CHAPTER 9
Starsky’s voice was filled with panic as he called out for him. Hutch alerted to his partner’s tone and began to span his eyes around the carousel quickly. Without a word to each other they split up…rounding either side of the ride and ending up behind it now both calling for him and looking around into the crowd.
“I’ll meet you at the entrance…” Starsky called to him as he took off
to the left at a jog…drawing his gun mid-stride. Hutch knew what his partner
wanted him to do…and so he didn’t hesitate. He kept himself in good physical
shape by jogging his five miles every morning and in times like this he
was glad that he did. The grounds where quite large and there were numerous
places for someone to hide with a child. Starsky had headed North and
would probably turn east and up the middle while Hutch would head South
and West…ending up at the entrance. There’s no way the kidnapper could
have gotten past them from where they had been standing…and there was only
one way in or out of the park.
He didn’t like the idea of splitting up but with Max missing…Starsky
had no choice but to put his own safety aside. His grandparents would be
here tomorrow to make the funeral arrangements and to pick him up…and Starsky
didn’t want to have to tell them that their grandson had been taken right
from under their noses. The horrifying image of Miranda lying on the
floor covered in blood stuck in his mind as he continued his frantic
search. As the other patrons caught sight of him…gun drawn at a jog
and looking around with panic on his face…they began to scream and run
from him. Hutch was promoting the same reaction on his end of the park
and with all the commotion they were causing…it was tough to concentrate
on the job at
hand.
Hutch made it to the entrance first as he had planned and sealed it off by flashing his badge and yelling out a forceful command. No one was allowed in or out of the park from that point on. He was placing his wallet into his back pocket when he spotted his partner, jogging up to meet him. The screams were still echoing around them as the rumors flew. Before Starsky could get close enough to his partner to speak to him…another sound began to drown out the panic. Wailing sirens drew closer and closer as two marked police cars slammed on their brakes a few feet in front of the turnstile.
Hutch ran up to greet the officers while Starsky leaned over to cough
and catch his breath. He had searched two thirds of the park while Hutch
had taken a shorter route and covered the other third. It was a search
pattern they used often and it was one of many that had been taught to
them at the Police Academy. As he approached the patrol cars the
officers stepped out
with guns drawn and took aim.
Hutch was still holding onto his gun, as was Starsky and to the other officers…they looked quite suspicious.
“Hold your fire.” Hutch called to them as he let his gun fall to the ground and raised his hands in the air slowly.
“Tell your buddy over there to drop his weapon.” One of the officers called to him as he leveled his gun in line with his exhausted partner’s head.
Starsky glanced up still coughing but breathing a little easier and gave his gun a toss…allowing it to land two feet to his left.
“Rookies…” He mumbled under his breath.
The crowd kept their distance as they watched one of the officers’ retrieve Starsky’s gun and grab him by the arm to escort him over to his partner.
“We’re cops you idiot. “Starsky said in a sarcastic manner to the younger man who pulled at him.
“Hey Marty…he says their cops.” He called out to his own partner who by now had Hutch face down on the ground with his arms behind his back.
“That true?” Marty asked Hutch as he kept his knee pressed into his back.
Hutch spit out the dirt he had unwillingly caught in his mouth when he was tackled a moment after Starsky threw his gun to the ground. He could have prevented it but he decided not to put up a struggle.
“Well…you could call Captain Dobey and ask him...” Hutch said matching the sarcasm in his partner’s voice. “Or you could get your damned knee out of my back and let me show you my Detective’s shield.”
“Detectives?” Marty asked with surprise and a touch of fear as he released his hold and pulled himself off of Hutch suddenly.
With the threat of being shot diminished…Starsky reached into his jacket pocket and produced his shield for the young man beside him to inspect.
Hutch rolled over on one side as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and threw it up to Marty.
After taking a moment to match the pictures on the ID’s to the faces in front of them both men made their apologies. The rank of Detective wasn’t something to be sneezed at. They knew all to well what it took to achieve the position on the force…
“Keep the park sealed off…” Hutch instructed them. “A small boy has been kidnapped…five years old…blonde hair and blue eyes…wearing dark blue jeans and a white T-shirt with a blue jean jacket and blue and white tennis shoes.”
Marty had taken out a small notepad and was busy writing down the description
as Hutch laid it out for him. Ever since his days at the academy Hutch
had taught himself to take note of what people were wearing and the color
of their eyes and hair. He could tell you on any given day what his partner
had on without having to give him a second glance. Right down to the
color of his socks.
After another hour of searching the grounds with no luck…the front gate was reopened and everyone was allowed to leave under the watchful eye of Captain Dobey and a few other officers who had been called to aid in the search. The fence around the property was old and there were several places where local teenage boys had apparently broken through in the past to gain illegal access. Footprints around the sites indicated that they had been used recently but there where so many that it would be near impossible to tell for sure if Max had been taken out through one of them.
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Starsky stood leaning with his back up against the metal wall of the haunted house when Hutch found him. They had split up for the second time that day to search the park and Hutch had spent the past fifteen minutes looking for him. His eyes were distant and there seemed to be an emptiness in them that Hutch had never seen before.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Hutch said as he approached him.
“What are you doing here?”
“When I was a kid…” Starsky began. “My mother used to take us to the fair every year. I loved the haunted house…it was the first thing I ran to when we walked through the gate.”
“I liked the bumper cars.” Hutch remarked knowing that the story wasn’t over yet but letting him know that he was there to listen.
“I knew Nicki would follow me inside even though he was afraid…but if I didn’t find a way to ditch him… he would bug me the whole time we were there.”
“So what did you do?”
“I would find a place to hide…and I’d wait for him. When he got close enough…I’d scare the shit out of him and he’d run out screaming to Ma…and she’d hold him until he calmed down. She knew what I’d done…and she understood it somehow, even though she never told me. I would just take off and do my own thing until it was time to go home.”
“Sounds like Nicki was a real pain in the ass.”
“Yeah…he still is.” Starsky said with a snort that was followed by a heavy sigh.
“We’ll find him Starsk.” Hutch said as he rested a comforting hand on his shoulder like he had done so many times before.
“Miranda is gonna miss out on so much.” He said in a soft voice as he looked into Hutch’s light blue eyes. “She won’t be able to hug him and chase the monsters away at night…like my Ma used to do.”
“Max remind you of Nicki?” Hutch asked trying to gain insight into his partner’s thoughts.
“No…Max reminds me of me.” Starsky told him sadly. “I always had to be strong…but Nicki was the baby…so he got all the hugs while I was forced to hide my fears and deal with them myself. I guess I was jealous. I used to watch her cradle him in her arms and tell him that everything would be all right. She never did that for me.”
“But she loved you.”
“Yeah…but in all the years that I can remember…she never held me like she held Nicki.” Starsky told him as he turned his head and focused on anything but his partner’s face. “Now Max will have to be strong…while he’s in the company of a madman…and the sad thing is…even when we get him back…if we get him back…Miranda won’t be there to hold him.”
“We’ll get him back…Starsky” Hutch said as he grabbed his partner’s chin to force him to look at him. “He won’t hurt him…he wants you … Max is just the bait.”
“We’ve played this game before.” Starsky replied as he focused on his partner’s face. “I just hope we’ve got an Ace up our sleeve’s this time.”
“YOU do…” Hutch told him with a smile. “You’ve got me.”