Shadows

By M. Willow

Chapter Thirteen

Hutch was grateful for the next few days.   Nothing had happened—no nightmares, no shadows —an otherwise peaceful time settling his aunt’s affairs.  Starsky had even stopped trying to get him to talk.  Instead they enjoyed the easy banter and companionable silence that more than settled his nerves.  But Hutch knew he wasn’t out of the woods yet.  Sooner or later his partner would bring the subject of his captivity up and he would be forced to come up with answer to his question of what Kevin Anderson wanted him to do.  He had suffered a meltdown in front of the brunet, telling him an ugly part of his life, but keeping the ugliest part to himself.

Hutch felt dirty.  He’d lied to his best friend.  He’d lied by omission, but it was a lie just the same.  He looked at Starsky.  They were sitting in the library and the brunet was pretending to read a newspaper.  Every now and then Hutch would catch him taking a furtive glance in his direction.  He’d been doing that since his meltdown.  He was in mother-hen mode, ready to take action if Hutch even sneezed.  It warmed his heart to have someone care that much for him.  He didn’t deserve it.  His family had made him unworthy of a friend like Starsky.  

Hutch braced himself.  He would have to throw his partner out.  He couldn’t take the chance that Starsky would meet his parents.  He had a plan.  He would pretend to argue with the brunet and throw him out.  Once he got back to Bay City he would apologize and all would be well.  He hated doing it, but he was desperate.

The sudden sound of thunder made Hutch start. Another storm.  It seemed there was always a storm at Lamb House.  This one seemed pretty intense with lightening strikes that seemed dangerously close.  Hutch recalled seeing a whole tree toppled during a storm at Lamb House and shuddered.  Starsky looked up, his eyebrow raised.  Hutch nodded his head and returned his attention to a book he was half reading.  A moment later, Mrs. Clydestone entered accompanied by a man who introduced himself as Sheriff Don Mitchel.  He had two deputies who stationed themselves on each side of the door.

The sheriff sat down in one of the chairs without invitation and looked at Hutch like he could see right through him.  Mrs. Clydestone left the room.

Starsky perched on the arm of Hutch’s chair.

“So what brings you here, Sheriff?” Starsky asked, his tone edgy.  Hutch was puzzled.  Starsky seemed to know the man.

“I think your friend knows,” he said, his eyes traveling to Hutch.

“Know what?” Hutch asked.

“Ted Nelson was found dead in his store this morning.  He was stabbed.  The coroner said he died around midnight.  Where were you Mr. Hutchinson?”

Hutch recalled he had gone to bed early.  He had a headache.  His partner had remained downstairs in the library reading a book. Now it seemed he was a suspect.  Yes, he and Ted fought, but that was no reason to kill a man.  It was circumstantial at best, but the sheriff had a look in his eyes that said it wasn’t.

“Where were you last night Mr. Hutchinson?” the sheriff asked again.

“I was in my room asleep.”

“Alone?” he asked, eyeing Starsky.  Hutch didn’t miss the disapproving look.   He bristled.  It was one thing to listen to the baseless rumors circulating around Parker Center about his unusual relationship with Starsky; it was another to see it on the sheriff’s face.  The man was taking something innocent and twisting it into something else.

 “Yes, I was alone.  I prefer it when I’m tired.” He said tightly.

The sheriff grunted, centering his large bulk in the chair, glancing at his two deputies who hovered nearby. 

Hutch felt Starsky’s hand on his shoulder.  It was more than comforting.

“I don’t see what this has to do with Hutch.” Starsky said.  “Like he said, he was asleep.  He didn’t go nowhere.”

“And how would you know?” the sheriff challenged.  “What, this house has something like seventy rooms.  Could build a football stadium in here.  Now, unless you can tell me you were in the same room, you’re no alibi at all.”

“Well, I can’t tell you that.  What I can tell you is that detective Hutchinson didn’t leave this house.”

The sheriff didn’t acknowledge the title.  He sat back, a ‘cat-that-swallowed-the-canary’, look on his face.  “I heard the deceased and you were seen fighting recently.”

“Yes, there was a misunderstanding, but no way would I kill a man over that.”

“Not even if he was telling the truth?” The sheriff locked eyes with Starsky.  “Not even if you were hiding something?”

Hutch started.  Whatever the sheriff was talking about, Starsky seemed to be in on it.  It looked like he wasn’t the only one with a secret.  The sheriff shifted his gaze to him again.

“Winefry Grant happened to be in the store when…”

Hutch stood abruptly causing the deputies to reach for their guns.  Starsky stood and moved protectively in front of Hutch.  The sheriff made a signal and the deputies relaxed.

“I don’t know who killed Ted.  I barely remembered him.  Why would I possibly want to kill him?”

“To cover up Sandra Nelson’s murder.  That’s why.  You see, Ted left a note.”

The sheriff reached into his pocket and retrieved a slip of paper, handing it to Hutch.  Hutch took the note with trembling hands.  Starsky looked over his shoulder as he read.

If anyone receives this note, it means I’ve been murdered.  Look only to Ken Hutchinson:  the man who killed my sister.

“Of course that’s a copy,” the sheriff said, grabbing the note from Hutch and grinning.  “You see, I believe you killed Ted Nelson because you knew he was on to you.  Good thing he left this note.  I’m sure we’re going to find the evidence to link you to Sandra Nelson too, but right now you’re under arrest for the murder of Ted Nelson.”

His partner glared angrily as the sheriff started to read him his rights.

“That’s detective Hutchinson to you.  Now we know our rights.  What you’ve got here is circumstantial by a man you yourself admitted was delusional.  I would suggest you take your two goons and get outta here before I throw you out.” 

Hutch grabbed his partner’s arm.  He needed to calm the brunet before things got out of hand.  “Starsk let me handle this.  I’m sure we can get things straight.” 

Starsky stared at him, his blue eyes searching.  Silently they communicated their intentions of getting to the bottom of this, but they couldn’t do it if Hutch was behind bars.  He sensed a frame.  He just couldn’t figure out why.  They had to get away, but how?

He turned to the sheriff.  “A note from a demented man is not enough to accuse me of murder.”

The sheriff smiled, his eyes saying that he was holding the trump card.

“That’s all we need.  Plus we got the weapon that killed Ted.  I’m sure we’ll find your fingerprints.”

Hutch knew they needed to move now.  He eyed the fireplace with its hidden room.  So close, but no way to get to it.  And then the unexpected happened.  The lights went out.

Starsky felt a momentary stab of panic when the room suddenly went dark.  He couldn’t see the hand in front of his face, but he could feel his friend’s presence. 

He heard the sheriff’s men.  They were panicking.  And men with guns panicking was a dangerous situation.  He could hear the sheriff shout orders and the fear in the deputies’ voices.  Then these voices became muffled as Starsky was pulled into the hidden room.

“We’ve got to get out of here, Starsk.  I’ve been framed and I think this goes deeper than we can imagine.”

“Okay, okay, but how do we get out of here? Starsky whispered.  He had explored the hidden passages and didn’t see anything that could lead them away from the sheriff.  He knew Hutch could only recall a few rooms, none of which led to anything but other rooms.  They needed a way out of the house.  The front door was out of the question since he suspected the sheriff’s men were posted there. 

He felt his partner move away.  Seconds passed when panic started to surge in his body, and then he felt the blond pushing him in another direction.  Soon, he was being ushered down what felt like a long hall.  He couldn’t see a thing.

“Where are we Hutch?”

“Some passages I suddenly remembered.  Come on, this one goes outside.  We’ll come out in the back near the garages.  We can get to our car before the sheriff figures out we’re not in the house.”

Starsky followed the quickly moving blond.  He still couldn’t see much, but he could hear his partner walking ahead of him.  The sheriff was trying to frame Hutch.  Starsky didn’t doubt the man would have come up with some reason to get them alone on the way to the station and execute them, claiming they had tried to escape.  But why would the sheriff kill Ted Nelson, he wondered?  Why would he try to pen a twenty year old murder on his partner?  He found it hard to believe Hutch’s father was involved in framing his own son, yet Candy had told him the sheriff called a Mr. Hutchinson as soon as he left his office.  It sure as hell wasn’t Hutch.   It could easily be some other relative, but Starsky wasn’t buying it.  No, the Mr. Hutchinson had to be Richard Hutchinson, Hutch’s father.  

The hidden passage suddenly opened and they were outside.  They quickly ran to the car.  The keys were still in the ignition so they took off.  They had no money, no time, just one destination and the thought that scared Starsky to the center of his being— Hutch was going home.

TBC