BY P&C PRODUCTIONS
CHAPTER 11
 

Upon Starsky’s suggestion…they headed over to Huggy’s place for a pizza and a couple of beers. It was around 1 o’clock in the afternoon, but since they were off duty today…and the temperature outside had risen to a humid 94 degrees…ice cold beer seemed like the best way to cool off.  Cassie loved hanging out with her two favorite guys on these rare occasions…when they weren’t plagued with the responsibilities of work and could just kick back and relax.

Hutch couldn’t talk much. But because he was so quiet most of the time on a normal day anyway… his silence didn’t seem to bother Starsky as he rambled on about the repairs he would soon need to make to his car and the cost of the new carburetor for the Rodeo.

He still wasn’t convinced that Hutch had amnesia but there had been a couple of little things that now had him wondering. Like the fact that he  seemed to have no reaction to the news that one of their fellow police officers would soon be well enough to return to work…after three months of recovery from a severe gunshot wound that had almost left him crippled. He had been
a good friend to both of them and he figured Hutch would give him a little more than the blank expression he had received when he informed him.

That combined with the fact that he had a little trouble finding his wallet at home. After realizing what it was he had been looking for…Starsky had to point it out to him as it rested in the same place his partner had always left it every time he took off his trousers. He stood there and watched him as he thumbed through the contents as if he had just picked the pocket of a
stranger.

Upon arriving at Huggys’…Cassie strolled up to her friend who had left them just a few short hours ago to open up his bar…and gave him a large hug.

“Hi handsome…” She said with a playful grin that caused him to return her smile. “Got some ice cream for my float?”

Ever since Starsky had first brought her into his place…he had kept ice cream on hand just to make them for her.  He had enjoyed them as a child and it was how he broke the ice with her upon their first meeting.

“Now what do YOU think?” He teased her. “Root beer or Coke?”

“Root beer…” She told him with a wink. “I might as well live it up!”

“The hard stuff’ll kill ya…”

“I’ll take my chances.” She replied as Starsky strolled up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Go have a seat with Hutch…I’ll be right there.” He told her as she looked up at him.

“Can I play the jukebox?” She questioned him with a pleading look on her face.

“Sure…” He replied with a half-smile as he reached into his pocket and produced a quarter for her.

She took it from him happily and quickly made her way into the corner to make her selections. With Cassie out of earshot…Starsky leaned forward to speak to his old friend.

“Look Hug…somethin’ really weird is goin’ on.” He told him in a whisper.

“So what else is new?” Huggy half-kidded him. But he could tell by the look he was giving him, that Starsky was serious.

“I thought Hutch was just foolin’ around ya know.” He began. “But now I’m not so sure.”

“So what happened to change you’re mind?” Huggy pried. There had to be something.

“Hutch can fake his way through a lot of things…but in all the years that I’ve known him…”

“Yeah…” Huggy prompted when Starsky took a short pause.

“It’s just not like him to walk right past it…without giving it a second look…without picking it up to at least inspect it.” Starsky told him in a noticeably lower tone than before.

“You mean his gun?”

“Huggy…he just left it there.” He said with a puzzled expression on his face. “Have you ever known him to do that?”

“I guess he really doesn’t remember.”  Huggy stated as he rubbed his chin with the tips of his fingers. “But if that’s true… why is he actin’ like nothings wrong?”

“I don’t know…maybe he figures he’ll get it back if he hangs around us long enough.”

“Well…in that case…maybe you better level with him.” Huggy suggested as he looked into his eyes.

“No…let him think I don’t know. Maybe if we act normal…he’ll start to remember.”

“And what if he doesn’t?”

“Then I’ll stick to him like glue…and keep him out of trouble.” Starsky assured him. “One things for sure…he can’t work like this. It’s too dangerous.”

“What about Dobey?”

“If he finds out about this he’ll have no choice but to make him see the shrink. I can’t put him through that.”

“So what are you gonna do?”

“The same thing he would do if it were me.” Starsky replied with a hurt expression on his face. “Be here for him until he comes around.”

Huggy gave him a nod to acknowledge his loyalty to his friend and proceeded to pull on the tap as he filled the two tall glasses he held in his hand. Starsky made his way back to the table to sit with Hutch and Cassie.

After a few minutes…Huggy approached them with two beers and a glass full of root beer and ice cream which he placed in front of her. Then he pulled the long straw from the top of his ear where he had propped it and shoved it down into her glass…causing it to spill over a little onto the table.

About halfway through lunch…Starsky excused himself to use the payphone as Hutch listened to yet another one of Cassie’s stories. She had a gleam in her eyes that he hadn’t seen there in a long time. It was the most she had spoken in months. But he knew that this was just another way for her to avoid facing her own demons.

He pulled out a small piece of paper from a fold in his wallet and dialed the number slowly. It rang two and a-half times before it was answered.

“Doctor Hall’s office…can I help you?”

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  Chapter 12
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