HELLO DARKNESS
BY
TOOKI
*CHAPTER ONE*
He knelt down next to the headstone, putting his hand on the top of the cool granite, as he laid a bouquet of flowers at the base. It had been two years ago exactly since his world had started falling apart. He let his hand slide down the face of the stone allowing his fingers to feel the words engraved there—Kenneth Hutchinson. His world had been shattered in a million pieces the day the call had come—kidnapped, things went from bad to worse and in the end he had been the one who had found the body. Why couldn’t it have been him laying there, still and cold, he didn’t know.
Obsessed with the still unsolved case, he knew that was what had driven his bride of nearly six years away from him. Their divorce had been final just under a year ago; his life was still spinning out of control. She had needed him, but he had been unable to be there for her. Kellie, ten years his junior, had been a wonderful, caring person; she had held on as long as she could. He knew that if he had been more supportive that they would still be together, but he just hadn’t been able to give her what she needed. He had been too full of his own pain and sorrow.
It was a beautiful fall day but he didn’t notice, as he allowed his head to be filled with memories, his eyes filled with tears. He would never rest until he found the killer, the unsolved case file sat on his desk everyday for the last two years as a constant reminder. He wouldn’t allow anybody to remove it; he wanted every detail to remain fresh in his memory, as if he could really forget. He could still see his lifeless body lying on the floor of the abandoned gas station; he looked as if he were sleeping but common sense told the real story. Moments later, as he laid his hands on the body, he knew—there was no trying to convincing himself that it would be alright. Nothing had been alright since.
He didn’t remember calling Kellie that day, only that she turned up at his side wrapped in pain, tears coursing down her cheeks. They had clung to one another for a few moments, then he had gone to work; he had to track down the killer. That had been his first mistake with his wife; he should have stayed there with her. She had understood, she always understood, but this time he should have known his place was with her. But there was too much rage and sorrow running through him to think straight, his natural instincts took over as he went to the morgue to find out exactly what had been the cause of death.
Dobey had finally ordered him home that night, telling him not to come back for a few days, but he had been at his desk bright and early the next morning. Dobey had wanted to yell at him and forbid him to set foot in the office but he couldn’t bring himself to say the words, he was hurting too.
When he felt a hand on his shoulder he knew it was time to go. He let his finger trace out the word J-U-N-I-O-R, then read the words under that, ‘Beloved Son’. The hand squeezed again and Hutch got to his feet.
Starsky bent over to place the flowers he had brought next to the ones Hutch had laid there. Then he whispered to Hutch’s son and his godson, “Sleep well, Kenny.”
TWO YEARS BEFORE
Five year old Kenny ran after his dad, he was the spitting image of his father, same blue eyes, same blond hair. Kellie stood in the door way of their little two bed room house, she smiled as she watch her husband scoop up their son and swing him in the air. Then he kissed his cheek and set Kenny on his feet. “Gotta go to work, buddy,” Hutch grinned at him. Little did Hutch know that it would be the last time he would see his son alive. “Do good in school today.”
“I will,” Kenny beamed at his daddy.
“Come on sweetie, you have to finish getting ready for school.” Kellie called as she gave Hutch a final wave.
Reluctantly, Kenny shuffled back to his mother with a frown on his small face. He had been stalling because he knew that Uncle Starsky would be pulling up soon in his bright red car. Before Kellie could drag him into the house he was rewarded as Starsky’s Torino pulled up to pick up Hutch for their day’s work. Kellie made a grab at her son but came up with only air as Kenny sped toward Starsky.
“Uncle Starsky,” he squealed as he leaned in the passenger side window.
Starsky leaned over and ruffled the head of blond hair. “What’s up?”
“I wish I could go with you today,” Kenny stuck out his bottom lip.
“Sorry, little man,” Starsky smiled at him.
“Kenny, you need to get ready for school.” Hutch said as he picked the child up. “And I have to go to work, you don’t want me to be late and get in trouble with Cap do you?” Kenny shook his head no. “Tell Starsky bye.”
“Bye,” Kenny said, unhappiness etched on his face.
Hutch buried his face in the little boy’s neck and gave him a raspberry which made Kenny burst out into laughter. Kellie was coming out the walk to retrieve their son. “I love you,” Hutch said as he handed Kenny off to his mother. “You too.” He winked at his wife and then kissed her lips. “I’ll try to be on time tonight, hon.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Kellie answered good naturedly. Then she looked into the car. “Hey Dave you want to come for dinner tonight.”
“Sure,” Starsky grinned at her.
Hutch slid into the passenger seat, “Let’s get this day started, partner.” Hutch waved to Kenny and Kellie one last time before they sped off to their job.
“Do I have to go to kennergarden today?” Kenny asked, piercing his mother with his blue eyes as they walked up to the school.
“Yes, honey,” Kellie answered patiently. “I’ll be back a noon to get you.”
“Can we go for hamburgers?”
Kellie laughed, “Alright, but you get to your classroom before you are late.”
Kenny smiled and ran to join the other kids as they were entering the building. He turned just before going in and yelled, “Love you.”
“Right back at ya.” She called back. Kellie didn’t now that would be the last time she would see her son alive.
She looked at her watch, she would have time to run a few errands, and pick up groceries for the nights dinner before she had to be back to pick up Kenny. Kellie walked the half a block to where she had parked, she knew she could just drop Kenny off but she wanted to make sure that he was safely in the building. Kellie didn’t notice the man sitting in the non-descript car across the street from the play ground, in fact, none of the hundreds of other parents noticed him either.
“I want her tossed in jail,” the store owner insisted.
“Oh, come on, Stan, it’s a pack of gum and the young lady gave it back and apologized,” Starsky said looking down at the girl who couldn’t be more than seven.
“That’s how they start out, a pack of gum here, a candy bar there, next thing you know they are robbing you blind.”
Tears were pouring down her face. “I’m sorry, really, mister.”
Hutch leaned in the door way listening to the conversation between his partner and the store owner but kept his eyes on the street, never knowing what might happen.
Starsky pulled his wallet from his back pocket and handed the man a dollar, “Here, I’ll pay for the gum, and you keep the change.”
“And what is this teaching the little thief?” Stan grumbled, but eyed the money.
“That people can forgive mistakes.” Starsky hiked his eye brows at the man.
“Oh, all right,” Stan snapped, he looked pointedly at the girl, “I don’t ever want to see you in my store again, you got that?”
“Yes, sir,” she said as she looked down at the floor.
Starsky led the girl past Hutch and out onto the side walk. “You heard old Stan right? You can’t go in his store anymore.”
“Yeah, I heard’em.”
“If my partner and I catch you in there again, we will take you downtown.” Starsky warned. Hutch was watching them with an amused look on his face.
“What ever.” She said sullenly.
Starsky held the gum in his hand, “And no more stealing from anywhere, you got me?”
The girl looked at Starsky, then at the gum he had in his hand. In one swift movement she grabbed the pack of gum from his hand and was half way down the block before Starsky had realized what had happened. He gave Hutch a startled look, Hutch merely shook his head. “Why that little con-artist!” Starsky exclaimed as he watched her disappear around the corner.
“You just never learn do ya, buddy.”
“Ah, Hutch, she was just a kid.”
“And you, my friend, are just an old softy.” Hutch looked at his friend lovingly.
Starsky shrugged his shoulders then patted his stomach. “’bout lunch time isn’t it?”
Hutch glanced at his watch, “Almost noon.”
“How about a burrito?”
Hutch turned up his nose, “Maybe I’ll skip lunch today, Kellie will make a nice dinner.”
“Suit yourself but I’m hungry.”
Kenny couldn’t wait to get outside for recess, making numbers and letters were okay but the best part of the day was getting to go out side and play with the other kids. Then, he knew it wouldn’t be long until his mommy would be coming to get him. He was thinking about what kind of kid’s meal he wanted when he heard a man’s voice.
“Hi, there,” the man was crouched on the sidewalk on the other side of the fence that lined the playground. He was dressed in a green sweat shirt and jeans; he looked to be about thirty. He remember the boy from that morning, he had seen his mother drop him off.
“Hi,” Kenny said as he kept walking, his parents had told him time and again not to talk to strangers.
“It’s almost time for school to be out, uh?” the man asked.
Kenny nodded, “Not long.”
The man watched the playground for teachers as he talked to the small boy. “My name is Doug.” When Kenny didn’t respond he said, “Your mommy sent me to pick you up after school.”
Kenny stopped and eyed the man. She had said just before she left that she would be picking him up and they would go for lunch. “No, she is coming.”
“Well plans changed and she asked me to get you.” He said, “But don’t tell anybody, its a secret.”
“Does it have to do with dinner tonight?” Kenny asked. He remembered his mommy had asked Uncle Starsky to dinner.
“Yeah,” the man said seeing his opening. He tried this same scenario with kids all the time, some bought it, some didn’t. “I think she is making a cake.”
Kenny’s eyes got big, “Chocolate?”
“Is that your favorite?” he asked, Kenny nodded, “Then I’m sure that is what she is making.”
“Are you coming to dinner too?”
“Sure.” The man noticed a teacher heading their way. “I’ll be waiting right out front in that car over there. Come right out okay?”
“Will you still take me to lunch?”
The man nodded, “But only if you keep the secret. Now you better go on.”
Kenny ran to join his friends as the man blended into the back ground. When the kids were gone, the man crossed the street and got into his car…he would wait, he was good at waiting.
*CHAPTER TWO*
Kellie glanced at her watch, she was running late and the line at the grocery was never ending. She thought of just leaving her cart, but she was finally next and the thought have having to come back with Kenny and re-shop didn’t appeal to her. She knew that if she wasn’t there right on time his teacher would keep an eye on him.
As Kellie was pulling up in front of the school she noticed that something was going on, several teachers were gathering the children that hadn’t been picked up into groups and herding them back into the building. Kellie heard sirens in the distance and her son’s teacher was heading toward her, fear and panic written on her face.
She immediately got out of the car, “What’s wrong, Miss Entrup? Where is Kenny?”
“H-he just ran out so fast,” the woman stammered.
Kellie’s first thought was that he had been hit by a car, “Where is my son?”
“G-gone, I think he might have been kidnapped.” Miss Entrup said as she burst into tears. “I tried to stop him.”
Kidnapped, the word echoed around in Kellie’s head. “I don’t understand.”
Two police cars screeched up just as the teacher started to tell her what happened. Four police officers joined the two women. “Have you found the boy?” One of the officers asked.
“No I’m, Miss Entrup, his teacher,” Miss Entrup answered. “This is the boy’s mother…”
“Kellie?” Tim Sammons asked, recognizing the shell shocked mother.
“Tim,” Kellie said, grateful she knew one of the officers.
“Kenny is gone?” She nodded as tears started to spill down her face. He turned to the teacher, “What happened?”
“School was just getting out, Kenny suddenly took off saying that this man was picking him up for his mom. I tried to stop him but he was just too fast. There was a car sitting out front with a man inside, Kenny opened the door, it looked like the man might have pulled him into the car, then he took off.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t his father?” Tim asked.
“Ken is at work and Kenny knew I was coming to get him. I was just a few minutes late,” Kellie looked horrified. “This is my fault, if I had been here on time.”
“This is not your fault.” Tim assured her.
“But, if I had been on time, I would have been waiting at the bottom of the steps for him.” She sobbed. “I-I need to call Ken.”
“I’ll call him for you, Kellie,” Tim offered, “Why don’t you two go back into the building. We will need a description of the man and the car and anything else you can think of, Miss Entrup.”
Starsky has just put the last bite of his burrito into his mouth when the radio came alive. “Zebra three,” Hutch said, picking up the microphone.
“Patch through from Officer Tim Clark.”
“Tim?” Hutch was surprised to get a call from the officer.
“Hutch, you need to get to your son’s school, it looks like he has been kidnapped.” The officer said, “I’m sorry to just blurt the news out like this but we don’t have anytime to waste.”
Stunned, Hutch thanked the officer and hung up the microphone. He looked over at Starsky who had the same expression on his face. Hutch slapped the light on to the top of the Torino as Starsky flipped on the siren and peeled out of the Taco shop’s parking lot. Neither of them spoke as they neared the school, it was impossible for them to get close, as a snarl of parents trying to pick up their kids, blocked the road.
Hutch jumped out of the car, running the last block to the school. He franticly looked for his wife wondering if she even knew. Then, he saw Tim standing at the top of the steps of the building. Taking the steps two at a time, Hutch reached the officer in moments. “Is my wife here?”
“She is in the principal’s office with Kenny’s teacher. Bret is taking the teachers statement, and then we are getting her down to the station to the sketch artist. We have other officers talking to the rest of the kids and teachers to see if they saw anything.”
“Thanks, Tim.” Hutch opened the door and made his way down the hall to the principal’s office. Through the window in the door he could see Kellie, her face contorted and tear streaked, and Kenny’s teacher talking to Bret Carlson. The school’s principal was pacing back and forth and fielding phone calls when the secretary couldn’t handle them all.
Hutch opened the door and all eyes turned in this direction, Kellie jumped up and threw herself into his arms. “What the hell happened?” Hutch asked as he comforted his wife. As Hutch was being filled in on the details, Starsky entered the office.
He immediately went to his partner’s side; Kellie raked her pleading eyes across his face. Starsky could see her agony, he gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Kenny had been missing less than an hour; they had a description of the car and a partial description of the male driver.
Kenny had known the moment he opened the man’s car door that he had made a mistake. He heard his teacher, Miss Entrup, yell his name and rush down the school steps. He started to back away from the car but the man lunged across the seat, grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him into the car. The man had ordered him to close the door, fearful of what might happen to him if he didn’t, Kenny slammed the door and the car took off at a high rate of speed.
“You don’t know my mommy,” Kenny accused as the car careened around a corner almost throwing him in to the man’s lap.
“Shut up kid,” the man made another turn in the opposite direction which slammed Kenny’s tiny body against the door.
“I want to go home,” Kenny wailed.
“Shut up,” the man said again, raising his fist to the boy.
Kenny cringed against the seat; nobody had ever hit him before. All it ever took was a stern look from his father and that would stop him from what he was doing. The man looked into the rear view mirror to see if they were being followed, nobody was behind them, he had gotten away again.
“I’ll call Jill to come and get Kellie,” Starsky said of his long time girl friend. He had been thinking the last few months that he might even ask her to marry him. He saw how happy Hutch and Kellie were, and he wouldn’t mind a little boy of his own.
Hutch nodded to his partner, then turned to his wife. “Starsk, is going to get Jill to come take you home honey. Then we are going after this guy.”
“M-my car is here,” Kellie blurted out. She was in such a state of shock it was hard to think straight. “W-what if this guy hurts Kenny or..or kills him?”
Hutch pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. “That’s not going to happen; we are going to find Kenny. He will be home by dinner.
Kenny didn’t make it home for dinner that night, nor the next, or the next. Hutch and Starsky barely slept as they searched for the boy. The whole police force was on alert, as was the state of California and surrounding states, in case the man took the boy over state lines. The next morning two detectives, from a near by town, burst into the squad room carrying a thick stack of files.
Clark Anderson and Jake Peterman had been working on, unsolved, kidnapped children cases for the last ten years. They had heard about the Hutchinson boy being kidnapped and instantly began copying case files to take with them.
“We are looking for the detectives working on the Hutchinson kidnapping case,” Anderson had said as they entered the squad room.
“That would be, Starsky and Hutchinson, but they are out,” Detective Hopewell told the two men.
“We might have some information that will help them,” Peterman said showing the detective the files.
“You can talk to their captain,” Simon Hopewell got up from his desk and showed the two men to Dobey’s door. He tapped lightly and when he heard the captain give permission to enter, he opened the door. “Captain Dobey, these two detectives might have information on Kenny’s case.”
Dobey stood up and waved for the detectives to come in, “Thank you, Hopewell.” Then he turned his attention to the two men, “What do you have?”
“We are from the Santa Maria Police Department.” Anderson said, “I’m Detective Anderson, this is my partner, Jake Peterman.” They shook hands and Dobey asked them to be seated.
Peterman handed Dobey the files he had, “These are files on kidnapped children from our area in the last ten years. Sounds like the same MO of your kidnapping and that was what got our attention. This guy picks up a kid from school and they are never seen alive again.”
Dobey looked at the stack of files, “Are you telling me you found all these children dead?”
The two men nodded in unison, “I’m sorry to inform you, we haven’t found one alive yet.” Anderson answered.
The Captain felt like somebody had dropped fire into the pit of his stomach. “What else can you tell me?”
“It’s a mixture of boys and girls, I believe it was 7 boys, 5 girls, they were either in Kindergarten or first grade. Nabbed as they came out of school, why they go out to this stranger’s car is anybody’s guess, but they do.” Peterman said. “It got to where a lot of the schools were hiring off duty police officers to guard their students as they were coming and going to school. About a year ago it stopped, we thought it was over, then, we heard about this case on the news last night.”
“Were the children sexually molested?” Dobey asked the question but he didn’t want to know the answer.
“I’m afraid so, Captain Dobey,” Anderson said.
“Damn,” Dobey said under his breath. He picked up the phone, poked a few numbers then told the party on the other end, “Find Starsky and Hutchinson and tell them I need to see them in my office, now.”
“We will be glad to help your detectives in anyway we can.” Peterman said. Then he asked, “Isn’t Hutchinson the little boys last name?”
Dobey nodded, “He is my detective’s son.”
“Christ, this isn’t going to be easy,” Peterman said as he shook his head, feeling sorry for his fellow detective. He knew the boy was probably already dead.
With in fifteen minutes, Starsky and Hutch were in the Captain’s office and after the introductions had been made, Dobey said, “Ken, I don’t know any easy way to say this so I’m just going to come out and say it. These two detectives think that Kenny might have fallen victim to a serial kidnapper.”
“What?” Hutch asked, stunned as he looked from the two detectives from Santa Maria to the pile of files on Dobey’s desk. “No, this can’t be, Santa Maria is a hundred and seventy miles up the coast.”
“Like we were telling your Captain, the kidnappings stopped about a year ago. Maybe he moved here, perhaps there are other cases else where in the last year. We will be happy to find out for you.” Peterman said, then went on to fill them in on the rest of the details. “We will do anything to help, Detective Hutchinson.”
“Thank you,” Hutch said absently, then he wanted to know. “What am I going to tell Kellie?”
“How about nothing for a while,” Starsky suggested. “We aren’t sure this is the same person.” But his gut told him it was.
The only break that had came was on the fourth day of the search as the two detectives were at their desks when a call came in, an abandoned car matching the description of the kidnapper’s had been found. The car was in an empty lot in one of the worst neighborhoods in Los Angeles, the lot had been roped off by the time the detectives got there, but nobody had approached the car.
Hutch slowly got out of the Torino and stared at the beat up Chevy, Starsky came around the front of his car and joined Hutch, they both sized up the car and surrounding area. It was unclear how long the car had been there, they were both surprised that it still had its tires.
“Come on, lets go have a look,” Starsky said as he touched Hutch’s arm lightly.
All Hutch could think about was finding his son’s body in the back seat or trunk of the car. They made their way, along with several other officers, across the weedy lot to where the car was parked. All the windows were rolled up, the windshield had a crack that ran the length of the glass. Starsky peered in the window, then he gently opened the driver’s side door, he was relieved there was no body or signs of a struggle, or blood in the car.
“He’s not in there, Hutch.” Starsky announced, relief evident in his voice.
“Pop the trunk,” Hutch instructed one of the officers who had joined them and was carrying a crowbar. With in moments the trunk was open; holding his breath Hutch looked in…nothing. He closed his eyes and leaned against the car. It was possible this wasn’t even the right car but his hopes were dashed when he heard his partner call out to him.
“Hutch,” Starsky said, he had been searching the front seat of the car when he had spied something wedged under the seat. When Hutch came to stand next to his partner Starsky held up the shoe, “Its Kenny’s isn’t it?”
Hutch took the shoe and nodded. He knew it was his son’s, they had only gotten them the month before on a family shopping trip. They were hardly worn, Hutch clutched the shoe to his chest as he walked back through the weeds to the car.
*CHAPTER THREE*
Hutch stood on the side walk looking up at their cozy little house that they had lived in for the last four years. Kellie had been so excited to move from their cramped apartment to the house with a bedroom for Kenny and a fenced in yard since he had just started walking. He knew it was time to tell Kellie what he knew about the case, still clutching the tiny shoe; he took a deep breath and headed for the front door.
Jill was in the kitchen making tea when Hutch entered, Kellie was taking a nap on the couch. She looked so peaceful laying there, not a care in the world. It was the only time she escaped from reality and sometimes even her sleep was shattered with nightmares. Jill’s face went white when she saw Hutch standing in the living room clinging to Kenny’s shoe.
“God, no,” She whispered.
Kellie’s eyes opened as if she sensed something was wrong. She sat up when she saw her husband standing there, and wondered where Dave was. “What’s going on, Ken?”
“Honey,” He began, as he tried to find a gentle way to tell her that their son was probably already dead, not that it wasn’t in the backs of their minds already. “We found one of Kenny’s shoes today.” He held out the shoe for her to see.
Kellie snatched the shoe from Hutch and looked it over, “Are you sure it’s his,” her voice was a little too shrill. Jill sat the tea tray down and joined Kellie on the couch, putting a protective arm around her shoulder.
“You know it is, Kellie,” Hutch said sitting down on the edge of a chair next to the couch. He reached over and took both of her hands in his.
“He’s dead isn’t he?” Kellie asked, her expression frozen on her face.
“We don’t know that yet.” Hutch answered. “We found the shoe in an abandoned car, there was no sign of Kenny.”
“It’s been four days.”
“I know, baby,” Hutch choked down a lump that was forming in his throat. “Kellie there is something that you need to know. We believe now that Kenny was taken by a serial kidnapper.”
“WHAT?”
“Kellie, you need to prepare yourself,” Hutch said taking her hand.
“Prepare myself for what?” she asked, although she knew the answer, she wanted to hear her husband say it.
“He might be dead.”
Kellie fainted, falling back into Jill’s arms. Jill looked at Hutch with tears running down her face. “The others were found dead?” All Hutch could do was nod.
After a few moments he got up and knelt next to his wife, pushing back a stray hair. He kissed her forehead and said to Jill, “I have to be getting back. Starsk is going over the car with the crime lab.”
“You need to be here with Kellie,” Jill said, gently laying Kellie on the couch. “Do you have any idea what she is going through?” Jill followed Hutch to the door.
He turned and stared at her, “I think I do.” He sounded angry.
“Ken, I didn’t mean it that way, it’s just you are off working, looking for Kenny, you have Dave and the rest of force. All Kellie has is me; I’m not enough, she needs her husband to lean on.”
Hutch looked away from her. “I know, I-I just can’t right now.” He left with out looking back.
It was well after midnight when Hutch returned home, the house was dark save the porch light that was always burning for him when he worked late. He undressed and slipped quietly in bed next to his wife, he lay on his back starting at the ceiling in the darkness. Hutch could tell she was sleeping by her soft rhythmic breathing; he let his thoughts wander back to the day he first met Kellie.
She had been in her last year of college; she and a few other students that were studying criminology had been taking a tour of the precinct. Kellie had gotten separated from her group and found herself in the squad room where Hutch and Starsky we going to over a case with Dobey, who was being his usual, blustery self as he was laying down the law to his detectives.
Kellie stood mesmerized by the three men, it sounded so ‘real’, she didn’t realize she had a smile on her face and was staring at them until the captain turned his attention to her. “Miss, may I help you?”
Kellie blushed deeply, “Uh…no…well…yes…I-I…”
Hutch walked over to her and held out his hand, “I’m, Ken Hutchinson, that’s my partner Dave Starsky, and the scary man is our Captain, Harold Dobey.”
“Hi,” she said, still pink.
“Nice to meet you, Miss…” Starsky said smiling at her.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m Kellie, Kellie Johnson,” Kellie said, regaining her composure. She was a beautiful girl with shoulder length auburn hair and green eyes. “I some how lost the group I was with.”
“Well, why don’t we see if we can find them,” Hutch said as he escorted Kellie from the squad room. They dated only six months before Hutch asked her to marry him, which they did three days after she graduated college.
Kellie stirred next to him as she murmured in her sleep; Hutch rolled on his side and pulled her to him. She wrapped her arms around his and was quite; he buried his face in her hair and breathed in the scent that still lingered there from her evening shower. Their perfect life was gone in a flash, leaving only pain and sorrow. He could no longer believe that that their son would be found alive.
Hutch felt like his head had just touched the pillow when the phone call came. His hand reached out for Kellie but her side of the bed was empty, he hadn’t felt her get up. Hutch was reaching for the phone when he noticed Kellie standing in the door way, her face was pale and fearful. Neither one of them made a move to answer the phone; it was as if they knew it was bad news.
Finally, Hutch reached for the phone, if nothing else but to stop the incessant noise it was making, “Hutchinson.”
“Ken, its Harold Dobey,” The captain said. “I don’t know how to tell you this but the body of a small boy was found in an abandoned gas station not too far from where the car was found.”
“Has anybody touched him?” Hutch asked as his world spun out of control, he knew it had to be their son.
“No, the call only came in five minutes ago and I have strict instructions for everybody to hang back until you could get there.”
Kellie stood woodenly, watching her husband’s expressions and his end of the conversation; she knew it couldn’t be good. When Hutch hung up she asked, “They found Kenny didn’t they?”
Hutch went to his wife and grabbed both her arms gently, “Let’s not jump to any conclusions yet, okay?”
“I want to come.”
“No, I’ll call you.” Hutch said as he pulled on his clothes from the day before. “Is Jill coming over?”
“I guess so, she has been here everyday since….” Kellie let the sentence hang in the air; there was no need to finish it.
“You call her; make sure she is going to be here.”
“It’s Kenny I know it,” Kellie said her eyes filling with tears.
“I don’t know that, I just don’t want you to be alone.”
“Then let me come with you.” She pleaded.
“You don’t need to be there.” Hutch knew from reading the other reports that most of the time the bodies had been found with little or no clothes. He didn’t want the last image of their son to be burned into Kellie’s memory like that. “I promise I will call you the moment I find out.”
“Do you think Dave knows?” Kellie asked.
“If you don’t mind, would you call him while I finish getting dressed?”
Kellie nodded and left the room as she was on her way to the kitchen to make the call and turn off the breakfast she had been cooking, there was a knock at the door. She made a detour to answer it; Starsky and Jill were standing there when she opened the door. “I was just going to call you.”
“Did you get a call from Dobey?” Starsky asked as he and Jill entered the Hutchinson house.
Kellie nodded as she hugged first Starsky and then Jill. “Ken is getting dressed.”
Starsky went back to the bed room as Jill followed Kellie into the kitchen. “It’s probably not him you know.” Jill said, hoping that she was right.
“I’m not kidding myself, I know its Kenny, I can feel it.” Kellie said as she turned off the burner under the bacon she had been frying.
“Let’s just wait for the guys to check it out, okay?” Jill said as she poured them both a cup of coffee.
Hutch stuck his head into the kitchen, “We are heading out.”
Kellie wrapped her arms around him. “Promise you will call me the moment you know...good or bad.”
“You know I will, baby,” Hutch said and kissed her lips.
The gas station was only four blocks from where the car had been found the day before. They had canvassed the whole neighborhood then, so they knew the body had been placed there with in the last several hours. The car had turned up nothing except for Kenny’s shoe, which the detectives from Santa Maria said was the same MO as their killer.
The entire block had been cordoned off to keep the curious and press a good distance away. Dobey met his men as they drove up; the look on his face was somber, the three of them walked toward the old gas station without speaking.
The bay door to the garage was open and a form, looking like nothing more than a rag, was lying on the floor near the center of the garage, Hutch stopped, he wasn’t sure he could see is son like this. Starsky touched Hutch’s elbow, “You want me to take a look?”
Hutch shook his head no, knowing that as much as he didn’t want to look that he had too. They continued on until they were standing just inside the bay door. The tiny body was curled into an almost fetal position but Hutch could see the shock of blond not so unlike his own. The body wore no shirt and his jeans were pulled down around his ankles, there was one shoe on, the other foot was only wearing a white sock that was now dirty.
The partners walked slowly across the floor until they were standing mere inches away from the little boy. Hutch closed his eyes tightly, then sucking in a breath of air; he opened his eyes and looked down into his son’s face. He felt his knees go out from under him; Starsky grabbed him around the waist to steady him.
Hutch slid out of Starsky’s grasp to his knees and started to reach out to touch Kenny. Starsky said, “Hutch, don’t! If we want to catch the bastard that did this the crime lab will need to check him out first.
He snatched his hand back then covered his face with both of his hands as tears spilled down his face.
It took nearly an hour before the body was released for transport to the coroner; two men came with a body bag to pick up the body of Kenny Hutchinson. Hutch stopped them before either man could touch the body. He bent over and picked up the body of his son, he cradled Kenny’s lifeless body to his chest; he couldn’t stand to see his son zipped into the black bag. Hutch carried him to the waiting coroner’s wagon and placed Kenny on to the gurney, covering his body with a sheet.
Starsky followed from a distance not wanting to intrude on his partner’s final moment with his son. He came up behind Hutch and put his hand on his shoulder, “You go with Kenny,” He whispered through his own tears.
Hutch nodded gratefully and climbed in the wagon with Kenny. He wanted him cleaned up before Kellie saw him. The boy had bruises on his arms, legs and torso, thankfully his face was untouched. Hutch smoothed the blond hair as the vehicle started up and moved through the crowd of people.
*CHAPTER FOUR*
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
Hutch sat at his desk, phone in hand, Kenny was in the morgue being cleaned up for viewing. Hutch wanted Kellie to see their son before the autopsy. “You want me to call?” Starsky questioned.
“No, I promised Kellie I would call.” Hutch dialed their number reluctantly; the phone only rang twice before she picked it up. “Kellie, it’s me.”
“It was Kenny, it was our baby wasn’t it?” she said before he could get the words out of his mouth.
“Yes,” There was no easy way to break the news to her.
He heard the phone drop to the floor, and then Jill’s voice was on the other end, “Ken?”
“Jill, it was Kenny, can you bring Kellie down here?” Hutch asked.
“We’ll be there as soon as possible.” Jill answered.
Hutch waited silently for his wife, Starsky stood close, wishing that he could take his pain away. There was nothing to say, no comfort to give, he could only be there when he was needed. He was also dealing with his own pain as Kenny had been almost like his own son, he was sure it couldn’t hurt any more if it had been his own.
Kellie, along with Jill, mounted the steps to the building, Kellie’s face was set and somber as they opened the door, she didn’t cry when she saw her husband because she knew if she started she would never be able to stop. Hutch went to her and started take her in his arms, “Don’t,” Kellie requested, she was barely holding it together.
Hutch stepped back, understanding how she felt; he had chased Starsky away too. It was like if nobody touched you then it wasn’t real. “This way,” He said, his voice sounding wooden. When they were standing out side the doors to the morgue he looked down at his wife. “Are you ready?” Kellie only nodded and Hutch pushed open the door.
Kenny lay on a metal table, a white sheet was under him and a second covered his body. Kellie looked down into his face, he looked as if he was sleeping and she had to stop her self from trying to shake the boy awake. She reached under the sheet and took his small, cold hand her in hers. “Was he…he…”
“What does it matter now?” Hutch asked, knowing that his wife wanted to know if their son had been molested.
“It matters to me.”
“Yes.”
Tears slid from under Kellie’s lashes as she envisioned her son’s last moments of life, he must have been so scared and wondering where his parents were, why they weren’t there to protect him. “Are there any clues as to who this monster is?” she choked out.
Hutch wanted nothing more than to tell Kellie that they had leads and were about to arrest the man but they had nothing. “Baby, we have no clues, no witnesses, nothing.”
Kellie turned and looked up at him. “You ARE going to get him ARENT’ you?”
Hutch didn’t know what to say to her, how could he tell her that the killer of their son had gotten away with it. Just as he had gotten away with the murders of twelve other children. Why was this man so elusive, how was it that he made no mistakes? They clung to each other for minutes then Hutch said, “I need to get back to work.”
Kellie nodded, knowing that he would not rest until their son’s killer was caught. “I’ll make the arrangements.”
“That can wait until later,” Hutch told her. He didn’t want the whole burden to be hers.
“It’s okay, I have Jill and I have to do something or I’ll go crazy.” Kellie said, wiping her tears away. He watched her go down the hall and marveled at what a strong woman she really was.
The days passed, the funeral came and went, weeks went by and then months, the case was cold. The man didn’t strike again and there were no clues to lead them on their hunt. Kenny Hutchinson’s case file went into the unsolved file; a copy remained on his father’s desk.
PRESENT
As Hutch and Starsky started away from Kenny’s grave, they noticed a car parked behind the Torino, a woman holding a bouquet of daises in her hands stood next to the cars; her eyes followed the two men as they approached.
“Kellie,” Starsky spoke first, he walked up and hugged her tightly.
“Hi, Dave,” she said softly as she buried her face in his coat, it felt so good to see him again. She hadn’t seen either of them since the divorce had been final nine months ago.
Hutch looked at her longingly, he was still very much in love with her, as she was with him, but it was just too painful for them to be together. They had ended up fighting constantly until they decided that they needed to be apart. “Hey, Kel,” Hutch said, unsure if he should hug her or not.
She made the decision for him as she put her arms around him and asked, “How are you doing, Ken?”
“Hanging in there I guess.” He responded, hugging her a little too tightly. He missed her so much; his already aching heart hurt all that much more. “How have you been?”
“Alright,” Kellie answered. She had moved away the moment the divorce was final. She had moved to Ocean Side, it was about half way between Los Angeles and San Diego. Kellie didn’t want to be too far away so she could visit her son’s grave often but she also didn’t want to be running into her ex-husband. She had been rather surprised that this was the first time they had run into each other at Kenny’s grave, she knew that he visited often. “I got a pretty good job.”
Hutch wanted to ask her if she was dating anybody but he couldn’t bring himself to, and it wasn’t any of his business. He hadn’t so much as looked at a woman since they had split up. Starsky and Jill still dated off and on but Kenny’s death and the break up of their best friends had affected their relationship also. “Have you seen Jill lately?”
Kellie smiled at him, “We have dinner once in a while. But we are both busy so it’s hard to get away.”
“I can’t seem to get rid of him,” Hutch joked and looked Starsky’s way. Starsky had gone to lean on his car to give them some privacy, he still had hopes that they would patch things up.
She smiled at him again. “I’m glad you have each other, you need somebody.”
Hutch wanted to say that he needed her but he didn’t. “Do you come here much?”
“As much as I can,” Kellie said, playing with one of daisy’s petals. “I wish it could be more.”
Hutch wondered if the killer had been caught if they would still be together. He had been so consumed with finding the man there was no room for anything else, not even his wife.
They stood there looking at each other, the silence becoming painful. It was Starsky that broke the silence, “Hey, Hutch, we better get going.”
Hutch nodded gratefully at his partner. He kissed Kellie’s cheek, “If you need anything, you know where I am.”
She nodded, “Bye, Dave. See ya, Ken.”
They stood and watched Kellie as she made her way to the graveside. “Come on, Hutch,” Starsky tugged at his arm knowing that he would stand there all day watching her.
Hutch sat down at his desk and pulled out a worn file folder from the drawer. “It’s been two years, buddy, why don’t you let me file that thing.” Starsky asked.
“It’s over if you file it.”
“It’s over anyway; you are never going to heal if you keep that file lying around.” Starsky said.
“That’s kind of up to me, isn’t it?” Hutch snapped angrily as he threw the file back into the drawer. He blew out his breath and said in a gentler voice, “Hey, man, I’m sorry; tough day.”
“I know,” Starsky said putting his hand on Hutch’s shoulder. “And I know it didn’t help any seeing Kellie either.”
“I miss her.”
“I know you do, buddy.” Starsky said, his heart going out to his best friend.
The squad room doors banged open and a uniformed officer stood there out of breath, “Hutch a call came in you might be interested in.”
“What’s up?” Hutch asked as he and Starsky crossed the room.
“A five year old girl was just snatched in front of her school about five minutes ago,” the officer answered.
The two detectives looked at each other for a few moments then dashed out of the room in a dead run. When they arrived at the elementary school it was like living Kenny’s kidnapping all over again. The same mass of frantic parents, the police cars, a hysterical mother being lead into the school. Hutch pushed his way through the throng of people, Starsky right behind him. They took the steps up to the school two at a time and found the principle’s office.
A woman clutching a soggy tissue was talking to an officer, “Excuse me,” Hutch said to them both. “I’m Detective Hutchinson, are you the mother of the child that was taken?”
The woman nodded as she looked up at him with tear filled eyes. “Yes.”
Standing up, the officer said, “Excuse me, I’m in the middle of getting information here.”
Hutch started to open his mouth and let the officer have it when Starsky stepped in. “Listen Officer…”
“Kellen.”
“Officer Kellen, my partner and I have first hand experience in this matter and it would help if he could interview the mother.”
“And just what gives you so much…” the officer trailed off as he suddenly realized who Hutch was. “I-I’m sorry.”
Starsky patted him on the back, “Its okay.”
About the same time the mother recognized Hutch, whose picture had been splashed all over the newspapers and TV two years ago. “Oh, my God, you’re him aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Hutch answered tensely, he knew with all the delays that the kidnapper was getting further away. “Now, if you could tell me what happened? Did you see the car? Did anybody see the car; get a plate number, anything?”
“It was just a junker car, brown, I think,” the woman sniffed and dabbed at her nose. “I was coming up the walk when I saw Suzy getting into the front of the car. I yelled at her and started to run toward the car but the man gunned it, she almost fell out.”
“What did the man look like?” Hutch asked.
“I-I don’t know, I didn’t get a good look at him.” She started sobbing, “He’s going to kill my baby isn’t he?”
“Not if I can help it,” Hutch said with determination.
As the detectives were leaving the building a boy, about nine, came up to them, “Are you the police?” He asked.
Starsky smiled at him, “Yep, we are.” He patted the boy on the head as they started down the steps.
“Hey, wait,” He called and ran after them. “I have some of the numbers of the license plate.”
They stopped and turned to look at the boy, he held out his arm so that they could see the numbers he had written there in a magic marker, 7-5-8-V. “Sorry, that was all I could get before he drove off. Is Suzy going to be okay? I live next door to her.”
Hutch wrote down the numbers, “Thanks, son, we will do our best to find her.”
*CHAPTER FIVE*
Suzy Coyle’s body was found three days later in the basement of an abandoned building. Starsky had tried to stop his partner from going to look at the body of the little girl but Hutch insisted. “Damn it!” Hutch raged when they got back to the car. “Why doesn’t this bastard make a mistake? I thought when we had a partial plate on him, it was a break.” In his anger, Hutch punched the window of the Torino, the window didn’t yield.
Starsky looked at Hutch’s hand; the knuckles were bleeding and already starting to turn purple. He shook his head, “I think we need to have that looked at.”
Hutch didn’t even notice the pain in his broken hand. “It’s nothing.” He waved away his partner’s concern. “I want to call those two detectives from Santa Maria.”
Starsky knew better than to disagree with Hutch, it would probably be a waste of time as the killer would go back into hiding. “Your hand looks broken, buddy.”
Hutch just shrugged as he got into the car. “I want to get back to the station and pull all those case files.”
Sighing, Starsky got into the car but instead of going to the station, he took Hutch to the hospital. After an hour wait and listening to Hutch fuss about wasting time, a doctor finally took an x-ray of Hutch’s battered hand. Starsky had been right, the hand was broken. After the hand was splinted and wrapped, Hutch was given some pain medication and told to go home and rest.
“I am not going home,” Hutch growled as they got into the car.
“Hutch, you really need to take it easy.”
“I’ll take it easy when this man is behind bars.”
A week after Suzy’s body was found, eight year old Teddy Parker was walking around the edge of the play ground when a man approached him, “Hi there, young man.” Teddy looked at the man but didn’t speak to him. “How are you doing?”
“My mommy and daddy told me not to talk to strangers.” He finally answered but continued to walk along the fence.
The man knew he had the little boy, if the children were truly frightened they would run and he would disappear. From experience, if he kept talking, eventually the child would start talking back and he would gain a semblance of trust. “That is good advice, but I’m not a stranger.”
“I don’t know you.”
“Sure you do, I’m your daddy’s friend, don’t you remember me?”
Teddy stopped and studied the man for a moment. He didn’t look familiar, but then his daddy had a lot of clients in and out of their house since he ran his insurance business from his home office. “Maybe.” Teddy had always been taught not be rude and what would it hurt to admit he might know this man.
“Your dad is busy today and asked me to pick you up.” The man lied.
“Yeah, I know,” Teddy answered, “That is why he told me to take the bus home.”
Unruffled the man said, “Well, I was talking to your dad today and told him I would be glad to pick you up. I think he’s hoping to get finished with his work early so you two can go do something fun.”
“Really?” Teddy beamed, it wasn’t often his daddy would take even part of the day off to do something with him.
The man nodded, “I’ll be waiting out front in my car.”
“Well, guess it would be alright.” Teddy said as he started away from the fence. Whistling, the man went back to his freshly stolen car to wait.
Hutch was reading Suzy Coyle’s autopsy report when the phone rang. He reached for it with his left hand since his right was damaged. He was surprised to hear Kellie’s voice on the other end. “Ken, is it true?”
Closing his eyes Hutch said “Yes,” He knew what she was talking about and had been meaning to give her a call before she heard it on the news. He just hadn’t been able to bring himself to make the call.
“I see,” Her voice was full of pain that Hutch had heard so often after Kenny had been kidnapped and killed.
“Baby, I’m sorry I didn’t call you…I meant too,” Hutch said.
“Just let me know what happens.” She was gone, only a buzzing sound remained on the line.
Hutch cursed himself, he always seemed to be hurting her when he didn’t mean too. He hung up the phone and went back to the report, it was like reading Kenny’s, everything was the same. The phone rang again, “Hutchinson.” He said as he picked it up. “What? Are you sure? We’ll be right there.”
He slammed the phone down and looked around for Starsky who was just coming in the squad room doors carrying a donut and a cup of coffee. “What’s up?” Starsky asked, noticing the look on Hutch’s face.
Hutch took the pastry and coffee from his partner and sat them on top of a filing cabinet, “We finally got a break, but we are going to have to move fast.”
The little boy was sitting in the principal’s office, wide eyed and a little frightened. Hutch squatted down next to him and smiled, “Hi, there.”
“Hi,” Teddy Parker responded.
“I’m Hutch,” the detective said gently. “And this is my partner, Dave Starsky.”
Starsky wiggled his fingers at the boy who smiled back at him.
“Now, can you tell me what you told your teacher and principal?” Hutch said, feeling a sense of urgency but not wanting to frighten the boy into silence.
“Okay,” Teddy shifted his eyes back and forth between the two detectives. “When I was out on the playground this man on the other side of the fence started talking to me. He said he knows my daddy but I don’t really think he does.”
“What else did he say?” Hutch encouraged.
“He said he was there to pick me up for my daddy. I didn’t believe him.”
“Good boy, you did the right thing by telling your teacher.” Hutch praised.
A man dressed in a suit entered the office, “Teddy,” he called out to his son. Teddy ran into his father’s arms. He picked his son up and addressed the detectives, “I’m, Alex Parker.”
“Mr. Parker, you have one brave little boy there,” Hutch said shaking the man’s hand.
“So, you think this serial kidnapper approached Teddy?” Mr. Parker asked.
“Yes, we do,” Starsky answered. “We have something we want to ask you and your son. You don’t have to do this.”
“What is it?” the father asked putting his son down.
“We need Teddy to go out to the man’s car.”
“Excuse me?” Mr. Parker grabbed his son and pressed him to him. “You can’t expect my son to be your bait.”
“Mr. Parker, I completely understand how you feel. I know I wouldn’t want my…my son…,” Hutch faltered.
Starsky took over again. “If we can’t catch him trying to take your son we have nothing. He is just a man sitting in front of a school. He will drive away and the next kid he tries to get might not be as smart as Teddy here. This man has already killed fourteen children, one of them being my partner’s son.”
Mr. Parker looked at Hutch, “Your son was kidnapped and killed by this man?”
Hutch nodded. “If there was any other way, we wouldn’t be asking this of you and Teddy.”
“The streets will be full of police; there is no way he can get away. We will have officers in every car, posing as teachers, walking dogs, what ever it takes to make sure he does not get away.”
“Daddy, I want to do it.” Teddy tugged on his father’s sleeve.
“Teddy, you don’t know what you are saying.” His father said. “It’s not your decision.”
“But I don’t want any more kids to die, do you?” Teddy said looking up into his father’s face. Teddy had heard some things on the TV about the kidnappings and he didn’t want it to happen anymore.
“How close would Teddy have to get?” Mr. Parker asked.
“I’m afraid he would have to go right up the car. We have to catch the man trying to get Teddy into the car.” Starsky said.
Mr. Parker stared at the detective, “Do you know what you are asking?”
“I know,” Hutch said. “We are asking you to put your son’s life in our hands.”
Alex took a deep breath and looked down at Teddy, “Son, are you sure you want to do this?”
Teddy nodded without hesitation.
The smallest bullet proof vest they could find was brought in for Teddy to wear, they weren’t taking any chances. Hutch talked to the boy, telling him, under no circumstance was he to get in the car, even if it meant losing the man. They had to release the students or the kidnapper would be suspicious, so a large group of children were instructed on what to do. Police officers posed as parents both on foot and in cars. Unmarked cars were stationed at each end of the block so that they could pull into the street to block the kidnapper if he tried to escape. There were even several snipers that would take him out if he looked as if he were going to hurt the boy or anyone else.
The final bell rang for the day, and the children poured out the front doors of the school, Teddy ran straight to a car that was sitting directly in front of the school. He recognized the man driving as the same one that had talked to him earlier. The window of the car was down and the man was urging him to move faster but his book bag and the bulky vest were weighing him down. Teddy stopped just short of the door and peered in at the man.
“Come on, son,” the man called, “Your dad is waiting for you.” Teddy edged closer, the man leaned over and opened the car door and patted the seat.
“Are you sure you know my daddy?” Teddy asked, he wanted to get closer but he remember the detective named Hutch had told him not to get into the car, no matter what. But he wanted to catch the man that was hurting other kids like him. He stepped closer, “What’s your name? You never told me your name.”
“George, now please get into the car.” The man said. “If you don’t, I’ll have to leave you and then you won’t get to go out with your daddy.”
Teddy got even closer, he could see that the man was getting angry; he looked around knowing that the place was crawling with police. He took a deep breath and slid in to the seat next to the man.
“Shit!” Hutch exclaimed under his breath as Teddy got into the car. “What the hell is he doing? I told him not to get into the car.”
“Do Not, I repeat, do not let that car out of this area,” Starsky barked into a radio. “The boy has gotten into the car. Do not fire on the subject unless you absolutely have to, and only then, when you have clear shot. He Has the boy, he has the boy.”
Hutch was standing at the bottom of the steps of the school posing as a father waiting for his child. Starsky was sitting in a car directly behind the suspect’s car. Hutch watched as the door closed, Teddy made eye contact with him just before he pulled the car door shut.
Starsky jammed the car into drive, ready to give chase if he had to; Hutch started casually walking toward the car hoping that he wouldn’t spook the suspect. A car with an officer inside moved next to the suspect’s car in an attempt to keep him from running.
The kidnapper suddenly sensed something was wrong, he first looked at the boy then his surroundings; he noticed the car next to him and Starsky behind him. Then, he saw the blond headed man walking toward the car. The man stepped on the gas, jerking his car from the curb and into the car next to him, smashing both. He was able to get out ahead of the auto blocking his way.
Teddy dropped to the floor board on the passenger’s side, Hutch dashed to the car and tried to open the door as it drove off. “STAY DOWN,” he yelled hoping that the boy heard him.
The man reached over and grabbed the boy from the floor by the collar of his shirt. “What the hell is going on?” He snarled at the child.
Teddy tried to pull away from him to no avail. “Let me GO,” he yelled and slapped at the man’s hand.
All the cars were now on the move trying to block the suspect’s car; police on foot were racing toward the kidnapper. The snipers were poised and ready to fire if need be. Another car pulled in front of the escaping car but the man plowed into it too, then, went up over the curb and onto the sidewalk to avoid any other automobiles. He sped along the sidewalk taking out mail boxes and small trees as he went, as he came to the end of the block he realized that he was trapped. Too many cars lined his escape route, the man took a deep breath and floored the car crashing into two cars that were blocking the cross street at the end of the sidewalk he was on. The impact threw the kidnapper into the windshield, the steering wheel imbedding it’s self into his chest. Teddy was thrown up under the dash board where he lay motionless.
*CHAPTER SIX*
Hutch was the first one to the car, Starsky the second, they pulled the doors open at the same time. Starsky trained his gun on the kidnapper while Hutch knelt down to see if Teddy was alright, the boy was curled up in a ball and still. Kenny’s face flashed before Hutch’s eyes and he was almost afraid to touch the boy for fear he was dead. Finally, he reach out and put his hand on Teddy’s back, the boy uncurled and grabbed Hutch’s hand. Hutch pulled Teddy from the car and carried him toward his father who was running down the side walk toward the accident. Teddy was unhurt except for a bruise on his forehead
“He’s dead,” Starsky called out as he checked the kidnapper for a pulse.
“You are a hero, my friend,” Hutch told Teddy as he hugged the boy to him.
Alex Parker took his son from the detective, “Thank God.”
“Mr. Parker, I’m sorry how this went down,” Hutch apologized.
“Just as long as my son is safe and that monster is dead, that’s all care about,” Mr. Parker said as he clung to his son. Then, he smiled at Hutch, “My wife is going to kill me when she finds out what happened.”
Hutch ruffled the boy’s hair, “I got to get back to work Teddy, how about you come down the station one day I’ll give you a tour.”
“Really?” Teddy’s eyes shined at the prospect of getting to go to a police station.
“Sure, if it’s okay with your dad.”
“We would be honored to come,” Alex Parker said.
“You might want to take him to the ER to get him checked out,” Hutch suggested. “He looks fine but better be safe.”
Mr. Parker agreed, as he and his son left Hutch walked over to where Starsky was standing. Starsky looked up at Hutch, “The boy okay?”
“Brave little guy,” Hutch answered thinking of his own son.
Starsky held out the suspects wallet, “Says his name is Scott Thomas Morgan, he’s thirty-five and lives in Santa Maria.”
“Where the original killings started, wonder why he ended up here?” Hutch asked as he took the wallet from his partner and looked at the man’s driver’s license. “I bet Anderson and Peterman will be interested in this.”
“Kellie?” Hutch sat at his desk, phone to his ear.
“Ken, what’s wrong?” Kellie was surprised to hear her ex-husband on the other end of the line.
“We got him.” Hutch said.
“Who?”
“The man that killed Kenny.” Hutch quickly told her what had happened that afternoon.
“And that little boy is alright?” She asked as tears ran down her face, it was finally over. Now, maybe they could have closure and really move on with their lives.
“He was one brave kid, when he got into that car I thought my heart would stop.” Hutch said.
“What about this man?” Kellie wanted to know. “You are sure he was the one doing all the kidnappings?”
“He had no record, not so much as a parking ticket. We haven’t been able to find any family either. Anderson and Peterman, the detectives who were here when Kenny got kidnapped, lead the raid on his house. They found a shoe box in the back of Morgan’s closet with newspaper clippings of the kidnappings and murders, plus several items belonging to the dead children.” Hutch told her. “Morgan’s neighbors in Santa Maria were shocked when his house was raided. They said he was a quiet, polite man that never caused any trouble.”
“I guess that was why he was able to fly under the radar.” Kellie interjected.
“And he was smart, graduated from Harvard with a degree in law. Kind of ironic isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Kellie sat back in her chair limp with emotion, it was over.
“We are going to honor Teddy tomorrow here at the station; I thought you might what to be here.”
“I’ll see if I can make it,” Kellie said but she knew that she would be there.
“Hey ya, Hutch,” Teddy Parker, dressed in a suit, ran to greet the detective, followed by his parents.
“Hi Teddy, Mr. Parker, Mrs. Parker,” Hutch addressed them as they came into the squad room. “How are you doing, buddy?”
“Great!” Teddy giggled, ecstatic to be there. “So, this is where you work?”
“Yep, not very exciting is it?”
“I think what you do is very exciting, I want to be a police officer.” Teddy beamed as he looked around the room.
Dobey came out of his office carrying a small box, “Hutchinson, are you about ready?”
Hutch nodded, “Captain I would like to introduce you to Teddy, these are his parents. Teddy, Mr. & Mrs. Parker, this is our Captain, Harold Dobey.”
“Please to meet you,” Dobey said shaking hands first with the parents then Teddy. “I hear you are one brave boy.”
Teddy shrugged and blushed, “I just didn’t want that man to hurt anybody else.”
“Are we ready to go?” Dobey wanted to know. There was a press conference being held on the steps of station to announce officially that the child killer had been caught and to reward Teddy Parker.
As they went outside Hutch looked around for Kellie but he didn’t see her, he felt disappointment well up inside him, he had really hoped that she would be there for this. Then, he spied her; she was being escorted through the crowd by Starsky. Suzy Coyle’s parents, along with several of the parent’s of the children murder over the years by Morgan, were also there. A photo of all fourteen children had been made into a poster by some one and was displayed next to the podium that had been set up for the occasion.
Kellie and Starsky joined Hutch and the Parker family at the top of the steps. “This is my wife, Kellie,” Hutch said to the Parkers.
Kellie looked at Hutch, then smiled at the Parkers, “It’s nice to meet you. Thank you Teddy, for catching Morgan.”
Teddy held out his small hand to her, she took it in her hands and kneeled down next to him. “I’m really sorry about Kenny.”
“Thank you,” She said as tears coursed down her face. “Is it alright if I give you a hug?” Teddy nodded and wrapped his arms around her neck. “I’m so glad you weren’t hurt.”
Captain Dobey and the Police Commissioner stepped up to the podium, the Commissioner spoke first, relaying that the serial child kidnapper and murderer had been killed while being captured by police. Then, he gave the microphone over to Dobey who presented his two detectives with awards, neither Starsky nor Hutch, knew that they were being honored. After they said a few words it was time for their littlest hero to be honored.
Hutch stepped up to the microphone, “I would like to introduce to you Teddy Parker who was instrumental in our being able to capture Scott Thomas Morgan. If not for his bravery, the suspect would not have been apprehended and would still be preying on our children.” Hutch took a gold medal out of a box and hung it around Teddy’s neck; he also gave him a framed certificate. “Thank you, Teddy.” Hutch said looking down at the little boy.
Teddy smiled up at Hutch and took his hand. Mr. Parker said a few words for his son, then the press was allowed to ask questions.
After the ceremony was over, Teddy walked up to Kellie and took off the medal that Hutch had placed around his neck and handed it to her. “I want you to give this to Kenny.”
“Oh, honey, that is so sweet of you but you should keep it.” Kellie said as she hugged the boy a second time; she put the medal back around his neck. She wondered what Kenny would look like, he would have been seven. “Kenny would want you to keep it.” Hutch stood watching Kellie and Teddy; it should have been their son she was talking too.
Hutch put his hands on the boy’s shoulders, “You come see Starsky and me anytime, Teddy.”
“Cool,” Teddy exclaimed. Saying their goodbyes, Teddy and his parents left, leaving Hutch, Starsky and Kellie alone.
Starsky made an excuse so that he could leave the couple alone, “He’s a nice kid,” Kellie sighed.
Hutch knew that she was thinking of Kenny. “Would you go to the cemetery with me?” Hutch asked. Kellie nodded.
They stood side by side looking down at their son’s grave; it was coved with flowers put there by strangers. “I guess people still remember,” Hutch said as he reached for her hand.
“I know I will never forget.” Kellie sniffed back tears.
“Me, either.”
“At least it’s over now.” Kellie said. “Maybe I can sleep at night. I was always so worried that monster would strike again.”
“Kellie,” Hutch said turning her so that he could look into her eyes. “I still love you.”
“Oh, Ken, I love you too.” She answered back, then she dropped her eyes from his for she knew what he was going to say next.
“Can’t we try again?” he asked almost pleadingly.
“I don’t think I can,” Kellie said, “At least not right now. I just need some time, now that everything has been resolved.”
“Some day?” Hutch asked hopefully.
“Maybe someday.” Kellie hugged him tightly, gave her son’s grave one last look and headed toward her car.
The End