CHAPTER 14
 

The very next day… Cassie asked Stacey to take her to the mall so she could try and return the necklace. She hoped she could use the money for something much more important. She found the same sales lady standing behind the counter and approached her eagerly…

“Excuse me…” She began as she laid the small black box in front of her.

“Back so soon?” The lady asked with a smile.

“I’d like to return this if I can.” Cassie told her.

She looked at her with puzzlement and then down at the item in question.

“Isn’t that the necklace you bought yesterday? Why would you want to return it?”

“I have to…An emergency has come up and I need the money for something  else.” Cassie explained.

“I’m sorry we don’t give cash refunds…but you’re welcome to choose from anything else in the store if you like.” She told her.

“But I really need to get the money back.” Cassie pleaded with her. “Can’t you make an exception?”

“I’m afraid not…” The sales lady added. “I’m really very sorry.”

“C’mon Cas let’s go…” Stacey said as she took her by the hand. “Thanks for nothing.” She told the lady as they both turned and walked away.

Cassie was so sure they would take it back…and she would be able to use the money along with a little more she had saved to get his car out of the shop and surprise him. Her heart sank as she walked towards the exit with Stacey.

“Cheer up Cas…it’s not over yet.” Stacey said as she put her hand on her shoulder…there must be a way to get your money out of it.

“How?…Sell it to somebody else?” She asked her. “I don’t know anybody who could afford to buy it from me.”

 They moved slowly out into the parking lot and up to Stacey’s mother’s car.  They had been best friends since the third grade and they had always told each other everything. The story she had laid out for Stacey during lunch at school had made her offer to help in any way she could. Cassie was only trying to give him what he wanted…and she knew it would make him happy. That ’s what Christmas was all about anyway wasn’t it?

As they both climbed back into the car…Cassie hesitated for a moment as a thought occurred to her.

“Do you think we can make one more stop before you take me to work?” She asked.

“Where to?”

“Merles Auto Repair…on Fourth and Riverside.” She told her.

“But you don’t have the money.” Stacey protested. “What are you gonna do?”

“I’ve got an idea.” She told her. “C’mon we don’t have much time.”

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Starsky wasn’t much for company as he sat across from his partner staring off into space through the window. Hutch did his best to cheer him up but Starsky was so depressed over the Torino that he barely smiled when Hutch told him the latest joke that had been going around the squad room lately. It had everyone else who heard it in stitches but his partner was in no
mood for humor. With his car on his mind now…all he could do was sulk.

“Starsky…it’s not that bad.” Hutch told him as he glanced over to find him still staring out the window at nothing.
 
“I’m fine…” Starsky said not bothering to look over at him but then a familiar sound came over the radio that caused him to turn his head towards it.

“Attention all units in the vacinity of Richmond and 12th…report a domestic dispute…1231 Richmond…shots have been fired…please respond.”

Starsky held the mic in his hand until the call was completed. He had grabbed it from the stand in the middle of the message.

“This is Zebra Three…we are responding…ETA 3 minutes.”

“HANG ON!” Hutch yelled as he made a quick rubber burning U-turn in the middle of the street and flipped on the siren…Starsky quickly pulled the Mars light from under the seat and had it on top of the car before Hutch
completed the maneuver.
 

They rounded a few corners and came upon the address in what seemed like only a few moments. The sound of gunfire could be heard as they pulled up. Even with sirens wailing and lights flashing…the shots kept coming. Whoever it was obviously wasn’t the least bit intimidated by the presence of the police.

There was a car parked in the driveway and Hutch had parked at an angle on the street…so they could use the car for cover if they had to.  They both slid cautiously from the driver’s side since the passenger side of the car was in the direct line of fire. If they bolted out the front…Starsky didn’t want to give them an easy target.

A few moments went by without a sound…and then a scream and another gunshot…then nothing. Hutch made his way to a nearby tree as Starsky held his gun on the front door to cover him just in case. Then Starsky moved up slowly from the other side as Hutch watched for signs of movement from the house. When Starsky reached the front door he silently motioned for his partner to move around the house to cover the rear entrance. Hutch ran in a bent posture…keeping his body low enough so he couldn’t be spotted through any of the side windows. When he reached the back door he whistled to his partner to let him know he was in position. Then simotainiously they busted through both doors…carefully taking in each room as they made their way through the house. It looked like a very neat and tidy home beautifully decorated for Christmas with a tree and even a couple stockings hanging from a fake fireplace in the corner. … there was no obvious signs of any kind of a struggle in any of the rooms. It seemed almost impossible that just a few moments ago it had sounded like World War Three in there. The calm was very unnerving. To the point that it made them both a bit jumpy as they rounded each corner and peered behind every doorway.

In the kitchen Hutch finally found what he had been looking for…a handgun resting on the counter near the cutlery holder as if it had just been neatly placed there…but there was no sign of the perpetrator. Starsky first pointed his gun before peering inside to see Hutch standing there looking down at the weapon with curiosity. Starsky walked cautiously up to him and watched a s Hutch bent his nose down to smell the barrel.

“It’s been fired recently.” Hutch whispered. “I can smell the powder.”

They looked at each other with puzzlement as Hutch pulled his head back up when suddenly a door flew open and a woman stepped out quickly…the motion startled them so much that they instinctively aimed their guns in her direction and yelled in one blending voice…FREEZE!

She dropped the whisk broom and dustpan she had been holding and let out a scream as she did. She wasn’t expecting to find two strange men standing in her kitchen when she came out to clean up the mess….

“Take it easy Ma’am…we’re police officers.” Hutch told her as he held up his badge along with his partner. “Are you alone in the house?”

“Yes…well I’m married but…Hey wait a minute…what are you doing here?” She asked them as if she didn’t have the vaguest clue.

“Is this your gun Ma’am?” Starsky asked in a calm voice as he raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yes…you should have seen how big he was…but I finally killed him.” She stated proudly.

Hutch looked at Starsky with a horrified expression in his eyes…and Starsky returned the gesture.

 (Did she just admit to wasting her husband? Jesus…she said it as calmly as if she was talking about the weather…had she just snapped?)

The same thought ran through their minds at the same moment and they could see it in the eye to eye contact as they looked at each other.

Hutch broke his gaze and turned to look at the woman as he spoke calmly.

“You know you have the right to speak to a lawyer.” Hutch told her softly but with a tremble in his voice evident.

“A lawyer…am I under arrest?” She asked curiously.

“Can you show us the body?” Starsky asked with a smile. “We’d just like to confirm the fact that he’s really dead.”

“Well…he’s not moving…or breathing…but I saw his tail wiggle once.” She told him. “That’s why I had to shoot him again….I kept missing him the first few shots…but I finally got him.”

Now they were totally confused…either she was ready for a straight jacket and a padded room or by the time she was finished screwing with their heads they would be. It was the strangest story either of them had ever heard.

“And you don’t feel the least bit guilty?…I mean…are you sorry for what you’ ve done?” Starsky asked curiously…hell…she had already confessed…the strange part is her nonchalant attitude about the whole thing and the calm way she told her gruesome tail…as if it didn’t bother her in the least.

“Sorry? That rat had it coming…sneaking into my kitchen the way he did…he’s right over there…I’d really appreciate it if you could get rid of him for me…I don’t want to touch him.” She said as she pointed behind them towards the corner of the room.

They looked again at each other and then in the direction she had indicated…there…on the floor…lay the largest rat that either of them had ever seen before. He looked like he could have weighed 2 or 3 pounds easy. No wonder she grabbed for the gun.

Hutch smiled and then let out a small chuckle as he watched his partner’s face. Starsky looked disgusted as he starred at it for a moment and kept the wince of an expression on his face as he glanced over at Hutch.

“So what do you wanna do with her?” He asked in a low whisper. “I mean do you blame her?”

“Ma’am you know it’s illegal to discharge a firearm in the city limits.” Hutch said as he turned to face her.

“Unless it’s in self defense…so how else was I gonna defend my self from him?” She posed the question.

“She’s gotcha there Hutch…I don’t think we got a case here…do you?” He said as he kidded him. “We might as well let her go.”

“Alright.” Hutch agreed and then spoke to her once more. “As long as you have a permit for that gun…I guess we can let you off with a warning this time…as long as you promise us you won’t use it to kill any more pests.”

“Thank you officers…” She told them as they both acknowledged her with a nod of their heads and started for the door…but stopped suddenly when she grabbed up the dustpan and the whiskbroom and held them out in front of her as she called out to them once more.

“Hey…aren’t you gonna get rid of him before you leave?”

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  Chapter 15
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