This story is dedicated to Marlene 
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                                                                        Full Circle 
                                                                           Written By
                                                                              Tooki
                                                                          Edited by
                                                                           Tonya
                                                                            2021

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                                                                       Chapter One
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  She was kneeling, digging weeds from between her hosta’s. Her dark long hair pulled back in a ponytail, beads of sweat were forming on her forehead. She wiped a hand across her head leaving a streak of dirt. She had a feeling someone was standing behind her, smiling she said, “Jack you are home early.”
  When she got no answer she looked around, first thing she saw was a pair of blue tennis shoes with white stripes, she knew instantly who the shoes belonged to. She got to her feet quickly and stared into very familiar blue eyes. It had been four years since she had seen Detective David Starsky, he hadn't changed at all except for maybe a few grays in his dark curly hair.
  “Hi,” Starsky said softly, he wasn’t sure what reaction he was going to get from Susan.
  “What are you doing here?” Susan wanted to know, wiping her hands on her shorts. Her heartbeat had sped up when she saw him. She wanted to ask about her ex Ken Hutchinson, but she didn’t dare, it had taken Susan a long time to stop thinking of her partners daily and what they all had lost.
   Things fell apart for Susan and Hutch four years ago when their 8 year old daughter had been kidnapped and killed. She had to leave Bay city, leave her husband, leave her best friend Starsky and the job they all three loved. Susan just couldn’t do it anymore. She felt that it was her fault that their daughter had been murdered. A fiery car explosion had ended the life of the kidnapper and their daughter
  They tried to make it work but it was just too painful. First Susan quit the department, thinking perhaps that would help, but it only left her to sit at home and think about what she had lost and worry about her husband and partner. Finally the only answer was to leave, she had packed up her car and left, the divorce had been final a year later and she had found a new life for herself far away from Bay City and the pain it held for her. During that first year she kept in touch with Hutch and Starsky but slowly the phone calls stopped and they all went on with their own lives.
  Susan had settled in a small town in the midwest. Not wanting to do police work again she found a job as a receptionist in a small law office which is where she met her fiance, Jack Carter, a lawyer for the firm. They had been dating for a year when he had asked her to marry him, she reluctantly said yes but was in no hurry to marry. A year ago they had bought a house but she still put off getting married, her heart just wasn’t in it but Jack seemed content with the status quo and never pushed her. He knew something had happened in her past but Susan never talked about it. And he never asked.
  Now she was standing in her backyard looking at her former partner and best friend. Again she asked, “What are you doing here?”
  “Nice to see you too,” Starsky growled, wishing he hadn’t come. He had been hesitant and almost turned around right before he boarded the plane but he needed help, he needed her.
  Susan sighed and gave him a small smile, “Sorry, you just surprised me,” she said, “How are you doing Stark?” She stepped forward and pulled him into her arms. They clung to each other for several minutes before releasing their embrace.
  “You look good,” Starsky said, “Life seems to be agreeing with you.”
  Susan just shrugged, she had been managing very well until this moment, now all the feelings good and bad came flooding back. A part of her was missing, she never stopped loving Hutch, she missed being a cop, and missed her best friend. For a third time she asked, “What are you doing here?”
  “It’s Hutch,” Starsky answered, deciding he just needed to get to the point.
  Susan sucked in her breath, “What’s wrong?” she asked.
  “He is missing,” Starsky said, diving right in, “I need you to come back with me.”
  Susan’s face went pale, “I can’t do that.”
  “But it’s Hutch,” Starsky said, his eyes pleading with her.
  “You don’t understand, my fiance doesn’t know anything about my past. He doesn’t even know I used to be a cop.” Susan answered, looking at the ground. She felt ashamed that she never shared most of her life with the man she was engaged to.
  “Fiance?” Surprise registering on Starsky’s face.
  “Yes, we live here together,” Susan said, “And he will be home soon so you need to go.”
  “Go?” Starsky said, his voice rising, “Did you hear what I said? Hutch is missing.”
  “So who do we have here,” A tall man wearing a suit, carrying a briefcase strolled into the backyard. “And who is missing?”
  “Just an old friend,” Susan answered, hoping she sounded calm.
  “Nice to meet you, I’m Jack,” he said as he extended his hand to Starsky. “Who is missing and what does Susan have to do with it?”
  “I’m David Starsky,” the detective answered, shaking hands but didn’t answer the man’s question. It wasn’t his place.
  “Let me change out of this suit,” Jack said, loosening his tie. “How about a beer David?”
 Starsky started to say he didn’t have time but reconsidered, thinking this might be his way of getting Susan to return with him. “Sure, but I can’t stay long.”
  Jack disappeared into the house, Susan glared at her former partner, “What are you trying to do?”
  “I’m trying to get you to help me. How can you turn your back on Hutch...again.”
  “I never turned my back on Hutch or you for that matter. I left for my own sanity.”
 Before Starsky could respond Jack was back, three beers in his hands. “You should stay for dinner, you two can catch up and I can get the scoop on my girl here.”
  “I’m sorry,” Starsky said, accepting the beer that was held out to him, “But I have to get back to the airport.”
  Jack hiked his eyebrows, the tension between Susan and David could be cut with a knife. “Where are you heading?”
  “Back to California, I was hoping Susan would come with me.” Starsky knew he was probably outing her and Jack would have a lot of questions.
  “Stark!” Susan hissed at her former partner. Her eyes moved to Jack trying to read the expression on his face.
  Jack offered Susan a beer but she shook her head, he tilted one back and drank about half of it. “I think you need to tell me what is going on. Why don’t we go inside?”
  Susan glared at Starsky again, “Jack, he doesn’t have time for all this, why don’t we let Starsky get back to the airport and….”
  Jack’s eyes narrowed, “I am a patient man, I have never pressed you about your past but it seems that your past is standing in our backyard. David seems to be more than just a friend.”
  “It’s not what you think,” Susan said.
  “I don’t know what I think,” Jack said looking at both of them, it was clear they knew each other very well. He couldn’t miss the looks between the two of them, her’s clearly angry and his almost pleading. “In the house,” he commanded, which was very out of character for Jack. He was a kind, usually a soft spoken man unless he was in court. He was now using his court demeanor. He emptied the rest of the beer and started in on the second bottle as he held open the back door, “Shall we?”
  Susan went in, followed by Starsky, she led the way to the living room. Starsky sat in one of the two chairs in the room, Susan took the other and Jack sat in the middle of the couch, he sat the beer bottles on the coffee table and looked at them.
  Susan sighed, “This is Detective Dave Starsky, he was my partner at the Bay City Police Department in California.” She looked at her hands, twisting the engagement ring on her finger, wondering if Jack was going to want it back, not that she really cared. She had been lying to herself that she would actually marry again.
  “You are a cop?” Jack cocked his head as he looked at her.
  “I was a cop, a detective,” Susan clarified, “Starsky is here because our partner, my former partner Ken Hutchinson is missing.”
  “I see,” Jack was waiting for the rest of it, he could tell there was more, much more. Starsky started to say something but Jack held up his hand, “I want to hear it from her.”
  Susan looked at Starsky, she was no longer angry, just sad. “Hutch wasn’t just my partner, he was also my husband. We had an eight year old daughter that was kidnapped and murdered, our marriage didn’t survive.”
  Sadness crossed Jack’s face, “I’m sorry, why didn’t you tell me all this?”
  Susan shook her head, “I just wanted to leave it all behind, I didn’t want to see that look on your face. I needed a clean slate.”
  “So your partner is missing, how can Susan help?” Jack asked, looking at Starsky.
  Starsky pulled a note from his pocket and held it out to Susan, “I found this at the house . He didn’t show up for work, when I went to his place. The door was unlocked and I found this note on the floor. I don’t know if Hutch dropped it or the person who took him left it for me to find.”
  Susan took the note and scanned it quickly, then handed it back to Starsky, “I’m sorry I can’t.”
  Jack held out his hand, Starsky passed the man the note which read, You can’t have it all! Come find us! “US?” Jack asked, “What does that mean?”
  “If I knew that I might have found Hutch by now,” Starsky said, taking the note back.
  Susan shook her head, the dread flooding her body. First Jesse, now Hutch, she couldn’t go through that again. Again she said, “I’m sorry, I just can’t. I don’t think I will survive this time.”
    “You’re going to let this mad man kill our partner?” Starsky was incredulous. He jumped to his feet as he pulled a plane ticket out of his pocket and slapped it down on the coffee table, “If you change your mind. Hutch’s life hangs in the balance. The flight leaves in three hours.”
      Before she could respond, he was gone. Susan dissolved into tears, Jack kneeled in front of the woman he loved, “You have got to go, this will haunt you the rest of your life if you don’t.”
    Susan shook her head no, “What if we are too late again? What if we find Hutch dead? I can’t live through that again.”
   “Can you live with doing nothing and him dying?” Jack asked.
  Susan looked into Jack’s eyes, “How can you be so understanding about all this?”
  “I have always known there were things that you weren’t telling me. I never dreamed it was something like this.” Jack took her hands, “I thought maybe a bad relationship but you were a police detective?”
  She nodded, “With lots of enemies, and our daughter paid for it with her life.”
  “Can you tell me what happened?” Jack asked knowing it would be painful for her.
   Susan squeezed her eyes closed and she clutched his hands as if she were drowning. She was suddenly transported back to the horrible day when they got a radio call requesting them to call home. Mrs. Gray was beside herself, Jesse hadn’t come home from a friend's house, it was only three doors down and Jesse was a very prompt child. The housekeeper had called the friend’s house but was told that Jesse had left already. She had waited only a few minutes before calling the detectives, thinking perhaps even though unlike her, she had gotten side tracked, maybe a kitten had distracted her, a squirrel, something, anything. Mrs. Gray had checked the backyard and walked up and down the street calling the little girl's name.
  “Susan, Susan,” Jack lightly shook her.
  Susan snapped back to reality, “I can’t go back, I just can’t.”
  Jack stood up pulling Susan up with him, he hugged her tightly, “Go,” he whispered in her hair.
  Starsky sat waiting for his flight, an uneaten candy bar sat on his leg. He couldn’t believe she wouldn’t come with him. He was picking up a one sided vibe between Susan and Jack, he was in love with her it was clear but her feelings for the man were not the same. The three detectives had been together so long that they pretty much knew what the others were thinking and the four year break in the friendship with Susan hadn’t changed; he could read her like a book. Well almost, the woman he had known would have dropped everything and come with him.
  He was so lost in thought that he didn’t feel the hand on his shoulder. It wasn’t until she sat down next to him that he realized he wasn’t going to have to find Hutch on his own. Susan put her hand on top of his, Starsky took her hand and squeezed it, “I knew you would come.” He actually wasn’t sure, but deep in his heart he knew that she wouldn’t desert Hutch or him. Starsky looked around, “Is Jack coming with you?”
  Susan shook her head, “I asked him but he said it was something I needed to do and he would only be in the way.”
  Starsky nodded, glad that he hadn’t come, it had been extremely awkward at their house. He pulled out the note again and handed it to her.
  After studying it for a few minutes, as if she was willing the note to tell her more, “What else do you know?” Susan asked, falling back into cop mode too easily.
   He shrugged, “There are several officers going over our old cases, it has to be over four years ago and apparently the author of the note didn’t seem to know that you were no longer with the force.”
  “And you found this at Hutch’s place?”
  “At your place too,” Susan cocked her head looking at her former partner, “Hutch is still at the house?”
  “He’s rattling around in that big house by himself?” Susan looked sad.
  “He couldn’t sell it,” Starsky answered, “Hutch said it was all he had left. He hasn’t changed anything, it’s as if you and Jess…” He stopped talking as Susan's face had gone pale at the mention of their daughter's name. “I’m sorry honey,” He put an arm around her shoulder.
  Taking a deep, unsteady breath she said, “I don’t know if I can do this.” She squeezed her eyes tightly shut to keep the tears from spilling down her face. Thankfully their flight was called before Susan could change her mind, she grabbed her small carry on and followed Starsky to the gate.

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                                                                   Chapter Two

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  Detective Hutchinson was bound to a chair in a small apartment, he was staring at the man sitting across from him racking his brain trying to remember the face. The man was no more than 30, good looking, short cropped hair, green eyes, he leaned close to Hutch and smiled. It wasn’t an evil smile, it was almost friendly, “So,” the man said, “I guess you are wondering why I have you tied to a chair.”
  Hutch had just arrived home from work, he hadn’t yet closed the front door when the man barged in pointing a gun at the detective and ordered him back outside to a car parked in the driveway. He hadn’t seen the man drop a piece of paper on the floor as they were leaving. A hood was slipped over his head and his hands tied behind him, he was then shoved into the back seat of the waiting car. “What do you want?” Hutch asked the man.
  “You don’t know who I am do you?”
  Hutch shook his head, “Should I?”
  “You let my wife die,” the man’s eyes went sad, “And my unborn child.”
  A light went on behind Hutch’s eyes, he did remember the young woman. She had been on the roof of an apartment building, standing on the edge, ready to jump when Hutch had reached the roof. He had been alone, his partners were still at the office when a call came in about a woman on a roof. He was only a few blocks away and went to see if he could help.
 When Hutch had arrived on the roof a young, very pregnant woman was standing on the ledge ready to step off when he softly called to her. The young woman flinched and nearly fell, she looked around to see a blond headed man walking slowly toward her. “I’m Detective Hutchinson, you can call me Hutch. What’s your name?”
  “It doesn’t matter,” she said in a choked voice.
  “It does matter,” Hutch said softly. “When are you due?”
  Wrong question to ask. She turned around and her foot slid a bit, she cried out, it was clear she didn’t really want to jump. “Go away!”
  “I can’t do that honey, let me help you,” Hutch inched closer.
  She turned her head to look at him again. “I cheated on my husband, this isn’t his baby and I can’t live with that. I was lonely because he was away serving his last year in the service. If I had only waited. It was only that one time.”
  “How long has he been back?” Hutch asked.
  The question surprised her, “Only a month and he comes home to this, he knows this isn’t his child.”
  “Is he leaving you?”
  Tears coursed down her face as she shook her head no, “He doesn’t care, he says he loves us both and understands.”
  “Then why are you up here ending your life and the life of your baby?” Hutch wanted to know, “He sounds like a great guy.”
  She nodded, “And he doesn’t deserve to be cheated on and to raise another man’s baby.”
  “JENNIFER!” A voice called from the ground in front of the building.
  She turned to see her husband looking up at her, she turned and looked at Hutch, “I can’t live with this.”
  Hutch was within inches of grabbing her arm, “Jennifer,” Hutch coxed, “Come on down please.”
  Jennifer started to shake her head but she looked down at her huge stomach, she put her arms around her unborn child, “I can’t kill you,” she whispered, but as she stretched out her hand to grab Hutch’s outstretched arm her foot slipped.
  Hutch lunged forward trying to grab her hand but only came up with air as she toppled over the edge and hit the ground. The cry from the man sounded almost animal-like as he stared up into the detective's face then embraced his dead wife and unborn baby.
   “I tried to get to her, she slipped. She had changed her mind, she was reaching out,” Hutch said, he had felt so badly that he didn’t get to her in time.
  “Jen was my whole life,” the man said, “I’m sure you know how I feel, you lost your little girl just like I lost mine. The baby was a girl.”
   “I’m sorry,” Hutch began, but there was something in the man's eyes and how he said he knew about Jesse. “Wait, how do you know about her?”
  He didn't play the ‘I saw it in the newspaper bit’, the man simply said, “Because I took her.”
  Hutch’s eyes went wide and he struggled against the bindings on his wrists. “What the hell are you talking about? The man that took our daughter is dead along with her. I saw the car blow up.”
  “Yes, the car did blow up but Jesse and I weren’t in it. I rigged the whole thing so you wouldn’t keep looking.” The man waited for the detective's reaction.
   It felt as if all the air rushed out of Hutch’s lungs at once, it took him several minutes to process what the man had just revealed, “Jess is alive?”
  “She is,” the man pulled out a photo of a girl and held it out for Hutch to see.
  The girl in the photo was older but it was Jesse. Despite himself a tear ran down Hutch’s cheek. “Wh…where is she?”
   “Close.” The man smiled and slipped the photo back into his jacket.
  “You son of a bitch,” Hutch snarled at his captor. “What the hell do you want? Why have you come back after 4 years? You got away Scott free.”
   “I’m doing it for Jess, she misses you and her mother very much. She is a delight and happy enough with me but her life isn’t complete.” He said softly. “I want you to know I cared for her as if she were my own. She never wanted for anything.”
  Hutch just stared at the man, not sure if he believed him, “You destroyed my life.”
   “Like you destroyed mine?”
  The detective's temper flared, “I did nothing to you. It was a tragic accident! I did not put your wife on that roof, I was trying to save her. I had talked her into getting down when her foot slipped.”
  The man's head dropped and it was his turn for tears, “ I loved her so much, I wanted that child more than anything,” Then in a low whisper he added, “Even if the baby wasn’t mine.”
  “Look man, I want my daughter back.” Hutch looked him directly in the eyes. “What do I need to do to get her?” Hutch knew the man had to have some kind of angle or he would have just let Jesse go.
  “An eye for an eye,” the man answered. “I want your partner dead.”
  The detective’s eyes narrowed, “You aren’t killing the mother of my child!”
  “I wouldn’t do that to Jess.” He said, “Detective Starsky has to die before you get your daughter back. And I’m not killing anyone... you are.” Hutch just stared stunned at the man. “His life for your daughter.”
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                                                                     ​Chapter Three

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  Starsky and Susan made their way out of the terminal toward the parking garage where the detective had left his car. She smiled when she saw the red car with the white stripe, some things never changed. Starsky tossed their bags in the back and they both jumped in the front, “You want me to slap on the red light for old times?” Starsky asked, winking at Susan.
  She laughed for the first time since he had shown up in her yard. “I’m good.” But it did sound good. Susan hadn’t realized how much she missed her old life.
  “Let’s get you settled then we can head to the station,” Starsky said as he put the car in drive and roared off.
  Susan rolled down the window and let the California air blow through her long hair, she stretched her arms over her head and smiled, she was home. Thoughts of Hutch filled her head, they had been so happy until Jess had been taken then their world crashed down around them and nothing was the same again.
  She furrowed her brow thinking about her missing ex, she turned to Starsky, “Where do we start?”
  “I’m hoping when we get to the office someone will have some information for us.”
   “The note is not much to go on.”
   “We have had less and always found a way.” Starsky said giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
   Thirty minutes later he pulled up in front of the house that Susan had shared with Hutch, Jesse and their nanny/housekeeper Mrs.Gray. “What are we doing here?”
  “I thought you might want to …” Starsky began, but just looking at her face he knew he had made a mistake. “I can take you to my place or even a hotel.”
  Susan took a deep breath as she got out of the car, the grass was mowed but her flower beds she had so lovingly taken care of were void of flowers and full of weeds, the bushes needed trimming and the paint around the windows was peeling. Slowly she walked up the sidewalk, she could feel Jesse bouncing in front of her and Hutch next to her.
  She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, “I shouldn’t have brought you here, I wasn’t thinking,” he said softly.
  “No it’s okay,” tears swam in her eyes. Starsky pulled her into his arms holding her tightly, tears pricked his eyes. They stood that way for a long while, then sniffing her tears back, “Let’s find Hutch!”
  Hutch, hooded and hands still bound, was put back into a car, his captor was at the wheel, “Where are we going?” Asked Hutch.
  “Your home.”
  “You’re just letting me go?”
  “Detective Hutchinson you have a job to do.” The man turned around and winked at Hutch. “You have one week to kill Detective Starsky or you will never see your daughter.”
  What the man was requesting still hadn’t sunk in, how was he going to choose between his partner and best friend and his daughter. It was an impossible ask. The only answer was to find the man and Jesse before a week was up.
  At least this time he had more to go on. Even though he didn’t know the man's name, Hutch could find it. He felt the car stop, the back door open, the hood pulled from his head.
   “Get out!”
   Hutch struggled to get out which was difficult with his hands tied behind his back. Finally a hand reached in and pulled the detective out, Hutch landed unceremoniously in the grass in the parking area in front of his house. “Cut me loose.”
  The man nodded, pulling a small knife from his pocket, “Keep in mind, if you try anything, I am the only one who knows where your daughter is. If something happens to me she dies. A week from today your partner better be dead!”
  Hutch lay still as the man cut the rope, he didn’t get up until the car turned the corner. He was hoping to get a plate number but there was no license plate.
  Once the car disappeared Hutch jumped up pulling his keys from his pocket, letting himself into the house he grabbed the phone to call the station.
  The phone on Captain Dobey’s desk rang, he snagged the receiver, “Dobey.”
  “Cap it’s Hutch, is Starsky there?”
  “He is looking for you,” Dobey said, he knew that Starsky had flown to bring Susan back but he kept that fact to himself. He hadn’t heard from his detective so he didn’t know if Starsky had been successful. “Are you alright?”
  “Yes, I’ll explain when I get there.”
   Starsky pulled the Torino into the parking lot at BCPD. Susan hesitated getting out of the car, she was no longer a detective, it was odd being there again but yet felt so right. They made their way to the squad room, everything was the same. Starsky’s desk was a mess, papers stacked haphazardly, a crumbled bag from a donut run. On the other hand, Hutch's desk was spotless. Susan pulled out Hutch’s chair and sat down. She ran her hand over the typewriter that so many reports had been written on.
  “I’ll let Cap know we are back.”
  “Susan?” Hutch had just missed Starsky and his ex wife at home, if his head hadn’t been covered he would have seen his partner's car. He had only arrived at the station minutes behind them.
  She looked up from the typewriter and saw the man she had loved for so long standing in the door. Starsky was the first to react, making it to his partner's side and engulfing him in a bear hug. “Are you okay?”
  “I’m fine,” Hutch said, not taking his eyes from Susan. It had been so long since he had seen her or even talked to her. He wasn’t even sure she was real until she walked to him and put her arms around him. “It’s really you.” His arms went around her, he held on burying his face in her hair.
  “It’s really me,” she smiled, hugging him back tightly. “It’s good to see you.”
  “I don’t want to interrupt but would you mind telling us what the hell is going on? Were you even kidnapped?”
 Hutch turned loose of Susan, “Yes but how did you know?”
 Starsky pulled the note from his pocket and handed it to his partner. Hutch read the note, “What does it mean by us?” Starsky asked.
  “Dobey needs to hear this too,” Hutch said, grasping Susan’s hand pulling her along to Dobey’s office, he opened the door without knocking.
  Dobey started to yell at the interloper until he saw who it was. “Hutchinson, good to have you back.” Then he caught sight of Susan, he rounded his desk and gave her a big hug, “Good to have you back too!”
  “I’m not back, at least not long term,” Susan said, “In fact, I will head back now that Hutch is safe.”
  Hutch looked wounded and he took her hand again, “You are going to want to hear this.” Hutch took a deep breath, “Remember the pregnant woman that fell from the roof?”
  “Who could forget that,” Starsky said, taking a seat. “That bothered you for a long time.”
  “Her husband took me, we need to find out everything about him” Hutch gripped Susan’s hand tighter, “He took Jesse too.”
  Susan’s eyes widened, “But the man that took Jess is dead, I saw them…” she stopped, unable to finish.
  Hutch turned to Susan and put his hands on the sides of her face forcing her to look into his blue eyes, “Susan our daughter is not dead she is a beautiful twelve year old.”
  Susan jerked away from him, “I saw the car blow, nobody could have lived through that.”
  “They weren’t in the car. Jess is alive. I saw a picture, it’s her, no doubt in my mind. Our little girl is alive.” Hutch said, tears standing in his eyes.
  Starsky jumped to his feet, “Where is she?”
  “He still has her,” Hutch said, “We have a week to find her or they both will disappear.”
  Dobey was on the phone getting officers to work on finding the case file so they would know who they were dealing with.
  “What are you leaving out Hutch? This whole thing doesn’t make a lot of sense. This nut job takes you then let’s you go and gives you a week to play this crazy hide ‘n’ seek game? There is more, what is it?” Starsky demanded.
  Just as Starsky knew, Susan also knew Hutch was holding something back, “What else?” She had her hands on her hips and her eyes were flashing. “What if we can’t find her in a week then what? He kills her after 4 years?”
  “He won’t kill her, they will just disappear.”
  “This is crazy!” Starsky stormed.
  Dobey was studying his blond detective, then turned his attention to Starsky, “Why don’t you go down to records, that might hurry them along.”
  Starsky started to protest but instead stormed off slamming the door behind him, “Fine!” He said from the other side of the door.
  “Now spill,” Susan confronted her ex.
  Hutch sighed, they all knew each other too well, he sat down pulling Susan down in the chair next to him, “He wants me to kill Starsky then he will give Jesse to us.”
  “What?” Susan said horrified.
  “That is why I said we have a week to find them,” Hutch said, “Starsky would give his life to save Jess and you know it.”
   Dobey ran his hand over his face, “Holy shit,” he muttered under his breath.
  “All this because his wife jumped off a roof?” Susan shook her head in disbelief. It hadn’t totally registered with her that her daughter was alive, she couldn’t let herself believe it.
  “He blames me, I didn’t save her. I tried but I just couldn’t get to her in time.”
  Susan put her hand on his shoulder, “It wasn’t your fault babe.”

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                                                                     Chapter Four

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   Starsky burst into Dobey’s office, “I got it!” He held a file which he handed to Hutch, “His name is Jim Wilson. There is an address but I’m sure it’s not good, he wouldn’t have kept Jess in the city.”
  Hutch took the file and stared at his own signature at the bottom of the first page. He had written the report. There wasn’t much to it, there wasn’t much to say. The next page was the statement from Jim Wilson written by another office that was on the scene. There were a few other pages but nothing to help them. “He was in the service. Maybe we can track down his record and that might give us some clues.”
  Dobey pulled open a desk drawer and took out Susan’s old badge and tossed it on his desk, “You might need that, this too,” he held out her service revolver, “You still remember how to use that?”
  Susan took her badge and gun, “I do, I went to the shooting range a few times a month. Habit I guess.” She smiled at Dobey, “Can you do this?”
  Dobey shrugged, “I just did, now go find your daughter.”
  They were all exhausted both physically and emotionally but there was no time to waste. Starsky set to work finding out what branch of the service Jim Wilson had served in. Hutch and Susan went to the man’s last known address.
  Hutch hadn’t given much thought about the address until he pulled up in front of the apartment building. It was the building Jennifer had fallen from. He could almost see her broken body laying in the street. “Hutch, are you okay?”
  He nodded getting out of the car and looking up to the roof, “This is where it happened. She slipped, if I had just been quicker I could have saved Jennifer and we would still be a happy family.”
  “None of this is your fault! Wilson took our daughter.” Susan took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she thought back to that night. The lead they had gotten that night now Susan realized was a set up. Wilson had wanted them there to witness the car exploding. She had clearly seen someone behind the wheel, so if it wasn’t Wilson and their daughter who was it? The explosion and fire that ensued didn’t leave much behind.
  “I know this is a waste of time, but let’s check it out,” Hutch pulled open the door to the apartment building. “Third floor, 312.”
  They climbed the stairs and walked down the hall until they found the correct door, Hutch rapped on the door. After a few minutes he knocked again. Susan leaned close to the door but couldn't detect any movement from inside. “Let’s go, this was just a shot in the dark.”
  As they turned to go, a door across the hall opened a gray head poked out. “Nobody is there.” The door opened a little wider and a short old woman holding a cat peered out.
  “Do you know who lives there?” Susan asked.
  The old woman’s eyes narrowed as she looked the pair up and down. “Who wants to know?”
  Hutch flashed a smile at her and pulled out his badge, “Detectives Hutchinson and Carlston. We just need to know who lives in 312.”
  Smoothing her rumpled hair, she put on her best smile, “I haven’t seen anybody come in and out of there in several years sweetie. You might want to talk to the super, he’s on the first floor.”
  “Thank you ma’am,” Hutch favored her with one last smile.
  Walking down the stairs Susan poked Hutch in the side, “She was flirting with you.”
  Hutch snorted, “Whatever works.”
  This time it was Susan who knocked on the door with a haphazardly placed sign that said manager. The door immediately jerked open, “What?”
  It felt strange but Susan held up her badge, “Who lives in apartment 312?”
  “Nobody,” the man said, he was a tall thin man with a mop of brown hair. “Is there anything else? I’m late for an appointment.”
  “How long has it been empty?” Hutch asked.
  “It’s not empty, just nobody is living there.”
  “Listen bud,” Hutch stepped forward forcing the man back into his apartment, “we don’t have time to play games. Explain!”
   “Names Fred,” Hutch glared at the man who held up his hands, “Okay, okay! I don’t know much. I have only been here two years but the old manager said that payment for that apartment comes on the first of each month.”
  “How long has this been going?” Susan wanted to know.
  Fred shrugged, “Four years maybe. Not really sure, like I said…”
  Hutch interrupted, “You have been here two years. Whose name is the apartment in?”
   He held up one finger and went to a file cabinet, he pulled out a folder and handed it to the detective, “It’s all in there.”
  Hutch flipped open the file, “Holy shit!” He exclaimed as he scanned the form.
  “Whose apartment is it?” Susan asked.
  “Jennifer Wilson,” Hutch stared at the name. “Where are the payments coming from?”
  “It’s a money order,” Fred answered, “Wait a second, I haven’t cashed this month’s money order yet.” He unzipped a small brown bag that he kept the rent checks in. “Here you go.”
  It had Jennifer’s name as the purchaser but it was the address that Hutch was interested in. “The address is a P.O. Box in Big Bear.”
  “They never left the state?” Susan was incredulous.
  “We need to see the apartment,” Hutch said.
  Fred sighed, “Sure, then can I go. I really do have an appointment and I’m late now.”
  “Sure,” Hutch handed the man a card, tapping on it he said,” if anyone goes in that apartment, call us.”
  “No problem,” Fred tucked the card in his pocket, grabbed the master key and led the detectives up the stairs. Once he opened the door he took off.
  Hutch pushed the door the rest of the way open with his foot. They drew their guns but there was no need. It was clear no one was there and hadn’t been in a long time. It was dim, dusty and stuffy, Susan tried the light switch near the door. The fixture hanging from the ceiling spring to life. Cobwebs hung from everything.
  “Looks like Wilson has not been here since she died,” Hutch could relate, his house had not changed either. Jesse’s room was waiting for her and anything that Susan had left behind was still in its place.
  There was a small eat in kitchen, a bathroom and two bedrooms. The first bedroom was the couple’s, clothes still hung in the closet, it looked as though they had gone out for the day. The second room was a fully furnished nursery.
  Susan held back a sob as she looked around the room, just the thought of the woman she didn’t know and the unborn child was just too much. She leaned against the doorframe trying to get ahold of her emotions. Hutch pulled her into his arms, Susan buried her face in his chest and sobbed, unable to hold in the tears any longer.
  Hutch held her whispering softly to her, “It’s going to be okay, we will get Jesse back.”
  Starsky finally found what he was looking for, Jim Wilson had been a demolition expert in the Army, he had been honorably discharged. He had several accommodations, by all accounts he didn’t seem like a man that would kidnap a child and fake their deaths. But he did have the knowledge to do so.
  The death of Wilson’s wife had pushed him over the edge, Starsky hoped that Hutch and Susan had gotten a lead no matter how small. It was getting late and they had agreed to meet back at the house.
  By the time Susan and Hutch arrived back at the house it was nearly 10 pm. The house was a blaze with lights, Starsky’s car sat in the driveway. Hutch opened the car door for Susan, she hesitated for a moment then got out.
  Before they could get to the front door Starsky had it open waiting on them, “Well?”
  “We have a P.O. Box in Big Bear,” Hutch informed his partner. “How about you?”
  “Wilson was in the Army, a demolition expert,” Starsky shared.
  The smell of pizza was in the air as they entered the house, Susan realized it had been hours since any of them had eaten. Dog tired, she kicked off her shoes and flopped on the couch. “I’m starved.”
  “I’ll get the pies out of the oven,” Starsky said as he moved toward the kitchen.
  Hutch followed, “I'll give you a hand.”
  The moment they were in the kitchen Starsky pulled Hutch close, “What aren’t you telling me buddy,”
  “What do you mean?”
  “I know there is more going on. Wilson had to say more than you are sharing.” Starsky growled, “I’m not stupid, Dobey sent me out of his office so you could tell him and Susan the rest of the story. So what are you holding back?”
  Hutch put his hand on Starsky’s shoulder, “You are going to have to trust me.”
  Hurt, Starsky shrugged Hutch’s hand off and turned to retrieve the warming pizza, “What about you trusting me?”
  “Starsk, you know I trust you.”
  “Beer is in the fridge,” Starsky said stiffly.
  “Come on Starsky, don’t be like that.” Hutch pleaded, “If we are going to find Jess we have to be a united front.”
  “Fine for now,” Starsky scooped up paper plates from the counter and carried the food to the living room.
  Susan was curled on the couch sound asleep. Starsky smiled at her sleeping form as he placed the pizza on the coffee table then looked at Hutch as he came in carrying the beer. Starsky put his finger to his lips and pointed at Susan.
  Gently putting the bottles on the table Hutch pulled a throw from the back of the couch and covered Susan, he brushed a stray hair from her forehead and placed a quick kiss where the strand had been.

​​
                                                                     Chapter Five

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  It was nearly midnight when Susan began to toss in her sleep. There had been a note on her desk when they had arrived at the station that fateful morning, the day their lives had been turned upside down. The note, typed and to the point, 10 pm, Olympic Blvd. white car. She had known immediately it was from Jesse’s kidnapper. The day had been agonizingly long, as it neared 10 pm they had piled into Starsky’s car, making their way to the address on the note.
  When they arrived there was a white car just as promised parked on the mostly empty street, warehouses lined both sides of the street. Before her partners could stop her Susan was out of the car running towards the white car and her daughter. Hutch had been calling her name to stop but she couldn't, she had to get to her daughter. Susan was almost there, she could see someone behind the wheel, she called her daughters name. Suddenly the car erupted in a huge explosion which blew Susan off her feet.
  Susan sat up on the couch, screaming “Jesse!”
  Hutch had been dozing in a chair near the couch, startled he leaped to his feet. He could see Susan in the dim light sitting up clutching the throw he had covered her with. Tears were streaming down her face. Hutch knelt next to her pulling Susan into his arms, “It’s okay,” he cooed to her, “It’s just a dream.”
  Susan opened her eyes, “It wasn’t a dream, it was a real life nightmare.” She clung to him like a drowning woman.
  “But we are finally getting her back.”
  “What if it’s another trick?”
  Hutch sat on the couch with Susan pulling her close to him, “It will be okay.”
  “He wants you to kill Starsky, there is nothing okay about that.” She put her head on Hutch’s shoulder, she took his hand and ran her hand over his wedding band. “You’re still wearing your ring.”
  Hutch looked at Susan’s hand, “You took yours off.”
  She looked at her hand, she usually had on her engagement ring, a nice sized diamond that Jack had put there one night over a romantic dinner. Her hand was bare, she had taken the ring off when she showered before leaving for the airport. Then by chance or on purpose she had left it on the dresser when she packed for the airport.
  “Hutch…” she was going to tell him she was engaged but couldn’t, not now, when they had Jesse back she would. If they got Jesse back, she couldn’t allow herself to think that she would not see her daughter again.
  “What?” Hutch leaned close to her face.
  “Where is Starsk? Did he leave?” She asked.
  “He's here somewhere. He cornered me last night,” Hutch said, “Starsky knows we are keeping something from him.”
  Susan sighed, “We can’t tell him. I’m afraid of what he might do.”
  “You need more sleep, you can take one of the bedrooms!”
  “I’ll just stay here, you go on up, you need some rest too.”
  “I’m going to check on Starsky first.” Hutch left the room in search of his partner.
   Hutch found Starsky sprawled in one of the lounge chairs in the backyard. He kicked his foot, “Hey Starsk come in the house, you can sleep in the guest room.”
  He mumbled something in his sleep and rolled, nearly falling out of the chair. Starsky’s eyes flew open, he stared up at Hutch, “What?” He sat up, “Did something happen?”
  “No, you just need to come in. We need to get to Big Bear in the morning, you need to sleep.”
   “But I was asleep.”
  It was 4 am when Susan awoke, bad dreams had not disturbed her sleep this time. She sat up, Hutch was still in the chair closest to her, his arm outstretched laying on the arm of the couch next to her head. Starsky was in the other living room chair and both men were sound asleep.
  Susan got up quietly, grabbed her bag that was sitting near the front door. She made her way up the stairs, it was strange being in the house again. Several of her things were still in the bathroom, she shook her head, it was obvious Hutch had not moved on. Had she really? Susan cleaned up, changed clothes and was about ready to go back down stairs to wake her partners when Jesse’s door caught her attention.
  The little girl’s name was still on the bedroom door, Susan put her hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it. She was transported back in time as she looked around. Susan turned on the bedside lamp, the room was just as Jess had left it the morning the day she was kidnapped. Her favorite teddy bear propped against her pillow. Susan picked up the bear and hugged it as a tear slid down her cheek. She started to put it back but then tucked it under her arm and made her way downstairs.
  When Hutch woke up the first thing he noticed was Susan was not on the couch. Worried he jumped up to look for her, he saw her coming down the stairs clutching the bear. “You found Mr. Bear.”
  She smiled, “It wasn’t hard, Jesse's room is still the same. Even some of my things are…”
  Hutch hung his head slightly, “I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of anything.”
   Susan put her arms around Hutch, “I hope we get to give this to our daughter soon.”
 Hutch poked the bear and grinned, he wanted to kiss her lips badly but instead let his lips brush her hair. “We better get Starsky up and head to Big Bear soon.”
  “I’m up,” He mumbled around a mouth full of cold pizza.
  Hutch checked his watch, it was almost five a.m., “I’m going to change clothes, then we can get some breakfast at Huggy’s. Too early to head to Big Bear, it's only a couple of hours away.”
  “I guess we start at the post office,” Susan said. “But that won’t open for several hours. Breakfast sounds good and seeing Huggy even better.” All she truly wanted to do was find her daughter but they had a week and Hutch didn’t feel as if Jesse was in danger. They didn’t want to miss any detail that might lead them to her.
  Huggy’s was bustling with the breakfast crowd, when the three detectives arrived. Huggy, a tall black man was rushing around delivering plates of hot food to his patrons. His best waitress had called in sick. He had just started back to the kitchen when he caught sight of them. Huggy stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes went wide. “You’re home!” He engulfed Susan in a bone crushing hug, lifting her off her feet.
  Huggy had no idea what had been going on. Starsky had been focused on getting Susan; he hadn’t called the barkeep to tell him Hutch had been missing.
 Susan returned the hug, “Missed you too Huggy.”
 “Are you here to keep these two in line?” He joked.
 “We have some news when you get a minute,” Hutch said, as he saw a booth open up. “We’ll be over there.”
  “Sure thing, it might be a few though.” Huggy said heading toward the kitchen.
  Starsky tried to maneuver himself to sit next to Susan but Hutch blocked his way and slid in next to her. A waitress brought cups of coffee, she flashed a smile at them and was gone.
  “I’ll be back!” Hutch got up making his way to the back where the bathrooms were.
  Susan was lost in thought as she looked around the bar wondering when breakfast started being served. Huggy Bear was not only their friend but an informant as well.
  Starsky hissed “Susan,” When she didn’t respond he kicked her foot.
  “What?” She looked at him across the table as she picked up her coffee and took a sip.
  “You have got to tell Hutch you are engaged,” Starsky leaned toward her. “He’s like a kid in puppy love. I’m pretty sure when you get Jess back he thinks you are going to be a family again.”
  “I tried to tell him last night, but I just couldn’t get the words out,” Susan frowned, “He still has his ring on.”
  “I know, he can’t keep building up hope.” Starsky wanted to protect his friend. “You need to tell him today.”
  Susan nodded, “When we get back, I promise.” But the last thing on her mind was Jack, she hadn’t even called him since she had arrived.
  Hutch rejoined them, Huggy right behind him balancing three plates of food which he sat in front of them. Huggy slid in next to Starsky, “So how the hell are you?” Huggy asked. Susan gave him a half smile, he looked around at the grim expressions on his friends faces, “What’s going on?”
  They quickly explained to Huggy between bites what had been going on the last couple of days. Hutch looked at his watch, “We better get going.”
  “Great breakfast Huggy.” Susan hugged him again.
  “You bring little Miss around when you get her back.” Huggy said. Starsky took bills out of his wallet but Huggy waved them away, “On the house.”
  “Thanks,” Susan smiled at him.

​​
                                                                      Chapter Six

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They reached the post office in Big Bear just as it was opening. A middle aged woman stood behind the counter; she looked up when the detectives entered. “How can I help you?”
  “We are looking for the owner of a P.O. Box,” Hutch said.
  “I’m sorry sir but I can’t give out that information,” she answered.
 Starsky held up his badge, “Does this help?
  The woman took the badge and examined it, “Says Bay City, this isn’t Bay City.”
  “Listen….” Starsky growled.
  Susan interrupted, “We are looking for a missing little girl. We could go to your police department and get them involved, which is what we will do if we think she is around here. But that is wasting time, ours and theirs.”
  “Missing girl?” The woman asked, concern crossed her face. She had two daughters of her own.
  “She is twelve, long dark hair, blue eyes.” He told her.
  “Haven’t seen a girl matching that description.”
  “We think she could be with the person attached to the P.O. Box,” Starsky said.
  Sighing she asked “what’s the number?”
  “521.” Starsky replied.
  “Give me a minute,” the woman said and disappeared. A few minutes later she returned with a form. “Sorry I can’t be of much help. The address is the general store. A lot of people that live off the grid give that address.”
  “So there is no way of knowing who actually has that box?” Susan’s face fell.
  “Sorry hun,” the woman said, “Unless he comes in to get his mail. I have seen him a handful of times but he doesn’t get much and only shows up once a month to mail a letter.”
  “Is this him?” Hutch asked, pulling out a picture of Wilson in his Army uniform picture.
  “That’s him.” She nodded.
  “Have you ever seen him with a little girl?” Susan asked.
  “No, not that I recalled.”
  “Thanks,” Susan felt defeated, not that she had high hopes in the first place.
  Once outside, “Now what?” Starsky asked. “I guess we could find a local, maybe they know where some of these cabins are or maybe at least have seen Jesse.”
  Hutch was very quiet, racking his brain for anything Wilson might have said. “When I asked him where Jess was he said close. I wouldn’t call this close.”
  “It’s not exactly far away either,” Starsky said.
  “He has got to know we would start looking for him, surely he didn’t really expect you to…”. Susan stopped talking, she looked at Hutch.
  “Wilson wouldn’t expect Hutch to do what?” Starsky looked angry, what were they keeping from him? “I have a right to know!”
  Hutch looked at Susan, “It’s nothing, really.”
  “If it’s nothing just tell me.”
  Hutch ignored his partner, “Let’s get going, we are wasting time.”
  It was clear neither Susan or Hutch were going to answer him. He jammed his hand in his pocket pulling out his keys. “I should make you both walk back,” He grumbled under his breath.
  Back in the car and heading home a million things were running through Susan’s mind. There was something the woman at the post office had said that stuck with Susan. “Wait! Didn’t the woman say people used the address of the general store?”
  “She did. Why?” Hutch asked.
  “I’ve been thinking. Wouldn’t she have said grocery store or supermarket? To me a general store is in a very small town and there are lots of them throughout these mountains.”
  “If that is the case, which one?” Hutch wondered.
  They had been driving about thirty minutes when a worn sign popped up on the left hand side of the road. “There!” Susan pointed, “Starsk turn there!”
  “Is that even a road?” Starsky eyed the opening that was barely wide enough for the car. It was paved but had a lot of potholes and grass poking through the cracks.
  “Just turn, it won’t hurt to check it out,” Hutch said.
  “Fine! But if this road screws up my suspension.”
  They followed the road four or five miles before they saw a large cabin with a sign out front that said ‘Jerry’s Bar and Diner’. A little past that was another wooden building with an old fashioned board walkway. The sign above the porch roof had ‘Jerry’s General Store.’
  “Jerry seems to own the town,” Hutch mused, “Let’s hope he knows where Wilson lives, if we are even in the right place.”
  Starsky parked in front of the store, they got out and went in. An old man pushing at least eighty was behind the counter. He was sitting on a stool leaning against the shelves behind him. “Can I help ya?”
  “We are looking for a man, wondering if you might know him.” Hutch pulled the picture of Jim Wilson from his jacket. When the man didn’t get up from the stool Hutch put the picture on the counter pushing it toward him, “Can you take a look please?”
  The old man grunted but still didn’t move. “Elmer, you old fool take a look at the picture these young people are trying to show you.” They hadn’t seen the old woman who had been straightening shelves. Still he didn’t move. “Let me see,” she held out her hand, Hutch picked up the photo and handed it to her. “Why that is Jimmy, we don’t see him very often, once every few months for supplies.”
  “Mae” Elmer hissed at his wife. “You don’t know what these people want with him!”
  She waved a hand toward her husband, “You watch too many of those programs.”
  “Has…Jimmy ever had a little girl with him?” Susan asked hopefully.
  Mae shook her head, “No but he did buy some odd things from time to time. Girls toys, you know dolls, even a tea set. Once he ordered some dresses. I never thought much about it. Maybe he has a niece.”
  “How long has he lived here?” Starsky asked.
  “‘Bout four years,” the old man finally spoke. “Are you going to buy something or just ask questions? Cuz I think you have asked enough.”
  “Elmer, you are being rude.” Mae admonished her husband.
  Starsky grabbed a candy bar and a bag of chips, he tossed a five on the counter, “Keep the change.”
  Elmer got up from the stool, rang up the items, put the five in the old cash register and held out Starsky’s change, “Don’t take charity.”
  Starsky jammed the change in his pocket, “Can you tell us where he lives?” He wasn’t really expecting an answer and he didn’t get one.
  Elmer went back to his stool, Mae was the one to answer, “Take a left at the next road, six miles out there is a road to your right, it's about a mile up that road. The road opens up at his cabin.”
  “That red jalopy isn’t going to make up that road,” Elmer grunted.
  “Thank you so much Mae.” Susan hugged the old woman.
  Mae smiled, “You are welcome honey. Elmer is right though, that car won’t make it up that road, you need a four wheel drive.”
  “We will walk it, thank you ma’am.” Hutch gave her cheek a quick kiss.
  As they were going down the porch steps, “Jalopy?” Starsky sputtered, “My car is not a jalopy!”

​​
                                                                        Chapter Seven

​​
  Following Mae’s directions the detectives found the road leading to Jim Wilson’s cabin. Susan clutched Hutch’s arm, “Do you think we will find her? Do you think Jesse is there?”
  “We will find her, but I don’t know if she is at the cabin.” Hutch said.
  Pulling off the road, Starsky said, ”I guess we walk from here.” He got out looking around, he hated the woods, nothing good happened there.
  The road to Wilson’s cabin was the worst yet. They started their hike, Mae had said it was about a mile. Twenty minutes later they arrived at a clearing revealing a small cabin with a front porch and several handmade chairs. Another small building set off to the left was the outhouse. There was a rather large garden on the right with a bounty of vegetables.
 Susan started to run, all her police training going out the window, Hutch caught her hand and pulled her backward, “Stop, we are going to do this nice and easy.”
  She nodded, “Sorry, I know better. I just want…”
  “Same thing we all want.” Starsky said gently. He took her other hand, “Let’s check it out quietly.”
  They silently crept toward the cabin, Starsky pulled Susan to the right and Hutch went left. It was quickly clear nobody was home. Hutch walked up on the porch gun drawn just in case, the door knob turned easily in his hand. He pushed the door open with his foot and stepped inside.
  The inside of the cabin was rustic but very nice, it was clear Wilson had put a lot of work into it. The living room was comfortable with a couch and two overstuffed chairs and a large square coffee table sat in the middle. The kitchen had a stove, small refrigerator, table and chairs. Cabinets full of dishes and lots of food. Hutch put his gun away, he checked a small room off the kitchen, it was a bathroom.
  Starsky and Susan checked out the rest of the cabin, there were two doors off the living room. Starsky opened one; it was a bedroom sparsely furnished. He pulled open the drawers of the dresser hoping to find some sort of clue.
  Susan opened the other door, tears sprang to her eyes. It was a little girl’s room beautifully decorated, she walked over and looked at some drawings left on the desk. There was no doubt in her mind that her baby was still alive and this was her room.
  When Hutch and Starsky arrived in the bedroom, they saw Susan sitting on the bed holding the drawings. Tears streaming down her face, Hutch sat down next to her, Susan handed him the drawings, “Jesse is alive, I would know her drawing anywhere.”
  He smiled, “They are hers alright.” The drawings were better than what she did at eight, in fact a lot better. There were detailed drawings of flowers, trees and animals. Along with one that made Susan catch her breath. She gave it to Hutch, tears stood in his eyes as he handed it to Starsky.
  Starsky took the drawing and stared at it, “That’s us! She still remembers us!”
  “Of course she does,” Hutch hugged Susan tight. “We will find her!”
  Susan nodded, she took the drawings and put them back on Jesse’s desk. “He really must care for her. He has made a lovely home for her.”
  “But don’t forget, he took our little girl from us and let us think she was dead.” Hutch reminded her.
  Starsky went to the desk and took the drawing of the four of them. “Let’s get out of here.”
   It was late afternoon by the time they arrived back at the station. Tired, hungry but hopeful, the detectives filled in their captain on the day's events.
  Hutch was sitting at his desk Susan leaning over him, her arm resting on his shoulder. They were studying the information Starsky had gotten from the Army. Starsky was going over the police reports on Wilson’s wife again. They were all hoping that they missed something, some little nugget that might give them a clue where he might have Jesse.
  A tall man entered the squad room and looked around, he spied who he was looking for immediately. Jack Carter walked toward Susan, he knew Starsky but not the man his fiancée was leaning on. Their faces were very close together and oblivious to their surroundings.
  Starsky looked up just before Jack spoke, his eyes went wide and he coughed but neither Hutch nor Susan looked up. “Susan.” Jack said furrowing his brow, “Susan!” He said louder when she didn’t respond.
  She looked up, “Jack! What are you doing here?” Susan stood up quickly.
  “I haven’t heard from you since you left and I was getting worried. You didn’t leave me any way to reach you so I came here hoping to find you.”
  Hutch stood up and reached his hand out to Jack, “Ken Hutchinson.”
  Jack shook his hand, “Jack Carter.”
  “This is my partner…”
  “We have met, David,” he nodded in Starsky’s direction then turned his attention to Susan. “So, I see you have found your ex-partner.”
   “It’s been more complicated than that,” Susan said. She gave Starsky a pleading look. This was not the way she wanted Hutch to find out she was engaged.
  “I got a hotel room when I got here. You can tell me all about it over dinner.” Jack said.
  Hutch looked from Jack to Susan to Starsky, from the expressions on their faces it was clear he was the only one in the dark. “Am I missing something?”
  “Let’s get some coffee Hutch,” Starsky said. Trying to give Susan some space.
  “You go ahead,” Hutch said, not taking his eyes off of Jack.
  Jack shifted his weight under the gaze of the detective. He wished he hadn’t come, it was obvious that the detective was still in love with his ex-wife. Jack was having a hard time reading Susan but that wasn’t unusual, she was a pro at hiding her feelings at least where he was concerned.
  “Listen Jack, I can’t go with you, we are busy working on a case.”
  “A case?” Jack frowned at her. “I thought you came here to find Detective Hutchinson, which it looks like you did. So what case are you working on and when do you plan on coming home?”
  “Home?” Hutch echoed.
  “Yes, our home.” He looked at Susan, it was clear she hadn’t told her ex about him. He knew what he was about to say was going to throw her under the bus but he didn’t care, he was jealous and hurt. It was obvious this man had given her his whole heart and he needed to be set straight. “We bought a house together a year ago when we got engaged.”
  Starsky wanted to punch the man but he was also angry at Susan for not telling Hutch. Several seconds ticked by before Hutch said, “Congratulations. Listen, there is no need for you to stay in a hotel, there is plenty of room at the house.” Hutch avoided looking at Susan. He turned back to the desk and started shoving papers back into the file folder, “Just give us a few and we can head out.”
  “I don’t want to put you out,” Jack was shocked that the detective was being so calm, maybe he had read the situation wrong.
  “You won’t be.” Hutch kept shuffling papers. “Big house,” he mumbled.
  Susan could tell Hutch was upset, she turned to Jack, grabbed his arm, “Can I speak to you out in the hall?” It wasn’t really a question but rather a command. When they reached the hall she turned on him, “How dare you!”
  “How dare me?” Jack was incredulous, “Were you ever coming back or are you just picking up where you left off with your old life?”
  “There is more going on.”
  “Then why don’t you tell me!” He was a little louder than he intended, several people in the hall turned to look at them.
  “Our daughter is alive. We have four days left to find her or we might never see her again.”
  All the anger left him as he looked into her face with surprise, tears were standing in her eyes. Jack pulled her into his arms, “I thought she died when the car blew.”
  “That is what the kidnapper wanted us to think. Look it’s a long story,” she stepped away from him. “We don’t have time for this.”
  Jack quickly realized the “we” didn’t include him, why would it? “Maybe I can help.” He offered.
  “I’m not sure what you can do.” Susan was still angry but the tone of her voice no longer showed it.
  She turned to go back into the squad room. Jack grabbed her hand, “Susan I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything about us being engaged.”
  “I was going to tell Hutch tonight, Starsky has been on me to tell him.” Susan told him, “So I guess this is my fault.”
  “But it wasn’t my place.”
  In the squad room, Starsky asked Hutch, “Are you okay buddy?”
  “Sure why?”
  “You have been shuffling those papers since Susan went out in the hall with Jack.”
  “So you have met him?” Hutch wanted to know.
  Starsky nodded, “When I went to get Susan. If it makes you feel any better, he knew nothing about us or her life here. Not even about Jesse.”
  “Guess we were both blind sided.” Hutch sat down and looked at his partner. “Did you know they were engaged?”
  “I did, but I didn’t think it was my place to tell you. If it counts for anything I think she was going to tell you tonight.”
  Hutch just nodded. He had thought that perhaps things would go back to the way they were before Jesse had been kidnapped, maybe not right away but eventually. He wasn’t mad, just sad but he had to wonder why she hadn’t just told him she had moved on. There had been moments when it felt…, Hutch wasn’t going to let himself go there. It clearly was just the emotions of finding out their daughter was alive.
​
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                                                                             Chapter Eight

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  Jack immediately regretted agreeing to stay with the blond detective when he stepped into the house. It wasn’t just Ken’s house it was also Susan’s or had been. Pictures of their once happy family adorned the walls. There was even a wedding photo of the couple smiling happily at each other. He could see Susan’s touches all over the house, Ken had changed nothing.
  Susan had cringed when Jack had accepted Hutch’s invitation. Being at the house together was going to be even more awkward than the ride to the hotel to get Jack’s luggage and then the drive to the house. They had sat in the back seat of Starsky’s Torino, while Hutch and Starsky sat in the front. The drive mostly was silent after a short discussion about dinner.
  “I’ll get dinner started,” Susan offered and headed toward the kitchen.
  Jack sat his bag down near the stairs as he looked around. “Guest room is to the left if you want to clean up, or change clothes.” Hutch said as he sat down on the couch and spread some files on the coffee table.
  Jack nodded, “Thanks, I think I will.” He felt out of place in his suit. He headed up the stairs turned left at the top of the stairs. The first room he came to the door was open slightly. Jack peeked in, it was clearly a little girl’s room. He toed the door open a bit more and looked around. He didn’t have children so he could only imagine the pain.
  He found the guest room, changed into sweatpants, a T-Shirt and tennis shoes. Then he located the bathroom, splashed water on his face and went down stairs.
  Starsky was on the phone talking very animatedly to someone named Huggy, Hutch had an elbow banked on his knee studying the same files willing them to spill their secrets. Susan was nowhere in sight so Jack guessed she was still in the kitchen.
  “Grab a beer out of the fridge,” Susan said as she turned a bowl of ground beef into burgers.
  Jack did as he was told then sat down at the small breakfast table. He wondered how she knew it was him since she didn’t look up. He watched Susan almost fascinated as she threw dinner together, as he watched he realized he had no idea who she was. Finished with the burgers she pulled a bowl of hard boiled eggs from the refrigerator and began slicing them in half. “I’m sorry about your daughter,” he said softly.
  “I’m sorry I didn’t call you and let you know what was going on,” Susan said, as she plucked the yokes from the eggs.
  “You were busy and I’m sure in a state of shock to learn your daughter was alive.”
  “I didn’t really believe it until we saw the drawings in the cabin,” Susan stopped what she was doing and pulled the drawing Starsky had taken from the cabin. He had stuck it on the refrigerator. She held it out to Jack.
  “The three of you and Jesse.” How was he going to compete with that? He handed the drawing back to her. “You being a cop sure explains a lot of things.”
  Susan pinned the drawing back on the refrigerator then turned back to him and cocked her head, “Like what?”
  “Your knowledge of the law and police procedures. The gun you kept hidden in the closet, trips to the shooting range just to name a few.” Jack gave her a lopsided grin. He reached for her hand and pulled her toward him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
  “Why didn’t you ask?”
  “Maybe I was afraid of the answers.”
  A loud whoop of joy came from the living room, Starsky had finished his phone call with Huggy and had joined Hutch in looking over all the paperwork they had. He came into the kitchen waving a paper. It was from the coroner’s office, “I don’t know how we missed this!” He exclaimed.
  Hutch had followed his partner and grabbed the paper from him, “What did you find?” Hutch asked.
  Starsky pointed at the bottom of the paper, “There is a name, it's not Wilson’s. It’s a woman, Grace Perry.”
  “Wilson’s sister? Jennifer’s sister, mother? A neighbor?” Hutch asked. “I will call the station and get them working on the name.” He went to the living room.
  “Dinner ready? I’m starving,” Starsky saw the still raw burgers and his face fell.
  Jack picked up the platter, “Why don’t you and I go cook these up while Susan finishes the eggs.”
  “Sounds like a good deal,” Starsky grabbed two beers from the fridge and followed Jack outside.
  Susan went back to work on the eggs, just as she was finishing up Hutch walked the kitchen, grabbing himself a beer, he held it out to Susan but she shook her head no. He sat down in the chair Jack had been sitting in. “Where is Starsky and Jack?”
  “Grilling.”
  “Starsky made a new friend?”
  “I don’t know if I would go that far, Starsk is hungry.”
  Hutch couldn’t help but chuckle. Then he turned serious, “So you are engaged.”
  “I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to find out that way.” Susan sat down across from him. She reached over and put her hand on his, Hutch pulled his hands away. “I was going to tell you tonight.”
  “You should have told me right away.”
  Susan sighed and got up, “I have made so many mistakes. I should have never left, if I’m honest it really didn’t help. But it did make it easier to pretend.”
  Hutch got up and grabbed her hand, “We should have worked it out. I’m to blame too, I gave you up too easily. I should have fought but my heart was so broken I just didn’t have it in me.” Hutch whispered, pulling her close.
  The sliding door opened and Starsky came in carrying the now cooked burgers, Jack right behind him. Susan and Hutch stepped away from each other. Susan, her face flushed, turned to collect plates from the cabinet. “Let’s eat in the dining room.”
  Hutch took the plates from her, grabbed more beers from the fridge and followed Starsky into the next room.
  “Are you okay?” Jack asked.
  She nodded, “Can you get the eggs?”
  “Are you sure you are okay?”
  “Just tired and worried about Jesse.” Susan didn’t look at him, instead she busied herself gathering napkins, silverware and condiments.
  Once at the table Starsky looked at Jack, “What do you do?”
  “I’m a lawyer at a small law firm, that is where Susan and I met.” He answered. Starsky laughed and Hutch had a smirk on his face. “Am I missing something?” Susan rolled her eyes and she knew what was coming.
  “A lawyer? You are engaged to a lawyer.” Starsky shook his head looking at Susan who was looking rather uncomfortable. “And you work in a law office?”
  “Lawyers and cops don’t exactly get along.” Hutch said.
  “And why is that?” Jack asked with an amused look.
  “We put them in jail, you get them out,” Starsky answered.
  “Touché,” Jack stood up, “I think I'll go to bed, jet lag.”
  The phone rang, Hutch answered and listened for a few minutes, disappointment filled his voice. “I don’t care what time it is, call!” By the time he hung up everyone had gathered around him. “Grace Perry is no longer at that address and there isn’t anybody by that name living in the area, but Sara assured me they are still searching.”
  “I’m going to the station,” Starsky said.
  “Listen buddy, our best people are on it. Sara will call if they find her. We could all use some sleep,” Hutch said knowing if they got an address they would be on the road.
  Jack had stopped to hear the news, he turned to Susan, “Are you coming to bed?”
  Susan frowned at him, did Jack really think she was going to join him in the guest room in her old house with her ex husband there? “I need to clean up,”She said, gathering plates from the table.
  “I’ll help you.”
  “You go on and get some rest,” Susan said heading to the kitchen, she threw over her shoulder, “I’ll probably just sleep on the couch in case Sara calls.”
  Jack sighed but headed up stairs.
  It was well past midnight, Hutch was dozing in an overstuffed chair, Susan sat on the couch holding a mug of steaming coffee. Starsky sat down next to her, “You will never sleep if you keep drinking that.”
  She grunted and said, “I haven’t slept well in four years.”
  “How are you doing?” Starsky put his arm around her shoulders and leaned back, he was exhausted.
  She leaned her head on his shoulder, “I’m doing alright.”
  “No you’re not.”
  “No I’m not, I’m an emotional wreck.” She gave a ragged sigh but refused to cry.
  “Are you sorry I came for you?”
  “I’m glad, I was living a lie.” Susan snuggled closer to her friend, “I’m so tired.”
  The mug in her hand started to tip, Starsky looked into her face, she had fallen asleep. Carefully, he took the mug, setting it on the end table next to them.
  The three of them were sound asleep when the phone rang at 6 a.m. Hutch came awake immediately grabbing the phone, he said “Hello!”
  “Hutch it’s Sara, we got her! Grace Perry was Jennifer Wilson’s sister. She got married and moved to Santa Barbara three years ago.” Sara relayed the address.
  “Thank you Sara!” Hutch hung up the phone and turned to his groggy partners, “We are going to Santa Barbara!”
  Starsky stood up, stretched and said, “I’m gonna run home, shower and change, I’ll be back to pick you up.”
  “Shower sounds good,” Hutch headed up stairs taking them two at a time. Susan was right on his heels.
  Jack half asleep, hair tousled appeared at the top of the stairs, “What’s going on?”
  “We have an address!” Hutch said without stopping.
  Susan breezed past Jack going to the guest room where he had slept, she grabbed her bag looking for fresh clothes as Jack followed her. He hadn’t even noticed her bag, “Where is this woman?”
  “Santa Barbara,” Susan tossed over her shoulder as she headed toward the bathroom. Hutch was just coming out with a towel around his waist, a second towel in hand rubbing his hair.
  “All yours,” Hutch smiled at her as she shut the door.
  “Can I go?” Jack asked.
  Hutch looked at him a moment then nodded, “I don’t see why not. But you better get dressed, Starsk will be back soon and we aren’t waiting.”

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                                                                            Chapter 9

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  In less than an hour they were on the road heading to Santa Barbara. Susan sat in the backseat but was leaning on the back of the front seats discussing with her partners the best way to approach Grace. Jack sat listening, he had never seen this side of her. But if he knew one thing about her she was loyal, but he had to wonder where her loyalty lay, with him or them. When it was over would Susan come home with him? He would welcome her daughter with open arms but the little girl was not just her daughter, Jesse was also Ken’s. There was so much history between the pair.
  Starsky pulled up in front of a nice looking house with a large front yard. On the drive it had been decided that he would be the one to speak to Grace. Starsky got out of the car, Susan and Hutch followed.
  Jack started to get out and Hutch turned to him, “You stay in the car.” He did as he was told but rolled down the window so he could hear what was being said.
   Starsky walked up the sidewalk navigating around several toys. Hutch and Susan caught up with him just as he knocked on the door. After a few minutes the door opened, a young woman holding a baby on her hip and a toddler that was trying to squeeze out the door, “Toby get back,” She admonished her young son. “Sorry, can I help you?”
  Toby managed to get out the door, Starsky grabbed the boy before he could make it out into the yard, “Where ya going buddy?”
  “I’m Toby,” the boy said as Starsky lifted him into his arms.
  “Hi Toby, I’m Starsky.”
  The young woman looked frazzled, “Thank you. Toby, I want you in the house.”
  “No!” He proclaimed loudly, “l want to stay with Starsky.”
  She sighed, “If you are selling something I don’t have time.”
  “Are you Grace?” Starsky asked
  Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the three standing on her sidewalk. “Yes.”
  Starsky pulled out his badge and showed her, “These are my partners. We would like to talk to you about Jennifer and Jim.”
  Grace’s face went pale, “My sister died and as for Jim, I don’t know where he is.”
  “We know about your sister, we are looking for Jim.” Starsky winked at the little boy who had taken Starsky’s badge and was looking at it.
  “I haven’t seen Jim since the day my sister died,” Grace answered nervously.
  “Are you sure you haven’t seen him?”
  Jack got out of the car and leaned against the door, he was tired of sitting. “Who is that?” Grace asked, eyeing the man.
  “A ride along,” Hutch turned and glared at Jack.
  Susan stepped forward, “Please, can we come in and talk?”
  Grace looked unsure but nodded. She stood aside so they could enter. The house was a mess of toys strung all over, she looked embarrassed, “Sorry, Toby is all boy. He’s only been up a couple of hours.”
  “If you know anything you have got to tell us. He has our daughter, Wilson kidnapped her four years ago. We thought that they died in a car fire until a few days ago.” Susan explained, “He wants one of us dead before he will….” Susan stopped realizing she had said too much in front of Starsky.
  “Is that what you have been keeping from me? I have to die for Jesse to come back to you?” Starsky growled. Toby squirmed he felt his new friend's anger.
  “Starsk, you are scaring Toby,” Hutch said in a quiet voice.
  “I’m sorry buddy,” Starsky hugged the little boy.
  Grace’s eyes were huge with shock, “Let me get Toby set up with a show.” She shifted the baby who was growing heavy.
  “Let me take her,” Susan offered, holding out her arms. Grace handed over her daughter, “What’s her name?”
  “Jenny, after my sister.” Grace took Toby from Starsky. “Want to watch your show?”
  He nodded, still clutching Starsky’s badge. “Hey buddy, I need that back.” Toby turned away from the detective. “Tell you what, if you give me my badge I’ll send you one of your very own.”
  “Really?”
  “Cross my heart.” The boy handed Starsky his badge. Grace mouthed ‘thank you’ and disappeared with the boy.
  Starsky turned toward his partners, “why didn’t you tell me? I had a right to know.”
  “And what would you do? I’m not going to kill you!” Hutch exclaimed.
  “I’ll kill myself, how am I supposed to go on if I’m the one that could bring Jesse back and did nothing?” Starsky stormed at Hutch.
  “You are doing something,” Susan said sadly.
  “Not what Wilson wants.” Starsky put his hand on his gun under his jacket.
  “Starsky stop! I have to kill you. Wilson thinks I killed his wife by not getting to her in time. So to make up for it I have to kill someone I love.” Hutch’s eyes misted over. “I could never do that. He isn’t going to hurt Jesse, Wilson will just disappear with her again. But this time we know Jess is alive and we will find her!”
  “We have been chasing our tails and coming up with nothing. If they disappear we may never find them. Starsky stormed out of the house. He needed some air, he felt like the walls were closing in on him. Once outside he fell to his knees, his legs no longer able to hold him.
  How could they keep something like that from him? He was the key to getting Jesse back. He wondered if he had to kill Hutch, could he? Of course the answer was no but he was sure Hutch would be as upset and angry as he was. If something happened to his Goddaughter how could he go on?
   Jack was still leaning against the car and saw Starsky come out and go to his knees, Jack ran across the lawn and knelt next to the detective. He put his hand on Starsky's back who was breathing hard, “What happened?”
  Starsky couldn’t answer, he wondered if this is what a panic attack felt like. He thought his heart was going to beat out of his chest.
  “Are Ken and Susan alright?”
  Starsky managed to get out, “Y-yes.”
  “You need to slow your breathing. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly,” Jack instructed, keeping his hand on Starsky’s back.
  Starsky took a deep breath, held it for a second then let it out slowly, he did that several more times until his breathing and heart rate started to return to normal. He looked at Jack, “Thanks man.”
  “What happened in there?”
  While Starsky was pulling himself together with Jack’s help. Susan and Hutch waited for Grace to reappear. “I need to check on Starsky,” Worry etched on Hutch’s face.
  Grace stepped into the room, her face was ashen, she held out an envelope in a trembling hand, “l-l had no idea Jim did all this. H-he was here just over a week ago. I was shocked to see him, after Jennifer’s funeral I never saw or heard from him again. I'm sorry I didn’t tell you when you asked.”
  Hutch stopped, he was torn between listening to Grace and checking on his friend. “What’s in the envelope?” He asked.
  “I don’t know, Jim handed it to me when he left. I stuck it in a drawer and forgot about it until now.”
  “Go check on Starsk,” Susan said, handing the now sleeping baby back to her mother and took the envelope.
  “I’ll be right back.” Hutch stepped outside.
  Susan opened the envelope, inside was a folded piece of paper with the name of a bank, and two account numbers. Under the account numbers Jim had written ‘for Toby and Jenny’. Susan felt a shiver go down her spine, what was Wilson planning? She showed the paper to Grace. “It looks like he has left your children money.”
  Grace looked puzzled, “He has never seen them. How did he know their names? “How did he know where we lived? Like I said, that day was the first time I had seen him in four years.”
  “Is there anywhere he might be hold up?”
  “I told you…”
  “I know you haven’t seen him in four years. What about before? Anywhere he and your sister would go? He has been paying the rent on their apartment all this time but no one has been there in a long time.”
  “He kept their apartment?”
  Susan nodded, “It’s still full of their things.”
  Grace’s eyes filled with tears, “Jen’s stuff is still there?”
  “Yes. We also tracked him to a cabin in a very small town not far from Big Bear.” Susan told her, “it was clear that he and our daughter had been living there.”
  “Cabin? Jennifer and I own a cabin we inherited from our parents when they died. We never went there, well at least I didn't, they must have or she must have told Jim about it.” Grace sat down on the couch holding Jenny close. She looked up at Susan, “I’m not in trouble am I?”
  Susan shook her head no, “You clearly didn’t know about any of this.”
  Hutch found Jack crouched next to Starsky who was sitting on the sidewalk. “I thought I told you to stay in the car.”
  “Give it a rest Hutch,” Starsky growled, unsteadily getting to his feet.
  “Starsk, we need to talk,” Hutch tried to take his partner's elbow to steady him but Starsky jerked his arm away.
   “Not right now. You need to be in the house with Susan and Grace.” The hurt in Starsky’s voice made Hutch’s heartbreak.
  “Starsky.”
  “I’m fine!”
  Hutch sighed and went back into the house. Susan handed Hutch the paper with the bank accounts written on them. He flipped the paper over to look at the back hoping it held some clue but it was blank. “This tells us nothing,” he growled as he shoved it back toward Susan. He stepped closer to Grace, “Where the hell is he?”
  “I-I don’t know I swear.” Tears rolled down her face.
  “Hutch!” Susan raised her voice, “That IS enough!” Susan turned to Grace, “I apologize for my partner. Emotions are running high.”
  Grace got to her feet hugging her baby close to her chest. “I am so sorry for all this. Jennifer would be horrified. This just doesn’t sound like Jim, he was such a kind man.”
   “Grief can change a person,” Hutch said calmly. He touched the baby’s head gently. “I'm sorry Grace.”
  “Let’s go,” Susan said to Hutch, then to Grace, “If you hear anything from him, call us.” Hutch handed her a card.
  Grace grabbed Susan’s hand. “Can I see the apartment?”
  Susan smiled at her, “I think that can be arranged.”
  “I hope you find your daughter.”

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                                                                         Chapter Ten

​​
  On their trip back it was mostly a silent ride. Hutch tried several times to engage Starsky in conversation but the most he did was grunt. Finally Hutch gave up and stared out the window. Jack tried to hold Susan’s hand but she sat with her arms crossed across her chest.
   Starsky pulled into the driveway but didn’t turn off the car, Hutch got out as did Susan and Jack, “Aren’t you coming Starsk?”
  “I’m going home for a while,” Starsky said, then he called out, “Jack!”
  The man stopped and leaned in the passenger side window, “What’s up?”
  “Get in,” Starsky said.
  Jack glanced over his shoulder at Hutch and Susan, shrugged and got in. “Are you showing me your place?” Jack cracked.
  “Not unless you really want to see it,” Starsky gave him a half smile. “I can’t help but think we are missing something.”
  Starsky backed out of the drive, leaving his partners to wonder where he and Jack were going.
  “So where are we heading?”
  “There are some papers in the glove box with an address to an apartment building.” Starsky instructed.
  Jack did as he was told and read the address to the detective. “Didn’t Susan and Ken already go there?”
  “I want to check it out again. Maybe they missed something, both of them are just too close to all this to be totally objective.”
  “But aren’t you too?”
  “Jesse isn’t my daughter,” Starsky gripped the steering wheel tighter, she might as well have been, he was there every day of her life.
  “She might not be but I can tell how close you all are. You have to feel the same way.”
  Starsky shrugged, “I need to find her, if he kills her or they disappear it’s my fault.”
  “How so?” Jack asked, puzzled. Starsky hadn’t told him what had happened at Grace’s and Jack hadn’t asked.
  “Wilson took Hutch to tell him who he was and that Jesse was alive but that wasn’t all he said. It’s an eye for an eye, he wants Hutch to kill me since in his mind Hutch killed his wife. He will give Jess back once I’m dead.”
  Jack’s face darkened, “Ken killed his wife?”
  “She was going to jump off the roof of their apartment building, Hutch had talked her out of it but she slipped and fell before he could reach her, Wilson didn’t see it that way.”
  Jack shook his head, he had heard some crazy things in his career but nothing like this. “This whole thing is crazy!”
  “Can’t argue with you. Hutch couldn’t kill me any more than I could kill him if the situation was reversed. It just hurt that neither he nor Susan told me what was going on.”
  “I guess I can kind of relate, different circumstances. I had no idea Susan had this whole other life. She never talked about her past. I knew she had to have one but not this!” Jack sighed, “I thought it was just a bad relationship, I guess I was sort of right.”
  “They both had so much guilt, double for Hutch since he couldn’t save Jennifer. They couldn’t save their marriage, I tried to help but you can see how that worked out.”
  They were quiet for a few minutes lost in their own thoughts. Finally Jack asked almost inaudibly, “Do you think she will come back with me? Her whole life is here and when she gets Jesse back there will be no reason for her to be with me.”
  “I wish I had an answer for you Jack, I really do. I never thought she and Hutch would go their separate ways.”
  They pulled up in front of the apartment building and Starsky got out. Jack didn’t move, “l know the drill, stay in the car.”
  Starsky grinned at him, “Come on, just follow my lead.”
  Jack got out of the car and followed Starsky into the building, the detective knocked on the manager's door but there was no answer so the two men climbed the stairs to the third floor.
  Starsky stopped at the door across the hall from the Wilson apartment. “It's this one,” Jack said pointing at the number on the door.”
  “I know, remember I said follow my lead?” Starsky whispered. He remembered Hutch talking about the little old lady across the hall. He gently knocked on the door, almost immediately the door opened a crack.
   An eye peered out at him, “Can I help you?”
  “Yes ma’am,” Starsky flashed her a big smile. “I was wondering if you know the couple in 312.”
  “Who are you?”
  Starsky took out his badge and held it where she could see. He hoped she wouldn’t slam the door in his face. “I’m Dave Starsky, what’s your name?”
  She eyed the badge for a few moments, then opened the door wider, “Mabel Jackson” she answered, then she spied Jack. “Is that your partner?”
  “Yes ma’am,” Starsky motioned for Jack to come closer.
  “Ma’am,” Jack nodded and smiled.
  “There were two detectives here the other day.” She offered up, “They were looking for the Wilson’s too. Such a sad story.”
  “So they no longer live there?” Starsky asked.
  Mabel didn’t answer as her eyes misted over, “They were such a nice couple. Jim went into the service and Jennifer and I got very close. She was like a daughter to me. What happened to her was such a tragedy.” She dabbed her eyes with a wad of tissue, “Where are my manners? Would you boys like a cup of tea?”
  They stepped into her apartment, all her furniture was covered in clear plastic covers, flowery curtains adorned the windows and nicknacks covered every surface. There was a cat curled up on the back of the couch. She had already bustled off to make tea before they could answer.
  “Mabel...can I call you Mabel?” Starsky asked.
  She returned with a plate of cookies, “Yes you may young man.” She set the cookies on the coffee table and disappeared into the kitchen again.
  “This is getting us nowhere,” Jack hissed.
  “Patience.”
  Mabel reappeared with a tray holding a teapot and three cups, Starsky took it from her, “Let me help you with that.”
  “Thank you, such a gentleman.” She smiled, it had been a long time since she had any visitors.
  “So who is in the apartment now?” Jack asked as he accepted a cup of tea.
  “Jim just closed the place up after she died. From what I understand he still pays rent on the place. Cookie? I wish I could say I made them but they are store bought. Seems silly to make cookies just for me.”
  Starsky and Jim each took a cookie. “Thank you Mabel,” Starsky took a bite of the cookie, “You are too kind. So when was the last time you saw Jim?”
  Mable munched on a cookie then sipped her tea, “Yesterday.”
  “Yesterday?” Starsky stopped mid sip, he sat the cup on its saucer, “You saw Jim Wilson yesterday?”
  “Yes and he had a lovely little girl with him. He said she was his niece, she was very polite.”
  Starsky resisted the urge to jump up and beat down the door to the Wilson’s apartment, “Are they there now?”
  “No, they were here for a few hours. First time he has been back since Jennifer died. He had a bunch of boxes, I guess he is finally packing the place up.”
  “The manager wasn’t home, we need to get inside that apartment,” Starsky stood up quickly and he bumped the table causing the cups to rattle in their saucers.
  Mabel looked startled, “Fred is out for the day.”
  Starsky went to the door, Jack stood up to follow but the look on Mabel’s face stopped him, “You have been a wonderful hostess Mabel but we need to check out that apartment.” Jack took the old woman’s hand, “That little girl with him, he kidnapped her four years ago.”
  Mabel shook her head as though she wasn’t surprised, “He was heartbroken after Jennifer died, she was pregnant you know, almost due to deliver when she fell off the roof.”
  Starsky jerked open the door and started across the hall, he would knock down the door if he had to.
  Jack was still holding Mabel’s hand when she called out, “Wait, I have a key. Jennifer gave it to me when Jim left for the service.”
  Jack kissed her hand, “Thank you.”
  She went to an old roll top desk and took a key out of a small drawer, she handed it to Jack. “If I had known about the girl I would have called the police.”
  Taking the key Jack said, “You are helping now.”
  Mabel followed Jack out into the hall, he handed the key to Starsky who opened the door. The apartment was dark and dusty and had the musty smell of a place that had been closed up for a long time. There were boxes sitting in the middle of the floor that were clearly new.
  Starsky looked at the top of one of the boxes, in big letters it was labeled ‘Grace’. “I guess he wants her sister to have these.” He moved through the apartment looking at everything. All they needed was just one clue as to where Jim and Jesse could be.
  “You know Grace?” Mabel asked, “She is a sweet girl, she used to come visit Jennifer, Grace always brought me a little sweet treat.”
  “We were at Grace’s home this morning,” Starsky said, “She is married and lives in Santa Barbara. Grace has two kids.”
  “That is so wonderful!” Tears glistened in Mabel’s eyes.
  The bedroom was the only room that was disturbed, men’s clothing lay on the bed with a few women's dresses. The dresser drawers were open as were the ones in the bedside tables.
  “Looks like he is getting rid of this place,” Jack said.
  “Tying up loose ends before he disappears with Jess again,” Starsky mused as he picked up one of the dresses. “We need to get back to the house and let Hutch and Susan know.”
  Mabel looked distraught, “I am so sorry.”
  Out in the hall Starsky took her hands in his, “You helped us, you didn’t know he had kidnapped her. But we have to go. If he comes back with or without Jesse you let us know.”
  “Uncle Starsky!”
  Starsky turned to see Jesse standing at the end of the hall.

​​
                                                                    Chapter Eleven

​​
   Jim Wilson pulled his truck in front of his old apartment building behind Starsky’s Torino. He wanted to get the boxes he had packed and send them to Grace. Jesse Hutchinson sat next to him admiring a leather purse Jim had just bought her, there was a matching wallet and he had given her some money to put in the wallet.
  “Jesse, do you know whose car that is?” Jim asked.
  She looked up and nodded, “It’s Uncle Starsky’s.” There was no question, Jesse knew the car by heart. Her father called it a striped tomato and much to his chagrin she loved riding in it.
  Jim stared out the windshield thinking of the day he had taken Jesse. He had been so heartbroken by the loss of his wife and child he wasn’t in his right mind. He wanted the detective to pay, his initial plan was to shoot Hutch.
  He had driven past the Hutchinson home several times before he saw Jesse, at first he didn’t pay any attention to her but when she started up the sidewalk toward the front door he knew that she must be the detective's child. He had jumped out of his car, grabbed her, shoved her in the car and sped off. He had no plan and didn’t know what he was going to do next.
  Jim had no idea why he cooked up the plan to make detectives think he and their little girl were dead by blowing up a car. He used his expertise to rig a junked car and it worked perfectly.
  Then he took Jesse to a cabin that Jennifer had told him about, it had been many years since anyone had been there. It had been early morning when they pulled up to the cabin, he had no idea what to expect. But after a quick inspection Jim knew he could make it livable.
   He admired the little girl, she never cried or pleaded for her parents. He nearly turned around on the way to the cabin to let her out. Jim was horrified at what he had done as he came to his senses realizing his grief had created a monster.
  Slowly together he and Jesse turned the cabin into a home, he made sure she kept up with school work and taught her things that she would never learn in school. She could name every tree, plant and animal in the forest. Jesse could have survived if lost in the woods, Jim taught her survival skills.
  There were many times over the next four years that he started to return her but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Jesse had been the only thing that got him through the loss of his family. It was only when he started feeling ill and was told by a doctor that he didn’t have long to live that he had to make sure Jesse got back to her family.
  Why he kidnapped the detective and demanded that he kill his partner before he returned Jesse was a mystery to him. Maybe it was the disease that was killing him, eating away at his brain. He knew from stories that Jesse told him Hutchinson would never kill his partner.
   It was now time to do the right thing. “Okay kiddo time to go,” Jim smiled at Jesse.
  She closed her purse and looked at him, “Thank you for the purse.”
  “You are welcome honey, now go on. I’ll wait here until you get inside.” He told her, “Your Uncle is probably on the third floor.”
  “I know where your old apartment is.” Jesse started to open the car door but stopped and hugged Jim. “See ya.”
  “See ya kiddo!”
  Jim sat as he promised and watched until she disappeared inside then he slowly pulled away and disappeared into traffic.
   Jesse climbed the stairs to the third floor, she stopped at the top and saw Starsky talking to the older woman that lived across the hall. A man she didn’t know stood in the doorway of Jim’s apartment. “Uncle Starsky!” Jesse called out. She felt as if her feet were rooted to the floor, it had been so long since she had seen him. Jesse couldn’t take her eyes from Starsky.
  Starsky looked up, shock registered on his face. “Jesse?” She was taller and looked older but she had the same long dark hair and brilliant blue eyes, the perfect combination of her parents. “Jesse!” Starsky dropped to one knee and held his arms open wide.
  That was all Jesse needed, she ran down the hall and threw herself into his arms, knocking them both to the ground. She had tears in her eyes as she looked down into his face, “I’ve missed you!”
  “I’ve missed you too!” Starsky held her tight. “How did you get here?”
  “Jim,” Jesse said as if a friend had dropped her off, and he had become her friend.
  Starsky got to his feet pulling her up with him. “Mabel, I need to use your phone!” He looked at Jesse, “What was he driving?”
  Jesse looked at Starsky with pleading eyes, “Let him go.”
  “What? No, he kidnapped you and held you for four years. What was he driving?”
  “Please let him go. It’s okay.”
  “It’s not okay, nothing about this is okay,” Starsky shouted. Jesse took a step backward away from the detective.
  “Dave!” Jack said sternly. “Right now I think the most important thing is to get Jesse home to Susan and Ken.”
  Starsky looked at Jack then Jesse, she had a fearful look on her face. He pulled her to him, “I’m sorry. Let’s go see your mom and dad.”
  Jesse nodded and looked at Jack, “Who is that?” She asked Starsky.
  “That is Jack, a friend of ours that is helping me out today,” Starsky wasn’t going to be the one that told her that her parents were divorced and Jack was her mother’s fiancé.
  “Nice to meet you,” Jesse gave him a big smile. Jack nodded at her.
  “Let’s get you home.” Starsky put his arm around the girl's shoulders. “Thanks for all your help Mabel.”
  Hutch paced the living room, glancing at his watch occasionally. “Where did they go?” Hutch fussed. “We are running out of time!”
  Susan went to him, putting her arms around him she said, “Starsky will be okay, Jack is with him.”
  “I just don’t want him to do anything stupid.” Hutch folded his arms around her.
  She lay her head on his chest, “Jack won’t let him.” Susan always felt safe in Hutch’s arms no matter what was happening.
  “I don’t know what else to do. We have exhausted every lead we had. Do we just wait for Wilson to take off with Jesse? He is like a ghost, I’m afraid if he leaves we will never see Jess again.” Hutch said into her hair.
  “Maybe he will contact you again,” Susan was on the verge of tears at the thought of never seeing their daughter again. It was like Jess was dying a second time.
  Tightening his arms around her. “I will never stop looking if the worst happens.”
  The sound of a horn in the driveway made them jump, Susan went to the window, “It’s Starsk!”
  They both went to the door, Hutch stepped out followed by Susan, Starsky got out of the car as did Jack, “Where the hell have you…” Hutch caught his breath as he saw Jesse slide out of the car and stand next to Jack. “Jesse?”
  Jesse ran toward her parents, Hutch and Susan met her half way. Hutch scooped up his daughter who put one arm around her father the other around her mother. The three of them stood holding each other, happy tears streaming down their faces.
  “Jesse, Jesse.” Susan murmured as she kissed her daughter's cheek.
  Starsky and Jack leaned against the car watching, “Best reunion I have ever seen,” Jack smiled as he watched them. He also had a knot in the pit of his stomach, he had a feeling he had just lost her.
  Hutch put Jesse down and walked over to Starsky engulfing him in a big hug then he shook Jack’s hand. “How?” Was all he asked. Starsky quickly told him about going to the apartment. “Wilson is in custody at the station?”
  “Uhhhh, no,” Starsky glanced at Jack.
  “What do you mean NO!” Hutch blustered, “That man took our daughter, made us think for four long years she was dead then wanted me to kill you! What the hell?”
  Starsky didn’t want to tell Hutch it was Jesse that didn’t want him to go after Wilson. “We thought we needed to get Jesse back to you!”
  “WE?” Hutch nearly shouted, “Since when is HE part of we?” Hutch glared at the two men. “You could have radioed from the car!” He grabbed his partner's jacket in both fists, it was that or hit him.
  Susan and Jesse were standing with their arms around each other, Jesse broke away and ran to her father, “STOP IT daddy, it wasn’t Uncle Starsky’s fault,” she wormed her way between the two men, “I begged him to let Jim go!”
  Hutch let go of his friend and crouched down in front of Jesse taking her hands, “He committed a crime sweetheart, he needs to pay for it. What was he driving? Where was he going?”
  Jesse shook her head no, “I won’t help you.”
  “You have to tell me, now!”
  “Hutch!” Susan grabbed Jesse’s hand and propelled her toward the house. “You three figure this out!”
  Hutch leaned on the car next to Starsky watching his wife and his daughter walk toward the house. He looked down at his hands and twisted his wedding ring, but she wasn’t his wife.
  “Hutch,” Starsky put his hand on Hutch’s shoulder.
  “Starsk…Jack, I’m sorry,” Hutch said. “Why doesn’t Jesse want Wilson behind bars?”
  “I think she has become attached to him which is understandable after all this time.” Starsky theorized, “Why don’t you ask her? Gently.”
  Susan closed the front door behind them, Jesse walked around the living room touching everything. Then she went to the bottom of the stairs and looked up. Jesse wondered if her room was still her room. She ran up the steps and didn’t stop until she reached her room. The name plate she had made at camp when she was seven still hung on the door. Jesse pushed open the door, nothing had changed. She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the vacant place on her pillow where her favorite bear stayed when she wasn’t snuggled in bed with him.
  Susan walked in the room, “Are you looking for Mr. Bear?” She held out the stuffed animal to her daughter.
  Jesse jumped up, grabbed her bear and wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist, she was nearly as tall as Susan now. “I love you mommy.”
  “I love you too ladybug,” Susan looked closely at her daughter, “Are you okay? I think we need to take you to the hospital to get you checked out.”
  “I’m fine, Jim took very good care of me.”
  Jesse did look healthy, “Alright but we will make an appointment with the pediatrician in the next couple of days, deal?”
  “Deal!”
  There was a knock at the door, Hutch stuck his head in, “Is this a private party or can I join?”
  Jesse giggled, “You can come in daddy.” Hutch watched her walk around her bedroom opening drawers, adjusting pictures and trinkets on her shelves. Jesse opened her closet door to inspect her clothing.
  “I already apologized to Jack and Starsky but I need to apologize to you too Jesse.” Hutch said, “I didn’t mean to get so upset.”
  Jesse pulled out her favorite dress and held it up to her as she turned around to face her parents, “It’s okay daddy we are all very emotional right now.”
  She sounded so grown up, Hutch smiled at her. “And so much taller, I think a shopping spree is in your future young lady. What do you think mom?”
  Susan looked at the dress Jesse was holding up. “I think so.”

​​
                                                                 Chapter Twelve


​​​
   Susan and Hutch sat together on the couch still unable to to believe they had their daughter back. “I have to find that son-of-a-bitch.” Hutch said angrily.
   “Unless Jesse gives us some ideas we will never find him.” Susan took his hand, “Let’s just be glad we have her back right now.”
   “I don’t understand why she doesn’t want him arrested.”
  “Hutch she just spent four years with him, they have a connection.”
  “I want to talk to her again.”
  “Tomorrow.”
  Hutch sighed and nodded, “So what’s next?” Susan cocked her head, “What are you going to do?”
  Susan released his hand, “I guess spend a few days getting Jesse settled in and go home.”
  “You are home,” he said, not looking at her.
  “Home with Jack,” she got up and walked over to the fireplace, she picked up their wedding picture. “I’ll never forget this day, I’ll never forget you.”
  “Jesse needs you,” He wanted to say he needed her.
  “I’ll be there for her. She needs to be here in her home with you and Starsky.”
  “Do you love Jack?” Hutch wanted to know.
  Susan didn’t answer his question, instead she said, “I need to tell Jesse.”
  “Tell me what?” Jesse came down the stairs, her hair damp from a bubble bath. She was wearing one of her mother’s t-shirts carrying Mr. Bear.
  “Come sit down,” Susan went back to the couch sitting down and patted the spot between her and Hutch.
  Jesse sat down, “What’s up?” she asked as if the last four years hadn’t happened.
  Hutch locked eyes with Susan silently willing her not to tell Jesse, at least not yet . Susan took a deep breath, “Honey, over the past four years some things have changed. Daddy and I are…are not together anymore.”
  “You got divorced?”
  “Yes and I’m engaged.”
  Jesse thought for a moment, “Jack?”
  Susan smiled at her smart daughter, “Yes, how did you know?”
  The little girl shrugged, “He’s nice.”
  Hutch had a pained look but forced a smile when Jesse turned to look at him. “We will make it work, don't worry.” He assured her.
  There was a knock at the front door then it opened, Starsky, followed by Jack walked in. “Catching up?” Starsky asked, wondering what they had been talking about. Hutch had a fake smile and Susan looked a little sad, only Jesse looked happy, the fact that her parents weren’t together hadn’t sunk in.
  Jesse bounded off the couch and into Starsky’s arms causing him to drop the bag he had been carrying. She picked it up and started to hand it back to him. “That’s for you.” Starsky grinned at her.
  She opened the bag and pulled out a pair of pajamas. “I love them!”
  “There’s a couple more things. I asked the sales lady what a twelve year old girl would like.” Starsky said, “I figured your mom will take you shopping but you need something to wear to do that. I hope it all fits.”
  “Thank you!” Jesse ran up stairs to try on the clothes.
  “So what’s going on here?” Starsky looked at his partners.
  Hutch sighed as he got up, “Susan told Jess we were divorced and that she is engaged.”
  Jack looked surprised, he figured they were over and he would be going home alone. “How did she take it?”
  Hutch left the room going to the kitchen and out the sliding doors into the back yard. Starsky followed leaving Jack and Susan in the living room.
  Susan watched her partners leave then turned to Jack, “She seemed okay with it. But she is processing a lot right now.”
   “Maybe she will need some counseling.”
  “Maybe,” Susan was clearly distracted, she knew Hutch was hurting.
  “You want to go out back?” Jack asked.
  She shook her head, “No it’s fine.”
  “Are you sure?”
  “About?”
  “Me.”
  Susan crossed the room and put her arms around him. “Yes.” The yes sounded empty to her but Jack tightened his arms around her, kissing her cheek.
  “We can stay here as long as you need.” Jack whispered in her ear.
  She nodded but didn’t dare look at him, she was afraid he would see her true feelings, she just buried her face in his shoulder.
   Starsky found Hutch staring up at the night sky, “You okay man?”
   “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? I have my beautiful daughter back. I want to kill that bastard! He destroyed our lives.” Hutch growled. “Why won’t Jesse tell us anything?”
   “Maybe she will, just give her time.”
   “Time? How much time? Wilson is getting further away, we don’t have time!” Hutch kicked one of the lounge chairs over.
  “What about Susan?”
  “What about her? She made her choice, she is going back with Jack.” Hutch righted the chair and sat down.
  Starsky crouched next to his friend. “Ask her to stay, tell her you love her.”
  “She knows.”
  “Did you tell her?”
  “No but look around, nothing has changed in this house. It's as if Susan went to the store and would be back.” Hutch held out his hand, “For God sakes I’m still wearing my wedding ring.” Hutch pulled off the ring and handed it to Starsky.
  “What do you want me to do with it?” Starsky closed his fist around the ring.
  “Toss it, run it down the garbage disposal, I don’t care! I just know I can’t do it but it needs to be done,” Hutch put his head in his hands. “I have to move on somehow.”
  “You’ll have Jesse.”
  “Will I?”
   Jesse came running down the stairs in her new pajamas. She spun around in the living room. “I love them! Where is Uncle Starsky and daddy?”
  “Outside they will be back in a minute.” Susan said, admiring her daughter's sleepwear.
  “I’m hungry,” Jesse proclaimed.
  “With everything going on we forget about dinner.” Susan said.
  “What would you like, little lady?” Jack asked as he took her hand and twirled her around.
  “Pizza! I haven’t had it in forever!”
  “Then pizza it is.” Jack smiled. “How about you and I order some?”
  “There should be a menu in the kitchen drawer!” Jesse pulled Jack toward the kitchen.
  They were in the kitchen looking for the menu when Starsky came in from outside. He laughed, “Top of the fridge.”
  Jack felt around and produced the menu. He and Jesse huddled together looking at all the different pies.
  Starsky continued on to the living room. “Looks like those two are getting along.”
  “Is Hutch okay?” Susan asked.
  “As okay as he can be.”
  “I wish things could be different but I just can’t leave Jack.”
  Starsky wanted to say ‘sure you can’ but he didn’t. Instead he hugged her. Jack and Jesse came back in the room, Starsky released Susan, but before he stepped away he slipped Hutch’s wedding ring in her hand. He wasn’t sure why, maybe to make her feel worse than she already did or perhaps to let her know Hutch was going to move on.
  “Jack ordered seven, count them, seven pizza’s!” Jesse was nearly bursting with excitement.
  Jack shrugged sheepishly, “We couldn’t decide.”
  “What’s all the excitement?” Hutch had come back in.
  “We have seven pizza’s coming!”
  “That’s a lot.” Hutch smiled at Jesse.
  “Sorry, my fault, we got carried away.” Jack winked at Jesse.
   “I’m going to grab a shower before the food gets here,” Susan said starting up the stairs, she turned to watch Jesse acting silly with Starsky and Jack. Hutch stood off to the side, she knew he was hurting. She opened her hand to see what Starsky had put there. Her heart stopped when she saw it was Hutch’s wedding ring.
  It was nearly midnight, Jesse was curled on the couch almost asleep. Hutch scooped her up, “I think it’s time to go to bed.”
  As he walked by Susan Jesse held out her hand to her mother, “Will you come too?”
  “Of course.”
  Susan followed Hutch to Jesse’s room. He gently lay her in her bed and kissed her cheek, “Good night baby.”
  “Don’t go!” Jesse cried. Hutch sat on the edge of the bed, Susan sat on the other side. “Please stay with me.”
  They laid down on either side of her. Jesse snuggled down between her parents. Susan turned off the bedside lamp leaving only a night light to illuminate the room. “Please don’t go after Jim, he is dying.” Jesse said softly.
  “How do you know? Did he tell you?” Susan asked.
  “No, I snooped once when he had gone to the store.” Jesse explained. “I knew he had been having bad headaches for the last year. He got a letter from a doctor, I saw him open it then Jim hid it in the bottom drawer of the desk. A few days later he went out and I found the letter. He has brain cancer, I don’t think he has much time left. I don’t want him to die in jail.”
  Hutch sighed as he took in the information. Then gently he asked, “Jess, did you ever try to get away?”
  “At first I was kind of scared when Jim took me. But he kept talking to me, being really nice. We just kept driving and driving, it got dark and I fell asleep. I woke when he was carrying me into a cabin in the woods, it was so dark. He put me in one of the bedrooms, he never tied me up or even locked the door.” Jesse took a deep breath and continued, “I thought I would just be nice to him until you, mommy and Uncle Starsky came to find me but you never did.”
  A tear slid down Susan’s cheek, “Baby, we thought you died in a car that blew up.”
  “Really?”
  “It happened a week after you went missing. We were tearing this city apart trying to find you.” Hutch tugged on her hair, something he had done since she was little.
  “I always wondered why you never came to get me. After a while I gave up waiting and just made the best of it. Jim was a really nice man, he had lost his wife and little girl. I think I made him miss them not so much. We fixed up the cabin together, he made sure I did school work and he taught me all kinds of things. I can build stuff.”
  “I’m so sorry you thought we wouldn’t come for you.” Susan hugged her daughter.
  “It’s okay mommy I wasn’t mad.”
 “You need to get some sleep sweet girl,” Hutch whispered. “We will be right here.”
  When Susan awoke in the morning, Jesse was gone from between her and Hutch. He was sound asleep on his back, his arm stretched out, and Susan had her head on his arm. She got out of bed quickly then turned to look at Hutch. He looked so peaceful and if he was anything like her, got the best night's sleep in four years.
  Susan made her way down stairs to find Jack in the kitchen flipping pancakes, Jesse was sitting on the counter watching him. She looked around and asked, “Where is Starsky?”
  “He went home to change and pick up some milk,” Jesse answered, “Mommy there is no milk!”
  She laughed and hugged her daughter, still unable to believe she had her daughter back. “I think some shopping is in order for today, what do you think? Clothes and food?”
  The week passed quickly, Jesse hadn’t been happy when she realized that Susan and Jack didn’t live close. She did seem to take her parents divorce in stride though. The week had been filled with shopping, setting up Jesse with counseling, even having a session before Susan left. School didn’t start for another month so Jesse had time to settle in before getting back into a routine.
  At the end of the week it was time for Susan and Jack to return home. There were tears but a promise that they would be back soon. And once Jesse really got settled in she could come visit. Susan hated leaving, she wanted to stay with her daughter and if she was honest with herself Hutch. It wasn't fair to keep Jack away from his job any longer and he refused to leave without her.
  Susan put the last few things in her carry on and looked around the guest room. Jack’s bag was laying on the bed already. She zipped her bag and sat down on the bed, it was tearing her apart to leave.
  Jack appeared in the doorway, “Are you ready?”
  Susan nodded.
  He picked up both bags, “We have to leave soon.”
  “I’ll be right down.” Susan walked to Jesse’s room running her hand over her daughter's name on the door. As she started down the stairs she noticed Hutch sitting in their bedroom. Susan knocked softly on the door and stepped in, “All packed.” She said,
  Hutch looked up at her, “Jess is going to miss you.” He didn’t dare say how much he was going to miss her.
  “I'll be back by the weekend. I'm going to talk to Jack about moving out here.”
  “Jesse would love that.” Hutch stood up, moving past her. Susan followed him down the steps.
  Jack, Starsky and Jesse were waiting on them. “Let’s get you two to the airport,” Starsky said, taking the bags from Jack, “I'll put these in the trunk.
  Susan turned to Hutch, “Maybe when I get back I can do something with those flower beds.”
  Hutch gave her a small smile, “You were the one with the green thumb.”
  Jesse talked endlessly on the car ride to the airport, only Starsky replied. The other three adults were lost in their own thoughts. After parking the group walked to the terminal. Susan hugged Jesse tight, “I’ll be back really soon I promise.” Jesse clung to her mother for a few seconds. Susan moved on to Hutch, she hugged him, “Take care of our daughter.”
  “You know I will.”
  “My turn,” Starsky said as he pulled Susan into his arms.
  She laughed in spite of herself. “Take care of Hutch,” she whispered in his ear. “Jess too, they are both going to need you.”
  “I’m going to miss you!” Starsky whispered back.
  “See you soon,” she said. Then followed Jack down the concourse to the gate they would be taking off from.
   They were almost to the gate when Jack pulled Susan over to the side, “You need to stay here.”
  “We’ll be back soon.”
  He looked into her eyes, “Do you love me?”
  “You know I love you,” Susan said looking up into Jack's face.
  He gave her a bitter sweet smile, “But you aren’t in love with me, there is a difference.”
 Susan started to protest but then just said “I’m sorry.”
  “Don’t be sorry. I think I have always known deep down I never had your heart.” Jack looked back down the concourse from where they had come, “They do.”
  “Jack Carter, you are a good man.”
  He shrugged, “I deserve to be loved the way you love him and he loves you.”
  “Yes you do, I wish I could have given you that. I should have never gotten involved with anybody, I was so broken.”
  “I don’t regret a moment.” Jack leaned down and kissed Susan on the cheek then handed her bag to her. “You better go before they leave.”
  Susan put her hand on Jack’s face, “If you ever need anything.”
  “You will be the first person I call. Now go, your family is waiting.”
  Susan turned slowly and headed toward the entrance of the terminal where she had left her family standing. As the turn of events settled into her mind she began walking faster until she was nearly running.
  Hutch put his arm around his daughter, “Let’s go home sweetie,” Hutch said.
  Starsky put his hand on Hutch’s shoulder, “She will be back.”
  But for Hutch that was going to be even harder watching the woman he loved come and go from their lives. And if she and Jack moved to California and married, he didn’t even want to think about that. They were just about ready to go out the sliding doors into the bright sunshine when Hutch heard his name called.
  “Hutch!” Susan yelled, dropping her bag. Hutch turned just in time to catch her as she leaped into his arms. She hugged him so tightly he nearly lost his breath and then she kissed him hard on the mouth.
  If it hadn't been for Starsky steading them they would have fallen to the ground. “Where’s Jack?” Starsky asked, looking around.
  “He is going home, I’m staying,” Susan said breathlessly, releasing Hutch.
  “But….” Hutch did not dare to hope that he was getting his family back.
  “We aren’t together anymore,” Susan said, smiling up into Hutch's face. “I’m all yours if you will have me.”
  Delight showed in Hutch’s eyes as he hugged her again. Jesse wrapped her arms around Susan’s waist. “I have never stopped wanting you.” Hutch kissed her.
  Starsky retrieved Susan’s bag, “Let’s get out of here.” Starsky said as he took Jesse’s hand.
  Hutch and Susan piled into the back seat of the car, Jesse sat in the front next to Starsky, “Marry me!” Hutch exclaimed.
  “Slow your roll cowboy, we haven’t even had a date yet!” Susan teased, she fished around in the front pocket of her jeans and produced Hutch’s wedding ring and held it out to him.
  “How did you...Starsk!”
  “I gave it to her for safe keeping.” Starsky was grinning from ear to ear. He held out his hand for Jesse to slap which she did laughing.
  Hutch took his ring from the palm of Susan’s hand and slipped it on his finger. “I love you!”
  “I love you more,” Susan said, laying her head on his shoulder.
  “I don’t think that is possible.” Hutch kissed the top of her head. “Home please,” He said to Starsky.
  Starsky saluted and pointed the car toward home. “Yes sir!”
The End