Chapter Two

 

The two detectives stood at the ER’s checkout desk and patiently waited their turn.  Starsky’s attention was centered on the antics of a toddler who was pushing all the buttons on the soda machine and then sticking her arm up the chute where the drinks came out, hoping to find something there.  Starsky smiled at the little girl and was about to intervene and buy her something to drink when Hutch grabbed his arm.

 

“Hey, Starsk.  Isn’t that Dr. Carpenter, the hospital psychologist?”

 

Starsky looked in the direction Hutch was pointing.  “I believe you’re right, Ollie.  That’s him in the flesh.”

 

“Say, Starsk,” Hutch replied, shoving his papers into Starsky’s hands.  “Stand here and keep our place, will you?  I want to go talk to him.”

 

“Our place?  Don’t you mean your place?  And what am I supposed to do if I get to the desk before you get back?  Pretend I’m you?”  But Starsky’s protests were fruitless as Hutch was already halfway down the hallway.

 

By the time Hutch returned, Starsky was trying in vain to explain to the clerk that no, he was not the patient, and yes, he was sure the patient had been discharged, but no, the patient wasn’t exactly ready to leave yet.  Hutch smiled at the older woman, signed the necessary forms, and grabbed his partner by the arm, steering him into a relatively quiet corner.

 

“I just had an interesting conversation with Dr. Carpenter about our young friend,” Hutch began.  He had Starsky’s undivided attention as he continued.  “About six months ago, Billy was brought here by ambulance, out cold and half dead.  Seems he took a handful of his mother’s sleeping pills and washed it down with half a bottle of vodka.  The doc says they got to him in the nick of time¾any later and Billy wouldn’t have made it.”

 

Starsky looked back up the hallway toward the treatment room where the bored-looking officer stood guard.  “So what happened?  Couldn’t they do anything to help him?”

 

Hutch sighed heavily.  “Unfortunately, there are very few programs in place for kids like Billy.  Dr. Carpenter worked with him for the three days he was in the hospital here and set up some outpatient counseling for him, but Billy never showed up.  When the doctor called Billy’s mother, he was told that she knew how to handle her son and he didn’t need any fancy doctoring.  He tried getting to Billy and his family through Social Services, but they’re so overwhelmed with cases, they couldn’t spare the manpower to be persistent enough to have any luck.  So, our young friend just sort of fell through the cracks, and that was the last time Dr. Carpenter had any contact with Billy or his family until today.”

 

“So what about tonight?  Does he think Billy’s serious about wantin’ to kill himself?  What’s gonna happen to him?”

 

“Yeah, the doctor thinks he’s serious, all right.  He also said there’s a new place north of the city where they take in kids that have problems, and let them stay there for as long as it takes to get themselves together.  Since Billy has a history, he qualifies for the program and they have space available for him.”

 

“Well, that’s terrific.”  Starsky smiled at his partner.  “Guess that means you and me can go catch up with Mindy and Mandy and see if we can make up for lost time, if you know what I mean.”  Starsky wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

 

“Hold on a minute, Romeo.  Not so fast.  Yes, they have a program for Billy, and yes, they have room for him, but Deputy Dog down there says he’s not going to ruin the rest of his evening by driving some ‘stupid kid’ all over creation.  And, since he’s technically off duty, he doesn’t have to.  Which means Billy will go to Juvie tonight and will stay there until someone can make the time to give him a ride.  Unless somebody else volunteers…” Hutch’s voice trailed off as he looked pleadingly at his partner.

 

Now it was Starsky’s turn to sigh heavily.  “You didn’t.” 

 

Hutch didn’t say a word, just kept looking at his partner.

 

Starsky shook his head.  “You did.  My partner, the champion of lost causes and underdogs.  How come you gotta drag me into these crazy schemes of yours, huh?”

 

Hutch smiled, once more grabbing Starsky by the arm and pulling him down the hallway toward Billy.  “Because every champion needs a sidekick.  Besides, you were my first lost cause.”

 

˜  ™

 

Starsky steered effortlessly through the darkened streets, humming along with the radio as he drove.  They were well north of the city but still an hour from their destination.  A movement in the seat next to him caught his attention.

 

“Your arm hurtin’?” he asked his partner, who was staring out the passenger-side window and absently rubbing his wounded appendage, careful not to touch the bandage.

 

“What?” Hutch replied, breaking out of his reverie.

 

“I said, is your arm hurtin’?”

 

“Oh, that,” Hutch answered, looking down at his arm as if he’d never seen it before.  “I guess so.  Maybe a little.  I think that numbing stuff is wearing off.”

 

“Look.  Why don’t you take one of those pain pills the doctor gave you, and I’ll chauffeur you and young Billy to the ranch?  You could get a little shut-eye, and after we get there maybe we could find a motel or somethin’.”

 

“Is that a proposition?” Hutch asked, already returning to his vacant stare out the window.

 

The corner of Starsky’s mouth twitched up in a crooked smile.  “You should be so lucky.”

 

Silence fell over the vehicle once again, as Hutch went back to his staring and Starsky drove on, alert for any sign of a gas station or convenience store that might be open.  His vigilance was rewarded when the neon sign for a mom-and-pop diner caught his eye.  Without a second thought, he jerked the steering wheel to the left, expertly turning into the parking lot and gliding into a vacant space.

 

“What are we doing?” Hutch asked, shifting his gaze from the window to Starsky.

 

“I’m gonna get you somethin’ to drink so you can take your medicine.  I have no idea what you’re doing.”  He started out of the car, then turned back as an afterthought.  “You want somethin’ to eat?”

 

“Starsky,” Hutch said, bringing his left arm up to eye level to squint at his watch.  “It’s past midnight, for Pete’s sake.  Nobody in their right mind would eat this late at night.”

 

“Yeah.  Well, I am.  And if you weren’t so proper, you’d find there are a lot of advantages to eating this late at night.  Besides, if I remember correctly, I was busy savin’ your life at dinnertime and didn’t get to eat.”  Starsky paused for a moment while Hutch rolled his eyes.  “Come to think of it, neither did you.  I’ll see if I can find you a nice seaweed sandwich or somethin’.”

 

“What about him?”  Hutch jerked a thumb toward the back seat of the car.

 

“Hey, Billy,” Starsky said a little louder, reaching into the back seat to shake the sleeping boy.  “You want some grub?”

 

Billy awoke with a violent start, hands balled into fists as he jerked upright in his seat.  “Leave me alone!” he shouted vehemently, haunted eyes darting back and forth between the two detectives.

 

“Hey, man.  Take it easy,” Starsky said soothingly, hands held palm-out at shoulder height to reassure Billy that he meant him no harm.  “I just wanted to see if you’d like somethin’ to eat.  How about a burger and some fries?”

 

Billy shoved his balled up fists into the pockets of his well-worn jeans.  “I ain’t got no money,” he said sullenly, refusing to make eye contact with the detective.

 

“That’s okay,” Starsky replied, plucking Hutch’s wallet off the front seat.  “It’s on Hutch.”  He smiled broadly at his partner before heading into the diner.

 

“You gonna let him take your money like that?” Billy asked incredulously.

 

Hutch turned slightly in his seat so he could talk to his young charge.  “Yeah.”  He chuckled softly.  “You see, Starsky bought lunch yesterday, and I bought breakfast the day before that, and he bought…never mind.  Let’s just say it all works out somehow.”

 

Billy leaned back in his seat and sighed heavily.  “You got a smoke?”

 

“Nope.  We don’t smoke, and neither should you.  It’ll stunt your growth.”

 

“Yeah?  Who cares?!”  Billy fell silent, staring out the window at the diner.

 

The silence was broken several minutes later when Starsky came strolling out of the diner, his arms loaded with food and drinks.  As he approached the car, Hutch reached across the front seat to open the driver’s-side door for him, but Billy was a little quicker.  Timing his move perfectly, he pushed up on the seat in front of him, effectively knocking Hutch out of the way, then viciously pulled on the handle.  The door swung open violently, catching Starsky on his left hipbone, throwing him off balance.  Starsky made a valiant effort to stay on his feet and save the food, but his right foot got caught between two parking curbs and he fell to the ground, food and drinks flying in every direction.  Billy hopped out of the car and took off across the parking lot, certain that he had gained his freedom.

 

Starsky, although stunned by the impact, had enough of his wits about him to reach out a hand, and at the last possible second, he grabbed a fistful of Billy’s pants leg, stopping him in mid-flight.  The young boy hit the ground hard and was immediately pinned down by a very angry Hutch.

 

“What’s wrong with you?!” Hutch shouted, pulling Billy’s hands behind him and cuffing them with a loud click.  “Where did you think you were going?”

 

As soon as the teenager was effectively subdued, Hutch turned his attention to his partner who lay on the pavement breathing heavily.  Hutch knelt beside him and quickly looked him over, searching for any signs of injury in the reddish glow of the neon sign from the diner.  “You okay?” he asked, his eyebrows knit together in concern.

 

“Yeah,” Starsky replied, sitting up slowly with Hutch’s help.  “Just knocked the wind out of me, that’s all.”  He looked at the mangled styrofoam containers and spilled drinks that littered the ground around him.  “I’m afraid our dinner didn’t make it, though.”

 

Hutch got to his feet, then reached a hand down and helped Starsky stand.  He steadied his partner against the hood of the car.  “As soon as you catch your breath, I think you, me, and Billy need to have a little chat.  What d’ya say we head into the diner and try again?”

 

“Terrific,” Starsky replied as he brushed the dirt off his clothing while Hutch helped Billy to his feet.  “Just gimme a minute to remove our dinner from my jeans, and I’m right behind you.”

 

˜  ™