Secret Informer

839

They sat back up and Starsky carefully placed the note on his lap so he could read it. He carefully read the words on the piece of paper that was made out of letters that had been cut out of a magazine: ‘Kiko, give this to Starsky and Hutch and no one else. I do not trust anyone else. You will be receiving more.’

---

Chapter 1: The Information

Starsky and Hutch sat down across from each other in their favorite booth at the Mexican restaurant owned by Kiko. They received a phone call about half an hour earlier from Kiko saying he had something for them. He wanted them to come by just as he opened the doors before he got busy.

Starsky and Hutch had known Kiko since he was about ten years old and this was unusual behavior for him.  Kiko approached their table with two glasses of water wearing an apron. It was of those aprons that had a big pocket in the front of it. After he set the water on the table, he glanced nervously around the restaurant and only saw his employees. He whispered so only Starsky and Hutch could hear him, “This was under the door this morning. It’s addressed to both of you.”

Kiko reached into the pocket of the apron and took out a plain white 8×10 envelope and placed it on the table next to Hutch. “Well, what it is, Kiko?”

Kiko shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know, Hutch, but this was with it.” He looked around the restaurant again and saw a couple of customers sitting at the booth closest to the door. Their backs were turned toward him. He took a deep breath and reached into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Hutch.

Starsky and Hutch had never seen Kiko so nervous in all the years they’d known him. Hutch neatly unfolded the paper and put it on his lap so no one else could see it. After he read it, he glanced at Starsky and looked toward the floor. Next, Hutch picked up his silverware and dropped a spoon, “I’ll get it,” Starsky said as he bent down to pick it up the same time Hutch did. Hutch was able to pass the letter to Starsky.

They sat back up and Starsky carefully placed the note on his lap so he could read it. He carefully read the words on the piece of paper that was made out of letters that had been cut out of a magazine: ‘Kiko, give this to Starsky and Hutch and no one else. I do not trust anyone else. You will be receiving more.’

Without saying a word Starsky picked up his glass of water and drank about half of it. He smiled at Kiko to let him know that everything would be okay.

Hutch took the envelope and stuck it between his shirt and his jacket so no one would see it. He was curious as to its contents and so was Starsky but they both knew they couldn’t open it here. Not in the open for everyone else to see them. It would have to be opened someplace private.

Kiko pulled out a pen and asked for their order to keep up the ruse of them being there to eat an early lunch. Starsky wanted to order his usual huge meal but they both needed to eat something quick so they could check out the contents of the envelope. Their curiosity was piqued and because they were two retired detectives, they were only going to be patient for so long.

They both ordered a couple of tacos with rice and beans. Kiko wrote down their order and went into the kitchen to prepare it. He kept looking for any signs of anyone who might have given him the envelope. He didn’t know what was in it but he knew it if it involved Starsky and Hutch, it was probably trouble.

Hutch waited a couple of minutes and leaned toward Starsky and whispered, “I’m going to the little boy’s room.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. We should see what’s in it at the same time. Why do you get to see it first?” Starsky whined like a little kid who was being left out of some big secret.

Hutch grinned at his best friend and said, “Because I have it and you don’t.” He slid out of the booth and walked to the bathroom. Starsky frowned, knowing it would be too obvious if he suddenly got up too. Instead he looked around for any signs of anyone watching either of them or Kiko. He saw two men in the booth near the front door, a woman looking at a menu sitting at a table by the front window, and a young couple who seemed oblivious to everyone around them. Starsky smiled as he remembered being young and in love himself, although he was much older when he actually settled down and got married.

When he got into the bathroom, Hutch went into the far stall, closed and locked the door. He waited to make sure he wasn’t followed before he retrieved the white envelope he had tucked between his shirt and his jacket. He carefully opened it and took out the first picture that it contained. He was shocked. He quickly looked at all the pictures and stuffed them back into the envelope. He saw a DVD in the envelope too and could only guess what horrors it contained. He tucked the evidence he’d just received back into his jacket pocket and headed toward the front door.

Starsky saw the look on Hutch’s face when Hutch exited the restroom and knew they were about to skip yet another lunch. Hutch was walking toward the restaurant’s front door like a man on a mission. He didn’t even have to look at Starsky. Hutch knew Starsky would be right with him at his side, as always. Starsky stood up and stretched then walked out the door right behind Hutch. He got in the driver’s seat and turned the engine on. Before he had the chance to ask Hutch where they were headed, Hutch said, “My place.” Starsky didn’t say another word as he put the car in drive and headed for Hutch’s. Out of habit, Starsky and Hutch simultaneously checked their side view mirrors to see if anyone was following them. Starsky also looked in the rear view mirror. Satisfied that no one was following them, Hutch pulled the envelope out of his jacket and peeked inside again.

“What do we got, Hutch?” Starsky said as he rounded the corner almost throwing Hutch into his lap.

“Hey, take it easy, Starsk. We don’t have lights and sirens anymore remember.”

“Sorry about that. So, what is it?”

“Well it’s some pictures and a DVD. The pictures look like a drug deal but it’s who’s in the picture that’s troublesome.”

“Who?”

“It looks like Keith Marshall.”

“Keith Marshall, isn’t he a juvenile parole officer?”

“That’s the one.”

“Should we call Molly? She’s the top dog of juvenile parole officers isn’t she?”

“Yes, but, well…” Hutch put the pictures back in the envelope and tucked it back inside his jacket. “Let’s wait until we get back to my place. We’ll be there in a minute anyway.”

They both checked the mirrors again just to make sure, once again, they were not being followed. Starsky turned onto Hutch’s street and pulled his car into the driveway. They got out of Starsky’s red Mustang and went inside.

Debbie was sitting at the kitchen table talking on the phone. “Okay, that will be great, Sandy. Jeanne and I will see you in about an hour then.” She turned her cell phone off and stood up. Starsky gave her a friendly hug.

“You girls going out?” Hutch asked.

“Honey, I told you this morning, we’re getting our hair done.”

“That’s right; Jeanne said this morning that the two of you were meeting up with Sandy,” Starsky added.

“Have a nice time, dear.” Hutch gave her a goodbye kiss. “Hey, Starsk and I will cook dinner tonight.”

“We will?” Starsky said sounding surprised as he gave Hutch a frowning look.

“Sure we will. It’ll be great. Why don’t you invite Sandy over and we’ll all eat together.”

“That would be nice. I haven’t seen her in a while and it will be a good end to a perfect day. And just what do the two of you have planned for today.”

Hutch shuffled his feet, “Oh, you know us; we’re just going to hang around and stay out of trouble.”

“I do know you. ‘Staying out of trouble’ and the words ‘Starsky and Hutch’ is an oxymoron. The two of you couldn’t stay out of trouble if…oh, never mind.” She looked at them wondering what they were really up to. Offering to cook dinner and ‘just hanging around’ sounded an awful lot like ‘we’re about to get into something we’d rather not tell you about right now’ to Debbie. She was tempted to question them about it but decided to just drop it.  If it was one thing she learned, it was that they could take care of themselves. If they didn’t want to tell her about it, they weren’t about to until they were good and ready. She left after hugging them both goodbye.

Hutch went into the living room and looked out of the window to make sure she was gone. Starsky opened the refrigerator and started looking around. He moved several items before he heard Hutch walk up behind him, “Top shelf on the right and the bottom shelf on the right.”

“What is?” Starsky asked as he moved more stuff around.

“The root beer is on the top shelf and the left over pizza is on the bottom shelf.”

Starsky didn’t bother to ask how Hutch knew what he was looking for. Starsky was always looking for something to eat. Hutch couldn’t see the look Starsky gave him but he rolled his eyes at his partner. He found the root beer and pizza and took them out of the refrigerator and sat at the kitchen table. “You know that…”

“Yeah, I know. This stuff is going to kill me someday. Well I’m surprised I’ve lived this long so at least I’ll die happy. What are you drinking? More of that wheat germ, goat’s milk junk.”

Hutch took a glass pitcher out of the refrigerator. “Starsk, this just happens to be the best stuff you can drink. You want some?”

Starsky took a drink of his root beer and said, “Not a chance, Buddy.”

Hutch poured himself a glass of the mixture and sat down at the table. He took the envelope out of his jacket, took its contents out and laid them on the table. They saw a picture of Keith Marshall and he was holding a bag of white powder. They couldn’t be positive that it was heroin but it sure looked like it. He was taking it from a kid who looked to be between fourteen and seventeen. Hutch picked up the DVD, “What do you suppose is on this?”

“Only one way to find out. I figure we got about three more hours before the kids get home from school.”

“We got a little longer than that. Davey has karate practice tonight. He’s been working on a new routine for the competition in three months.”

Hutch walked into the living room. Starsky picked up his pizza and root beer and followed him. Hutch put the DVD into the player and Starsky sat on the couch next to Hutch. Hutch hit the play button not really knowing what to expect, but they both knew it wasn’t going to be easy to watch. Starsky and Hutch were shocked when they saw the video. They saw Keith Marshall standing around a group of young teenagers, about thirteen to sixteen years old. He said, “Now, I’m in charge of you. All of you, and if you don’t do exactly what I tell you to, I will have you arrested or worse. Most of you could be sent up for a long time. A few of you could be charged as adults and go to a real prison. And if you think that kiddie jail was rough, you don’t know anything.”

“I don’t want any trouble. I…” a small, skinny, young looking boy said.

Keith nodded at an older boy who hit the younger one in the stomach and he cried out in pain as he doubled over. “You don’t know what trouble is boy, but if you don’t do what you’re told; you will.” Keith went on to tell the young boys just what was expected from them. “Each of you is expected to sell some merchandise for me.  I don’t care who you sell to or where you sell. You will also be required to bring back some merchandise for me to sell. I don’t care where you get that either. I’m especially interested in electronics. The more you sell and bring back the more progress will be put into your files and you could end up with time off your parole with good behavior. It goes without saying that if any of you say anything about this little operation you will be dealt with swiftly and permanently.” He looked at two older boys who were holding onto another boy who looked to be about fourteen. This boy was tied, gagged, and blindfolded. He was only wearing his underwear and his tears were coming under the blindfold streaming down his face. Keith took out a taser and tased the young boy.

“No! No!” Hutch screamed. He rubbed his arm and his face went pale. Hutch knew what it felt like to be tased while gagged and blindfolded. Seeing it done to someone else brought back a lot of those old memories. Starsky put his hand on Hutch’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. He wanted to tell Hutch that it was going to be okay. He wanted to tell Hutch that it was all an act, he wanted it to be. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t going to be okay and it certainly wasn’t an act. Starsky wanted to close his eyes, not wanting to see what was going to happen next.

The boy fell to his knees then Keith took out a gun, aimed it at the young boys head and pulled the trigger. The young boy’s body went limp and hit the ground. Starsky and Hutch both jumped. “Oh my God, Starsk. What the hell?” Hutch said slowly not wanting to believe the murder he just witnessed.

“He was just a kid,” Starsky remarked, sounding as helpless as he felt.

It made Starsky and Hutch nauseated to think that this was a person that had been trusted to help these kids get their lives back together. It was his job to keep these kids out of trouble and off the streets. He was supposed to be a good role model for them. The DVD was only about five minutes long, but it was enough. Starsky popped it out of the player and they went back to the kitchen. He put the DVD back in the envelope.

Hutch shook his head and took a deep breath. He let it out as he looked at the pictures on the table. Keith Marshall would have to be stopped. He would have to be held accountable for his actions. One of the other pictures showed Keith hitting a young girl. Another showed a pile of what appeared to be stolen goods. It looked like Keith was in business for himself, dealing drugs and selling stolen merchandise with the kids doing all his dirty work. These were just kids who already had a run-in with the law and were at risk for even more problems.

Starsky picked up a letter that he found among the pictures. He read it to Hutch.

To Starsky and Hutch,

 I know I can trust you to do the right thing with this DVD and the pictures. I only trust you because of the way Molly Ramos talks about you. I’m scared. I’m scared for myself, I’m scared for the other kids and I’m scared for Molly. I think she is starting to suspect something and if Keith Marshall finds out, he will kill her. You have to save her and the others. I know it’s too late for me. I’ve done too many things, too many things that I can’t undo. My life is worth nothing now, but you have the chance to save some of the younger kids. Keep them away from this monster. As long as I live, I will try to get you more information, more proof of what he and others have done. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Hutch just sat there staring into space as Starsky read the letter. “Hutch?” No response. “Hutch, hey, Buddy?” He patted Hutch’s shoulder.

Hutch blinked a couple of times, “Huh, yeah, Starsk?”

“Do you think we should call Reynolds and Johnson?”

They looked at each other and said, “Molly,” simultaneously.

“No. Wait a minute, Starsk. If we call or contact her it could put her in more danger. We can’t let Keith Marshall know that we’re on to him?”

“What do we do then?”

Hutch sat a minute and stared at the pictures and the note that went with them. “Oh, Molly, please don’t do anything stupid.” He shook his head, “I don’t know, Starsk. I don’t know. Maybe we should call Reynolds and Johnson and show this stuff to them. I mean, we can’t investigate ourselves.”

“Isn’t there enough on that video to have him picked up?”

“There should be but the note said this is just the tip of the iceberg. I think that means Keith Marshall may be working for or with someone else and…”

“That might put Molly and the kids in even more danger.” Starsky finished Hutch’s thoughts.

“Either way we have to do something. Let’s call Reynolds and Johnson I think they’re working today. They may want to get an undercover operation going.”

Hutch took his cell phone out of its case and called Johnson. “Hey, Johnson, Hutch here I need to see you and Reynolds at my place as soon as you can.”

Johnson looked at Reynolds and said, “Sure, Hutch, we can be there in about ten minutes. What’s up?” Reynolds turned the car around and headed toward Hutch’s.

“I can’t go into it on the phone but, it’s important Ray.”

The use of his first name let Johnson know that it must be really important. It’s not very often that Hutch used his first name. “What do suppose they’re up to now?” Reynolds asked as he made a left turn.

“I don’t know but it sounds important. Guess lunch will just have to wait.”

“We could eat at Hutch’s.”

“And eat what, a bean sprout sandwich followed by a wheat germ, black strap molasses shake?”

“Good point.” They grinned at each other. Hutch was into health food and he always had been.

“Hey, wait a minute. Starsky’s there maybe he brought a pizza or something more to our liking.”

Johnson and Reynolds arrived at Hutch’s and got out of the car. They were met by Starsky who opened the door for them and directed them to the kitchen table.

“Hey, before we start…” Johnson started but the look on both former detectives faces told him what they called him for was urgent and important.

Starsky knew Johnson was about to ask for lunch and said, “Believe me after you see this, you’ll be glad you skipped lunch.” He held up the DVD and Hutch showed them the pictures.

“Where did you get these?” Johnson asked as he starred at the pictures wondering what was on the DVD.

Hutch glanced at Starsky and the two held another silent conversation in front of Johnson and Reynolds who just watched the exchange take place.  Starsky shrugged his shoulders and nodded. “Kiko. Kiko found an envelope that someone slipped under the door at the restaurant this morning. This was with it,” Hutch said as he handed the note to Johnson.

Reynolds moved closer to Johnson so he could read the note over his shoulder. After they read the note, Johnson asked, “What’s on the DVD?”

“Nothing  good,” Hutch mumbled.

Starsky picked the DVD up and started walking toward the living room with Johnson and Reynolds behind him. Starsky turned around to see Hutch still sitting at the table. He handed the DVD to Johnson and said, “Put it in, will ya? I’ll be right back.” He went back into the kitchen and put his hand on Hutch’s shoulder, “You okay, Buddy?”

Hutch picked up his glass and swallowed the last of his special drink without looking at Starsky. “Hutch, you don’t have to…”

“I’m okay, Starsk. Just promise me, we’ll get him,” he said as he looked into Starsky’s eyes. Starsky knew that look, he’d seen it many, many times before over the years.

“We’ll get him, Hutch, I promise.”

The two went into the living room and joined Johnson and Reynolds. Johnson had taken a seat in the lounge chair and Reynolds was sitting on the arm of the chair. Starsky and Hutch sat next to each other on the couch. Starsky picked the remote up and turned it on. Hutch put his hand on Starsky’s thigh and when the child was tased he looked away. Starsky gently took Hutch’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Starsky knew that Hutch was remembering the time he was kidnapped and tased himself.

Starsky pushed the off button so hard at the end of the DVD that he thought he broke the remote. They all sat in silence for a few minutes. They sat on the chair and on the couch; each of them deep in their own thoughts.  It was Johnson who finally broke the silence, “Starsky, Hutch, there’s enough evidence here to pick him up right now.”

Hutch shook his head and sadly said, “No. You can’t.”

Starsky finished Hutch’s train of thought, “The note said this was just the tip of the iceberg. We think Marshall is working with or for someone else and if that’s case…”

Reynolds chimed in, “Just getting Marshall won’t stop it. It will only put Molly and the kids in more danger.”

“And whoever gave the information to Kiko. We need to find him and help him,” Hutch added, standing up and retrieving the DVD from the player. He handed it to Johnson.

“Kiko has no idea who slipped him this?” Johnson asked as he took the DVD from Hutch.

“Not a clue,” Starsky said heading back to the kitchen. He was followed by the other three men. Starsky picked up the pictures and carefully put them back into the envelope from which they came.

Hutch took the envelope from Starsky and handed it to Reynolds. We’ll let you know when we find out more. I think Starsk and I should talk to Molly. If she does suspect anything I don’t want her to go snooping around on her own.”

“When are you going?” Reynolds asked.

“As soon as we finish here we’ll call her and have her meet us someplace,” Hutch said as he was thinking of someplace safe they could meet Molly. They couldn’t meet at Kiko’s.

Starsky knew what Hutch was thinking and said, “I know, Hutch. Let’s call Molly on her cell phone and have her meet us at Huggy’s in the back room.” Johnson and Reynolds can watch when she leaves and make sure she isn’t being followed.”

“What do you think, Johnson?” Hutch asked, sounding like he wasn’t going to give them much of a chance to say no.

“What do I think? I think it sounds like the two of you keep forgetting you are retired. We appreciated your help with the nursing home but this…”

“This isn’t different. This is Molly’s life we’re talking about and maybe Kiko’s. The information is coming to us, not you. If we don’t follow through, whoever gave that information to Kiko may not give us anymore.” The decibels in Starsky’s voice rose the more he spoke.

“Don’t you understand? We are in this whether we want to be or not. Let us meet with Molly and see if she knows anything,” Hutch said in a much calmer voice than his partner.

“Yeah, I know you guys are right. But how are we going to explain this to Chief Sterling?” Johnson said as he rubbed his hands together. He knew Chief Sterling was not going to be happy about Starsky and Hutch being involved in yet another case. On the other hand, Starsky was right the information was being leaked to them. If they pulled out then, whoever the informer was would probably give the police any more information. Johnson picked up is phone and called his chief as Hutch was on his phone talking to Molly.

 

Chapter 2: Molly

Molly became Kiko’s adopted sister when she was twelve years old. Her father had been killed and she had no mother. It was just two days before Christmas and Hutch just couldn’t send her to juvenile hall. Instead he took Molly into his home and both Starsky and Hutch took her into their hearts. Kiko’s mother always had a heart of gold and when Kiko told her Molly didn’t have anyone, she didn’t think twice about adopting her after Kiko gave his approval. She never regretted adopting Molly and was very proud of both of her children.

Molly vowed that she would help young people when she grew up and she decided that she would become a parole officer. She could help kids that were already in trouble. She made it her personal goal to get these kids while they were young enough and turn them into useful productive members of society. She was very good at her job. A few years ago she was put in charge of all the parole officers.

Molly took great pride in the work she did with the young adults she worked with. She saw a lot of potential in all of them and believed in each and every one of them. Most of these kids came from troubled backgrounds. A lot of them came from broken homes, had parents that didn’t care, some just fell in with the wrong crowd but all of them needed love, care and guidance. She meets with every single child that enters the system. When possible, she met with their parents too. She made sure that all of them know what is expected of them and she set them up for success.

A few weeks ago, she noticed a change in some of the kids. They were all usually happy to see her and eager to talk to her about their lives and all progress they made. Now, some of the kids seemed afraid to talk to her and she actually felt like they were avoiding her. They were holding their heads down like they were ashamed of something.

Molly had always been proactive when it came to each child in the system. She told each child they were important and no matter what they had done in the past, they could change. She told each child when they entered the system that it didn’t matter what they did, they could turn their lives around and be somebody. She tried to instill a sense of self-worth. So many of the children never had anyone that told them they were important. In fact, just the opposite was true. Many of these kids had been told they were useless and would never amount to anything. She wanted each child to take pride in their accomplishments no matter how trivial they appeared to be. Staying in school a whole week was the best some of them could manage. Being at home on time and not hanging out in the streets was difficult for others. Each child came with their own unique problems and challenges but they each came with the need to be loved and encouraged.

The behavior of some of them had changed so much it became very disconcerting and Molly decided to look into it. She thought she could solve the problem herself.

The first thing Molly noticed was that all the kids she had concerns about had the same parole officer, Keith Marshall. She had spent the past few days thoroughly going through each file of the kids under him. The files themselves were impressive, showing much improvement in the kids. Their attendance in school was up along with their grades. There had been no further arrest of any of them, and the files showed a couple of them had found jobs. Molly read each file and felt it just seemed too perfect. It was all just too neat. The behavior changes she saw in the kids told a much different story and she knew it was time for action. She wanted to ask Keith himself, but she suspected that he was part of the problem. She knew talking to him could make matters worse and could possible endanger the kids.

Today was the day she decided she would get to the bottom of this. She would talk to the kids herself. As she got dressed, she pondered a while which one she should talk to first. One boy in particular, Kevin Boyd, had made a lot of progress in the four months since he was placed on parole. Molly had seen him in a hallway yesterday and he turned his head and walked away. It made her sad to see him like that. Kevin was a fourteen-year-old lonely kid who got in with the wrong crowd and was caught in a stolen car. He had been placed in foster care last year after his parents died in a car accident and had never been in trouble before.

Molly was sure she could get him to tell her what was bothering him. She was sure she could get him to open up to her. She was determined to get to the bottom of it all. She finished getting dressed and headed out the door.

She stopped by Kevin’s school and tried to talk to him. The principal was used to Molly visiting ‘her kids’ and thought nothing about calling him out of class and leaving Molly alone to talk to Kevin in his office.

Kevin was called out of his class and was told to go on in to the office. He walked in and instantly had a terrified look on his face. Molly thought this kid looks like a caged animal.

“Hey, Mister Boyd.”

“Ms. Ramos.” He sounded surprised and scared at the same time. He came all the way in and quietly shut the door behind him.

“Have a seat, Mister Boyd.” Molly never sat behind a desk when she talked to the kids. She always sat next to them, as their equal not their superior. She was on their level and didn’t want to give the impression that she thought she was better than them. Kevin hesitated. He just stood there looking at her. “Mister Boyd?” Molly said in a soft voice as she moved the chair that was next to her away a little so he wouldn’t feel like she was invading his personal space.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Have a seat. Don’t look so worried. I’m just here to see how you’re doing.”

Kevin slowly sat down and looked down at his shoes as he started to shuffle his feet. His eyes did not meet hers and the smile he used to show her was gone. “I’m, I’m fine.” His words were not the least bit convincing. Kevin thought what does she know? Does she know what I’ve done? She’s going to be so disappointed in me if she found out what I’ve done.

“Look at me.” She thought if his chin was any lower it would drag the floor. She reached out to him and lifted up his chin forcing him to look at her right in the eyes. “You’re not fine and I’d like to know why. Please, tell me what’s going on. I can and will help you but I need to know what’s going on.”

Kevin quickly turned his gaze back to his shoes or a spot on the floor it was anywhere but on Molly. “Nothing. Just leave me alone.” He tried to sound angry but to Molly he sounded like he was desperately reaching out for help.

“I know better than that. I’ve been doing this job a long time and you know the background I came from.” She looked around the room like she was making sure no one else could hear her. She leaned in closer to him and whispered, “Kevin, I know something’s going on and it’s not just you. It involves a lot of the others too and I want to help all of you. You know you can trust me. Please, help me help you and the others.”

Kevin wanted to tell her what was going on; he wanted to tell her everything and he was about to say something but he heard the voice– Keith Marshall’s voice–say, “If you tell anybody, I will hunt you down and kill every one of you. I know you kids think a lot of Molly and if she ever finds out, I will kill her too.” He remembered the boy being tased and then killed right in front of him. Kevin never felt so helpless in his life. He just couldn’t bring himself to tell Molly any of it. He clenched his jaw and turned his head to the right as he slumped into the chair.

Molly knew she wasn’t going to get anything out of Kevin, not right now at least. “Kevin, I know and you know that I recognize that something is going on. I understand that you don’t feel that you can trust me right now and that’s okay. You can come talk to me when you are ready but please don’t let it be too late.”

Kevin started to say something. He had every intention of asking Molly for help. He briefly looked at Molly and even took a deep breath and opened his mouth but nothing came out. Fact was, he was just too scared to say anything to anybody. Molly smiled at him and patted his leg, “It’s okay, Kevin. I’ll be here when you need me.” She stood up and walked toward the door. She glanced back one last time to see him sitting staring at the floor. “You can go back to class now,” She said as she quietly closed the door behind her.

Molly had planned on talking to several of the kids but if Kevin wouldn’t tell her anything, she didn’t have much hope in getting the others to talk either. She wasn’t going to give up, not just yet. She would have to be careful about speaking to the kids. Keith would get suspicious if Molly was too obvious about talking to just his kids. She would have to work out a plan. She headed back to the office to go over the files again. One thing she was sure of, she wasn’t going to assign any more kids to Keith Marshall.

Molly was looking at the files for the hundredth time when the phone rang. “Parole Officer Ramos,” she said, as she picked the phone.

“Molly, this is Hutch.”

Molly smiled when she heard his voice. “Hutch,” she said in an upbeat voice. She was feeling a little down at the lack of progress she was making and was happy for the break.

“Molly, Starsk and I would like to meet you in about half an hour, if that’s okay with you.”

Molly was beginning to suspect this was more than a casual meeting of old friends. Does he know something about Keith and the kids? How could he? She didn’t want to let on that there was a problem and said, “I’d love to, Hutch. It’s been ages since I saw you guys.”

There was something in Molly’s tone that made Hutch suspect Molly did know something. “Great. Starsky and I can pick you up in about half an hour then?”

“That would be great, Hutch. I’ll be waiting.” Molly sighed in relief as she hung up the phone. “They do know something, I’m sure of it,” Molly muttered to herself. She leaned back in her chair for a moment. Then she started putting the files of Keith’s kids in her briefcase. She added some of the other kid’s files and put them on the top. If Keith stopped her, she would have files from several officers on her, not just his.

Chapter 3: The Meeting

After Hutch called Molly and it was decided that they would pick her up instead of having her meet them someplace, Johnson and Reynolds went back to the station to show Chief Sterling the DVD and the rest of the information they received. They were going to start the investigation. Johnson promised Starsky and Hutch that they would keep them in the loop. Starsky and Hutch said they would let them know what they find out from Molly.

Starsky was driving his car to Molly’s work and Hutch was staring out of the window. Starsky thought Hutch looked like his mind was someplace else. Starsky had seen that look before. “Hey, you okay, Buddy?” There was no response. Starsky gently reached his hand out and lightly touched Hutch’s shoulder, “Hey, Pal, you there?”

“Uh, what? Oh I’m sorry, Starsk. I guess I was a million miles away.”

“You okay?”

“Nothing about this is okay.” Hutch’s voice was soft and low.

“I know, Buddy. Believe me, I know.”

“What do we tell Molly? I mean, how much should we tell her? Should she see the DVD and if she does, will that put her in danger? I just don’t know what to do, Starsk.”

“Let’s find out what she knows, if anything, and take it from there.” Hutch just nodded and went back to staring out of the window. Starsky drove in silence. He was deep in his own thoughts, too.

Molly had the files ready when her secretary buzzed her office and told her that Starsky and Hutch were there. She told her secretary to let them in. She closed her briefcase and walked around to the other side of her desk and hugged them both as they came in her office. When she hugged Hutch she whispered, “Let’s get out of here. I have to tell you something.”

“You got it,” Hutch whispered back. He raised his eyebrows at Starsky to let him know that they were right and Molly did know something.

Molly reached for her briefcase but Starsky took it off the desk and said, “Let me take that for you, sweetheart,” in his best Bogart voice.

“He’s still working on that Boggie voice, huh?”

Hutch grinned and nodded, “Yeah, unfortunately.”

“Hey, I thought it sounded pretty good that time,” Starsky said as he closed the door behind him.

“Keep thinking that,” came the simultaneous reply from Molly and Hutch. Starsky frowned and kept walking.

In the parking lot, Starsky handed Hutch Molly’s briefcase so he could unlock the door. They were both looking around to make sure they weren’t being followed. Molly rode up front and Hutch sat in the back seat. As soon as they left the parking lot Hutch asked, “Molly, what’s in the briefcase?”

Molly took a deep breath, “You know don’t you?”

“We know what, Molly?” Hutch asked.

“I don’t know. Well, not exactly, Hutch, but I know something’s up with some of the kids. I can’t place it but I know it has something to do with Keith Marshall.”

“The files, are they his?” Hutch asked.

“Yes. Well some of them are. Hey, how’d you two know to call me today? This isn’t just some friendly get together is it?”

“Let’s talk when we get to ‘The Pits’,” Starsky said as he turned a sharp corner. He saw Hutch in the rearview mirror almost hit his head on the side of the door. “I told you to buckle up, Buddy.”

“I guess with you driving, I should have learned that lesson a long time ago,” Hutch replied as he buckled his seatbelt.

Molly chuckled, “You two will never change will you?”

“Not likely,” They said at the same time, grinning.

When they arrived at The Pits, Huggy put them in a small room in the back so they could be alone, unheard and unseen. They gave Huggy their lunch order and he left promising to return in a few minutes.

Hutch set the briefcase on the table and Molly took the key to it out of her purse and looking nervous said, “These files are confidential, but I need help. Besides, I know I can trust you two.” She unlocked the briefcase and opened it. She took the files that were on the top and put them aside. Then she pulled out the files of the kids that Keith was assigned to and gave half of them to Starsky and the other half to Hutch. “These files are the kids that Keith Marshall is assigned to.” She explained how the files were too perfect. As they were looking through the files, Molly started telling them about the changes she began noticing in the kids themselves a few weeks ago. She told them about seeing Kevin this morning and how he acted like he wanted to say something but seemed too afraid to say anything.

Hutch glanced at Starsky and Starsky gave him a subtle nod and slightly shrugged his shoulders. That nod and shrug was part of an unspoken language between the two. Hutch knew that Starsky was thinking what he was: Molly needed to know at least part of what they knew. Hutch closed the file he was looking at and looked directly at Molly, “Molly, listen.”

Molly looked at Hutch then at Starsky, “You know what’s going on don’t you?”

“We know a small part of it and we know that you are in danger,” Hutch said with a serious tone in his voice that Molly had not heard in a long time.

“What? What do you know? Come on, guys, tell me.” She was pleading with them. She wanted desperately to help these kids before it was too late.

“Well, we know that Keith Marshall is involved in making the kids sell drugs and steal for him,” Starsky said in a matter-of-fact tone. He used that tone often when he had to tell someone something he didn’t want to.

Molly gasped, “So that’s it. That…”

Hutch reached out and gently took hold of her arm, “That’s not all.”

“What? There’s more.” She put her head down, “I should have known. I should have seen the signs sooner. It’s my fault.” She sounded ashamed of herself.

“Don’t do that to yourself. Molly, listen to me! It’s not your fault,” Starsky said as he gave her a long hard stare.

Molly was softly sobbing, “What else?”

Hutch put his arms around her and handed her a tissue, “Molly, we have reason to believe he’s not acting alone. We have enough proof to put Keith Marshall away for a long time but we don’t know who he’s working with or for and until we find that out…”

“Nobody’s safe. All of those precious kids are being made to sell their junk and steal.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of it, we promise. We’re already working on it,” Starsky said as Huggy came back with their lunch.

Huggy didn’t know what was wrong but he understood the pain in his friends faces when he saw it. He looked at Starsky, “I’m here for whatever it is you need, whenever you need it.”

Starsky nodded and grinned, “Hug, we’ll take you up on that. We’re gonna need your, uh let’s say, expertise on this one. Hutch and I will explain later.” Huggy nodded and left them alone. He knew they would let him know what they needed and they knew Huggy was there for them, like he always had been.

Molly wiped away her tears, “I’m sorry, guys. It’s just that these kids mean so much to me.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Hutch said as he sat back in his chair. “We know how much these kids mean to you and we know how much you want to help them.”

“Maybe one of the other kids will talk to me. Maybe I can get one of the others to…”

“No. We don’t want you to let anyone know that you suspect anything,” Starsky said as he pushed his lunch plate toward the center of the table. He really wasn’t in the mood to eat.

“Then how are we going to find out whose working with Keith? We can’t let this go on.”

“Johnson and Reynolds are talking to Chief Sterling right now. What we want you to do is act like nothing’s out of the ordinary,” Hutch said as he pushed his plate next to Starsky’s.

“Do you know what you’re asking me to do?”
Starsky briefly shut his eyes and nodded, “We know, Molly. Believe me; we know how hard it’s going to be.”

“We also know that you can do this. We’re going to stay in touch every step of the way. We’ll let you know what Sterling comes up with. We’ll only be a phone call away. If you need us, you call us. It’ll be safe to meet here.”

“So for now you want me to act like nothing’s wrong and just go about my daily routine, right?” Starsky and Hutch both nodded. Molly looked at Hutch then at Starsky and sighed, “Okay, I think I can do that as long as I know you guys are working on it. I’ll call you if I…”

“Molly, remember we don’t want you to go digging around.” Hutch pointed that famous Hutchinson finger in her direction.

“Really, Hutch, the finger? You’re pointing your finger at me.”

Hutch put his hand down on the table. Starsky laughed. He had seen Hutch point that finger at many people over the years but none of them had ever called him on it.

“You guys know me. I don’t go looking for trouble.”

“We do know you, that’s the problem,” Starsky muttered under his breath.

“What’s that, Starsky?” Molly asked.

“I said, just be careful and don’t let trouble find you.”

“I can come up with a list of people that Keith works with, other parole officers, lawyers, other cops and anyone else he might come in contact with.” She looked at them both with a pleading stare.

Starsky looked at Hutch and half-way shrugged his shoulders, as Hutch sighed. He didn’t like it but the information would be useful.

“She’s not a cop, Starsk.”

“Neither are we anymore, Buddy.”

Hutch looked at Molly then Starsky and knew saying ‘no’ was a lost cause. Molly was determined and would do this on her own, anyway. It would give her something to do.

“Okay, but only if you can do it without raising his suspicions.” He started to point that finger at her again but quickly put his hand back down. “And, you tell us what you find out. I want you to check in with us twice a day, at least.”

Molly saluted Hutch, “Yes, Sir.”

Starsky added, “Pete, be careful.”

Hutch chuckled at the use of the name Pete. Molly wanted to be called that when they first met her. She was such a tomboy trying to act tough but was really just a scared little girl.

Molly took out a pen and paper and wrote down a few names of people she could think of off the top of her head that Keith had contact with on a regular basis. There were about fifteen names on the list. She handed it to Hutch. “I’ll be careful, I promise. I’d better get back now or he will suspect something.”

“Okay, we’ll take you back now and please don’t do anything else. I’ll call you tonight and hopefully Sterling will have a plan,” Hutch said as he folded the piece of paper with the names on it and stuck it in his shirt pocket.

Starsky and Hutch dropped Molly back at her office. She got very little work done the rest of the day but she did manage to act as if everything was normal. She saw another one of Keith’s kids in the waiting room and it took every bit of restraint she had not to talk to him. She just smiled and said hi as she walked on by. He said hi back but she could tell that he was hiding something.

 

Chapter 4: The Plan

Reynolds took the DVD out of the player and put it back in the envelope along with the other information Starsky and Hutch had given him. “So what do the two of you want to do?” Chief Sterling asked Johnson who was sitting in one of the two chairs on the other side of his desk. Reynolds was sitting in the other one.

Johnson and Reynolds looked at each other, “We want to get someone on the inside, Chief,” Johnson said, knowing his Chief was not going to be happy about it.

“I don’t like it. Whoever we put in there is going to have to be pretty young or at least look young. It’ll be dangerous.”

“We know that, Chief but what else can we do?” Reynolds replied as he got up and poured himself and Johnson a cup of coffee. He offered the Chief one but he already had one.

The three of them just sat for a few minutes in silence. Each of them were trying to come up with another plan. None of them liked the idea of sending in a young officer. “What about Seth? He looks pretty young, do you think he could…” Johnson asked.

Chief Sterling cut him off, “No. He’s too well known now. Keith Marshall would recognize him.”

“I guess that lets out Austin, Martin and Thompson too, then,” Reynolds sighed.

“It sure does,” the Chief stated.

“Chief, didn’t the academy just hold graduation last week?” Reynolds asked, looking hopeful.

“Yes, but they’re so young, so inexperienced.”

“I know, Chief, but maybe one of them would be willing to go undercover,” Johnson said, “We’d keep a close eye on him and he could wear a wire or something.”

“I don’t know, Johnson, it’s asking an awful lot from someone who just joined the department.”

“I know it is. I just don’t see any other way.”

“I wish Davey and Kenny were old enough. They’d jump at the chance,” Reynolds said.

“Yeah, and Starsky and Hutch would have your heads on a platter if anything happened to either of those boys and so would I.”

“I know that. I’m just saying I wish they were old enough for this one,” Reynolds replied as he finished his coffee.

“What are Starsky and Hutch up to? And don’t tell me nothing, I know better.”

“They’re talking to Molly now to see if she suspects anything. We haven’t heard back from them yet,” Johnson said, knowing the Chief wasn’t going to be happy about that either.

“How come I get more work out of them now than when they actually worked here?” He rubbed his forehead and rested his head in his hands. “Let me know when you hear from them. Captain Glass just added two rookies to his roster; I’ll talk to him and see if he thinks either of them is up for this.”

“Do you want to hold onto this?” Reynolds asked, holding up the envelope with the DVD and the other information they’d been given by Starsky and Hutch.

“Yeah, I do.” Reynolds put the envelope on the Chief’s desk. He was feeling sad and angry at the images he saw on the video. It was hard watching it once and they had seen it twice now. It was just as heart wrenching watching it the second time.

“Thank you, Chief,” Both detectives said as they stood up and walked out of the door, closing it quietly behind them.

“The bad thing is they’re right. They’re always right,” Chief Sterling mumbled under his breath. He picked up the phone and asked Captain Glass if he would come to his office for a quick meeting. Captain Glass said he could be there in ten minutes.

Johnson and Reynolds went to their desks and Johnson picked up the phone and called Hutch. Starsky and Hutch were at Kiko’s when Hutch’s phone rang. They wanted to know if he had heard or received anything else from their secret informer. Kiko said that he hadn’t seen or heard anything else but he would call if anything came up. It was decided just as they dropped Molly off that the less Kiko knew about everything, the better. All he knew was that someone was trying to get information to Starsky and Hutch. He didn’t know it had anything to do with Molly or the parole office.

Hutch told Johnson everything they found out from Molly and let them know that Molly was going to work on a list of people that Keith has contact with.  Johnson told Hutch they wanted to put someone on the inside and Sterling was talking to Glass about using one of the rookies that just graduated. He also said that he would call Hutch later and let him know for sure what their plan was once they had one. Hutch invited Johnson and Reynolds over for dinner and said they could talk about it then. It was agreed that Johnson and Reynolds would meet at Hutch’s for dinner at 1900 hours.

When Hutch got off the phone, he told Starsky what Johnson and Reynolds wanted to do. Starsky’s reply was; “I bet the Chief wasn’t too happy about that plan.”

“No, it didn’t sound like he was, but it’s a good plan.”

 

That night after dinner, Hutch led Starsky, Johnson and Reynolds to the small greenhouse that was in the backyard. It was a nice little greenhouse and it meant a lot to Hutch. His friends had built it as a housewarming gift after the fire that destroyed their other house. They could talk privately in there.

Johnson let them know that Captain Glass said that one of the new rookies seemed especially eager and bright. He wanted to go undercover and accepted the assignment. Johnson and Reynolds, along with Chief Sterling and Captain Glass went over the assignment with him and he was made fully aware of the dangers of it. His name was Devon Jackson and he was a twenty-one-year-old black male. He had always wanted to be an officer and he looked really young and could pass for sixteen. His cover was going to be that of a seventeen-year-old who was caught dealing drugs at his high school in another county. His parents moved here just last week and he was put on probation for two years after which time, his record would be expunged. The school records were going to be made up and ready in the morning along with the arrest record. “His undercover name is going to be Dallas Murphy,” Johnson said. “You’d love this kid. He’s great. Captain Glass says he can handle himself in a fight although you wouldn’t know it if you saw him.”

Hutch looked at Johnson, “Molly’s decides which parole officer each child is assigned to when they enter the system. She’s going to have to know.”

“We already thought of that. We’re going to introduce him to her tomorrow,” Reynolds said.

The plans were all set. Molly would know that Dallas was really an undercover cop but no one else would. It was dangerous for Devon and Molly and they all knew it. Hutch wondered if Devon really understood just how dangerous undercover work could be, especially since he would be alone for the most part. It was also discussed that he could pull out anytime he thought it was getting too dangerous. Johnson and Reynolds didn’t have much time to brief Devon and prepare him for his assignment but they would spend the morning with him and take him to the parole office later in the afternoon about 1500.  It was decided that Devon would not wear a wire. Teams of detectives would take turns watching him. Johnson and Reynolds would take the first watch followed by Seth and Thompson then Austin and Martin. With so many watching they shouldn’t be noticed.  Because Dallas was only supposed to be seventeen, he would have to attend school and that would be Bay City High, the same school as Davey and Kenny and their ‘lunch bunch’ friends. For their own safety, and that of the rest of the kids, it was agreed that none of the kids were to know that Dallas Murphy was an undercover officer. Devon would be told about the boys so he could avoid them as much as he could. Everyone in school knew they were all cops kids and that would not help his drug dealing persona. No one at the school would know, not even the principal.

Starsky and Hutch wanted to meet Devon so they were at the station early the next morning. They were waiting in the Chief’s office when he arrived. Chief Sterling opened the door and almost jumped when he saw two people sitting in his office. “Miss us?” Starsky said laughing as the Chief almost dropped his coffee.

“How can I? You’re always here,” The chief replied as he set his coffee down and moved around the desk to sit in his chair. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“Well, Chief, we wanted to meet Devon since he’s going undercover and will be working with Molly,” Hutch said as he reached for a donut that Starsky was just about to take a bite of, grabbing it just as he bit down so Starsky got a big bite of nothing. He gave Hutch a frown and reached into his bag and pulled out another one. Starsky handed the Chief one of the donuts. It was kind of a peace offering for scaring him and invading his office again.

“Thanks, Starsky,” The chief said as he took the donut.

There was a knock on the door and Starsky said, “Come in.”

Chief Sterling frowned at him and said, “Starsky, this is my office. Come in.” Starsky grinned, took a bite of his donut and looked at Hutch who was laughing.

Johnson and Reynolds came in along with someone Starsky and Hutch had never met. “Starsky, Hutch, this is Devon Jackson.” Starsky and Hutch stood up and shook hands with Devon.

Devon shook Starsky hand, “Nice to meet you Mister Hutchinson.”

“Nope. I’m Starsky, he’s Hutch,” Starsky said as he pointed at himself then at Hutch.

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry, Mister Starsky.”

Starsky giggled, “He called me mister.”

Hutch reached out his hands to shake the nervous-looking rookie’s, “Just call us Starsky and Hutch. No Mister.”

Devon shook Hutch’s hand, “I’ve heard about you two at the academy.”

“See, were famous, Hutch.” Starsky grinned again looking at the Chief who was looking unimpressed.

“For what though, Starsk?” Hutch said as he sat back down.

“Oh the two of you are legends. Well almost, anyway.”

“Okay, that’ll be enough before their heads swell so much they can’t get out of the door,” Chief Sterling said, leaning back in his chair sighing deeply. He knew the kid was right, though. Starsky and Hutch did have a reputation, especially with the rookies.

“Sorry, Sir.”

“Hey, don’t be sorry,” Starsky said trying to drag the fun out even longer.

Chief Sterling shot him a look and said, “Okay, Starsky, play time is over. We’ve got work to do.”

Johnson and Reynolds briefed Devon on the roll he would play in more detail than yesterday. He was also made aware that Starsky and Hutch’s boys were in the same school with their friends and was advised to try to stay away from them. Devon understood that he was supposed to be a drug dealer and hanging around cops kids would not be a good idea. They drilled Devon all morning about who he was, where he came from and what he was supposed to do. He was also told that he could pull out and ask for help anytime he wanted to. This was no walk in the park assignment and one kid had already been killed. Devon was shown the DVD and the rest of the information they had. He knew Molly would know his true identity but would limit his contact with her. Devon would go to the parole office today and start school tomorrow. He was not looking forward to getting back in high school but it was part of the assignment.

Hutch asked Chief Sterling if the young boy that had been killed was identified and the chief said they were still working on it but they really had no clue. There were no reports of any missing kids and all the kids under Keith were accounted for.

Devon always wanted to be a cop. His dad died in a car accident when he was very young.  His mom did the best she could for him and his younger brother. It was hard on all of them but Devon vowed that he would not let his mother down and would do something good with his life. He wanted to help others and being a cop was what he decided to do. So many others around him grew up to be gang members and started a life of crime and got into drugs. Devon wanted to set an example for his little brother who was about to turn sixteen in a couple of months and had dreams of joining the force too.

Devon was told he could trust Starsky, Hutch the other officers watching him and he was told that if he got into serious trouble and couldn’t get anyplace safe he could go to The Pits and ask for Huggy Bear.

“What is a Huggy Bear?”

Everyone laughed. They had all come to love and trust Huggy as much as each other over the years and it was just natural to them to bring his name up when it came down to talking about who they could trust.

“He could be your lifeline when you don’t have one. Trust us,” Starsky said, with all seriousness.

“The Pits, Huggy Bear, got it. He must be a very special person for all of you to trust him so much.”

“He is, my young friend, he is,” Hutch said, as he wrote down the address of The Pits and handed it to Devon.

 

Chapter 5: Undercover

Johnson called Molly and told her that they would be bringing her a new parolee at three. She said that was fine and she would be in the office. They did not tell her anything else, not over the phone, it wouldn’t be safe. Molly wasn’t sure what to think. She knew Johnson and Reynolds and knew they were good friends of Starsky and Hutch. She wondered if this was part of a plan they had come up. Her curiosity was piqued but she would have to wait. If they were coming at three she could have the list finished by then and give it to them. If she met with Starsky and Hutch too much, Keith might get suspicious.

As they pulled up to the parole office, Johnson told Devon that from now on he had to be Dallas Murphy. He asked him one more if he was sure he was up to this assignment and still wanted to go through with it. Devon said that he was positive this is what he wanted and he was ready and understood the dangers involved. He also stated that he knew Molly would be the only one in the parole system that knew he was undercover.

Johnson and Reynolds knew that Keith was due in court at three so it was a good time to introduce Devon to Molly and get started. It wasn’t unusual for detectives to bring juveniles to Molly’s office so no one suspected anything when Johnson and Reynolds brought Dallas Murphy to Molly. Johnson asked Molly’s secretary if they could see her. She said that Molly was expecting them and they could go on in.

Johnson slowly opened the door and the three of them stepped inside. Reynolds closed the door behind them. Molly walked from behind her desk and shook hands with the two detectives. She wasn’t sure how friendly she should act right now and just kept it professional. Reynolds shook her hand and gave Molly the fake file on Dallas Murphy. “Ms. Ramos, this is Dallas Murphy and he’s been sentenced to two years of probation.”

“I see.” Molly opened the file and glanced at it. “So you were selling drugs, Mister Murphy.” She held her hand out to shake his. He just stood there.

“Yeah, so what.”

“Oh, you’re going to play that tough guy routine. Okay, that’s fine. Would you like to have a seat?” Molly sat in a chair next to him.

Johnson and Reynolds took a seat. Reynolds nodded at Johnson and Devon. “Molly Ramos, this is Officer Devon Jackson. He’s actually twenty-one and will be undercover. We want you to assign him to Keith Marshall.”

Devon reached out and shook hands with Molly. “It’s nice to meet you Ms. Ramos.”

“So this is the plan you’ve come up with. Starsky and Hutch said you were working on something.”

“Molly, do you think it will work?” Reynolds asked in a low voice that was almost a whisper.

Molly looked at the three of them a minute and picked up the file they had created. She stared at it a few more minutes.  Finally she closed the file and said, “Yes. I don’t know who Keith is working with but here’s a list of people he’s had contact with regularly in the past month or so. I tried to be as thorough as I could. Right now he has twenty-two kids he’s in charge of; you’ll make twenty-three.”

She handed the list to Johnson. “Thanks. Molly, you know you’re in danger too. If Keith suspects anything…”

“I know. But I have to help the kids. They deserve better than this. Most of them are really trying to make their lives better. Dallas, you’ll do better if you act a little timid. If he doesn’t think he can bully you, he may not approach you.”

“Thanks. I can do that.” Devon smiled at her. He liked Molly and could tell she really wanted to help these kids get and keep their life on the right track. “Can I ask you a question, Ms. Ramos?”

“You can ask me anything.”

“Why did you call me Mister Murphy instead of Dallas? I’m supposed to be just a drug dealing kid.”

“Respect. I believe that if I show the kids a little respect, they will learn to respect themselves.”

“I like that.”

Johnson and Reynolds said it was best if they left now, before Keith came back from court. Molly said that she needed to go over a few things with Dallas. Johnson let Molly know to be expecting a phone call from Hutch later when she got home to find out how things were going. Molly could have figured that one out for herself. She knew Hutch would be calling her at least two-to-three times a day to check on her now.

After Johnson and Reynolds left, Molly told Dallas how the system was supposed to work. Each parole officer was to keep track of the kids in their charge and it was up to them how often they checked in on them. It usually depended on the crime that was committed.

It wasn’t long before Molly’s secretary buzzed her and told her that Keith Marshall was here. Molly and Dallas both took a deep breath and Dallas nodded at Molly as he said, “Let’s get this show started, shall we?”

Molly pushed a button on the phone and said, “Let him in, Martha.”

Keith came bounding in like he didn’t have a care in the world, “You wanted to see me?”

“This is Dallas Murphy and I’m assigning him to you. He will be on probation for two years for drug trafficking.”

Dallas just sat with his head down, trying to look timid and a little afraid as Molly suggested. “We’ll, Mister Murphy will you come with me please, we have some things to discuss.” Molly handed Keith the file on Dallas as he walked out of the door.  Molly thought that Dallas played his part well and hoped that Keith would put Dallas to work selling drugs or stealing for him.

Keith took Dallas back to his office and set up a check-in schedule with him. Dallas was told that he was expected to be in school every day and if he had to miss a day he was to call Keith immediately. He was to keep all court appearances. Keith also informed him that he would be checking in with him twice a day at least for the first week. Tonight he would be coming to his house and talking to his parents.  Keith told Dallas the terms of his parole and if he broke any of them he could be sent to juvenile hall and be locked up there until he turned twenty-one. Dallas looked nervous and he had good reason to be. They had set up a house for him to live in during the operation, but no one thought Keith would want to talk to his parents. He couldn’t wait to get out of there so he could make his first call for help. He didn’t want to call already but he had to. Someone had to find parents for him before, what time did Marshall say he was coming over? I forgot. What am I going to do? Dallas was thinking to himself.

Finally Keith stood up and asked him if he had a ride home and Dallas said, “I’d just like to take the bus.”

“Are you sure, I can take you home.”

“No. I like taking the bus.”

Keith smiled at him and said, “Okay. I’ll see you and your parents at eight, Mister Murphy.”

Dallas nodded and quickly left his office. He hopped on the first bus that came by hoping to get away without being followed. He sat behind the driver and looked behind him to make sure he wasn’t being followed by Keith Marshall or anyone else. He waited for the bus to stop three times before he got off. He didn’t want to make any phone calls where he could be overheard so he started walking down the street. Finally, he was alone. He took his phone out of its case that was attached to his blue-jeans and called Johnson. Johnson told him to go on to the house and he would work out something. He reassured Dallas that it would be taken care of to just go home and wait. Dallas felt much better after talking to Johnson. He hung up the phone and got on the next bus and headed to his temporary home.

Johnson hung up the phone and said, “Damn.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Dallas said that Keith is coming at eight to meet his parents. We have to find someone to be his parents by eight or his cover could be blown before it gets started.”

“What are we going to do?” Reynolds asked.

“Let’s call Hutch and see if they can come up with any ideas.”

Reynolds called Hutch on his cell phone and explained the situation to him. Hutch told him not to worry about it, they had an idea and would take care of it.  Reynolds told Hutch that Austin and Martin would be watching the house from next door.

Johnson and Reynolds didn’t have any idea what Starsky and Hutch were going to come up with but Hutch called back and reassured them that everything was taken care of and Dallas’ parents would be there.

Even though Austin and Martin were watching Dallas from next door, Johnson and Reynolds were curious to see who Starsky and Hutch got to be the parents of Dallas. They parked their car about three houses down the street at six. At six thirty, Starsky and Hutch pulled up in Starsky’s car closely followed by a white Cadillac. Johnson laughed when he saw a tall, slender black man getting out of the car. It was Huggy. Huggy got out and walked to the passenger side of the car and opened the door and he took the hand of a beautiful woman. The two of them went inside.

When Huggy entered the house Starsky and Hutch introduced him to Dallas. Dallas was relieved that the operation had not been blown over something as trivial as this. After the introductions were made, Starsky called Johnson on his cell phone and said, “Okay, you saw his parents you’d better leave now before Keith shows up. Hutch and I spotted your car as soon as we pulled up.”

“You two are life savers. Thanks, guys,” Johnson said as he pulled off.

“We know.” Starsky grinned and hung up the phone.

“I guess we’d better leave now too,” Hutch said turning to Huggy, “Thanks a million, Hug, Wanda.”

Starsky and Hutch left and Keith Marshall showed up just before eight as promised. Huggy and Wanda played their parts perfectly. They played the role of typical parents in denial. They both swore that their precious son had been framed and he would never sell drugs. Huggy said that maybe he had let his son have too much freedom but he certainly was not a drug dealer. Dallas had not started his new school yet and his parents were eager to let Keith take him his first day when he offered because they both had to be at work early the next morning. Wanda said she was a nurse and had to work the early shift and Huggy said he had a doctor’s appointment first thing. The whole meeting lasted less than an hour.

When Keith got into his car he thought getting to this kid is going to be easy. His parents are clueless and won’t suspect a thing. Dallas is nothing more than a scared little wimp. He smiled as he drove off.

Keith arrived at seven the next morning to take Dallas to school. This was the one part of the assignment that Devon was not looking forward to: Making new friends with a bunch of kids and lying to them. He hated the mere thought of it. Keith honked his horn when he pulled in front of the house and Dallas came out carrying a book bag. Since he hadn’t enrolled yet, it only had notebooks and a couple of pens. He would be receiving his books today. He got in the passenger side of Keith’s car and said, “My Mom said I should thank you for taking me to school today, so thanks.”

“You know, kid, I could make this whole parole thing really easy or really hard for you,” Keith said as he started driving off.

“Whatda ya mean, easy? I don’t like having a babysitter.”

“What time will your parents be home today?”

“I don’t know. I never go home until about nine. Oh, wait, I have a curfew now don’t I? Let’s see it was… what time is my curfew again?”

“Don’t be such a smartass. You want to make a little money on the side today at school?”

“Sure. But if you’re testing me to see if I’m willing to sell again, don’t. I don’t want to go to juvie.”

“What if I promise you that you won’t get caught?”

“No juvenile hall?”

“I’m your parole officer I can write what I want in your file.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Let’s just say that your time in the parole system will not be happy. I’ll be all over you, if you so much as sneeze without my permission you’ll end up locked up. Your parents are clueless but they seem to love you. It would be a shame if they, let’s say, had an accident.”

“I guess I don’t have much of a choice then, do I?”

“Not really.” Keith pulled up to the school. He turned the car off and turned in the seat so he was facing Dallas. “If you say anything to anyone…” He pointed his finger at Dallas who looked shocked and scared.

“I won’t. I promise, please leave my parents out of this. What do you want me to do?”

Keith pulled six bags of pot out of his pocket, “You’re new to this school so I’ll give you three days to sell all these. I’ll check back with you and don’t think I won’t be watching you. I have people who tell me everything. People will always be watching you.”

Dallas took the bags and stuffed them in his pocket and nervously said, “I can sell this much in two days. I promise.”

Keith gave him an evil laugh and lightly slapped his cheek, “Good boy. I knew I could count on you. Now get to class. I trust you can get yourself registered.” Dallas didn’t say anything else he just nodded, opened the door and ran into the building. Keith grinned as he started the car and drove off.

Dallas let the door to the school close behind him as he walked toward the office. He stepped inside and told the secretary that he had just transferred. She pulled up his name on the computer and said that his transcripts from his last school were already in the system and a class schedule was printed out. She directed him to his first class which would be English.

Dallas walked into his English class, the teacher handed him his book and told him to have a seat next to Kenny Starsky. She pointed to the empty seat next to Kenny. Oh that’s just great. The kid I’m supposed to avoid and he’s probably going to try to be friends. Dallas thought as he sat next to Kenny. The boy in the next seat was a tall blond skinny kid who reminded him of Hutch. That must be Davey Hutchinson. So I’m seated next to both of them. Dallas didn’t look at either of them again. When the teacher turned her back Kenny said, “Hi, I’m Kenny.”

“Good for you.” Dallas responded as if he couldn’t care less.

Kenny didn’t say anything else he just looked at Davey behind Dallas’ back and shrugged. Davey shrugged back not knowing what to think of this new kid.

The first day of school went pretty smoothly for Dallas. He tried to avoid Kenny and Davey, although that was going to be a problem. He had English and Math with both of them and History with Davey. He hated to be aloof with either of them but it was for their own safety. He also had gym with Calvin and science with Tracy. He knew they were part of the ‘lunch bunch’ Hutch had talked about because he saw them all eating together. He tried to avoid all of them and spoke very little to them and only when he had to.

True to his word, Keith was there waiting for him when school let out. Dallas took a deep breath and walked toward the car. He got in and Keith asked how his day went. Dallas told him it went fine but it might take a couple of days longer than he thought to sell the goods he was supposed to sell. “I said you had three days. You got three days.” He patted Dallas’ shoulder and added, “Don’t sweat it, kid. I’m sure you’ll sell the stuff.” Keith started the car and drove in the opposite direction of Dallas’ house.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

Chapter 6: The Kids

Keith drove about ten minutes to the center of town and stopped the car at an old building on the corner of Bay Street and South Park Boulevard that had been damaged years ago by an earthquake. When Dallas walked inside the old, dark, dusty building he saw several shadows that looked like boys and a couple of girls sitting against the cracked walls. Keith turned on a couple of large, battery operated flood lights that lit up the whole room. Dallas could now see everything inside the small room. He saw some of the kids were carrying black bags that were zipped shut. Almost all of them had bruises on their faces or arms. Dallas knew Keith was probably the cause of them. All the kids stood up quickly when Keith turned the lights on. Keith told Dallas to stand against the wall opposite the others. “Boys, and girls, this here is Dallas Murphy. He’s going to be with us a while.” He turned to Dallas and said, “Watch and learn.” None of the kids said anything. They just stared at him with scared looks on their faces.

Keith walked up to the first boy who looked terrified. The boy unzipped the bag revealing its contents. Keith pulled a portable DVD player and two cell phones from the bag. “This is all? You’ve had two days and this is all you have for me?” Keith drew his right hand back making a fist and hit the young boy so hard in the abdomen the boy yelled out in pain and fell on the ground. Dallas thought this kid must be all of thirteen, if that.

The second boy didn’t have a bag but he reached into his pocket and held out a wad of cash. “How much?” Keith asked the boy who looked proud of his accomplishment but ashamed at the same time.

“It’s a hundred dollars. That’s more than I got last time. I did good didn’t I?” The boy asked, scared of the answer he might receive.

Keith rubbed the boy’s head and said, “You did just fine, Timmy. You can go home now.”

“Thank you.”

Timmy started to run off when he heard Keith calling his name, “Timmy.”

Timmy stopped dead in his tracks scared to move another step, “Remember, I’m always watching. You know not to tell anyone, ever.”

Timmy nodded, “Yes, Sir. I’ll never tell. I promise.” Timmy looked about the same age as the first boy.

Keith tossed Timmy a brown bag and said, “You get five days for this batch. Don’t disappoint me.” Timmy caught the bag, nodded and ran off.

The rest of the kids unzipped the bags they were holding and gave what they had stolen to Keith. If he didn’t feel like it was good enough, Keith would hit or slap that child sending them a message that they had better do better next time. He even hit one of the girls.

The kids that didn’t have bags were obviously selling drugs for Keith and whoever was working with him. If they didn’t sell enough, they were slapped or hit in the stomach like the first boy was.  Most of the dealers looked to be older than the ones who were stealing for Keith. Dallas tried to remember every child’s name but there were about fifteen of them and he only heard the first names.

It was about ten o’clock before Keith finished with the kids at the building and drove him home. Dallas asked to be let out a block away saying that he didn’t want anyone to see his parole officer driving him home. Keith laughed and stopped the car a block away. Just as Dallas put his hand on the door handle, Keith said, “I don’t think I need to warn you about snitching, now do I?”

“No, Sir. No one would believe me, anyway. Can I ask you a question I should have asked you this morning?”

“Sure.”

“How much should I ask for each bag? I’m from up north and don’t know the going rate.”

“I was wondering if you were going to ask. You should get fifteen dollars for each bag if you sell at school. On the street it’s twenty. For your first time, fifteen will do. You heard me tell the others that I’m always watching.” He said that in such a threatening voice it scared Dallas and he was a cop, he could only imagine what the kids were going through. It made him more determined to bust this whole operation.

“I won’t tell anyone,” Dallas said, sounding ashamed of what he was being forced to do.

“Good. I won’t see you tomorrow but I always have eyes on you. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow after school. I’ll pick you up since we have another meeting to attend.” Dallas got out and just before he could shut the door, Keith added, “I’ll expect about a hundred dollars.” Dallas shut the car door without saying anything else and started walking the rest of the way to his temporary home.

After he saw Keith drive away, he went behind the nearest tree and vomited. The thought of what Keith was doing to these poor kids made him sick from the top of his head to his little toe and he couldn’t hold it in anymore. He had tears running down his face as he unlocked the door and went inside. He didn’t want to call or talk to anyone. He just wanted to let what he saw sink in. He felt helpless as he watched those young kids being so used by Keith Marshall.

Dallas understood that the department knew about Keith and it was his job was to find out who he was working for or with. He knew tomorrow Keith expected him to start selling the pot he’d been given. He had no intentions on selling anything to anyone even though Keith said he had people watching him, he wouldn’t sell drugs. He wondered what Keith would do about that. He was getting a headache from thinking about everything. He knew he could call Johnson or any of the others but was tired and thought he would just call Johnson in the morning. He threw his book bag on the couch, went into his room got undressed and took a long, hot shower. He thought maybe he could wash some of the filth he witnessed away.  He fell asleep as he lay across the bed sideways.

After Timmy left the meeting with Keith he walked around town for a long time. He didn’t want to go home. He just wanted to walk around and be alone. “How did I get myself into this mess?” He said out loud. He saw a soda can and kicked it. Timmy was thirteen, short for his age, and he was caught stealing from a clothing store. He was trying to steal a pair of jeans as a dare from some of his friends at school. He had never been in any trouble before and if he completed his six months of probation without any more incidents, his record would be cleared. Timmy was determined that he would never get into trouble again. That was until Keith Marshall became his parole officer. His life has been one long nightmare since then. Stealing things and now selling dope. Keith had him selling pot to some of his classmates at first but now he had to sell heroin to junkies on the streets. If he didn’t he would be punished and Keith even threatened to hurt his mom.

He finally returned home at eleven. He went into the house slammed the door shut and went straight to his room. His mom was worried about him and knocked on the door. “Timmy, honey, are you okay? Where have you been?”

“I’m fine, Mom. I just have a lot of homework to get done.” Timmy flopped on his bed. He was mad. Mad at Keith for making him sell drugs, mad at the other kids for doing what they were doing, but most of all he was mad at himself for getting into this whole situation and being too cowardly to tell anyone.

“Well, you should have came home before now. I mean it, young man; I want you in by eight every night. No more staying out late. What would your parole officer do if he found out you were out this late?” She was sounding very angry now, but Timmy couldn’t tell her the truth.

“Yeah, he’d be mad ‘cause I didn’t sell enough,” he mumbled into his pillow. He was tired and didn’t feel like arguing with his mom. He had a long day and tomorrow he had to get up and start all over again. He could hear his mother walking away. He got undressed and slipped under the covers and tried to fight back his tears as he fell asleep.

All of the other kids were in about the same situation as Timmy. Keith had threatened their parents or their younger siblings if they didn’t do what they were told. Keith had a lot of power over each of them and they were scared of what he could do. They all saw Keith kill one boy a few weeks ago because he refused to sell heroin. Two of the older boys held him down while Keith tased him first then shot him. The younger boys were scared of the two older boys that helped Keith. Timmy didn’t see either of the older boys tonight, but they were there standing beside Keith during most of the meetings. Maybe they were the ones watching them, none of them knew for sure.

 

Chapter 7: School

About two in the morning, a boy ran alongside the wall of Kiko’s restaurant. He slowly made his way to the back of the small building and peeked around the corner to make sure no one was watching him. He was holding a brown envelope with the names Starsky and Hutch on the front in big red letters.  He stuck it under the back door. He had to wiggle it back and forth before he got it completely inside. Once he was satisfied that it was safely delivered, he took off running.

The next morning, Kiko arrived at the restaurant at nine in the morning. The restaurant opened at eleven for lunch and he wanted to get an early start on the prep work. He pulled up to the back of his place and after locking his car door; he took the keys to the restaurant out of his pocket and unlocked it. He heard the crunch of the paper as he stepped on the envelope. He bent down and picked it up. He felt it and it didn’t feel like anything was broken. He turned it over and saw Starsky and Hutch’s names on the front. He set it on the counter and called Hutch’s cell phone. Kiko hung up the phone and picked the envelope up to put it in his apron for safe keeping. He accidently dropped it and a picture came partially out. Kiko picked it up and saw it was a picture of Molly.

“Molly? This has something to do with Molly?” He said out loud. His first reaction was to call Hutch back and yell at him for not letting him know this was about Molly but he knew Starsky and Hutch would be there in less than an hour anyway. He took the picture the rest of the way out of the envelope and on the picture were the words, She’s in danger, protect her. Kiko wanted to look in the envelope and see what else was in it but he resisted the urge. He would ask Starsky and Hutch what was going one when they showed up.

Starsky pulled up to the back of the restaurant and Kiko was standing there in the doorway with his arms crossed. “Uh, Hutch, I think he knows Molly’s involved.”

Hutch saw the look on Kiko’s face and said, “Yep. Looks like it. I guess we’d better come clean with him and tell him everything.”

They got out, shut the car doors and walked past Kiko and went inside. Kiko didn’t say anything he was mad and it showed.

“Kiko, before you say anything hear us out, please.” Hutch said calmly as he looked for a place to sit.

Kiko walked into the front of the restaurant and they sat at one of the booths. Kiko handed the envelope to Hutch and said, “What’s Molly have to do with it? Tell me what’s going on with my sister.” His voice was full of anger.

Hutch looked at the contents of the envelope and saw the picture of Molly. He sighed, “Kiko, we wanted to tell you everything but thought it was safer for you and Molly both if you didn’t know anything. Look, someone at the parole office is using the kids as drug dealers and he has them stealing for him too. When you gave us that first envelope, we didn’t know how much Molly knew.”

“Kiko, we love Molly too. We don’t want anything to happen to her either.”

“What does she know? How much danger is she in?” Kiko said in a much calmer voice.

“May as well tell him everything, Hutch.”

“Molly knows that Keith Marshall is using the kids. What none of us know is who he is working with or for. Kiko, this man is dangerous and we want you to stay away from him. The police are working with us on finding out who else is involved.”

Starsky leaned closer toward Kiko and whispered, “There is an undercover cop on the inside now. Molly knows who he is and we’re hoping to find out who’s working with Keith in a few days. Yes, Molly is in danger but we are checking in with her and she understands the danger she’s in. If we pull Molly out of the office or she changes any part of her daily routine, the kids and Molly would be in even more danger.”

“You guys are kinda stuck between a rock and hard place aren’t you?” Kiko sighed. He knew Starsky and Hutch would do everything they could to protect Molly and the kids.

“That we are, pal. That we are. Now that you know…”

“I’m in danger too if this Keith Marshall finds I know anything.”

Hutch took the other pictures out of the envelope. Kiko knew almost everything now, so there was no point in hiding the contents of the envelope from him. There was the picture of Molly that said she was in danger and a few more pictures of Keith with more of the kids. This time they recognized most of the kids in the photos from the files that Molly had shown them. They all looked so young–young and scared. There was nothing that said where the photographs were taken but they knew that Devon would probably find that out soon enough. They wondered who was taking the pictures. They wanted desperately to help this young person who thought their life was already over at such a young age.

To keep up the appearance of Starsky and Hutch being nothing more than customers at Kiko’s, they ordered lunch. While they were eating Hutch called Johnson and arranged for a meeting at Hutch’s place in an hour. While he had Hutch on the phone, Johnson let him know that Dallas arrived at school without any incidents.

Starsky and Hutch met with Reynolds and Johnson and turned over the latest information they had received that morning. There really wasn’t a whole lot they could do until Devon came up with more information from the inside. Johnson told Starsky and Hutch they still could not identify the boy that had been killed in the video.

The only thing anyone could do now was wait. Wait until they heard from Dallas.

As Dallas walked to school, he knew he was not going to sell drugs.

He wanted to know who Keith had watching the kids if, in fact, he had anyone watching them at all. He called Johnson and informed him that Keith said there was another meeting with all the kids again tomorrow. Johnson told him to be careful and to keep in contact as much as he could. Johnson also let him know that Austin and Martin were watching him today and would know where he was at all times.

As luck would have it, Dallas had a locker next to Kenny. When Kenny saw Dallas he asked, “How you likin’ that book we have to read in English? Did you start it yet?”

Dallas had completely forgotten about doing any of his school homework last night. He wanted to ask Kenny about the book but he couldn’t. He had to stay away from Kenny, Davey and all of their friends even though he had several classes with them. Dallas slammed his locker shut, “Look, just leave me alone. If I do my homework or not is none of your business,” he said in an angry voice.

“Hey, no need to get mad. You’re new here and look like you could use a friend.” Kenny retrieved a couple of books out of his locker and shut it gently.

“I don’t need any friends,” Dallas replied and stormed off to class.

Davey heard the last of the conversation and said, “Man, I wonder what his problem is?”

“I don’t know, but if I’ve ever seen anyone who needs a friend it’s Dallas. He seems mad at the whole world.”
Davey watched Dallas as he walked away, “Maybe we could invite him to eat lunch with us today?”

Kenny smiled at his best friend. Anyone else would write Dallas off as a lost cause. Davey and Kenny were determined to become friends with anyone who appeared to be as lonely as Dallas. They remembered how they had made friends with Lucky a few years ago only to find out he had been kidnapped. “We can ask him after English,” Kenny said, as the two boys headed toward their class.

After English class was over, Davey and Kenny caught up with Dallas as he was headed for his next class. “Hey, Dallas?” Kenny called. Dallas pretended not to hear him and kept walking.

“Dallas?”

It was Davey who was calling his name this time. He turned around, “Why don’t you two just leave me alone?”

“We just wanted to know if you wanted to eat lunch with us and our friends today. We noticed you ate alone yesterday,” Davey asked, sounding genuinely sincere in the offer.

Dallas thought, I’ve got to do something about these two or they’re going to blow my cover. “Look, I said I want to be left alone.” He made a move to shove Kenny and as he did Davey instinctively grabbed Dallas’ arm and almost broke it.

“Don’t lay a hand on my cousin or me or I will break it next time,” Davey said as if he meant every word of it.

Kenny put his hand on Davey’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go, Hutch. He’s not worth getting in trouble over.”

“I guess you’re right, Starsky. Let’s go before we’re late to our next class.” Davey stared at Dallas the whole time Kenny was talking. He wasn’t about to take his eyes off him.

Dallas didn’t respond to the threat. He accomplished what he wanted to; Kenny and Davey would leave him alone now and so would their friends. He felt bad about the whole thing and made a mental note to apologize to them when the assignment was over. He was sure they would understand. He hoped Starsky and Hutch would.

The rest of Dallas’ day was uneventful. He didn’t notice anyone watching him. When he met Keith tomorrow he would just give Keith the money and keep the pot as evidence, just as it had been arranged. If Keith had anyone watching him he would know it then.

When he got home from school he called Hutch and asked him if he could meet him and Starsky someplace. Hutch told him they could meet him at The Pits in an hour.

Dallas walked into the bar and Huggy motioned for him to follow him. Huggy led Dallas to a back room where Starsky and Hutch were already waiting for him. “I hate to risk blowing my cover but something happened today in school that you two should know about.”

“What did the boys do?” Starsky asked.

“Are they trying to be friends?” Hutch asked, as he took a sip of the beer.

“You could say that.” Dallas continued to explain everything that happened including his part of almost shoving Kenny. “I wouldn’t have hurt him. I just had to do something to keep them away.”

Starsky chuckled and shook his head. Hutch said, “That’s my boy.”

“I know you wouldn’t have hurt him. I can’t wait to see what Kenny says tonight. Just so you know, they are best friends,” Starsky said, still laughing at the vision of Davey grabbing Dallas to keep him from hurting Kenny.

“And Davey is ranked number three in the state in Karate for his age group,” Hutch said.

“He really could have broken my arm. He said he would if I grabbed either of them.”

“I’m sorry, Dallas,” Hutch said.

“It’s okay, Hutch. I just wanted you to know what happened in case they say anything tonight. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“You did the right thing,” Starsky said, adding, “A few years ago they made friends with a boy who was a loner and shy. It turns out he had been kidnapped when he was only six.”

“We were able to find the boy’s parents and now Kenny, Davey and their friends try to make friends with all the new kids, especially the ones who look out of place.”  Hutch finished Starsky’s words.

“That explains a lot. I hated to do it and when this is all over, I’d like to apologize to them.”

Starsky looked at Hutch and without saying a word asked him if he thought maybe they should tell the boys to stay away from Dallas. “I think you’re right, Starsk. We don’t want any more trouble.”

“But you never said anything,” Dallas said looking rather puzzled at the silent conversation.

“Didn’t need to. Hutch knew what I was askin’.”

“I’ve heard that partners who worked together for a while can do that, but seeing it–that’s something. I hope I get a good partner someday.”

“We hope you do too, kid,” Starsky and Hutch said in perfect unison.

“Look, we’ll talk to the boys tonight. We’ll tell them you’re undercover. They can keep a secret and Sterling knows it,” Starsky said.

“I almost forgot to tell you, Marshall is picking me up from school tomorrow. He said we have another little meeting to go to. I’ve got the money for the junk he wanted me to sell so I should be okay. I sure hope I can find out who his accomplice is.”

“So do we,” Hutch said. The meeting ended and the three of them left.

 

As they were eating dinner, Hutch asked Davey how his day went. “Funny you should ask that, Dad. Starsky and I tried to make friends with a new kid that came yesterday and he almost hit Starsky for just asking him if he wanted to have lunch with us today.”

Hutch finished chewing and said, “Son, his name is Dallas isn’t it?”

“Yeah. How’d you know?”

“Never mind how I know. I want you to listen and listen carefully. Don’t talk to him and don’t go near him anymore. I want you boys and your friends to stay away from him.” Hutch sounded about as serious as Debbie and Davey ever heard him.

“Dad, he’s a cop working undercover isn’t he?” Davey said sounding excited that he figured it out.

“I can’t tell you about the case but, yes, he is. He’s sorry about the way he’s been acting toward you and your friends but it has to be that way.”

“Is he looking for dealers at the school?”

“No. It’s much more than that but I can’t tell you anymore. I know I don’t have to tell you not to mention this to anyone. Starsky is telling Kenny but you two are the only ones in the whole school who know Dallas is really a cop. It has to stay that way.”

“Okay, Dad. You know we won’t tell anyone. Does he know that Starsky and I know he’s a cop?”

“Yes. We told him today that we would let you boys know tonight. When the case is over I’ll let you know more.”

“I’m sorry, Dad. We didn’t know. I hope we didn’t compromise his cover.”

“It’s okay, Son. I don’t think anything has been compromised.”

“I knew you and Starsky were up to something,” Debbie said, as she set her glass back on the table.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you we are working on something with Johnson and Reynolds and that’s all I can say.” He gave them that end- of-discussion-you’re-not-going-to-get-any-more-out-me looks.

 

Kenny sounded excited when Starsky explained that Dallas was working undercover and he needed to stay away from him. “Dallas is really an undercover cop at my school? That’s cool. Hey, Dad, if he needs help or needs to get a message to you or Uncle Ken tell him to let me or Hutch know. We’d be glad to help out.”

“Absolutely not! Davey, you may want to follow in your father’s footsteps, but you are not on the force yet. I won’t allow you to put yourself in danger like that and you ought to know that.” Jeanne was mad that Kenny even thought about getting involved in a case and it showed. She wasn’t exactly yelling but her voice was stern enough that both Starsky and Kenny knew she meant business.

Starsky was proud of Kenny for offering to help and he knew that Kenny meant every word of it; even if it was dangerous. Starsky also knew Jeanne well enough to know that this issue was not open for debate and deep down, Starsky knew it too. “Son, I’m proud that you want to help, but your mother’s right.” He was seated next to Jeanne and he reached out and gently patted her hand hoping that she would calm down a bit.  “I can’t tell you just how dangerous this case is. It’s not some simple case of some drug dealer at the school. Just stay away from Dallas. He knows that Hutch and I are telling you he is undercover and we all trust you and Davey to keep it to yourselves.”

“You know Hutch and I won’t say anything to anyone, Dad.” He turned his gaze to Jeanne, “Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s not like Hutch and I haven’t gotten into stuff before. I just want to help if Dallas needs it.”

Jeanne sighed and started to protest but Starsky interjected, “No. Not this time. I know you and Davey can handle yourselves when you have to, but this time is different. You and Davey will just have to accept that answer for now. There is one thing you can do.” Jeanne glared at Starsky wondering what he was about to let their son get involved in.

“What’s that, Dad?”

“Just let me know if Dallas doesn’t show up at school. That’s it, nothing else.”

Kenny mumbled a disappointing, “Yes, Sir.”

“I’m serious about this, Kenny.”

“Okay, Dad. I get it. Hutch and I will stay away from Dallas.” He sounded even more disappointed.

Jeanne let out a small, barely audible sigh of relief. Starsky winked at her. They had always stood united as parents and this time was no exception. If they disagreed about anything when it came to their son they would discuss it privately.

 

Chapter 8: Another Meeting

Dallas was nervous as he walked to school the next morning. He was worried about Kenny and Davey. He felt horrible for the way he’d been treating them and hoped Starsky and Hutch talked to them last night. He liked them and hoped they understood the reason behind his actions. He was also thinking about Keith Marshall who would be picking him up after school to attend another meeting.

Kenny just closed his locker when Dallas started turning the combination to unlock his own locker. Kenny lowered his head and Dallas could have sworn he saw Kenny give him a very brief, half-grin. Dallas returned the gesture by winking ever so slightly at Kenny. Dallas knew that Kenny understood why he was treating him and his friends so harshly and it was okay.  It was probably the best feeling he had since beginning the assignment.

The school day was pretty uneventful except that Dallas had not been doing any school work since starting and he was getting into trouble for it with his teachers. He decided that might not help the shy, timid image he was supposed to have. He was curious just what Keith would do if he found out he wasn’t doing his schoolwork. Would anyone tell him? He decided that he would push that issue too. The more he pushed Keith the sooner he might find out who he was working with. He might also find out who was giving the information to Starsky and Hutch. He also knew that if he pushed Keith too much he might end up like that poor kid that had been tased and killed.  Dallas put his cell phone in his locker at school before he left. Keith would find out if he had one and that could blow the whole operation.

He had a headache from everything he was thinking about by the time school was over and Keith met him outside the school. He slid into Keith’s car and buckled his seatbelt as Keith started driving. “I sold…”

“Don’t. Don’t say anything until we get where we’re going. Not a word.”

Dallas shrugged his shoulders, sunk into his seat and stared out of the window like a shy, scared, timid kid would do. He was also looking in the side mirror for Austin’s car or any of the cars that had been following him. He was sure he spotted Martin’s blue Honda and felt a little safer.

Martin followed Keith until it became apparent that he was headed to the same building he had taken Dallas to the other day. To avoid blowing the whole operation, Martin took a right turn. Keith would know if he followed him much longer. The only thing anyone could do now was wait until they heard from Dallas.

Keith did drive to the same old dusty building he had the other day. When Dallas got out of the car he looked around and saw Timmy along with some of the kids walking into the building. Some of the kids had bags which, no doubt, had items the kids had stolen to give to Keith. He also noticed an older boy standing by the door as if he was guarding it. Dallas recognized the boy as one of the ones in the video that held the boy who Keith tased and killed. Dallas’ heart was racing. Was there going to be another murder tonight? How could he stop it? He looked around and didn’t see Thompson’s car. Maybe it wasn’t his after all, he thought. The only thing Dallas could do right now was to go inside when the others did.

Keith entered the building last and quickly turned the flood lights on.  When the lights came on, Dallas’ fears multiplied ten times from what he experienced outside. He saw Molly sitting against the wall tied and gagged. Dallas was determined that he would not let her be killed. He would do whatever he could to keep that from happening.  The other kids gasped when they saw her too. “That’s right, gang. Ms. Ramos is joining us tonight.” Keith walked toward Molly as he continued, “Now don’t worry about your precious Molly Ramos here.” He bent down, removed her blindfold, and took out his taser and held it close to her face. She sat still and didn’t move an inch. She was scared to death but didn’t want to give Keith that satisfaction. She stared at him with the most defiant look she was capable of giving him.

Molly had been taken earlier in the day while she was returning from court. She had often taken the rest of the day off when she had to go to court so her secretary didn’t think anything about it today when she didn’t return. Molly knew no one would miss her until Hutch called later tonight and she didn’t answer. He would know then. Hutch would know and he wouldn’t stop looking for her.

As he held the taser close to Molly, Dallas started to make a move toward Keith and was hit on the back of the head. Molly’s heart sank as she saw Dallas’ body fall to the ground. He was out cold. The older boy that hit him smiled, “Anyone else wanna be a hero?”

The other kids stood where they were. All of them were terrified. All of them had seen Keith’s handiwork and knew what he was capable of. Keith surveyed the room and said, “Ms. Ramos here found out about our little operation so we are going to change our tactics just a bit. Don’t worry she won’t be harmed if everyone follows my instructions.”

Timmy stuttered as he asked, “Wha…what do you want us to do?” Keith could hear the fear in his voice and it made him smile. He knew he could get these kids to do anything he wanted. He enjoyed the fear he was able to inflect on these kids. He liked being able to make them do whatever he wanted them to.

Keith nodded at the older boy who knocked Dallas out and he left the room. “What I want out of you is to continue doing what you’ve been doing.”

The older boy came back holding onto the arm of a younger boy who appeared to be about fourteen. The younger boy’s hands were tied behind his back and he had a blindfold on. Molly fought to free herself from the ropes that bound her hands together. She twisted her hands so hard they were now bleeding. She felt both wrists burning from the sting of the ropes as she continued to free herself. She also tried to yell, “No,” but her sounds were muffled by the bandanna that was tightly wrapped around her mouth sufficiently gagging her. She wiggled and squirmed with every fiber of her being. Her face was red and tears mixed with sweat were running down her cheeks. Keith was enjoying watching her fight. It meant that she cared about this younger boy and knew he could use that against her. “Ms. Ramos, I take it you don’t want any harm to come to this young man here?”

Molly shook her head no and tried to say, “Please, don’t hurt him.”

Keith couldn’t quite make out Molly’s words but he did pick up on the desperation in her voice. Keith walked over to Molly and squatted to be at the same eye level, “What happens to him depends on you.”

Molly quit fighting, leaned against the wall and looked at Keith. “I’m only going to give you, or him rather,” he looked behind him at the young boy who was now shaking from the fear that was building inside him, “one chance. Will you do as I say?” Molly nodded. Keith removed the gag, “I’m going to keep this boy in my custody to ensure your, let’s say, cooperation.”

“I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt him.” Molly said, quickly. She moved her jaw from side to side and opened her mouth wide. The gag had been on tight and it felt good to be able to move those muscles again.

“I want you to show up for work on Monday just like nothing happened. If you tell anyone, you know what I’ll do to him. Don’t think I don’t know the cops suspect something.” Molly didn’t respond, she just stared at Keith. She wondered how he knew about the cops and what he did know. “Do we understand each other, Ms. Ramos?”

“Yes, but I don’t know anything about the police. I haven’t said anything to anyone.” Molly said quickly hoping to protect Dallas’ true identity.

“For his sake, I hope not.” Keith pointed to the young boy again. Molly looked at the boy but did not recognize him. Keith took the taser out of his pocket and held it against Molly’s leg. “The truth, tell me the truth or I swear I’ll use this.”

“Truth about what?” Molly’s eyes were staring at the taser anticipating the burning shock that was about to surge through her body.

“The police. What do they know?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t said anything to them. I swear it.” Molly hoped that Keith couldn’t detect her lies as he stared into her eyes. She gritted her teeth as she stared at the man she grew to hate more each minute that passed.

The kids were all watching with horrified looks on their faces. They knew what Keith was capable of and were powerless to stop him. Dallas had already been knocked out and they were petrified to move. They had seen the two older boys already hold down one kid so Keith could tase and shoot him.

Keith put the taser back in his pocket, stood back up and turned around  facing the kids now, “You know what will happen if one word of this gets out to anyone.” His voice was very authoritative and threatening, “Drop your bags of goodies and what money you have and go home. I expect to see all of you here Monday, same time.”

The kids did as they were ordered to do and dropped the bags and money they were holding and left.

When the all the kids had gone except the older boy, Keith looked at Dallas who was still lying on the ground unconscious, grabbed Molly and lead her out of the building. He raised his eyebrows at the older boy and nodded his head. The boy knew that Keith wanted him to ‘take care of’ Dallas.

“What’s he going to do to Dallas?” She barely got the words out when she heard the gunshot. Her knees gave way and she feel to the ground.

Keith roughly picked her up, “I told you, I know the cops are involved. Now there’s one less. Be a good girl and do as you’re told and no one else will get hurt. It was just a cop this time, next time it won’t be. If anyone asks you about Dallas, you haven’t heard from him, got it?”

Molly turned her head looking back at the door that led to the building. “The police don’t know anything. I haven’t…”

“You may not have said anything to them, but someone has. Maybe one of those little brats we’re in charge of turning into useful members of society went to the police. Either way, I know he’s a cop. Or I should say, was a cop.”

“You’re a sick son-of-a-bitch, you know that Keith?” She had tears streaming down her face.

Keith rushed her to his car and put her in the passenger’s side, “Yeah, I know.” After she was in and her door was closed he ran around to the driver’s side and got in, “And I don’t care,” he said, as he buckled his seatbelt.

“Where are you taking me?” She wiped away her tears and stared out of the window.

“I’m taking you home and you’ll find that your car is already there. When your buddy, Hutchinson, calls tonight you’d better tell him you…”

“I know what to tell him. You promise you won’t hurt that kid as long as I keep my mouth shut?”

“I promise. I don’t want to hurt him, I just want your silence,” he said, matter-of-factly.

Molly thought maybe this was her chance to find out if Keith did have a partner, “Who are you scared of, Keith? If someone’s making you do this…”

Keith laughed, “Me scared? I’m not scared of anyone. No one makes me do anything.”

 

Chapter 9: The Truth Comes Out

Keith stopped the car in the front of Molly’s place. She got out and noticed her car was already there. She was curious how it got there. She was almost petrified to go inside her small, two-bedroom house. She looked up and down the street and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. She unlocked the door and went inside. As soon as she closed the door a hand reached out from behind the door and covered her mouth while someone’s arm grabbed her and held her tight. Molly’s eyes got as big as they possibly could, her heart was racing with fear and she tried to scream. She started to struggle to free herself.

“Shhh, Molly, it’s me, Hutch.” Hutch said, in a soft, soothing whisper.

Molly relaxed immediately, turned around and buried her face in his chest and started crying, “He killed him. He had that boy shoot Dallas.”

Starsky was standing next to Hutch, “What do you mean he shot Dallas? Molly, what happened?”

“I didn’t know he was on to him. When we left the building I heard a gunshot.”

Hutch escorted Molly into the kitchen and pulled a chair out for her to sit in. Molly released the death-grip she had on Hutch’s arm and sat down. Hutch pulled a chair next to hers and positioned it so that he was facing her. She looked from Hutch to Starsky then back at Hutch again, “Why are you two here? How did you know I was in trouble?” Starsky was looking through her cabinets for something stronger than a soda.

“We called your office and they said you didn’t come back after court.” Starsky said, handing Molly a drink he mixed using some brandy and Pepsi.

“Thanks,” she said, as she took the glass and set it down on the table in front of her. “I don’t always come back after court,” she took a drink of the mixture Starsky poured. She shook her head; it was a little stronger than she was used to. She didn’t drink very often and handed the glass back to Starsky.

Starsky grinned and took the glass back, “Okay,” he said, as he poured some down the sink and added more Pepsi to it. He handed it back, “Is this better?”

“We figured that so we came here. We saw your car in the driveway. We knocked and when you didn’t answer…well, we gained entry. We were just looking for you when we heard the door open.”

The fact that Starsky and Hutch broke into, or gained entry into her house didn’t surprise Molly in the least. She figured they just picked the lock to the back door. “I didn’t see your car anywhere on the street.”

“We’re no rookies you know. I parked around the block.” Starsky said.

“Tell me, what did happen? Tell us everything you can remember.”  Hutch said, in a calm voice adding a touch of urgency.

Molly took another sip of the drink and nodded at Starsky, “A boy, I’d never seen before, came up to me as I got out of my car and pulled a gun on me. He told me to get into his car. He tied my hands together, put a blindfold on me then he gagged me. When he stopped the car someone opened my door and took me out. I was sat against a wall and left there for about twenty minutes. I knew someone was watching me. Whoever it was never spoke a word but I could feel him watching me. Then Keith came in.”  Molly explained everything that took place at the old building including the boy hitting Dallas and knocking him out. She told them about the other boy and how Keith was holding him someplace to make sure she and the other kids didn’t tell the police anything. She started crying again, “What can we do? If he finds out you know any of this he’ll kill that kid.”

Starsky sat in a chair on the other side of Molly. He took his cell phone out of its case and called Seth who said that he had not seen Dallas return yet. Hutch noticed the color instantly drained out of Starsky’s face, “What’s wrong, Starsk?”

“Seth said Dallas hasn’t shown up yet.” He called Johnson and told him everything Molly had said.

It was about 1700 when Johnson received the call from Starsky. Johnson and Reynolds were at the station finishing up a report. Johnson told Reynolds what Starsky said and suggested they go check out the building themselves. “No, wait a minute. If he has someone watching the place and we go busting in there’s no telling what he’ll do to that kid. I have an idea.”

Austin parked his car a couple of blocks away from the old building. Martin and Austin both put on baseball hats and tilted them down so if anyone was watching the place they wouldn’t recognize either of them. They didn’t have time to change their clothes but were wearing jeans and t-shirts so they didn’t look too much like cops. They slowly approached the building casually to avoid drawing suspicion. They had their hands ready to draw their weapons if need be. When they entered the room they had a hard time seeing anything. It was still light outside but the room was dark. Austin saw the flood lights and turned one of them on. They could see the room pretty well now and as they looked around they found nothing. They looked carefully for any signs that someone had been shot. They didn’t see any evidence of blood or a bullet shell, nothing to indicate that anything had happened. The only thing they did see were a lot of footprints of different sizes and the two flood lights. They left and reported their findings to Johnson.

Johnson called Chief Sterling and no one had any good ideas about what to do. If they brought Keith in, whomever he was working with would surely kill the boy. Sterling knew they couldn’t go near Keith Marshall. Molly was in a bad spot too. If she was seen talking to any of them she could be killed along with the boy.

Sterling decided to put a tail on Keith Marshall. He wanted to see where he went and hopefully he would lead them to the boy and maybe they could find his missing rookie, Devon Jackson. He couldn’t risk bringing any more officers in on the case. He had three teams that would take turns. They would have to be very discrete and switch off often.

Austin and Martin took the first watch and they used Martins car to start with. Martin drove past Keith’s house and saw his car in the driveway. He parked his car down the street where they could see if Keith left his house. Austin wanted to know if Keith was actually home so he cautiously walked on the other side of the street past Keith’s place. He walked quickly and put his head down when he saw Keith standing in his living room through the big bay window. Austin didn’t see anyone else and he hurried back to the car. “He’s there all right and I think he’s alone.”

“Where the hell is that kid? And what happed to Devon?” Martin said, sounding upset and angry.

“I don’t know but Keith is the key to it all so we’ll see where he takes us.” Martin tried to sound optimistic.

They kept an eye on Keith’s house and about midnight all of the lights went out in the place. Austin and Martin settled in for a long boring night. “Hey, Austin, why don’t you crawl in the back seat and get some sleep. One of us needs to and I’ll wake you in a couple of hours.”

“You sure? I can take the first watch.”

“I’m sure. Go ahead. Johnson and Reynolds are going to relieve us at six. I’ll wake you in a little while.” Austin thanked him and climbed into the back seat and got as comfortable as he could.

 

The Pits closed at two in the morning and Huggy was always there at closing. He didn’t leave until the last employee went home for the night. Tonight when he closed the door, someone grabbed him from behind and shoved him back inside. Huggy heard the door being locked by a second person. “I already took the money to the bank. I don’t have much here but you’re welcome to it.” Huggy said, in a calm unthreatening manner.

“Huggy, it’s me Devon Jackson.”

“Who?” Huggy turned around and saw Devon. “You’re alive! You know how worried everyone is about you?” It was then that Huggy noticed the other person in the room. Huggy looked at him unsure what to think of him.

“Huggy, this is Mathew. He saved my life tonight and with your help I think we can save Michael and Tyler.”

“Who’s Michael and Tyler? Man, tell me what happened.”

“They’ll be time for that later. Do you know if Molly is all right?”

“She’s fine. Starsky and Hutch are with her. She thinks you’re dead, they all do.”

“I know and I’ll explain everything, but right now I need you to get Reynolds and Johnson here. We need to act fast to save Michael and Tyler.”  Devon was talking so fast Huggy had a hard time keeping up with what he was saying. Mathew wasn’t saying a word. Mathew looked like he was about seventeen or even eighteen years old.

“I’m sorry to drag you into this, Huggy, but this is the only place I could think of to come to. Starsky and Hutch said I could trust you.”

“Have no fear, my man, you’re both safe here.” Huggy looked around and added, “Better come back here, it will be safer.” He led them through a door that opened to another room. This room was smaller and only had one table with four chairs. It looked like a small meeting room. Devon could only guess that’s what it was for. “Have a seat and rest.” Huggy reached in his pocket and took out his cell phone. “Johnson this is the Bear.”

“Huggy, is that you?” Johnson had a long day and it took him a minute for his mind to register that it was Huggy on the phone.

“The one and only. I know it’s late but I need you and the others at my establishment the sooner the better. I have a couple of surprises for you.” Huggy handed the phone to Devon.

“Johnson, it’s me Devon. I’m fine but I need everyone on the case here and now.”

“We thought you were dead. I’ve got a team watching Keith but I’ll call the others and be there as soon as we can.” Johnson got up and started getting dressed.

“Bring Starsky and Hutch too.”

“We’ll be there.” He hung up the phone and called Reynolds as he finished getting dressed and said he would pick him up in ten minutes. He called Chief Sterling who said he was on his way. His next call was to Starsky and Hutch who were both at Molly’s. Seth was at home sleeping and said that he would call Thompson and they would meet everyone.

Huggy’s little room in the back was not going to be big enough for everyone so he pushed a couple of tables together in the back corner of the main dining room. It wouldn’t be as good as the back room where they wouldn’t be seen, but it would have to do.

Just about twenty minutes after Huggy made the first call the detectives started arriving. Starsky and Hutch were the first one’s there. They didn’t want to leave Molly alone so they brought her with them. She wasn’t about to let them leave without her anyway. She was in the middle of the whole thing and needed to see for herself that Devon was alive and well.  It wasn’t long before the others arrived.

Molly recognized Mathew as the boy who hit Devon rendering him unconscious and then shooting him.

“This is Mathew. He saved my life today. If he hadn’t knocked me out, Keith would have killed me right then and there.”

“But I thought he shot you. I heard…”

“I had to pretend to shot him or Keith Marshall would have done it himself.” Mathew said, rather timidly.

“Exactly what happened? What’s going on?”  Chief Sterling asked in a demanding voice as he walked in followed by the other detectives.

“Keith Marshall ordered me to kill Dallas, I mean Devon here. Somehow he found out he’s a cop. I was supposed to drive to the cliffs of Pete’s Pike and dump him over the side. I’ve done some things I’m not proud of, but I couldn’t kill him. I just couldn’t and if Keith finds out we’re all dead men. The younger boy that was taken away tonight is Michael and I know where he is. You saw another boy get tased and shot in a video that was secretly taken and given to you. That boy is Tyler and he was never shot. It was just an act to scare the kids so Keith Marshall could control them.”

“You were one of the ones that held him down.” Hutch said, as he remembered watching the video that made him sick.

“Yes. We were told to make it look real or Keith really would have killed him.”

“Are you the one who gave us the video?” Starsky asked, quietly almost in a whisper.

“It has to end before someone does get killed. We had to get enough evidence to give you.”

“Who’s ‘we’?” Chief Sterling asked, his voice was now very sympathetic toward the young man who was risking his life to expose Keith for what he really was.

“The other person in the video who held Tyler down is my brother Lee and our cousin Beth filmed it. If Keith ever found out about that video or the other pictures…”

“Who is he working with?” Johnson asked.

“And where are Michael and Tyler? And where’s your brother and Beth?” Reynolds asked.

Hutch put his hand in front of him, “Hold on. Give the kid a chance to answer one question at a time. Mathew, start from the beginning. When did all this start?”

“I’m sorry, Mathew. Hutch is right. We need to slow down and let you tell us everything you can,” Johnson said.

“It’s okay. I understand there’s a lot going on and it’s time you knew everything. A few weeks ago, Keith gathered his kids together and told them they had to start selling dope and stealing for him. I think they didn’t believe him because none of them did anything. Then he forced the three of us to put on that little act. He doesn’t know Beth filmed it. Keith uses us to scare the little kids. Lee and I are in charge of Michael and Tyler. They’re safe for the moment. Keith is working with a probation officer from San Francisco named Jarrod, I’m not sure of his last name but it think I heard Keith call him Donaldson. He’s not the only one, either. I don’t know how big this ring is but I’m pretty sure there is someone from Los Angeles involved too. They trade the merchandise they make us steal. You know, so they can sell it out of town and it’s never found. You couldn’t find out Tyler’s identity when you saw that video could you?”

“No and we tried,” Chief Sterling said.

“His last name is Parker and he’s a runaway from San Francisco. Jarrod picked him up off the streets. His parents are drug addicts and they never reported him missing so he’s not in any data base. When Jarrod was done with him he brought Tyler to Keith. Jarrod and Keith used him to scare their parolees into doing their stealing and dealing for them. I think Keith was going to hand Tyler over to someone else in a few days. Michael said Keith picked him up from Los Angeles last week. I think he suspected Ms. Ramos knew something and was hoping to use Michael to keep her from telling anyone. He found out Devon was a cop yesterday. I don’t know how he found out.”

“Can you take us to Michael and Tyler?” Chief Sterling asked. “We need to get them someplace safe. That’s our first priority.” He knew this whole thing was much bigger than any of them thought and the best place to start was to make sure those young boys were safe.

Mathew got up, “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He stood up and walked through Huggy’s kitchen and opened the back door that led into an alley. When he came back he was followed by Michael, Tyler, Lee and Beth. “I’m trusting all of you with our lives.”

Michael and Tyler were wearing blue jeans that were old and had holes all over them. Their shirts were both solid red and looked to be about two sizes too big for them. Hutch noticed their shoes had holes in them too and were obviously too small. Their hair needed brushing and they both looked like they had not had a bath in about a week. Their faces were dirty.

Hutch felt relieved that Tyler had not been killed he couldn’t help but give him a big hug, “I’m so glad you weren’t really killed.”

“I still might be. We all could be.” Tyler said, shyly as he took a seat when Hutch let him go.

Hutch put his jacket around Tyler and Starsky put his around Michael. They both looked cold, and very scared.

The new arrivals all found a place to sit. Huggy, who had been sitting quietly as a shadow in the background, stood up and said, “This place is busier now than it is at dinner rush. I’ll be right back.” He went into the kitchen.

“Are you kids all right?” Seth asked, looking at the four, rather lost-looking souls.

“We’re fine,” Michael said.

As the kids started telling their tales of what happened to them, Huggy came back with a big tray of sandwiches and sat it down in the middle of the table. Hutch smiled at his old friend, “Thanks, Hug.”

“I may not be able to do much, but I can feed my friends.” He returned to the kitchen.

Tyler reached for a sandwich and withdrew his hand as if he needed permission to eat. Starsky noticed the scared look he had on his face. He handed the sandwich to Tyler, “Eat up, my young friend. Huggy makes the best.” Tyler smiled and took a bite. The other kids eagerly grabbed the sandwiches off the tray.

“Mathew, how did Keith recruit you, Lee and Beth?” Hutch said, as he took a sandwich off the tray.

Mathew looked at his brother and then at his cousin. Beth nodded, “Tell him.”

“The three of us were living off the streets. Beth’s mother died when she was a baby and she doesn’t have a father so she came to live with us. Dad has always had a drinking problem and…” The others noticed that he was struggling to open up.

Lee looked at his older brother, “It’s okay, Matt,” He continued, “Our mother died last year and we just couldn’t take it anymore so the three of us ran away and came here.” He hung his head and spoke slowly,  “We’ve been living on the streets since, doing whatever we had too. Keith found us and made us do his dirty work. He threatened to kill Beth if Matt and I didn’t do what he said. He made us beat up those kids and oh, God, he’s such a monster.” He folded his arms on the table and rested his head on them as he softly sobbed.

Starsky got up and kneeled beside him and patted his back, “It’ll be all right, Son. I promise we’ll get him.”

Beth had tears streaming down her face as she looked at Molly, “The kids talk about you. They love you, you know. Timmy told me the story of why you became a parole officer and how much you talk about Starsky and Hutch. I knew he was scared to say anything but I convinced him to talk to Mathew and Lee. If it hadn’t been for Timmy, we would still be there.”

“That’s when we decided to do something. We couldn’t let Keith or the others continue. We knew it would be dangerous and if he caught us…we had to take that chance. We knew if we got the video to Kiko he’d get it to Starsky and Hutch. We were counting on them to do the right thing with it. We thought if Timmy was brave enough to talk to us after everything he saw us do, we could be brave enough to trust Starsky and Hutch,” Mathew stated.

“Lee, you said you ran away and came here. Came here from where?” Reynolds asked. He had a very soft tone as he spoke. He couldn’t imagine what these three had been through during their short lives.

“We’re not going back so it doesn’t matter. I’ll be eighteen in a few more months and I can get legal custody of them,” Mathew said.

“Let’s deal with that later. Chief, what do we do now? I mean, where do we go from here? These kids are safe but what about Keith? Should we pick him up?” Thompson asked.

“No!” Starsky yelled jumping out of his seat.

One look at his partner and Hutch knew exactly what Starsky had in mind. He put his hand on Starsky’s arm and guided him back to his seat. “Chief, don’t arrest him just yet.”

Chief Sterling knew Starsky and Hutch well enough to know that they had something in mind. Something he was pretty sure he didn’t want to know about. He wasn’t going to ask but Seth spoke up, “What do you mean ‘no’. He’s got to be stopped.”

Starsky looked at Seth and then the others, “Let me and Hutch, huh, umm, let’s just say, ‘talk’ to him first,” Hutch slightly nodded.

“I can’t authorize…” The Chief started to protest.

“You’re not authorizing anything, Chief. We’re not on the department anymore and you’re not responsible for what we do, right?” Hutch said, hoping Chief wouldn’t ask too many questions about what he and his partner were planning.

“Just maybe Hutch and I can find out a few things you guys wouldn’t be able to in an interrogation room with a lawyer present.”
“Starsky…” Chief said, in that warning don’t-cross-the-line voice of his.

“We won’t, Chief,” Hutch reassured him as he got up, followed by Starsky. “Molly, don’t go home until you hear from us.”

“And don’t go to Kiko’s. In fact, I think Kiko needs to be here too.”

“Sure, the more the merrier,” Huggy said, as he returned from the kitchen with a tray of sodas for the kids and beer for the adults.

“We’ll pick up Kiko and keep the kids safe someplace, guys,” Thompson said, as he took one of the beers off the tray.

“What about my place, Chief? We can hide them out there as long as we need to. I’m sure Austin won’t mind,” Seth said, drinking his beer.

Starsky and Hutch stood up. “Don’t wait up for us,” Starsky said, which sounded more like, “Don’t ask us what we’re up to; you don’t want to know.”

“We’ll meet you at Seth’s,” Hutch added. They turned to walk away and after he took a couple of steps, Hutch turned back around, “We’ll call you later.” With that being said, Starsky and Hutch left The Pits and headed toward Keith Marshall’s place.

“What about all the others? Keith has over twenty kids. What about them?” Molly was worried about them too.

“We can bring all of them to the station with their parents until we hear back from Starsky or Hutch if we have to,” Reynolds said.

“Knowing Starsky and Hutch, I don’t think that will be necessary. Molly, can you get the kids to come to your office around noon?” Johnson asked.

“It’s unusual to have them come in on a Saturday, but sure, I can do that.”

“Good. We can talk to all of them at once. Seth, why don’t you go ahead and take them,” he nodded toward the five kids that were there, “to your place. I think they’ll be safe with you and Thompson watching them,” Reynolds said, he added, “I think we should call Austin and let him know Starsky and Hutch are going to pay Keith a little visit and he should take Martin and go to Seth’s. They don’t need to be anywhere near Keith when they get there.”

“Good idea,” Chief Sterling said.

Seth and Thompson stood up and Seth said, “Johnson, I can take three in my car. Can you bring the rest to my place?”

Huggy noticed the kids eyeing the rest of the sandwiches on the tray and said, “Don’t leave just yet.” He went back to the kitchen. Huggy took a lid for the tray off a shelf. He also opened the refrigerator and put some more food into a couple of bags. He knew if Seth was going to have five kids at his house he would need to feed them. He handed the bags to Seth and put a top on the tray that held the sandwiches. Tyler smiled.

“Thanks, Huggy. You really are the best.” Devon said. He then looked at Chief Sterling and said, “Sir, I’d like to stay at Seth’s and help keep an eye on the kids if that’s all right.”

“Sure it is, Son. You’ve done a great job.”

“Where do you want me to go, and what about Kiko?”  Molly asked.

“I think Austin and I need to get a bigger place,” Seth said adding, “Let’s just get everyone to my place. Austin and Martin can pick Kiko up on their way. I think it’s best if we keep them all together until we get this sorted out.”

“I think so too. Let’s get all get a couple of hours of sleep and I’ll make some calls in a few hours. That should give Starsky and Hutch time to do whatever it is they have planned.”

When they all arrived at Seth’s, he gave the kids each a clean shirt to sleep in. He also told them they could take a nice long, hot shower if they wanted to. Tyler jumped at the chance. It had been almost a week since Keith allowed him to shower. When he got out he held the clean shirt Seth gave him and smelled it. He thought it was the best scent he’d ever smelled. Michael was next and he enjoyed the shower as much as Tyler. He put on the clean shirt and rejoined the others in the living room. The other kids took showers and they all went to sleep on the floor in the living room. Devon promised them that he would watch over them as they slept and they were all safe now. Seth washed all of their clothes while they slept.

 

Chapter 10: The Chat

Starsky waited at the end of the street until he saw Martin’s car pulling away, then he parked his car right behind Keith’s effectively blocking it. When they got out of the car, Starsky asked Hutch, “Ping-pong or good cop/bad cop?”

“Let’s go with bad cop/ bad cop this time. I think this slime warrants it.” Hutch replied, as he quietly closed the car door.

“You got it, Buddy.”

Hutch picked the lock on the front door and they both quietly crept through the house until they reached Keith’s bedroom. Starsky sat gently on the edge of the bed and Hutch slammed the door as loud as he possibly could. Keith was startled at the sound of his bedroom door being slammed. His heart was racing so fast he thought it was going to explode, at the same time his eyes were wide open. He couldn’t remember ever being so scared in his life. Hutch turned the light on just when it would have the desired effect on Keith’s eyes. Keith squinted as he tried to see who was in his room. His pupils were dilated from the whole frightening experiencing and the added light wasn’t helping him focus. Hutch stood in the doorway grinning as Keith’s eyes slowly adjusted to the light level. “Hi there.” Hutch said, as Keith looked like he could finally see again.

“Starsky, what the hell are you doing in my…” Keith said, sounding very agitated as he looked at Hutch.

“Uh, uh, uh. I’m Starsky.” Starsky said, as he pointed at himself. Keith looked even more surprised. He hadn’t noticed anyone else in the room. “He’s Hutch.”  Keith started to reach for the drawer on his nightstand.

“Oh, please. Don’t think we’re some stupid rookies.” Starsky said, as he emptied the bullets out of the gun he had taken from the nightstand. After the gun was emptied, Starsky put his feet on the bed crossing them. He then put his hands behind his head and leaned against the plain wooden headboard.

“Okay, okay. What do you two want?”

“What do we want, Hutch?”

“We’ll for starters let’s not pretend that we don’t all know why we’re here. We know about your little operation.”

“And you want a piece of the action, right?” Keith knew they would never go for it. Their reputations were better than that. He could never talk them into joining him.

“Don’t insult us like that.” Starsky sounded very angry. His dark blue eyes pierced right through Keith.

“What we want, what we really want is the names and locations of all of your buddies that are helping you. Remember, Starsky and I are not on the force anymore and you threatened Molly. That doesn’t sit well with us.” The anger in Hutch’s voice matched that of Starsky’s. Hutch sat on the edge of the bed so now Keith was between a very angry Starsky and Hutch.

“We like Molly. We’ve known her since she was a kid. She tells us that you had one of her parolees shot tonight and another child was taken away. You’re using kids to keep her quiet.” Starsky clinched his fist as he was talking and when he finished he hit Keith. Not hard enough to knock him out or do any real damage; just hard enough to let Keith know they meant business.

Hutch wanted Keith to believe that the police really didn’t know anything and said, “We saw a video of you murdering another child and have enough evidence to go to the police and have you locked up for a very long time. Now we know that there are others involved all over the state. And what we want is everyone else involved.”

Starsky moved in so close to Keith that Keith felt very uncomfortable. He could physically feel the anger that was stirring inside Starsky and wasn’t sure his partner could or would keep him from beating him or worse.

Keith was sure Dallas was an undercover cop maybe he was wrong. Surely, Starsky and Hutch would know if the police had put someone on the inside. As the thoughts raced through his head, Hutch moved closer to him now. Keith’s fear grew more with each breath. There was a deadly, eerie silence in the room as Starsky and Hutch let Keith digest what they just said.

“Gentlemen, there’s no need to make threats.” Keith said, nervously as he looked from Starsky to Hutch.

“Threat? Hutch, did you make a threat? I didn’t hear you make a threat.” Starsky’s voice had changed to a nerve-wracking calm one.

Hutch tilted his head slightly as he said, “I didn’t make any threats, Starsk. I will tell you this, Keith, if you don’t tell us everything we want to know…” Hutch paused as he looked deep in his thoughts, “Let’s see how to put this.”

“What you’re saying, Buddy, is that if this piece of garbage doesn’t tell us what we want to know is that we will spread the word all over the media how much he’s cooperating with the local authorities to assist in the capture of the others involved. Is that about right, Hutch?”

Hutch grinned, but it wasn’t a friendly grin, it was more of an evil ‘we’ve got you right where we want you’ grin. “That’s about says it all, Starsk. Don’t forget the part where this news will be spread out all over the state and how, since he’s cooperating so nicely, he’s being released.”

“You can’t do that. They’ll kill me!” Keith knew Starsky and Hutch would do exactly what they said they’d do. He knew the others would kill him in a second without thinking twice to protect their own operations. In an act of desperation he made a threat, “If you go to the press, the kids in all the other places will be killed.  So it seems highly unlikely that you’ll do any such thing.”

Starsky and Hutch are no strangers to threats and can easily recognize an empty threat when they see one. “If that happens then you, Keith Marshall, will be personally held responsible for every one of those kids.” Starsky said, as he poked his finger hard into Keith’s chest with every word.

“Th…they…they  can’t pin me with every kid that dies.” Keith was so scared now he was stuttering to get the words out.

Starsky and Hutch knew they had him now. Hutch moved in for the ‘kill’, “Keith, it’s not the courts or police you have to worry about pinning you with the murders of those children. It’s me and Starsky you have to worry about. Remember, were not on the force any more. Nobody is watching our every move.”

“We don’t have to worry about IA breathing down our necks now. Hutch and I can do what we’ve always wanted to do. You want to know what that is, Keith?”

It was a rhetorical question but Keith didn’t want these two former detectives to know he was as scared of them as he really was, “What’s that?”

Starsky raised his eyebrows surprised that Keith actually asked, “Well, it’s like this. We’ve seen so many creeps, like you, get away with so much over the years that we decided it’s time someone start making them pay. I’m talking about really paying for their crimes. So if one more child, so much as has a hair out of place…” Starsky didn’t finish the threat. He wanted Keith’s own imagination to take over.

Keith looked at Hutch, to see if he appeared to be in agreement with his partner. Hutch gave him that same evil grin he flashed moments earlier. Keith knew they were united in their thoughts and would carry out their threats. What they said was true, they were no longer on the force and there was no one watching their every move. Keith had heard of other cops who were fed up with the system and were taking matters into their own hands. He was genuinely convinced that the two men before him would do just that. He was equally scared about how they were going to make him ‘pay’. He did have a very active imagination and it was working overtime thinking of just what two former detectives could and were willing to do with someone they knew was hurting children.

Starsky and Hutch were enjoying watching Keith squirm. They knew he was about to break. They didn’t say a word. They just stared at Keith knowing he would come to the realization that they would do something drastic if he didn’t come through with the information they wanted.

Starsky and Hutch would never really seek revenge like that but Keith didn’t know that and they had him right where they wanted him.

“Okay, okay. If I tell you everything what do I get in return? Keith was so scared he could hardly get the words out.

“What should we give him, Starsk?”

“Well, we’re not on the department anymore so we can’t make any deals with the DA.” Starsky thought a minute then added, “What we can guarantee is that Hutch and I will take you with us to the station and you’ll be arrested and allowed to have your day in court.”

“That’s better than the alternative.” Hutch added, sounding like they just offered the man the deal of a lifetime.

Keith slumped forward in defeat. He knew it was all over now. The best he could hope for now was to deny hurting Dallas or knowing anything about what happened to him after he left. He could pin that on Mathew. “That boy tonight is being held in a house at Fifth and Federal Street. You won’t have any trouble finding it. It’s the blue house on the corner. His name is Michael and he’s fine I have two older boys watching him. Tyler Parker is the name of the boy you thought was killed in the video. It was just a ruse to scare the rest of the kids. He was never harmed. You’ll find him with Michael. As far as Dallas is concerned, I don’t know what happened to him. I swear he was alive when I left. If something happened to him it was Mathew.”  Keith stopped.

“Okay, we can pick them up. You’d better hope they don’t so much as have a single mark on them. Now tell us about the others. Who’s helping you?” Hutch said.

“Jarrod Donaldson and his brother Jason are in San Francisco. There operation is twice as big as mine. There’s James Mason in Los Angeles and a guy named David Roberts in San Diego. That’s all, I swear it.”

“Should we believe him, Hutch?” Starsky gave Keith a cold, hard, piercing stare with those dark blue eyes. He was studying Keith, almost daring him to lie to him.

“If he’s lying and one more child is hurt, he’s the one who’s going to answer to us for it.” Hutch asked, “Where are the kids being kept in those cities and at this point I wouldn’t lie to us?”

Keith didn’t know where the other kids were being held in any of the other three cities. He only knew the names of some of them, which he eagerly told Starsky and Hutch.

He also gave them the name of every fence that was moving the stolen merchandise. Keith was so scared that the others would find him before Starsky and Hutch could get him to the station. He practically begged them to take him in.

Starsky called Johnson and let him know everything Keith had said. Johnson asked Starsky and Hutch to bring Keith to the station and said that he would meet them there with Reynolds.

Hutch handcuffed Keith, explaining to Keith that he did still own handcuffs, and put him in the back seat. Starsky’s car had child proof locks on them and Hutch made sure the locks were on both doors and Keith was buckled before he closed the door.

Johnson and Reynolds were waiting for them when they arrived at the station. Everyone was beyond exhausted. It had been a very long day. Johnson put Keith in interrogation room eight and Keith told him the same things he told Starsky and Hutch. He said he didn’t want a lawyer, which shocked Johnson and Reynolds. Chief Sterling was on the other side of the two-way mirror standing beside Starsky and Hutch. “Is there some special reason he’s not requesting a lawyer?”

Starsky rubbed his chin and looked at Hutch, “I couldn’t imagine why a parole officer wouldn’t request a lawyer. Do you have any ideas, Hutch?” He said, with just a hint of playfulness in his voice.

“I have no idea, Starsk.” Hutch covered his mouth and mumbled, “It couldn’t because we threatened to tell his cohorts that he ratted them out.”

Starsky chuckled, Chief Sterling said, “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, Hutchinson.”

“That’s probably a good idea.” Hutch grinned.

“Chief, what’s the next step?” Starsky asked, as he turned his head toward Chief Sterling but keeping his eyes on Keith who was telling Johnson and Reynolds how he made contact with the other parole officers that were involved. Keith also agreed to cooperate with them.

“For starters, I’d like the two of you to go home and…”
“Don’t ask us to stay out of this, Chief. We’re involved too much to be left in the dark now.” Hutch pleaded.

“I didn’t think you’d go for it. How about going to Seth’s and keeping an eye on the kids and Devon while we work out the details of how we’re going to bust this whole operation and keeping the other kids safe at the same time.”

“We can do that, Chief.” Starsky said.

“You promise to let us know…”

“Yes, Hutch, I’ll keep you informed.”

“Thanks, Chief.” Starsky and Hutch left the station to join the others at Seth and Austin’s place.”

 

Chapter 11: Huggy Comes Through Again

When Starsky and Hutch arrived at Seth and Austin’s, they found everyone asleep except for Seth. Seth explained that he would take the first watch and wanted to get their clothes washed and dried before they woke up. Austin heard them talking and got up from the couch he had been sleeping on. Starsky and Hutch told them everything Keith said and that he was at the station spilling his guts out now. Hutch told them Johnson, Reynolds and the chief were working out a plan to bust everyone and keep the kids safe at the same time.

“It looks like it’s going to be a long day. Why don’t you two get a couple of hours of sleep while you can?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Starsky said, making his way to the empty couch. He quietly and gently stepped over Mathew, Beth and Lee who were sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags that Seth and Austin brought in from the garage. He also stepped over Kiko, Martin, Devon and Thompson who were sleeping on blankets on the floor.

“Hey, Starsk?”

“Not a chance, Hutch,” Starsky answered as he settled himself on the couch into a comfortable position. He rolled over on his left side and grabbed a pillow.

“Where’s Molly?” Hutch asked as he looked at the others sleeping.

“Molly’s in Austin’s room. My room’s empty, you can sleep in there, Hutch.”

Hutch smiled knowing he was getting a better bed than Starsky. He pointed at Seth, “If you need me, you wake me.” Seth nodded.

 

When Johnson and Reynolds finished with Keith they left him alone in the interrogation room with instructions for no one to enter. They walked into Chief Sterling’s office. It was now time for them to decide the best way to proceed.

“I know we need to make the busts simultaneously but that won’t help us find any of the kids that may be hidden like Tyler was.” Chief Sterling said. His voice was a cross between being angry at the men who were involved and concern for the children.

Johnson’s phone rang and knew it was Huggy when he looked at the coller ID. “It’s Huggy.” He flipped the phone open, “Johnson here, Huggy.”

“I got some info for you two fine gents if you wanna come to my crib. I know you’ve already arrested Marshall, don’t make any more arrests until we talk. I got some heavy info you need before you do anything else.”

“Sure, Huggy, Reynolds and I can be there in ten minutes.”

“Don’t forget, now, my crib not ‘The Pits’. I have Mario opening for me today.”

“Your place, got it.” Johnson put his phone back in its case attached to his side.

“What’s Huggy got?” Reynolds asked, standing up getting ready to follow his partner out of the door.

“Don’t know but he said it’s important and not to make any more arrests until after we talk to him. He said to come to his house not ‘The Pits’.”

“Get back to me as soon as you can. I’m not going to sit on this very long,” Chief Sterling told them as Reynolds and Johnson left his office.

“Sure thing, Chief,” Reynolds shouted through the closed door.

 

Huggy opened the door just as Johnson was about to knock. Reynolds followed Johnson into Huggy’s apartment. Huggy showed them in and the two detectives took a seat on the couch. Huggy offered them a drink but they declined the offer. “What I got is big,” Huggy said, as sat on the love seat.

“What is it, Huggy?” Johnson asked.

“There are more kids being hidden like Tyler and Michael were.”

“We figured that,” he paused then added, “You know where they are, don’t you?”

Huggy nodded. “In San Diego there are four being held in an old warehouse on Ocean Drive.” He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and read, “It’s 3489 Ocean Drive. My connection said that none of the others know that Marshall’s been arrested yet, but if they find out…”

“Those kids will be moved and we may never find them,” Reynolds said, rubbing his hands together.

“You got it,” Huggy said, “There’s more. You’ll find two more at Grace Street in Los Angeles. I’m not sure of the exact address, but it’s an old abandoned hospital. You’re supposed to look in the basement there. In San Francisco you’ll find the kids you’re looking for at Sea Side Avenue. That address is 4655 and they are in a railroad boxcar. There’s one more thing you need to know.”

“What’s that?” Johnson asked.

“All of the kids have guards watching them and some of them aren’t going to be as helpful as Mathew and Lee, you dig?”

“We dig. Thanks a million, Huggy,” Johnson said, as he stood up. With that information they could now arrange to bust everyone involved. He didn’t even ask Huggy how he knew where all these children were. He trusted Huggy enough to know that his information was good.

Reynolds called Chief Sterling who said he’d like his six detectives in his office as soon as possible. He also said that he’d like for Starsky, Hutch and Devon to remain at the house to keep an eye on Molly and the kids that were there. Starsky started to protest but Hutch calmed him down and convinced him that they needed to stay where they were. “They’re just going to make some phone calls and sit around the Chief’s office anyway. We can do more good here, Starsk.” Hutch told him.

“What about the other kids? Didn’t you guys want to meet with all of them today?” Molly asked, as she opened the refrigerator.

“With the information Huggy just gave us, I don’t think that will be necessary,” Hutch stated as he took the eggs from Molly and handed them to Starsky.

“What do you want me to do with these?” Starsky asked, setting the carton of eggs on the counter.

“Look for a bowl and start scrambling them. We have a lot of hungry kids to feed,” Hutch said, as he took the bacon from Molly she just handed him.

Kiko laughed at Starsky, “I’ll make the eggs, Starsky. I remember the last time you made them.”

“Boy, you burn eggs just once and they never let you forget it.” Starsky rolled his eyes and handed Kiko the bowl. Hutch grinned and chuckled a little.  Starsky searched the cabinets and found some glasses and set them on the counter.

The kids smelled the aroma of the bacon and eggs cooking and they came into the kitchen.

“Man, that smells so good,” Tyler said, as he watched Kiko cook the eggs.

“Have a seat; breakfast will be ready in a minute,” Kiko replied.

It wasn’t long before all the food had been devoured and everyone was complaining about eating too much. Molly explained to the kids that Seth and the others went to the station. She didn’t go into any more details.

Hutch called Debbie to let her and Davey know that he was okay and so were Starsky and Devon. Jeanne and Kenny had stayed the night and Debbie told him that she would let them know. She was eager to hear about what was going on but knew that would have to wait until he could tell her, if he ever could. He explained that everything should wrap up today and he would probably be home tonight. She was relieved to hear that.

Chief Sterling had made a phone call to an FBI agent he trusted that he had worked with several times over the years. By the time Reynolds, Johnson and the other detectives barged into his office, Special Agent Collin Sandidge was already there. After the introductions were made, Chief Sterling asked Johnson to fill Sandidge in. Johnson hesitated, not sure who he could trust with this information. Sterling noticed the hesitation, “It’s okay, Johnson. I’ve know Collin here for…well, forever. You can trust him.”

Johnson laid it all out. He explained everything he learned from Huggy. Now that they knew the locations of where the kids were being held in the other cities, they could move in. It would have to be done simultaneously though or they could lose track of some of those being held captive. That was where the FBI would come in. Because they had confirmation that kids were being essentially kidnapped, it was now an FBI case. Chief Sterling was happy to have the FBI on board. His own jurisdiction ended at the city line and he would never be allowed to authorize his own teams to make the arrest in the other cities. The best he could hope for was to be kept up-to-date by the FBI agents that were now in charge.

The first step was to confirm the location of the kids that were being held and having agents in place to ensure their safety when the arrests were underway. It took Sandidge about an hour to get his men in position. Chief Sterling and his men were waiting anxiously as the calls came in stating the children being held captive were still exactly where Huggy stated.

As the same time, other agents were getting into position to arrest the men in charge in each of the three cities. Jarrod and Jason Donaldson were located rather easily at their homes. The agents assigned to arrest them were told to just sit tight and watch them. The agents found James Mason in Los Angeles with his family at the zoo and had him under surveillance. The agents had a difficult time locating David Roberts in San Diego. It took about three hours to locate him. They finally found him on a boat in the San Diego bay. Once they had all been located, the four men in charge of those operations were arrested.

At the same time the other arrests were being made, the FBI also had agents arrest the fences that were moving the merchandise the parole officers had the kids steal for them. There were over ten fences busted in the four cities.

The older boys guarding the younger ones that were being held captive gave up easily. They were victims of this whole thing as much as their captives. They had been threatened with severe punishment if the others escaped. One boy said Jarrod Donaldson threatened to kill his whole family if he let the twelve-year-old he was guarding escape. Others had similar stories. Each of them had been threatened in one way or another.

When the calls came in that all the children were safe and the arrests had been made, everyone was elated. They felt a big relief that it was all over. It had been a long difficult case.

Johnson took out his phone and called Hutch and told him the good news. “We did it. The kids have all been found and everyone has been arrested. Everyone’s safe now, Hutch.” He said, excitedly.

Hutch had a big grin on his face as he said, “That’s great, Johnson. That’s just wonderful. I’ll let everyone know.” He closed his phone and looked around the room. Everyone heard the conversation that had taken place and they knew it was over. They were all very joyous.

 

Chapter 12: The Aftermath

After the initial excitement wore off, Mathew went into the kitchen. He put his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands. He tried to hold back his tears but he just couldn’t. Kiko saw him and pulled up a chair beside him. “What’s wrong, Mathew?” Mathew didn’t respond. He couldn’t. “You’re worried about what’s going to happen to you, Lee and Beth now, aren’t you? Now that the police know about you, you’re worried they’ll take you back to your father.”

“We can’t go back there, Kiko, we just can’t. I won’t. But it’s not fair to them to live like street rats either. I don’t know what to do.” He looked up at Kiko, hoping he had some answers.

“Didn’t you say you turn eighteen soon?” Mathew nodded. “You can apply for custody of them then. In the meantime, the three of you could live with me. I need more help at the restaurant and you could all work there. You’ll have a steady income and that will help you get custody when you are eighteen.”

“You’d do that for me after everything I’ve done?”

Starsky was standing in the doorway and heard the last part of their conversation. “What you’ve done, Mathew, is save a bunch of kids from God only knows what. It took a lot of guts to do what you did, kid. Don’t let anyone tell you different. You are a real hero.”

Mathew wiped away his tears as he looked into the other room and saw his brother and cousin. Lee noticed him looking and gave him an ‘everything’s-going-to-work-out’ smile.

Because it was Saturday and Child Protective Services didn’t want to go through a bunch of ‘red tape’ and they knew Molly, Kiko was allowed to take Mathew, Lee and Beth home for the rest of the weekend. Kiko explained to the three that more would have to be worked out, but for the weekend they could stay with him.

Starsky and Hutch didn’t want Tyler and Michael to spend the weekend in juvenile hall and obtained permission for Hutch to take Tyler with him. Starsky had the green light to take Michael home for the weekend. They each called their wives and boys and even though they didn’t know all the details, they were happy to help. Hutch asked Debbie if they would pick up some clothes for the boys. He looked at the tags on the shirts and jeans they had on and told Debbie what sizes to get for them. He also asked her to pick up some shoes that were two sizes larger than the ones they were currently wearing. By the time Starsky and Hutch made it to Hutch’s, Debbie and Jeanne were back. Davey and Kenny went with them to make sure they didn’t pick out anything that was too ‘lame’, to use Kenny’s words. They were each given a pair of jeans and a pair of Khakis and two new shirts. They were also given a pack of new socks and underwear. Tyler and Michael were overjoyed with their new clothes and they fit perfectly, even the shoes. They all had a big spaghetti dinner at Hutch’s that night. Starsky and Hutch explained what the assignment was and how everyone involved had been arrested.

The four boys slept in Davey’s room Saturday night. Even though there were two beds in the room, they all slept on sleeping bags on the floor. Tyler and Michael explained everything that had happened to them and how they got into the position they were in. Davey and Kenny reassured them that they were safe now and their dads would see to it that they would find good homes for them.

“Whatever happens now can’t be as bad as what I’ve already been through,” Tyler said, as he laid his head on his pillow and drifted off to sleep.

Sunday, Johnson and Reynolds went to the station and did a thorough check on Tyler Parker and Michael Garrison. Johnson found out that Tyler was telling the truth. His parents were both drug addicts and never reported him missing. They were picked up and put under arrest for child neglect and some drug charges. Johnson also found a very concerned uncle and aunt that lived in northern California and they had no idea Tyler was living in such dreadful conditions. The last time they saw Tyler he was only three and seemed to be very happy. They were eager to see him and were more than willing to take him in. They would be arriving on Monday afternoon. Johnson said that Hutch and his family were taking good care of him and assured them he was fine.

Michael Garrison had run away from Los Angeles. It seemed his mother just didn’t want him anymore. When he ran away, she never reported him missing. Michael never knew his who his father was but Reynolds was able to locate him quite easily after talking to Michael’s mother and suggesting to her that she cooperate.

His father lived in Texas and Reynolds talked to him on the phone. His name was Alan Garrison. Alan explained that he never knew he had a son, Michael’s mother never told him. Reynolds heard the man crying on the phone as they were talking. “I have a son. I’ve always wanted kids. When can I see him?” Reynolds explained that things would have to be worked out through Child Protective Services and asked when he could come to Bay City. Alan said that he would be there by noon tomorrow. When he hung up from talking to Alan Garrison, Reynolds did a complete background check on the man. He found out that Alan Garrison was a widower who never had kids. He was the executive of a big company that had something to do with solar power. He had a clean record and by all accounts appeared to be a very nice man. Reynolds thought Michael’s going to be very happy.

Johnson and Reynolds met with Starsky and Hutch with Tyler and Michael. They explained that they had found family members that really wanted the boys. They said they would like both boys at the station at nine the next morning. Johnson told them that Child Protective Services had been notified and a representative would be there to meet with the boys as well as their prospective guardians. A DNA test would be performed on Michael and his father just to make sure Alan was his father.

At nine on Monday, Starsky and Hutch brought Tyler and Michael to the station. Understandably, both boys were a little apprehensive as they walked into the meeting room across from Chief Sterling’s office.  Tyler and Michael both were wearing nice khaki pants and polo shirts. They had shoes that actually fit them and looked very nice. They had felt dirty and ugly for so long the new clothes made them feel good about themselves again.

Hutch sat next to Tyler and put his hand on the young man’s shoulder, “It’s going to be all right, Tyler.” Tyler gritted his teeth and although he was still scared he nodded.

Starsky took a seat between Hutch and Michael. As Michael sat down he whispered, “After all this time, I get to meet my Dad. Mom told me he didn’t want me.”

“From what Reynolds says, he’s always wanted a son. You have my phone number?” Michael nodded, “You call me anytime you want, okay?”

Michael smiled as he said, “I will. Thank you, Starsky. Thank you for everything.”

It wasn’t long before Stan Elder from Child Protective Services entered the room. He explained to Tyler and Michael why they were all there and that he was proud of them for assisting in the arrests and bringing Keith Marshall and the others to justice. He told them about the family members that would be arriving soon to meet them.”

It wasn’t long before Tyler’s aunt and uncle were escorted into the room by a uniformed officer who picked them up at the airport. Tyler was allowed to go to a private room to spend some time alone with them.

Alan Garrison was not far behind and was brought into the room by a uniformed offer. One look was all it took to realize that this man had to be Michael’s father. Michael was the spitting image of him right down to the same way they parted their brown wavy hair. Alan looked so happy as he saw his son for the first time. He was speechless as he stared at a younger version of himself. Michael pushed his chair back, stood up and walked over to the man, giving him a hug. “Michael, I’m so sorry. I never knew.”

“It’s okay, Dad. I know you didn’t.”

The following week was spent with the detectives and Molly talking to each of the children in the parolee system and their parents. Timmy was the first child Molly wanted to talk to. Johnson asked his mother to come with him and he would explain everything that was going on. She looked at her young son who had seemed so troubled a couple of weeks ago and now it appeared as if the weight of the world had been lifted of his young shoulders. “It’s okay, Mom. Detective Johnson will tell you what I can’t.” She followed Johnson into another room.

Timmy walked into Molly’s office not sure what to expect. He was ashamed of what he had done. Stealing was wrong and he had been forced to do a lot of it. Timmy sat down in the chair next to the one Molly was in. “Mr. Baxter, I wanted to see you first to thank you.”

“Thank me, for what?” He asked, shyly.

“It was because of what you said to Beth about me and how much I trust Starsky and Hutch that they came to us. We were able to find out what Keith Marshall was doing. That was very brave of you to take that chance.”

“I wasn’t brave. I was scared.”

“Being brave doesn’t mean not being scared. It means doing something even though you’re afraid to. You asked the older kids for help and let them know who they could trust even though they might have turned you in to Keith Marshall. That was so very brave, Mr. Baxter.” Molly reached over and gave him a hug.

Timmy sat a little straighter in his chair when Molly let go of the hold she had on him. “What about my Mom? Is Detective Johnson telling her everything?”

“Yes, he is. He’s telling her what a wonderful son she has and how proud she should be of you. He’s also telling her that you are now off parole. I think you’ve proved that you can be trusted these past few weeks that we can release you now.”

“Thank you.”
“I’d like to ask you something, Mr. Baxter.”

“What’s that, Ms. Ramos?”

“What are you planning on doing with your life?”

“I’m not sure, yet. I have a record, so I don’t know…”

“You’re a juvenile and what you did to be put on parole won’t show up in any record you may have as an adult. The fact that you assisted us in apprehending Keith Marshall will. You can do or be anything you want.”

“I think I want to be a parole officer and help kids like me. Only I’ll be a good one like you.”

“I know you will be.”

Molly talked to the rest of the kids that were on parole under Keith. Each case had been carefully reviewed and each child was given reduced time on parole and some, like Timmy Baxter, were released from parole altogether. Similar discussions were taking place with the children and parents in the other three cities.

 

All the children from Bay City agreed to come back for Keith Marshall’s trial the following month and testify against him. Starsky and Hutch talked to Tyler and Michael to make sure they were as happy as they appeared to be. Tyler said he was on the swim team at school and felt really loved for the first time in his life. Michael told them that he was learning his Dad’s business and was doing very well. He also said that he felt very much loved and wanted. It was obvious that both boys were doing great. Kenny and Davey had the opportunity to see them too. They had become friends in that short weekend they spent together. They all agreed to keep in contact on Facebook.

Keith Marshall was sentenced to twenty years in federal prison for everything he did. The judge told him that if he could he would make sure he never got out of jail, but twenty was the most he could sentence him.

 

A couple of months later, Mathew was sitting at a table as Kiko brought out a special cake he made for Mathew’s eighteenth birthday. Mathew blew out the candles. Everyone clapped. There were a lot of people in attendance as this was a very special day for him. Starsky and Hutch were there along with their wives and boys, Chief Sterling and all six of his detectives were present along with Molly. This is what Mathew had been waiting for. Mathew, Lee and Beth had been working hard the last couple of months so that Mathew could gain custody of Lee and Beth. Mathew was working as much as he could with Kiko at the restaurant, hoping to be promoted to assistant manager soon. He had found a three bedroom place they could afford with the child support Mathew would be getting from the state if he was awarded custody. Kiko was getting the money now to help support them. Mathew didn’t know it, but Kiko was saving the money to give to Mathew when he was granted custody. Lee and Beth were working hard to get caught up in school and staying out of trouble. They were allowed to stay with Kiko but that was just temporary and if Mathew was not granted custody, Lee and Beth would both be sent to foster homes. Mathew and Lee’s dad had been arrested for abuse and neglect and they would never have to go back to him.

Stan from Child Protective Services handed Mathew an envelope. Smiling he opened it and struggled to hold back the tears. “Well?” Demanded Lee. “Did we do it? Did we do enough for you to get custody of us?”

“It says…” He sniffled, “Yes. You are both now in my custody.”

“You deserve it, young man. You have worked very hard and proved yourself to be capable of raising your brother and cousin. You are ready to get your own place and I can see that you have plenty of support. My department will have to keep checking on you, but I don’t think there are going to be any problems.”

“Support he has. Now that he’s eighteen, I’m going to promote him to assistant manager and he’ll be getting a nice raise. Happy birthday, Mathew.” Kiko handed him the money he had been holding onto for him and now Mathew had the money to move into the apartment.

As everyone was celebrating with Mathew, Devon walked over to Davey and Kenny and said, “Can we be friends?”

“Of course we can.” They said, in unison.

“Good, cause I’d hate to have you two as enemies.”

Chief Sterling told Devon that a commendation would be placed in his file for the outstanding work he did. He also said that he was very proud of him and he would let Captain Glass know what a great officer he was getting.

The end