CHAPTER 10
Starsky pulled into the parking lot of the little shopping mall near Hutch’s place and turned off the engine. Then he lifted his right arm up to rest on the back of the seat as he spoke to his partner…
“Hand me that prescription so I can fill it for you.” He said as he extended his left hand to him.
Hutch looked at him curiously…and then reached into his pocket to produce it for him…
“Be right back.” He told him as he took it from him and opened his car door to step out quickly. Then he slammed it behind him as he headed into the drug store.
Hutch watched as he entered and strolled up to the counter. He thought it was generous of him to pay for his medicine…and vowed to pay him back…just as soon as he could.
“He’ll be awhile…wanna’ turn the radio on?” Cassie asked him from the backseat. “He left the keys.”
Hutch glanced over at the ignition…He HAD left his keys. Here he sat in this guy’s car…with a young girl who had been placed in his care…and the keys in the ignition.
(Only a close friend would be so trusting.)
He turned the key to the first position and then turned the knob on the radio so it would come on. Cassie folded her arms across the back of the front seat and rested her chin on her forearm as she waited for him…
The music was soothing as it echoed in the small compartment. It was tuned to a station that played soft music. He half expected the guy to be into the harder stuff. But apparently…he had an ear for ballads. A sign that deep down…he had a sensitive side.
Cassie began to tell him about their trip to New York and how he had landed the plane and saved the lives of everyone on board…managing to deliver a baby in the process. It sounded like she had made the whole thing up but he decided not to outwardly question her sincerity. Though inside it made him begin to wonder how much of what she had told him earlier…was the actual truth. Teenagers are known to exaggerate and in some cases…even create stories for those willing or gullible enough to listen to them. Now he suddenly had the feeling that this girl might not be a very reliable source of information after all.
Still she seemed so mature…even at first sight he had guessed her age at somewhere around Twenty…but soon discovered he had been a few years off base. In many ways…she seemed honest. The stories she had played out for him earlier seemed totally logical and believable. Why would she all of a sudden decide to delve into this strange fantasy?
(No one in they’re right mind…would be able to swallow this crap.)
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She was finishing her story as Starsky reentered the car. He caught the last few words as she ended quickly and reached over to turn the radio down a notch before speaking to her…
“Talking about the New York trip again?” Starsky asked her as he grabbed hold of the key in the ignition. “Guess Hutch here was a real hero…Ya know…I still don’t know how we managed to live through that one.”
Hutch gave him a look of complete surprise as he validated her story.
Starsky’s hand hesitated on his keys as he caught sight of the uneasy look Hutch was giving him out of the corner of his eye. With a worried look on his face…he turned his head to speak to him.
“You alright Hutch?” He asked him with concern. “What’s the matter?”
He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head to indicate to him that everything was fine and then he glanced back at Cassie who just gave him an innocent smile. He then slowly turned his attention towards the front windshield… as the Torino let out a roar and crept backwards out of the parking space.
He just sat there… stunned at the concept that what she had just told him could in fact actually be true.
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The Torino pulled up next to an older slightly dented Ford LTD. To the right sat a small cottage like house… all by it self near the waters edge with what seemed to be a small white picket fence trailing around half of the property. The sun was shining off of the water with intensity. The rays danced playfully from the surface…emitting such a piercing light that he had to shield his eyes when he looked directly into it.
It was beautiful. The surrounding neighborhood seemed quiet and tranquil.
(Was this his place?…… Apparently it must be.)
Starsky had opened his car door and lifted his seat for her to crawl out of the back. Hutch paused for a moment…and then finally pulled on the handle to allow the door on his side to fall open. He stepped out cautiously and took a real good look around.
“This is where you live.” Cassie told him from the other side of the car. “Does it look familiar?”
“C’mon already…enough is enough…” Starsky told her as he began to loose interest in the game that he knew Hutch was playing with her. “I told you he’s fine…right Hutch?” He asked as he called to his partner from across the roof……”Hutch?”
“Huh…” Hutch said in a low whisper as he responded to Starsky’s second attempt to get his attention.
“C’mon…let’s get inside…” Starsky told him eagerly. “I hope you have a couple cold beers in the fridge.”
Starsky led the way as the three of them approached the front door. Then he reached up above the doorframe and grabbed hold of the small key he knew he would find there. Hutch watched as he instinctively gained access to his house…as if he had done it a hundred times before. He guessed that it was obvious that he probably had.
They stepped inside with Hutch trailing behind as Starsky made himself right at home…heading for the fridge and producing a beer, which he quickly opened and began to guzzle. Hutch marveled at everything he saw. The plants…the intrigueng titles of the books on the bookshelf…the neatly kept floor and furnishings and the unusual items that decorated the walls. It was as if he was taking an inventory of his life…sifting through his surroundings to find a few clues to his past.
“Want one?” Starsky asked him as he lifted the bottle…holding it a little higher.
Hutch waved him off as he continued his investigation. Starsky noticed the strange way his partner was behaving and strolled casually over to him.
“Looking for signs of a prowler?” Starsky said in his ear as he paused to give him a (very funny) expression.
“You know something Hutch…I think you’re right.” He said as both the tone of his voice and his expression suddenly grew serious. “You better call the cops…looks like somebody musta’ broke in here while you where gone.”
“Why do you say that?” Cassie asked as she noticed the look on Hutch’s face at his last comment.
“It must be him…ya know Hutch…the one we’ve been chasing for months now.” He said as he stared into his partners blue eyes with intensity.
“Who?” Cassie asked intrigued.
“The dreaded domestic bandit…He breaks in…cleans up the place and disappears without leaving any fingerprints behind.” He told them with a serious look…that was followed by a playful grin as he took another long sip of his beer.
Cassie giggled while Hutch tried to keep his laughter from causing him too much discomfort. The comment alone wasn’t enough to set him off…it was the way he had said it.
Then with her own sharp wit… which apparently she must have inherited from her father…she came back quickly…
“At least Hutch was smart enough to leave him a key.”
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Chapter 11
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