Starsky & Hutch

A Rose By Any Other Name

jmhenderson

Chapter One

“I don’t get it. I don’t know how you do it,” Starsky said, shaking his head at his Hutch, who stood before him, grinning proudly as he made the forth strike in a row. “You been messing ‘round with magnets again?” he asked, making his friend laugh.

“Skill, Starsk. That’s all there is to it. Just plain skill,” Hutch answered, smiling as he wrote down his score. “You just need to practice more, that’s all,” he offered. Starsky stood up and faced the alley, but turned back around at his friends’ comment.

“I HAVE skill. It’s these shoes. I mean, look it. You can’t have a perfect game wearing these,” he said, waving his hand downward. “Who thought up this design, anyway?” he asked sarcastically. He brought his left foot up in the air to emphasize his point. Hutch snickered at him, shaking his head.

“Are you going to bowl?” he asked. Starsky shrugged, putting his foot back on the floor as he grabbed his bowling ball.

The commotion at the entrance of the bowling alley made him stop just short of rolling his ball. He saw that Hutch had also turned around, looking to see what was going on. A young man had come in, probably not even eighteen years old, and was almost hysterical; yelling for the girl at the counter to call the police. Starsky and Hutch wasted no time as they approached him.

“Please get the police here! My girlfriend is out there with her now!” he said, turning around to go back out the door; running directly into Hutch.

“Whoa there! Who’s out there?” Hutch asked, catching the young man as he tried to go around him.

“There’s a lady … she’s out back of the bowling alley. My, my girlfriend is out with her now. She needs to go to the hospital real bad, real quick!” the teenager said as he looked back and forth between Starsky and Hutch; his eyes wide and wild looking, still filled with panic. Starsky reached for the phone on the bar and pulled it towards him, calling headquarters as he requested back up and an ambulance on the scene. Hutch put his hands on the boy’s shoulders.

“It’s all right son, we’re cops. Now I need you to take me to where your girlfriend and the lady are. Can you do that?” he asked, his tone more a request than a question. They took off running out the door, and Starsky was not far behind them.

They wasted no time getting to the back of the bowling alley; all three of them stopping beside the boy’s car, looking at the sight before them. His date was sitting on the ground, crying hysterically while she held the woman, unable to let go of the body. Hutch walked over towards them, checking for a pulse amidst the bloody hair that matted to her neck. He turned to Starsky and shook his head.

“What’s your girlfriends’ name?” Starsky asked the young man who stood trembling beside him. The young man forced himself to look away from the blood on the ground that he had just noticed all around them. Slowly, he looked at Starsky.

“Stacy.” he said quietly. Starsky walked over to the girl and knelt down beside her, looking at Hutch and nodding at him, letting him know he’d try and get her to calm down. Hutch nodded back to him, knowing his friend had a calming effect unmatched by anyone he’d ever watched; a talent better than anyone at soothing and comforting. He turned his attention on the boy, whom it looked like at any moment was going to be ill.

“Stacy? Stacy, my name is David. Can you look at me honey?” Starsky began, placing his hand on her arm, trying to make her focus. She was sobbing, holding the woman as she looked towards him slowly. Her face looked up at him as the tears continued to stream down. Her eyes met his, and for a moment, went blank, then she began looking around. She saw her boyfriend across the alley with Hutch, bending over as he heaved uncontrollably. She looked back at Starsky. He smiled a warm, sympathetic smile. He was speaking to her, but she could not hear the words. She didn’t even hear the sirens of the approaching emergency vehicles. Then she looked down and gasped. As if for the first time, she saw the body of the woman she held in her arms.

As if in slow motion, she backed herself out from under the body, and Starsky helped her to stand. He tried to keep his eyes focused on hers, and not the blood that covered her. She wasn’t breathing. He could tell as she stood that she was holding her breath. Then it came. The hysterical screaming. Chilling and ear splitting, she tried to run, wanting to get far away from where she’d just stood. But Starsky knew it instinctively and caught her, restraining her as she fought to release herself from his grip. He held her tightly as she struggled, then went limp in his arms, still crying, but too mentally exhausted to continue to try and escape his hold. They both went to the ground, Starsky holding and talking gently to her, Stacy sobbing softly in his arms.

Hutch had stood by the boy until his vomiting had subsided, then stood above him as he sat against the wall of another building, looking very pale and shocky. He began talking to him, and Starsky walked over to them as the paramedics looked over Stacy and made sure she was okay. They stood listening to the boy, finding out that his name was Jimmy and he and his girlfriend had driven back here for a somewhat innocent time of necking. They had only been back there about five minutes when they began hearing someone moaning. When they got out to investigate, they found the woman. Stacy had gone to her while Jimmy went for help. She’d apparently held her as she took her last breaths of life.

Starsky and Hutch backed away from Jimmy as a paramedic came over to check on him, and looked around the scene in time to see the coroner arrive and cover the body. Starsky shook his head.

“Those poor kids. Neither has even seen a dead body before, much less one like this. I mean, this one, well, you know?” he said, looking back and forth between Stacy and Jimmy.

“Yeah, it’s gruesome alright. Worst I’ve ever seen, pal,” Hutch said, sharing in his friends’ dismay. “You know what this means, don’t you? It means we’ve got ourselves a serial killer on the lose,” he said, his tone hushed but intense.

Chapter Two

The drive into headquarters the following morning was a silent one; both men reflecting on the images they’d been forced to look at these past few weeks. They’d seen their share of mangled bodies before, but not having the slightest idea or clue as to finding this murderer had them both at a loss for words.

They walked into the lobby and were greeted by Millie, who looked at them with concern as she noticed their somber faces.

“Hey, how are you guys doing this morning?” she asked as she put a hand on their shoulders. “You don’t look so hot,” she told them.

“Rough night, Millie,” Hutch said, halfway smiling at her.

“And probably going to be a rough morning, too,” she began, “Dobey wants you two in his office right away.” Starsky looked at her and sighed.

“Thanks, shweetheart,” he said, giving her a half grin and a wink as they left her and headed upstairs. She watched as they left and shook her head, knowing what was going down and how much it was already affecting them.

The Captain was frowning when they walked in, putting down a file as he looked carefully between the two detectives. He noticed their tired appearance as he waited for them to sit before he spoke.

“You two alright?” he asked gruffly. Starsky and Hutch both nodded at him.

“Yeah, Cap. This one, well, it was worse than the last two,” Starsky told him.

“This guy is a pure psycho, Captain,” Hutch began, “each victim is mangled and tortured worse than the last.”

“Yeah, we got us a real sicko on the loose,” Starsky added.

“Well, we just may have found a link between the three victims,” Dobey said, making Starsky and Hutch sit straight up in their chairs. “There isn’t much that matches up between these women. We know the motive isn’t robbery because all of the victims’ personal items were still on them. These ladies have, I mean, had, respectable jobs and normal lives and we haven’t seen any kind of connection between them other than being single, brunette, and one more thing,” he said, looking at the detectives.

“Well don’t keep us in suspense for God’s sake. What is it?!” Starsky said. Dobey chose to ignore the detectives’ brisk and demanding tone rather than yelling at him to back down. Hutch was grateful.

“Except for what?” Hutch asked, his tone calm and direct.

“Except for the library. The main branch downtown. In each of the victims’ personal effects, there was a library card for the Washington Public Library. It’s the one and only link we’ve found so far,” the Captain told them. He looked back and forth between them. “So I’m going to send you two in there undercover,” he said, still looking at them both. “With a lure.”

Starsky and Hutch looked at each other, both raising an eyebrow at their Captain’s words. Then they watched him as he picked up the phone and dialed four numbers, simply telling whoever was on the other end of the line to ‘send her in’. Within a few moments, there was a knock on the door.

Captain Dobey yelled ‘Come in’ as the two detectives turned to see her walk into the office. Standing at 5’6”, the hazel eyed, brown haired lady walked in and smiled at everyone as she closed the door behind her. She was very attractive, dressed conservatively in a dark blue skirt and blouse with matching heels. Both detectives practically fell over each other in an attempt to introduce themselves. But Dobey very suddenly and very loudly cleared his throat, making them both sit back down.

“Detectives David Starsky and Kenneth Hutchinson, I’d like you to meet Detective Rose Larkinson from the Eighth Precinct. She matches the general description of the victims closer than anyone we have around here, so, as a personal favor to me, her Captain has ‘lent’ her to us to help with this case,” Dobey told them gruffly. Starsky stood up and extended his hand to hers.

“Call me Dave,” he said, smiling as he took her hand and shook it gently. She smiled back at him. Abruptly, they were interrupted by Hutch.

“And I’m Ken. Welcome aboard,” he said, shaking her hand as well. She smiled politely at them both.

“Thank you. I’ve heard quite a few things about you two,” she said

“And you’re still smiling, so it can’t be all that bad,” Starsky told her, giving her his famous lopsided grin. She laughed at him.

“Your work is famous in our neck of the woods. Very impressive,” she told them. “Oh, and please, call me Rose,” she added, making the men smile even more.

The Captain cleared his throat again, then stood up and pulled another chair around for her to sit in as he briefed them on the next steps to be taken for their sting operation. Hutch, Starsky and Rose would simply be patrons; coming in around the same times of day, but not acting as if they knew each other. The plan would be put into effect the following day.

“Starsky. Hutchinson. I want you to take Rose here with you today when you go to do the follow up on the latest victim. Catch her up to speed on what you know so far and figure out how you’re going to work this operation through,” Dobey told them, sounding very official as he stood up. “Rose, I’m placing you in very capable hands here.” Starsky and Hutch looked at each other and grinned.

“Your Captain says you are very good at your job. Well, so are my men here, and that means I’ll be expecting some results from the three of you very quickly!” He added as he put his hand out towards hers. She stood up and gripped it, shaking it firmly. Starsky and Hutch also stood up.

“Yes sir.” She said, smiling.

“Alright then,” Dobey began, looking at the three of them. “What are you doing standing around here then? Get to work!” he said in a commanding tone. Rose remained facing him.

“It’s an honor to work with you Captain,” she told him. The look of gruffness left his face as he grinned at her, melting down from Captain to gentleman. Starskys’ eyebrow raised as he watched her.

Hutch opened the door as Rose walked out from the office, and Starsky tried to go through it as well, stopped short by Hutch, who quickly followed behind her. Starsky walked out the door, closing it behind him after giving the Captain a glance and a wink. Dobey waited until the door closed before he laughed out loud.

Chapter Three

There wasn’t much to learn about the latest victim. Her name was Judy Ferguson and she lived within three miles of the precinct. She lived alone, with her cat, and her closest relative was a half sister, Linda, that lived in Fresno. She was at the apartment when they arrived, crying, then almost hysterical at the sight of the detectives knocking on the half opened door. Rose had a calming effect on her; sitting down with her and talking to her about her sister and how much she would be missed, letting Starsky and Hutch do the investigating as they looked through the apartment in hopes of finding any clues. When they were ready to leave, Linda had even hugged Rose, thanking her for coming by. The other two detectives were impressed.

Their day of work was finished with getting Rose set up with an apartment close to the library. They then got her acquainted with her new alias, which they had decided on as Rose Wilson, and Starsky and Hutch became Simon and Henderson, just to be on the safe side since their names were well known in the area. Not knowing what resources the murderer might have available, they were not taking any chances with something as simple as names.

Rose was also set up with a part-time job; which just happened to be as Huggy’s newest waitress at The Pits. Luckily, The Pits was within walking distance of the library, as that was where her temporary new apartment was.

The apartment upstairs was perfect for keeping Rose safer than most other places, and the detectives knew that Huggy Bear would look out for her. Even though they also knew she could look out for herself, a little added protection didn’t hurt. This murder could be luring his victims from their homes for all they knew, and they didn’t want to take any chances.

Finishing up, they went back to the precinct and briefed the Captain on all the days events and planning, then stood outside his office in an awkward silence before Starsky’s eyes lit up, putting his hands on Rose and Hutch’s shoulders.

“Hey! Ya know what? I’m starving! Let’s say we go back over to Huggy’s and get something to eat, and then you can get settled in and get to know everyone real good over there?” he said, looking at Rose with hopeful eyes. She looked at him and grinned, then looked at Hutch.

“How about I meet you guys there? I have to go home and get some things together and, well, you know, get ready to move, I guess,” she answered, smiling. She then looked back at Starsky. “Do you think you can hold off eating until I get over there?” she teased. Starsky looked at her, then Hutch, then back at her; his eyes showing a desperation as he spoke.

“If I gotta wait for a woman to pack her things I could die from hunger!” he said, trying to keep a serious look on his face, all be it unsuccessfully. Rose playfully hit his arm.

“I’ll meet you two there in an hour,” she said, laughing as she turned and walked out from the squad room.

“I think I like her,” Starsky said, grinning ear to ear as he looked at Hutch. Hutch smiled at him, chuckling at his friend.

“We’ll see if you feel the same way if she’s a few minutes late,” he teased. Starsky looked at him and grinned.

Starsky and Hutch arrived at the Pits and sat at their favorite booth. Huggy brought them over a couple of beers, then sat down beside Hutch, staring at Starsky and grinning.

“What?!” Starsky asked him, his tone a little hostile because of the stare he was given.

“Nothing, man. I’m just waiting for you to either tell me where you’ve already eaten at or else melt into a puddle of starvation over there,” Huggy said, his mouth twisting sideways into a sarcastic smirk. Starsky looked at him.

“I’m being a gentleman and waiting. Very patiently too, I might add,” he said, giving Hutch a glare. Hutch laughed lightly.

“She’s not even late yet, Starsk. You’ll survive.” He teased.

As if on cue, Rose came in and spotted them, quickly walking over to the booth, taking the available space beside Starsky as she sat down. She had changed clothes, coming out of her business attire and getting more comfortable in a pair of tight fitting jeans and a snug pink t-shirt, showing every inch of her curvy figure. Starsky smiled, obviously pleased by her wardrobe. When she sat down beside him, she brushed up against him, giving him a warm, tingly feeling. Huggy smiled at the lady.

“Well if it isn’t the newest employee of my fine establishment. Come to bring a little class to these two turkeys?” He asked, standing up.

“Lucky for you if she adds some class to this restaurant of yours,” Starsky sneered.

“Ouch!” Huggy said, his face squinting. “You’re more hungry than I thought!” he said, laughing at the dark haired man in front of him. “I’d better get you some food real quick. So, what’ll it be?” he asked.

“How about a cheeseburger, loaded, with fries?” Starsky said, his eyes filled with anticipation.

“And how about you, Ms. Rose? What would you be interested in for your dining pleasure tonight?”

“How about a big salad?” she asked, looking hopefully at the thin man in front of her.

“Dontcha want a nice big cheeseburger to go with that?” Starsky asked as he looked at her, smiling.

“I can really appreciate your appetite. Makes a girl wonder if you have that kind of appetite for everything,” she began, winking at the dark haired man who smiled even more broadly at her.

“I don’t eat meat,” She answered, looking back at Huggy, a snide little grin creeping across her face. Starsky put his head in his hand as he propped his arm up on the table, looking at Hutch and raising his eyebrows.

“And what would the lady like to drink?” Huggy asked, untouched by her vegetarian lifestyle, doing his best to keep his business-like composure.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any twig tea here, do ya?” she asked. Huggy rolled his eyes.

“What? Now I gotta deal with two of you health nuts? What the heck is twig tea, anyway?” he asked, smiling. Hutch laughed out loud. Rose looked at everyone, then sighed.

“Okay. How about a regular glass of iced tea?” she asked, trying to be accommodating. Hutch ordered a burger for himself, silently letting Starsky know he wasn’t being out-numbered; making his friend smile.

It took Huggy a few minutes, but he returned to the table with a glass of iced tea for Rose. Inserted in the glass, he had taken a branch from one of the plants beside the bar.

“It’s the closest I can figure to something called twig tea,” he said, making everyone laugh out loud.

They ate their meals and talked socially, learning more as they became comfortable and got familiar with each other. Once Starsky and Hutch began ‘picking’ on each other, Rose began to feel more welcome and accepted. All three were smiling when Huggy came over, his facial expression serious.

“Captain Dobey’s on the phone, says he needs to talk to one of you guys right now.” he told them. Hutch got up and went to the bar, then quickly returned, putting his napkin on his plate.

“The party’s over folks. Another victim just showed up over near the impound garage.” Both Rose and Starsky looked at Hutch, the smiles dropping from their faces.

They were out the door before Huggy could get back over to their booth. He looked down at the table full of unfinished plates and sighed, picking up the money that had been tossed down for their meal.

Chapter Four

The latest victim had been found by a worker in a building near the impound lot. The man had been taking his trash out, finishing up his evening, only to be startled by the womans’ limp body beside the dumpster. Her body was still warm. He was shaken up, but able to talk to the three detectives as they investigated the scene. Starsky and Hutch were asking him the usual questions: No, he hadn’t seen anyone else or any unfamiliar cars around the area; no, he hadn’t seen anyone suspicious lurking in the neighborhood, and yes, he would call if he thought of anything else. Hutch gave him their card as Starsky looked over at Rose, who was standing by the body, leaning over it, staring.

He walked over to her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, making her jump unexpectedly.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked, looking at her pale face as she steadied herself beside him.

“Yeah,” she began quietly. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so, uh, brutal, I guess. But I’m fine, really.” She told him.

She gave him half a grin and shrugged, then leaned over, pulling out a pencil from her pocketbook as she noticed something shiny beside the body. She took the pencil and lifted it up. It was a bracelet. Thick and gold, it was almost too large for a woman, but nowadays, women wore just about anything. She looked at Starsky, then Hutch, who had walked over to join them. Rose held the bracelet that dangled from the pencil up for them to see.

“Could be hers. Or could be the murderers,” she said, pulling a baggie from her purse and placing it inside. A sudden chill hit her, making her body shudder.

The shadowed figure watched carefully as the three of them examined the bracelet. A hand came up on the wrist of the shadow, muttering lowly in disgust at the loss of such a precious item. The form continued to watch the detectives; studying them from an upstairs window across the street.

“Did you two find out anything from him?” Rose asked, pointing to the man who had found the body, giving his statement to a couple of uniformed officers.

“Nope. He just came up on her takin’ out the garbage. Didn’t have much more to say,” Starsky answered, shrugging his shoulders.

“C’mon. We’ve done about all we can do here. Let’s make some room for the coroner to do his job. We can go get you settled into your new place. We’ll swing by the precinct real quick and maybe get back to Huggys’ before he closes,” Hutch offered, taking Rose by the arm and heading towards the Torino. They made their way through the officers that stood around, ducking under the tape around the crime scene. They climbed into the car silently; Rose getting in first, as Starsky and Hutch looked at each other over the top of the car before getting in, concern for her and this growing case silently understood between them.

The figure watched closely, making sure that the image of the three detectives was committed to memory; more so easier in that out of place car they drove off in. Through the shadows that danced inside from the police lights and oncoming traffic, a smile was evident.

Hutch held the door for Rose as they walked back into the Pits and this time continued to hold the door for Starsky, who was toting Rose’s luggage in from her car parked near by. Starsky gave him a smug look, not sure if his friend would continue to hold the door for him until after he’d walked through it. Rose had been quiet during their trip from the crime scene, over to the precinct, then over to Huggy’s. But she was fine, concentrating on what she’d just seen; studying it in her mind.

The bar was much less crowded than before, giving them almost free reign as they walked about, still settling in at the detectives’ favorite booth. Rose excused herself to take her belongings upstairs, turning down Starskys’ offer to take them for her. She asked them to order her a beer, promising to return momentarily. Starsky watched her carefully as she left, waiting for her to head up the stairs before turning his eyes to Hutch.

“Think she’s going to be alright?” he asked, his face showing concern.

“Sure, Starsk. She’s just taking it all in, that’s all. She’s sharp and I don’t think she’s easily shaken,” he answered.

“Sounds like some kinda fancy mixed drink to me,” Huggy said, smiling at his two friends. “What’ll it be, gentlemen?” he asked.

“Three beers, hold the wise cracks,” Starsky said smugly.

“Rough night?” Huggy asked, looking between the two men.

“Another murder. Just as ugly as the last three. You get any leads for us since we were gone?” Hutch asked, his face hopeful.

“Phone’s been dead all night, man. Sorry.” Huggy answered, turning towards the bar. Rose came back down the stairs, looking differently as she had taken her hair out from the confinement of its’ ponytail.

“I’m back,” she said, smiling as she sat down beside Starsky.

“Thank goodness,” Hutch began, “He just isn’t much of a conversationalist,” he said, pointing towards Starsky.

“Gee, thanks partner,” Starsky retorted. Rose laughed at them, watching Huggy as he brought over their beers.

“Yes, watch my very unique moves, Miss Rose. Tomorrow night this job is all yours,” Huggy said, turning himself around, trying to primp as he twirled, almost losing the beers from the tray in the process. Everyone laughed, including Huggy. “Of course, you can add your own style to the moves,” he added, gladly placing the still full beers in front of them. He brought an extra one, helping himself to it as he sat down beside Hutch.

“Yes, I guess tomorrow starts my brand new life,” she said, sighing, looking around.

“Hey, it’s not all bad,” Starsky began. “At least you’ve got us to keep you company.” he said, his words of encouragement bringing yet another smile to her face.

“Well, that makes it all worth while then, doesn’t it?” she said, lifting her glass. The men all brought their glasses to join hers, clinking them together in unison.

Chapter Five

The next few days proved to be uneventful, which in a way was good for Rose, helping her get into her new routine as waitress for Huggy and new client at the library. Starsky and Hutch were always near by, not letting her out of their sight, which she secretly found very comforting. Huggy was more than accommodating; helping her learn the ways of the bar and handling his customers, especially his regulars, and helping her make some very impressive tips. After five days of the ‘new life’, she was already finding herself at ease with her new surroundings.

By Saturday night the bar was hopping and Rose had found her speed as she waited on the tables like a pro. She handled the patrons well, charming them and teasing them, mingling with the crowd. She also handled the ones too drunk to be served with finesse.

Starsky and Hutch came in around nine PM. They sat at the bar, letting Huggy cater to them as they watched her, impressed with her new found abilities.

“Yep. I’m gonna hate to see this one go,” Huggy told them, following their eyes towards her. “She could really be an asset to this little gold mine,” he added, looking at the two detectives. They grinned back at him, both bringing their eyes to face him at the same time.

“Maybe you could talk her into a part-time gig here, Huggy. She’d probably jump at such a fine opportunity,” Starsky teased, speaking in a sarcastic tone. Hutch laughed at his friends’ remark.

“Laugh all you want, but that girl is making a killing in tips here. Probably better pay then her piddley cop’s salary!” Huggy answered defensively. “And speaking of making some money … Are you two gonna eat, or just keep the barstools warm tonight?” he added, still speaking like he was mad at his friends.

“Food?” Starsky said, his eyes lighting up. “I could go for some of that,” he said, smiling as he looked from Hutch to Huggy.

“Yeah Hug. I could get into a little nourishment myself,” Hutch began, “Even though it’ll be hard to find here,” he added, laughing with Starsky at his teasings.

After two hours, the detectives had eaten, played a little pool, then finally settled into their booth. The long week was catching up to them. Both relaxed comfortably and watched the bar as the patrons began to thin out. Rose walked over to them, and, sitting down beside Starsky, leaned herself into him, letting out a sigh as she closed her eyes for a moment. Starsky could smell her hair, enjoying the softness of it against him as he inhaled the floral fragrance.

“Is all this running around finally catching up to ya?” Huggy asked, walking over to the booth, bringing Starsky and Hutch another beer and Rose a tall glass of iced tea. Of course he had inserted a branch from his plant, making his attempt at twig tea once more. She looked up at him, giving him a big smile as she sat up, readying to go back on the floor.

“Whoa! Don’t bother yourself little lady! Your shift just ended five minutes ago! Sit back and relax… you earned this one,” Huggy said, handing her the tea.

“Thanks Hug. This has been some evening!” she replied, gratefully accepting the glass. Starsky smiled at her.

“You really do handle working the floor well. In fact, Huggy here was just talking to us about trying to get you to work part time around here permanently!” Starsky teased, chuckling at the prospect. Rose smiled at him.

“That might not be a bad idea,” she told him, pulling wads of money out from her apron. She sat there and began counting, pleased with herself after finding out she’d made $63 and some change.

“Wow,” Hutch began, “maybe we should’ve gotten you to buy our dinner.” He said playfully.

“That probably wouldn’t have taken too much persuasion!” she said happily, putting the money back in her apron. Starsky’s eyebrows raised, hopeful in his thoughts as he mingled over the prospect.

They talked and carried on, enjoying each other’s company as they played pool and pinball. When they finally sat back down in the booth, Starsky was long gone in a world of his own.

He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. She was dressed in tight jeans and a light blue blouse that was unbuttoned just enough to show off her cleavage. Each time she had leaned over the pool table, he found he was fighting himself not to stare. And he knew she was flirting with him; at least, he was almost sure. There was a definite attraction. He wanted to explore the feelings that were calling to him. All three of them got along well, talking with one another as if they’d known each other a lot longer than merely a week. Yeah, she was special alright.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he noticed Hutch’s hand waving in front of him.

“Finally decided to come back to us? Where were you?” he asked, making Starsky smile at him.

“I was right here, pal. Never left,” he said, grinning sideways at him, then smiling as he looked at Rose.

There it is, Hutch thought to himself. That look. That lost little puppy dog look that he starts getting when he’s falling for a lady, where his eyes are big and hopeful as he watches them. He knew his best friend all too well. Hutch chuckled out loud.

“Guys, I am beat. Would you mind terribly if I go on upstairs and call it a night?” Rose asked, looking between the two men, taking her hair with one hand and pulling it away from her face. She looked at Hutch, then Starsky, grinning broadly. Hutch thought he might be recognizing that same look on her face as well. Was he watching the makings of a new courtship? Certainly looked like a possibility to him.

This time it was Starsky’s turn to pull Hutch from his daze. He was snapping his finger, looking him dead in the eyes when Hutch noticed. Starsky laughed.

“Yeah, I don’t think it’ll be much longer before we’ll need to hit the road as well,” Starsky began, watching Rose as she stood in front of them and stretched, then turned herself around to lean down on the table. Starsky admired the view.

“Okay, I guess we can call it a night then,” she said smiling, looking almost infatuated at Starsky, who eagerly returned the look. For Hutch, it seemed like minutes before Starsky finally broke the stare and spoke, since Rose had no intentions of breaking it first.

“Hey, what are your plans tomorrow? Got any?” he asked, trying not to sound too eager. Rose laughed.

“Well, you’re not going to believe it, but Huggy asked me if I could help him with his brunch crowd in the morning since Janet is off this weekend, and I told him I would!” she said, half laughing at herself for feeling so excited about it. “But after one PM, I’m off the whole day with nothing to do,” she said, her words spoken innocently. “What did you have in mind?” she said, again, an innocent tone being offered.

“We could go and find something to do, maybe get our minds off this case for a little while,” Starsky answered, trying to keep the innocent innuendo afloat.

She looked at him, her face still grinning, then looked at Hutch. Hutch shook his head.

“Not me. I have a whole days agenda planned full of house work and repotting some plants and then a nice evening with Meagan,” he said, looking between the two people in front of him.

“Awe. That’s a shame,” Starsky said, a devilish grin slipping across his face as he winked at his partner, acknowledging the gesture just made on his behalf.

“When should I pick you up then?” Starsky asked, trying to control the eagerness in his voice.

“How about three?” Rose asked, smiling broadly.

“Perfect,” Starsky answered her. With that, she said ‘goodnight’ and turned around, walking over to Huggy at the bar as she said her goodnights to him, then headed up the stairs. Starsky and Hutch watched her, then Hutch couldn’t help but stare at his partner with a huge grin spread across his face.

“What???” Starsky asked, shrugging his shoulders. Hutch laughed out loud.

The figure sitting in the shadows of the bar was slightly amused with watching the interaction between the three. Hidden nicely in a booth in the corner, the person studied them, taking mental notes while trying not to look conspicuous. They would not get in the way, no matter what. No cops were going to interfere. She looked just like the others. Taking care of her out would no doubt keep those other two preoccupied, at least for a while. She really looked more like the one than the others had. So much so, it was becoming hard to remember that she wasn’t the one. The hair. The flirtatious grin. Her movements. Maybe it was her; staking out her latest conquests. Maybe hell. It was her. The face showed anger as the realization hit that the female detective was really that damned woman. She would have to be taken care of. Taught a lesson before she died. That slut. She would do anything to get a man, including playing it up to a couple of cops.

Starsky and Hutch got up and walked to the bar, saying their ‘goodnights’ to Huggy as they walked past the booth in the far corner to leave. No one was there.

Chapter Six

Starsky was anxious and excited about the date he and Rose would be having; almost nervous like a teenager. Waking at 8:30am, he caught himself smiling in the mirror, whistling an off key tune and knicking himself as he shaved. But it was okay. The sun was shining and he had something to do other than laundry and cleaning up the apartment. Although he would get them done, it didn’t seem like such a chore today. He went to sleep thinking of her, and woke up with the same thoughts. She was special. She was beautiful. And she was all his this afternoon. Even the phone ringing did not jar his happy train of thought.

“Starsky’s bar and grill, how may we serve you today?” he answered cheerfully, holding his toothbrush in his hand as he spoke. He was surprised to find Huggy on the other end of the line.

“Huggy, how are you doing on this fine morning?” he asked, putting the toothbrush back in his mouth.

“Well, I’d be doing better if you’d give me back my waitress so I can open this joint up,” he answered, sneering.

“What are ya talking ‘bout, Hug? She’s upstairs. Go wake her up. You probably worked her too much last night and she’s over slept is all,” he answered, continuing his dental grooming.

“Naw man. She left here first thing this morning, saying something about police business and a lead and that she’d be back in time to open. I figured that was just code for going to your place and getting a little,” Huggy told him. Starsky’s face dropped.

“What police business?” he asked, his face filling with concern.

“Don’t know, man. All I know is she got a call around eight this morning and was dressed and outta here in a flash, rushing past me like her pants were on fire,” Huggy told him.

“Call Hutch. Tell him to meet me there. Oh! And Huggy, call Dobey too, will ya? Tell the Cap we’ll call and keep him informed as soon as we know something. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Starsky didn’t wait for his friend to answer before hanging up the phone. He was dressed and in the Torino in a matter of minutes, his mind racing at the thoughts of what could be going down.

He arrived at The Pits within fifteen minutes, siren blaring as he screeched the car to a halt in front of the entrance. He ran inside, feeling the knot that was forming in his stomach, trying his best not to think the worst.

Hutch walked in quickly behind him, looking around, wondering what could have happened. Huggy had called him, briefly telling him what was going on and telling him to get there to meet Starsky. The two detectives jumped the stairs heading to her apartment, followed closely by Huggy. Turning the handle, they found the door locked. Huggy quickly used his key to let them in.

Looking around, nothing seemed out of place. There were still things left unpacked, and clothes hung neatly in the closet, but nothing looked out of the ordinary. Her car keys were sitting on a table beside the telephone, along with a notepad and pencil. Starsky looked at it, then Hutch looked closer.

“Starsk.” Hutch said, making him turn around to see what his partner had found. Hutch began taking the pencil to the pad, gently rubbing the lead over the paper, showing what had been written on the page before.

‘ Library. Main building. Third door on right of left side of building. ‘

“What the hell?” Starsky said, his face a mix of anger and fear. He raced out the door and down the stairs, Hutch right behind him.

Rose had a restless night, trying to sleep in her still unfamiliar surroundings, and was still a bit groggy when the phone rang. When she answered, a woman dispatcher from Metro told her that they had received a call with specific instructions for her and Starsky and Hutch to meet someone with information on their case. She stood up, completely awake, writing down the directions of where to meet up with everyone, and asked if she should contact the other two detectives. Once told that they were already in route, she got dressed quickly and headed out the door, grabbing the note she had written her directions on. She sped down the steps and past Huggy, stopping long enough to tell him she had a lead on the case and would be back in time to go to work.

She walked to the vacant library, looking around, figuring that she had arrived before her counterparts. She waited impatiently. Knowing she should wait for Starsky and Hutch to get there. Knowing this was their territory and she was an outsider to it. She paced back and forth for what seemed like an eternity; waiting. Looking at the note she brought with her, she walked around to the side of the building, going towards the third door. She waited a little bit longer, but the anticipation of getting a good lead on this case was nagging at her to move forward, with or without them. What if the person willing to give them the information decided to leave?

Easing herself beside the door, she turned the handle. It was unlocked. Not wanting to take any chances, she pulled her gun from her purse, then walked inside.

The hall was dark and the air smelled stale, telling the buildings’ age as the wooden floors creaked beneath her feet. There was a light further up towards the end of the hallway, and she focussed on it, not realizing that someone had come up behind her. She felt the burn of the metal as it hit, slamming her across the side of her head. It brought her to her knees instantly, surrounding her in a graying fog. The pain was unbearable, and she slumped into the floor; her gun falling beside her.

Her lifeless body was dragged into another doorway then kicked until it rolled down a flight of steps. The menace that had brought her there began to laugh, looking at the still form slumped over at the bottom of the stairs. The shadowy figure slowly descended, pulling out what looked to be a machete, raising it higher in the air with each step downward.

“You’ll never be able to ruin another life again! You evil little home wrecking bitch!” the voice was a shrill as the form lifted the machete in the shadows, taking aim at the body below it. Had it not been for the sound of the approaching siren, it surely would have cut her body in half. But the siren had startled the attacker, enough so that the first instinct coming to mind was to flee. The darkened figure ran quickly, escaping into more shadows.

Starsky and Hutch ran to the side of the building. With guns raised, they opened the third door quietly, aiming their weapons inside before entering. A few steps into the dark corridor lead them to finding Rose’s gun, laying on the floor. Starskys’ face scowled with concern. He looked up at Hutch as he bent over and picked up the weapon, finding Hutch returning his look of worry. They took a few more cautious steps, which lead them to the half opened door of the basement.

They began to enter, guns raised, when they heard a door closing further ahead. Silently, Hutch motioned to Starsky to go in as he went ahead to investigate. Starsky carefully stepped in the doorway, reaching his hand over the walls in search of a light switch. Finding it, he flipped it on and looked around, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. That’s when he saw her. The lifeless mound of a body at the bottom of the stairs.

His gun still drawn and ready to fire, he looked around frantically as he flew down the stairs. He was calling her name as he searched for anyone else in the basement. She didn’t answer him. Once he had secured the area, he fell to his knees in front of her, pulling the hair from her face, seeing the blood that covered it.

“Oh my God,” he said out loud, panic trying to take him over. Her body was twisted and bruised everywhere he looked. He kept calling her name, his hand shaking as he checked for a pulse. He found it, and finally taking a breath, let out a deep sigh of relief. He wanted to see the extent of her injuries, but knew better than to move her. He continued to call her name, touching her gently as he ran his hand along her face, hoping for any kind of response and praying that Hutch would return quickly.

“Rose? Rose honey, it’s me. Dave. Rose? Can you hear me? I need you to answer me, okay?”

A low moan came from her as she tried to move, wincing in pain before ever reaching a fully conscious state. Starsky’s face wrinkled as if he could feel the pain himself.

“It’s okay, shhh, it’s okay honey. Shhh.” Starsky did his best to comfort her, trying to keep her from moving too much as she started coming around.

“Rose. I need you to focus on me. Can you say something?” he asked, his voice pleading as he gently stroked her hair away from her eyes. Finally, her eyes opened, seeing him as he watched her. She could see the fear and concern in his eyes.

“What do you want me to say?” she asked weakly. Starsky smiled at her, laughing nervously.

Hutch appeared back at the top of the stairway, and Starsky looked up, hollering for him to get an ambulance. When he looked back down at Rose, she was unconscious again.

“Just hang on. You hear me? Just hang on. You’re gonna be okay,” Starsky said, still stroking her hair as he held her hand.

Chapter Seven

Rose opened her eyes and looked around at the sterile surroundings. A hospital, she thought as she recognized the plain decor. She tried to sit herself up, only to have a blinding pain in her head force her to lay back down. She was hurting, having a hard time finding a place on her body that didn’t throb with her heartbeat. Her whole body felt like it had been beaten, and she couldn’t remember at first what had happened to cause this. A few flashes of memory started coming to her, but along with them came more pain. The aching began to take over her, and she closed her eyes, hoping she could lull herself to sleep and be rid of it.

She heard the door to her room open, and listened, hearing footsteps coming closer to her. Then she heard something moving. Some sort of shuffling noise loud across the floor.

“Shhh! She’s still out of it. Keep it down, will ya?” It was Starskys’ voice … she recognized it even though he was whispering.

“For Petes’ sake Starsk, she’s still unconscious. A little noise isn’t going to magically wake her. If I thought it would I’d be banging on the walls with this thing.” It was Hutchs’ voice that answered him.

“Yeah, I know. Shouldn’t she be coming around by now though?” she heard Starsky ask. The concern in his voice touched her. She heard the noises of what sounded like them sitting down beside her, and realized they must have pulled the visitors’ chairs up closer to her bed.

“You heard the doctor. She’s got a concussion and her body is trying to heal itself. She could be out for hours, Starsk. Quit worrying so much, she’s tough, or couldn’t you tell?” Hutch asked, his voice low as he spoke. She could hear one of them shifting around in the vinyl chair.

“Yeah, well, she didn’t look so tough when she was at the bottom of those stairs. God Hutch, I thought she was dead. I can’t believe that the murderer got to her that quick. And ya know, he has to know she’s a cop too, calling her with that bull about ‘information on the case’.” Starsky looked at his friend, the anger showing in his face. “You think he’ll come after her again?”

“If he finds out she’s still alive and thinks she can recognize him, I’d bet on it. He hasn’t left any witnesses yet,” Hutch answered.

“She.” Roses’ voice was raspy, and she found it very hard to speak. Starsky and Hutch both stood up beside the bed.

“Rose?” Starsky put his hand to her face, gently rubbing the hair back from her forehead.

“It was a woman,” Rose said, opening her eyes, seeing the two men looking down at her. Hutch pulled down the safety rail and sat on the right side of the bed.

“Are you sure?” he asked, looking at her with a quizzical expression. She looked at him, then at Starsky, who pulled down the other railing to sit beside her.

“I didn’t see her, actually, but I heard her. She was yelling at me,” She began, bringing her hand to her head, as if she could take the pain away by touching it. “She said something about never being able to wreck another home again or something like that. It’s still a little foggy. I remember her shoes, too. Definitely a woman with small feet,” she said, looking between the two men back and forth. Starsky looked over at Hutch, who looked back at him.

“A woman. Now why would a woman be out killing off other women …” his spoken thoughts were interrupted by Rose as she moaned out loud, the pain more than she thought it would be as she tried to sit up. Hutch stood up and walked beside the bed, gently placing his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to lay back down.

“You’re not in any condition to do that. You need to lay here and get some rest,” he said, trying to persuade her. She glared at him.

“I’ll make my own decisions about that, thank you,” she said curtly, anger evident on her face. Her look softened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. But I’m not about to stay in this hospital!” she told him, sitting herself up completely this time, keeping the pain that screamed within her down to a low grunt.

“Hey, you need to lay back down young lady. You’ve got a concussion and a whole lot of other things working against ya right now. Do you know you almost died out there?” Starsky asked, the urgency in his voice proving his concern. Rose sat there for a moment, not letting them know how dizzy and nauseous she was feeling.

“Is anything broken?” she asked, looking herself over. Hutch sighed, knowing where this was leading; having been there too many times before with his partner.

“No, nothing’s broken. The doctor said you must’ve been unconscious before you went down those stairs. He said it was probably the only reason you didn’t break your neck, or anything else for that matter,” he told her.

“Where are my clothes?” she asked, looking at the hospital gown she was in, frowning.

“Why?” Starsky asked bluntly. She looked at him, her weakened eyes pleading.

“I want to get out of here. Please,” she said, looking between Starsky and Hutch.

“No. Absolutely not. You are too weak and you have a concussion and you need medical care,” Starsky told her. She looked at him, her eyes begging. Her face looked sad, and the bandages intensified the effect. “No Rose. You just can’t do it. Now I’m sorry, but you’ll have to trust me on this. You need to be in the hospital. I told ya. You almost died today.” Starskys’ words were firm as he held her hand, hoping she would understand that he meant business.

Chapter Eight

The drive from the hospital that night was very quiet. Starsky kept looking at Hutch, and Hutch at Starsky. Rose just sat between them, trying to look happy at getting her way, even though the pain tried to take her smile away. After many heated words between them, and a lot of begging and pleading, they finally ended up calling the doctor who had admitted her in with them. He also protested and even refused to sign her discharge papers, but she released herself anyway, signing herself out. He insisted on giving her some medication, and sent them to the pharmacy in the hospital to fill a prescription for pain before they left.

They drove her back over to Huggy’s.

The Pits was already closed for the evening, but they had called to let Huggy know they were coming in. He was sitting there waiting when they arrived. Walking through the bar door, the first thing Rose noticed was the look on Huggys’ face when he saw her. His face scowled as he saw the bruising and bandages all over her, then, trying to cover the shock from her appearance, he smiled at her.

“Glad you’re doing okay there, little lady. I was a little worried, to say the least,” he said, walking towards her.

“Thanks for worrying, but I’m fine, really,” she answered, walking towards the stairs. “I think I’m going to go lay down for a little bit, okay?” she said, trying her best to hide the pain that was taking her over. Huggy nodded as Hutch stood beside him, watching as Starsky took her slowly up the stairs. When he was sure that they were out of ear shot, Huggy turned to Hutch.

“What the hell is she doing out of the hospital? She looks awful. No way she should be outta there!” he said.

“We couldn’t stop her. We tried, trust me. So did her doctor. But she was coming out of there either with our help or without it, and we figured we ought to tag along,” Hutch said, his tone calm as he answered his friend.

“And you brought her back here? Where she got set up from in the first place? I mean, you know I don’t mind and all, but …” Huggy’s words were cut off.

“She insisted on that too. Said all her stuff was here and it would be the only logical place to come to. Would you believe one of the first things she asked after we finally agreed to help her get out from the hospital was whether you did okay without her here this morning?” Hutch half chuckled as Huggy smiled.

“Damn. I like that woman,” Huggy said.

“Yeah? Well watch yourself. I think Starsky’s got his eyes on her too,” Hutch answered, grinning. He followed Huggy over to the bar and sat on a stool as Huggy walked behind it.

“But isn’t it dangerous having her come back here?” Huggy asked, looking with concern.

“I think that’s why she wants to be here. She knows as well as we do that she’s our only link to the murderer right now. Figures the best way to catch her is to make herself available. Dobey wasn’t too happy about it either, but it made sense, so he reluctantly gave his approval.” Hutch looked at his friend, then noticed his face contort a little.

“HER?!? The killer is a woman?” Huggy asked, realizing what Hutch had just said.

“Afraid so,” Hutch said.

“Wow man. That is one sick female out there,” Huggy told him, wincing his face as he rested it on his hand.

“Yeah, you got it my friend. And that’s one brave lady upstairs,” Hutch replied.

“Stubborn too, hmmm?” Huggy asked, his voice calmer as he handed Hutch a beer. Hutch just shook his head in agreement, smiling at his friend.

Chapter Nine

Starsky opened the door to the apartment for Rose, still holding her arm as he led her inside. He knew she was hurting, and even though she wouldn’t admit it, it was becoming more obvious with each step they took. Before he could close the door behind them, she was falling into him. He caught her as his face became instantly filled with worry. Slowly he eased her over to the bed, which was just around the corner from the door, and helped her to sit down.

“Hey, are you alright?” he asked, looking her over, forcing her to look at him by taking her chin and lifting it up with his hand.

“Just, just a little woozy, that’s all.” She said, looking at his eyes briefly before looking away, feeling the darkness ebbing up on her, trying her best to fight it.

“It’s more than that,” He said, laying her back and bringing her legs around so that she was stretched across the bed. He looked down at her for a moment, then quickly left to go in the bathroom, coming back out with a wet wash cloth and sitting down beside her. He gently took the cool cloth and touched it to her face and neck, noticing her breathing as it became calmer and her facial expression became more relaxed. She reached up and put her hand around his.

“I’m sorry we missed that date this afternoon. I have a feeling it would have been really nice,” She told him, trying to smile.

“Yeah. Well, you know, that just gives us something to look forward to when you’re feeling better,” he answered her, grinning broadly.

“Thank you,” she said, still smiling as she closed her eyes.

“For what?” he asked sweetly, continuing to gently rub her face and neck with the cloth.

“For everything. You know,” she began, opening her eyes to look at him, “I really hate hospitals.”

“Naw. Really?” he asked, sarcasm in his voice as he smiled. She laughed at him, even though it obviously hurt her to do so. She took her hand and put it up to his face, cupping it as she drew him down to her. He grinned broadly, and very gently, touched his lips to hers, then slowly sat back up. He watched as she smiled, then drifted off to sleep.

Hutch knocked gently at the door a couple of times, and Starsky slowly got up from the side of the bed, making sure not to disturb Rose. He opened the door and let Hutch and Huggy in, shushing them as he pointed towards where Rose was resting. All three sat down in the living room of the small apartment.

“How’s she doing?” Hutch asked quietly.

“Well, she almost passed out on me after we got up the stairs, but she’s sleeping now. Hey, did you bring her pain pills up here with ya?” Starsky had just thought about them, and his face was showing his panic.

“Got ‘em in my pocket,” Hutch said, pulling the bottle out that they had gotten from the hospital. Starsky sighed in relief.

“Well gents, I hate to leave such a fine party, but it’s already been a long day, and I gotta get some beauty rest so I can start all over again in the morning,” Huggy told them quietly. “You need anything?” he asked.

“No, but thanks Hug. For everything,” Starsky said. Huggy just waved at them, smiling as he turned the lock on the handle then closed the door behind him. Hutch sat back and sighed, looking at his friend.

“You think she’s okay in there?” he asked.

“Yeah, she was still pretty groggy from the meds they gave her at the hospital before we left. I’ll check on her in a little bit,” Starsky answered. Hutch yawned and stretched, relaxing himself as his body slumped into the sofa.

“So, you want the couch or the cot?” he asked. Starsky looked at him and grinned.

“I think you’re a little too tall for the cot. You stretch out there on the sofa. Besides, I’ll probably be getting up on and off through the night anyway, you know, gotta keep waking her up and all, make sure she’s okay,” he said, pointing towards the other room. Hutch smiled at him.

“Yeah pal, okay,” Hutch said, laying himself down as he propped a pillow under his head.

Starsky watched him. In only a few minutes, Hutch was lightly snoring. It had been a long day for both of them. He got up from the chair and walked in to check on Rose. She was still sleeping, though it was a restless, somewhat pained slumber. He looked at his watch. Already it was midnight. He sat beside her on the bed, not wanting to disturb her, but having to, if for nothing else but his own peace of mind.

He sat there, watching the different expressions that crossed her face, anguish, pain, anger, and wondered what she was dreaming. He gently took her hand, rubbing her arm up and down as he called her name. She seemed to lose the edginess from the dream she was having, then shook violently, startled seeing him in front of her.

“Hey there,” He said, looking down at her and smiling. “I didn’t mean to scare ya, but you were having a bad dream, and you looked uncomfortable, and …” Rose interrupted him.

“And I have a concussion and you had to make sure I wasn’t in a coma,” she said, a little sharply. He looked at her and sighed.

“Yeah, and that too,” he said, smiling a little as he looked down. “You think you can sit up? I figure since you’re awake, you might as well take your medication,” Starsky told her, holding out his hand to help her. She took it, and very painfully let him help her into a sitting position. He got up and grabbed a cup from the sink and filled it with water, then went in and got the pain medication from the coffee table where Hutch had set it down.

When he walked back around the corner, Rose had leaned over, going sideways into the pillow and was back asleep. He shook his head. He knew if he didn’t get that medicine in her now that later she’d be in more misery than she already was. So he woke her again, and propped her against him as he sat beside her on the bed. She took the medication without comment, giving Starsky a slight grin to thank him. Then she was asleep again, only this time in his arms. She snuggled into him, looking more comfortable than she had since they arrived. Starsky leaned himself back into the wall for support, bringing his legs up on the bed as he made himself as comfortable as possible. He knew he would be sleeping there instead of the cot that night.

For the next few days, that was where he slept. It kept him at ease from worrying. Each day she was moving around more and getting better, but each night she would be restless and uncomfortable, and he was her calming effect.

Chapter Ten

She awoke to the sounds of movement in the apartment and kept her eyes closed; listening. The hushed voices came to her in waves, and she felt herself straining to hear who was there and what was being said. She could hear Captain Dobey. His voice was low but still forceful as he spoke. She leaned herself over from the side of the bed, hoping to hear more clearly.

“I don’t like this one bit,” he said.

“Well Captain, she’s a cop. And a damned good one. We’re not going to let anything happen to her,” Hutch was saying, his voice quiet and strong.

“I still don’t like it, but I don’t see here we have too much of a choice,” Dobey replied.

The voices became lower, as if they were walking away, and Rose strained, leaning herself further to be able to hear. Losing her balance, she fell over from the bed to the floor. Before she could compose herself enough to sit up, she was surrounded.

“Hey! What are ya doing down there? Don’t you have enough bruises already?” Starsky said, leaning down and putting his hands on her arms, helping her up. Sitting on the bed, she looked at all the faces that were staring at hers.

“What’s going on?” she asked, looking evenly at them.

“I guess you fell outta bed,” Starsky said, avoiding her obvious question. She glared at him.

“What is REALLY going on?” she asked, her tone almost demanding. One thing she was not going to allow was being talked down to. Hutch took a deep breath and sighed. He looked at Starsky, who returned the look.

“The Captain here is just worried about you. He wants to make sure that we’re doing the right thing here, having you lined up as a human target for this psychopath,” Hutch told her, his eyes gentle and concerned

“I think it’s working out as planned. We made contact. She knows I work here. She knows I’m a cop. And she STILL wants to kill me,” Rose said, looking between them. “I guess all I need to do is get back to work downstairs real soon,” she stated matter-of-factly. Starsky sat down beside her on the bed.

“Hey, you know, you don’t have to do this. It’s gonna be a while before you heal from the last attack this psycho made on you. No one would blame you for not wanting to get any further in this,” he said, looking sincerely at her.

“I’d be blaming myself if someone else got killed and I didn’t at least try and bring her down. I want that woman off the streets and in a jail cell! I came here to make myself a target and it worked. I’m not backing down now,” she said, looking him straight in the eyes, then looking at the other two men that stood in front of her. Captain Dobey cleared his throat, a slight grin coming to his face.

“Alright then. We’re going to make damned sure nothing happens to you. Your doctor said you would be able to get back to work by Monday, so Monday we’ll begin the set up, again,” he said, looking at her, then at his two detectives.

“I can start back in the morning,” she said quickly.

“It’s only been three days since you got hurt. You’re not going anywhere and doing anything tomorrow or the next four days. Is that understood?” The Captains’ tone was firm, letting her know there was no choice in the matter. She took a deep breath and shook her head, not looking at him, but agreeing to the demand.

A knock on the door startled them. It was Huggy.

“Yeah, uh, Captain, I was closing up the bar and you got an urgent call from downtown. I gave ‘em this number so they could …” his sentence was interrupted by the phone ringing. Dobey went over and picked it up before the second ring.

“Dobey,” He bellowed into the phone. He listened, then his eyes turned sharply to Starsky and Hutch. “Alright. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” He hung up the phone and looked at his men. “There’s been another murder. Come on, let’s go!” he said, heading towards the door. Starsky looked at Huggy.

“Stay with her, will ya?” he asked as he grabbed his jacket. Huggy shook his head in agreement.

“Not a problem, man,” he answered, as Rose rolled her eyes. Starsky leaned over to her and kissed her on the cheek as he put his jacket on.

“Rest,” he said, looking at her. “I mean it,” he added, then looked over at Huggy. “Make sure she takes her medication. It’s just about time for it,” he told him, then followed the two men out the door.

Chapter Eleven

They arrived on the scene just after the coroner. This one was further away than the rest, about twelve miles from the last one. Uniformed officers swarmed the area, looking for any clues that might possibly be hidden away in the darkness. All three had ridden in the Captain’s car, and when they got out, a patrolman went running past them, holding his face, looking as if he would throw up at any moment. Starsky and Hutch looked ominously at each other as they walked over towards the body on the ground, covered by a blanket that the officer had just placed on it.

The coroner pulled the blanket back, and the men all seemed to gasp at the same time. The woman was barely recognizable. Her face had been cut randomly with the sharpness of what looked to be a razor. Blood had run down, pooling beside one ear; the other had almost been cut off. Although she was clearly dead, her eyes stared up at them. Starsky was the first to turn away and start walking. The resemblance to Rose was definite.

“Jesus this is one sick bitch,” Starsky said, looking at Hutch, who had walked over beside him. Hutch put his hand on his friends’ shoulder.

“Hey, you guys might want to come see this!” the coroner hollered. He had lifted the body to its side to look for any other wounds when he noticed the piece of paper underneath. Starsky and Hutch were there instantly, and Dobey, who had gone to console the officer who had gotten ill, came running.

The coroner held up the bloody paper with a pair of tweezers. The blood on it was still wet and thick, threatening to drip down at any moment.

The words were simple and blunt:

You can’t fool me. I know where the real one is. This was just for practice.

“Shit!” Starsky yelled as he and Hutch and Dobey ran back towards the car. He felt the beads of sweat as they formed on his forehead, panic threatening to take him over.

Chapter Twelve

Huggy watched Rose as the medication began taking its effect on her. Sitting across from him on the sofa, trying to focus on the tv, her eyelids kept lowering, although she was fighting it. Her head would nod every now and then, much to his amusement as he thought of the toy dog he had just put in the back window of his car.

“I think you need to go lay down and get your rest,” he said soothingly. His words took her from her daze, and she looked at him and smiled. She propped her legs up on the coffee table in front of her.

“I’ll rest here. I want to find out what happened when they get back,” she said, smiling at him as she forced her eyes open.

Dobey had told dispatch to call through to Huggy’s, but the call could not be put through. When Hutch had given them the number to the upstairs apartment, they had found out through the operator that the lines had apparently been disconnected.

“Can’t you drive any faster?!” Starsky bellowed at Dobey, panic rising in his voice.

Rose had drifted into a halfway decent sleep and Huggy was up washing the few dishes that had piled up in the sink. He didn’t hear the door when it opened.

She walked over to Rose, waving her hand in front of the sleeping face. Rose didn’t flinch, and she smiled. She saw the gun sitting on the end table and picked it up, easing it from where it sat, admiring the feel of it in her hand. She took the machete that she’d brought with her and quietly set it against the wall in the corner, opting for the more effective weapon she’d happened upon.

She heard the dishes clinking together as Huggy dried them with a towel and placed them back in the cupboard. Slowly, she walked into the kitchen. Huggy heard her, and chuckled, thinking it was Rose.

“I think you’re supposed to be resting young lady, not coming in here trying to sneak up on old Huggy Bear.” He was smiling when he turned around. The smile dropped when he saw her, aiming the gun towards his chest. “Whoa lady. I don’t know who you are, but I ain’t got nothing here you want,” he said, putting his hands up slowly, backing himself up against the kitchen counter.

“Well I think you do have something here that I want,” she said, smiling. Huggy could see the kitchen knife set in the corner of his eye. If he could just get to it; move quickly enough to grab one before she could shoot off that gun at him.

He threw himself towards the ground, then twisted himself up just enough to grab at the knives. The gun was fired without haste. The bullet struck the kitchen counter, ricocheting into Huggy, knocking him backwards and into the floor. She heard him moan as his head hit the floor, smacking the linoleum with a sickening thud. She spun around.

Rose had fallen to the floor, the noise from the gun discharging shaking her violently from her sleep. The woman turned, and as if in slow motion, Rose watched as she charged towards her. She struggled to get to her feet, reaching for her gun on the end table that was no longer there. Before she could get out of the way, the gun was brought down across the back of her head, splitting open some of the stitches that were healing her already battered skull. The pain brought an almost instant blackness. The intruder laughed aloud.

Rose thought she was hallucinating; seeing the machete that sat beside her. She was half conscious and hardly aware of anything around her, but somehow she managed to grab it and swing. The tip of the blade caught her attacker across her left thigh, making her scream out of pain and surprise from the assault. Her first reaction was to take the gun and slam it across Roses’ face with incredible fury. Rose was unable to move; the pain intolerable.

The woman grabbed at Rose’s collar and yanked her in an upward motion, pulling her from the corner. The adrenaline was working in her favor as she bent over and picked Rose up into a standing position, slinging Rose across her shoulder, showing an amazing strength as she stood, oblivious to the pain in her leg from her wound. Rose moaned, not really aware of what was happening now.

“Come on you worthless little slut! We’re going for a little ride.” The woman strained, but managed to carry Rose towards the stairs. Rose was shocky but came around long enough to understand what was going on. She saw the stairs and tried pushing herself away from the direction of them. Instead, she succeeded in throwing herself down them. The thump of each step that she went down brought her further into unconsciousness. The woman was laughing almost hysterically at the rolling body. Walking slowly downs the stairs as she held the gun in the air, looking at the now still form as she approached it, she continued to smile.

“Couldn’t get enough of falling down stairs the first time, huh? Well, we all have our little quirks, now don’t we?” she said. She kicked at the motionless form, hearing a low groan. “Get up! You home wrecking little slut! I’m not done with you yet!” She pulled on the body, grabbing Rose by the hair as she lifted her up enough to lean her into a sitting position against the wall, readying to pick her up again.

Chapter Thirteen

Starsky, Hutch and Dobey raced out of the car that they’d parked down the street from the Pits. Starsky had already started running to the entrance before the ignition was cut off, pulling his gun as he ran, with Hutch closely behind. All three were at the front door in seconds. Starsky turned towards the other two men.

“I’m not waiting for back up,” he said, his voice harsh with anger. He turned back towards the door, hearing what sounded like furniture being toppled over.

“Do it!” Dobey ordered. Starsky kicked the door, successfully breaking it open; the force of his blow shattering glass in front of them as it fell from the doors’ frame. Before they could rush in, they were forced down by gunfire.

Bullets sang out as they entered, whizzing past and barely missing them. Starsky threw himself inside with Hutch shooting from behind to cover him. He was aiming high, noticing the barricade that the woman was using: It was Rose. Starsky saw her lifeless body as the woman carried it over her shoulder, successfully blocking any good shots they could attempt. Captain Dobey motioned to his men and ran towards the back, seeing the direction this woman was taking with her hostage.

“Rose!” Starsky shouted, hoping for any kind of response. All he got was another bullet aimed in his direction. Hutch hollered over to Starsky, hoping he was alright.

“I’m fine,” he answered with a hint of disgust. The woman carried the body slung over her shoulder with ease, maneuvering herself behind the bar, edging closer with each step towards the back.

Rose began coming around, hearing Starsky and Hutch’s voices, trying not to scream from the pain that engrossed her. She remained still, not exactly knowing what was happening, but realizing it was trouble.

Starsky quickly crawled over towards Hutch, keeping himself crouched and out of the line of fire as best he could. He looked at his partner.

“Who is she? She looks familiar to me, I just can’t figure where I know her from!” he whispered. Hutch looked over at her as she stood behind the bar, anticipating another round to be shot at any moment.

“It’s the librarian! Can you believe it?! It’s the librarian from Washington library!” he told him, a look of shock evident on his face. Starsky looked over in her direction, shaking his head.

“Dobey ought to be in position now. You ready?” Hutch asked. Starsky checked his weapon.

“Yeah. Let’s do this,” Starsky answered him, scurrying back across the room.

“Give it up lady! You’re surrounded!” Hutch hollered. He was answered by gunfire.

“Give it up and put the girl down! It’s you’re only hope of getting out of here alive!” Starsky shouted. The woman turned the gun towards Starsky’s direction, but was surprised by Rose, who reached out and grabbed the arm that held it. She struggled with Rose, her only intention to get the woman who suddenly attacked her down on the floor. Rose could hardly keep her eyes open, but still held on to her attacker, bringing her to the ground with her. They fought one another, the assailant trying to free herself and the gun from Rose’s grip.

Starsky and Hutch reacted to the turn of events by quickly advancing forward; Hutch running around the bar as Starsky jumped on top of it, rolling himself across and landing on the two struggling women. The attacker screamed in anger, trying to free herself from Rose.

Dobey was finally able to break through the back door, having difficulties with all of Huggys’ security locks in place. The scene he barged into was frightful. Starsky was on top of the woman, who was on top of Rose, and Hutch was leaning over them, trying to separate them all. The woman was screaming at Rose as if unaware of the men struggling to restrain her.

The gun went off.

The silence that followed the guns’ discharge was ominous. Starsky looked up at Hutch, then Dobey, and then back down at Rose. The woman was still over Rose, but their struggle had ended. Everyone was frozen. Rose gasped as she looked at Starsky with an urgent, pained expression. Starsky pulled the librarian off from her and shoved her towards Hutch, who was now standing beside him. He grabbed the gun, which was still in Rose’s hand, and threw it away from them over towards the wall, then noticed that Rose was reaching her hand out to him.

“Huggy. He’s upstairs. He, he’s hurt.” Rose said. Her eyelids closed slowly, then opened, looking at Starsky again as she halfway smiled. She squeezed his hand. Her eyes tore at his heart as she looked at him, then they were closed, completely this time. He lifted Rose towards him, holding her tightly.

“Rose!!!” Starsky cried out loud.

Chapter Fourteen

Hutch took the librarian and shoved her towards Dobey, who quickly began explaining her rights to her as he held her right arm behind her back, pulling out his handcuffs as he spoke. Hutch was over beside Starsky, bending himself down to look at Rose as he pulled the phone down from the bar to call for an ambulance and paramedics. When he began dialing, he noticed the blood on his hands. He looked over at his Captain. He watched as their prisoner fell over, holding her side with her left hand; blood oozing out between her fingers.

Starsky looked at them, then back at Rose. Frantically he began looking her over, checking for a bullet wound. He found none. The bullet had apparently discharged into the librarians’ abdomen. Dobey laid the prisoner down as he kept her guarded, and Hutch ran upstairs, looking for Huggy.

Hutch ran into the apartment, looking around the living room as he called out Huggy’s name. His voice was filled with concern as he looked around the apartment.

“In here, man,” Huggy called weakly from the kitchen. Hutch was there in an instant, bending down in front of him. Huggy had propped himself up against the cabinet doors under the sink, holding the back of his head with his hand. His hand was bloody, but that was from the bullet that grazed it near his wrist.

“How’re you doing?” Hutch asked as he looked at the back of Huggy’s head, struggling with him briefly to get him to take his hand away. The wound would need some stitching, but wasn’t as bad as Hutch had first thought.

“I’m fine … DAMN! Where’s Rose?!” Huggy asked, looking as if he’d suddenly remembered what had happened.

“She’s downstairs,” Hutch told him as he grabbed a dish towel and made Huggy hold it to the back of his head, hoping to slow the bleeding. He took another dish towel to use as a tourniquet around Huggys’ hand and began wrapping it. Huggy grabbed Hutch’s hand, forcing him to stop what he was doing.

“How is she?” he asked, looking at Hutch straight in the eyes.

“Starsky’s with her now,” Hutch told him, finishing up wrapping the bloody wrist of his friend.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Huggy said, looking up at Hutch. Hutch looked at him somberly.

“I don’t know. The ambulance is on the way,” he answered him. “Hey, you think you can get up?” Hutch asked, gently grabbing his friend’s elbow, helping him as he stood. They slowly headed out from the apartment to descend the stairs.

Starsky was still with Rose, but had laid her back down, keeping her body immobile as he continued to talk to her, willing her to respond. He was surrounded by patrolmen, walking around as they feverishly blocked off the area and examined the crime scene.

Rose awoke again, looking at Starsky and smiling, her face wrinkling from pain.

“I want to sit up, please?” she asked, holding her chest with one hand, holding Starskys’ hand with the other.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Starsky replied, looking at her and smiling, hoping his worry wouldn’t show through the smile.

“No, really. I think it would feel better if I sat up. I think she cracked one of my ribs. It’s very uncomfortable laying down here. Please?” she asked, not waiting for his answer, trying to get up on her own with little success. Starsky sighed as he resigned to helping her, pulling her up beside him, her back facing him, as he held his arms gently around her for support. She leaned into him, resting the back of her head on his shoulder. He felt the wetness of the blood as it soaked into his shirt.

“Thank you,” she said, grinning a little as she relaxed, breathing easier and making Starsky feel a little more at ease about the whole situation.

Dobey looked over at her, glad to see her more aware of her surroundings. He didn’t notice the movement beneath him.

The librarian was laying across the floor, her blood pooling beside her as she looked through weakened eyes at Starsky and Rose. Hatred grew within her, making the adrenaline flow as she reached her hand towards the gun over by the wall where it had been thrown. Slowly, she inched her hand towards it, stretching her arm from shoulder to fingertips. Her movements were slow and concentrated, almost fluid under the circumstances. She felt the metal beneath her fingers, and slowly grasped it, a smile forming across her lips.

“I may be dying, but I am NOT going alone! Damn you to hell!” her voice was like a growl, low and threatening. Starsky looked over at her as did Rose. As if in slow motion, he yelled “No!” as he saw the weapon aimed towards them. He grabbed Rose tightly as he pulled her into him, trying to protect her with himself, instinctively turning his body away from the woman who threatened them.

Dobey threw himself down on her, trying to stop her from discharging the gun. She pulled the trigger before he could succeed. They were suddenly surrounded by officers: Too little, too late.

Starsky felt the bullet as it drove into his arm. The burning sensation was one he recognized all too well. The impact threw him over on the floor, taking Rose with him.

Dobey scuffled briefly with the woman, but her fight for life had ended, and she went limp within seconds of discharging the firearm. He still snatched the gun from her fingers, then felt for a pulse to make sure she was gone. His suspicions were correct. He ran over towards Starsky.

Hutch was slowly coming down the stairs with Huggy when the gunshot rang out. He leaned Huggy against the railing and pulled out his weapon, racing down the stairs two at a time. He was beside the Captain in no time, looking around at the scene in front of him. He saw Starsky laying over on the floor, Rose still in his arms, and felt the panic rise within him.

Huggy did his best to rush down the stairway towards them, but it was a slow process that seemed to take an eternity. As he walked towards Starsky, he saw the woman that had attacked them, lying in the floor. Dobey noticed him coming towards them, seeing Huggy look from the librarian to him. The Captain shook his head, letting Huggy know that their attacker was dead.

“Good riddance,” Huggy angrily mumbled as he looked over towards Starsky and Rose.

Starsky took his good arm and tried to lift himself up with Rose, and Hutch bent down to help them sit back up. He was looking closely at Starsky’s arm, checking the wound carefully, trying not to hurt him in the process.

Rose didn’t move. Starsky immediately noticed her weight in his arms, feeling different somehow. Like dead weight. He called her name, panic rising within him as he jerked his arm away from Hutch to hold her out in front of him. He saw the entry mark of the bullet. Lodged in her chest. The bullet had gone through Starskys’ arm and embedded itself into her, embracing the life it was sent to take.

Starsky screamed in anger as the reality slapped him.

The sound of sirens let them know the ambulance and paramedics were arriving. Starsky looked up towards the door, tears flowing freely down his face.

Chapter Fifteen

Starsky had been keeping to himself for days. The pain from losing Rose was haunting him, so much so that he couldn’t even talk about it. Not even to Hutch. Hutch had tried to get through to him. He stayed with him at his apartment, helping him as his injured arm burdened his routines. He tried talking to him, but Starsky wasn’t ready. He wouldn’t even eat unless Hutch threatened to force the food down him.

He thought for sure that the funeral would be too much for him, forcing him to release the pain he kept to himself. It didn’t. Starsky showed no emotions, remaining stoic. Drawing further and further into himself, unable to cope with the memories that stifled him. Hutch became more frustrated with each passing day, feeling helpless as he watched his friend slipping away from him.

Hutch decided to take Starsky for a ride. He felt a little desperate, feeling like he had to take drastic measures in order to get his friend to come out of the funk he was burying himself in. He decided to take him to visit a friend. Getting him outside and into the car was only half the battle. When he pulled up in front of the Pits, Starsky showed the first emotion since it all began: Anger. His mood instantly darkened.

“I am NOT going in there,” he stated angrily. “Shit! You got some nerve, bringing me back here! What’s wrong with you, Hutch?” Starsky was enraged, but Hutch knew it was more fear than anger that spurred his words. Huggy could hear the commotion, and went outside to investigate.

“Come on, Starsk, you need to. Just walk inside with me,” Hutch said, talking as calmly as possible.

“The only place I’m walking is down the street. I don’t need this bull pop psychology jazz. And I DON’T need you!” Starsky turned on his heels, walking angrily away from Hutch. Huggy just leaned against the wall and watched in silence.

Hutch grabbed Starsky’s arm, and Starsky turned around, his fist aiming towards Hutch’s face. Before he even thought about it, he made contact with Hutchs’ jaw, sending him towards the ground. The pain from using the arm that was shot was so intense it made him waver, sending him also to the ground, making his anger that much worse. Until he looked at Hutch. He saw the blood dripping from Hutchs’ lip, and realized what he had done. He stood himself up, pacing, mad at Hutch and now mad at himself.

“Dammit Hutch! Why’d ya have to bring me here? Don’t you know what this place is to me now? It’s a damned tomb, that’s what it is! Jesus! I DON’T want to be here!” he fired the words off, but Hutch just stared at him. There was no anger in his eyes, only understanding. Starsky stared at him, just wanting a reaction. Instead all he got were those blue eyes that could see into his very soul, the ones that were searching it right now. He fell to the ground beside him.

The tears began flowing. Tears of grief; tears of sadness, and tears of guilt. Hutch grabbed his best friend and held him tightly, secretly grateful that the best friend he had in the whole world was going to be alright. He knew that now.

Arm in arm, they followed Huggy as he went back in the bar. They drank to Rose, then drank to Huggy, and then drank to each other. Not beer mind you. Oh no, this was a special occasion. They drank twig tea.

THE END

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