© by Elsa
Hutch looked for a telephone and then remembered Nancy telling him she had none. Cursing below his breath he crossed the room, his long legs looking out of place in the small apartment. He positioned himself next to the windows and peeked through the curtains. The street was as quiet and abandoned as it had been when they arrived.
“Nancy, we can’t stay here. Vaughn got in when we were out, we have to go. This place is not safe. We’ve got to get to Starsky – now.”
“I’ll get ready.” Nancy pressed her lips together. She had herself under control again, but still looked pitifully pale. Hutch inwardly commented her on her rapid adjustment.
“Where’s your car?”
“In the back. The yellow Cortina.”
“Can we get out through the back?”
“Officially not, there’s not a door that leads to the court yard, but you can step on the fire escape ladder from the balcony,” Nancy nodded. She tied her shoes and zipped up her jacket. Hutch did the same.
“Leave the lights on,” he said. “Vaughn will think we’re still here.”
Like cat burglars Hutch and Nancy opened the kitchen door, stepped from the balcony onto the fire escape ladder and climbed down. Silently they moved to Nancy’s car. Hutch held out his hand to get the key but Nancy got behind the wheel, not even paying attention to his gesture. Despite his own worry and anger, he considered it a good sign.
“I’ve done a stunt course,” Nancy said as if that explained everything. “Some people need to get used to my driving style.” She started the car. “Where to?”
“Starsky’s place.”
“Okay. Buckle up.”
She hadn’t been telling him tales. Nancy drove like crazy – but a controlled craze. Rather like Starsky, Hutch thought in mock amusement. In less than fifteen minutes she’d raced to the other side of Bay City, where Starsky lived, only to be stopped by Hutch as they approached. Police and ambulance lights were visible from afar. A knot the size of a man’s fists settled in Hutch’s stomach.
“Pull over, Nancy! Stop the car!”
Nancy did as asked and pulled over in a deep dark part of the street. They exited the car together.
“Stay in the car, Nancy,” Hutch ordered.
“The hell I won’t! If he’s done this to lure us here, he’ll wait for exactly that!” she cried out. “I’m coming with you. I need to, Hutch!”
She was right, and Hutch knew it. He grabbed her hand and they ran, hidden by the darkness of the buildings and the night, to the floodlit scene outside Starsky’s apartment.
“Hutch!” That was Stevens, a uniformed cop who looked uncanny white in the unnatural lights and who spotted Hutch before he himself saw Stevens. “Starsky was attacked.”
“Where is he? WHERE IS HE?” The tall man nearly pulled the words from Stevens’ mouth.
“They’ve taken him to Bellevue.” Stevens took a deep breath. “He was alive, but it looked ghastly. He’s lost a lot of blood. A witness says he was hit by a man with a spade, who’d hidden behind his car.” He nodded to the Torino. “There’s extensive damage to one of the rear lights. Our best guess is he heard it, went back to see what was going on and was taken by surprise.”
Hutch ran a hand over his face. He looked at the scenery, where lab men where working and policemen held nosy people at a distance. A photographer took photos of a spade, that had dark spots on it. It made Hutch’s stomach churn. Near the Torino a large dark puddle was on the tarmac, glistening eerily in the head lights of the police cars.
“There’s so much blood… Starsky… He… Where…”
A whisper broke through his thoughts. Nancy stood next to him, still holding his hand and squeezing it, scared and shocked.
“Let’s go, Nance. Bellevue. You think you can drive?”
“Yeah.”