Highway 101
By
Tooki
Chapter 1
Starsky stretched as best he could and yawned; his eyes teared up for a moment, then cleared as he wiped the back of his hand across them. He looked at his watch, it was nearly midnight, then he looked over next to him at Hutch slumped in the passenger seat sound to sleep. It had been along day for both of them; they had to appear in court to testify against a man that had killed three women in Paso Robles . He and Hutch had apprehended the man in Bay City after a lengthy gun battle. The man had been wounded, but once he was bandaged up, he was sent back to Paso Robles and within a week was on trial.
Since the detectives had been the arresting officers they had been required to show up at the trial. They had spent the last two nights in a cramped motel room but it had paid off as the man was given life for the murders. It had been late when they had finally hit the road, they had debated on spending one more night in the uncomfortably small room, but it was only a four hour drive home and they both decided they would rather sleep in their own beds, even if they didn’t get home until after two a.m.
Starsky had just passed a road sign on Highway 101 proclaiming they were only ten miles from Los Alamos when he yawned again, his eyes were itchy and his vision blurry, he wondered if perhaps they would have been better off just staying in Paso Robles one more night. He decided he would stop at the first gas station he came to, fill up the tank and get a cup of coffee. If Hutch had been feeling better he would have made him drive, but Hutch gotten a hold something bad at dinner the night before and had a mild case of food poisoning.
He had only taken his eyes off the road for a moment to look at his partner to see if he was wake, but Hutch was still asleep and snoring softly. When Starsky looked back at the road his heart jumped into his throat. A small girl stood right in the middle of his lane; she had on a long pink night gown, and was clutching what looked like a teddy bear. Starsky brought both of his feet down on the brakes praying that he would get stopped before he hit her. The Torino began to slide; it went off the road and down an embankment coming to rest at the base of a large tree. Fortunately, the tall grass had slowed the car down enough that it barely kissed the tree.
The moment the car left the road, Hutch had been jarred awake, he grasped the dashboard tightly as they spun off the road and when the car finally stopped; Hutch looked over at his white as a ghost partner. "What the hell?" Hutch yelled.
But Starsky wasn’t paying any attention to Hutch, he threw open the car door and ran for the road hoping that the out of control car hadn’t hit the girl. There was only a crescent moon in the sky so the light was limited, but he could see the skid marks where his car had left the road. Starsky searched franticly for the child but it was clear she was gone, he sighed, at least he hadn’t hit her.
"Starsky!" Hutch called to his partner. "What are you looking for?"
"A little girl," Starsky said breathless. "S-She was standing right in the middle of the lane."
"Oh, come on, Starsky," Hutch said looking around; there wasn’t as much as a house in sight. "Where would she have come from? It was probably just a rabbit."
"A rabbit with a teddy bear?" Starsky asked Hutch as he walked passed him to his car. He was hoping there wasn’t too much damage.
"If it was a girl, then where is she?" Hutch wanted to know as he followed his partner.
"How should I know? I was just trying not to hit her." Starsky said looking at his front end; he had a few dents in his bumper but nothing that Merle couldn’t pound out for him. He jumped in the driver’s seat and turned the key in the ignition, the engine did nothing but grind. "Great!" Starsky pounded the steering wheel and looked out at Hutch who was standing near the open door.
"Looks like we are walking to town," Hutch said looking down the road, "How far?"
"Last sign I saw said ten miles to Los Alamos." Starsky said as he rolled up the window and locked the car.
"Think somebody is going to steal a car that doesn’t work?" Hutch quipped.
Starsky just glared at him then asked, "You feeling up to this?"
Hutch patted his stomach, "I’m feeling much better, in fact, I’m even a little hungry."
"Let’s get going," Starsky said walking back through the high weeds to the roadway. "Maybe we will see the kid on the way."
Hutch shook his head as he once again followed his partner. Starsky searched the high grass as they made their way to the road but all he saw was the path he had made the first time. "Where could she have gone?" Starsky wanted to know, his legs still felt like J-ello.
"Starsk, it was probably just some animal, you are exhausted and just thought it was a kid." Hutch said as he stepped onto the asphalt of the road.
"Just let me look on the other side." Starsky said as he crossed the road and looked down the embankment on the other side.
Hutch stood on the side of the road and waited for Starsky to satisfy himself that there was no body of a little girl lurking in the weeds. When his partner rejoined him Hutch said, "See, I told you. Now can we try and find some place to stay the night?"
"And fix my car," Starsky said as he looked over his shoulder once more; he had an eerie feeling that someone was watching them but he followed Hutch without further comment.
They had walked nearly two miles when they came up on a run down gas station, at first they thought it was abandoned but after closer inspection, they saw a dim glow through the grungy front window. Starsky walked up and tapped on the front door, he had to knock louder twice more before he heard a voice from inside.
"Hold your horses," the voice called. Finally, a figured appeared at the door as it was opened by an older man, he was stooped shouldered and had a dirty green John Deere cap covering his thin white hair. He was dressed in overalls and a red flannel shirt. He had cigarette clutched between his tobacco stained teeth. "Can I help ya?"
"Sorry to bother you, but we ran off the road a ways back and my car won’t start," Starsky explained.
The man shook his head, "You city folk," he muttered.
"Excuse me?"
The man waved his comment away, "Come on in."
The inside of the station had clearly seen better days, the calendar on the wall was ten years old but it had an attractive woman in a bikini on it, which was probably why it still hung on the wall. Everything looked like it had a coat of grease over it. "Do you have a tow truck?" Starsky asked.
"Naw," the man said. "By the way, names Hank."
"Nice to meet you, Hank, I’m Starsky, this is my partner, Hutch," Starsky introduced the two of them.
"Partner?" Hank said hiking his eye brows, "You one of those gay couples from Frisco?"
"No, sir, we are police officers from Bay City," Hutch replied.
"I see," Hank took off his green hat and scratched his head, "You won’t be getting a tow ‘til morning."
"Great," Starsky leaned on the edge of the desk.
"I guess you will need a place to stay then," Hank said.
"Is there any place close?" Hutch asked looking out through the window into the darkness.
"Yup, my missus and I have a little motel about half a mile up the road," Hank said. "She won’t be too happy if we wake her up, so I’ll drive you up there myself and let you in one of the rooms."
"Thank you," Starsky said wondering what the rooms would look like; he hoped they would be cleaner than the gas station.
The trio squeezed into the cab of Hank’s ancient truck, he turned the key, the engine sputtered a few times before it turned over. It sounded as if it would stall out any time. "You all need to get anything out of your car. I’ll be glad to drive you back there."
"NO," Starsky said a little too quickly, he had no desire to return to that stretch of road, at least not in the dark.
Hank looked across Hutch, who was sitting in the middle, to Starsky. "You okay, son?"
"Don’t mind him," Hutch said, "He thought he saw a little girl in the road, that’s how we ended up off the road."
"Oh, you saw, Sammi," Hank said as he pulled out on the road.
"See, there was a little girl on the road," Starsky retorted, jabbing Hutch in the ribs.
"Sammi is looking for her mother; you aren’t the first to drive off the road because they saw her." Hank said.
"Who would let a child roam around in the middle of the night like that?" Hutch wanted to know.
"It’s been going on some thirty years now." Hank said, he pointed to some lights up ahead. "Looks like Ida is awake, she has had trouble sleeping lately."
"What do you mean it’s been thirty years?" Starsky asked.
"Sammi is our local ghost."
"Ghost?"
Hutch sighed, "Here we go."
"Shut up," Starsky hissed.
"It happened about thirty years ago, Sammi lived with her mother in a farm house not too far from here, my best guess was that she woke up and couldn’t find her mother so she wondered outside and some how got onto the road. Some bastard ran her down, didn’t even stop, poor little thing."
"What happened to her mother?" Starsky asked engrossed in the old man’s story.
Hank shrugged, "I guess that will always be a mystery. Nobody in these parts ever saw her again, that house still sits empty, people say it’s haunted. It’s fallin’ apart now."
"But what about her daughter?" Starsky asked.
Again, Hank shrugged his thin shoulders. "People around here made sure that little Sammi had a proper burial, her mother never showed up. Some of the farm folk around here, including myself and Ida, went to the house; it had looked like she just walked out and left everything. The TV was still on but the back door was standing open. We don’t know if, Lisa, the girl’s mother or Sammi left it open."
"Was there any signs of a struggle?" Starsky asked.
Hank smiled at him, "You two are cops aren’t you? Sound just like the guys on the tube. No, nothing was disturbed."
"Was there a police investigation?" Hutch asked.
Hank chuckled, "It was thirty years ago, son, things weren’t as fancy as they are now. There was a search party sent out for a couple of days but they didn’t find anything. After Sammi’s funeral things got back to normal, there was no other family to claim the house so it just sits there. It was up for sale by the county for a while but nobody wanted to live in it."
Hutch turned to look at Starsky; his eyes were as big as saucers, "You mean I saw an actual ghost?" Starsky said in an awed voice.
"Don’t start," Hutch said as he peered out the windshield of the old truck. "Is that your place?"
"Yup," Hank said as he made a left off the highway and started up a long drive way. The house that sat at the end of the winding drive way was an enormous white house with a huge porch that went the length of the house. Hank pulled up in front of the steps to the house, above them there was a sign that said read ‘Morgan’s Bed and Breakfast’. "That’s us." The old man pointed to the sign as he turned off the engine and got out of the truck.
The two detectives slid out of the passenger side and stood looking amazed at the beautiful house before them. From the looks of Hank and his station, they expected the place to be run down.
"Come on, young fellows," Hank called them as he stepped onto the porch.
"Wipe your feet old man," A voice called from inside.
Hank shook his head as he methodically cleaned his shoes. Starsky and Hutch followed suit then stepped into the hall behind Hank. "Ida, I brought you some company."
Chapter 2
A woman appeared in the doorway of the living room. She was clutching a white robe around her and patting her gray hair, "You could have called and warned me Hank."
"Didn’t want to wake you."
She smiled at the two strangers, she was a beautiful woman even at the age of eighty, Ida was tall and slender and had an elegance about her that was unmistakable. Ida stepped forward with her hand extended, "Welcome to our bed and breakfast gentlemen."
"Nice to meet you Mrs. Morgan," Hutch said taking her hand in his. "I’m Ken Hutchinson and this is my partner, David Starsky."
"They’re cops," Hank whispered to his wife.
"Ken, nice to meet you, David." Ida greeted them, ignoring her husband. "What brings you to us in the middle of the night?"
"Sammi ran them off the road." Hank said as he left the room.
"Hank," Ida said sternly as she watched his back. She turned her attention to the men in her hallway. "Come in, have a seat, I’ll get a room ready for you. Would you like separate rooms or just one? We have several with double beds."
"One will be fine," Starsky said, "We don’t want to make any more work for you."
"Don’t be silly," Ida said, "You wait here, I’ll have you in a room in a jiffy."
As Ida disappeared up the stairs, Hank reappeared carrying three bottles of beer. "Thought you guys could use a drink."
"Thanks," Hutch said as he took one of the bottles. "It’s been one hell of a night."
"This is some motel you got here," Starsky said as he also took a bottle.
Hank chuckled, "I make Ida mad when I call it a motel. I guess it’s a little more than that."
"I’ll say," Hutch said looking around admiring the antique furnishings. "It’s beautiful."
"Tell Ida, compliments are wasted on me." Hank knocked back most of his beer in one gulp, "I better be gettin’ back to the station."
"It’s so late." Starsky said.
"Yup, but you never know when some city boy will need help," he winked at them as he left.
The two detectives sat staring at each other. "Nobody is going to believe this one." Starsky said as he got up to inspect some of the photos that adorned the walls. They were all very old, one was of a young couple standing in front of the house they were in now. "I bet this is Hank and Ida." He said pointing to the photo.
Hutch joined him and examined the photo as well, "Look at this one," Hutch pointed to another photo, it was one of a young woman and a little girl.
Starsky moved over to look at the photo that Hutch was pointing out. The bottle of beer nearly slipped from his grasp as he stared at the picture. "Hutch, that’s her."
"Who?"
"The girl, Sammi, the one I nearly hit." Starsky said tightening his hold on the bottle, the last thing he wanted to do was spill it on the Oriental rug that covered the floor.
"Starsky, you’re letting your imagination run away with you. You really don’t take that story seriously do you? It’s just something they tell the tourist to entertain them." Hutch said as he stifled a yawn.
"Then explain what I saw on the road."
"I did, it was just an animal."
"No, I know what I saw."
"You boy’s ready to go to bed or would you like something to eat first?" Ida asked, she had been standing in the doorway watching them.
"Thank you, Mrs. Morgan, but I think we would just like to get to bed." Hutch said "You and your husband have done more than enough for us already."
"Nonsense, we are glad to have you and please call me Ida." She said smiling at both of them. "Well then, follow me, I made you up one of the biggest rooms we have here, I’m sure you will be comfortable. Hank will call the tow truck for you as soon as it’s open."
"Thank you Mrs….I mean, Ida." Starsky said as he followed her up the stairs.
The next morning, the sun streaming in through the lace curtained window woke Hutch. He stretched, it had been a long time since he had slept in a bed that comfortable, it reminded him of his grandmother’s feather bed when he was a child. "Starsk, you awake?" When Hutch got no answer he sat up and looked at the bed next to him, it was empty, but two suitcases were sitting near the door. Hutch swung his feet from under the covers and sat on the edge of the bed. He saw that towels had been placed on a chair near the door. He decided he would shower before he went to find his missing partner.
"These are the best eggs I have ever eaten," Starsky said as he devoured his second helping. A platter of crisp bacon sat in the middle of the table along several others containing pancakes, toast and fried potatoes.
"Ahhh, Ken, how would you like your eggs?" Ida asked as she turned from the stove, spatula in hand.
"Over easy ma’am," Hutch said as he sat down across from his partner. Ida leaned over him and poured black coffee into a cup.
"Ida has been telling me all about Sammi and her mother Lisa." Starsky said as he snagged more bacon from the platter.
Hutch rolled his eyes as he helped himself of several pancakes. "Mrs…Ida, please don’t encourage him."
"David told me that you think it’s a story we make up for the guests, but believe me, it’s not. I have a whole scrapbook of articles."
"I don’t doubt that it happened, I just don’t think there is a ghost of a little girl standing in the road." Hutch said as he sipped his coffee.
"She is there," Ida said with out missing a beat. "Poor child, she will never rest until she finds her mother."
"What do you think happened Lisa?" Starsky asked.
Ida poured herself a cup of coffee and joined the detectives at the table. "I think she was murdered."
This got Hutch’s attention, "Murdered? Hank said there was never any sign of her."
"I know," Ida sighed. "The police laughed me off when I tried to tell them."
"Tell us," Starsky said.
Ida smiled at him then stared down into her cup. "Some people say that Lisa Garrison ran off with a man. But I don’t believe it, she came over here often, she would sit right here at this table and talk to me while little Sammi played at our feet. She loved that child and she would never just go off and leave her, in life or death."
"Sammi was hit at midnight; the driver didn’t stop and was never found. We were one of the first ones called since I was such good friends with Lisa; they wanted me to be there with her when they gave her the news. But when we arrived at her house, the place was ablaze with light, the back door was standing open. At first I thought she had noticed that Sammi was missing and she had gone out to look for her. Everybody searched best we could in the dark but we never found Lisa."
"Was there a man?" Starsky asked.
"Oh there was a man but she wouldn’t have run away with him. Lisa was terrified of him; Jared was a drifter that had been hanging around for several months. He had taken a liking to Lisa but she didn’t like his advances. Once she ordered him off her property telling him never to come back, it was just two days later when Sammi was run down and Lisa was gone."
"So you think this Jared had something to do with it?" Hutch wanted to know.
"Yes I do and I told the police, but when they went looking for him, Jared was gone and never seen again. That was when the rumors started that Lisa had run off with him and just left Sammi in the house. After that the police never pursued the case, Sammi was buried, the house closed up just like Lisa left it."
"Hank said there was no other family?" Hutch asked.
Ida shook her head, "Not that we could ever find. Lisa came here when Sammi was barely six months old. I don’t know if she ever had a husband or not, I didn’t pry, the girl had her secrets. She bought the old farm house up the road, it was falling down but it was all she could afford. Hank and some of the other men took pity on her and little by little they fixed it up for her. Lisa got a job in Los Alamos; the town wasn’t nearly as big as it is now. I would watch Sammi from time to time, I loved taking care of her, Hank and I were never able to have kids of our own. It nearly broke both of our hearts when Sammi died and Lisa disappeared. They were like the daughter and granddaughter we would never have." Ida dabbed at the corner of her eyes with a napkin.
Starsky put his hand over hers, "I’m sorry we are making you talk about this."
"No, no," Ida said putting a smile on her face. "It’s nice to have somebody to tell all this too."
"Go on," Hutch encouraged.
"Since the police didn’t seem to care, Hank and I got up our own search party, we covered the woods for several miles but never found so much as a scrap of cloth from her dress. I will never believe that she just went off with that drifter. I think he came there that night, mad because she had chased him off. Perhaps he lured her outside or she went out because she didn’t want to wake Sammi, there was nothing disturbed in the house. Maybe he killed her there or hauled her off into the woods and killed her and buried her. Who knows, but what I do know, is that she did not willing leave Sammi."
Starsky sat silently staring at this empty plate. "Maybe we can find her."
Hutch’s fork hit his plate with a loud clatter. "Starsky, this happened thirty years ago, if the police couldn’t find anything then, how do you think we can find something now?"
"I can’t leave that little girl out there searching for her mother for eternity." Starsky said, his face set in determination. Hutch knew that look all too well. "Besides, we aren’t going anywhere until my car is fixed so we might as well do something."
"Your car is being towed to a garage in Los Alamos," Hank stood in the back door. He looked at his wife then at the two detectives, "Is everything okay?" But he knew the answer from the look on his wife’s face. He knew that look well; it came once a year on the anniversary of Lisa’s disappearance and Sammi’s death.
"Thanks, Hank," Starsky said. "Do you have a number for the garage they took it to?"
"Sure thing," Hank handed Starsky a scrap of paper with the address and number of the garage. "They said it would probably be this afternoon before they can take a look at it. I’ll drive you to town if you want later on. It’s better face to face on car repairs."
"That would be great."
"Want some breakfast old man?" Ida asked getting up from her chair; she took her coffee cup and placed it in the sink. Hank sat in the chair she had vacated.
"Scrambled if you don’t mind," Hank answered as he eyed the two men at his kitchen table. The rest of their meal was in silence, Starsky excused himself before Hank and Hutch were finished.
"Don’t be upsetting her," Starsky jumped, he had been looking at the photo of Linda and Sammi in the living room again.
Starsky turned around to see Hank standing behind him. "I didn’t mean too, we just started talking and…"
"I know," Hanks shoulders sagged more than normal. He took the photo from the wall and looked at it. "It nearly killed her when all this happened. It was like they were our family."
"Ida told us," Starsky said.
"She has never let this go, not after all these years. She still goes to Sammi’s grave every year and lays flowers on her grave." Hank said. "And what she probably didn’t tell you is that we own Lisa’s house, I kind of lied when I said nobody would buy it. We did as soon as we found out that there was no next of kin to inherit it. Ida couldn’t bear thinking another family would move in there. I think she just didn’t want to get attached to anybody else. You and your partner are the first two people she has really opened up to in a very long time."
Starsky took a deep breath, he felt like he had been sucked into the Twilight Zone. "I told Ida that I was going to try and find out what happened to Lisa."
"I wish you wouldn’t have told her that," Hank said. "You will only get her hopes up; you aren’t going to find anything."
"What about the drifter, Jared?"
"What about him?"
"What was his last name?"
Hank thought a moment and finally said, "I think his name was Wilkins but I’m not sure. I only spoke to the man a hand full of times. He just wouldn’t leave Lisa alone; I don’t know what his obsession was with her or why she put up with him so long before she told him to leave her alone."
"Maybe he had something on her. Knew something about her past that she was afraid he would tell you or somebody else."
"I guess that is possible, I’m sure Ida told you that we knew little about Lisa before she moved here."
"I was serious when I told Ida I was going to try to find out what happened to Lisa, I think Sammi deserves that much." Starsky told Hank.
Chapter 3
Hutch was sitting on the front porch in a one of the many rocking chairs; Starsky had gone into town with Hank. He didn’t hear Ida come out onto the porch or sit in the chair next to him. He was lost in thought, trying to digest everything that Ida and Hank had told them. It was a sad case but a lost cause, the drifter was long gone and if he had killed Lisa, then he had probably changed his name a dozen times.
"Come with me," Ida said holding her hand out to Hutch.
Hutch jumped and looked at the old woman who held her hand out to him. "I didn’t hear you come out."
"It’s nagging at you isn’t it." Ida said as she stood. "And you don’t believe, at least not the part about Sammi still being out there looking for her mother. Her soul isn’t at rest Ken. She needs her mother."
"Ida, I…"
"Just come with me."
Hutch got to his feet and took Ida’s hand; they walked down the porch steps. Ida led him across the lawn and through a field that was blooming with wild flowers. He could see an old farmhouse in the distance but closer he could see a small fenced in area and as they got closer, Hutch knew it was where Sammi was buried. They stopped just outside the enclosed area. She looked up at Hutch, her eyes were brimming with tears, "This is where we lay Sammi down but she isn’t resting. She will never rest until we can put her mother next to her."
Hutch looked at the small gravestone that was set off to one side. A lamb lay across the top of the stone and Sammi’s name was caved into the front. Wilted flowers lay at the base of the headstone. Hutch put his hands on Ida’s shoulders, he didn’t believe in ghosts but he did believe in helping the living and if there was something he could do to help Ida and Hank be at peace, then he would. It was strange, he didn’t know either one of them, but he suddenly felt connected as he looked at the little girl’s grave. "Ida, we will do everything we can."
She smiled and stepped forward to touch the top of Sammi’s headstone. "Your mommy is coming home little one." She said softly. As they turned to leave the tiny graveyard Hutch could have sworn that he heard the laughter of a little girl.
"This your car?" a man in greasy overalls asked as Starsky entered the garage.
"Yes," Starsky answered as he inspected the damage to his front end. "It doesn’t look too bad."
"Well, not on the outside but you cracked your radiator and your axel is bent." The man who had the name Al sewn on his blue and white stripped shirt informed Starsky.
"Great how long with that take to fix?"
"Couple, three days, depends on how long it takes to get parts."
"I’ll be staying with Hank, you can reach me there."
"Hank?" the man asked confused.
"Yeah he called you to come and pick up my car."
"Police called us early this morning. I guess they figure whoever was missing their car will report it to the police and they would direct them here." Al said.
It was Starsky’s turn to be surprised, he stepped out of the garage to look around for Hank but he was nowhere in sight, even his truck wasn’t there. Not knowing what Hank’s phone number was he said to Al, "I’ll just check back day after tomorrow."
"That would be great," Al handed Starsky a form to sign to okay the work to be done.
Starsky left the garage, as he stepped back into the sunlight he saw Hank sitting in his old truck at the curb waving to him. As Starsky got into the truck Hank said, "Sorry about that son, I had to run down the street for some supplies."
"No problem," Starsky said climbing into the truck, he looked back at the garage puzzled, "The guy in there didn’t…" He stopped, it was just a mix up, maybe it was somebody else in the garage that Hank talked to.
"Something wrong?"
"No, no, it’s nothing." Starsky said as he examined the man sitting next to him.
When Starsky and Hank arrived back at the Bed and Breakfast, Hutch was on the phone and Ida was busying herself making lunch. Hutch was nodding as he listened and wrote down a couple of things on a pad of paper Ida had provided him. Hank went to see if he could help his wife and Starsky sat down on the stairs leading to the second floor near where Hutch was sitting.
When Hutch was off the phone he joined his partner on the steps, "I was talking to Dobey, I let him know what was going on and asked him to do a search on Jared Wilkins just in case the man never changed his name."
"So, we are going to help?" Starsky asked wondering what changed Hutch’s mind.
"We are going to help." Hutch answered, "I’m still not on board with this whole ghost thing but as far as what happened to Lisa Garrison, I want to figure that out. There is no statute of limitations on murder and maybe, if we can bring him to justice, maybe Hank and Ida will have some peace."
"That’s good enough for me but you will never make me believe that I didn’t see Sammi out on that road."
Hutch shrugged, "So how long until your car is fixed."
"The guy at the garage said a few days." Starsky’s brow furrowed, "Something strange…"
"You boys ready for lunch," Ida stood in the doorway of the dinning room, she had on a white apron.
"Yes ma’am," Hutch said.
There was a huge spread on the table, everything from sandwich fixings to fruit. "Wow, this is something," Starsky said admiring all the food, "I haven’t eaten this good in ages."
"Well," Hutch said.
"Well what?"
"You haven’t eaten this well." Hutch poked Starsky in the ribs.
"Give me a break, Hutch."
Ida stifled a giggle, "You know if Hank and I would have had sons, I would hope they would be just like you two."
Hutch walked over to Ida and put his arm around her thin shoulders. "We never get taken care of this well." Hutch looked at Starsky.
Starsky stuck his tongue out at his partner. "Do you have other guests?" He hadn’t seen any and had been wondering.
"No, this is our off season," Ida answered.
Hank threw some roast beef on a couple of slices of bread, grabbed a napkin and proclaimed. "I need to be getting to the gas station."
"Oh, Hank, sit down old man," Ida said pulling out a chair. "You know eating on the run isn’t good for your digestion."
He continued on through the dinning room into the hall and out onto the porch. Hank stood there for a few minutes chewing on his sandwich, his eyes went in the direction of Lisa’s old farm house. He swallowed the bite then turned and pulled open screen door, "You fellows like to see Lisa’s house?"
"Why would they want to go there Hank, the house is falling down." Ida asked.
"Well, if they are going to investigate her disappearance then they should see the house."
"After lunch," Ida said sternly, there was no arguing with the woman. "And that means you, so come inside and sit down."
Hank sighed and brought the remains of his sandwich inside with him. Ida handed him a plate. "Old woman." He said with affection.
The road leading to the house was overgrown with weeds, it was a two story farm house built in the late 1800’s as was the Morgan’s Bed and Breakfast. The paint was all but peeled off, the front porch was sagging and the front steps looked as if they would fall in if stepped on.
Hutch gingerly put a foot on the bottom step and tested it before putting his whole weight on it. "So, nobody has lived here for thirty years?"
"Nope, like I told your partner, Ida couldn’t bear the thought of anyone else living here so we bought the house. We locked it up and here it has sat for all these years."
"Did the police go over the place?" Starsky asked.
Hank laughed, "They searched the place but if you mean did they dust for prints? No, Lisa was an unmarried woman with a small child. Rumors had circulated about her from the moment she moved into this house, back in those days being an unwed mother was frowned upon. The police were so sure that she had run off with Jared, they just didn’t really bother."
"So, she didn’t have a husband?" Hutch asked.
"Don’t know, she never said, we never asked." Hank said as he looked up at the house. "We should just bulldoze the place."
"Let’s take a look," Starsky said as he carefully followed Hutch up the steps.
"If you boys don’t mind, I’m going to head to the station." Hank said, "The walk back to the house isn’t far, you can see the top of the roof there in the distance."
"Don’t worry Hank, I know they way," Hutch said, "We’ll be fine."
They could both tell that Hank didn’t want to enter the house. "Just make sure you close up." Hank said as he got back into his ancient truck.
"How do you know the way?" Starsky asked Hutch when Hank had driven off in a cloud of dust.
"Ida brought me out to Sammi’s grave when you were in town." Hutch pointed out across the field, "It’s under that big tree over there. I’ll show you on the way back."
"Is that what changed your mind?"
Hutch nodded but he didn’t tell his partner about the laughter he had heard as he and Ida were walking away.
The house smelled of vermin and rot as they entered, furniture sat where it had been left, it was rotting and dust covered. Pictures hung on the walls which both detectives studied; there were photos of a young woman and little girl very similar to the one in the Morgan house. They found several photos of the Morgan’s and others that they could only figure were family of the dead woman.
They proceeded into the kitchen, dishes were still in the sink and after inspecting the cupboards they found food items organized neatly. Most of the boxes had been chewed on my mice or rats, the contents long gone. Starsky walked over to a light switch near the backdoor and flipped it but nothing happened. It wasn’t surprising that the power had been long turned off. He pulled back the curtain on the backdoor to look out into the yard. The dry rotted curtain crumbled and fell to the floor. Starsky looked startled for a moment then opened the door and walked out onto the porch.
"Careful," Hutch warned. But his warning came seconds too late, there was a cracking sound and Starsky fell through the decayed floor boards. Hutch rushed to help him. "Are you alright?" He asked as he helped Starsky out of the hole he had left.
"I think so," Starsky said rubbing his leg, there was a rip in his right jean leg and some blood was oozing from around the tear.
"I think we need to get back to the Bed and Breakfast and get that cleaned up. We can come back here later." Hutch suggested.
"No, we are here now, I’m fine, really." Starsky said as he got to his feet but he had a slight limp as they went back in the house. "Let’s check up stairs, uh?"
The second floor of the house was in no better shape. There were three bedrooms and a bathroom, one of the bedrooms was unused, Starsky shut that door and opened the next door, sadness filled both of the men as they looked at what was obviously a child’s room. The bed was covered with what was once a pink frilly bedspread but now it was in tatters. Matching curtains were on the windows, the shelves where filled with toys and books and a small desk stood against one wall. Hutch picked up a piece of paper that was laying there. It was a faded drawing of a bird, under the drawing was the scrawled writings of a child which said ‘by Sammi’. He held the picture out to Starsky; he took it and carefully blew the dust off it.
"I’m going to take this to Ida," Starsky said holding the paper gingerly.
"Do you think that is a good idea, Starsk?"
"I just have a feeling that Ida would like to have this."
The last bedroom was Lisa’s, it wasn’t furnished nearly as nicely as Sammi’s, it was clear that Lisa spent any money she had on her little girl. They opened the closet and drawers not knowing what they were really looking for but when the two detectives stepped back out in the fresh county air, they felt like they knew Sammi and Lisa a little better.
Hutch suddenly whirled around; they were only a few feet from the house, "Did you hear that?"
"What?" Starsky stopped and held his breath to listen.
"I thought I heard something around the side of the house."
"Probably that teddy bear stealing rabbit," Starsky joked but his smile faded when he saw the look on Hutch’s face.
"I’m going to take a look," Hutch said. Slowing, he crept around the side of the house expecting to find a neighboring child lurking there. The old house would be the perfect place for the surrounding children to dare each other to enter.
"Find anything?" Starsky asked, when Hutch didn’t answer he followed the path Hutch left in the weeds around the house. He found Hutch staring at two wooden doors; they were slanted toward the house. "Cellar?"
"Yeah," Hutch said as he bent over and pulled one of the handles, the bolts gave way and Hutch was left holding the handle to the door. "I wonder what is down there?"
"Probably just a whole lot of dirt and rats," Starsky said. After his fall though the porch floor, he wasn’t anxious to go into the dark hole in the ground.
Chapter 4
Hutch didn’t care about the rats or the dirt, a feeling in his gut was telling him they needed to get into that cellar to see what was there. He bent over again and grasped the second handle, this one held and he swung the door wide, with the one door open he was able to grab the wood frame of the second door and opened it also. They both peered down into the musty darkness, with only the shaft of light from the open doors lighting the stone stairs leading down.
"I wish we had thought to ask Hank for a flashlight," Hutch said as he started down.
"Why don’t we wait, I’m sure we could get one from Ida and come back later or tomorrow."
"Do I hear a hint of fear there, Starsk?" Hutch asked cocking his eyebrow at his friend.
"No," Starsky said in an indigent tone. "But you could get hurt and I’m already banged up."
"I thought you said you were alright."
"Well, I lied; the cut on my leg is killing me." Starsky said. "I’m probably going to die of lockjaw or something."
"You can really be over dramatic sometimes." Hutch said as he proceeded down into the darkness.
"Hutch, what are you going to find in the dark?" Starsky called down after him.
"Just give me a sec," Hutch hollered back.
It was deathly quiet in the cellar, Hutch had to admit, at least to himself, he was a little creeped out, but he pressed on slowly feeling with his feet and holding his arms out in front of him. As his eyes got use to the darkness he was able to make out something stacked against one wall. He felt the objects and decided that they were crates, but of what he didn’t know. Hutch took the top crate and made his way to the entrance of the cellar so they could inspect its contents. As Hutch lifted the crate he could have sworn he heard the sound of a child’s laugh, the same laugh he had heard as he and Ida were leaving Sammi’s grave.
"Did you find anything?" Starsky wanted to know as soon as he saw the top of Hutch’s blond head ascending the stone steps.
"Help me," Hutch said has he held the box up to Starsky. The steps were steep and hard to navigate holding the heavy crate. "There are at least three more down there; I just grabbed the top one."
Starsky took the wooden crate; he walked around to the front of the house and sat it on the porch. Hutch followed brushing cobwebs from his head and shoulders. By the time he reached the porch Starsky had the lid off the crate and was looking at the contents. On top where a lot of rotting newspaper clippings, he tried to read them but after being in the dampness they were just falling apart. About half way down, Starsky found something wrapped in what looked like cheese cloth, he unwrapped it carefully to reveal a black book; in gold stenciled letters across the front it read ‘Holy Bible’. "Looks like one of those bibles you keep your family information in." Starsky handed the book to Hutch; it was still in amazingly good shape considering how long it had been in the cellar.
Hutch sat down next to Starsky and laid the Bible on the porch so that he didn’t have to bend it anymore than need be. Carefully, Hutch opened the cover, there was a wedding photo stuck to the page. Hutch gently picked it up and looked at it then handed it to Starsky.
"It was a picture of a couple dressed in wedding clothes. This looks like the photos of Lisa upstairs, a little younger, but it sure looks likes her. I wonder who the man is?" Starsky flipped the photo over, there was writing on the back but it was so smeared that it was no longer legible.
"Look at this," Hutch pointed to the inscription in the bible. It was still able to be read and the words shocked both of the men. Hutch read out loud, "Lisa Garrison married Jared Wilkins June 20th , 1939."
The two detectives stared at each other, "So, Lisa was married to Jared, the drifter that came to town." Starsky said.
"He came here looking for his wife and daughter."
"And found them. Questions are; why did Lisa leave him, why did she lie about knowing him when he turned up, why didn’t he just tell people who he was and did he kill her?"
"Or maybe, he didn’t kill her and she did run off with him." Hutch suggested.
"And leave Sammi behind? I think it’s clear she loved that little girl. Maybe Jared was abusing her and she ran with Sammi, hiding out here until he showed up."
"You know it would make more sense if Jared had been the one missing." Hutch said.
"Meaning?"
"I could see where Lisa might want him dead."
"Maybe she tried and he got the upper and killed her instead." Starsky said, "Looks like we have two missing until we find out what happened."
Hutch shook his head, "We are talking like this happened yesterday instead of thirty years ago. Do you know the odds of us finding out anything at all?"
"Slim to none, but we have got to try. The key to this whole thing is Jared Wilkins; if he is still alive and we can find him, maybe we can get some answers."
"Let’s get back to the house," Hutch carefully wrapped the Bible back in the cloth.
They stopped on the way back at the fenced in area where Sammi was laid to rest. "Sammi was showing me where to go." Hutch said.
Starsky gaped at his partner. "Say what? You don’t believe in this crap as you put it."
"I don’t know how to explain it. When I was here earlier with Ida I thought I heard a child’s laughter, then something drew me over to the side of the house to find the cellar and when I picked up that crate to bring it up, I heard the laughter again." Hutch stared at Sammi’s grave. "You know, don’t you Sammi? You saw what happened, didn’t you? That is what you were doing out on the highway, you were looking for help."
"You think?" Starsky asked in awe of Hutch.
"Yeah, I think, maybe she was looking for Hank and Ida and she got turned around and got out onto the road, it was late at night."
"So you believe that I saw her on the road?"
"I think I do."
Ida was sitting on the porch when they returned, "Are you alright?" She had noticed Starsky’s limp that was getting worse.
"I fell though the floorboards on the back porch of the house." Starsky explained.
"Goodness," Ida said, "I have a first aid kit in the house let me get it."
She hurried off; Starsky climbed up on the porch and eased himself in to one of the wooden rockers. His leg was now throbbing; he reached down and finished ripping his jeans so that he could see the wound.
"Let me look at that," Hutch said as he knelt in front of his friend. The cut was fairly deep but not deep enough for stitches and was nearly five inches long. "Maybe we should take you into town to a doctor."
"I’ll be fine, I’ll just clean it up," Starsky said. "If it’s still bad when I get home I’ll see a doc then."
Hutch looked at him doubtfully; Ida returned with the first aid kit and handed it to Hutch. He in turn handed her the cloth wrapped bible.
"What is this?" Ida asked holding the book carefully.
"We found it at Lisa’s in the cellar in a crate. You better sit down Ida, I think what is written in there will be quite a shock." Hutch told her.
Ida sat down in a chair next to Starsky and un-wrapped the book. She sucked in her breath a little when she saw what it was. She rubbed her hand over the soiled cover then opened it slowly. She took out the photo that they had looked at earlier. Hutch watched Ida’s face wanting to see her expression but there was none.
Hutch cleaned the cut with disinfectant he found in the kit then began to bandage Starsky’s leg. "You don’t seem surprised."
She shook her head, "I-I knew about Jared."
"Why didn’t you tell us?" Starsky wanted to know.
"The same reason I didn’t tell the police thirty years ago. I was afraid they wouldn’t look for Lisa if they knew that Jared was her husband." Ida said as two tears slid down each side of her face.
Hutch put his hand over Ida’s wrinkled one, "Why don’t you tell us the whole story."
Ida sighed and looked in the direction of Lisa’s farm house. "As soon a Jared hit town Lisa came to me and told me the whole story. They lived in Iowa and had gotten married when she was just 16, he was 20, a year later she had Sammi. Jared was a traveling salesman and he got it into his head that Sammi was not his daughter. He insisted that Lisa drop her off at an orphanage but Lisa refused. She tried to convince Jared that Sammi was his, that she hadn’t been with any other man, but he never believed her. Finally, he told her that if she didn’t give Sammi away that he would kill the baby, so one night Lisa packed her bags took Sammi and ran. She went back to her maiden name, maybe not a smart move when you are trying to hide and ended up here."
"Lisa begged me not to tell Hank any of this; she was afraid that he would go after Jared and be hurt. So, I promised, perhaps if I hadn’t made that promise Lisa and Sammi would still be alive." Ida said in a tight voice. "At first things were okay, I’m not sure what changed, Lisa never said but I do know that she was suddenly afraid of him, that was when she told him to leave and you know the rest of the story."
"I think Sammi saw what happened." Hutch said as he closed up the first aid kit.
"What makes you think that?" Ida asked leaning forward in her chair.
"You will think I’m nuts." Hutch grinned at her.
"Try me."
"I don’t think Sammi is looking for her mother, I think she is trying to tell us what happened to her."
"She’s talkin’ to you isn’t she?"
"I wouldn’t say talking but more like she is leading me." Hutch said. "How’s that Starsk?" He turned his attention back to his partner.
"Feels better," Starsky said flexing his leg. "I’m going to change."
Hutch sat down in the chair Starsky had gotten up from. He rocked slowly, lost in thought, finally he said, "If somebody would have told me that I would believe in ghosts I would have told them they were crazy. That’s Starsky’s thing not mine. Makes me wonder why Sammi is showing me these clues and not him."
"Maybe she likes a challenge." Ida winked at him. She pushed herself up from the chair using the arms; she straightened up slowly and put her hand to the small of her back. "Gettin’ old."
"You are anything but old, Ida," Hutch complimented. "I don’t think you could ever be old."
"You are a sweetheart," She smiled at him. "I best be getting in, got to start supper."
"I think I have eaten more in the last day that I have in weeks." Hutch said patting his stomach. "You really don’t need to go to all this bother."
"I’m glad to do it. I have always hated this time of year. I guess with the kids going back to school and all, folks don’t have time to travel. But once things settle, we start getting couples for getaway weekends." Ida explained. "It’s nice to have something to do right now."
"Just don’t go to too much trouble. We are easy to please." Hutch winked at Ida.
Chapter 5
It was early the next morning when Ida tapped on the detective’s door and opened it a crack. "I’m sorry to disturb you but there is a call from a Captain Dobey."
"I’ll get it," Hutch said to Starsky as he was getting out of bed.
When Hutch got to the bottom of the steps Ida handed him the phone and had a mug of steaming hot coffee waiting. He smiled his thanks then said into the phone, "It’s, Hutch, Captain. What did you find out?"
"I got a hit on this Jared Wilkins you are looking for; he is in a hospital in Goleta, just outside of Santa Barbara." Dobey said into the phone.
"So he is alive," Hutch said more to himself than his captain.
"If it is the same man."
"Do you have an age?"
Dobey looked at the printout he had in front of him, "Says here he is sixty-five."
"Sounds about right. What’s the name of the hospital?" Hutch asked grabbing a pad of paper and a pen.
"Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital," Dobey answered. "I called, the nurse I spoke to said that he is very sick, dying of some form of cancer."
"Thanks, Cap."
"When do you think the two of you will be back?"
"Starsky is checking on his car tomorrow and we will see how this lead pans out."
"Alright." Dobey sighed, "I put you both on vacation."
"One of us will be in touch." Hutch hung up the phone, ripped off the top piece of paper from the pad and stuck it in his pocket. Then he picked up his coffee and went into the kitchen.
Just like the morning before, Ida had platters of steaming food waiting. Hank was just mopping up the last of the biscuits and gravy from his plate. "’Morning, Ken," Hank said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin and finished off his coffee.
"Good morning, Hank, Ida," Hutch said taking a seat. "Thanks for taking the call."
Ida waved her thanks away. "It was about Jared wasn’t it?
"Yes, it was, it seems that he is alive," Hutch said as he helped himself to a couple of biscuits.
Darkness passed over Hank’s face. "He doesn’t deserve to be."
"From what my captain told me, he won’t be much longer, he is in the hospital dying of cancer."
Hank grunted and held his cup out to Ida who refilled it with coffee. "At least he got to live his life, he didn’t deserve it."
"Now, Hank, we aren’t sure if he had anything to do with Lisa disappearing." Ida admonished.
Hank gave his wife a cutting look, "You know he killed her Ida just as sure as we are all sitting in this kitchen, he killed her." Hank got to his feet, slammed the chair into the table making the dishes rattle and stalked out of the room. Ida and Hutch heard the front door slam.
"I’m sorry, Ken," Ida said as she sat down across from him. "All this has really stirred up a whole lot of feelings for Hank…for both of us."
"I understand, I should be the one that is sorry," Hutch said, he had suddenly lost his appetite.
"For what? Listening to a crazy old couple and their ghost story?" Ida stretched her hand across the table. Hutch took it, "You know, Ken, you and David are the first people to listen to us. I can’t tell you what that means. And if you can find Lisa and bring her home, we can all be at peace."
"What’s going on?" Starsky asked as he hobbled into the kitchen. His leg had throbbed all night long and he was beginning to wish he had listened to Hutch and gone to a doctor.
Hutch quickly told Starsky about Dobey’s phone call but left out how Hank had stormed out of the house. "So we need a car." Hutch looked at Ida.
"All we have is Hank’s old truck and I wouldn’t want to be driving that far in that junker. I keep telling him we need something new before we get stranded some place but he won’t part with it."
"Do you think he would take us to town to rent one?" Starsky asked.
"I’ll call the station and see if he has calmed down." Ida said leaving the room.
"Calmed down?"
"It’s nothing; Hank was just upset by the news that Jared might still be alive." Hutch explained.
It was nearly an hour before Hank returned to the house; it had given Hutch and Starsky time to shower and change. Ida handed Starsky a thermos of hot coffee, "The old man ran out of here with out it. Will you be back by dinner?"
Hutch smiled, it seemed that Ida’s whole world was cooking. "We will be back by dinner, I promise."
With Hutch behind the wheel this time they drove through Los Alamos, it was a nice town and hard to believe there was a ghostly drama going on mere miles away. Hutch was starting to doubt what he had heard the further they got away from the Bed and Breakfast and the haunting story of Lisa and Sammi. Maybe he had imagined the whole thing after all.
The damage to Starsky’s car was real though, they had stopped at the garage to find out when his car would be ready before renting one, hoping that maybe the damage wasn’t as bad as first thought and it was ready. They had no such luck and Al had told Starsky it would be probably be the weekend before he could have his car back.
Starsky brooded in the passenger seat; even with the aspirin that Ida had given him before they left, his leg was still hurting like a bad toothache. It was also swollen up and turning an ugly shade of purple.
"You are getting that leg looked at when we get to the hospital," Hutch said without taking his eyes off the road.
"Sure," Starsky said watching the trees whiz by. "Is all this real?"
Hutch was startled since that was what he had been thinking. "I don’t know, Starsk, its funny, the further we leave Ida and Hank behind the more I’m unsure."
"It’s almost like when we are with them we are under some kind of a spell."
"Hopefully, we will get some answers when we meet Jared Wilkins."
Their first stop when they got to the Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital was to have Starsky’s leg looked at. The ER doctor gave him a tetanus shot and a prescription for antibiotics and a stern lecture on not waiting to be checked out next time, unless he wanted to lose his leg.
After picking up the prescription from the hospital’s pharmacy, they asked for Wilkins’ room. The nurse looked rather surprised; the man had been in the hospital for nearly a month with no visitors.
Hutch knocked, then pushed open the door, a white headed man lay in bed surrounded by machines designed to make his last days as comfortable as possible. "Wilkins? Jared Wilkins?"
The man’s eyes popped open and he stared at the two strangers. "You finally caught me."
The detectives were taken off guard by the man’s words. "Caught you?"
"You are the police right?" Jared asked.
"Yes, detectives." Starsky answered.
"You are here about Lisa."
"How could you possibly know that?" Hutch wanted to know.
"I have been waiting thirty years for the police to show up and make me pay for what I did."
The strange feeling that the detectives had left behind in Los Alamos was back. "Just what did you do?" Starsky asked.
"You already know that or you wouldn’t be here." Jared said, he began to cough, he lost his breath and his face drained of color.
"Should we call a nurse?" Hutch asked.
"No, no," Jared gasped. "Just give me a minute." It was nearly five minutes before he regained his breathing and his voice. "Lung cancer, but it has spread all over my body, they don’t give me much time. I’m sure there will be no tears shed for me."
"Would you like to tell your story?" Hutch asked.
"I’m sure you already know it." Jared said, his color starting to return.
"We would like to hear your version," Starsky said as he found a chair to get off his throbbing leg.
The old man seemed surprised, "Alright, I guess I don’t have anything to lose. Where would you like me to start?"
"How about the beginning," Hutch suggested.
He nodded and cleared his throat. "Lisa Garrison was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. The first time we met she was fifteen, I was nineteen, we started dating and year later we were married. I had tried to get a job in town, we lived in a small town in Iowa but there weren’t any jobs, the only one I could get was a traveling sales man selling brushes. You don’t see that kind of thing anymore. I loved Lisa with all my heart and I knew that I had to take the job to support us and start the family that we both wanted so badly."
"At first I was overjoyed when Lisa told me she was pregnant, it was something we had both dreamed about since before we were married. But I knew something wasn’t right when the baby was born, it was too early. Worried, I questioned the doctor but he told me that the baby girl was full term, that was when I started counting and I knew that Sammi could not be my child; I was out of town for the month when she had to have been conceived. I just went nuts, I was so crazy about Lisa and to think that she was with another man just drove me mad. I told her to take the child to an orphanage."
"Did you tell Lisa you would kill the baby if she didn’t abide by your wishes?" Hutch asked.
Jared closed his eyes and nodded slowly, "I was enraged, I wasn’t thinking straight, I was heartbroken, so I did threaten Lisa that I would kill the baby. I never would have done that, Sammi was the sweetest little thing. I stormed out of the house and when I got back hours later Lisa was gone with Sammi. That was when I realized that I didn’t care that Sammi wasn’t mine, I just wanted both of them back."
"So you showed up in Los Alamos?" Starsky asked.
"It took me nearly five years to track them down." Jared said. "At first, of course, Lisa was wary of me, she thought that I had come to kill Sammi but I convinced her that I only wanted us to be a family again."
"Is Lisa dead?" Hutch asked the man point blank.
Again Jared closed his eyes, tears leaked from under his lids and he nodded. "It was an accident. God knows I didn’t mean for it to happen."
"What did happen?" Hutch wanted to know.
"That night, I went to her house, it was late. I knocked on the backdoor and Lisa came outside, it was a nice night and we sat on the back steps and talked. We did that often, I think she was falling in love with me again or I hoped so. Though she never trusted me enough to leave Sammi alone with me, I guess I can’t blame her for that. I asked Lisa to come back to Iowa with me, come back to our home and start over. I told her that I didn’t care if Sammi wasn’t mine, it just didn’t matter anymore."
"Lisa flew in to a rage, she started yelling at me that Sammi was my child and why wouldn’t I believe her. Back then there weren’t all the tests that there are now. I was so afraid that I would wake up and find her gone again that I grabbed her arm; I wanted her to understand that either way, I didn’t care. She jerked away from me and when she did, Lisa stumbled and hit her head on the foundation around the cellar door. I knew by how still she was laying that she was dead, so I drug her into the cellar and buried her, then got the hell out of there. I knew that nobody would believe me."
"You do know Sammi was killed that night also." Starsky asked.
"Yes, I followed the case in the paper, not that there was much of a case."
"The police thought that Lisa had run off with you." Hutch said.
"I guess that was why I never bothered to change my name. But I always knew that somebody would come for me some day." Jared looked at the two detectives. "Are you going to arrest me?"
"I really don’t see a point." Hutch said.
"I wouldn’t make it through a trial anyway." Jared said as he gasped for breath. "Are you going to dig up Lisa’s body?"
"The Morgan’s buried Sammi and would like Lisa to rest next to her." Starsky said painfully getting to his feet. "I think it would bring them peace."
"I haven’t thought about them in years." Jared said. "I know they never liked me but I was glad that Lisa had them to take care of her."
"I do have one more question," Hutch said, Jared nodded and Hutch asked his question, "What have you been doing for the last thirty years?"
"Not much, I was so racked with guilt that I just moved around but I never got very far away from Los Alamos, I guess I felt closer to Lisa. I never remarried and didn’t really have any friends to speak of. I have no relatives either; I guess this is my punishment, to die alone."
Chapter 6
The ride back to Los Alamos was a quiet one, both detectives lost in their own thoughts. Hutch drove straight through town; they had decided to keep the rental car until Starsky’s was fixed so they didn’t have to have Hank driving them around. On one hand they were anxious to get back and tell Ida and Hank that they knew where Lisa’s body was, but on the other hand they weren’t sure what to tell them about Jared Wilkins. At least Lisa could be buried next to her daughter and Sammi could finally be at rest.
Hutch turned into what he thought was the driveway to the Morgan’s Bed and Breakfast but he knew immediately that he was mistaken as the drive was weed filled; their driveway was gravel and nicely maintained. "Damn," Hutch muttered as he started to back down the drive.
Starsky had been resting with his eyes closed, the medicine was starting to kick in and he was feeling better. "What’s wrong?"
"I turned in the wrong driveway."
"Are you sure?" Starsky asked looking around, "Looks like the right place to me."
"But look at the driveway; it didn’t look like this when we left."
Starsky shrugged, "Just drive a little further up."
Hutch sighed, he was tired and hungry; he was looking forward to dinner with the Morgan’s. Ida was spoiling him and he would miss her cooking when they left. Hutch had already decided that he would return soon with his current girlfriend. "What the hell?" Hutch jammed on the break. They both stared at the house before them, the paint was peeling, several windows were broken out, some of the shutters hung haphazardly by their hinges and some were missing. It was clear that nobody had lived in the house in a very long time.
"Hutch, you did miss their driveway, we are at Lisa’s old house," Starsky said shaking his head.
"I don’t think so," Hutch said, he put the car in park and got out and started toward the empty house.
Starsky jumped out and followed his partner, "Come on, Hutch, it’s starting to get dark and Ida wanted us there for dinner."
Hutch wasn’t listening; he was staring at something that was lying on the rotting porch. He walked over and moved some debris that was half covering a sign. "Wrong place, uh?"
Starsky looked at what was written on the sign, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he back up looking around. "Okay, Hutch, you know I’m into this whole, ghost, vampire, werewolf stuff but this is…is…is just too much."
Hutch stepped away from the porch as if a whole team of ghosts were ready to attack them. "Let’s get the hell out of here." Hutch’s voice was shaking as he spoke.
"Did that sign say what I thought it did?" Starsky asked when they were back in the car.
Hutch nodded, "Morgan’s Bed and Breakfast."
"I thought so," Starsky said his breath coming hard. "You know that means that we have been staying with…"
"Don’t say it, just don’t say it." Hutch said as he made a U-turn in the grass and headed back down the driveway.
"What are we going to do?" Starsky asked.
"Finish what we started." Hutch’s hands were shaking as he turned back out onto Highway 101 and headed toward Los Alamos.
Once they had check into a motel room, everything they had just seen seemed silly. How could they have just spent the last two days with two ghosts, eaten food with them, slept in their house, and conversed with them? It was impossible wasn’t it?
Hutch lay in bed staring at the ceiling, "You awake Starsk?"
"Yeah who could sleep after that?"
"I’m kind of freaking out here."
"Me too, I don’t know if I can go back," Starsky said turning on his side to look at Hutch.
"We have too; we have to find Lisa,"
"Are you sure we weren’t just dreaming?" Starsky asked.
"We are close, but I don’t think that we are so close that we are dreaming each others dreams." "I had to give it a try."
"Wish it was true, makes as much sense as what we are going through." Hutch said he turned on his side to face Starsky.
"There was something I didn’t tell you," Starsky said taking a deep breath. "You know the first time Hank took me to town to look at my car?"
"Yeah."
"The mechanic told me that the police called in about my car and he had never heard of anybody named Hank."
"I’ll never doubt your vampires again, buddy," Hutch turned back over and looked at the ceiling again. "I think we need to get some shut eye, uh?"
"Yeah, sure," Starsky was sure he wasn’t going to sleep. But within minutes the rhythmic breathing of both detectives could be heard.
"Do you think Jared was real?" Starsky asked as he sipped a cup of hot coffee, all he could think was that it wasn’t as good as Ida’s.
"I hope so, I don’t think I can take much more of this," Hutch said he looked at the steaming breakfast in front of him. He didn’t much feel like eating it.
In the light of day things didn’t seem quite as strange as they had the night before. "Can I ask you something, Hutch?"
"Sure," Hutch dropped his fork in his plate and pushed it aside.
"What if we go back and it’s like it was before?"
"You mean Ida and Hanks place?" Hutch asked.
"What if we get there and Ida wants to know why we didn’t come back last night?"
"Buddy, I don’t think that is going to happen," Hutch said as he waved at the waitress down for the check. "I think we found what they needed us to find out, they don’t need us anymore."
Starsky just nodded. They paid the check and got into the rental car to head out to Lisa’s house. As they got close to the Morgan’s driveway Starsky said, "I need to see it again."
Hutch was reluctant to make the turn, what if Ida was sitting on the front porch and Hank’s old truck was in the driveway? But as the house came into view it was as they had seen it the night before, in total disrepair. "It was a beautiful place wasn’t it?" Hutch said as they got out of the car. "I’m glad I got to see it."
"Hutch, I swear to God you are scaring me."
"Why?"
"You never believed this stuff before."
"I guess a little girl and a sweet old lady showed me the way." Hutch smiled as he thought about Ida. Then he looked across the field, the grass was higher than the first time he crossed it but for the most part it was still the same. He wondered if Sammi’s gravesite was even there. "Let’s walk."
Starsky started to argue but he changed his mind and went back to the car to get the two shovels and large lanterns they had purchased before they left town. "Come on," He said handing one of the shovels to Hutch, they each took a lantern.
It wasn’t long until they could see the little picket fence around where Sammi’s grave was, it was overgrown now and just when they thought that nothing else could shock them they got one more. There were now three grave markers in the tiny graveyard. Hutch squatted down to pull the drying grass from the front of the first one so he could read what was on it. Starsky pulled the grass from the one next to it.
The two detectives stood up and backed away, the first stone read ‘Ida Morgan Died September 10, 1965’, the second read ‘Hank Morgan Died September 12, 1965’.
"Ten years, Starsk, they have been dead ten years," Hutch felt like sitting down and crying.
"And they died within two days of each other." Starsky moved to pull the grass from the third grave but it was the same as before, it was Sammi’s. There was a space between Sammi’s stone and Hank’s, Starsky pointed it out. "They left a spot for Lisa."
Hutch ran his hands over his face, "Then let’s find her."
They walked the rest of the way to Lisa’s old house; it was the same as they had left it. Even the crate where they had found the bible was still sitting on the porch. They had been in such a hurry after their find; they hadn’t put it back in the cellar.
"Do you think they are watching us?" Starsky asked as he looked up to the second floor of the old farm house.
A shiver ran down Hutch’s spine but he merely shrugged and proceeded around to the side of the house where the cellar door was still standing open. "You ready for this?" He asked Starsky.
"I don’t think I’ll ever be ready, so let’s just go." Starsky turned on his lantern, Hutch did the same and they made their way into the damp cellar.
"So where do we start?" Starsky surveyed the room. The floor was dirt and with so many years passing there was no sign of where Lisa could have been buried.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a large cellar, Hutch stood with his hands on his hips, he looked up the stairs leading outside the cellar as if he were visualizing what Jared might have done. He could almost see the man dragging, no carrying Lisa’s body down the steps, Jared laid her gently on the ground, tears were coursing down the man’s cheeks as he started back up the steps. Quickly, he returned with a shovel and began digging a hole in the far corner of the cellar. Hutch walked across the dirt floor and stood where, Jared, some thirty years ago had buried Lisa. "Here." Hutch said.
Starsky had been standing watching, Hutch, it had been almost as if his partner had been there that day so long ago. He watched Hutch turn his head as if he were watching the whole process of Jared burying Lisa. When Hutch said they should dig where he was now standing, Starsky didn’t even ask or question why. He was far beyond asking and questioning any longer.
They both set to work, carefully digging deeper and deeper. They were two feet down when Starsky’s shovel struck something, "I think we have found her," Starsky announced as he crouched close to the hole they were digging. Hutch grabbed one of the lanterns and held it down into the hole. They could see a tattered bit of cloth, gently they began uncovering Lisa’s body, it took them nearly three hours and they were both exhausted by the time they freed her from the ground.
Starsky looked around, "We didn’t bring anything to put her in."
"Go in the house and see if you can find something." Hutch suggested as he looked down at Lisa, she was mostly a skeleton but there was still some dried flesh that hung on her bones, a few strains of long hair and some bits of cloth that had probably once been a dress.
Starsky looked up the cellar steps to the daylight above. He didn’t relish the idea of going into the house above alone. "Don’t you think we should get the Los Alamos police?"
"And tell them what exactly?" Hutch asked, he had already thought this out. Of course, his first instinct being an officer himself was to notify the authorities. "Just how are we going to explain how we knew where Lisa’s body was? Are you going to be the one to tell them that a couple of ghosts led us here?"
Starsky sighed and looked up the stairs again, then he slowly climbed to the top and looked around. He half expected to see Hank waiting on him or maybe Ida with a nice glass of lemonade. But there was no one there; Starsky went up the back steps and into the house. A cold chill ran up his spine and he felt as if he was being watched. At least this house was still the same as the first time they had entered it. He went into the living room and looked at the photos on the walls again. Starsky wondered why all this was still here, why hadn’t anybody bought the land and tore down the houses? Not finding anything to wrap Lisa’s body in, Starsky went upstairs where he found a closet in the hallway. Carefully he opened the door, when he did mice scattered, but inside was what he was looking for. Extra blankets, sheets and towels were neatly stacked on shelves. He could only hope that he could find one that wasn’t rotten and would hold her body.
Hutch sat down next to Lisa’s bones, he knew he should be scared or at least a little freaked out but a strange calm had come over him and he sat in the musty cellar. He wondered what Lisa had been like, and if Sammi was Jared’s or somebody else’s, something told him that Lisa wasn’t that kind of woman and that she had been faithful to her husband.
Chapter 7
Starsky reentered the cellar carrying a blanket and a sheet, they seemed to be holding together well, he hoped that they would be strong enough to carry what was left of Lisa. If not, they would have to leave her and come back later with more supplies. He found Hutch still sitting next to Lisa, "Here, I found these," Starsky said.
Hutch got to his feet, he took the blanket from Starsky and spread it on the ground, then they put the sheet on top of the blanket. It would have to do for a makeshift casket, for they had no way of getting a real one.
Gently, the detectives reached into the hole they had dug and brought Lisa out, one of her hands slipped from where it had been place on her chest and brushed Starsky’s leg. Starsky let out a small cry; his first instinct was to drop the body and run from the cellar into the light and fresh air but managed to control his revulsion.
Hutch reached over and carefully placed her arm where it had been. Starsky met Hutch’s eyes, there was so much compassion there that tears sprung to his eyes. As they laid Lisa on the sheet Hutch said, "I believe Jared, look how carefully she was buried; I don’t think that he killed her."
Starsky nodded in agreement as they knelt, one on each side of the body. "It was just a terrible accident."
They began to fold Lisa’s body first in the sheet and then the blanket, wrapping both tightly around her. When they finally had her wrapped, they carried her body out of the darkness where she had been so long and out into the crisp fall air. It was late afternoon and both men knew they didn’t have much light left; neither cherished the idea of being anywhere near the area after dark.
It was difficult going, carrying the body, shovels and lanterns. They had thought of leaving the lanterns behind but with the sun so low in the sky they were sure they would need them before they were done. After carefully laying the body on the ground on the outside of the tiny fenced in graveyard, Hutch looked toward Ida and Hank’s home. Something caught his eye; it looked like a light was burning in one of the upstairs windows. He immediately dismissed the thought; it had to be what little sun was left reflecting on a windowpane.
"Hutch…Hutch," Starsky finally poked his friend in the ribs.
"What," Hutch said pulling his eyes from the house in the distance.
"I really don’t want to be here all night." Starsky said as he handed one of the shovels to Hutch. "Is everything alright?"
Hutch was tempted to tell Starsky what he thought he had seen but decided that he didn’t want to freak him out anymore than he already was. Strangely enough, he was dealing with all this much better than Starsky. Hutch took the shovel, "It’s time that Lisa rests in peace."
It was full on dark by the time they got the grave dug; Starsky stood and wiped the sweat from his forehead leaving a muddy streak. Even though the air was cool, the exertion from digging had made them sweaty, their clothes along with the dirt clung to their bodies. "You ready?" Starsky asked.
Hutch turned to look at the wrapped body, the light from the lantern gave everything an eerie glow, "Yeah, let’s get her in the ground."
Together they picked up the body and lowered it into the ground. Solemnly, shovel full by shovel full, they began filling in the grave. Starsky hated the way the dirt sounded as it hit the blanket. They worked until the grave was filled in and then the two men looked at each other for along time. "I guess we had better get going." Hutch said; he felt a sorrow at leaving them all in the cold hard ground. Things should have been different; at least for Lisa and Sammi, they had both died so young. Hank and Ida had lived full lives, but it had been a sad one.
It was nearly midnight when Starsky grabbed one of the lanterns, "Be at peace," He said softly.
They walked through the high grass toward the old Bed and Breakfast; once again Hutch thought he saw a light in one of the windows but this time down stairs. He kept watching as they got closer but never saw it again. Starsky took Hutch’s shovel and tried to take his lantern but Hutch turned toward the old house.
"Hutch, where are you going?" Starsky wanted to know as he opened the trunk and tossed in the shovels.
"In the house," Hutch said without looking back. He held the light high as he reached the steps.
"Why are you going in the house?" Starsky asked as he walked to the bottom of the stairs Hutch had already climbed.
Hutch didn’t answer, instead he tried the front door, he wasn’t surprised to find it unlocked. The door creaked when he opened it and he could hear small animals scatter as they heard his footsteps enter the foyer. He held the light high so that he could see into the rooms. The rooms held nothing, all the furnishing had been removed except one thing, the small table Hutch had sat at near the bottom of the steps leading upstairs.
By this time Starsky was right behind Hutch. It looked like there is something lying on the table. Both men trained their lights on the tiny table that was dust covered, a multitude of spiders had left their webs tangled around the table’s legs. But in the center of the table was a pristine white envelope. Starsky made an audible gulp when he saw it. Hutch reached over and picked it up, he held it near the light and what was written on it made them both jump and look around the dark rooms.
"Does that say what I think it does?" Starsky said eyeing the envelope.
Hutch nodded, in flowery writing that had to be Ida’s, their names were written in script on the front. Hutch handed Starsky his lantern and opened the envelope, there were two words written on a card inside, Thank You. Hutch let out the breath he had been holding in.
"This isn’t possible, is it?" Starsky asked, staring at what was written on the card.
"I think anything is possible." Hutch said. He now knew why he had been seeing the lights in the house, Ida and Hank had wanted to thank them. "I guess we had better get out of here." Hutch tucked the envelope in his pocket.
Starsky stood in the shower letting the hot water wash away the dirt and grim, he had to wonder if he had just imaged everything they had just been through. But he knew he hadn’t when he stepped from the steaming bath room to find the envelope they had found in the house banked against the lamp between their beds. Hutch was no where in sight. Starsky felt a little panicked at not finding his partner, he quickly got dressed, but as he started for the door it opened and Hutch came in carrying a sack of food from the local all night diner.
"Are you okay?" Hutch asked Starsky whose face was ashen.
Starsky sat down on one of the beds, "Yeah, I came out and you were gone.
"What? Did you think I was a ghost too," Hutch grinned but Starsky didn’t return the smile.
"Don’t do that." Starsky snapped.
"It’s over Starsk."
"Yeah," Starsky flopped back on the bed exhausted.
"It will all seem different in the morning."
The next morning dawned sunny and warm, Hutch had been right, everything was different. Starsky could almost forget what had happened to them over the last few days, that was, until he went to pick up his car at the garage.
"So what’s the damage?" Starsky asked handing Al the mechanic his credit card.
"Been paid for." The man answered as he handed Starsky his keys.
"By who?"
Al shrugged, "Some old man came in early this morning saying something about it was his fault that you ran off the road and handed me a hand full of cash. In fact, he gave me too much and when I tried to give him change he said he wouldn’t be needing it. Very odd fellow if you ask me."
"Did he have on a green John Deere hat?" Starsky asked, but he already knew the answer.
"Yes, I think he did, so you know him?"
"I guess you can say that I do." Starsky took his keys; he drove to the rental car place where Hutch was waiting for him.
As Hutch got into the car he noticed the spooked look on Starsky’s face again. "Now what happened?"
"Hank paid for the repairs on my car."
Hutch wasn’t even surprised by the news, "That was nice of them."
"I think you are losing it Hutch, I really do. How can you be so calm?"
"How can you be scared of them?" Hutch wanted to know.
"I-I’m not scared," Starsky said pulling out of the parking lot and pointing the car in the direction of home.
"You are too."
"Am NOT!" Starsky retorted.
When they got close to Goleta, Hutch said, "I would like to make a quick stop."
Starsky knew that his partner wanted see Jared Wilkins one last time. "Maybe he was a ghost too," Starsky said not really wanting to find out.
"Come on, Starsk, what’s another hour?"
"Fine," Starsky said.
Hutch walked to the front desk, "Excuse me, we would like to see Jared Wilkins."
The nurse flashed a smile at Hutch, "Just a moment sir." She picked up the phone and made a call. Then she said, "If you will wait a doctor will be down."
Hutch’s brow creased as he went to stand next to Starsky who was looking out the window. "A doctor is coming to talk to us."
"What?" Starsky asked surprised. "It’s not like we are family."
"Maybe she doesn’t know that, I didn’t tell her who we were." Hutch said.
A man in a white coat stopped at the desk and the nurse directed him to where the two detectives were standing. "Gentlemen, I’m Dr. Simons."
They turned around to greet the doctor. "We are sorry to bother you we just wanted to see Jared Wilkins for a few minutes; we have some news for him."
"Are you relatives?"
"Not exactly," Hutch said. "We were here to see him a couple of days ago."
"I’m sorry to tell you this but Mr. Wilkins died last night."
"What time?"
"Right around midnight."
Hutch looked at Starsky, he had died around the time they had finished burying Lisa. "Thank you for your trouble doctor."
"It’s sad that Jared will never know that we found Lisa’s body and that at least we believe he didn’t kill her." Starsky said as they were leaving the hospital.
"I think he knows," Hutch said. "He was staying alive until he could tell somebody where Lisa was."
Starsky glanced at Hutch sideways, "Can we go home now?"
"Yeah let’s go home partner."
The End