaving a
thank you card. Looks like they’d
rather hit these bars than go for the little dinner theaters they were doing
before.” Dobey watched in silence as
the bodies were removed from the scene.
“If you two don’t break this case soon the FBI is gonna take it over!”
“We’re working on it, Cap’n,” Starsky
said lowly. He and Hutch began combing
the scene, hoping to find something, doubtful because of their luck so far.
By the time Starsky and Hutch arrived
back at Stephanie’s, it was almost midnight.
The lights were off in her apartment and Hutch wasn’t going to disturb
his sleeping love; only coming back to get his car and head on home. Now he was the one who was wide awake.
Saying his good-byes to his friend,
Starsky pulled out of the parking area and drove himself home. He stopped by a small convenience store
along the way, grabbing a free local paper and a quart of milk before arriving
back to his darkened apartment.
He put his milk away and retrieved a
beer from the refrigerator. He disrobed
and grabbed a quick shower, then tried to relax as he sat down in front of the
television. The noise of the television
was hardly a distraction from the deadly scene he’d seen only an hour or so
before. The visions of murder victims
flashed through his head like bulbs going off on a camera.
Finally out of a desperate need for
something else to focus on, he grabbed the paper he’d gotten from the store.
The murderers had made the front
page, again, and he skimmed through the other few pages, hoping for a lighter
subject to focus on. He landed on the
entertainment section. Apparently this
paper was free because of the advertisements.
The last pages were full of them.
As he skimmed through the biweekly paper, he landed on what was lightly
called the ‘Entertain Yourself’ section.
His jaw dropped. There, listed
alphabetically, were names of places to dine at locally and enjoy a little of
the community’s nightlife. They were
also in exactly the same order of the places robbed by the ‘Thank–You Card
Bandits’, as the paper had dubbed them in their article.
“I’ll be damned.” Hutch mumbled.
Hutch met Starsky and Dobey at
headquarters later that morning, showing them the article and hoping they saw
the same thing he did. They did. Being their first real break on this case,
they set out to begin a stake out of the next place on the list. A family-friendly establishment called
Pepper’s on the east side of town.
By the time evening had fallen, all
officers involved had been briefed at least twice and were gathering in the
small restaurant, beginning their set up.
A thunderstorm had developed, and the lightning and thunder set an evil
tone about the place, giving it an almost eerie effect as everyone sat around,
waiting. Couples sat together, looking
perfectly normal, as well as the officers who had taken over the wait staff
duties. From all outward appearances,
it was business as usual.
Starsky and Hutch sat quietly across
from each other, looking over their food through the large front window,
watching the storm as it gained strength.
Everything was prepared for and all scenarios thought of - except one.
When the power went out, a sudden
hush came over the dining area, followed by the cursing and fumbled movements
of everyone as they tried to adjust to the dark. The thunder continued to grumble, as did Harold Dobey.
“They’re not going to be able to hit
this place if it’s closed due to power failure! Marcus, call the electric company and see how soon it’ll be
before they have the electricity back on here!”
Within a few minutes, Officer Marcus
returned to the Captain’s side, letting him know that because of some downed
lines in the adjacent county, the power company did not expect to have the
power back on for at least three or four hours.
“Well, let’s wrap this up then. There’s no way they’re going to hit a closed
restaurant!” Dobey’s voice was angered
and hinted of disappointment.
“Hey Cap,” Starsky began, “What if
they decide to go for the next one on the list?”
Captain Dobey looked thoughtful for a
moment, then retrieved the list from his inside jacket pocket.
“Alright everyone!” he began to
bellow, “Gather up everything and let’s go.
We’re going to the south side of town.
A place called ‘River’s Edge Jazz Company’!”
It took almost an hour to arrive at
the restaurant/jazz club, and as the men and women all gathered around Dobey,
he intently gave his instructions.
It’s going to look rather obvious if
we all go in there at once and act as if we didn’t come in together. So, Harrison, your group along with Marcus’s
group will join me and Garrett and Williams and we’ll go in as one large
group. Roberts and Getty, you two go in
as a couple. The same for Starsky and
Hutch. Keep your eyes open, and make sure
you blend in. Most of all, make sure
you protect everyone in there!
Remember, we got a lot of innocent civilians roaming around in there,
and I don’t want anyone getting hurt.
Understand?”
Everyone nodded and began walking
into the place.
“Here we go,” Hutch mumbled under his breath.
Starsky checked his gun and put it
back in its’ holster. “That’s what I’m
worried about.”
Everyone ‘oh’ed and ‘ah’ed over the hidden beauty the
restaurant held within its’ barren outer brick walls. Quickly they were all seated, and the host seemed very pleased by
the sudden rush of customers that came in.
Waiters and waitresses ran about them, taking drink orders and setting
menus in front of everyone.
“Service is pretty decent,” Starsky
remarked, looking at his watch, then at the menu. It was approaching nine o’clock.
Hutch listened to the melodic piano
playing on the stage and nodded his head in agreement.
Soon everyone’s food orders had been
taken and their host was standing on stage, announcing their newest employee, a
new up-and-coming singer to the area.
Her name was Carol Delaware.
Starsky and Hutch were looking
through the dining room, keeping their eyes open for anything suspicious at the
front entrance.
When Ms. Delaware centered herself on
stage, they heard the rest of their colleagues quiet down. A couple were doing a few hushed cat calls,
quickly stopped by an angered glance from their Captain. Starsky and Hutch turned their eyes to see
what the commotion was all about. Both
simultaneously dropped their jaws. They
looked at one another, then let their eyes return to Stephanie.
Standing center stage, smiling brightly
at the audience she could not see because of the lighting that was cast upon
her, she looked nothing less than stunning.
Dressed in a fire-engine-red,
floor-length dress with spaghetti straps and matching three-inch heels, she was
more than a vision. The dress sparkled
with hidden sequins, giving her a glow that was positively radiant. As she stepped forward towards the mike, the
piano began to play behind her, and a look of concentration came over her
face. She was simply seductive. Her hair was pinned up with a couple of
sparkling combs that looked like a halo around her head. Stepping forward, her dress parted,
revealing a long slit up the side of the gown and the very shapely curves of
her left thigh. Every man in the entire
place was mesmerized, taken under the spell she had planned well to induce.
As she began to sing, the entire room
fell silent, listening as her angelic voice filled and echoed around it. Starsky and Hutch were in shock. Not only did they have no idea this was
where she was working her private investigating gig, but they didn’t know she
could sing, either! They looked at one
another again, then returned their gaze back to the center of attention.
”Now you
say you’re sorry
for
bein’ so untrue.
Well you
can cry me a river
Cry me a river.
I cried a
river over you …”
She paused as the piano played, smiling down at the people in front of
her, then turning to smile at the piano player, walking slightly around the
stage as she held the microphone, gracefully swaying its’ cord behind her.
Off stage to her right, she could see
Mr. Daniels, beaming proudly at her and signaling a thumbs up.
Hutch nudged Starsky, who was
captivated.
“Starsk! That’s Stephanie!” he whispered in amazement. Starsky reluctantly turned towards his
partner.
“Well I can SEE that!” he whispered back. “Wow!”
“Yeah. Wow!” Hutch whispered, his face beaming. Starsky looked at his friend and saw the
smile drop suddenly from his face.
“Damn!”
“Whatsa matter Hutch?” Starsky asked,
suddenly worried with his friend’s change of expression.
Hutch leaned closer to Starsky across
the table. “She’s going to be right in
the middle of this if the hit goes down like we think it will tonight.”
“Don’t worry. We ain’t gonna let anything
happen to her.” Starsky assured him, turning his eyes back to the stage.
Stephanie had just finished her
number, and suddenly the partners couldn’t have heard each other talking if
they had screamed. The audience’s
reaction was overwhelming. Applause,
standing ovations and whistles filled the dining area all the way through to
the bar beside it. Stephanie was
blushing, her face almost matching her dress as she beamed proudly.
As the audience finally began to calm
down and the applause began to dwindle, there were still a few cat callers that
were making fools of themselves.
“Probably too drunk to realize the
rest of us are being quiet,” Starsky said in a somewhat disgusted tone. He and Hutch turned around, as did the rest
of the people in there, wanting the noise to stop.
What they saw made half of the
patrons gasp, and Starsky and Hutch and the rest of the undercover officers
instinctively reach for their guns.
Four men stood back at the walkway
towards the entrance, still clapping and whistling, overly acting pleased by
the floor show. Their faces were
covered in black ski masks, and their applause was subdued only by the guns
held tightly in their hands.
Stephanie couldn’t see what was going
on, and reached her hand in front of her, attempting to block the lighting that
distorted her view.
“Enough of the show, lady. You’re taking away from my limelight,” one
of the masked men growled. He brought
his gun forward and aimed it towards the stage, pulling the trigger. The bullet struck one of the stage lights
above, making it fall down on top of her.
“Good shot old man!” one of the other
masked felons complimented. They were
all laughing when the whole room seemed to stand at once, and the only sounds
heard were of guns cocking as they aimed towards the masked men. Out of close to forty patrons in the
restaurant, at least fifteen of them were obviously cops.
Suddenly the masked men had nothing
to laugh about.
“Awe shit,” exclaimed one of them, bringing his gun forward.
“Everybody DOWN!” Starsky yelled,
making his way towards them. Hutch was
close behind, trying to focus on the gunmen rather than Stephanie, who looked
like she was okay, sitting on the stage, but wanting desperately to know for
himself that she was indeed alright.
One of the gunmen aimed towards the
crowd with his weapon, and the others followed suit. Shots began to ring throughout the restaurant, and screams of
fear followed.
All of the officers began shooting at
the robbers, making the place sound like a war movie. The criminals shot back, but to no avail. They were downed easily, but not before
hitting a few officers with the bullets they haphazardly fired into the crowd
that advanced on them.
All in all, the wounds of the
officers were mainly slight: the worst being a shoulder wound on Roberts, who
was more worse for wear because of the concussion he received after falling
into a table from the impact of the bullet wound.
Stephanie was fine; at least that was
her story and she was sticking to it.
She was a little off balance when Starsky and Hutch flanked her and
helped her to stand, but quickly regained herself enough to walk around and
tell the detectives to go on, that she was okay and knew they had more
important business to attend to at the moment.
Reluctantly, they left her, but not before getting one of the officers
to stay with her. Just in case.
Two of the robbers were dead and the
other two were critical. Their masks
had been removed, revealing the four Caucasian men who were no older than their
early twenties.
When Mr. Daniels, the owner of the
restaurant, came up to survey the damage they had caused, he introduced himself
to Dobey. They were talking, assessing
the damage, when Daniels became quiet, his face filled with shock as he looked
down at one of the wounded criminals.
“Mr. Daniels, are you alright?” Captain Dobey asked, concerned for the
man he’d just met.
“That kid over there, he looks like
one of my bartenders!” Daniels tried to
walk through, but was stopped by the officers standing around them.
“Let him through.” Dobey announced, and a path was cleared for
them to walk over to the fallen man.
Evan Daniels knelt down beside him.
“Charlie? Charlie? What are you
doing with these hoodlums, these, murderers?” Daniels voice cracked from
disbelief as his friend lay dying in a pool of his own blood. “Why?”
Charlie Dobson looked up at the man
and smiled, laughing and choking at the same time.
“Well Evan, see, I like the
horses. I was helping myself to the
profits around here, but they weren’t enough, so me and my friends here, we, we
kinda thought that playing Jesse James would get us all the money we
wanted. Guess we got carried
away.” The young man looked around at
all the cops and then let his eyes focus on the man who had called him his
friend. “Sorry Evan, I’m, I’m sorry.”
His voice faded and the life left the rest of his body. Evan Daniels got up and walked away,
oblivious to everyone else around him, shocked at this latest discovery.
The ambulances arrived and other
patrolmen, along with the coroner and a few reporters who’d been tipped on the
eventful evening. Within a couple of
hours, the place was pretty much cleared and people had been sent home,
evidence gathered and reports written.
The only people that remained were Mr. Daniels, Stephanie, Starsky,
Hutch, and Dobey.
“I’m very grateful that you all came
here when you did,” Evan Daniels began, a little choked from the evenings’
events. “Thank God things didn’t turn
out worse than they did.” He looked
around at the silent people in front of him.
“Are you officers still on duty?”
“Nah. We’ll be in tomorrow morning
filling out reports and closing this case, but tonight it’s all over with,”
Starsky said, looking around at everyone.
His eyes stopped on Stephanie, still in her red evening gown, sitting
quietly as Hutch looked at the bump on her head, making her wince as he touched
it. Her eyes caught his and she smiled
slightly at him.
“Well, may I get you all something to
drink? I myself feel a need for
something after this night,” Evan said as he stood up and walked over to the
bar.
“Yeah, I’ll take a beer,” Starsky
said, finally removing his eyes from Stephanie.
“Me too,” Hutch added.
Dobey sighed. “Sure, I’ll have one.”
Stephanie got up to help Evan bring
everything over, getting a glass of water for herself. As Evan set the drinks on a tray, he thanked
Stephanie for helping.
“Well, since the embezzlement mystery
was also solved tonight, I need the work,” she half laughed as she turned with
the tray to take it to the table.
“Lady, you can sing at my club
anytime! I was hoping you might
consider working here on a more permanent basis?” Evan Daniels allowed himself
to smile for the first time since the attempted robbery unfolded. Stephanie turned back around and smiled at
him.
“We can discuss that,” she grinned as
she headed to the table with the drinks.
Two weeks had passed and Stephanie’s
life was back to normal. Again. At least, as normal as possible. She was still working at Huggy’s each
weekday morning through lunch, and now was working Friday and Saturday nights
at Evan’s place, singing her heart out.
Starsky and Hutch were back in their
old routines, if you could call them ‘routines’, and were handling less
time-consuming case loads at the moment, for which they were grateful.
Since Stephanie was working a lot more
than she used to, she and Hutch had to make the most of their times together,
and were doing so successfully. He
couldn’t get enough of this woman who surprised him daily with her various
hidden talents.
It was no surprise on this Friday afternoon
when he decided to ask Starsky to go with him for dinner, at none other than
The River’s Edge Jazz Company. Starsky
politely declined.
“Starsk, what’s going on? You’ve been avoiding Stephanie the past
couple of weeks like she’s carrying a plague or something. Has something happened between the two of
you that I should know about?"
“What are ya talkin’ about?” Starsky
asked nervously.
“Well,” Hutch began, “Stephanie’s
been acting strange just like you every time I mention your name. Did you two have a fight?” Starsky sighed deeply.
“Nope. No fight. Nothing like
that. I’ve just been trying to give you
two some time alone is all.” Starsky said, avoiding the truth like it was a
rattlesnake.
Hutch looked at him, sensing there
was more to it, but deciding to let it be.
For now.
“Well, now I’m asking you to come
with me and have some dinner. So we can
have some quality time of our own. How
about it?” He was looking directly into
Starsky’s eyes.
“Yeah. Okay. I am kinda
hungry,” Starsky replied.
<><><><><><><><><><>
The restaurant was full, but not too
full for Evan Daniels to give the two detectives a warm and welcome greeting.
“Gentlemen!! What a pleasure! What an honor! It’s so
good to see you again.” He extended his
hand out to both men graciously. “Look
at this crowd! Business has never been
so good, and I think Stephanie deserves the credit.”
Hutch beamed proudly as Evan seated
them close to the stage at one of the best tables in the house.
Their dinner was fabulous, steaks
cooked to perfection and all the trimmings making for a wonderful meal. When it was time for the show to begin,
their plates had been cleared and cocktails were offered.
Soon the lights over the audience
began to dim, and the stage lights beamed brighter, showcasing the pianist who
began playing.
Only moments later, Stephanie came
out, dressed in a deep blue velvet gown; backless and trimmed in silver
sequins. There were slits up each side
of the gown which revealed the high heeled silver shoes she wore. Her hair was unrestrained, flowing freely
down her shoulders, looking very sensual as it danced around her face and arms.
The overall effect was nothing short of sexy.
She looked around the room, noticing
her two favorite admirers sitting in front of the stage, and smiled.
Once she began singing, the audience
was mesmerized.
“You’re my thrill.
You do
something to me.
You send
chills right through me.
When I look at you,
‘Cause you’re my thrill.”
“Damn, I just can’t get over how good
she is!” Hutch beamed as he whispered to his partner.
“Yeah. She’s really something,” Starsky answered, smiling back at him.
“Shhh!” someone hissed from behind
them, making both men smirk.
“Mmmmmmmmm …
Nothing seems to matter.
Mmmmmmmmm …
Here’s my heart
on a silver platter.
Where’s my will?
Why this strange desire?
That
keeps mounting higher,
When I look at you
I can’t keep still.
‘Cause you’re my thrill.
You
know you are my thrill.”
The entire audience applauded with extreme enthusiasm, and Starsky and
Hutch were among the loudest. But that
didn’t make Stephanie forget the look on Starsky’s face while she had sung the
song. And it didn’t stop her from
wondering if she had looked at him too long while she sang it.
When she finished up her session of
songs, she sat down with the two detectives, a little subdued as the air of
guilt seemed to loom above.
It wasn’t long after she joined them
that Evan came over, bringing her a large glass of water and thanking her for
another grand performance. When he left
the table, she got up and excused herself to go to the restroom, kissing Hutch
on his cheek before she left.
She was back again in no time, smiling
happily because of the many people who offered their congratulations on her
superb performance.
“You are so beautiful,” Hutch beamed
at his girlfriend.
“I think you’re opinion is biased,”
she answered, half laughing as she leaned into him.
As the evening progressed, the
conversation remained polite and subdued.
They were talking about the light
caseload the two detectives were working on through the week when Evan came
back over to the table.
“Detective Hutchinson, would you mind
helping me in the kitchen for a moment?
The pilot light went out on our oven and I have to pull it out to
relight it. Unfortunately none of the ladies back there are strong enough to
help me. Would you mind?”
Hutch reluctantly released Stephanie’s hand and smiled at
Evan. “Sure. But call me Hutch.”
Stephanie watched as Hutch left to
follow Evan into the kitchen, then turned to Starsky, who was watching her,
grinning.
“Why do I feel so awkward being alone
with you?” she asked, grinning back at him.
“Maybe ‘cause of the attraction
that’s pretty obvious between us,” Starsky answered point blank. Stephanie wasn’t surprised by his response.
“God, I hope I’m not that obvious,” she
smiled, catching him a little off guard. He was sure he’d shocked her with his
comment.
“I hope I’m not making you feel, uh,
I don’t know, um, … “ Starsky was at a loss for the right word.
“There’s an attraction, David. But that’s all. It’s normal I think. But
that’s all it is, isn’t it?” Stephanie’s eyes looked sincerely into his, the
candlelight giving a romantic glow about her.
He looked at her, absorbing the view.
“Yeah.” He sighed, leaning his head
into his hand as he perched his elbow on the table. Stephanie sighed also, almost as if in relief.
She looked around the room, then back
at Starsky. He was looking at her, and
his eyes did not leave when hers joined his.
They were staring at one another, thinking very similar and very naughty
thoughts.
As if on cue, Evan and Hutch came
into the dining area, bringing a large pan cake filled with candles on a
dessert tray out towards Stephanie and Starsky.
“This is for you, Ms. Stephanie White,”
he began announcing for everyone to hear, “to celebrate you’re joining our
‘family’ here at the River’s Edge Jazz Club, this is your official
welcome!” As Evan and Hutch put the
tray out in front of her, tears filled her eyes, happy from the surprising
display of warmth from her new boss.
The customers that sat around her began applauding.
“Did you know about this?” Stephanie
asked Hutch, leaning over towards him so he could hear her through the noise.
“Not until Evan took me in the
kitchen,” Hutch answered, pulling her into a hug. “You know, he may be kind of eccentric, but he has great taste in
employees.”
Stephanie smiled at Hutch, relishing
the feel of his arms around her as she savored her moment in the spotlight.
“To Stephanie!” Starsky hollered, raising his glass in a toast, smiling
widely and proudly.
Hutch and the other patrons raised
their glasses. It was a good night.
The End.