Finally… Coming Home

By: Jan in VA

Feedback: Is both craved and humbly solicited.

Disclaimer: The characters seen on the 1970's series "Starsky and Hutch" are DEFINITELY not mine…drat!

Warning: This story is a result of a challenge on the "Starsky and Hutch and Friends" yahoo group. The challenge was to write a letter by one of the partners to the other if he thought that death was imminent.

Writer's Notes: This is a extended version of an earlier story of mine on this site. I hope that you are more satisfied with this version. GRIN!

Thanks: My thanks go to my long-suffering husband who understands the

WHY I feel the need to write…he just doesn't quite GET the subject matter!

GRIN! I also must thank publicly Hilly for looking this version over for me and to all of my friends on the "Starsky and Hutch and Friends" yahoo group who have helped me so much in my writing by critiquing AND also encouraging me.

Summary: After 8 ½ years, Starsky is finally coming home…or is he?

A/N (Sparkle731) Jan is the writer who started this story and wrote the original version of Finally coming home. With her kind permission, we are working together to finish this extended version. Jan wrote the first five chapters and I wrote the rest of the chapters after that. Please note: this is an extended version of Jan's original story. I am just contributing to it.

Finally… Coming Home

By: Jan in VA Co-Writer: Sparkle731

Chap. 1

May 14, 1993

It had been two weeks since the heart of John McFarland had ceased to beat. Even Captain Kenneth R. Hutchinson had to be reminded of exactly who this felon was when the warden of the prison had called him to inform him of this particular inmate's death.

"I'm sorry, Warden Thomas. I realize that my partner and I were the arresting officers in the McFarland case, but I don't see why you would need to inform me in person about his passing," relayed Hutch professionally when the call from the warden had been transferred to his relatively new office at Metro as Captain of Detectives-Homicide Division.

Hutch would soon discover the significance of this seemingly minor, forgotten arrest early his career and the changes that it would have on his life now that McFarland had died. At the warden's insistence, Hutch had cleared his calendar of appointments for the day and had taken the 1 hour and 25 minute drive to the prison to meet with the warden.

When Hutch had arrived at Warden Thomas' office, he soon discovered what all the urgency was about. In McFarland's personal effects was an envelope addressed to:

"Captain Kenneth Hutchinson"

The word "Captain" looked as if it had been written over something else that had been there and erased...not once but several times.

"Won't you please sit down, Captain Hutchinson," suggested the warden as he gestured to an oversized burgundy leather armchair. As Hutch nodded his thanks, he noticed immediately that the envelope was open as it lay innocently on the warden's massive oak desk. He looked up towards Warden Thomas as he sat down, with a questioning look for an explanation for this seeming invasion of his privacy.

"The envelope was not opened by my staff or myself, Captain, I assure you," said the warden as he noted Hutch's questioning stare. "It was open when it was discovered in Mr. McFarland's personal effects. It wasn't until after the note inside fell out directing us to see to it that you personally received the envelope inside, and who the note said that envelope was from that we contacted you…" the warden paused and sighed as he gazed downwardly towards his desk away from the eyes of the man in front of him.

"Go on please Warden Thomas..." said Hutch in a calm voice as he tried not to outwardly reveal the growing anxiety that was beginning to stand his thinning blonde hair on end.

"Captain, there are very detailed instructions in the note enclosed…directions if you will…that I suspect your department will need..." Warden Thomas looked up at Hutch finally. "I can't begin to tell you how sorry we are that we didn't realize years ago that Mr. McFarland had this letter in his possession. If we had..."

Hutch nodded suddenly feeling as nervous as he had ever felt in his life.

"I thank you for contacting me about this matter, warden. I don't know what I'll find in this envelope, but I think I would appreciate it if you could leave me alone for a bit while I find out," requested Hutch with a tone as steady as he could muster.

"Of course, Captain. Please use my office for as long as you need to," said the warden as he patted Hutch's shoulder. "If you should need anything...anything at all...please don't hesitate to press the buzzer on my intercom. I'll be right outside." With that the warden left his office, being sure to close the door as quietly and respectfully as possible.

Alone now, Hutch's hands were shaking as he reached out, picked up the envelope and peered inside. Inside was indeed another envelope, which was sealed. As he drew it out, he still could recognize the handwriting on its front… even after 8 1/2 years. Handwriting he had long ago thought he would never see again.

It was the scrolling familiar script of his partner...Detective Sergeant David Starsky.

It was strange to Hutch how the envelope seemed heavier than it should. He took a deep breath and took the note out of the sealed envelope being careful not to tear the beloved writing on its face. As he picked up the note, two objects more familiar to Hutch than his own name fell onto the warden's desk...Starsky's rings…the ones that he had worn on the little finger of his right hand the entire time Hutch had known him. Hutch reached for the rings and held them reverently in the palm of his hand. "Oh Starsky…" Hutch thought as he began to read the note written by his friend so long ago.

Oct. 18, 1984

Dear Hutch,

I don't know why they are letting me do this, but I'm not about to ask questions at this point. I don't know when or even if you will ever read this, but in the faint hope that you will someday...I want you to know some things.

1. Please, tell Ma and Nick that I love them. On second thought, you can just let Ma tell Nick. I know how you just love to talk with my brother.

2. Know that I didn't go willingly. I will fight to my last dying breath to stay in this life. God Himself will have to tell me it's time.

3. Even as the gun that will most likely end my life is placed up against my ear, my last thoughts are of you and how much richer and fuller my life has been with you to share it with.

You know I don't like soapy scenes...

You know what's in my heart...

I love you Hutch.

See ya,

Starsky

Hutch quietly and carefully placed the note back into the envelope and picked up the notepaper with the directions printed on it. They were beginning to get fuzzy as he read them, but finally he closed his eyes and looked upwards with a smile on his face.

"It's been a long 8 ½ years, Starsk…a long time coming, partner, but finally...you're coming home."

00000

The massive door to Warden John Thomas' office opened slowly yet deliberately. Warden Thomas turned from the massive windows stretching from floor to ceiling that faced the mountains to gaze towards the man that emerged from his office. It

was a man who seemed to stand a little less tall…whose eyes had just a little less sparkle than the man who had confidently strode into his office a little more than an hour previously.

Hutch let no other hints of the devastation he must be feeling at that particular moment show though as he walked out of the room that he had been in for the past hour.

"Captain, may I get you a cup of coffee or something?" asked Warden Thomas in a frail attempt to comfort this man who he realized had lost so much in the past few minutes.

All law enforcement officers knew the risks they would take when they recited the oath to protect and serve and accepted the badge as an officer of the law. It was a commitment that none of them took lightly, as they were all aware that they each might be asked to pay the ultimate price for that service at some point. It was one thing; however, to be aware of that price and another to have it paid…and have it not asked of yourself, but from your partner.

John Thomas' mind went over the file he had retrieved on one Detective Sergeant David Michael Starsky…a file thick with successful arrests and numerous commendations, filled with words that he knew had files and files associated with it from hospitals, court records, as well as additional police reports. In all of them except for a few, at the very start of Detective Starsky's career in law enforcement, Ken Hutchinson's name was associated with those reports also. These two men had been partners for eleven years…from almost the beginning until Detective Starsky's disappearance 8½ years ago.

The warden had been partnered with a few officers back before he took another route in his career with the prison system. They had watched each other's backs too, but he had never been partnered with anyone for more than a couple of years and he had NEVER lost a partner to death in the line of duty.

He could hardly imagine what this man standing before him was feeling at that moment in time. "Captain Hutchinson…?"

Hutch blinked his eyes a couple of times, his numbed brain finally realizing that the warden had spoken to him.

"Uh….yes…Warden Thomas?" Hutch replied solemnly. "I'm sorry…I wasn't paying attention. What were you saying?"

"I asked if I could do anything for you?" replied the warden in a low respectful tone.

Hutch took a deep breath, cleared his throat of the knot that was lodged there and answered, "Yes, warden. There is something that I would like for you to do for me."

"Anything Captain…you just have to ask."

"Would you contact the local sheriff and the county coroner…" Hutch's voice trailed off. "I think I will be needing their assistance in bringing my partner home to Bay City."

"I will be glad to contact Sheriff Hawkins, and I'll put in a call to the county coroner in Sacramento."

"Sacramento?" Hutch's head shot up like a bullet. "Warden Thomas, my partner has been missing for 8 ½ years, and now that I know where he is I'm not about to wait a minute more than necessary before going there to bring him home!" Hutch exclaimed with understated anger.

"Of course, Captain Hutchinson. I understand how you must feel…" Warden Thomas began, but his voice trailed off as his eyes met the razor sharp steel blue ones. Eyes that conveyed anger, mourning and deep abiding loss.

"No," the warden thought. "I don't have a clue about what this man is feeling and I pray I never do. Why do people say they understand to someone that is in such overwhelming pain, anyway?"

"I'm sorry sir…I'll go make the call to Sheriff Hawkins right now," Warden Thomas stated as he picked up the phone on his secretary's desk. " Oh, and Captain…I'm sure our staff's doctor would be more than happy to go with you to…to help with your partner."

Hutch smiled faintly and expressed his thanks for the warden's help and understanding.

"I'm sorry warden. You've been very kind given the circumstances," apologized Hutch. "I guess I don't have a living person to blame for all of this and I just lashed out at the first live body I came across." Hutch explained…his eyes downcast.

He then lifted his eyes to look at Warden Thomas, "That would be you unfortunately," Hutch concluded with a sad smile.

With a small smile that indicated Hutch's apology was not necessary, the warden asked, "Would you like to use my office while I'm making arrangements…maybe use my phone to contact your police department?"

"I've already contacted the dispatcher on duty at Metro and a personal friend who has almost as much interest in Detective Starsky as I have," Hutch paused a minute as he thought about the sober, almost non-verbal conversation he had with Huggy Bear a few minutes prior. He had let his professional guard down only slightly as he had talked with Huggy…as they both mourned the loss of their friend in almost mutual silence.

"I think I would like to go out into the garden area out in front of your prison and look at the mountains awhile if you don't mind."

Hutch didn't wait for a reply. He just walked slowly through the front doors to the prison and walked into the gleaming sunlight that had a little touch of the early spring chill still in the air.

Looking up towards the still snow capped Sierra Nevada Mountains, Hutch thought, "So this is where you've been all this time my friend. I looked everywhere…at least I thought I'd looked everywhere for you. Who'd have thought that you would have been in these mountains?

"…I know how you just love them!" Hutch thought sarcastically.

Hutch chuckled to himself thinking of the last time that he and Starsky had taken a short weekend vacation in the Sierras. Starsky was like a fish out of water.

"A fish out of water…" Hutch continued in his thoughts. "Fish out of water die…don't they, Starsk?"

About an hour later, Hutch found himself in Sheriff Hawkins' patrol car and he, along with his two deputies and the prison ambulance, driven by the facility's doctor, were on their way.

The scenery would have been magnificent if Hutch had been looking at it from the passenger side of the patrol car. Instead his mind was firmly immersed in the past.

Chapter 2

.…October 4, 1984

"Hey, ya want to go down to the Pits, Hutch…shoot some pool…pop back a few cold ones," quipped Starsky as he literally bounced beside Hutch as they each went to their respective cars for the drive home after several grueling days of stake out work.

"Nah man, I'm to pooped to be much company tonight," replied Hutch avoiding his partner's eyes…hoping he hadn't revealed the relaxing evening he had planned with Lizzie who he had been dating…rather seriously for the past few months.

"Yeah, I hear you pal…," Starsky replied coyly.

In the next few months after Starsky's disappearance, Hutch would have many discussions with the department psychologist trying to convince himself to let go of the guilt he had felt for this very reason. His best friend had somehow known that he had plans for that evening with Lizzie.

Funny thing about Lizzie… Hutch knew it wasn't her fault that Starsky was taken. He had depended on her after Starsky's disappearance…even married her but still…he could never shake the feeling that if she hadn't been so important to him his best friend would be with him now.

"If only I had gone with you, Starsk…or you had come with me!" Hutch thought as the pines started to blur and mesh as his eyes filled with unshed tears. "Would you have been kidnapped and ki…" Hutch couldn't even THINK the word…even now. He KNEW what had happened to his partner of fifteen years, yet he STILL couldn't think or say that word with his partner's name…even NOW Hutch didn't want to associate that word with his partner.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING GORDO allowing yourself to be taken!" Hutch's mind screamed angrily at his friend…at God…at anyone …at EVERYONE. Hutch reprimanded himself swiftly for thinking badly about his friend…and then his thoughts returned to his old familiar emotional friend where this case was concerned…guilt.

"I should have been there to watch your back, Starsk."

There had been no ransom, no phone calls, no prints on Starsky's car or at his apartment. It was as if Starsky had gunned up the Torino and rocketed out of the police garage and into orbit somewhere. Hutch had gone through anger at himself…at Starsky…at any and all of the lowlifes that had crossed the two detectives' path during their partnership. Then there was the emotion of worry that had almost consumed Hutch like a living entity inhabiting his body and his mind.

Hutch had thought that the worry would destroy him…but it was the guilt that almost did.

After a few months of no word…no clues…no hope…Hutch was literally at the end of his rope. His rope of sanity…his rope even of life. Captain Dobey had tried gruff strong arm tactics to make Hutch seek counseling, but it had ended up being the captain's daughter, Rosie, that had made Hutch realize that he HAD to get help. Not only for himself, but for those that cared for him.

"Please, Uncle Hutch…" Rosie had pleaded in a small, frightened voice, close to Christmas time of 1984. "I can't lose Uncle Dave AND you too! I know I'm being selfish, but I don't think I could take that! I need you Uncle Hutch…PLEASE!!!"

Hutch remembered how she had clung to him…her arms encircling his waist…her tears soaking his shirt…her sobs ringing in his ears. It was at that moment that he realized that he was not the only one affected by Starsky's disappearance…that he was making things worse on the very people Starsky loved the most in his life. When Hutch's tears had merged with Rosie's, his recovery had begun.

Now every emotion Hutch had ever felt relating to his partner's disappearance was back in full force again…with the addition of one emotion he had never felt…until just that very moment. That emotion was joy.

It seemed odd to Hutch that he would be feeling anything other than despair now. He no longer had the option of optimistic hope that Starsky was "out there" somewhere anymore…but he COULD make good on the promise he had made to Rachel Starsky when he stood next to her at the memorial service she had for her son.

There was no body to bury…no casket to place anywhere to pay respects to. It was a small, very simple service in what was said and done to honor Starsky, but very representative of what Hutch thought his best friend would have wanted.

Hutch wasn't even going to go as he still hadn't given up hope of finding his partner.

Hutch paused a moment in his thoughts remembering Mrs. Starsky's words in November 1984, "Ken, would you please stand with me to honor my dear son? I somehow feel close to him when you're near. Please Ken!"

Hutch remembered thinking at the time, "No I can't Mrs. Starsky…he's out there somewhere I KNOW he is…"

But Hutch had known that he could be no where else when Rachel had said in a small frail voice she never revealed to anyone during that nightmare, "I don't think I'll be able to be strong enough to survive the pain if you're not there with me, Ken."

Hutch could no more turn her request down at that moment than he ever could deny her son anything he had ever asked of him. It was something he could do to help Starsky's mother, and if being at the service helped her in any way then Hutch felt, at the time, "At least I can tell Starsky that I did what I could to help his Ma when he couldn't be there himself."

What Hutch had actually said to Rachel was, "I will be there with you Mrs. Starsky and help you in anyway I can, but know this..." Rachel had looked up to Hutch with tears streaming wet grooves through her foundation. "I WILL find Starsky and I will bring him home to you…I promise you Mrs. Starsky…I WILL BRING HIM HOME SOMEDAY!"

The day that he had promised Rachel so long ago was finally coming to pass with every humming rotation of the tires on the car. Hutch felt joy that there would be closure for Starsky's family and friends, but more importantly for himself.

He had promised to find his friend and he was just minutes of doing just that.

00000

"Captain Hutchinson?"…

Someone was touching him on the shoulder, just as Starsky used to do whenever they were cruising around Bay City.

Hutch turned towards the driver of the car and his partner's name almost escaped his lips…but he caught himself upon gazing at the man attached to the arm that was so desperately trying to ease his suffering.

No sapphire eyes greeted him…only sad brown ones…

No dark curly hair…instead the hair was a thinning reddish brown with a touch of gray at the temples…

No brown leather jacket or blue jeans…it was the tan uniform of a county sheriff that stared back at him

"Captain Hutchinson?" tried Sheriff Hawkins again.

"Yeah, sheriff…I'm with you now," replied Hutch.

"Did that note say turn left or right?" the sheriff asked. "We're coming to a fork in the road up ahead and I was wondering…"

Hutch looked at the handwritten directions with some disgust. If John McFarland wasn't already dead, Hutch could easily shoot him dead right then and there with no thought of his "rights".

"HIS rights…what RIGHTS did he give you, Starsky?" Hutch's thoughts screamed through his head. "No on second thought, shooting is to fast to make up for the agony you put my partner through, McFarland…what you made his family…his friends…WHAT YOU MADE ME GO THROUGH…!"

"Captain…sir…?" said the sheriff a little more urgently as the fork in the road came into view from the road.

"Oh, I'm sorry again Sheriff Hawkins…the directions say take the left fork," replied Hutch.

"Thanks Captain," he replied as the caravan took the turn to take them further up the mountain and that much closer to their destination.

"Captain Hutchinson, I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for your loss," stated the sheriff with compassion. "I remember seeing you on the TV when your partner was taken when I was just a runt deputy under Sheriff Lawson…terrible thing not knowing…to feel so helpless."

Hutch just nodded his head…still immersed in his thoughts about Starsky…about their partnership…their friendship through the years.

" I had a really good friend, about my age, who was a deputy in the next county about the same time as your partner was missing who was killed in the line of duty." the sheriff continued. "David Tuber was his name."

Hutch winced physically at the uttering of the word "killed" along with the word "friend'.

"I still think about him a lot…especially at times such as this, and I want you to know Captain that my department will do everything possible to see to it that Detective Starsky is given the proper respect and dignity that he obviously didn't receive at his death," continued Sheriff Hawkins as the patrol car eased to a stop. "It's the very least we can do for him…as well as for you, sir."

Hutch was acutely aware as the car slowed to a stop, "Thank you sheriff. I know that Starsky's family will appreciate your time and respect. I do too as well as everyone that serves with the Bay City police department."

The two men emerged from the car into the crisp mountain air. There was a small clearing just beyond a line of small saplings.

"This is so beautiful," thought Hutch as he stood in awe at the sight before him.

The massive snows that were so prevalent during the winter in the Sierra Nevada Mountains had melted for the most part, allowing small wildflowers to burst forth in pastels hues of blue, pink and yellow…every color of the rainbow. The trees surrounding the meadow swayed gently back and forth in the spring breeze and made a whistling sound. Other than that there was no sound…only serenity and calm.

Hutch gasped inwardly as his senses absorbed all the beauty around him.

"It's almost a shame to take you away from this beautiful spot," thought Hutch. "It's as if God Himself knows that there is someone very special here in this place."

00000

Sheriff Hawkins organized his men and they all began to dig in the soft earth in the center of the meadow as the directions indicated. After almost a hour of back-breaking work, Hutch's mind began to think that McFarland was playing with his emotions from beyond the grave…that maybe Starsky wasn't buried there after all…

"…that might mean that there is still hope…" thought Hutch, his spirit a little lighter…a little more hopeful, but then his hope leeched away from his body and he visibly sagged his shoulders as the words "We've hit something solid, sir," came from one of the deputies.

Sheriff Hawkins acknowledged his deputy and ordered that the object be cleared away and brought to the surface to be inspected.

"Captain Hutchinson, maybe it would be best if you would wait in the car while we see what my men have found," the sheriff began. "Your partner would want you to remember him as he was…"

"Sheriff…" answered Hutch, his sky blue eyes like daggers. "You have no idea what my partner would or would not want, and I would appreciate it if you would not make assumptions in that regard!"

"I just thought, sir…" stammered Sheriff Hawkins.

"No sheriff you didn't think!" replied Hutch, then placing his right hand up to his eyes and rubbing probably harder than he should have, "I'm sorry, sheriff. I appreciate what you and your deputies have done so far, but you and I both know that I'm the best person to make a preliminary ID here and besides…as you said…it is the least I can do for my best friend!"

The plain wooden box was lifted carefully, but easily by the three deputies and placed on the ground beside the mound of dirt. It appeared to be sealed with what looked like pitch and tar but on the lid there was attached a rectangular metal plate. It looked rusty and worn around the edges where four screws had secured it to the lid of the makeshift coffin from age, but the name "Detective Sergeant David Starsky" could clearly be seen crudely etched onto its face.

The prison doctor took a hammer and looked towards Hutch. With a nod, Hutch indicated his readiness for whatever came next. The doctor carefully pried open the lid as the sheriff's Polaroid camera took pictures of the coffin and site for evidence.

The doctor gave an audible grunt as the last of the nails was released from the lid. They all took a collective breath as the lid finally was removed.

Hutch's breath hitched at the sight of the body inside. It was nothing more than a skeleton with wisps of cloth surrounding it. A tattered light blue denim shirt, an equally tattered and torn pair of worn jeans and patches of dark hair was all that could be seen on the body. The body wore no shoes and was about the right height to be Starsky.

Absently, Hutch reached into his pocket and brought out Starsky's two rings that had been in the envelope. He placed them on his own finger. Although it felt strange to have them there, Hutch felt a peace that he hadn't felt in a long time as he let the human part of himself show through for only a moment.

"Oh God, Starsk…" he whispered.

A/N: I just wanted to clear up some confusion that some readers may have gotten about this story. This story is Jan's original idea that she had for the extended version of her story, "Finally coming home" She wrote the first five chapters and outlined the sixth and then developed a case of writer's block. After I wrote my story, "Looking for a home", Jan sent me what she had written on this story and asked me if I would like to finish it for her (with her input and suggestions along the way) so that is how this story came about and that is why there are two stories posted under my penname based on the same idea.

Chapter 3

The stark wooden coffin was soon loaded into the ambulance, ready for its journey to Sacramento and the coroner's office there for autopsy and official identification. The sheriff and the deputies began to disperse wearily, heading towards their cars, but Sheriff Hawkins noted that Hutch didn't even move from the open hole in the middle of the little meadow.

"Captain Hutchinson," said Sheriff Hawkins, interrupting the distraught man's thoughts. "We're ready to go home with your partner, sir."

"I know sheriff…thank you for everything you and your men have done for me …and for Detective Starsky," stated Hutch. "…but I was wondering if I could ask another favor of you?"

"Of course, Captain…" replied Sheriff Hawkins sincerely.

"I don't feel Starsky's spirit in that body over there…he's here…he's all over this place," explained Hutch not really understanding what he was feeling. "Could I ask you to come back in a few hours to get me? I really need to be here for a little while before I go home. I need a little personal time…some time to be Starsky's partner and friend for just a little while before I have to go back to being Capt. Kenneth Hutchinson."

"Of course…Captain…I'll be back with a patrol car in a couple of hours," smiled the sheriff. "…then I'll just wait for you here until you are ready to go back, OK?"

"Thanks sheriff…" Hutch's voice trailed off as he walked again across the meadow, the last sounds of the leaving cars faded until all Hutch could hear was the singing of the birds and the gentle rustling of the tree branches in the soft spring breeze.

00000

Hutch ambled around the meadow until he found a small path that led into the forest. For some reason it felt right to Hutch to follow it into the unknown and so he did…talking aloud to Starsky as he walked. He talked about his life now since Starsky had been missing beside him. He talked about the death of his father from a heart attack four years earlier and, more recently, about his sister's sudden death in a freakish car accident last winter in Minnesota.

Oh how he had needed Starsky then for comfort. Someone he could just be himself with and not put on the strong "police captain" façade that was expected of him by his family…by his department.

"I needed you so much when Denise was killed, Starsk," cried Hutch aloud as he let the tears fall he had kept in check since earlier that day. "…but I couldn't FEEL you at all then partner, Starsky!"

Then a little softer…"I always thought I would be able to feel you if you had made that step over to the other side but I couldn't…I needed you…God help me I STILL need you so much, Starsk!"

Hutch talked of his rise in rank in the Bay City Police Department and how strange it always felt to not have his friend and partner with him to share his joy. Oh, he had Lizzie and friends around him to share some of those good times with, but they could never replace Starsky in his mind or life. His friends all knew that and didn't even try to. They all respected, even in his absence, the giant void that Hutch's curly haired friend had left in his life.

Hutch stooped in the new spring grass by a crystal clear lake that just seemed to appear in front of him, and he wept bitter tears of grief…of anger at John McFarland…yet tears of relief, too.

As Hutch regained his composure, "I DID find you Starsky…just like I promised," Hutch closed his eyes and called out aloud to the mountain before turning back to walk down the path back where he knew by now Sheriff Hawkins was waiting. "It's time for both of us to go home partner!"

00000

"You're going so soon, mister?"

Hutch heard the small childish voice and opened his eyes to see a small girl in overalls and a red long sleeved tightly woven shirt underneath. She couldn't have been more than 6 or 7 years old but she had four 12" big-mouthed bass dangling from a chain fresh from the lake he assumed. She had a bamboo-fishing pole perched on her tiny shoulder nearly three times as big as she was.

Hutch was so startled that couldn't seem to say anything to the child. He looked around for a parent but he didn't see anyone else.

"What do we have here?" Hutch finally said to the girl. "Where did you come from?"

"I come here every afternoon to fish…well since the lake thawed," replied the girl. "I'm bringing home supper tonight…Daddy says I'm old enough to come on my own to our lake," she smiled proudly, "…but there's always been just me…never met anyone else here before."

"Well, I'd say that you've got some very nice ones today, young lady!" exclaimed Hutch examining the fish she had caught. He suddenly realized how easy it was to talk to this strange young girl. "I'm Ken…what's your name?"

"My name is Sarah Jane but Mommy and Daddy call me Sassy…they say it's because I have a sass in my step, but that's OK…Mommy says that she loves my sassy step." Sassy giggled a little that made Hutch smile even on one of the saddest days of his life.

"I got an extra fish today Mr. Ken…I guess this must be your fish!" Sassy said happily. "Would you like to come to my house and meet Mommy and Daddy. We don't get many visitors for supper up here where we live. Mommy is the best cook around here for miles and miles!"

"I've very sure your Mommy is a very good cook, Sassy, but no…I've got some people waiting for me up the path there. I'm a police captain and I've got to get back to a friend that I haven't seen for a long time."

"Oh…" sighed Sassy. "Well, I hope you come back real soon so you can meet my folks. Maybe all of us can go fishing together next time."

"Maybe, sweetie…I would like to see you again," mused Hutch. "You've lifted me up today when I was very low…kind of like my friend used to do."

"Used to…?" asked Sassy. "Your friend makes you sad now?"

"Well Sassy…he's been missing for a long time and I just found him today in the field up there at the top of the path. He's not making me sad…but his death is making me sad," explained Hutch. "Do you understand what I mean?"

"Yes sir," Sassy replied. "It's kind of like when Mommy got sick last winter and Daddy got so sad. We thought that she wouldn't live, but thank the Lord she did!"

Sassy continued, "…my little brother though didn't live….that made us all sad for a long time. He was just born too soon…that's what Daddy said."

"I'm so sorry Sassy…you know you're a very spunky little girl…just like my friend used to be," Hutch said with a touch of sorrow in his voice, then straightening up to his full height he said his farewells as Sassy waved and bounded off in a run towards the big trees just to the left of the lake. Just before she disappeared, she turned and flashed a gorgeous smile Hutch's way. She gave him a wave, blew him a kiss and then was out of sight.

Hutch watched after her a few seconds before he turned and went up the path out of sight towards the meadow again.

"Did you send that angel to me, Starsk?" Hutch thought. "Thank you buddy. I needed that little piece of joy just then…reminded me a lot of how I used to feel when you were here…when you were right there beside me in every sense of the word."

00000

Hutch walked steadily up the path to the meadow. Sheriff Hawkins was there waiting for him just as he promised.

"Capt. Hutchinson…" began the sheriff. "Were you able to find some peace here with your partner?"

"I believe so sheriff," replied Hutch. "Thank you for giving me this time."

"No problem at all sir," stated Sheriff Hawkins as a matter of fact.

The two men walked to the patrol car and got in.

"I hope you don't mind Captain," began Sheriff Hawkins. "…but I had to call my wife to let her know why I was so late for lunch today and she just insists that I bring you straight home for one of her fine roast beef dinners."

Hutch began to shake his head in the negative, but the sheriff would have none of it.

"Nope, we insist and besides you couldn't possible think about driving back to Bay City this late in the afternoon," reasoned Sheriff Hawkins. "I'll just bet your stomach hasn't seen anything for so long that it's beginning to wonder if you've had your head chopped off or something! We should be hearing some news about your partner's official ID sometime tomorrow…hopefully with the ID we provided maybe even tonight…and besides that you wouldn't want me to get in bad with my wife now would you?"

Hutch chuckled slightly and answered, "No, we sure wouldn't want that!" He continued, "Well, I guess if I'm to be a guest in your home you need to quit calling me Capt. Hutchinson… my name is Hutch."

"Hutch, it is…and I'm William…Buck to my friends," smiled the sheriff extending his hand.

"Thank you so much sheriff…uh Buck," said Hutch as he extended his own hand to his new friend. "I guess I'm really not ready to leave this place yet after all."

00000

Sassy went for about ½ mile, bounding through the familiar woods with carefree enthusiasm until she came to a small clearing where a log cabin's smoke from the fireplace inside appeared to hug the home with its smoky tendrils.

"Mommy, Daddy…guess what I got?" Sassy exclaimed happily as she burst through the cabin door.

"Sassy…you don't come into this house like that young lady!" scolded her father.

"No sir…I'm sorry" replied Sassy as her childlike vigor turned into chastised repentance in the time span of an instant.

Her father's face turned into a grin; however, as he picked his daughter up into his arms and the four fish, Sassy was carrying, promptly smacked him in the face.

"Look here Hannah…our daughter has caught supper!" boasted the man.

A woman turned from the stove to smile at her daughter and husband, " I see she has…why don't you two go and clean them so I can start supper."

"Yes, Mommy…" Sassy eagerly said as she snagged a bowl from the cupboard and went to the pump to fill it halfway with water while her father retrieved his sharp hunting knife on the mantle to clean the fish.

Sassy brought the bowl and water over to her father who had sat on one of the big stumps outside the cabin. He took a stone to sharpen the knife to his satisfaction and asked Sassy for a fish.

"I met someone at the lake today Daddy," Sassy said as she unhooked the first fish to hand to her father.

"You did?" replied her concerned father as he began to scale the fish on another large stump beside the one he sat on. "You remember what I've told you about talking to strangers."

"Oh he's a nice man…and he's not a stranger now," said Sassy as she watched her father skillfully finish scaling, then begin gutting the fish. "His name is Mr. Ken and he was very sad so I just had to try to make him feel better."

"You have a good heart Sassy…just like your Momma, sweetheart…" her father said with a peck to her chubby cheek making Sassy giggle with delight as her father's dark curly beard tickled her. "…but you've got to remember that not everyone is as good hearted as you and your Momma," warned her father as he finished gutting the fish and reached for the next one.

"I know Daddy," Sassy said as she hung her head, "…but I did make him feel better…" she continued with a gleam in her eye. "I hope he comes back…he said it would be nice to meet you and Mommy. He said I reminded him of a friend that he had lost!" Sassy stated happily as she handed her father the third fish to clean and placed the second dressed fish in the bowl of clear water with the first.

"Well, I'm glad that you could make him feel better sweetie…I know that you always make me feel better when you're around," her father said as he finished cleaning the third fish and started on the fourth.

"Ken…Ken…" thought Sassy's father. "That name seems familiar to me…but I don't know anyone here on the mountain named Ken…hmm?."

Sassy noticed her father seemed to be far away in thought. She touched his arm and he jerked in surprise cutting his thumb with the sharp knife.

"DADDY!!!" exclaimed Sassy. "You've hurt yourself!!!"

"Oh, it's nothing sweetheart..." reassured her father. "I'll finish this last fish and I'll get Mommy to put some salve on it later to stop the throbbing…" "Hurts like the devil now, though," he thought.

"I'm sorry Daddy, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh you could never scare me pumpkin…now you go and fetch some wood for the stove," stated her father as he pulled a red bandana from the back pocket of his jeans and wrapped his bleeding thumb securely. "Your Mama is going to need a few logs to fix up these fine fish that you've caught today.

"Yes sir," smiled Sassy as she turned immediately going towards the wood pile as her father asked…her long wavy black hair glistening in the late afternoon sun.

Sassy's father got up with the now cleaned and dressed fish in the bowl to walk back to the cabin. His thumb was still throbbing, but what was a little thing like that? He had done some terrible hurting in his life, emotionally and physically …well the life that he could remember. He didn't know what he would have done if his beautiful Hannah hadn't found him nearly dead from wounds, exhaustion and mistreatment 8 years ago. The only life he had ever known was in these woods on this mountain with Hannah…and now Sassy.

He sometimes wondered what his life was like before…he knew there was one. The scars that decorated his body gave testimony to that, but he had long ago given up trying to remember anything about that time. He had accepted the fact that he couldn't remember and that what was important was his life with his family that he dearly loved. That was all he cared about or needed in his life now.

"Honey, do you have the fish…?" Hannah asked as her husband put the bowl of fish down on the large wooden table in the center of the kitchen…his arms catching his wife around her slender waist. He drew her close to him nuzzling her neck, her long auburn ponytail cascading down behind her.

"Oh, Dave now stop that if you want any supper tonight!" she giggled happily with delight.

Hannah turned entwined in her husband's arms to embrace and kiss his furred face that always seemed to waiting for her caresses.

Dave took his wife's face in his hands and kissed her making sure she knew how much he loved and wanted her even after all the time that they had been together.

"Dave!?" Hannah exclaimed. "What happened to your thumb?" as she noticed the red bandana that was partially soiled in a darker red color.

Dave gave her one of his patented lopsided grins and said, "Oh this? It's nothing…just cut myself while cleaning the fish outside."

"Well, don't just stand there!" Hannah exclaimed worriedly. "You know that infections are worse here because we're so far away from a doctor and I couldn't take losing you like we lost our baby…"

Hannah voice cracked a little and she turned away from her husband not wishing for him to see her tears yet again. Dave went to her and put his arms around her much as he had when he first entered the cabin.

"I know sweetheart…I know…I miss him too."

They both stood there together bonded together by both the great grief and love they both felt at the moment until they heard the door open and Sassy's voice, "Daddy, did you tell Mommy about…"

Sassy had seen this scene way too often in the past few months and she knew by the look on her parents' faces that they were thinking about her little baby brother. She went over to her parents and embraced them both with her little arms and said, "I love you both."

Hannah looked down at her beautiful daughter, picked her up and hugged her back smiling slightly, "We love you too you sassy thing you!" She kissed Sassy's cheek and then turned to her husband with a frown.

"…and as for you mister…you'd better sit down and let me clean that thumb of yours."

Hannah carefully unwrapped the bloodied bandana around Dave's wound and tsked at the blood slowly oozing out of the deep cut. "Sassy, I think you'd better get the salve AND my sewing kit for this job…another scar to add to your collection!"

"I guess supper is going to be a little later huh, dear?" Dave smiled like a little boy who had been caught red handed.

Chapter 4

"Annie," Sheriff Hawkins said as he swallowed another bite of the beef roast on his plate. "This has got to be the best pot roast you've fixed since we've been married!"

"Oh, go on, Buck!" answered Annie Hawkins smiling good naturedly towards her husband of 28 years. "You're going to make the Captain here think that you don't get anything decent to eat except when company comes to sit at the table…"

Annie smiled putting another bite of mashed potatoes into her own mouth as she tried to make eye contact with their guest from Bay City.

Hutch, however, remained much as he had the entire meal…his head down using his fork to rearrange the roast, potatoes and green peas around to different spots on his plate. Hutch raised his head as he suddenly realized that silence had engulfed the room and two pairs of eyes were watching him intently.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Hawkins," Capt. Kenneth Hutchinson said in embarrassment. "Did you say something?"

"No Captain…" Hutch was about to correct his hostess when she blurted out, "I mean Ken…it wasn't important…and by the way, Mrs. Hawkins was Buck's mother's name and I really am quite a bit younger than she…"

Hutch looked up at his hostess and said, "Yes, I would imagine that's quite right…Annie."

Annie smiled back at her guest and responded, "That's better." She continued, as she patted his hand gently, "I know you have far more important things on your mind right now."

Hutch appreciated the sheriff and his wife's concern and graced Annie with a gentle smile and a return pat to her strong yet gentle hand. Eating then resumed and soon Hutch's smile was gone from his face and he again was far away…far away in place and in time.

00000

This meal reminded him a little too much of happier times around his own table…in his old apartment in Venice Beach when he had made a dinner similar to this one in front of him for his very special friend who needed some cheering up. They had laughed at the pillar candles that burned softly in the little room. Starsky had teased that it was as if Hutch was trying to impress a date or something!

A ghost of smile again graced Hutch's handsome face.

"Even when you're not really here, you can still cheer me up, Starsk," Hutch thought fondly.

Those were the times that he liked to think about when he thought of Starsky. Him laughing, joking, Starsky talking of nonsense things with Hutch and the two of them just enjoying being together.

Thinking of those times made Hutch sad too, "How I wasted those times together, Starsk. Why do people think that the time together with friends and family are going to last forever and that the mistakes that we make with them can always wait until there is a better time to make them right…to fix them?"

"Sometimes you don't get a better time to fix things…sometimes there is NO more time."

00000

"Ken…" Said Mrs. Hawkins pulling Hutch from the past and into the present.

As Hutch's eyes met hers," she continued, "Would you like some more roast? There's plenty you know."

"No, uh…Annie," replied Hutch. "It all smells wonderful, but I guess I'm just not that hungry right now."

Jason "Buck" Hawkins nodded his head knowingly.

"I know that you're thinking about your partner, Captain."

The Sheriff continued, "I've got a feeling that we're going to hear something about him soon from the coroner in Sacramento. I told him that we suspected that the body we found was the missing police detective from Bay City that we heard of years ago." Then a little gentler, "I asked him to put a rush on the ID as a personal favor to me."

Hutch gave him a questioning look.

"Well, as it happens, the coroner and I used to be good friends in school," explained Buck.

"Yes, used to be an old boyfriend of mine," added Annie with a slight twinkle in her eye.

The sheriff looked at his wife fondly. "Yeah, but I was the lucky one who landed you!"

Hutch smiled in spite of himself listening to the lighthearted banter taking place between the sheriff and his wife. He took the paper napkin from his lap and wiped his mouth as he excused himself from the table to go into the living room to relax his mind a minute. Before he left he turned and thanked the couple for their wonderful hospitality.

"Please, don't ever take each other for granted," Hutch said. "You never know what will be the last words you say to each other. Trust me, you never forget them."

Sheriff Hawkins sighed and called after Hutch that he would be sure to let him know when the coroner called and that they had some news.

00000

Hutch went into the living room and sat on the overstuffed couch that was the focal point of the room. It was long, very comfortable and practically molded itself around Hutch's long frame. He leaned his weary head back towards the back. His neck was cushioned almost as if it were a fluffy pillow and before he knew it Hutch was dosing as he twirled his partner's rings that now graced his own hand.

00000

"Hey Hutch, whatcha want to do tonight now that we're finally free of this place?" Starsky said. "Go down to Huggy's, pop back a few cold ones?"

"Well, partner, I thought I would just go home…make a night of just lazing around…" responded Hutch knowing full well that lazing around wasn't exactly what he had in mind for the evening's festivities.

"Sounds great Hutch…" answered Starsky. "Mind if I laze around with you for awhile? Actually that sounds pretty good to me after the week we've had with the Mendosa case."

Hutch wasn't sure how to tell his partner that Lizzie had planned to come over and spend the night. "I should just tell him that I'm planning on company…no…why should I tell him that part?"

Hutch looked at Starsky square in the face, straight in the eye and told him that he would just rather be alone tonight if he didn't mind. He had an edge to his voice that Hutch really hadn't meant to come out, but he never was good at hedging the truth with his best friend.

Hutch remembered thinking that he had fooled his old friend…that he hadn't caught the edginess of in his voice or Starsky had just ignored it as he simply brushed past Hutch and opened the door to his baby…

Well, OK then partner…." Starsky smiled coyly. "Enjoy your time alone, Hutch," emphasizing the word "alone" which meant for certainty that David Starsky didn't make a living as a detective for nothing.

Then with a knowing wink, the best friend he had ever had, peeled out of the police garage to parts unknown.

00000

Hutch moaned… twisting his head back and forth. "NO!" his mind screamed in his dreamlike state. "I didn't mean it Starsky!" as he reached out his arms to jerk his partner back to safety.

He woke with a start realizing that he was reaching for empty air…that it had all been just a dream.

"I've been alone eight and a half years too long."

Hutch sat in silence for a moment remembering the emotions that came like a never ending waterfall the next day when he had gone by Starsky's home to pick him up for work as if it was any other day.

It wasn't…and it would never be again.

Hutch went from angry to concerned to panicked in the space of a few hours that day.

Lizzie had been so wonderful during the whole investigation…the late night hours at the station trying without luck to get some kind of lead as to what had happened to Starsky. She had been at the funeral comforting and supporting Starsky's mom and Lizzie had her own brand of comfort for Hutch that he craved so much during that time. He had shouted at her in angered frustration, cried in her arms and needed her till he thought that she could take all the pain away with just her touch…with just her smile. When he and Elizabeth Lynette Anderson had eloped to Las Vegas almost a year after Starsky's disappearance, everyone was happy for them. Edith Dobey had said that she wished she had been able to be there to throw them both a party to beat all parties…and still wanted to do that after they had their quick honeymoon, but Hutch just smiled the slight smile that tended to be his trademark these past few years.

He had always told Lizzie that they would have a proper wedding with all the trimmings…someday, but that someday never came. Truth was that Hutch just couldn't imagine himself up in front of a minister without Starsky by his side as his best man and in some irrational way, had always blamed Starsky's disappearance…or at least his not being with Starsky that night on the fact that he was instead with Lizzie.

Three years ago, Hutch had realized that he really didn't love Lizzie the way she needed or deserved to be loved. He was just trying to fill the void that was in his very

soul that was Starsky sized and Lizzie couldn't fill that. No one could so, Hutch and Lizzie both finally came to the realization that they couldn't be for each other what the other needed or wanted.

The divorce, Hutch's second, had been very amicable and was finalized a year ago this past June. Lizzie had kissed his cheek that day in court and said that she hoped that he would find his way and some kind of happiness…that Starsky wouldn't want to be mourned that he would want to be celebrated for his life.

"You will always have a very special place in my heart Kenneth Hutchinson," were the last words that Lizzie had spoken to him that day before she was gone from his life for good.

Hutch wasn't as devastated as he thought he would be. It was then he knew that he wouldn't really feel whole and complete until he kept his promise to Rachel about finding her son.

He had heard that Lizzie had gone to Phoenix, Arizona to work in the grief counseling field for the city's social services department. She was pretty serious about one of the other counselors in the department and seemed to be getting her life together.

Hutch was happy for her. She deserved so much…more than he knew he could ever give.

00000

Hutch was suddenly pulled from his impromptu journey through the past by the ringing of the phone. Sheriff Hawkins picked up the receiver and answered in his official capacity, "Hello, this Sheriff William Hawkins speaking."

Then a little less formally, "Yes, Jim…uh hmmmm."

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate that Jim," Buck spoke fondly. "We've had some supper here at the house while we were waiting."

Hutch rose from the couch to cross over to where Sheriff Hawkins was speaking.

"What was that…?"

"Oh, yeah, you know Annie, Jim," Sheriff Hawkins started to laugh. "Annie's pot roast is famous all over."

Another pause then, "Of course, you know you are welcome any time you're up this way…" His eyes met the anxious eyes of Ken Hutchinson. "Uh, Jim…Captain Hutchinson has been waiting for your findings on that body we sent you earlier today…do you have a positive identification now?"

There was a long pause. Sheriff Hawkins stiffened.

"I see Jim…" Buck stated matter of factly. "You said that it might be tomorrow before you could determine the ID but since we provided the possible victim…well I know Captain Hutchinson was hoping that you could render your findings by tonight."

Hutch thought the next long pause was the longest he'd ever had to wait for anything in his entire life.

"OK, Jim…we'll call your office tomorrow." Sheriff Hawkins said as he cast his eyes away from Hutch and put the phone back into its cradle.

"I gather that was the Sacramento coroner," began Hutch.

"Yes, it was," Buck turned and sat down on sofa that Hutch had just vacated. "We're not going to have an ID on the body we dug up this morning until tomorrow at the earliest."

"I know that's what you said before," said Hutch a little down heartedly as he sat beside his colleague on the sofa. "I was just hoping that …

"I know but…Jim wants to do a very thorough job," offered the sheriff. "He said that he was going to be working through the night on this one as a personal favor to me…and because this might be a fellow officer who lost his life in the line of duty."

A hand was placed firmly on Hutch's shoulder, "I guess you'll be staying in the guest room tonight," smiled William.

"I don't think so sheriff," Hutch's sadness soon turned to determination. "I'm going to go to Sacramento personally …I want to know as soon as humanly possible about Starsky and take him home."

"I don't think so Ken," said Annie Hawkins. She appeared in the doorway wiping the soapy water off of her hands and forearms with a red terrycloth dishtowel. "There's a fierce spring storm heading up the mountain and the radio announcements are saying it's going to be a whopper."

"I'm afraid that you're stuck here at least until it blows over."

Hutch's head was pounding with weariness that he hadn't felt in a long time. He placed his head in his large hands and wondered what he had ever done to make this bad karma come his way.

Chapter 5

Hutch awoke the following morning to the smell of bacon whiffing through the guest room he had slept in for the evening. The storm was still pounding big glops of rain mixed with sleet onto the window pane. It seemed as dark as the night had been but the time on the wind up clock on the nightstand read 7:47 so he knew it was morning.

Hutch for the life of him, couldn't remember going to the pleasant little room on the second floor of the sheriff and his wife's home nor preparing for bed, but that must have been exactly what he had done after calling Huggy to let him know that he would be staying the night with the Hawkins and bringing Starsky home tomorrow at the latest.

"That had better be what happens or that friend of yours may need a coroner himself…" Hutch had stated to the sheriff the night before only half in jest.

A soft knock on the door proceeded Buck Hawkins' head popping in.

"Ken…Annie's got some breakfast ready," he said.

"I don't know Buck" replied Hutch who was already out of bed and reaching for his pants. "I really want to get going to Sacramento as soon as possible today. I probably won't have time…"

"Oh, I'm afraid that you'll have plenty of time, Ken," replied Buck. "The storm is still pretty bad and no one going anywhere until it subsides at least some."

"When we do go we're going to have to be careful of mud and rock slides down the mountain," mused the sheriff. "Sure hope the mountain folk that live around there are alright…gonna have to make a point of checking on them with Gus and Lou today," referring to his two deputies.

Hutch realized as he gazed out the window of the room that the sheriff was indeed right. He wasn't going anywhere for awhile. "Storm…" Hutch huffed with an irritated shake of his head.

He proceeded to put on his pants, shoes and socks. "I hope everyone's doing well too sheriff." Hutch said sincerely as he thought about his new little friend Sassy up the mountain near the lake.

As he finger combed his thinning hair he turned to Buck, "You know sheriff, I met someone yesterday while I was up around the meadow after you had left."

"Really?" asked Buck as he handed Hutch his shirt. "I don't recall anyone living around that area of the mountain."

Hutch nodded his head in thanks for his shirt, "Must be…she was the cutest little girl…about 6 years old I think with black curly hair."

The sheriff took a seat on the small chair in the corner of the room while Hutch talked about his encounter with Sassy.

"Sassy….Sassy?" questioned Sheriff Hawkins as he recounted in his memory the children that he knew of that lived in his jurisdiction on the mountain. "Don't know of any children up on the mountain named Sassy…and certainly none that young."

"Well, I can assure you that she's there," replied Hutch. "I was so absorbed with thoughts of Starsky…about the whole miserable day yesterday, but she ended up being a ray of sunshine in my gloom. Even asked me to share one of the fish she had caught for dinner at the lake with her family."

As Hutch took the small towel and washcloth to the bathroom beside the guest room he said, "I was wondering if you could go up that way and check on her and her family."

"Sure thing," replied the sheriff. "Maybe you'd like to go with me."

"I would, but I really want to bring my partner home as soon as possible…that is if your friend makes an official ID soon!!"

"Sure thing, Ken…I understand completely," the sheriff paused just outside the guest bath. "Do you know if she lives near the lake?"

"Don't know for sure Buck, but she can't live that far," reasoned Hutch. "As I said she couldn't be more than 6 or 7 years old…at the most."

The sheriff nodded his head and started down the stairs, "That makes sense, Ken. Well that side of the mountain may not be getting the storm as bad as we did last night being as the lake is on the other side of this mountain above us. Course, what goes up the mountain usually comes down the other side sooner or later," the sheriff voicing aloud his thoughts. "Well, anyway there's nothing to be done now…I'll just go downstairs and tell Annie that you'll be right down pretty soon for breakfast."

Hutch smiled his thanks as he closed the bathroom door to attempt to begin his regular morning routine.

00000

The down filled quilt that covered the man and his wife was all that could be seen in the small but cozy room of the log cabin.

Dave and Hannah had done the usual chores around the cabin, bedded down the chickens, stoked the fire in the stove and settled down to bed the night before.

A flash of lightning and the loud boom of a thunderclap awoke Dave immediately.

"There's a storm coming…" he thought as he anxiously looked over to his daughter's sleeping form under her own quilt in her bed across the room. The thunder of the storm hadn't awakened her yet so he turned onto his side and gazed at Hannah as she slept on.

She was beautiful to Dave…inside and out. She had been his rescuer but more than that…she had been his lifeline these past few years. He didn't know what he would have done had it not been for this woman who now was his friend, then love and at last his wife.

He took his hand, rough and callused with long days of work making their way in the world in this little slice of the Earth that they called home, and brushed a long auburn curl away from Hannah's forehead.

Hannah stirred and opened her eyes to gaze at her husband's look of wanton need. He never seemed to tire of her womanly attentions and God help her she prayed he never did. She didn't know what she would do if anything happened to mare their little piece of tranquility in a world that she knew could be so cruel and unkind.

"Good morning…" whispered Hannah.

"Good morning to you too," replied Dave as he kissed his beautiful wife, his tongue moving inside and exploring her mouth as he covered her body with his own for a proper greeting of the day as the rain continued it's own background music for their tender passions.

00000

Breakfast was a pleasant enough affair and Hutch was helping Annie clear away the plates when the phone suddenly interrupted.

Sheriff Hawkins went into the living room phone leaving Hutch and Annie in the kitchen, "Hello, Sheriff Hawkins speaking."

"Oh, hi Jim," spoke the sheriff. "Yeah, we've got a whale of a storm barreling up the mountain." There was a pause and then, "Yeah, it's still going…"

Hutch wiped his hands with a dishtowel and taking a deep breath walked to stand by the sheriff. "This is it," thought Hutch.

"Ask him, Buck," Hutch said firmly, his steel blue eyes boring through the man in front of him.

"I will, Ken," stated Buck. "Jim…look I'm going to assume since you've called this early that you've got an ID on the body we sent to you…ah hm…well are you going to tell me?"

Suddenly, the sheriff's eyes became wide, his mouth slacked and he slumped a little as he clutched the phone as if it were a lifeline.

"What in the world?" whispered Hutch. He grabbed for his new friend and guided him to a chair to sit down.

"Sheriff!" Hutch cried out in a controlled voice learned from years of training and experience in dealing with crisis situations. "Annie…come quick!"

Annie Hawkins came out of the kitchen…"William!" Annie exclaimed running to kneel beside her husband. "What's the matter?"

Hutch took the phone from the floor as Sheriff Hawkins started to sit up in the protective arms of his wife, "Oh no…" he said over and over again.

"Is this the Sacramento coroner?" Hutch demanded authoritatively.

"Who is this?" asked the voice on the other end of the line.

"This is Captain Kenneth Hutchinson of the Bay City Police, now answer my question!"

"This is Dr. James Lewis …and I am the Coroner in the Sacramento Office!" replied the coroner. "What happened to William? Is he alright?"

Hutch looked at his colleague and William just waved him off with a whoosh of his hand. His eyes had a haunted look that hadn't been there before.

"I think he's going to be fine," replied Hutch. "…but we might want to call a doctor. He doesn't look too well."

"I'm not surprised," replied Dr. Lewis. "There's never an easy way to tell someone of a friend's death.

"What?" answered Hutch. "I don't understand."

"Well, the body he sent to me yesterday to ID was a good friend of his," Dr. Lewis explained.

"A friend of HIS?" replied Hutch.

"Yes, Captain Hutchinson…it was the body of Deputy David Tuber."

Sparkle731: Jan outlined this chapter but I wrote it. Although I am writing the remaining chapters, Jan contributed her suggestions and comments to bring this story to light. I hope that you enjoy our combined efforts.

Chapter 6

"Uh…thank you for your help." Hutch managed, his own mind reeling with shock at the news that the Sacramento Coroner had just delivered. If the body they had discovered in the wooden box was Deputy Tuber and not Starsky, then where was Starsky's body? Hutch hung up the phone and turned to look at Annie Hawkins who was doing what she could to console her shaken husband. "Are you all right?" He asked directing his question at the couple. "Should we call a doctor?"

"No doctor. I'll be fine." William said dismissing Hutch's concern. He raised his head and looked at Hutch. He still had that haunted look in his eyes, an expression that Hutch had seen reflected in his own mirror far too often in the past eight and a half years. "What the hell is going on here?" he asked in a strained voice. "How did David Tuber's body end up buried in that box?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Hutch said in a frustrated tone. "I came up here expecting to find my partner's body not someone else." He clenched his hands into fists to control the urge to start breaking things. He forced himself to focus on the matter at hand instead of his anger at the unexpected turn of events. "You said that he was a friend of yours who was killed in the line of duty around the same time that my partner disappeared. What happened?"

The sheriff took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, as he gathered the courage to dredge up memories that were still painful even after all these years. Annie rested her hand on her husband's shoulder giving him the emotional support he needed to tell Hutch the details.

"He was called to the scene of a 211 that went bad. A teenage clerk had been taken hostage. He negotiated her release by offering to take her place. By the time back up arrived, the robbers were gone and so was he."

"And they never found his body. Right?" Hutch said stating the obvious.

"Right. They found the get away car a couple of days later…abandoned. I remember there was a pretty bad storm that day and any tracks that might have been left were all but obliterated." Buck clenched his jaw. "There are a lot of places around here to get rid of a body where it will never be found. Everybody assumed that was what happened." Hutch watched as the sheriff gently patted his wife's hand and then shoved himself to his feet, walking over to the window to peer out through the glass.

The rain was starting to let up and the wind didn't seem as strong as it had been earlier. Broken branches and other debris littered the front yard in the aftermath of Mother Nature's fury. "It looks like the storm's starting to let up." He announced calmly. "As soon as it stops, we'll check on the folks up the mountain…make sure they're all okay."

"I'd like to go with you." Hutch said, thinking about the little girl that he had met the day before and her family. After the hospitality that the sheriff and his wife had shown him and the disturbing news that the body in the box was actually Buck's missing friend and not Starsky, Hutch didn't feel that he could just return to Bay City.

"I don't see any problem with that…not as long as you're with me." Buck said, turning away from the window to look at Hutch. "You gotta understand about these mountain folks. They tend to keep to themselves and they don't take kindly to outsiders. Most of them never leave the mountain except for a couple of times a year when they come to town to buy the supplies that they can't grow or make for themselves."

"Sounds like a pretty simple way of life." Hutch said as his memories carried him back to life on his grandfather's farm. Hutch has always loved spending the summer there when he was a kid. Memories of the long hours that his grandfather had put in tending the crops and taking care of the farm animals blended with his memories of lazy days spent fishing and swimming in the creek under his grandfather's watchful eye.

"It's a hard life but most of them have never known any other way to live." Buck told him. Some of them don't even have electricity and none of them have phones."

"Don't any of them ever leave?" Hutch asked. He knew that his question might sound naïve but he remembered the restlessness of his own youth and the burning desire to get out on his own.

"Some of them do," Annie said flashing a fond smile in her husband's direction. "I did."

"That must have taken some getting used to." Hutch said as he tried to imagine the petite woman before him living the life that William had just described.

"Oh, it was." Annie told him with a grin. "When William took me to the big city on our honeymoon, we stayed at one of these fancy hotels that had toilets that flushed by themselves when you stood up. Scared the living daylights out of me. I thought it was going flush me down with it."

William chuckled at his wife's account and added, "I swear everybody in that hotel must have heard her screaming bloody murder. The manager called the room to

make sure everything was okay." Hutch had to laugh at the image that came to mind from Annie's story. Hutch recovered quickly…the sheriff may now have the closure he needed concerning his friend, but Hutch's friend and partner was still out there somewhere…he KNEW it…and he was going to find his body if it was the last thing he did.

Three hours later the storm had passed. Hutch and Buck ventured outside, surveying the damage to the sheriff's property. A large tree at the end of the driveway had been uprooted, partially blocking the drive, and sections of fence surrounding the yard had been blown down. A couple of the windows in the house had been cracked but not broken and the lawn was littered with branches and other debris.

"Ain't too bad." Buck said as he looked around his homestead. He bent down to pick up a fallen branch, tossing it aside. He rested his hands on his hips. "Could have been worse."

"Do you get storms like that very often?" Hutch questioned. They had some pretty bad storms in Bay City occasionally but the sprawling metropolis didn't suffer the same kind of damage that they did out here in the wide open spaces.

"Three or four times a year. Give us a few days and we'll have everything back to normal. After a storm like that what we have to worry about now is rock slides and mud slides…especially up there on the mountain."

"Does Annie still have any family up there?"

"No. Her father died just after we got married and her mother died in childbirth when she was fourteen." Buck told him.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Hutch said sincerely. "That must have been hard for her losing her mother at that age." His thoughts immediately turned to Starsky. Starsky had lost his father when he was twelve and Hutch knew that it had traumatized the brunet leaving emotional scars that had never completely healed.

"Annie's always been pretty independent and self reliant. She had to be." He glanced around at the property damage once more. "There ain't nothing here that can't wait." Buck said "Let's go check on the mountain folks." Hutch nodded, falling into step beside Buck as he walked over to his four wheel drive truck. He was anxious to see if they could find Sassy and her family. Even though he had only met her briefly, the child had made a lasting impression on Hutch.

As Buck drove up the mountain, Hutch noticed that the damage seemed to be more widespread. There were more uprooted trees, battered down bushes, and washed out sections of road. In one spot they came across several cows that were roaming free.

"That's Pete Leland's stock. We better stop there first and let him know they're loose." Buck said as he turned to the right and headed down a deeply rutted road that headed south.

Several minutes later, a two-story log cabin came into sight. There was a weather-beaten barn with part of the roof blown off and one door hanging by a single hinge. Five children ranging in age from five to fifteen were in the dirt packed front yard picking up trash and broken limps.

A tall thin man with stingy blond hair and a beard was hammering some boards over a broken window on the cabin, while a heavyset woman with long black hair picked up pieces of broken glass from the ground. They both stopped what they were doing and eyed the Sheriff's vehicle suspiciously. As they climbed out of the four by four, Hutch realized that it wasn't the sheriff that they were leery of it was him. He was a stranger to these people and they didn't trust outsiders.

"Looks like you got hit hard." Buck said as he handed Pete a board to nail over the window.

"It's not so bad." Pete said "At least we still got the house and barn."

"Just thought I'd stop by to see if you needed anything and to tell you that your cows are out down by the main road."

"Figured that. I'll sent Jeb and Toby down to round 'em up. Thanks for stopping by." He turned his attention back to the window he was boarding up, dismissing Hutch and the sheriff.

They climbed back into the four by four and Buck drove back to the main road. As they continued on their way, he stopped at several more homesteads hidden away in the hollers and valleys of the mountain At each cabin, the mountain folks were suspicious but cordial. Hutch knew that his presence was accepted merely because he was with the Sheriff who was familiar to them and had helped them all in one way or another throughout the years.

Finally, Buck drove to the meadow where David Tuber's body had been found. His eyes clouded with sadness as he looked around at his friend's final resting place for the past eight and half years. He felt sorry for the tall blond at his side. After all, he had come all this way expecting to find his partner's body not the body of a stranger. After a moment of reflection, the two men headed towards the lake that Hutch had stumbled across that day. Broken branches, exposed roots, patches of uneven ground and uprooted trees hampered their progress but eventually the lake came into view.

"This is Dobbs Lake." Buck explained "The Dobbs family owned most of the land around here. I guess they still do. I haven't been up this way in a coon's age. Ain't nobody living on this part of the mountain that I know off…not since old man Dobbs died anyway."

"There has to be." Hutch said "I told you the little girl I saw couldn't have been much older than six or seven. She'd have to live somewhere close by." He pointed to a strand of trees to the east "When she left, she went that way."

The two men walked in that direction. As they entered the forest, Sheriff Hawkins noticed a crude deer trail and decided to follow it. They had walked for almost half a mile when both men suddenly smelled smoke. Without any warning, the path opened into a small clearing with a small log cabin sitting in the middle of it. A rundown barn stood off to one side several yards from the cabin. Hutch saw Sassy in the front yard picking up branches that had been blown down by the storm. Looking up, she spotted her new friend and smiled brightly. "Hi, Mr. Ken!" she squealed in greeting as she ran towards the two men.

"Hi there, cutie." Hutch said with a warm smile as he knelt down to the child's level. "This is my friend, Sheriff Hawkins."

"Hello. My name's Sarah but everybody calls me Sassy." She said politely, eyeing the sheriff with eyes that were open and trusting.

"Nice to meet you, Sassy." Buck said with a friendly smile. "Is your Mommy and Daddy here?"

"Mommy is." Sassy said turning and running back towards the cabin. She disappeared inside leaving Hutch and Buck standing in the clearing. A few moments later, she came back outside followed closely by a cautious Hannah.

"May I help you?" Hannah asked suspiciously. She didn't like strangers, especially strangers who wore a badge.

"I'm Sheriff Hawkins and this is Captain Hutchinson from Bay City. We were just checking on the folks who live here on the mountain to make sure they were okay after last night's storm. Is your husband here, Mrs…" He let his voice trail off waiting for Hannah to offer her name.

"Dobbs." Hannah said. "Hannah Dobbs. My husband is out chopping up the trees that got blown down for wood but he should be back soon." She put a heavy emphasis on the word 'soon'. These two strangers made her nervous and she wanted them to leave her part of the mountain.

Almost nine years ago, Hannah had been picking berries in the woods when she found the man lying on the ground at the bottom of Devil's Gorge. . He had been severely beaten and was more dead than alive with a deep crease to the side of his head that had bled profusely. Even though she was frightened by the man's appearance, Hannah knew she had to try and help him. She couldn't just leave him there to die. She had fastened a makeshift sled and managed to get the injured man on it, dragging him out of sight behind a large pile of rocks. After making him as comfortable as she could, she had gone back into the woods to gather the herbs and plants that she would need to make the mountain remedies that had been handed down in her family for generations.

It was while she was gathering some wild herbs that she had seen the three men walking towards her from the far end of the ravine. One of them was carrying a rifle and they appeared to be searching for something or someone. Staying well hidden, she had overheard enough of their conversation to know that they were looking for the man that she had found. They were angry that his body was missing. What scared Hannah the most was that she could see that one of the men was wearing a badge. She stayed hidden until the men left the gorge, then she hurriedly made her way back to the injured man. She had managed to drag him back through the woods to her tiny one room cabin.

Unable to lift his weight onto the bed, she had made a makeshift pallet for him on the floor. She locked the door securely and made sure that no light from the lantern on the table showed through the window. Working by moonlight, she spent most of the night mixing up the medicine she needed to care for the seriously injured man. She had dressed his open wounds as best she could, make use of her sewing kit to stitch

the deep lacerations she found on his back and head. She set his broken leg, strapping the homemade split securely in place.

Hannah had been alone for several months ever since her parents had died from the fever and had gone home to the Heavenly Father above. She had spent most of her twenty-one years on this mountain. This stranger was the first man that she had ever seen that didn't live on the mountain.

It had been touch and go for several days as she doctored the man that she had saved from a certain death. A high fever made him restless and delirious. He mumbled in his delirium, muttering words that Hannah didn't understand. Finally, the fever broke and he opened his eyes. The most beautiful sapphire eyes that Hannah had ever seen.

He had no memory of how he had come to be on the mountain or how he had gotten hurt. He couldn't remember anything except that he thought his first name was Dave. As the days past, he showed no desire to leave and Hannah was thrilled to have him stay. Eventually, they had fallen deeply in love and pledged their everlasting love to one another in the clearing by the lake with only God as their witness. Hannah vowed that she would not let anything or anyone threaten their happiness or their way of life.

Hannah was pulled back to the present when the Sheriff said,

"Are you sure there's nothing Captain Hutchinson or I can do for you?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Hannah said firmly. "We're fine. We don't need any help."

As the two men turned to leave, Sassy ran over to Hutch and reached out to tug at his sleeve. As he turned to meet the child's deep blue eyes, she said,

"We still got plenty of fish if you wanna stay and eat with us, Mr. Ken." She glanced at the sheriff shyly. "Your friend can stay too."

Hutch smiled warmly as he knelt down and reached out to pat the child's back in a friendly gesture to thank her for her kindness. Suddenly, a strangely familiar voice said from somewhere behind him,

"Hey mister, I think you better get your hands off my daughter and get off my land."

Hutch straightened up and turned around to face the man standing at the edge of the woods, glaring at the strangers standing on his land. He was holding an axe loosely in his left hand and his stance was that of a man ready to fight to protect his family. The dark curly hair hung down to his shoulders and his face was covered with a full beard but there was no mistaking those eyes. Hutch would know those eyes anywhere.

"Starsky?" he whispered in disbelief as he looked into the face of his former partner and best friend.

Chapter 7

Hutch stood there in stunned silence, staring at the man standing at the edge of the forest. There was no doubt in his mind that he had finally found his missing partner in the least expected way. But, it was equally apparent by the glare in those sapphire blue eyes that Starsky had no idea who Hutch was and that he wasn't happy to see him there.

"Sassy, come here." Dave ordered his daughter firmly holding out his hand. Sassy threw one last look at her new friend, Mr. Ken, and ran to her father's side. She knew not to disobey when he used that tone of voice. Starsky put a protective arm around his daughter's slender shoulders and growled at the men he considered strangers, "I don't know who the hell you two are or what you want here but you best be getting off my land right now."

"Star…" Hutch started only to be cut off by Sheriff Hawkins who reached out to touch his arm, throwing him a warning glance.

"I'm sorry." Buck said with a friendly smile to put Starsky at ease and to show him that they were not threat. "I'm Sheriff Hawkins and this is Captain Hutchinson from Bay City. We were just checking on the folks around here to make sure that everyone was okay after the storm last night."

"We're fine." Dave said fiercely "Now, I want you to leave." He drew his daughter closer to his side.

"We're going." Buck assured him. He tugged at Hutch's arm as he turned to head back the way they had come. As they walked towards the woods, Dave hurried across the yard and up onto the porch beside Hannah. The little family disappeared inside the cabin and the door closed securely behind them.

Hutch bulked and glanced back at the cabin with a confused expression on his face. In a stunned voice, he said, "Wait! That was my partner! That was David Starsky."

"Maybe so," Buck said as he tugged at Hutch's arm again to keep him moving. "But, we need to leave right now until we figure out what's going on here."

"B-b-but that was Starsky…" Hutch repeated, torn between following Buck and going back to the cabin. "He's alive…"

"Come on, Hutch…" Buck said gently soothing the distraught blond. "Let's head back to the house and try to figure out what's going on here. I need to make a couple of phone calls. I know some people that might be able to help us."

Still confused and in shock at seeing his partner again, Hutch allowed Buck to lead him back down the path to the meadow by the lake. By the time they made it back to where Buck had parked the four by four, Hutch was starting to think more clearly. As they climbed into the vehicle, Hutch glanced at the sheriff and said,

"What the hell is going on here? How did Starsky end up here?"

"I don't know but it's obvious that he didn't recognize you."

"Amnesia!" Hutch exclaimed in an excited voice. "That has to be it. He has amnesia. That's why he didn't know me." He smiled brightly as the answer to Starsky's strange behavior suddenly occurred to him.

"That could be it." Buck agreed as he carefully shifted the vehicle into drive and headed back down the road to the main highway. "But, if it is then we need take things slow until we figure out the best way to handle the situation."

"And how to you propose to do that?" Hutch demanded in an irritated voice. Now that he knew that Starsky was alive all he wanted to do was talk to him and find out what was going on. "Why don't we just go back there and tell Starsky that we know who he is and that I came here looking for him?"

Buck shook his head. "You heard him. He ordered us off his land. If we go back there now, we could end up in a confrontation you don't want to get into with these people. They'll shoot first and ask questions later."

"But that's Starsky. He wouldn't shoot me." Hutch insisted stubbornly.

"At the moment, he isn't the man you remember. He's adapted to life in these mountains. This may well be the only life that he knows right now. The life he had before with you is locked inside his head somewhere and until we can figure out a way to unlock his memories of that life, it's too dangerous to confront him."

Hutch sighed heavily. He knew that what Buck was saying made sense but patience had never been one of his strong suits where his partner was concerned. For almost nine years he had lived with the belief that his partner was dead. He had lived to with the overwhelming guilt that he had felt for not being able to protect him. Now that he knew that Starsky was alive all he wanted to do was take him home.

"So how are we going to unlock those memories?" Hutch demanded as he stared out the windshield at the passing scenery. Any other time he would have loved the wide open spaces and the beauty of the land but his mind was too distracted to notice.

"I have a friend who used to teach at the University in Sacramento. He specializes in post traumatic stress syndrome. I'll give him a call and see if he can come by the house tonight to talk to us about your friend."

Hutch frowned when he noticed that Buck had turned off the main road and was driving along a rutted dirt road. "Where are we going?" he asked in a puzzled voice as he looked around at the unfamiliar terrain.

"To talk to Granny Kane. She's lived in these mountains for almost eighty years. I wanna see if she knows anything about the woman that your friend is living with." Buck explained "I never even knew that cabin was there and I've lived here for close to thirty years. She said her name was Hannah Dobbs but as far as I know none of the Dobbs family lives around these parts anymore."

"Are sure this Granny Kane will talk to us?"

"Oh, yeah…Granny will talk to me…" Buck looked at Hutch with a huge grin and added, "Annie's not the only one who used to live in these mountains. Granny's the only family I got left around these parts."

Twenty minutes later, Buck pulled up in front of a broken down frame house badly in need of a coat of paint. The unkempt yard was littered with trash and discarded boxes. Chickens ran loose and a coon dog was chained to a tree next to the front porch. A fat yellow cat lay on the sagging front porch nursing a litter of kittens.

Chickens squawked and scattered as the two men walked up to the porch. The dog began to bray, a painful howl that echoed in the silence. Buck knocked on the front door three times, then paused and knocked three more times.

The door opened a crack and an elderly woman peered out cautiously. Her face was heavily wrinkled and her snow white hair hung around her face in disarray. She smiled a toothless smile and opened the door wider. In a reedy voice, she said,

"Howdy, Buck. What are you doing out this way?"

"Hello, Granny." Buck said with a warm smile. "Looks like you weathered the storm last night."

"Weren't that bad. I've seen a lot worse." Granny eyed Hutch with mild curiosity. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Ken. He's visiting for a few days from Bay City." Buck said "Could we come in for a few minutes and talk to you?"

"I reckon." Granny said cordially. "I just made some sassafras tea and corn cakes."

The two men entered the tiny one room cabin. The furniture was sparse. A wooden table with two chairs and a stool, a wood burning stove, and a single bed in one corner covered with a colorful quilt. Granny moved with a slow, halting gait over to the stove and poured her unexpected guests each a cup of tea. She sat the cups on the table along with a plate of homemade corn cakes. Granny and Buck sat down in the chairs while Hutch made do with the stool.

Sipping her tea, Granny examined her two visitors with her rummy eyes. "So what do you want with Granny?" she asked Buck with another toothless smile.

"There's a family living in an old cabin up on the other side of Dobbs Lake." Buck told her. "The woman said her name was Hannah Dobbs. She has a little girl about six or seven called Sassy. Do you have any idea how long they have lived there? I've never met them before."

Granny tilted her head to one side and appeared to be thinking for a minute. Then she nodded and said, "That would be Elijah and Esther Dobbs' young'un."

"I thought Elijah lit out from these parts years ago" Buck said with a puzzled frown.

"He did but then he came back after his father died. The land…he came back for the land. Little Hannah wasn't much more than a baby at the time. Elijah was a lot like his old man…kept to hisself and didn't cotton to visitors. There weren't a whole lot of people that even knew he came back to the mountain."

"What happened to Elijah and Esther?" Buck asked

"From what I heard, they both died from the fever. Hannah's been living up there by her lonesome ever since. I never heard nothing about her having no man or a child."

"Well, she has a man living up there with her now and they have a child. A little girl."

"That's good. That poor girl needs some joy in her life. Lord knows those folks of hers never let her have any." Granny said sagely. "Old Elijah treated his sows better then he treated his child and Esther."

"Thanks for your help, Granny." Buck said. He reached in his pocket and pulled out some bills, pressing them into the old woman's hand. "I'll have Annie stop by in a few days with some supplies."

"Bless you. You're a good man, Buck Hawkins." Granny said. She looked at Hutch who had remained silent during their conversation and said, "You look like a good man too for a city boy. I hope you find whatever you're looking for here in these mountains."

"So do I." Hutch said with a warm smile, charmed by the old woman's grace and hospitality. He was beginning to realize that the folks who lived on this mountain had their own code of conduct and value system that had allowed them to preserve their heritage and way of life for generations. Anyone not born into this lifestyle was and always would be an outsider to be regarded with suspicion. The modern day world existed around them but it had no place in their way of life.

The ride back to Buck's house was done in silence, both men lost in their own thoughts. They had the answers to some of their questions but not the most important ones. Since there was some daylight left, Hutch and Buck spent a couple of hours cleaning up some of the debris from the storm while Annie cooked supper. Buck had called his friend who used to teach at the university and he readily agreed to come by later that evening to talk to them. After a hearty meal and some pleasant conversation, Annie retired to her bedroom while Buck and Hutch sat in the living room drinking coffee and waiting on Buck's friend to arrive.

Kent Brenner arrived shortly after eight pm. He was a tall, well built man in his mid-forties with short black hair, friendly brown eyes and a quick, easy smile. He greeted Buck warmly and acknowledged his introduction to Hutch with a firm handshake.

"I'm happy to meet you, Captain Hutchinson. I must say that I was intrigued when Buck explained the situation to me and what brought you here to our neck of the woods."

"Can you help us?" Hutch asked anxiously.

"I think so. Let's sit down and talk about it, shall we?" Kent suggested

The three men made themselves comfortable and Hutch proceeded to tell Kent the entire story about Starsky and his disappearance eight and a half years ago. He concluded by showing Kent the letter that had brought him to the area and explaining how he had met Sassy in the meadow by the lake.

Buck told him about the visit to the mountains to check on the welfare of the folks who lived there and the encounter with Hannah Dobbs. He went on to tell him about the visit with Granny Kane and what she had told them about the Dobbs family.

"I remember Simon Dobbs." Kent said thoughtfully when they had both finished telling their stories. "Mean old bastard. Not many folks blamed Elijah for leaving like he did. I never heard anything about Elijah coming back to these parts."

"Nobody did I guess except for Granny Kane." Buck told him. "She said he came back for the land."

Kent nodded. "The land means everything to these people. The land and their families."

"Okay," Hutch said, politely changing the subject to the topic he was the most interested in. "What about my partner? How are we going to help him remember who he is?"

"It may not be that easy." Kent told him. "From what you've told me, he is probably suffering from retrograde amnesia which can result in traumatic and total memory loss. It's usually caused from some kind of severe trauma or a head injury and it sounds like your partner probably experienced both. In some cases, the damage is permanent and the patient never recovers their previous memories."

"So he doesn't remember anything about his previous life?" Hutch asked in a discouraged voice.

"He may have some vague memories from time to time but he has no way of internalizing them. Usually when someone is suffering from amnesia the course of treatment includes returning them to familiar surroundings…their own apartment…their own possessions…pictures…keepsakes…things that may trigger a hidden memory. In your partner's case, he has spent the past eight and a half years totally isolated from anything familiar that might remind him of his past." Kent said "So his only memories are the ones that he has made in the past eight and a half years. And if he is living with this woman as husband and wife and they have a child together that is going to reinforce the life he has now and anything that threatens that life…including remembering his previous life…he is going to resist and will fight to protect it."

"What exactly would he remember?" Buck asked, leaning forward to listen to Kent's explanation. He had always been interested in the way a person's mind worked. He was a self educated man who read technical journals and psychology books to help improve his knowledge even if he was just a small town sheriff.

"He would remember basic skills…how to read, write, drive a car. He could also remember any specialized training…such as how to shoot a gun…but he may not remember where he learned those skills. He may not remember his name but he could use a name that sounded familiar to him for some reason…it could even be a modified version of his own name but he wouldn't necessarily know that."

"So, under the circumstances, what could be done to help trigger his memories now?" Hutch asked.

"That depends. How close were you and your partner?"

"We were best friends as well as professional partners." Hutch replied. "We worked together…played together. We spent almost all of our time together…both on and off

duty. We were like brothers…he was the other half of my soul." Hutch was suddenly overwhelmed with sorrow that he and Starsky no longer felt that way about each other…at least as far as Starsky was concerned.

"Then just seeing your face again could trigger something…hearing your voice." Kent replied. "But, if he is as resistant to remembering anything that threatens the life he has now, as I suspect he will be…then he's going to do everything in his power to keep you away from him and his family."

"Not to mention the fact that Hannah comes from a family that went to great lengths to keep their very existence a secret. She's not going to let anything threaten her family either." Buck added "Especially someone that could take her man away from her."

"I'm not just leaving him here and pretend that none of this ever happened." Hutch declared. "One way or the other…I'm going to see him again and find a way to talk to him."His mind was made up. He had made a promise and he intended to keep it.

Chapter 8

Dave stood on the front porch and looked out over the clearing to the woods that surrounded his property. There was a pensive expression in his sapphire eyes and a wariness that made him hyper-vigilant to his surroundings.

Why were those men here today? What did they really want? Why was that man touching my Sassy?

Sassy had told him after he had ran the men off his land that the blond was 'Mr. Ken' the man she had met at the lake the day before while she was fishing. There was something about the name Ken that continued to tug at his mind but Dave knew that he had never met anyone here on the mountain with that name.

Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't hear Hannah slip out of the cabin and step up behind him. He startled badly when she put her arms around his waist. Instinctively, he spun around and pulled away from her embrace his hands balled into fists at his side.

"Baby, it's just me…" Hannah said in a soft, soothing voice as she reached out to caress the rock hard muscles of his arm. She knew that it was dangerous to approach Dave without any warning. He had never hit her but she could see the coiled violence in his stance whenever he was accidentally startled.

"I'm sorry, honey…" Dave said with an apologetic smile as he ran his fingers through her hair and then pulled her close for a tender kiss. "I guess I'm just upset about those men that were here today. I wish I knew what they really wanted."

"Don't worry about them. They're gone and you told them not to come back." Hannah said as she leaned into the comfort of his embrace. She loved this man with all of her heart and soul. She wouldn't let anyone hurt him again. She found her memories drifting back to those early days when they first met.

When he started becoming more aware of his surroundings, he had been terrified when he couldn't remember anything about himself except that he thought his first name might be Dave. He had no idea how he had gotten hurt and the old scars that decorated his torso spoke of previous violence in his life. When he was strong enough, Hannah had told him about how she had found him in the woods and nursed him back to health. She never told him about the three men that she had seen in the woods near the spot where she had found his body.

As he slowly recovered from his injuries and grew more restless, Hannah had been terrified that he would leave her and she would be left alone again. She wasn't brave enough to leave the mountain or to seek out other companionship. Her father had always told her that the only place she was truly safe was in this place under his watchful eye. But, he was gone now and Hannah had no one to take care of her.

She still remembered the first time that Dave had kissed her. She had been so afraid because she had never known a man's touch but he had been so gentle and patient with her. That was when she had fallen in love, that innocent pure first love that most women experience in their teens. She had given herself to him freely using her body to bind him to her and to this place. When she found out that she was with child, they had made their sacred vows to one another and he had sworn to her that day that he would never leave her. And he had kept his word. But, sometimes, she saw that far away look in his eyes and she knew that he was thinking about a past that he could no longer remember although he never talked about it anymore, at least not with her.

"Is Sassy asleep?" Dave asked as he playfully nuzzled his wife's neck with his lips.

"Yes. She has been for a couple of hours. Why don't you come in the house? I'll warm up some stew and then we can go to bed."

Dave nodded as he followed her inside. The soft glow of the lantern sitting on the table lit the interior of the room. Dave sighed quietly as he sat down at the table. He had been on edge ever since the encounter with the two men earlier in the day and he wasn't sure why. He'd encountered outsiders before on his rare trips into town to sell animal pelts so that he could buy the staples that they couldn't grow themselves and it had never bothered him before. But the outsiders had never invaded the privacy of his land and his home before. And why had he been so disturbed by the sight of the big blond he had seen kneeling beside Sassy?

Over the years, fleeting images would sometimes flicker through his mind, disappearing like smoke on the wind before he could hold on to them for a closer look. He had learned to accept the fact that he would never be able to remember his past before he came to this place. But, there were times, especially when he touched the scars that covered his chest and abdomen, that he couldn't help but wonder what he had done in his past that had caused such horrendous injuries to his body.

Hannah spooned up a bowl of stew from the large pot sitting on the old fashioned wood burning stove that had been in her family since she was a child. Dave had a hearty appetite but he hadn't eaten much at supper and Hannah had noticed. A slice of homemade bread spread with apple butter and an ice cold glass of spiced tea completed his meal. Hannah sat the bowl on the table in front of him and then burst

out in laughter as Dave suddenly grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down into his lap.

"Dave!" she exclaimed "Your supper will get cold."

"Maybe I'm hungry for something else tonight." He said with a crooked smile as he let his hands roam over her body with intimate familiarity.

Hannah remembered her father's hands. Rough, calloused hands that had never touched her with any kindness or gentleness, not like Dave's hands. His hands brought her more pleasure than she had ever imagined was possible.

"Later." Hannah chided him playfully as she scrambled out of his reach. "Eat your food first."

"Okay" he said with a pout that reminded Hannah of a naughty little boy. It was just one of the things that she loved about him. He was all man, there was no doubt about that, but he also had a playful, childish side that made Hannah laugh. When he had finished eating the food she had prepared, the two of them went to bed. Dave pulled Hannah into his arms, taking pleasure from the comfort of her body, then held her in his arms as she drifted off to sleep in the afterglow of their lovemaking. But, sleep was elusive that night as Dave lay there staring into the darkness of the cabin.

Dawn was breaking over the horizon when Dave gently eased his body out from under the heavy comforter taking care not to awaken Hannah. Slipping on a jacket against the chill of the early morning, he left the cabin and disappeared into the woods. He had always found a deep inner peace there. It hadn't always been that way. That much he could remember. When he first came here, he had hated the woods, seldom venturing outside the cabin where he felt safe. There was an unexplained danger in the woods that he couldn't understand then and still didn't.

Finally, he had started venturing into the woods with Hannah when she went to gather wild herbs, slowly learning the ways of the mountain people. She had taught him how to hunt, how to trap, and how to live off the land. He had learned how to farm the fields and plant the crops that provided their food and he had found the peace that he craved so desperately. Now that peace, this way of life, felt threatened by a stranger that had trespassed on his land. Dave found himself at the lake. He closed his eyes remembering the day he had exchanged vows with his precious Hannah on this very spot.

The sun was setting casting a halo of colors over the water. Hannah, already three months pregnant with Sassy, was dressed in a long flowing white dress that clung to her body seductively. Her long alburn hair hung loose around her shoulders and her eyes sparkled with love. Holding hands, they had looked deeply into each other's eyes as they recited their vows before God.

I, Hannah Dobbs, swear to love you, David, for the rest of my life and beyond. In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, I am now and will be forever yours. God has brought us together to share this life and the life that I carry inside of me. A life born of love, a part of you and a part of me that will live on even after we are gone. I pledge myself to you, now and forever more.

I, David, swear to love you, Hannah, for the rest of my life and beyond. In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, I am now and will be forever yours. My life I owe to you and so much more. I pledge my love to you and to our child now and forever more.

They had sealed their union with a kiss and he had slipped the simple gold band that had belonged to Hannah's mother on her ring finger. They were man and wife in their hearts and in the eyes of God, even if their union was not legally sanctioned by the state of California.

Since he didn't remember his own name, he had taken Hannah's last name, Dobbs, to use when needed. They had returned to Hannah's childhood home and celebrated their union far into the night. Six months later, he had helped to bring Sassy into this world. His eyes clouded with sadness as he thought about his son, born too soon and too small to survive. He had almost lost Hannah too. Thank God she had pulled through. They had buried their son on the hill behind the cabin and Sassy had helped to plant a blanket of flowers over the tiny grave. Death was an accepted part of life in these mountains and the people who lived here had learned to accept the harsh realities of the lifestyle that they chose.

Dave walked his trap line, pleased to find two rabbits and a squirrel caught in his snares. He would take them back to the cabin and skin them, then freeze the meat in the root cellar hewn into the mountain not far from the cabin. Soon it would be time to slaughter one of the pigs they kept in a pen out back. That meat would be cured in the smoke house, a tiny shed behind the barn. Their milk cow, Bessie, was almost ready to have her calf and Sassy was excited about her new 'pet' that was about to be born. Life had been good to the little family and Dave intended to keep it that way.

Back at Buck and Annie's home, Hutch was on the phone with Huggy Bear. He had postponed telling anyone back in Bay City that he had found Starsky alive until he knew exactly what he was dealing with. Huggy was shocked but pleased to discover that Starsky was alive and well.

"So what are you going to do?" Huggy asked after Hutch had explained about the body they had found buried in the makeshift coffin and then discovering Starsky at the cabin in the woods.

"I don't know yet. Buck's friend seems to think that we should take it slow and not try to force Starsky to remember his past. He said that there's a possibility that Starsky may never remember…not after all this time."

"And you said that he's living with a woman and has a little girl?"

"Yeah…she's the cutest little thing. She looks just like him. Her name's Sarah but they call her Sassy." Hutch said with a smile. "And she's just as sassy as he is."

"A little chip off the old block, huh?" Huggy said with a chuckle, amused at the idea of Starsky having a little girl of his own. He had always loved children and they loved him. Huggy had always known that Starsky would make a terrific father someday. Patient and understanding but strict and firm when he needed to be. He turned

somber and serious. "And you mean to tell me that Starsky…our Starsky…the original city boy who hated camping…has been living in the mountains all this time?"

"Yeah, he's been right under our noses and we didn't even know it." Hutch said ruefully. He choked back the lump that suddenly seemed to be lodged in his throat. "God, Hug…why didn't I keep looking? Why did I give up on him?"

"Hey, don't go there…" Huggy said firmly. "You didn't know. None of us did. We had no way of knowing. How could we? All the evidence we had seemed to point to the fact that Starsky had to be dead. You know that."

"Yeah, I know." Hutch said in a dejected voice. "But I should have known…if anybody knew I should have. I never 'felt' that he was dead. I always thought that I would feel it if he was gone...that I'd know somehow when he left this earth…"

"And you were right…he wasn't dead. But you can't start beating yourself up for that now." Huggy said "You have to move on and do what you need to do to help Starsky now."

"I know. I just wish I knew how in the hell I'm suppose to do that." Hutch sighed heavily and tried to lighten his tone. "Thanks, Hug. I'll keep you posted."

"How long are you going to stay there?"

"I don't know. A few more days at least and then I'll decide what I'm going to do after that." Hutch told him.

"You going to be staying with that sheriff and his wife?"

"Yeah, for now. You can reach me here if you need anything." Hutch said "If I stay over a week, then I'll have to find a motel room. I'll talk to you soon." He hung up the receiver, feeling more at ease than he had all day.

"No, you will not be finding any motel room." Annie's voice said behind him, startling him badly. When he jumped and then turned to face the sheriff's wife, she smiled and said apologetically, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. You are staying right here with us just as long as you need to and I don't want to hear another word about it."

"I can't keep imposing your hospitality." Hutch said

"Nonsense. You're not imposing. We're glad to have you here. Besides, Buck enjoys your company."

"All right," Hutch chuckled "But, I insist that you at least let me help out with the groceries."

"We'll talk about that later." Annie said with smile. "But for now…you can help me in the kitchen if you want."

"You got a deal." Hutch said graciously, smiling as he followed her into the cozy sunlit kitchen. No matter how things turned out, he would always be grateful for the kindness of strangers that he now considered his friends.

Chapter 9

Hutch walked into the kitchen to find Buck sitting at the table with several files spread out in front of him. A pair of eyeglasses were perched on the bridge of his nose and he was peering over the top at several newspaper clippings he held in his hand.

"What's all this?" Hutch asked, his mind automatically slipping into detective mode when he saw the official looking files.

"It's all the reports on Dave Tuber's disappearance." Buck said in a distracted voice. "Something keeps sticking in my craw ever since we found out the body in that box was his instead of your partner."

"Did you find anything new?"

"Not yet. Why don't you pull up a chair and give me a hand? Maybe a new set of eyes will see something I'm missing." He glanced at Hutch with a teasing smile on his face. "Put that big city cop's brain to work."

Hutch chuckled at Back's humor as he joined him at the table. He picked up one of the files and began glancing through it. It was Dave Tuber's personnel file from the sheriff's department in the next county over. He had graduated from the police academy in Sacramento about the same time that Hutch and Starsky graduated from the one in Bay City. He had immediately applied to and been accepted as a deputy at the Sheriff's department in Claymont County. He had worked there for almost ten years before his disappearance. He had a clean record with no reprimands and several commendations for bravery in the line of duty. He was divorced with two children, a son and a daughter. His ex-wife and his daughter still lived in the area.

Buck handed Hutch the newspaper clippings and took the personnel file in exchange. Hutch nodded and began to scan the articles about Deputy Tuber's disappearance. An anonymous caller had phoned in a tip about the 211 in progress. It was at a small gas station just outside of Clery City, a small town approximately twenty-five miles from Buck's home. The clerk was a seventeen year old high school student named Alicia Trent. She had been taken hostage by two masked men who came in brandishing guns and demanding the money in the cash register. When Deputy Tuber arrived at the scene, he had negotiated her release by offering himself in exchange. Alicia had watched the two gunmen throw Deputy Tuber in the back of their car, a dark green Sedan, as they drove off.

Two days later, the get away car was discovered abandoned a few miles away. It had been camouflaged with tree branches and brush to hide it from sight. Despite an extensive search, Tuber's body was never found and the case was eventually put in the cold case file. Tuber was assumed dead from the beginning but his ex-wife and children had to wait seven years before they could declare him legally dead and claim the insurance and death benefits. A picture in one of the clippings confirmed that Tuber bore a strong resemblance to Starsky with the same dark curly hair and olive toned complexion.

"How tall was Tuber?" Hutch asked in passing.

"Five-eleven." Buck answered without looking up from the file he was scanning.

"Same height as Starsky." Hutch muttered to himself. An idea began to take shape in the back of his mind. He decided to keep his theory to himself for the time being.

The rest of the files and reports dealt with the in-depth investigation into the disappearance of Deputy Tuber. His wife and children had been questioned, his co-workers, the clerk who had been help hostage, and some of his closest friends including Buck.

"I still don't see nothing that's going help us figure out what happened back then." Buck said in a disappointed voice and he tossed the report he had been reading down on the table. He looked at Hutch. "How about you? You got any ideas?"

"Maybe one." Hutch said "Tuber had a strong resemblance to Starsky. Now, obviously Starsky managed to get away from them somehow. So, maybe they had to have a body and used Tuber as a substitute."

"You think maybe he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and got napped because he looked like your partner?"

"Could be."

"Any suggestions on what we should do now?"

"Try talking to everybody again. After all this time maybe somebody will remember something they didn't think about back then." Hutch said "Or tell us something that they were too scared to tell anybody when it first happened."

"It sounds like you're volunteering to lend a hand with this investigation." Buck chuckled

"I am. I'm just as interested in finding out exactly what happened as you are."

"What about this guy who died in prison? The one who had that note telling you where to find your partner's body in the first place. You still think he was the one behind this whole thing?"

"I don't know if he was the one behind it but he was sure as hell involved."

"What if he wasn't the one who set it all up? Maybe the one who set it all up is still out there somewhere." Buck suggested thoughtfully.

"How are we going to find that out?"

"Well, maybe if we can figure out who killed my friend, maybe that will lead us to whoever tried to kill yours."

"It's worth a try. It's all we've got to go on." Hutch said with a heavy sigh. The two men stood up and began to gather up the reports and folders, stacking them neatly in a pile that Buck put into a cardboard box sitting on the floor beside his chair.

"Shouldn't we make a list of the people we need to talk to?" Hutch asked

Buck grinned and tapped his finger against his forehead. "Got it all up here. One of the advantages of living in a small town like Roseville. It's easier to remember everybody's name and address."

"That's a good point." Hutch agreed with an amused chuckle. He remembered the little town of Merry View where his grandfather had lived. He knew all of his neighbors too and all the local gossip. Buck had a rapport with the residents of this area that Hutch could never hope to have with his snitches and informants in Bay City. That kind of rapport combined with the natural friendliness and hospitality of the people in this part of the state made Hutch wish that he lived in a place like this.

"This can wait until tomorrow. How about going into town with me and having a beer?" Buck asked.

"Sounds good to me." Hutch said with a pleasant smile.

"Annie, me and Hutch are going to Buddy's for a couple of hours." Buck called to his wife who was in laundry room putting dirty clothes in the washer.

"Just make sure you don't drink too much!" Annie called back "Or you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight, mister."

Hutch and Buck both laughed as they left the house and climbed into the four by four to drive to town. Roseville was a small village with a population of 2,200 people. It boasted a variety of different stores, several places to eat, a school, a doctor's office, a library and a post office. And of course there was local American legion and a bar called Buddy's Place.

Buddy's Place reminded Hutch of The Pits as soon as he walked in the door. Several voices called out a greeting to Buck as the two men found seats at the bar. The bartender, a tall middle-aged man with shortly trimmed brown hair and pale blue eyes looked at Buck and his guest with a smile. "Hey, Buck. What can I get you?"

"Hey, Todd." Buck said "How about giving us a couple of beers?"

"You got it." Todd said pleasantly as he walked to the other end of the bar to get their drinks.

"So how did Deputy Tuber's family react when you told them that his body had been identified?" Hutch asked

"About like you'd expect. Shocked but relieved." Buck said "Have you told anybody back home yet that you found your partner and that he's still alive?"

"Just a friend of ours who owns a bar almost like this." Hutch said, nodding his thanks at the bartender as Todd sat their drinks down on the bar in front of them. "I haven't called Starsky's mother yet. I don't quite know what to say to her."

"Yeah, I'm not sure I would either. It's gonna be quite shock finding that her son is still alive"

"I have to tell her something. I promised her that I would find him and bring him home."

"Course that was when you thought he was dead." Buck pointed out. "Now you gotta tell her that he's still alive and that he can't remember anything…of course there's also the fact that he has his own little family up there on the mountain."

"Not to mention the fact that he doesn't remember anything…not even her." Hutch snorted as he drank his beer in one long swallow and signaled the bartender for another.

"Or she'll think that you had one too many beers." Buck said with an amused chuckle. He nodded at the bartender to refill his own glass.

"She's going to want to come out here right away as soon as I tell her the news." Hutch said in a dejected tone. "I'm gonna have to talk her out of it until I'm sure that Starsky's ready for that."

"He may never be ready for that." Buck said "What are you going to do then?"

"Deal with it when it happens." Hutch said. He glanced down at the two rings on his pinkie finger and absently twisted them around on his hand. He knew that Starsky would never have given up those rings voluntarily. They had belonged to his father and he never took them off unless he was in hospital and even then they had been entrusted to Hutch's care. "These rings belonged to him." Hutch said, smiling fondly at the memory. "They were in the envelope along with the letter that the warden gave me at the prison."

"You really miss him, don't you?"

"More than you'll ever know." Hutch admitted

"We best finish these beers and get home or we'll both be in the doghouse with Annie." Buck said. They both laughed as they finished their brews and slid off the bar stools.

Neither one of them noticed that the bartender had been eavesdropping on their entire conversation with a disturbed expression on his face.

Chapter 10

Todd Banister was disturbed by the conversation he had overheard between Buck and the blond stranger. He was positive that they were talking about the man that Todd, his brother and Dave Tuber had been hired to kill almost nine years. He

frowned as he let his thoughts drift back to the night Dave Tuber had approached Todd and his brother, Matt, about helping him do 'a little favor' for a friend.

The Banister brothers had listened with interest as Deputy Tuber told them that they could make five thousand dollars a piece just by grabbing some guy who lived in Bay City and 'getting rid' of him for some guy named McFarland. Tuber was vague about the details. All he told the two brothers was that he owed McFarland a favor and if he did this job for him, they would be square.

Todd and Matt may not have been very bright but they knew that 'getting rid' of this guy for McFarland probably meant killing him. The money was too good to pass up and neither of them had any qualms about killing some guy they didn't even know. They had readily agreed to help Tuber carry out his plan.

Three days later, the Banister brothers had gone to Bay City. Following Deputy Tuber's directions, they had found the address where he had told them the guy lived that they were supposed to get rid of. They had jimmied the lock on a bedroom window and slipped into the apartment. Then all they had to do was wait.

It was after midnight before the man who lived there finally arrived. They had attacked him as soon as he walked through the front door. Todd had hit him in the back of the head with a wooden baseball bat he had brought with him. As they were carrying his limp body out to their hidden vehicle, Matt had found the gun the man was wearing in a shoulder holster underneath his jacket.

"Hey, look what I found!" Matt had said in an excited voice "This guy's packing a piece!"

Todd glanced at the gun warily. "Would have been nice to that know this guy was armed before we got here." He said in a sour voice. "Wonder what other little details Tuber forgot to mention?" Todd removed the weapon from the holster and stuck it in his jacket for safe keeping.

Todd unlocked the trunk and they dumped the man's unconscious body inside. Matt quickly tied his hands and his feet, tying a blindfold securely around his eyes. Once their prisoner was secured, Todd patted him down and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. Inside he found a driver's license for David Starsky and forty dollars in cash along with a couple of credit cards, and some pictures.. Searching the rest of his pockets, Todd found another smaller leather case in the man's jacket. When he opened it, he was startled to find a police I.D. and a gold badge. The ID stated that the man was a detective sergeant first class with the Bay City Police Department.

"Fuck!" Todd exclaimed in a disgusted voice. "This guy's a cop!"

"A cop?" Matt said in an alarmed voice. "Oh, man…maybe we should just leave him here and split."

"And lose out on five thousand dollars? Don't be stupid. Besides, nobody is going to think to look for him in Roseville. But, Tuber is gonna owe us big time for this one." Todd grumbled as he slammed the trunk and the two brothers climbed into the car.

They made the drive home in silence. It was almost three in the morning before they arrived at the prearranged spot hidden away in the mountains that surrounded the

town. It was a desolate, isolated spot where they could get rid of the body without anyone being any the wiser.

Tuber had outlined the plan for them. McFarland wanted their prisoner to suffer before they finally killed him and buried his body in an unmarked grave. Tuber had already been paid for his part in the crime, Matt and Todd would get their money once McFarland had proof that the man was dead. Tuber had instructions to send McFarland a picture of the man after he was dead along with a pair of rings that the man wore on his left hand.

Todd scowled. Nothing had gone according to plan. Everything had gone wrong from the beginning. He finished his shift and clocked out. He had the next two days off and he planned on spending them trying to find the man that Buck and the blond had been talking about earlier. If it was the same man that had escaped from them almost nine years ago, then Todd had to find him and make sure the job was done right this time. He had too much to lose if the truth ever came out.

Leaving the bar, he climbed into his little Chevy Nova and drove to his apartment on the other side of town. In the darkness of his room, he let his memories take him back once more to that day eight and half years ago.

When Tuber arrived early the next morning, Todd had confronted him about not telling him and his brother that the man they were kidnapping was a cop.

"So what difference does it make to you? You getting cold feet?" Tuber sneered "Just because he's a cop?"

"Hey, it doesn't matter to me. It just would have been nice to know that ahead of time." Todd snapped "Fucker could have shot us!"

"But, he didn't, did he?" Tuber said with a smirk. "How about if I throw in another two thousand a piece for your trouble?"

"So, what are we going to do with him now?" Matt asked, eyeing their prisoner who was lying on the ground nearby. The cop had been awake for a couple of hours and Todd had gagged him to shut him up after the cop started telling them what was going to happen to them for kidnapping him. He told them that he had a partner who wouldn't give up looking until he found him and that if they killed him, they would both receive the death penalty.

"You boys can have some fun with him first and then we'll get rid of him." Tuber said offhandedly.

"What about you?" Todd demanded "Afraid to get your hands dirty?"

"We need to come up with a plan so I can get away for a few days without arousing any suspicions." Tuber said

"Like what?"

"This afternoon, you two boys are going to rob a gas station over in Clery City. I'll respond to an anonymous call about a 211 and you'll take me with you as a hostage in exchange for the store clerk."

"So we add robbery and another kidnapping to our list of charges." Todd snorted "What about you? You gonna just show up in a few days and tell everybody how you got away?"

"No, I'm going to disappear. Start a new life somewhere else like Mexico. And if you two have any brains at all, you'll do the same thing." Tuber told them. "Be at Jed's Gas Station on route 34 at three o'clock this afternoon. I'll show up about ten minutes later. Just make sure you make it look good."

After Tuber left, Todd and Matt had passed the time tormenting their prisoner, beating and kicking their defenseless captive into unconsciousness.

Todd gave up trying to sleep and began pacing the room. The 'abduction' of Deputy Tuber had gone as planned but things went downhill from there. He lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply as he stared out of his bedroom window into the darkness, losing himself in the past.

Tuber had forced their prisoner to watch as Todd and Matt built the crude wooden box that he would be buried in. Tuber seemed to get a perverse pleasure from tormenting the captive man by describing in great deal how they planned to kill him and then bury him here on this mountain where nobody would ever find his body.

Although they had kept the man gagged and blindfolded, Tuber had removed both allowing the man to see their faces and yell all he wanted from the continued abuse by the three men. It was just another way of letting him know that he wouldn't live long enough to identify them and their location was remote enough that nobody would be able to hear his screams. Todd had avoided eye contact with their prisoner, the intensity in those sapphire eyes had unnerved him but not enough for him to reconsider what he planned to do.

Later that evening, Tuber had untied the man's hands and given him a pencil and a piece of paper. Holding his gun to the cop's head, Tuber said, "You're gonna write a note to your partner. Tell him goodbye. We'll make sure he gets it after you're dead."

The curly haired cop seemed to hesitate but complied when Tuber pressed the barrel of the gun tightly against his temple and growled "Write or I'll shoot you right now." When the man had finished writing, Tuber took the note and folded it neatly. He put it in his pocket, "You're going to die at sunrise, cop." Tuber told him with a mocking smile. "And then we're going to bury you in that box and nobody will ever find your body."

"You'll never get away with it." The cop growled as defiant as ever. "Sooner or later, you'll get caught." His words were slurred because his mouth was swollen; his lips split open from an earlier beating. One eye was swollen shut and the pupil of his other eye was dilated, the white of that eye discolored by broken blood vessels. Faded bruises in various stages of healing marred his face and torso. His body bore mute evidence of the abuse that he had suffered at the hands of his captors.

"Maybe…but you'll still be dead." Tuber sneered as he retied the man's hands behind his back. He grabbed the cop's left hand and tugged at the two rings on his pinkie finger. The man resisted, trying to close his fingers to keep him from taking the rings. The captive cop cried out in pain when Tuber grabbed one of his fingers and bent it backwards until it snapped. His other fingers unfolded, allowing Taber to remove the

rings. Tuber smirked, tucking them in his pocket as he joined Matt and Todd by the campfire. Soon, the three men had fallen asleep, lulled into slumber by the warmth of the fire and the quiet solitude of the mountain.

Todd was startled awake by the sound of Tuber cursing and yelling. He opened his eyes and looked around. It didn't take him long to realize that the cop was missing. Somehow he had gotten his ropes loose enough to slip out of them and taken off on foot.

"Get your asses moving!" Tuber bellowed at the two brothers. "We have to find the son of a bitch before somebody else does! He couldn't have gotten very far…he was here ten minutes ago when I got up to take a piss."

Tuber pulled his gun from his holster as the three men spread out and began searching the surrounding woods for any sign of the missing man. It didn't take long for Tuber to spot the figure of a man not far ahead of him on the trail. Raising his weapon, he took careful aim and fired. He saw the other man stumble and fall into the overgrown brush.

"Over here! I got him!" Tuber yelled to alert his two cohorts. Matt and Todd crashed through the brush towards the sound of Tuber's voice. Tuber ran ahead, startled when he almost fell over the side of a deep ravine that had been hidden by the overgrown brush. He cursed when he realized that his prey had fallen into the ravine and lay at the bottom, his left leg twisted at an unnatural angle.

"Fuck!" Tuber snarled, as he let his gaze sweep over the steep sides of the ravine. "How the hell are we going to get him out of there without breaking our necks?"

"Why don't we just leave him there?" Matt suggested "He looks dead anyway. Isn't that what that McFarland guy wanted?"

"You stupid bastard!" Tuber hissed "He won't pay us the rest of the money unless we bury him according to the plan!"

"Don't yell at us!" Todd growled. He was getting fed up with Taber ordering them around. "You're the one who tied him back up last night! You should have checked the ropes!"

"I sure as hell ain't climbing down there to get him." Matt said, shaking his head firmly.

"Neither am I." Todd declared

"You two assholes are going to do exactly what I tell you to do!" Tuber said "Or maybe he won't be the only one buried up here where nobody will ever find the bodies!" he smiled coldly "I doubt if anyone would miss either one of you. We'll go back and get the ropes out of the car so we can get down there and get his body."

The men continued to argue as they walked back to their hidden campsite. They retrieved some heavy ropes from the trunk of Todd's car, along with a twelve gauge shotgun that Matt cradled in his arms. Unknown by Taber, Todd still had their prisoner's gun hidden in his jacket pocket. The three men walked back into the woods, heading in the opposite direction from where the cop's body had fallen. Todd

had remembered that there was another way into the ravine but they would have to hike to get to it. As they walked, the ground slowly began to slope downhill, allowing them to easily enter at the far end of the ravine where they could walk back to where the cop had fallen. When they finally got there, they were startled to discover that the cop's body had disappeared.

"Where the fuck did he go?" Todd snapped, looking around the area with an annoyed frown. "He sure as hell looked dead to me."

"Maybe some animal already found the body and drug it off." Matt suggested a bit nervously. He knew that there were bears and coyotes up here on the mountain. Even a couple of mountain lions had been spotted from time to time. There was a hint of fear as he looked around as if he expected a wild animal to suddenly pounce.

"You better hope that's what happened!" Tuber snarled "If he turns up alive then we're all dead!"

"Well I'm not wasting my time looking for his body." Todd declared. "I'm going back to camp."

"So, am I." Matt said, siding with his brother.

Tuber glanced up at the darkening sky. A storm was moving in. They would go back to camp and he would take care of these two losers and then continue searching for the damn cop's body alone. A thin smile tugged at his lips, then the money would be all his and he wouldn't have to share.

The three men slowly made their way back to their campsite. The approaching storm darkened the sky and dropped the temperature to an uncomfortable level.

"We'll wait out the storm and then go looking for the damn cop's body." Tuber said "We have to find him or we don't get paid."

"You know, I'm tired of taking orders from you." Todd said bleakly. "Me and Matt are the ones taking all the risks and all you're doing is telling us what to do." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the detective's gun. "Maybe we'll just bury you in his place. You look enough like him that nobody is gonna know the difference." He smiled thinly "I'm not wasting my time looking for the cop. The animals will take care of his body…so me and Matt will still be home free."

Tuber's face turned red with rage and he took a step towards Todd. Todd immediately raised the gun and fired, the bullet hitting Tuber in the center of his chest. A look of surprise crossed Tuber's face as he slowly crumbled to the ground.

"Is he dead?" Matt asked in a shrill voice, confused by the sudden turn of events. He looked at his older brother with a new respect and admiration.

Todd knelt beside the body, reaching out to touch his fingers to Tuber's neck. "Yeah, he's dead." He looked at his brother. "I got some old clothes in the trunk that we can put on him. Then we can put him in the box, take the picture to make it look like we killed the cop, and then send the picture, the note the cop wrote, and his rings to McFarland."

"Then we get the rest of the money all to ourselves." Matt said with a pleased smile.

"That's right, little brother." Todd said "Come on, let's get this over with."

It took the two brothers three hours to finish their task. Finally, the crude box was buried and the note, the picture and the two rings were resting safely in Todd's pocket. He had found McFarland's address in Tuber's notebook. He was surprised to discover that the man who had hired them to do this job was already in a California prison.

With Matt's help, Todd disposed of Tuber's badge, identification and his uniform by throwing them down an old abandoned well they had found nearby and they returned to Roseville.

Todd crushed his cigarette out in the overflowing ashtray and scowled darkly. Obviously it had been a mistake not to make sure the cop was dead before they left. The rest of the plan had gone off without a hitch. He had mailed the letter from the cop, the rings and the picture to the prison. Three weeks later, an additional twenty thousand dollars had been deposited into a separate account that Tuber had set up under a fake name. Luckily, Todd had found the bank book in Tuber's personal effects.

Coincidently, he had dated a woman who worked at the same bank so it hadn't been hard for Todd to convince her to release the money to him. He had used his share to buy the bar where he now worked. Matt had never gotten a chance to spend much of his share. He was killed in a car accident less than two months later after a rowdy night on the town. As his sole surviving relative, Todd had eventually inherited what was left of his brother's share of the money giving him a nice little nest egg to fall back on.

Now a chance conversation that he had overheard between Buck and the blond in the bar could ruin everything. Nothing was going to jeopardize everything he had worked so hard to achieve in the past eight and a half years. He had to make it right. He had an uncle when he was growing up; a mean old cuss who used to run moonshine, who had taught Todd that there was no such thing as failure. Failure was not in their family's vocabulary. Tuber had learned that lesson the hard way and Todd wasn't about make the same mistake…no not this time.

By the time the sun was overhead, Todd had come up with a plan. He would follow the sheriff and the blond stranger. Sooner or later, one of them would lead him to the man they had been talking about. And then Todd would be able to make things right, the way he should have done eight and a half years ago.

Chapter 11

After a good night's sleep, Buck and Hutch headed out early the next morning to begin interviewing the people who had known Dave Tuber the best. They decided to start with his ex-wife and daughter since they both still lived in the area. Melissa Tuber had never remarried and still lived in the family home. Her daughter, Robin, was married and expecting her first child in the fall.

Melissa Tuber greeted Hutch and Buck cordially but still with a certain amount of suspicion. She ushered them into a modestly furnished living room with a large bay window that overlooked her back yard.

"Would you like some coffee or some lemonade?" she asked

"No, thank you." Hutch politely declined. Buck did the same with a slight shake of his head as the two men sat down on the sofa.

Melissa smiled nervously and sat down in the matching chair sitting across from her guests. "What can I do for you, Buck? You're a long way from home this early in the morning."

"Melissa, we'd like to ask you some questions about David."

"David?" Melissa said, her eyes widening in alarm. "What on earth for after all this time? Does it have something to do with his body finally being found?"

"In a way. I can't go into any detail but needless to say, his body was discovered under rather unusual circumstances." Buck told her in the gentle tone that he reserved for skittish witnesses. "Before Dave disappeared did you notice anything unusual about his behavior? Anything at all?"

"We'd been divorced for almost six months when he disappeared." Melissa reminded him. "And separated for a few months before that. I really don't know what I can tell you."

"Why did you get divorced?" Hutch asked a question of his own. He had no connection to this woman so he could ask leading questions that Buck might not think of or want to dwell on.

"I don't suppose it matters after all this time…" she said with a sad little smile. "But, he'd been cheating on me for years and I finally had enough."

"What about after the divorce? Were there any problems that you were aware of?" Hutch continued.

"I know his little girlfriend broke up with him and he wasn't happy about losing the house or paying me child support and alimony." Melissa said with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"Was he having financial problems?" Buck asked

"He was always having financial problems. Paying the bills was never one of his priorities…everything else was."

"When you had him declared legally dead so that you could close his estate…did you notice anything unusual then?" Hutch asked

"Yeah, he had five thousand dollar deposit in the bank shortly before he died," Melissa said "He never had that much money in the bank…and it was gone anyway when I finally was able to settle things."

"Gone?" questioned Hutch. "Did you report this?"

No, " replied Melissa. "I figured David had taken it out and there was just a clerical error. Besides, I was happy to be able to get hold of his state insurance...I had two children to raise and you need money for that..."

"Do you have any idea where it came from?" Buck asked.

"His partner said he might have won it gambling…but Dave never gambled." Melissa said with a thin smile. "Unless that was another one of his secrets. Too tell the truth, I really didn't care at that point." She looked at Buck with a hint of fear "You're not going to talk to Robin or Brad are you?"

"We thought about talking to Robin since she still lives in the area." Buck admitted.

"Oh, please don't do that!" Melissa said in a suddenly frightened voice. "She was only eight years old when David left. She doesn't know anything that can help you…neither does Brad. Please, promise me that you won't talk to her. Her doctor said that she should avoid any stress right now because of the baby…she's already considered high risk."

"I think we can get by without talking to her." Buck reassured her with a soft smile. "Thank you for being so honest with us. We'll be in touch if we need anything else."

The two men rose to their feet and let themselves out of the house.

"Damn," Buck muttered as they walked back to the car. "I never knew he was treating Melissa that way."

"It's not exactly something you'd brag about." Hutch told him as they climbed into the vehicle. "…and what about that five thousand dollars? Do you know if he gambled?"

"He bet on the ball game, played poker with the guys once in a while…that sort of thing." Buck said "But nothing that would give him much of a payout."

"So where did he suddenly get five thousand dollars to put in his bank account?"

"I'm not sure I wanna know." Buck said with a heavy sigh.

"Where to next?" Hutch asked

"Let's go talk to Alicia Trent. She was the only eye witness we had to the abduction. She was pretty upset when the officers first talked to her…maybe she remembers something now that she forgot back then."

Twenty minutes later, Buck pulled up in front of a rundown trailer about ten miles outside of town. The rusted hulk of a car sat in the front yard and two small children were playing outside in the dirt. A willowy blonde stepped out of the trailer as the sheriff pulled up in front of the trailer. She was dressed in a pair of short shorts and a tank top that barely concealed her ample cleavage. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her makeup had been applied with a heavy hand.

"Hello, Alicia." Buck said with a friendly smile as the two men walked into the unfenced yard. "I'm Sheriff Hawkins from the next county over."

"You're out of your jurisdiction, Sheriff." Alicia drawled, batting her lashes at Hutch in a blatant attempt at seduction. "This is Claymont County."

"I know that but I'd like to ask you a few questions about the robbery that took place nine years ago…the one where the Deputy disappeared."

"That's old news. I told you everything I knew back then." She turned to the two small children and snapped "You kids get inside and wash up!" The two children ignored her and continued playing in the dirt.

"We'd still like to ask you some questions." Hutch said with a bright smile, turning on the charm. From the gleam in the blonde's eyes it was working.

"Okay, handsome. What do you wanna know?" she said with a simpering smile.

"Tell us what you remember about that day." Hutch probed gently.

"I had just started my shift when this green car pulled up out front of the gas station and two men got out. They had on these ski masks and they were carrying guns. They came inside and told me to give them the money in the cash register. I figured they must be pretty desperate since there was only about fifty bucks in there."

"What happened then?"

"I'm not stupid. I gave them the money. Then one of them grabbed me and tried to cop a feel. He said I was going with them…about that time the cop showed up." Hutch frowned slightly but didn't comment. "He got out of his car and told them to let me go, to take him instead. So they did."

"So they left you there and took the cop." Hutch clarified.

"That's what I just said." Alicia said with a stiff smile. "They took the cop and drove off and that was it."

"Thank you. You've been a big help." Hutch said, signaling to Buck that he was ready to leave. The two men walked away, leaving a very pissed off looking Alicia to stare after them.

As they drove away, Buck glanced at Hutch and said, "Okay, what do ya got? I know you picked up something back there."

"Doesn't it seem to you that your friend showed up pretty quick?" Hutch said "Maybe too quick."

"Are you trying to say that he may have been a part of the robbery?" Buck asked in a startled voice.

"I'm not saying anything yet." Hutch said "But it's something that we need to consider."

"That still doesn't explain how he went from being abducted at the scene of a robbery and then ended up in that box." Buck said in a frustrated voice.

"Unless the men who pulled off the robbery were the same men who had Starsky to begin with." Hutch said as he thought out loud.

"Then why would they take the time to rip off a dinky ass little gas station in the middle of nowhere?" Buck asked

"I don't know." Hutch admitted "There has to be some kind of connection. I just wish I knew what the hell it was."

"If we knew the answer to that then we'd probably blow this case wide open." Buck grumbled as he headed back towards his home turf. He'd uncovered enough disturbing facts about the man he had considered a friend for one day.

As he pulled into the driveway of his home, Hutch looked at him and said,

"Would you mind if I used your vehicle for a little bit?"

"That depends," Buck said with a grin "You ain't planning on paying Alicia a little visit, are you?"

"God, no." Hutch said with a hearty laugh. His eyes turned dark and serious. "I want to go up by the lake and try to talk to Starsky."

"You sure that's such a good idea? You're liable to get yourself shot." Buck said

in a concerned voice worried about his new friend's welfare.

"I have to try." Hutch said "He was my best friend. I can't just let it go."

"No, I guess you can't." Buck agreed "Just bring the truck back in one piece and try to bring yourself back without any holes in your hide."

"I will." Hutch promised with a grin as the two men exchanged places. Buck waved as Hutch drove away. With a sigh, he turned and trudged into the house. He hoped the big blond knew what he was doing. He had no idea how protective those mountain folks could get about their land and their families. And whether he realized it or not, his friend was one of the mountain dwellers now.

Chapter 12

At the little cabin in the hills, Dave was gathering the supplies he needed to take with him to go hunting. Sassy was doing what she could to help. When he was ready to leave, he wrapped his arms around Hannah's slender waist and gave her a long, lingering kiss.

"I should be back sometime tonight." He told her with a crooked smile that made her heart melt even after all these years.

"I'll make fried chicken for supper." Hannah said "And Sassy can pick some berries for a pie."

Sassy clapped her hands excitedly. She loved going to the berry patch behind the barn to pick berries. She ate almost as many as she picked coming back to the house with her face and hands stained with berry juice.

Dave grinned as he knelt down to his daughter's level and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You be good while I'm gone and mind your mother." He said in a stern voice that was softened by the twinkle in his eye.

"I will, daddy. I promise." She said solemnly as she wrapped her little arms around her father's neck and buried her face against his neck, breathing deeply of the scent that she always associated with her father and home. Leather, wood smoke, coffee and a hint of her mother's homemade soap.

Dave gave her a hug and then straightened up, reaching up above the fireplace to grab the twelve gauge shotgun from the hooks mounted on the wall. The weapon was kept loaded and safely out of Sassy's reach. With one last fond glance at his family, he went out the door and trudged across the yard to the woods. Hannah and Sassy stood in the doorway of the cabin watching him until he disappeared from sight.

"Let's go find you a pail for those berries." Hannah said as she turned to go back into the cabin with her daughter. Finding a bucket for her to put the berries in, she send Sassy out to pick berries while she gathered the ingredients she needed to make a pie crust.

She left the cabin door opened as she worked, enjoying the soft spring breeze and the sound of the birds singing in the trees. Soft footsteps on the front steps alerted her to someone else's presence. Startled, she looked up to see the tall blond man that had been at the cabin a few days ago with the Sheriff standing in the doorway. Although the man's eyes were kind and gentle, Hannah's heart began to pound with fear. She hadn't had much contact with outsiders living here on the mountain and automatically associated strangers with danger. Her mind flashed back to the day she had found her Dave so gravely injured.

She hid in the bushes, instinctively knowing that the three men were looking for the man that she had found. The sound of their angry voices was loud and unpleasant, an air of danger surrounding them that terrified Hannah. One of them wore a badge pinned to the breast pocket of his shirt and seemed to be giving the other two men orders. Hannah stayed hidden until the men tromped through the woods heading in the opposite direction. When she was sure that it was safe to come out of hiding, she ran back to the safety of the cabin.

This man on the porch was a threat to her husband and her family. She had to get him to leave. "You're not welcome here." She said with more confidence than she felt. "I'd like for you to leave."

"I just wanted to talk to your husband for a minute." Hutch said in a quiet, gentle voice. He could tell that the woman was afraid of him even though he hadn't done anything to threaten her.

"He's not here." Hannah said firmly. "But he'll be back soon and he won't like it if he finds you here."

"I don't mean either one of you any harm," Hutch said uncertain as to how much he should tell the woman about his reasons for wanting to talk to Starsky. "I just have a few questions I wanted to ask the two of you. How long have you have lived here?"

"I know why you're here," Hannah said, her eyes narrowing suspiciously as her protective instincts kicked in. "And I won't let you hurt him…not again…"

"I don't want to hurt either one of you." Hutch reassured her. "I've been looking for an old friend…my BEST friend! I've looked for him a very long time…"

"You won't find him here, mister!" Hannah said her tone still calm even though she was certain this stranger could hear her heart pounding frantically in her chest.

Hutch looked at this woman…a woman he felt sure had saved his partner's life…the woman he KNEW that Starsky loved and had made a life with here on this mountain. He knew that if he could win Hannah's trust or at least get her to listen to him, Starsky would be more apt to listen to him too.

"Mrs. Dobbs…Hannah…I think your husband is in fact my friend." Hutch took a cautious step forward "Please...please I just want to talk to him."

There was no mistaking the terror that filled Hannah's eyes at his words and this stranger's approach. "GET OUT! GO AWAY AND LEAVE US ALONE! I want you off our land and our mountain! You stay away from my family…I'm warning you, Mister!"

Hutch took another tentative step towards the hysterical woman but she backed away from him in fear. Her fingers fumbled on the table behind her until they wrapped around the large knife lying there. Holding it in front of her for protection, she screamed "I want you to GET OUT of my house NOW!"

Hutch lifted his hands, palms out, in a non-threatening gesture to show her that he meant no harm and took a step backwards. "Please…" he tried again in a soft, soothing voice. "I don't mean any harm…"

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! YOU WANT TO HURT HIM AGAIN!" Hannah screamed, dangerously close to losing control. She didn't know what she would do if he challenged her. She knew that she didn't have the courage to use the knife she just hoped he didn't realize that. She took a step forward forcing Hutch to take another step back.

"It's okay…" he soothed her "I'm leaving. I didn't mean to scare you." He turned to leave and then paused. "But, make no mistake…I WILL be back. I'm not going to just leave and pretend that the most important person in my life is gone forever. HE IS ALIVE…and he's YOUR husband!"

Hutch turned and walked back across the yard towards the woods. Hannah stood in the doorway watching him until he was gone and then she fell to her knees, the knife falling from her hand, as she began to sob hysterically. She didn't notice a frightened Sassy watching her from the corner of the cabin.

When she heard loud voices coming from the cabin, Sassy had dropped her pail and ran to see what was wrong. She saw her mother yelling at 'Mr. Ken' and telling him to leave. The fear in her mother's voice frightened Sassy. She couldn't understand why her mother was afraid of her new friend. When her mother began to sob hysterically, Sassy wanted to run to her and comfort her but she was afraid to. The last time she had seen her mother so upset was when her baby brother died. So, she did the one thing she did when she was afraid of something she didn't understand. She ran into the nearby woods to find her father. He would fix things and make it all right again.

Sassy ran…she ran deep into the woods towards what she thought was safety…security…her father, but she was so scared…so without thought she neglected to look for the familiar landmarks. She paused to catch her breath and looked around at the unfamiliar terrain. She whimpered in fear when she suddenly realized that she was lost and didn't know which way to go to find her way back home.

"Daddy." Sassy whimpered feeling so small and insignificant in the woods that she had known as home. "DADDY!" she screamed. She trembled with renewed fear when the only sound that answered her was the sounds of nature that filtered through the woods. "DADDY!" she screamed again as her heart began to pound in her tiny chest. She choked back tears as she stumbled through the overgrown grass. She tripped on a hidden tree root and fell to the ground, skinning her knees. Scrambling to her feet, she began crying in earnest as she wandered deeper and deeper into the woods.

She never felt the strange eyes watching her or heard the stealthy footsteps as the man followed her from a safe distance. Chapter 13

Todd Banister crept through the woods behind the child carefully keeping out of sight. After overhearing the conversation between Buck and the stranger in the bar, he had realized that they were talking about the man he and his brother had been hired to kill almost nine years ago. Shit, what a fuck up that had been. If that damn bastard was still alive then it could ruin everything even if he couldn't remember anything.

He had been following the sheriff and the blond all day while they drove all over the county talking to people connected to the robbery at the gas station and Tuber's ex-wife. When they returned to the sheriff's home, the blond had continued on by himself and Todd had decided to stick with him to see where he was going. Now, he was glad he did.

The blond had been so preoccupied that he hadn't even noticed that he was being followed so Todd was able to be a bit more daring than he had been when he was following Buck. He hadn't been that surprised when the blond drove to the spot where they had buried Tuber's body so many years ago. He parked the four by four and got out, walking into the surrounding woods. Todd made sure his own vehicle was well hidden before following him.

They came to Dobbs Lake and the blond continued on through the woods. Todd was surprised when they came to the little cabin in the clearing. He'd never heard of anyone living on this side of the lake. He watched as Hutch went up to the front porch and stood in the open doorway obviously talking to someone inside the cabin. Todd crept closer to the cabin until he was close enough to hear what was being said. He smiled faintly when he heard Hutch confirm that he thought the man who lived

here was his missing partner, the man Todd thought they had killed almost nine years ago. Apparently, the man wasn't at the cabin but was expected to return shortly.

Todd ducked out of sight when Hutch came out of the cabin and disappeared into the woods. He saw a woman step out onto the porch and sink to her knees, sobbing hysterically. He thought about grabbing her and using her to lure her husband into a trap when he returned. Then he saw the little girl running across the yard and into the woods.

An evil smile tugged at his mouth as he came up with a better way to lure his intended victim out into the open. He would use the child as bait.

Todd crept into the woods and began following the sound of the child's running footsteps. He knew these woods as well as anyone around. His Uncle Hiram had lived on this god forsaken mountain and Todd had spent a lot of time with him when he was a teenager. The old man was a mean old cuss but he had taught Todd how to fend for himself and right now Todd was grateful for that.

He watched Sassy push her way through the brush, stopping now and then to brush away her tears. All he had to do was circle around and get ahead of her, then wait until she got close enough for him to grab her. He knew there was an old cave not far from where they were now. He could take her there and tie her up. Then all he had to was wait for her father to come looking for her when she didn't return home. He fingered the gun he had hidden in his jacket, the same gun that he had kept all these years. The gun he had used to kill Deputy Tuber. It seemed only fitting to kill the man who could destroy his life with his own gun.

Sassy stopped and looked around. She knew that she was going to be in big trouble when Daddy and Mommy found her. She had been warned repeatedly not to wander away from the cabin and into the woods by herself. It was only within the past few weeks that Daddy had finally allowed her to go to the lake and back by herself. Daddy didn't know that she knew he had followed her for the first couple of times to make sure that she was safe. She wished he was here now so she could go home.

"DADDY! HELP ME! I'M SCARED!" she screamed trying to control the fear that threatened to overwhelm her. Suddenly, she felt a large, rough hand clamp down over her mouth as an arm grabbed her around her waist and pulled her backwards. Her muffled screams of terror were silenced by the hand over her mouth as she struggled and kicked, trying to get away from whomever had grabbed her.

Daddy, I'm sorry! She screamed silently in her mind, I'll never disobey you and Mommy again! She knew she would get a whipping for sure when she got home and she knew she deserved it. Her Daddy's hands weren't always gentle but she knew that there was always love in Daddy's calloused hands.

Branches whipped at her face as the man carried her deeper into the woods. She continued to struggle, kicking frantically and trying to bite the man's hand but she couldn't get free from his iron grasp.

Todd carried the struggling child to the mouth of the tiny cave hidden away by overgrown brush. It was dark and cold inside the cave. Overhead Todd could hear the rustling of the nocturnal animals that inhabited this place. He sat Sassy down in the

farthest corner of the cave and hissed in warning, "Don't make a sound! Or I'll have to hurt your Mommy."

Sassy nodded to show him that she understood. She remembered her father telling her that if anyone ever tried to hurt her, she should do what she had to do to stay safe and not make any trouble until she could find a way to run away. She whimpered as the man tugged at her shoestrings, pulling them out of her tennis shoes, and then using them to tie her hands and feet. Todd rocked back on his heels and gave a satisfied smile.

"There. That should hold you, you little brat." He said "Now all I gotta do is wait until Daddy dearest comes looking for you and work out a little trade."

"Don't you hurt my Daddy!" Sassy said defiantly, forgetting the warning to be quiet. She cried out in surprise and pain as the man drew back his hand and slapped her across the cheek.

"I told you to be quiet!" Todd hissed "…or I'll have to gag you. Understand?"

Sassy nodded and kept her lips tightly closed, but her eyes never lost sight of her captor as he straightened up and moved towards the mouth of the cave. She was afraid of the dark and the noises she could hear overhead but she was even more afraid that this mean man would hurt her Mommy or her Daddy. As the man disappeared through the opening of the cave, Sassy let the tears fall unchecked down her cheeks.

"Please, God…" she whispered into the darkness "Don't let that bad man hurt my Mommy or my Daddy…"

The man returned in a few minutes with a small armful of branches that he piled up against the wall not far from where Sassy was sitting. He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and lit a fire. The flames chased away the shadows and warmed the shivering child.

Leaning back against the wall of the cave, Todd sighed and closed his eyes, muttering to himself. "It's gonna be okay, Mattie. We gonna finish this thing the way we should have nine years ago."

Todd had never told anyone that he sometimes heard Matt talking to him in his mind. And ever since he had overheard the conversation between Buck and the blond, Mattie had been talking to him almost constantly. It was a comfort to have Mattie so close to him once more.

Sassy listened to the strange man talking to someone who wasn't there and grew even more afraid. She knew that Mommy and Daddy sometimes went up to her baby brother's grave and talked to him but they knew he wasn't really there. This man seemed to think that there was actually somebody sitting beside him.

Sassy tugged at the shoestrings binding her wrists behind her back but the man had tied them too tightly. She couldn't get them loose so she gave up trying. She was hungry and thirsty but she was too afraid to ask the man who had brought her here for anything.

It wasn't long before another urgent need made Sassy squirm uncomfortably. Tears of shame ran down her cheeks when she wet herself. She was a big girl now and big girls weren't supposed to have accidents. She hoped that Daddy found her soon so that she could go home

Chapter 14

Dave smiled as he walked through the woods, the weight of the young buck he'd killed slung comfortably over his shoulders. The deer meat combined with what they would get from the pig that was almost ready to butcher would give them enough meat to last until next winter.

As he approached the clearing where the cabin sat, he could hear Hannah screaming Sassy's name almost hysterically. Alarmed, he let the deer drop to the ground as he took off running for home.

As he broke through the trees and into the clearing, he saw Hannah standing in the middle of the yard, tears streaming down her face, as she frantically yelled their daughter's name. When she saw Dave, she immediately screamed his name and stumbled into his open arms, burying her face against his shoulders as she began to sob.

Dave was torn between comforting his distraught wife and demanding to know where his daughter was. His heart was beating wildly with a fear of the unknown but he forced himself to remain calm. "What's wrong?" he said, keeping his voice soft and gentle, as he ran a soothing hand up and down his wife's back. "Where's Sassy?"

"I don't know!" Hannah choked out through her tears. "She's been gone all day! I think she heard us arguing and got scared."

"Heard who arguing?" Dave demanded, taking Hannah's chin in one hand and forcing her to look at him. "Tell me what happened…" His voice was still quiet and calm but firm.

"That man came back yesterday after you left…the one who was here the other day with the sheriff," Hannah told him "He said that he wanted to talk to you."

"The man that Sassy said she met down by the lake?" Dave asked. He felt his heart rate accelerate as his own fear rose. Whenever he had to leave Hannah and Sassy alone for any length of time, his greatest fear was that something would happen to them in his absence. He didn't know why he had such an irrational fear of outsiders but he sensed that somehow it had to do with whatever had happened that had brought him to Hannah and to this place.

"Why?" Dave asked in a confused voice. "Why would he want to talk to me? I don't even know him."

"He said that he came here looking for someone…someone who used to be his friend." Hannah said as she struggled to control her tears. She took a deep shuddering breath and looked deeply into the eyes of the man she loved so deeply. "HE said that he was looking for you…that YOU are his friend…"

"That's crazy! I've never met the man before!" Dave said, ignoring the pounding of his heart in his chest.

"How can you be so sure?" Hannah whispered fearfully. They seldom talked about the past that Dave could no longer remember…the life that he had led before he came to this place, or how Hannah had found him more dead than alive in the woods and had nursed him back to health with her homemade remedies and her everlasting love.

"What does any of this have to do with Sassy?" Dave asked deftly changing the subject to avoid answering her question.

"I yelled at him. I told him to get off our land and not come back. I told him that I wouldn't let him hurt you again…" Hannah admitted. "He left…but he said that he would be back…that he wasn't going to just leave. I think that Sassy may have overheard us arguing and got scared. I think she might have followed him into the woods when he left."

"Are you sure that she's not just hiding somewhere?"

"YES! I've already looked everywhere she could be! She's not here!" Hannah cried, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks as she grabbed her husband's shirt in desperation.

"She's gone! Our baby's gone!"

"We'll find her!" Dave said in a fiercely determined voice, grabbing his wife by the shoulders and giving her a gentle shake. "I swear to God…WE will find her." His sapphire eyes darkened with rage, a rage that Hannah had only seen once before in the kind, gentle man that she knew and loved.

As Dave grew stronger, recovering nicely from his multitude of injuries, he had been withdrawn and slow to trust Hannah. He struggled to remember his past, where he came from, and how he ended up on the mountain. The more he struggled to remember, the angrier he became when he couldn't. Trying to force himself to remember had caused severe migraines that only intensified his agitation. One evening, he had lost control, almost destroying the cabin before Hannah managed to calm him down. Afterwards, he had let her hold him in her arms as he cried bitter tears for the past that haunted him.

A muscle in Dave's jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth to control the rage that was boiling up inside of him. As he turned as if to head back into the woods, Hannah frantically grabbed his arm. "What are you going to do?" she asked

"I'm going to go to see the sheriff!" he snapped "I'm going to make sure that the man who was here didn't take Sassy!" His dark blue eyes turned even darker as he spit out the words in a clipped voice, "Because If he did…then I'm gonna kill him with my bare hands!"

"Then I'm coming with you!" Hannah declared. "I'm not going to let you go there by yourself." Hannah's biggest fear was that Hutch was one of the men that had hurt Dave so badly in the first place. And if he wasn't, IF he really was a friend from her husband's past, then that made him an even bigger threat to her little family. Dave was also angrier than Hannah had ever seen him. She wasn't about to let him

confront the big blond in his present state of mind without her calming influence at his side to defuse the situation if need be. In her heart, Hannah did not believe that the stranger had anything to do with Sassy's disappearance but she still would have preferred for Dave to stay away from him.

"You should stay here in case Sassy comes back." Dave told her

"I'm coming with you." Hannah insisted, the tone of her voice making it clear that she wasn't taking no for an answer. It would be the first time in her life that Hannah had actually ventured off the mountain but her fear for both her husband and her daughter overrode her fear of the outsiders.

Dave nodded curtly and took her hand as the couple walked into the woods together. As Dave led the way towards the lake, they paused several times to call their daughter's name, praying that she would answer them but she never did. It took almost two hours for them to make their way down the mountain to the main road.

Hannah was frightened as they left the safety and security of the mountain, but curious enough about the change in her surroundings to look around at the unfamiliar sights that met her eyes. The large frame farmhouses with the freshly painted barns. The vast fields of crops. The different vehicles that she could see parked in some of the driveways. It was as if she had stepped into another world, a world where she didn't belong. She knew that her Dave came from this world and the idea that he might want to return to this way of life if he ever remembered his past was something that Hannah tried desperately not to think about. If he ever decided to leave the mountain, Hannah knew that she and Sassy would go with him because that was her duty as his wife, but she also knew that she would never fit into this world.

Another hour of walking along the two lane highway brought them to a small ranch style house with a picket fence surrounding the yard. As they turned up the driveway, Hannah could see the sheriff and the big blond that Sassy had called 'Mr. Ken' in the front yard picking up the remainder of the debris from the recent storm. Shyly, Hannah fell in step behind her husband as they approached the two men.

Hutch was the first one to notice their approach. He reached out and touched the sheriff's arm to alert him to his unexpected visitors. Buck looked up at the couple from the mountain, his mouth breaking into a warm, welcoming smile.

"Mr. Dobbs, I presume…" he said in a friendly tone. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"I wanna talk to him!" Dave growled, glaring at Hutch and ignoring Buck's friendly overture. He directed his next words to Hutch "I wanna know where you get off coming on my land and upsetting my wife? And I wanna know where my little girl is!"

"What you mean where your little girl is?" Hutch asked in an alarmed voice. "Did something happen to her?"

"She disappeared after you were at my cabin arguing with my wife!" Starsky snarled as he took a threatening step towards Hutch, stilled only by the touch of Hannah's hand on his arm. "And I wanna know where she is! Because if you did anything to her, then so help me God I'll kill you!"

"Mr. Dobbs," Buck interjected before things could get out of hand. "Why don't you and your wife come into the house and tell us what happened?"

'I DON'T WANT TO COME IN YOUR HOUSE! I NEED TO FIND MY DAUGHTER!" Dave yelled, struggling to control his temper. He turned his attention back to Hutch. Sapphire eyes locking with ice blue.

Hutch had seen the same cold rage in his former partner's eyes more than once in the past. He knew that he had to choose his words with care so he wouldn't agitate the volatile brunet any further. He held his hands out in a non-threatening manner. In a soft, soothing voice he said, "I don't know what happened to your little girl but we'd like to help you find her if you'll let us."

"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP! HAVEN'T YOU DONE ENOUGH? THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Dave shouted in an outraged voice. "IF YOU HAD NEVER COME TO MY HOME AND HARRASSED MY WIFE THIS NEVER WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!"

"Starsk, please…" Hutch said, using his abbreviated version of his friend's name without even realizing that he had done it. Dave was too angry to notice the slip of Hutch's tongue but Hannah did and instinctively moved closer to her husband's side, clutching his arm tightly. "We just want to help you…"

"We don't need your help." Dave repeated, lowering his voice but obviously still angry and upset. "I don't want YOU on my land or near MY family again!" When he took another threatening step towards Hutch, his hand curled into fists, Buck decided to take action before the situation escalated any further. Reaching down for the gun that he wore strapped to his hip, he pulled his weapon and pointed it at the curly haired man. He had no intention of shooting him, just keeping him back until he could defuse the situation.

"NO!" Hannah suddenly screamed, startling all three men as she made her presence known. She jumped in front of her husband protectively and cried out, "I won't let you hurt him again! Not like you did before! This time you'll have to kill me too!"

Dave stood there staring at his wife as a flood of disjointed memories suddenly overwhelmed him. None of them made any sense.

An image of Indian pottery…

A colorful black man dressed in outrageous clothing…

Flashes of something red and white

The sound of a man's laughter

Gunshots and then pain

Pain in his stomach and chest

Unbearable pain that took this breath away…

It was too much. His eyes rolled back in his head as he slowly crumbled to the ground.

"DAVE!" Hannah screamed, turning her attention from the two men that she viewed as a threat to her suddenly collapsed husband. As she knelt beside her unconscious husband she suddenly sensed Hutch's presence at her side. Turning blazing eyes on the big blond, she hissed "STAY AWAY FROM HIM! DON'T TOUCH HIM!"

Annie had came out of the house at the sound of the loud voices in her front yard just in time to see the strange man with the long curly dark hair and full beard crumble to the ground. Buck had told her about the man and his wife who lived on the mountain, the man that Hutch was convinced was his missing partner, and she instinctively knew that this was the couple even if she didn't know why they were here.

Deepening her almost forgotten accent, Annie knelt beside the distraught woman and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It'll be all right. Why don't you let us take your husband in the house? Nobody wants to hurt him. We just want to help."

Reluctantly, Hannah nodded her agreement. With Sassy missing and her Dave lying unconscious on the ground, she knew that she had no choice but to trust these strangers and accept their help. Hutch stepped forward and gently, almost reverently, lifted Dave up into his arm to carry him into the house. Annie slipped a comforting arm around Hannah's shoulders as the two women trailed behind.

Hutch carefully laid his precious burden down on the sofa in the living room. He was overwhelmed with the fact that he was finally touching a very live Starsky again but he was worried with the news that Starsky's child was missing, lost somewhere on the mountain. Sassy may have been born on the mountain and lived there her entire life but she was still just a little girl and she was lost.

Buck quickly checked Starsky's pulse and respiration, pleased to find them both normal. Annie went into their bedroom and returned with a down comforter that she used to cover Starsky to keep him warm. Within a few minutes, Starsky's eyes fluttered and slowly opened, looking around in confusion.

"What happened?" he asked "Where am I?"

Hannah quickly moved into his line of vision to reassure her disoriented husband. "Oh, Dave…I was so scared. I thought you were hurt…you just collapsed…"

"You thought the sheriff was going to hurt me…like they hurt me before you found me…" Starsky replied, remembering his wife's words before he collapsed and her attempt to protect him from the danger that she perceived from Hutch and the sheriff.

Hannah hung her head, avoiding the curious eyes of the other adults in the room. In a halting voice, she said,

"I'm sorry…it's just…when I found Dave on the mountain almost nine years ago…he was hurt so bad. And then I saw these three men and I knew they were looking for him…one of them was wearing a uniform like yours and a badge." She glanced shyly at the sheriff. She took a deep shuddering breath. She felt Dave take her hand, holding it tightly, and she drew strength from his support as she continued her story.

"That's why when you came to the cabin that first day…I was scared that you were there to hurt Dave again…I couldn't let that happen."

Starsky frowned as he looked at Hutch, really looked at him this time. He saw nothing but compassion and caring in those ice blue eyes. "My Sassy considers you a friend…so; I guess I owe you an apology too. Hannah told me that you think that I'm a friend of yours that you came here looking for…"

"YOU are." Hutch told him firmly. "Your name is David Starsky and you disappeared almost nine years ago. It's a long story and I'll tell you all about it later…but right now…we need to find your little girl."

Annie had disappeared into the kitchen as they were talking. She returned with a tall glass of spiced tea and handed it to Starsky. "Drink that. It'll make you feel better."

Starsky accepted it gratefully and took a long deep swallow. He was still apprehensive but he no longer felt threatened by these men, especially not by Hutch. He could sense the truth behind his heartfelt words. 'Mr. Ken' did know him from before even if Dave couldn't remember him.

"I'll give you a ride back up to the mountain." Buck told them "Then I'll round up my deputies and come back to help you search for your daughter."

"We'd appreciate a ride if you're sure it's no trouble." Starsky said.

"No trouble at all." Buck said with a pleasant smile. "Let's go find your little girl and bring her home."

Chapter 15

Buck and Hutch drove Hannah and Starsky back up to the mountain using Buck's four wheel drive truck. Hannah and Starsky rode in the back of the truck since there wasn't enough room in the cab for all four of them.

Hannah rested her head on her husband's shoulder, emotionally drained by what had happened at the Sheriff's house. Things were happening too fast for her to process clearly but her overriding concern was for her husband and her child.

"We'll find her…you'll see." Dave told her with a crooked smile as he clasped her hand reassuringly.

"Do you really think we can trust them?" Hannah asked quietly as if the sheriff or Hutch could hear her words even though they were in the cab of the truck.

"Yeah, I do." Dave replied. "I can't explain it…but I believe they just want to help."

"He knows you. He can tell you about your past…" Hannah said, her voice trembling with barely repressed emotion. "He can answer all your questions…"

"I don't care about any of that…all I care about right now is finding Sassy." Dave reassured her as he tightened his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm just scared that's all." Hannah admitted "There's too much happening all at once. I want our life back the way it was before any of this happened."

"And it will be…as soon as we find Sassy."

Twenty minutes later, Buck pulled up to the meadow where Deputy Tuber's body had been found buried in a shallow grave. Hutch, Hannah and Dave climbed out of the truck. "I'll go back into town and round up my deputies." Buck told them "I'll be back just as quick as I can." He waved to the trio as he drove away leaving them standing there surrounded by the beauty of nature.

They turned and began walking towards the woods to make their way back to the cabin. As they moved into the denser foliage of the forest, Hutch grinned at his old friend and said, "I can't believe that you've been living here this whole time. You hated the woods. I used to have to practically beg you to go camping with me."

"I'm sorry. I don't remember." Dave said a bit apologetically.

"It's okay, it's my fault. I keep forgetting that." Hutch said somberly. "God, Starsk…it's so good to see you again. I thought you were dead…everybody did."

Starsky glanced at the tall blonde walking by his side but didn't say anything. For a moment, he could feel the other man's pain as if it were his own. He tightened his arm around Hannah's waist as they continued walking towards the cabin.

Soon they reached the clearing that marked the edge of their land. When they went into the cabin, Hannah busied herself making coffee and heating up a pot of stew while the two men sat down at the table to talk.

"You said that we were friends." Dave said "How did we meet?"

"We were cops in Bay City…detectives to be exact." Hutch replied "We met at the police academy and became best friends."

"I was a cop?" Dave exclaimed in a surprised voice. For a brief moment, the fleeting image of a gold badge in a worn leather case crossed his mind and then it was gone. "Judging from the collection of scars I've got, I must not have been a very good cop."

"That's where you're wrong, my friend. You have that collection of scars because you were one of the best cops on the force. We made a lot of enemies over the years and a lot of them came after us."

"How long were we together?"

"Almost fifteen years as friends…eleven years as partners. They put us together when we both made detective. You bugged the hell out of Dobey until he agreed."

"Dobey?"

"Captain Dobey. He was our commanding officer."

Any vague image slipped through Dave's mind, that of a large black man with a gruff voice. Even though the brief images seemed to correspond with the things that Hutch was telling him, Dave felt no emotional connection to any of it.

"You told Hannah that you came here looking for me…but you also said that you thought I was dead…I don't understand…"

Hutch sighed heavily. "We did think that you were dead. We never found your body and we could never find out exactly what happened to you. You just disappeared almost nine years ago. I went to your place to pick you up for work and you were gone. We looked for you for months…and even after the department declared you dead…I couldn't stop looking."

"If you thought I was dead then how did you end up here?"

"A little over a week ago, I got a phone call from the warden at the State Prison in Sacramento." Hutch told him "He told me that an inmate named John McFarland had died and that they had found something in his personal effects that I should see." He paused to collect his thoughts before continuing. "When I got to the prison, the warden gave me an envelope with my name on it. Inside there was another sealed envelope. It was a note from you…basically telling me goodbye. There was also a piece of paper with directions written on it, directions that told me where I could find your body." He looked at his former partner intently. "I came here looking for your body so I could take you home…and instead I found you here…alive and well." Hutch swallowed hard as he looked at the familiar rings on his pinkie finger. Carefully he pulled them off, letting them rest in the palm of his hand. "These were in McFarland's effects too, along with your letter…" He showed Starsky the two rings that now rested in his palm.

Starsky stared at the rings. Flashes of a man who looked so much like him but with short curly hair, a pretty woman with her hair up in a bun, tall buildings and the color of red running like the mountain stream under their ice house came to him in a rush.

Hutch reached out his hand to Starsky, "Are you okay, pal?"

Starsky nodded his head and said, "Yeah…yeah…now, you were saying that you didn't know I was alive when you came here?"

"No. I was here that day with the sheriff because he was checking on the folks who live on the mountain to make sure they were all okay after the storm. I remembered meeting your little girl at the lake and I knew she had to live someplace close by. So, I asked the sheriff if we could check on your family too." Hutch allowed a ghost of a smile to cross his face. "I almost had a heart attack when you came out of those woods that day. I thought I'd finally lost it."

Before Starsky could reply, a gunshot suddenly split the stillness of the mountain air and the front window shattered. The three adults inside the cabin immediately dove for cover. Before Hutch could stop him, Starsky scrambled to his feet and ran to the broken window. He flattened himself against the wall after a quick glance out of the shattered glass to see if he could spot the shooter. His own rifle rested on the mantle above the fireplace, too far out of reach to be of much use.

"Well, if it isn't Detective Starsky…alive and well. You are one hard man to kill. We all thought you were dead but I guess we were wrong. But, I'm going to see to it that you really die this time!"

"Who are you?" Starsky shouted in the direction of the woods. "What do you want on my land?"

"I guess that bullet in your head and the fall off that cliff did more damage than I thought…really scrambled your brains. I guess Deputy Tuber was right, we should have kept looking for your body and made sure that you were dead." Todd shouted back. "I'll tell you what I want! I want you dead! By the way, aren't you missing something, Detective? Something you'd give anything to have back?"

"Sassy!" Dave reasoned. His voice grew hard with anger "What have you done with my daughter? If you hurt her, I swear to God that there won't be a hole big enough for you to hide in!"

"Relax, the little brat is fine. At least for now." Todd yelled "And she'll stay that way as long as you and your pretty little wife do exactly what I say."

"What do you want us to do?"

"A simple trade. You in exchange for the brat. She walks away with Mommy and you come with me."

Before Dave could answer, Hutch was on his feet and rushing to his side. He grabbed Starsky's arm and hissed in a loud whisper, "You can't just walk out there! We don't even know for sure that he HAS Sassy much less if she's okay. Besides, he wouldn't be stupid enough to have her with him. Remember proper police procedure in a kidnapping!"

"Yeah, yeah," Starsky responded "Stall the kidnapper…find out how the hostage is…and try to find out where he has her…"

"That's my partner." Hutch said with a pleased smile as he clapped Starsky on the shoulder.

"You mean that's the right answer?" Starsky quipped with a crooked smile and trace of sarcasm in his voice. "I was just guessing." He turned his attention back to the shooter. "How do I know you really have Sassy and if she's okay? I want to see her before I agree to anything!"

Todd yelled back "I told you she's fine…real little scrapper that one. Must take after her old man. Come to the meadow by the lake at sundown tonight and I'll prove it. You and your wife come alone or your daughter will be buried where you should have been eight and a half years ago!"

"Wait!" Starsky shouted but the only sounds he could hear was the natural sounds of the forest. The stranger was gone. His shoulders slumped in despair as the adrenalin rush left him drained. Hutch slipped a comforting arm around his shoulders and guided him over to the table. Hannah sat down beside him, their heads close together, sharing a private husband and wife moment.

Buck and his men arrived within the hour. Buck listened while Hutch filled him in on what had happened before he arrived.

"I think Hannah should stay here while David goes to meet this guy at the lake. Me and my boys will hide in the woods and try to nail this guy before anybody gets hurt."

NO!" Hannah said firmly. "He said for both of us to be there! I'm going with Dave."

"Hannah's right," Dave said siding with his wife. "I'm not going to take a chance on setting this guy off by not doing exactly what he says to do! We're talking about our daughter's life!"

"All right, here's what we'll do," Hutch said "Buck and his men will go with me. We'll go to the meadow an hour or so before the scheduled rendezvous. That will give us plenty of time to get in place so he won't even know we're there." He looked at Starsky intently. "Just don't be a hero. Your little girl needs you."

"I won't do anything to risk my daughter's life." Starsky said fiercely "But if it comes right down to it I don't want anyone to try and stop me from doing what I have to do!"

Hutch nodded. They were at an impasse and he knew it. Starsky would do things his way regardless of what Hutch or Buck suggested. It was doubtful that even Hannah would be able to chance his mind once Starsky settled on a specific course of action. He had always been the most stubborn man that Hutch had ever known and it didn't look like much had changed.

After discussing their strategy for the next forty-five minutes, Hutch and the rest of the men left to head to the meadow leaving Dave and Hannah alone for the first time since he had returned from his hunting trip that morning. Hannah immediately sought the comfort of her husband's embrace.

"I'm scared." She whispered against his chest "What if something goes wrong and I lose both of you?"

"You're not going to lose either one of us." Dave reassured her in a soothing voice. "I promise. You're stuck with me for the rest of your life, Mrs. Dobbs."

"Shouldn't that be Mrs. Starsky? That's what he said your name was…it's never been Dobbs to begin with."

"As long as I am here with you…I will always be David Dobbs. I don't even know who David Starsky is. I don't want to know. This is my life…here with you and Sassy…not whatever I had before."

"Just bring my baby home…" Hannah whispered, a single tear falling down her cheek and landing on Dave's hand as he caressed her face.

"I will, baby…I promise." He said, sealing his pledge with a tender kiss.

Chapter 16

Hannah and Dave arrived at the meadow at the pre-agreed time. The sun was just starting to sink below the horizon casting a rainbow of colors across the evening sky. The woods surrounding the meadow were quiet and still but Dave knew that the sheriff, Hutch and the other deputies were hiding somewhere in the brush, watching and waiting.

There was a movement to the couple's left and then Todd stepped out into the open, dragging Sassy along beside him. Dried tears had left trails in the dirt on Sassy's face and her hair was tangled and mussed.

"DADDY! MOMMY!" the terrified child screamed as soon as she saw her parents. She would have run to them if it hadn't been for the iron grip that Todd had on her tiny wrist.

Seeing her parents so close and not being able to go to them encouraged Sassy to struggle with her captor.

"STOP IT YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Todd yelled, shaking Sassy violently.

Dave took an involuntary step forward when he saw his daughter being manhandled; stopping in his tracks when Todd pulled a gun from his jacket and aimed it at the couple.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He sneered as he waved the gun around carelessly. "I'd hate to have to shot you in front of your wife and your little girl."

"I'll do whatever you want…just let her go." Dave said, watching the other man warily. He wouldn't do anything to jeopardize his daughter's safety but he wouldn't let this man hurt her either. People on the mountain did not fear death; they accepted it as just another part of life and a man would go to any length to protect his family and keep them safe.

"We're going to make a little trade…" Todd said smugly "You for the girl." He waved the gun around again, "You walk toward me and I'll send the girl over to your wife at the same time."

Dave nodded and took a step forward. Suddenly, he saw Hutch's head pop up from some brush behind Todd and Sassy. Their eyes met and Dave instinctively knew what to do. Todd let go of Sassy's arm and shoved her forward towards her father. Her first instinct was to run to the safety of her father's embrace until she heard her father say,

"Take a step towards me, Sassy, and then I'll take a step towards you."

She nodded in acknowledgement and forced herself to do as her father instructed her to do. She trusted her father. She knew that he wouldn't let the bad man hurt her, not anymore. But, she didn't want the bad man to hurt her daddy or mommy either. Slowly, father and daughter took one step at a time, closing the distance between them.

When they were side by side, Dave made his move. He lunged to the side and wrapped his arms around Sassy, rolling to the ground with her, protecting her from

harm with his own body. Before Todd could react, Hutch lunged at him from behind and tackled him to the ground.

As Hutch and Todd rolled around on the ground, fighting for control of the gun that Todd still clutched in his hand, Starsky released Sassy and said, "Run to Mommy! Now!' Sassy didn't need to be told twice. She scrambled to her feet and ran into her mother's arms. Two deputies suddenly appeared from the woods behind her and pulled Sassy and Hannah into the woods, safely out of the line of fire.

Dave jumped to his feet just as a gunshot went off, the noise sounding unusually loud in the quietness of the mountain. "Hutchhhhhhhh…" Dave yelled as he ran towards the two bodies lying on the ground.

The big blond was slowly struggling to his feet as Dave reached his side. The brunet grabbed his arm and asked frantically, "Are you okay?"

"I am now." Hutch replied with a grin "Just had the wind knocked out of me for a minute." The two men reached for each and hugged, just like old times.

Buck and the rest of his deputies came out of hiding and quickly secured the area. Todd lay on the ground, unmoving, the front of his shirt stained with blood from a gunshot wound to his chest at close range. Buck knelt beside the body and reached out to feel Todd's neck for a pulse. He looked up at Hutch and Dave and shook his head. The man was dead. He was no longer a threat to anyone.

"It's Todd Banister." Buck said as he slowly straightened up. "He owns the bar where we went the other night for a drink. He must have overheard us talking."

"He's one of the men that took me from my apartment…" Starsky said slowly, as his eyes swept over the face of the man who had kidnapped his daughter.

"You remember what happened?" Hutch asked, holding his breath as he waited anxiously for an answer.

"Not really…I just remember that he was one of the men that hurt me." Dave said in a confused voice. Images were flashing through his mind too fast for him to hold on to. A man with a badge. Being afraid. Running through the woods and then a terrible pain in his head. Falling…

"Mr. Ken…Mr. Ken…" Sassy yelled as she came running up to her father and Hutch, followed closely by a concerned Hannah.

Sassy threw herself into a surprised Hutch's arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You kept the bad man from hurting my daddy!" she said in an excited voice now that the crisis was over.

"You bet I did, pumpkin. He's not going to hurt anybody anymore." Hutch said with a huge grin as he hugged her tightly before handing her over to her father.

Sassy looked at her father and said, "See, Daddy…I told you Mr. Ken was a nice man."

"You were right about that, baby." Dave said with a grin that included not just his daughter but Hannah and Hutch as well. "As a matter of fact, Mr. Ken and I used to know each other…a long time ago."

The adults turned their attention to Buck as he joined their little circle.

"We're going to take the body back to town and start our investigation into his involvement in whatever went on here today." Buck said "The three of you are free to leave. I'll be in touch later to get official statements from each of you."

"Can Mr. Ken come back with us for supper?" Sassy asked her parents."I'm hungry."

Her innocent comment made all the adults laugh. Now that the danger was over, the innocence of childhood would help to protect Sassy from the trauma of the event…that and the unconditional love of her parents. Hutch smiled at the child and said, "I think I better go back to town with the sheriff for now. But, how about if I come by tomorrow and take you fishing...that is if it's okay with your folks?" He turned guileless blue eyes to Hannah and Dave.

"Can I, Daddy? Please?" Sassy pleaded.

Dave smiled, too relieved to have his daughter back to refuse her anything. "Yes, you may." He looked at Hutch and Buck gratefully. "Thank you…thank you both…for everything." He smiled a wavering smile that betrayed the emotions that lurked dangerously close to the surface. "I think I'm going to take Hannah and Sassy home. It's been a long day…for all of us."

Without waiting for an answer, he shifted Sassy's weight onto his hip and wrapped his free arm around Hannah's waist. Buck and Hutch watched the little family as they walked away, disappearing into the woods.

"Well, it looks like you found what you came here looking for." Buck said

"No," Hutch said with a somber shake of his head. "I found a man named David Dobbs…not David Starsky." There was a hint of sadness in his voice that touched Buck deeply.

"Are you willing to accept that?" Buck asked finding himself concerned about Hutch's welfare and state of mind.

"I don't want to hurt him…he's been hurt enough." Hutch said "I'm willing to take whatever I can get just as long as I can be a part of his life again. All that matters is that he's alive and he's happy."

"Even if he never remembers the life that he had as your friend and your partner?"

"Even if he never remembers that." Hutch said with a heavy sigh. A comfortable silence fell between the two men as they walked back to where Buck had left his vehicle. As they drove back towards town, Buck glanced at the blond sitting beside him and said,

"So what are you going to do now? Go back to Bay City?"

"Maybe…in a few days. I want to spend some time with Starsky before I go."

"Are you going to try and get him to go back with you?"

"I don't know…I'm going to ask him if he wants to go…but I'm not going to force him to do something he doesn't want to do."

"Being back in familiar surroundings…around the people he used to know and care about…might help him get his memory back." Buck pointed out as he remembered what his friend who used to teach at the University had to say about Starsky's form of amnesia.

"He has a life here now…he has Hannah and Sassy. He's not going to want to leave them and I can't ask him to do that…no matter how much I want to be with him and rekindle our friendship."

"Well, if that's the case, Ken…I've been thinking about something ever since we realized that your partner was still alive and living in these mountains. I was just waiting for the right time…" Buck said

"Sounds serious…" Hutch said with a thin smile wondering what Buck had on his mind.

"No, not serious exactly but it might end up helping you to decide what you want to do…and help me out to boot…I've been wanting to retire for a while now. I'm not as young as I used to be anymore and you're a good cop…you got more than enough experience to qualify for my job…" Buck's voice trailed off as he waited for Hutch to process what he had just said.

"Are you asking me to take over your job?" Hutch asked in a surprised voice.

"I'm asking you to think about it. My deputies are good men, but they're still young and too inexperienced yet to take on the job of sheriff and I really want someone that will take care of my people around here…" Buck gazed out at the woods and the mountains that were so much a part of him and his life. Then he cleared his throat and continued. "I still got a few more months left before my terms up. I'm pretty sure that you'd be guaranteed the job if I recommended you for the position."

"I'm flattered…I really am," Hutch said "But, I don't know what I'm going to do right now. I need some time…a lot has happened in this past week."

"Sure, I understand that. You take as much time as you need, but I think you'd be happy here and this way you could still be close to your friend."

"I'll think about it. I promise. That's the best I can do right now." Hutch said.

"Fair enough." Buck said as he turned into the driveway of his home and parked in front of the one car garage.

The two men went into the house where Annie greeted them warmly. They spent a pleasant evening, enjoying each other's company and eating the delicious meal that Annie had prepared. Buck had sent his deputies to search Todd's apartment and the

bar with orders to gather any evidence connecting him to the crimes that they suspected he was involved in.

Buck was disappointed to learn that the man he had considered a friend, Dave Tuber, had been involved in what had happened to Starsky. He had been a dirty cop, something that every cop hates to discover about a colleague and a friend. But at least this case had brought him closure. He knew now what had happened to his old friend even if it wasn't what he had expected.

Hutch had a lot on his own mind that evening. Buck's offer had come as a surprise but Hutch found himself seriously considering the suggestion. He was tired of the death and mayhem that he witnessed day after day on the streets of Bay City. The job had taken its toll over the years and Hutch had paid his dues in blood, sweat and tears. There were more bad memories associated with his career on the Bay City Police Department than there were good ones especially since Starsky had been gone.

Since he had been here on the mountain, he realized how much he enjoyed the wide open spaces and the tranquility of small town living. A country boy at heart from the Midwest, he had adjusted to life in Bay City but had never given up his small town standards or ideals.

And Starsky was here. That fact alone gave Hutch more than enough reason to consider Buck's suggestion. They could be together again, maybe not as partners but as friends. There was still a connection there, Hutch could feel it and he knew that Starsky was beginning to feel it too.

Hutch sighed heavily. He really needed to call Rachel Starsky and tell her what he had found out. That her son was still alive with a wife and a little girl but with no memory of his past or of her. He wasn't sure how she would react to the news. He knew that she would more than likely want to come to California immediately and see her son, to convince herself that he was really all right, but Hutch knew that Starsky wasn't ready for something like that. Not yet anyway. Maybe he never would be. But, he had made a promise to Rachel at Starsky memorial service. He needed to let her know that he had kept that promise to her. But, that was a call that could wait at least for a few more days.

Later that evening, before turning in for the night, Hutch did make a phone call to Bay City…to Huggy Bear. He needed the emotional support of a friend who had known both him and Starsky for years. Someone who knew and understood the unique bond that they had shared and how much Hutch had been suffering for the past eight and a half years.

"Hey, Blondie!" Huggy said as soon as Hutch identified himself. "It's about time you called. How's it going up there?"

"Okay," Hutch said "I talked to Starsky…I met his wife and his little girl."

"How's Curly doing?"

"He's okay. He's made a life for himself here…a good life."

"Does that mean he's not coming back to Bay City with you?"

"I haven't asked him yet." Hutch admitted. "He still doesn't remember…not really. Just a few images here and there that don't make much sense to him."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to stay here for a few more days and then I'll probably head back. Something happened today and we might be able to clear up some of the questions about what happened eight and half years ago."

"I know, I know…" Huggy said "You can't tell me anymore than that…confidential information and all that crap."

"Yeah, something like that. All I can tell you is that we found one of the men that we believe was involved in Starsky's abduction."

"Is he still breathing?"

"No. He got in the way of a bullet."

"Yours or Starsky's?"

"His own." Hutch said flatly. "Look, I'll call you in a couple days and let you know when I'm coming back."

"Okay…I've a cold one waiting for you."

The two old friends said their goodbyes and Hutch hung up the phone. After a quick shower, he turned in for the night and was soon sleeping soundly.

Chapter 17

Hannah pulled the quilt more securely over her daughter's shoulders and gave her a lingering kiss as she slept peacefully.

"Thank you, Lord, for keeping my baby safe from that madman today. I don't know how to thank you for everything that you've done for me. My family is so precious to me…you know that. I was so scared today but you came through for us just like you always have. Thank you…thank you."

She looked around the tiny cabin and her child that meant everything to her…well, almost everything she thought with a smile. "Dave?" she whispered but he wasn't there.

Where is he? She thought

Hannah stepped out of the cabin to find her husband sitting in one of the homemade rockers, staring out into the darkness. She sat down in the rocker beside him and reached out to touch the back of his hand tearing him from his thoughts.

"Sassy all right, Hannah?"

"Yes, she's fine. I just tucked her in and she's sleeping soundly. She had a lot happen today." soothed Hannah. "You know, you had a lot happen to you today too and I'm not used to you being this quiet." She told her husband in a teasing tone, then more seriously as she added, "Are you still thinking about it?"

"You and Sassy could have been killed because of me…because of who I used to be…" Dave said slowly.

"But we were both safe…thanks to you…and to Sassy's new friend, Mr. Ken." \

"Hutch…he prefers to be called Hutch." Dave told her.

Hannah looked at her husband, her eyes filled with a sense of sadness. I guess I always knew this day would come, she thought. "You're starting to remember, aren't you?" she asked trying unsuccessfully to keep the fear from her voice.

"No, not really…" Dave told her, still staring into the darkness. "Just images in my head that don't seem to fit together…but I know that Hutch and I were friends…just like he said…good friends…we were close…real close…I can feel it…" he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "There was a connection there…I felt it today when we were in the meadow."

Hannah took a deep breath and turned her face to the darkness of her mountain that seemed to be mirroring the emotions that had crept into her heart when she saw the two strange men that had come to their home…then she said, "Maybe you should talk to him again…about your past…where you came from…who you are…"

"You mean who I was." Dave corrected her. "I'm not that man anymore." He reached out to take Hannah's hand sensing her unspoken fears. "The only life I care about is the one I have right here…right now…with you and Sassy."

He rose to his feet and pulled Hannah up from her chair. Slipping his arm around her waist he led her back inside and over to their bed. With gentle hands, he slipped off her clothes and laid her back on the bed. Hannah lay there watching as her husband took off his own clothes, revealing the lean, muscular build that she knew intimately. Lying down beside her, he reached down and covered their bodies with the homemade quilt that covered their bed. As his lips found hers, kissing her deeply, Hannah's body arched against his longing for his touch.

Their lovemaking that night was tender and gentle as they took their pleasure from sharing the passion that sparked between them. Hannah cried out as Dave entered her body, joining them together as one. Their mutual climax left them both breathless as they lay entwined in each other's arms. They drifted off to sleep wrapped in each other's embrace and content in their everlasting love.

00000

The next day, Hutch borrowed Buck's truck and some fishing gear so he could keep his promise to take Sassy fishing. He found the spunky little girl waiting on the porch, watching for him when he entered the clearing.

"Mr, Ken!" she yelled with a grin as she ran to meet him. "You came!"

"I told you I would." Ken told her with a grin as he knelt down to give Sassy a hug. The child already had him wrapped around her little finger just like her father did. He was quickly losing his heart to the child simply because she was Starsky's daughter.

He glanced up as Starsky stepped out onto the porch. The two men exchanged a smile as Starsky said,

"Would you two mind if I tagged along?"

"Not at all." Hutch said, looking forward to spending time with his friend and his daughter both.

"Yea!" Sassy said, clapping her hands together excitedly. She looked at her father, her sapphire eyes sparking merrily. "Mommy said she'd fix us some sandwiches and lemonade to take with us."

"She sure did, sweetie." Dave said with a grin as he reached behind him and picked up a jug and a large paper bag. He grabbed his fishing pole and Sassy's bamboo one from where they were leaning against the house. With long strides, he joined his daughter and Hutch at the edge of the clearing.

They began walking towards the lake with Sassy running ahead of Starsky and Hutch but never out of their sight. When they reached the lake, Sassy ran to her favorite spot and sat down on the bank. Her father and Hutch sat on either side of her and they threw their lines into the water.

Sassy caught the first fish, a five pound bass that her father helped her pull in. He took it off the hook and put it on the stringer. Hutch hid a smile as he watched the interaction between father and child. He had always known that Starsky would make a fantastic father someday and it warmed his heart to watch him with Sassy. At that moment, in his heart, he knew that this was where Starsky belonged now not back in Bay City. As if he had read his thoughts the way he used to do, Starsky turned and looked at Hutch, gracing him with his trademark crooked smile.

It still seemed strange to see Starsky with longer hair and a full beard but Hutch was slowly getting used to it.

As the sun rose in the mid-morning sky, the two men relaxed against the bank of the lake while Sassy continued to fish.

"Tell me more about Bay City." Dave said, watching carefully as Sassy chased a butterfly near the path that led to the meadow. "Sassy, I want you to stay where you can see me, understand" Starsky spoke lovingly but firmly to his daughter.

Yes sir, Daddy." Sassy answered obediently.

"I moved there to go to UCLA." Hutch told him "From Duluth, Minnesota. You moved there when you were thirteen to live with your Aunt Rosie and Uncle Al."

"Where did I live before that?"

"In New York with your folks and your little brother, Nicky."

"Do they still live there?"

"Your mother and Nicky do. Your Pop was killed just before you moved to California."

"How?"

"He was a cop. He was gunned down in the street on his way home from work."

"Is that why I became a cop?"

"That had a lot to do with it."

"It's like you're talking about somebody else…I don't remember any of it." Starsky admitted.

"Maybe it would help if you came back to Bay City with me for awhile…visit some of your old hangouts…look up some old friends…"

Starsky shook his head firmly. "No, I belong here now…not back there."

Hutch reached out and touched his old friend's shoulder gently. "It's okay to be afraid, Starsk…I'd be afraid too if I were you. But, even if you do remember…it's not going to take away what you have now with Hannah and Sassy."

"You said that my mother still lives in New York…and my brother…have you called them and told them that I'm still alive?" Starsky asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"No." Hutch told him. "I'm not sure how to tell your mother…she's going to want to come out here as soon as she knows that you're still alive…to see you and to see her granddaughter."

"NO!" Starsky said hastily, growing uncomfortable with the conversation. "I'm not ready for that…not yet…" He rose to his feet, straightening up to his full height. "We better get back." He raised his voice slightly as he called his daughter, "Sassy, come get the fish. It's time to go home!"

Sassy trotted over to her father and grabbed the stringer line out of the water. Between the three of them they had caught six fish, more than enough for their evening meal.

"Is Mr. Ken coming back with us? He helped catch the fish so he should be able to stay for supper." Sassy said

"That's up to Mr. Ken." Starsky said, a smile tugging at his lips as he used his daughter's new nickname for Hutch.

"I'd love to." Hutch told Sassy "As long as your folks don't mind the company."

"We don't mind." Starsky told him "We'd be proud to have you eat supper with us." He grinned mischievously "I'll even let you clean the fish."

"Gee, thanks…" Hutch said dryly as he followed Starsky and Sassy back to the cabin. "You've always been so good to me."

"Hey, Blondie," Dave said back, the familiar nickname falling easily off his lips without him noticing it. "I thought that's what friends were for…"

Hutch grinned taking comfort in the familiar back and forth bantering. Even if Starsky couldn't remember, some things never changed.

When they returned to the cabin, Hutch and Starsky prepared to clean the fish while Sassy ran in the house to get them some water. Hannah followed Sassy back out onto the porch and took in the scene before her with a tolerant smile. She could tell that Dave and Hutch were getting closer as the boundaries between them began to crumble. It had been just her and Dave for so long that Hannah couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of his evolving relationship with Hutch. And she would have to be blind not to see how much Hutch cared about her husband. They were connected in a way that Hannah couldn't understand. She just knew that it was there. Even if Dave couldn't remember his past he could still feel the connection that bound him to the big blond. He trusted him, the same way that he had trusted nobody but Hannah until now.

Hannah brushed away a tear as she went back inside the cabin. She knew that her Dave deserved the chance to remember his past and Hutch was the only one who could give him back that part of his life. She glanced at the needlepoint hanging on the wall, a needlepoint that her mother had done years ago. The words burned into her mind and she knew what she had to do.

If you love something, Set it free... If it comes back, it's yours, If it doesn't, it never was…

Chapter 18

Hannah sat in front of the fire sewing a patch on a pair of Sassy's jeans. She was growing so fast. Hannah had been happy with her life here in these mountains but was that good enough for Sassy? Or did her daughter deserve more than that? Did she deserve the opportunities that only life in the world outside these mountains could provide? She sighed heavily lost in her own thoughts.

Dave looked up from the chair he was mending and frowned. He knew that Hannah had something on her mind. He just wished he knew what it was. She had been quiet all evening ever since Hutch had left to go back to town.

"What's wrong, darlin'?" he drawled "I can tell you got something on your mind that's troubling you."

Hannah hesitated, reluctant to share her thoughts with him. The words she was about to speak were the hardest words that had ever come out of her mouth.

"Maybe you should go back to Bay City with your friend…at least for a few days…find out exactly what your life was like before," she spoke with downcast eyes.

"No!" Dave said without hesitation. "I'm not leaving you and Sassy…not even for a few days. Don't you understand, Hannah…I don't care what kind of life I had before…

this is the life I want…right here with you and Sassy. This is the only life I remember…I'm not giving it up!"

"I'm not asking you to give it up," Hannah said earestly. "I just don't want you to regret staying here with us."

"I could never regret that." Dave said, leaving his task and kneeling in front of his distraught wife. "You're my whole life…you and Sassy. Don't you know that?"

"What about Sassy? Are we being fair to her? Expecting her to live here like this for the rest of her life?" Hannah continued to push her point. "She could have so much more in the outside world…opportunities that I never had. She could go to school…have friends…"

"She can do all that right here without leaving the mountain!" Dave said a bit more sharply than he intended. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as he tried to gather his thoughts. He had to find a way to make Hannah understand how he felt about leaving this place. "I may not remember what my life was like before but I do remember that the outside world isn't a very nice place sometimes. What we have here…is more real and satisfying to me than I ever had out there…" He sighed softly and chose his next words with care. "But, maybe we do need to get off the mountain more often. Sassy needs to know that it's okay to trust the outsiders…that most of them are good people. But, I have no desire to go back to that world to live."

Then Dave added, "Unless you think less of me because you've gotten a glimpse of what my world may have been like yesterday and want me to leave."

Dave searched his wife's eyes and was very relieved to his answer mirrored in them.

"I'm sorry," Hannah said with a trembling smile and a gentle caress to his cheek. "I just don't want to hold you back…to force you to stay here with me and Sassy if you'd rather go back to the outside world, but make no mistake Dave…I want to be with you the rest of my life"

"I'm not going back." Dave said firmly. "This is my world now…you and Sassy and this land." He smiled that crooked smile that melted Hannah's heart. "You're definitely stuck with me for the rest of your life, Mrs. Dobbs." He put a special emphasis on the name Mrs. Dobbs using his words to make the point that he was ignoring the Starsky name in deference to the name that he had taken when they said their vows to one another. He sealed his renewed pledge with a kiss that was filled with love and promise.

00000

Meanwhile, Buck and Hutch had gone to Buck's office in town to look over the evidence that had been collected at the bar and at Todd's apartment on the other side of town. They found bank statements with large deposits having been made during the time frame in question, deposits totaling over twenty thousand dollars. Hutch was confident that the paper trail would eventually follow the money back to an account controlled by John McFarland.

Hutch identified the gun that Todd had had in his possession as being Starsky's missing Beretta. A quick call to Bay City had confirmed that the serial number was a match.

But, by far, the most damning evidence was a journal that had been written by Matt Banister. Buck and Hutch read the entries together.

Oct. 10th- Todd got call from the Deputy Tuber in the next county today. Wonder what that ole boy wants?

Oct. 12th- Who'd have thought that Tuber had it in him? Kidnapping and killing and all…but Todd thinks it'll be easy money…I mean I don't even know this Starsky …sounds like a Jew name anyway. One less Jew is good Todd says.

Oct. 14th- Easy as taking candy from a baby! We were slick, Todd and me. The Banister boys ride again. To be a big city detective, this guy's place was easy to break into. Yeah, and the guy is a cop of all things…gun and everything. I wanted to chunk the whole thing when I saw that pistol but I do want the money and Todd wants it worse than me! We had no problem knocking him over the head and getting him to the ole house down by Quarter Forks. …very private place if ya know what I mean.

Oct. 16th- Have to rest a little today. We've had way to much fun with the cop…with our fists…even played some baseball with him if ya know what I mean! That Starsky guy didn't want to play though.

Todd says that we need to get more money for all our trouble and coz he's a cop. I don't know though . Tuber is the law and he always could be a mean cuss.

Oct.17th- We went through with the plan at the gas station. That girlie was mighty pretty. I'm sorry that didn't take her with us after all, but now at least Tuber will take over some of the work. This beating up on the cop is harder work than I thought. The cop is not backing down either. Stubborn that's what he is…keeps trying to tell us that his partner's goin to come after him…and us. Heck, he don't seem to know that tomorrow is his last day.

Oct. 18th- Well, it's over. The cop is dead and so is Tuber. SWEET! After Tuber made the cop write some crappy letter to his partner, he didn't tie em up right and he got away. After all our work, Tuber lets him get away. Tuber got em though with his pistol. Ole boy was a pretty decent shot, but the guy fell into a ravine. Todd and me weren't goin after no dead body. We said let the mountain deal with him, but Tuber got all high and mighty and Todd hauled off and shot em! Man, my older brother ain't one to be messed with. It took us good piece of back breaking work to get Tuber out of his uniform and into some old clothes of Todd's, take the picture and bury em. Ya know I didn't realize how much the deputy looked like the Jew till Todd mentioned it

Oct. 26- We are rich…RICH! Todd and me both got our $5000 from that McFarland guy today. Along with Tuber's share that's fair piece of money for a little less than a week's work.

Dec. 21- Todd wants me to go in with him to buy Danny's old place and turn it into a bar. Maybe…

That was the last entry in the journal. "

"That's right," mused Buck. "Matt Banister died in an accident that night. He took the curve to fast up there on Misty Ridge and plunged off the mountain."

Buck shook his head," I remember thinking was a shame that was…now I'm not so sure."

The collection of evidence was enough to officially close not only Starsky's case back in Bay City but Dave Tuber's case over in the neighboring county. Unfortunately, it also proved that Dave Tuber had been a dirty cop who had taken money from a known criminal to kidnap and attempt to murder a fellow officer.

"Guess that pretty much wraps up both cases." Buck said with a heavy sigh.

"Looks that way," Hutch agreed "At least now we both know what happened to our friends."

"Yeah," Buck said with a snort "But, it looks like my friend turned out not to be much of a friend after all. At least your friend is still alive…"

"That he is, Buck…and I thank God for that.." Hutch said, then he changed the subject. "I think I'm going to head back to Bay City tomorrow." Hutch said as he leaned back in his chair and stretched out his long legs.

"And then what?" Buck asked

"I'm not sure yet, but I think I might take you up on your offer and move back here to take your job."

"That's great!" Buck said in a pleased voice. "You know Annie and I have been talking about what we're going to do if you did…and well, we'd like to see what Florida is like. We could make you a real good deal on the house if you think you'd be interested."

"I think I might be." Hutch said with a smile. He could already picture the rear sun porch at Buck and Annie's house being transformed into a greenhouse and a large vegetable garden in the back yard.

"So how long do you think you'll be in Bay City?"

"I have to give the department at least a thirty day notice and find someone to sublet my apartment until my current lease is up…" Hutch said thinking aloud. "I could be back here in a couple of months."

"Good, then that will give us a couple of months before my term is up so I can introduce you around and get folks used to seeing your face." Buck told him with a wide grin. He had been confident all along that Hutch would accept his offer and take his place as sheriff. Buck knew that he couldn't be leaving the people of his county in any better hands. Hutch had the years of experience on the streets to handle anything that came along combined with the small town hospitality that would win the favor of the people in the county. His budding relationship with Hannah and

Starsky would also give him the edge he needed to relate to the folks who lived on the mountain. Buck knew that he couldn't have made a better choice for his replacement.

The two men finished what they were doing and headed back to Buck's home for the evening. Hutch packed his bags before going to bed and then turned in. He wanted to get an early start in the morning so that he could be back in Bay City by noon. He planned to go up to the mountain to tell Starsky and Hannah goodbye before he left and to tell them the news that he would be returning in a couple of months for good.

00000

"Mommy! Daddy!" Sassy yelled from outside the cabin "Mr. Ken is here!"

Starsky and Hannah went outside on the porch, smiling indulgently as they watched Sassy throw herself into her new friend's arms. Hutch laughed and held on tight as he swung her around in a circle, making her squeal and giggle with delight.

Sitting her down on her feet, he held her hand as they walked towards the porch where her parents stood waiting for them.

"Did you come to go fishing with us again?" Sassy asked as she let go of Hutch's hand and ran to her father.

"No, actually, I came to say goodbye. I'm heading back to Bay City this morning." Hutch replied. "But, I should be back in a couple of months…for good."

"You're moving here?" Dave said in a surprised but pleased voice. He may not remember his past but he knew that Hutch had been a big part of it and he had filled a void in the short time he had been here that Dave hadn't even noticed was missing in his life.

"As a matter of fact, I am. I'm taking over the sheriff's job when Buck retires in a few months."

"You're going to be living here too?" Sassy said in an excited voice her eyes sparkling with happiness at the thought of her new friend living close by.

"It sure looks that way, sweetheart." Hutch said with a grin. "I hope your mommy and daddy are as happy about that as I am." He locked eyes with Starsky and a silent conversation passed between them just like it used to.

Are you glad that I'm going to be living here?

Yes. I need you in my life.

I need you too, buddy. I always have.

I still don't understand…I don't remember…but I know that I need you.

Well, I'll be here…whenever you need me…

"Of course we're happy that you're going to be living close by." Hannah said graciously. "After everything you did to help us get Sassy back you're a part of our family now too…" Hannah surprised herself with her words. She was even more surprised to realize that she really meant them. Hutch had been a good friend to them and Sassy was already attached to him. He was a part of her Dave's past but, now, he was also a part of their future.

00000

Hutch was on the road within the hour. It was a clear California morning. The sun was shining, the sky was a brilliant crystal blue, and it was a warm day with the temperatures in the low eighties.

It was shortly after one in the afternoon when Hutch reached the city limits of Bay City. During the drive home, he had found himself already making plans for his move back to Roseville. The truth was he was actually looking forward to it. It was time for a chance. He was leaving behind the big city life that he had grown accustomed to return to the small town life that he remembered so fondly from his childhood.

He drove directly to The Pits and parked in the alley out back. He knew that he should report to headquarters to let them know that he was back in town but he decided that could wait until tomorrow. After all, he would be turning in his resignation.

The Pits was crowded with the usual lunch crowd but Hutch spotted an empty stool at the end of the bar. He claimed the seat before someone else did and caught Huggy's eye as the tall, thin black man came out of the kitchen with a tray of food in his hands. He handed off the tray to one of his waitresses and immediately approached Hutch.

"Welcome back, Blondie. You're sure a sight for sore eyes." Huggy glanced around as if he were looking for someone else. "Curly didn't come with you?"

"He's where he belongs, Hug and that's where he's going to stay."

"So where does that leave you, my white brother?"

"I've been offered a job. The Sheriff there is retiring and he wants me to take his place."

"You? A small town sheriff?" Huggy said with a thin smile. "Mr. America? The White Knight?" He chuckled softly as he poured a beer and sat the mug down on the bar in front of Hutch.

"It's time for a change." Hutch said "I'm tired of chasing my tail and dancing in the sewers without anything to show for it except being another day older."

"So when are you leaving Dodge?"

"Not for a couple of months. I need to give the department notice, file for early retirement, find someone to sublet my apartment…"

"It's gonna take some getting used to…having you and Curly both gone." Huggy said with a hint of sadness coloring his voice.

"Hey, we won't be that far away. You can always come up for a visit. There's a great spot for fishing not far from Starsky and Hannah's place."

"Man, I can't believe that Curly's still alive. That boy has sure used up his share of his nine lives." Huggy smiled fondly. "How much does he remember?"

"Not much…and the fact is…he may never remember more than he does right now. But, you know, that's okay…I can live with that." Hutch said "As long as I have him back in my life…I really don't give a damn."

"Even if he never remembers, there's no way he'll ever forget what the two of you had. It was something special…and he doesn't have to remember his past to feel the connection he has with you."

"Thanks, Hug. I knew you'd understand."

"Hey, what's there to understand? You and Curly are a package deal…you belong together." Huggy smiled, the lines around his mouth and eyes deepening. "You've been given a second chance…so make the most of it."

"Oh, I intend to." Hutch said with a smile as he finished his drink. He stood up and left the bar. He had things to do so he could return to Roseville and get on with his life.

Chapter 19

Hutch hesitated and then finally picked up the receiver and punched in a familiar number. It had taken him over an hour to get the courage to make the call to New York to tell Rachel Starsky that her eldest son was still alive. He had already called the Dobey family and told them the good news and about his plans to move to Roseville. They were happy and excited to find out that Starsky was still alive, especially Rosie who was in her senior year of college. That call had been difficult but it hadn't unnerved him as much as the idea of calling Rachel did.

Rachel Starsky was a warm and loving woman who had always made Hutch feel as if he were a part of the family. She had accepted him unconditionally from the day they met just like her son had. They had both liked him for who he was, not how much money his family had, what college he had gone too, or how good he was at sports.

When Starsky was assumed dead, Rachel had faced his loss with the same grace and dignity that she had faced her husband's death with over thirty years before. Hutch had made her a promise, the promise that he would bring Starsky home to her someday. Now, he was finally able to fulfill that promise but in a way that he had never imagined possible.

Since Starsky's disappearance, Hutch had taken over the ritual that Starsky had started when he moved to Bay City as a rebellious teenager. Starsky's regular Friday night phone call to his mother. Rachel Starsky had taken the place of Hutch's own mother who was cold and distant at best. She had even insisted that Hutch call her Mom.

Rachel's warm voice came on the line, her distinctive New York accent heavier than that of her son whose speech was a curious blend of both the east and the west coast.

"Ken, darling!" she said when she recognized his voice. "It's so good to hear your voice. How did the special assignment you were on turn out"

To cover his absence from Bay City and to excuse himself from making the usual Friday night phone call, he had told Rachel that he would be out of town for a couple of weeks on a special assignment. He had hated lying to her but he couldn't tell her the truth, not until he knew for sure what he would find when he got to the mountain. Then when he found out that Starsky was still alive, he knew that he needed more time to decide exactly what to tell Rachel and when to tell her. He knew that he couldn't postpone telling her the truth any longer especially since he would soon be leaving Bay City permanently.

"Actually, that's why I'm calling. I wasn't really on a special assignment for the department…it was more personal than that." He took a deep breath to calm himself and then blurted out, "I found Starsky...David…he's still alive…"

He heard a gasp…then Rachel's joyous cry followed by her sobbing. It was several long minutes before she finally came back on the line.

"My David's alive?" she said in a disbelieving voice. "How? Where is he? Tell me! Tell me everything!"

"It's a long story." Hutch said choosing his words with care. "I got a letter that included directions on where to find his body. I never expected to find him alive but I did. He's been living in the Sierra Nevada Mountains just outside of Sacramento all this time…in a little cabin with a woman named Hannah."

"My David is married? Does he have any children? Do I have any grandbabies?"

"They have a little girl. Her name is Sarah but they call her Sassy," replied Hutch softly with a smile. "She is beautiful, Mom. Looks just like Starsky."

"A little girl…my David has a little girl." Rachel repeated in an awed tone. "How old is she?"

"Six."

There was a pause over the phone line then Hutch heard Rachel's trembling voice, "I don't understand, Ken…why didn't he call us? Why didn't he find a way to let us know that he was all right?"

"Because he couldn't, Mom. He has amnesia. The people that kidnapped him and left him for dead hurt him pretty badly. So badly that he doesn't remember anything about his past." Hutch explained. "Not even me…"

"I understand sweetheart…he doesn't remember me either does he?" Rachel said in a hurt voice as the reality of the situation became clear to her.

"I'm sorry…" Hutch said quietly wishing he could spare this gentle woman any more pain.

"I need to see him…"

"I know but he's not ready for that. He's gonna need some time." Hutch said "I have something else to tell you too. I'm leaving Bay City. I'm moving back to Roseville… that's where Starsky is. The sheriff there is retiring and I'm going to be taking over his job."

Hutch heard a long sigh over the phone while Rachel Starsky attempted to digest what she had been told. "That's good. At least my David will have you there to watch over him." Rachel said. Hutch could tell that she was trying hard to hold back her tears. He knew that she was as overwhelmed as he had been when he first discovered that Starsky was still alive.

"I promise, Rachel…I'll let you know just as soon as he's ready to see you…you just need to be patient a little bit longer."

"I've lived without him for the past eight and a half years…believing that he was dead…as long as I know that he's alive…then I can wait as long as I have to until he's ready to see me." Rachel said "You will call me when you get moved, won't you? With your new address and phone number?"

"Of course I will. And I'll still call you every Friday at the same time to let you know how things are going."

"Thank you, son. You're a good boy. My son has always been lucky to have you for a friend." Rachel said softly. "Will you tell David that I love him and that I thank God that he's still alive?"

"Of course I will, Mom," replied Hutch

There was a soft click as Rachel hung up.

Hutch gently replaced the receiver on the cradle. Rachel had handled the news better than Hutch had expected her too. There had been tears, tears of overwhelming joy and disbelief combined with the pain of finding out that her son didn't remember her or his life before he disappeared. But, there had still been hope in her voice that he hadn't heard in a long time…the everlasting hope that someday she would see her eldest son again before her time on earth was done.

Two weeks ago, Hutch had turned in his resignation to the police department and put through the paperwork that would entitle him to early retirement from the Bay City P.D.

He would miss the familiar halls of headquarters, the companionship of his colleagues, and even the streets of the city where he had spent a lifetime protecting and serving the innocent. But, a new life awaited him now, a life that included Starsky, Hannah and Sassy. At the end of the month, he would return to Roseville, sooner than he had expected and yet not nearly soon enough.

00000

Minnie Kaplin and Hutch's squad room of detectives had surprised him with a retirement party at The Pits on his last day of work. Huggy and Minnie had collected pictures taken during Hutch's twenty plus years on the force and had them blown up, then they had hung them on the walls for everyone to see. Almost every picture, except for the few that had been taken in recent years, had Starsky in them too…at Hutch's side the way he had always been.

As he looked around the room at the faces of his old friends, a line from an old gospel song came to mind…I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see…

That pretty much summed up how Hutch felt. He had been lost, lost without Starsky. But, now he had Starsky back in his life and his world finally felt right again.

Even the officers who had never met Starsky knew about the legendary team of Starsky and Hutch. They also knew that Starsky was a topic that was off limits except to a few of Hutch's oldest, closest friends. The news that Starsky was still alive had spread through headquarters like wildfire and tonight's celebration was as much of a celebration for Starsky as it was for Hutch.

Hutch looked up, smiling brightly, when Minnie Kaplin sat down beside him. She was one of Hutch's oldest and dearest friends on the force. She had also been close friends with Starsky. They had flirted with each other outrageously and bantered back and forth just as much as Starsky and Hutch did.

"When you see that partner of yours, you tell him that mother Minnie wants some pictures of his little girl." Minnie said "I bet she's just as cute as her daddy."

"She is." Hutch admitted "She's the spitting image of him."

"I can't believe that trashy boy has himself a little girl." Minnie chuckled, using her own pet name for Starsky. "I always pictured him with a whole passel of young'uns running around. I knew he'd be a great dad someday." She wiped away a tear that fell from her eye. "I'm just so happy that he got the chance to have a family."

"So am I, Minnie. So am I." Hutch said as he reached out and patted the back of her hand with a warm smile.

"He may not remember you right now…but he still needs you in his life…just like he always did." Minnie said "The two of you…I could never picture one without the other…"

With those words, Minnie stood up and mingled with the rest of the guests. Hutch spent the rest of the evening reminiscing with old friends, sharing old memories and looking forward to the following morning when he would be driving back to the mountain and his new life.

Chapter 20

TWO YEARS LATER

Hutch sat on the porch beside Starsky laughing as he watched Starsky's son, thirteen month old Kenny, taking his first faltering steps. Sassy was sitting beside Rachel, listening to her grandmother tell stories about the old country and the extended Starsky family back in New York. Starsky and Hannah still went by the surname of Dobbs, a fact that Rachel had learned to accept. This was her first visit to the mountain since Hutch had called her to tell her that her David was still alive.

At first, there had been letters between mother and son. Gradually, moving along to phone conversations at Hutch's home…usually on Friday nights just as he had done before he disappeared. Now she was here…could see and touch her eldest child and her heart was so filled with joy she thought it might burst. She had immediately fallen in love with the beauty of the land and with her precocious granddaughter and her new grandson. …and then there was Hannah. She could see how much her David loved her and more importantly how much she loved him back. As much as she would have liked to have David take a bigger part in her life, she could see now that Ken had been right. This is indeed where he belonged and was happy.

Starsky still remembered very little about his past before he came to the mountain. The only memories he cared about were the ones that included Hannah and Sassy. Even though he didn't actually remember Rachel as his mother, he still felt the same emotional connection with her that he felt with Hutch. He had yet to meet his brother Nick, who was serving time in jail back in New York.

Starsky and Hutch were now as close as they had ever been. Hutch still called him Starsk or Starsky, uncomfortable with calling him Dave and Starsky allowed it. He now knew who he was and where he came from. Nothing else mattered. He had the most important things in life right here on the mountain and he had Hutch there in the good times, such as the birth of his son or simple small talk…to helping him get through the bad times when his sleep was haunted with nightmares of shadowy events from his past that he couldn't remember.

Hutch had settled into his job as Sheriff quite nicely. Sassy spent a lot of time in his company, often staying overnight at his house, exposing her to the outside world. Hutch had fallen in love with her and he was proud to be known as her 'Uncle Ken' now instead of her friend, Mr. Ken. Hannah and Starsky made frequent trips down the mountain to visit him too…on Friday nights so Starsky could call his mother and at other times too… and Hutch did the same, loving the solitude of the little cabin nestled away in the woods. In the fall, Sassy would be starting to school in town. Dave would walk her partway down the mountain where Hutch would pick her up and take her to school, returning her to Starsky's care in the afternoons.

"The chicken's almost done." Hannah told her husband, brushing a kiss across his cheek as she rubbed her hand across her belly swollen heavy with another pregnancy. She hadn't told him yet that the old midwife who lived in the holler had told her that she was carrying twins this time. She looked over at Sassy and smiled, grateful that she had finally gotten to meet her grandmother. Family was something to be valued and protected, cherished above all else.

Two years ago, Hannah had been content with her life the way it was. Strangers and outsiders had been a threat because of the unseen danger that had lurked in her husband's forgotten past. But now that danger was gone and they could all move on with their lives.

Losing David to that past had always been her biggest fear but now she knew that she didn't have to worry about that. His love for her and his rapidly growing family was unwavering. Now, Hannah didn't understand why she had ever questioned it in the first place.

And Hutch, he had been a blessing in disguise. He had given her Dave back something that he had missing…a sense of peace, a peace with himself and with his past. And he had given Hannah the big brother that she had never had growing up. Their lives had changed so much in the past two years but it had all been for the best and the future was looking bright for all of them. Hannah knew that she had a lot to thank God for in her prayers. They all did.

THE END