Where are you David Starsky?
By
Tooki
Copyright 2004
CHAPTER ONE
She saw the man staggering along the roadside, at first she though that he was drunk but as she got closer she could see the blood running down his face and a rip in his shirt. Tessa Anderson debated if she should pull over and see if the man needed help, he looked harmless enough but these days you never knew. She drove past staring at him in her rear view mirror, that was when he fell into the gravel. She slammed on her breaks and backed up, he was still laying on the ground as she came around the car.
“Mister you need a ride some place?” She asked.
The head full of dark curls only groaned in response.
Tessa opened the back door of her car, “Come on get in.” She helped the man into the back of her car and slammed the door, “What are you doing Tessa?” she said out loud to her self.
Ken Hutchinson awoke from a drug-induced sleep; he squinted at the clock but couldn’t make out the time. His partner had ordered him to bed the day before; the flu was whipping his ass. He had argued as they were suppose to make a court appearance in San Diego but Starsky had insisted that he could handle it, as only one of them needed to testify.
Hutch shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. Starsky had also insisted in pumping him full of cold medicine and making him promise that he would keep taking it until he felt better. Hutch finally sat up in bed and picked up the clock so that he could make out the numbers. It read seven, morning or evening Hutch wondered, as the light in the room was no indication.
He forced himself to get on his feet. Hutch walked into the living room half expecting to see Starsky sprawled on his couch. When he wasn’t Hutch went into the kitchen to make himself some hot tea. As the water was boiling he wandered back into the living room and flipped the TV on and sat down to wait. It was definitely seven in the evening as the nightly game shows blared at him. Hutch’s brow furrowed, Starsky should be back by now. He reached for the phone and quickly dialed the number he knew by heart. It rang a dozen times before Hutch hung up.
The teapot in the kitchen signaled that the water was boiling so Hutch made his way in to the kitchen to fix his cup of tea. He grabbed a few crackers from the cabinet as he went back to the living room with his tea. Hutch wondered if his fever had broken, when Starsky had taken it that morning before he left it had been 102. He thought about going into the bathroom to get the thermometer but he was just too tired. Hutch leaned his head back on the couch and closed his eyes; he couldn’t ever remember feeling this bad before.
Tessa kept glancing in the back seat through her rearview mirror but the man hadn’t moved since she had hoisted him in. She had been on her way home from San Diego where she was in her second year of college. Tessa was traveling Highway 15 to Barstow where she lived with her mother. But her mother was back east visiting her aunt; Tessa was looking forward to having the house to her self. She had been just outside Los Angeles when she had seen him walking. Now she was doubly glad that her mother wouldn’t be there, she would have a fit to know that her daughter had picked up a strange man walking down the highway.
She smiled and settled in to finish her drive home, the man looked like he would probably be out for the rest of the trip. Tessa wasn’t sure what she would do once she arrived home with him.
Tessa was almost to Barstow when she decided that she was hungry and decided to stop at a burger joint for some food. She leaned over the back of the seat, “Mister you awake?” There was no answer, just the sound of his steady breathing. That was good she guessed. She was an art major not a medical student.
Once in the restaurant Tessa ordered two of everything just in case he woke up and was hungry. The man was still out cold when she climbed in with a big bag of burgers and fries. She wondered if perhaps she should get him some medical treatment but then how would she explain where he came from and why she just stuck him in her car and drove for miles before getting help? Her mother always told her she had no common sense when it came to everyday things.
The next time Hutch stirred it was nearly seven in the morning, he fever had broken during the night and he was feeling a little better but was stiff from sleeping on the couch where he had finally curled up. His cup of tea had gone cold and his crackers uneaten. The morning news was on the television, “Starsky?” he called out to his empty apartment. Where was his partner? Surely he would have at least come and checked on him when got back. Maybe the trial had run longer but it was an open and shut case, Starsky should have been back early afternoon the day before.
Hutch picked up the phone again and dialed his partner’s number but again there was still no answer.
Hutch hung up and then dialed Dobey’s office, “Dobey.” His Captain answered on the other end.
“Cap its Hutch.” The detective croaked into the phone.
“You sound awful Hutchinson.” Dobey said.
“Thanks Cap,” Hutch answered, “Starsky there?”
“Starsky? He isn’t there with you?” Dobey asked surprised.
“No I haven’t seen him since yesterday morning before he left for San Diego.” Hutch said.
Dobey hadn’t been concerned when he hadn’t heard from Starsky figuring he had gone to take care of Hutch. “Have you called him at home.”
“Before I called you.” Hutch said a feeling of dread was washing over him. This was not like Starsky especially since Hutch was sick Starsky would be there by his side bustling over him like a mother hen.
“I’ll try to raise him on the radio,” Dobey told the sick Hutch. “I’ll get back to you.”
“Ok Cap, I’ll give Huggy a call and see if he has heard from Starsk.” Hutch said. He got up from the couch he needed to clear his head before he went any further so he headed to the bathroom and a hot shower.
Emerging from the shower Hutch felt almost human again, he wrapped his rope tightly around him so that he wouldn’t get a chill and went to phone Huggy Bear.
Huggy Bear was sound asleep when the phone rang, he grumbled as he opened one eye to look at the time. “This better be good. Yeah.”
“Hey Huggy sorry to wake you but have you heard from Starsk?” Hutch asked hopefully.
“You wake me up at eight in the morning to ask if your partner is here?” Huggy asked incredulously. “What would he be doing here at this time of morning?”
Hutch could tell that Huggy was angry, “Sorry man I just haven’t heard from him since early yesterday morning. He had a court date in San Diego. He hasn’t checked in with Dobey either.”
“He is most likely hold up with one of his lovely’s,” Huggy suggested. “Can I go back to sleep now?”
“Sure Hug sorry, you are probably right.” Hutch said as he hung up. But he didn’t think that Starsky would not come by to check up on him. Maybe he had been there and just didn’t want to disturb him. That didn’t fly with Hutch either; Starsky wouldn’t leave him alone with him that sick. He was out of excuses; his next thought was that something had happened to his partner.
CHAPTER TWO
When Tessa arrived home the man was still unconscious in the back seat. How was she going to get him into the house, it had been all she could do to get him into the car and he had been awake then.
“Mister?” Tessa poked him in the shoulder he stirred. “Come on you need to wake up you can’t sleep out here in the car.”
His eyelids fluttered open to reveal beautiful blue eyes. “My head hurts,” he muttered.
“Come on,” she said gently grabbing his arm, “Let’s get you inside and I’ll take a look at that cut on your forehead.”
It took him a few moments to sit up and slide his legs out of the car, then Tessa grabbed his arm helping him stand. The pair made it slowly to a small one-story house that had ivy growing over the front of it. She leaned him up against the side of the house as she pulled out her key and opened the door.
Tessa guided him into the living room and on to the couch. Tossing her keys and purse in a near by chair she went to the bathroom for the first aid kit. He winched as she tried to clean the cut. “You might need stitches it looks pretty deep.” She sat back on her heels when she had the blood cleaned off his face and asked, “Hey what’s your name.”
He furrowed his brow partly from the pain and partly because he had no idea. “I…I don’t remember.”
“You don’t know your name?” Tessa wrinkled her nose up, it made him smile in spite of the pain he was in. He might not know his name but he knew a cute girl when he saw one. “I guess you really got a bang on your head. Were you in a car wreck?”
He shrugged, “I’m really not sure.”
Tessa put a couple of butterfly band aids on his forehead to close the gap, her mother who was a nurse had pilfered them from work. “Let’s take a look at your arm.” She ripped the already torn shirt to reveal another nasty cut. Once she had that bandaged up she asked. “How about a wallet that might help.”
He reached into his back pocket but there was nothing. “Maybe I was robbed.”
“You can stay here at least until I have to go back to school if you want. Then I can take you back that way.” Tessa offered.
Detective David Starsky smiled at her, “Thanks.”
It was nearing noon when Hutch walked in to Dobey’s office. Dobey had called early to let him know that he couldn’t raise Starsky on the radio.
“Anything?” Dobey questioned as the detective walked in to the room.
“Nothing, it’s like he has vanished. I went over to his apartment he hasn’t been there. I don’t know what to think.” Hutch said sitting down in front of Dobey’s desk. His head was pounding and he thought that his temperature might be returning but none of that mattered now.
“I call Detective Brent in San Diego, he said that Starsky was there and testified. After court Brent tried to get Starsky to have lunch but he told him that he had to get back because you were sick.” Dobey looked worried. “I’m going to put out an A.P. B. on him, maybe he had car trouble.”
“I’m sure he would have called by now if it was just car trouble Cap. Something has happened to him.”
“Come on son, let’s not think the worse,” Dobey tried to reassure his detective but he feared that Hutch was right.
“Here put this on,” Tessa handed Starsky a t-shirt. “It was my dad’s before he moved out.” He slipped out of his bloody torn dress shirt and slipped the t-shirt over his head. “Now what do we call you?”
Starsky shrugged, “I can’t remember my name, what’s your favorite name?”
Tessa thought a moment then smiled, “Sam! I’ll call you Sam, how about that?”
“I guess it’s better than hey you.” He grinned at her. “Where did you find me?”
Tessa quickly explained how she had found him walking down the side of highway 15. “You weren’t close to any exits and I didn’t see a car.”
“Thanks for picking me up ah ah…” He suddenly realized that he didn’t know her name.
“Tessa, Tessa Anderson.” She said as she stuck her hand out.
Starsky took it kissing the back of her hand. “Thank you Tessa for rescuing me.”
“Hey anytime,” She grinned at him. ‘You hungry? I got you a burger and some fries just before we got to town, want them?”
“Sure sounds good. By the way were are we?” He asked.
“Barstow,” Tessa answered as she handed him what was left in the bag. “I’ll get you something to drink.”
Starsky dug into the burger wondering how long it had been since he had eaten, he was starved. How long had he been walking down the road, did he have a car, friends and family that were looking for him? He wanted to call somebody but whom? Where had he been, he was dressed nicely what did he do for a living? All the thoughts were making his head pound even worse. “Hey Tessa do you have any aspirin?”
Hutch prowled around his partners abandoned car. It had been found in a ditch crashed into a tree the highway patrol had called Dobey’s office when they heard about the missing cop.
There was no way that Starsky would just leave his car. His dress jacket was tossed over the passengers side seat; Hutch pulled it out through the window. He found Starsky’s wallet in the inside breast pocket. It made sense that his partner would strip off his jacket first thing as he got into the car he hated being dressed up. Hutch then opened the door and slid into the car, he opened the glove compartment. Starsky’s gun was in there.
Hutch glanced over to the drives side; his heart stopped there was blood on the steering wheel, had Starsky banged his head when he had hit the tree? The detective looked for other signs of blood put found none. It was clear that his partner had been hurt, maybe somebody had picked him up and taken him to the hospital but why hadn’t he called to let them know he was okay. Maybe he was hurt badly and couldn’t, he had no ID, nothing to tell anybody who he was.
“Tow his car to the police garage,” Hutch told the truck driver and gave him the address.
“Now what?” the Highway Patrolman that had called in the wreck asked the detective.
“I guess I start calling every hospital around.” Hutch answered.
“You can do it from our headquarters if you want, we are only a few miles up the road.” The patrolman suggested.
“Thanks, “ Hutch said as he got into this car.
An hour later Hutch knew nothing more, no body matching his partner’s description had been checked into any of the surrounding hospitals. He knocked on the captain’s door, “Come in.”
“Captain Moran,” Hutch said to the man behind the desk. “I need your help. Since my partner has not turned up at any hospitals I can only assume that maybe he has wondered off the road could you possibly put a search team together?”
The Captain nodded. “I understand you have his jacket?”
“Yes it was left in his car.”
“Good I’ll call out the search dogs.”
CHAPTER THREE
Tessa came into the spare bedroom where she had put Starsky the night before. “Wake up sleepy head.” She called softly. “Breakfast is ready.” Starsky’s eyes popped open and he looked around not knowing where he was at first. His head still hurt but not as severely as it had the day before. “Tessa?”
“Yep it’s me, come on your eggs are getting cold.” She said in a cheery voice. “You do like eggs don’t you?”
He sat up, “I don’t remember.”
Starsky found he indeed did like eggs as well as the bacon that Tessa put before him. “This is good.” He complimented her.
“ Thanks, probably the only useful thing my mom taught me how to do,” Tessa quipped. “So do you want to go to a doctor? I have a friend that works at a doctor’s office. I could probably get you in.”
“No I think I’m okay…well except for my memory and I don’t think a doctor could help with that,” Starsky somehow remembered that he didn’t like doctors.
“When you are done eating I’ll get you more of my dad’s clothes, you guys look about the same size.” Tessa smiled at him.
After breakfast Starsky was going through the clothes that Tessa had laid out for him, he had his shirt off as Tessa waked through the door, she gasped, “Are those old bullet wounds?”
Starsky stepped in front of the mirror to see what she was talking about. “I really don’t know but it looks like it.”
Tessa squinted at him teasingly, “You aren’t some kind of a criminal are you?”
“No I don’t think so. This is driving me nuts. How can I not remember who I am?”
“You must have gotten hit pretty hard on the head,” Tessa said looking at the bandage, “Maybe I should call my friend.” Starsky shrugged, going to the doctor couldn’t hurt.
With in an hour Starsky was sitting in the waiting room of a doctor’s office with Tessa. Starsky was filling out a form the nurse had given them when they entered with out much success. He had ‘Sam’ written where it said name and not much else. He was able to put down his injuries though; he sat with the pen poised over the paper just in case he remembered something.
Tessa put her hand over his, “It’s okay Sam.” She could tell he was stressing over not being able to fill out the form.
Finally they were ushered in the examining room, Tessa was going to wait in the outer office but Starsky grabbed her hand wanting her to come in with him. The doctor entered the room only moments later. “I’m Doctor Simon’s but you can call me Doc Greg everybody else does. So what is the trouble…Sam?” He asked looking down at the form Starsky filled out then gave ‘Sam’ a curious look.
“Ah..uh,” Starsky stammered.
“Doc Greg I found him walking along the road he doesn’t remember who he is.” Tessa explained.
“I see, well why don’t we check you out Sam and see what’s what.” Doc Greg said, he turned to Tessa, “Why don’t you wait outside.
She looked at Starsky who nodded. “I’ll be in the waiting room if you need me.”
It was nearly an hour before Starsky came out of the examining room, he had a piece of paper in his hand with a prescription for some antibiotics to kill any infection that could have been cause by the cuts. He had a white bandage on his head with a couple of very neat stitches underneath. The doctor told him he had a mild concussion and most likely his memory would return when it had healed. “Thanks,” Starsky said as he shook the doctors hand.
“If you need anything just give me a call.”
“Feel better?” Tessa asked as they stepped out into the bright sunshine. It was a perfect fall day. “I think we should take a trip over the police station to see if somebody is missing you.”
Starsky nodded, “Good idea.”
As they were on the way to the local police station they passed a park where a carnival was going on. “Feel up to it,” Tessa asked pointing toward the tents.
“Sure as long as you don’t ask me to ride anything.”
Tessa giggled, “I promise.”
They walked among the brightly colored game tents, kids were trying their best to win stuff animals or posters of the their favorite celebrity. They had to do anything from tossing a penny on a glass plate to shooting the bull’s eye in a target.
Tessa grabbed Starsky’s arm, “Win me something.”
“That is the least I can do for you.”
“Which game?” Tessa asked as she pulled some ones from her purse.
“That one.” Starsky said pointing to the shooting game.
“Ok that one it is,” Tessa handed the man running the game some money.
Starsky picked up the gun, as he was about to squeeze the trigger he had a flash of somebody shooting at him and he was returning fire. He stood there frozen until Tessa put her hand on h is shoulder. Starsky jumped and looked down at her; he shook the thought from his head and aimed at the target. He hit a perfect bull’s eye with the first shot. Tessa squealed and jumped up and down. Every shot was perfect, the man running the game gave them the pick of any animal he had. But Tessa by passed all the large animals and chose a small white dog with a brown nose.
“I think I’ll call him Sam to remind me of this day.” Tessa smiled at Starsky then stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.
Before he realized it he had put his arms around her and kissed her back. He pulled away and looked down into her face, “Just how old are you Tessa?”
She smiled at him, “Twenty.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m older than twenty.”
She looped her arm though his, “Ask me if I care. I like you.”
“But Tessa you don’t know anything about me.” Starsky said as they walked toward the car.
“You are a good person, I can tell. Just because you can’t remember your name doesn’t change your personality.”
After hours of fruitless searching the dogs were called off. Hutch tired, dirty and hungry finally had to admit that his partner was nowhere around. Which meant he had been picked up by somebody and taken where? He had covered every possible place a hurt person could have been taken too. Maybe this was all more sinister, maybe Starsky had been followed by a criminal they had put away, ran him off the road, kidnapped him and done god knows what to his partner. Hutch closed his eyes trying to get a hold of his emotions.
“Why don’t you go home and get some rest Detective Hutchinson,” Captain Moran suggested. “I will call if anything turns up.
Defeated Hutch nodded in agreement. “No matter what time it is.”
“I promise now, go get something to eat and go to sleep. You aren’t doing your partner any good like this.”
Hutch opened the door to his apartment hoping that Starsky would be sitting on his couch obvious to what had been going on all day long and into the night. He even tried Starsky’s apartment one more time, it was possible that his partner had just slipped by him. It was wishful stupid hopefulness.
As Hutch lay down in his bed, his temperature back with a vengeance he couldn’t stop playing out scenarios that could have happened to Starsky for all he knew his partner was dead somewhere. Finally Hutch drifted off into an uneasy sleep.