Blue Moon

88

Mysterious happenings at the coast and a blue moon cause trouble for Starsky and Hutch.

 

A SHFAFF GROUP STORY – AUGUST 2024

Writers: Pauline, Pamela, Nancy, Cheryl, Jan, Gretchen, Chrissy Lou, Arlene, Tina, Sheila, Carol, Caroline

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It was the day the moon turned blue. There were no stars shining over Bay City and heavy anticipation was hanging in the air. The blond and brunet detectives leaned against the Torino staring at the ocean. They knew it was the kind of night where something was bound to happen.  The question, though, was what was going to happen?

A chilly wind was whipping up the waves as a far-off tanker ploughed its way through the churning sea. Hutch rubbed his chin and turned to look at his partner, sighing and feeling as blue as the moon.

“Hutch…whatcha do with the binoculars?” Starsky asked, pulling Hutch from his thoughts.

Hutch reached back into the car, retrieved the binoculars and passed them to his partner.

“Did you see something, Starsk?” Hutch asked, looking to the water.

“Looks like a ship out there flashing a light. Looks like some kinda code,” Starsky said.

Hutch suddenly noticed something bobbing in the water, bumping against the pier.

“Starsky, is that a life preserver? What the hell’s the name on it?”

Starsky reached down and fished the battered preserver out of the water. He gulped.

“Hutch, this ain’t a new model preserver. I can make out some of the letters of the name; let’s see: T – I – something – something – N – I – C.”

Hutch tried to read the letters, too.

“There’s another T in the middle.”

Both men stood facing each other, mouths gaping, and at the same time said, “Titanic.”

Then they simultaneously turned to face the ocean. The flashing light and the boat had disappeared.

Starsky looked at Hutch and said, “Didn’t the Titanic sink like a long time ago?”

Hutch replied, while still looking for the light at sea, “Yeah, April 15, 1912 to be exact.”

“Ya think maybe we should call the Coast Guard, Hutch?” Starsky asked, glancing nervously back out to sea.

“Yeah, I guess. Maybe they won’t think we’re crazy or seeing things,” Hutch replied, looking at the life preserver again, his detective mind trying to figure out what was going on.

Just in case the life preserver turned out to be evidence (though how it could be, they didn’t know) they placed it in the trunk of Starsky’s car. As the two detectives got back into the Torino, Hutch threw up his hands in despair.

“You know this doesn’t make sense, Starsk. That life preserver has to be a fake. No way would that have just turned up after all these years! This is crazy time!”

“And the crazy thing is that the Titanic went down in the Atlantic, not the Pacific.  What are we dealing with here, Hutch?  Someone trying to scare us away?”

“Damned if I know, Starsk.  But, this stake-out has been a bust.”

A few minutes later, Simmons and Babcock arrived to replace them. A look between the blond and the brunet signaled wordlessly that they would keep this to themselves for now.  Starsky half believed in spiritual things and the possibility of time passage.  Hutch was more dubious but had to admit that a doomed ship from over 60 years ago, signaling ‘SOS’ on a starless night with a blue moon, had him startled and perplexed.

Both detectives were feeling more than a little unsettled. Hutch glanced across at his partner who was hunched over the steering wheel, staring into the dark night.

“Hey, it’s late and I don’t feel like sleeping. Why don’t we go to Huggy’s for a beer?”

Starsky gave him a quick grin.

“Good idea, Ollie, let’s do that!”

**S&HS&H**

Captain Conrad knew that he was being well paid to smuggle goods into the coves around Bay City. He suspected What those goods were, but didn’t know for sure. Usually he kept well clear of the armed guard that accompanied the goods, but when one of those men made the monumental mistake of throwing his prized possession into the sea, he went ballistic. His own crew knew better than to touch the original life preserver from the Titanic. These out of town landlubbers didn’t.

The guards had been fooling around and decided to use his life preserver as target practice. Captain Conrad arrived on deck too late to stop them throwing it into the ocean. The life preserver was a family heirloom, held onto as a reminder that his grandmother had been one of the few saved from the disaster. It had also sparked in Conrad a lifelong interest in the Titanic.

To see his prized possession thrown overboard was too much. Conrad rounded on the startled men and berated them soundly. They didn’t react immediately as they were so shocked, but soon guns were drawn. Conrad’s own crew had to step in and pull him away for fear that their Captain would be shot and thrown overboard along with his life preserver.

As he calmed down in his cabin, Conrad started to rethink the venture he was involved in.

**S&HS&H**

At The Pits, the lanky bar owner leaned on the counter of the bar and surveyed the two weary detectives perched on bar stools, sipping on their beers.

“So, what brings you two sad-looking individuals to my bar this late at night?” he asked.

Hutch sighed. “Honestly, Huggy, I feel that we’ve been in the twilight zone tonight. Weird things have been happening at sea.”

Huggy leaned forward.

“Uh huh, you ain’t the only one that’s seen weird lights out there….”

Starsky tried to look nonchalant as he asked, “Anybody ever mention the word Titanic alongside those sightings?”

Huggy stared at him for a long moment and then chuckled, “You really had me going. Good one.”

Hutch took a slug of his beer and unconsciously reached a hand out for one of Starsky’s non-existent French fries.

“Um…the thing is, Hug, and this is not for public knowledge, we’re not joking about the boat. You have no idea how much I wish we were.”

Starsky looked at Hutch and Hutch just nodded his OK.

“Huggy, we found a life preserver from the Titanic on our stake-out last night. It washed ashore next to the pier.” Huggy just stared bug eyed at him. “But you can’t say anything about it…not yet. We’ve got to figure out if it has something to do with the flashing lights and disappearing boat we saw.”

Huggy nodded, reached under the bar, and poured each of them a shot of whiskey.

“Drink up,” the barkeep told the duo. “Let me check with my sources and see if there’s anything goin’ down with those lights on the water. I’m sure we can’t be the only ones noticing ‘em.”

Huggy added another shot glass to the two drained ones already on the bar top, pouring a shot of whiskey in each.

Starsky said, before downing his shot, “Don’t forget, mums the word on the life vest.”

Two hours later, close to closing time, Huggy sidled back to the table. “Catch this Blondie, Curly. Not a peep on the street about a liner-sized boat with flashing lights. BUT, my brothers, there IS talk about some primo heroin just coming onto the market. They’re saying that horse this good only comes along,” his voice lowered even more, “once in a blue moon.”

**S&HS&H**

The following morning, both detectives, feeling more than a little bit hung over, were back in the squad room, trying to piece together the information that they had picked up from Huggy Bear. Hutch eased himself up from his desk and walked over to the coffee machine.

Grimacing as he watched the brown sludge trickling into his cup, he commented, “We need to talk to Dobey about the info we got from Huggy. Something big is going down and we need to find out what the hell is going on.”

When he received no answer from Starsky, he turned and saw a clump of dark curls resting on the desk. Gentle snores issued from his sleeping partner.

Meanwhile, Captain Harold Dobey was sitting behind his desk perusing the reports his detectives completed on the previous day. Hutch knocked on the door and waited for the gruff command to enter.

He peeked his head in. “Cap’n, do you have time later this morning to discuss the stakeout you assigned to Starsky and me? We want to update you on what we observed and info we obtained from a reliable source.”

The phone on the Captain’s desk rang.

“Dobey!” the Captain answered. Placing his hand over the mouthpiece, he mouthed to Hutch, “Commissioner, we’ll talk later.”

As Hutch exited the captain’s office, he closed the door and kicked his sleeping partner’s chair to rouse him.

“Whadya do that for?” came the indignant question. “I was in the middle of a nice, steamy dream.”

“Well you’ll have to pick it up later tonight. As soon as Dobey is off the phone, we need to tell him what we saw and what we learned from Huggy,” the blond replied. “And do we tell him about the life preserver or keep it to ourselves for now?”

Starsky pondered the question but, before he could answer, the office door opened and their commanding officer bellowed, “Starsky! Hutchinson! Get in here now!”

The two detectives winced. Dobey’s voice did nothing to soothe their aching heads. However, they quickly moved through to his office.

“Well, what did you see last night? What new information do you have?” their Captain demanded.

As Hutch lowered his long frame into a chair, Starsky slumped down into the chair opposite, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Dobey looked suspiciously at him.

“Didn’t you get any sleep last night Starsky? You finished your shift early enough!”

Starsky just shrugged and sank down deeper.

“Ah well, Captain,” began Hutch. “Last night we saw lights out at sea that looked suspect. From contacting one of our reliable sources, it appears that we are not the only ones who have seen them.”

Dobey leaned forward in his chair.

“Well? …..carry on…”

“Well, this reliable…” started Hutch again.

“Can it, Hutchinson. We all know you’re talking about Huggy,” blustered their Captain.

“Well,” Hutch continued, “Huggy says word on the street is that a huge drug delivery is expected within the next week. He doesn’t know who’s behind it, but it’s expected to arrive by sea.”

Starsky continued the story. “We’re thinking the flashing lights we saw were some kinda code signaling someone on shore.”

“Well, Babcock and Simmons didn’t see anything. There’ll be another team keeping watch tonight. See what you can find out. Shake some trees if you have to. I’ll contact our friends in Narcotics and see what they know. Go on, get to it!”

Both detectives stood up quickly and headed back into the squad room. Hutch poured another cup of muddy coffee, made a gargoyle of a face, and sat down. He pulled a thick book from one of the shelves in the squad room and started flipping through it. Starsky reached for Hutch’s coffee cup, looked inside, and thought better of it.

“I’m gonna make a cafeteria raid,” Starsky said, putting the cup down with a grimace.  “If anyone ever needed a jelly doughnut or six, it’s me at this moment. And I’ll get something for you too. Ya need it!  Readin’ that photo book of heavy duty drug offenders and don’t even know if there ARE offenders and certainly not what they look like.”

“And yet I’m the brains of this twosome,” responded Hutch quietly. He stabbed the Hutchinson Finger at a picture and shoved the book at his friend. Starsky stared in awe and read, under a grainy picture of a thuggish face, the name of Roscoe ‘Titanic’ Tolliver.

“Ya know who might be helpful in giving up some hints on Titanic memorabilia?” Hutch said, while snapping his fingers.

Starsky gave him a blank look.

“The Commodore!” replied Hutch.

They both grabbed their jackets and headed out of the squad room.

**S&HS&H**

After being admitted to his office, they shook hands with the Commodore Hutch got straight to the point.

“Sir, we wondered if you might have heard of anyone around here who is interested in collecting artifacts from the Titanic?”

A look of sorrow passed over the Commodore’s face and he muttered, “Terrible tragedy.”

He sat down at his desk and indicated the two detectives should sit as well.

“From time to time, I hear of auctions where items go for thousands of dollars. The Titanic still has a hold over people’s hearts and imaginations.”

“Yes, sir, it does,” Hutch agreed.

“Anybody in the local area particularly enthralled?” Starsky asked.

The Commodore thought then answered slowly, “There are a couple of fellow mariners who are happy to sit and talk about the Titanic at length. Captain Rayburn. Well, I believe he might be a collector as well. He has a large schooner moored in the marina from time to time. The other man is Captain Conrad and he has a smaller ship.  You know, I believe he might actually be related to someone who survived the disaster.”

Starsky and Hutch exchanged looks.

“I hope I’ve been helpful?”

“Very. Thank you, sir,” they replied in unison

The detectives headed toward the door, waving a final goodbye to the Commodore. Once outside, Hutch stopped and took a deep breath of sea air, reminiscing on his days as a Sea Scout. Starsky continued walking towards the Torino, rolling his eyes until they were in the back of his head.

“Come on, Hutch, we got work to do.”

Hutch came back down to earth, hurried to catch up and got into the car with Starsky.

“Back to The Pits?” asked Hutch.

“Yeah, we’ll see if Huggy has at least heard of these guys the Commodore mentioned. B’sides, I’m hungry.”

“When are you NOT hungry?” Hutch asked.

**S&HS&H**

They entered The Pits where they caught Huggy’s attention and sat down at the bar.

“What it is, my men? What brings Bay City’s finest to my establishment so early in the day?”

“Food and hopefully some answers, Hug,” replied Starsky.

Huggy brought over two cups of coffee and placed an order for two specials with his chef.

“Hug, ever heard of a guy named Conrad or Rayburn?” Hutch asked. “Supposed to be a couple of Captains interested in collecting Titanic artifacts.”

Huggy shook his head but said he’d put his feelers out and to check in with him in a couple of hours. Their food was placed in front of them, and Huggy went to the phone to make his calls.

“Do you think Rafferty and O’Brien might fancy some Titanic memorabilia?” Hutch pondered.

“Not sure ‘bout that, but I do know they wouldn’t mind getting in on a good shipment of smack,” replied Starsky.

**S&HS&H**

The partners started back to the station, wanting to get started on breathing life back into their cover personalities. Starsky had decided to get shoes that were more comfortable this time, the originals just got in the way.

Each man picked up a phone on their respective desks and got to work.

“Hey, Huggy. Can you check the streets and see what the word is on Rafferty and O’Brien? Are they supposedly in jail or recently released?” Starsky queried.

Meanwhile, Hutch was asking Minnie about the status of Starsky’s and his cover when they took down Danner a few years back. About an hour later, Minnie popped into the squad room.

“According to the updates to your undercover files over the years. Rafferty & O’Brien have been back on the streets for about 6 months,” she informed them.

Minnie walked up to Starsky and did a little flirting with her ‘trashy boy.’ With a swish of her hair, she asked him when he was going to make an honest woman of her. Starsky choked on his coffee that spluttered over the paperwork Hutch was working on. After giving Starsky a reprimand with his pointing finger, Hutch turned to Minnie

“Minnie, we owe you,” he said, as she headed out of the squad room with a backwards wave.

Starsky was indignant and could hear Minnie laughing all the way down the hall.

Ignoring Starsky’s indignation, Hutch suggested, “Gordo, let’s grab lunch at The Pits and see what the proprietor of that fine establishment has dug up.”

“Sounds good! I was starting to get hungry.”

“As I’ve said many times before, when are you not hungry?!” Hutch replied, as he and Starsky grabbed their jackets and headed out the door.

**S&HS&H**

Huggy had no further news at that point. After eating, they went back to Hutch’s place to get ready and wait for Huggy’s call.

It wasn’t long before they heard from their friend. It seemed that Captain Conrad, owner operator of a small sloop named Little Titan, was spending a lot more money lately. He also showed up on the docks just before a new load of heroin appeared in the city.

Hutch looked at his partner, “We don’t have anything to tie Conrad in with the heroin yet. How do you want to play this?”

While they were still planning their next move, the phone rang again.

“Hello?”

“Hutch, my man, a dude who knows a dude who knows a dude heard that a guy named Roscoe has been hired to bring in drugs for the Mendoza brothers. They’re looking to expand their business in Bay City.”

“Huggy, can you pass along a message that Rafferty and O’Brian want to get in on a piece of the action?”

“Already done, compadre.”

“Thanks Huggy. Don’t know what we’d do without you.”

“Hmm. Does this mean you’ll pay your bar tabs?”

“End of the month, I promise.”

“Huh.”

Hutch put the phone down and filled his partner in.

**S&HS&H**

Starsky and Hutch decided to pay a visit to the local marina to see if the sloop, the Little Titan, happened to be moored there. They called in at the harbor office and were pointed in the direction of the third dock. Soon they were walking along dock when the object of their interest came clearly into sight. All appeared quiet on board.

They peered at the entrance to the cabin and called out a greeting. There heard movement within and a man’s head appeared. He quickly came out onto the deck.

“Yes? What can I do for you?”

The two detectives identified themselves and then Hutch asked, “Are you Captain Conrad?”

“I am.”

“We’ve been investigating some unusual activity happening around the docks over the last few weeks. We understand that your boat has been seen in the vicinity. Just wondered if you’d seen anything unusual yourself?”

“Well, I can’t say that I’ve noticed anything unusual.”

“No weird lights out at sea?” Starsky inquired, trying to see if the question made the captain uncomfortable.

“No, I haven’t seen any unusual lights.”

“Did you see the blue moon the other night?” Starsky asked. “It was downright spooky. I bet sailors have lots of tales about ghost ships?”

Captain Conrad looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “Ah, there are always tall tales being told by mariners.”

“Any of them have to do with the Titanic?” Hutch asked.

That question seemed to send a jolt of something through the Captain’s frame. He looked out to sea. “My grandmother survived the Titanic disaster.”

“Wow!” Starsky said. “Did she manage to hold onto anything from the Titanic? I hear some people still have blankets with the Titanic name on. Or objects like life preservers.”

Captain Conrad turned back to them and said, “You had better come aboard. I think there’s something we need to discuss.”

Warily, the two detectives climbed on board and followed the captain down into the cabin. They sat down in the confined space.

“Have you found my life preserver?” Captain Conrad asked, without prevarication.

“We may have,” Hutch said.

“What are the chances of me getting it back if I fully cooperate in your investigation?”

“That might be possible,” Starsky replied. “Depends on what you tell us and what your part in it was.”

Captain Conrad sighed. “I assume I will be looking at some jail time but I’m fully prepared for that. I should never have taken the money. It was too much for such an easy job. I didn’t ask what the cargo was that I was being asked to sneak in. But I’m guessing now that it is drugs or arms related.”

“Drugs,” Starsky confirmed.

Conrad sighed again. “Very well…I can give you the dates and times of when I dropped cargo off at the small cove known as Dragon’s Bay. I always had the same two guards with me so I can identify them for you. I’m afraid I can’t help with the next drop off. After they threw my life preserver into the ocean, I told them to find another boat to do their work.”

Starsky and Hutch looked at each other and then nodded in agreement.

Hutch spoke: “You give us as much help as you can. Tell us everything, every little detail and we’ll put in a good word with the DA. Plus we’ll make sure your family gets the life preserver back.”

“Thank you. I know that’s more than I deserve for my stupidity.”

**S&HS&H**

Knowing that it would be difficult to find out where the next shipment would be coming in and who was bringing it, Starsky and Hutch knew that it was absolutely imperative that they get in on the action on the current deal. They hoped Huggy’s request for Roscoe to meet them would bear fruit.

They didn’t have to wait long Two days later the call came through from Huggy. A meet had been set up. Huggy’s contact said that Roscoe was curious as to why Rafferty and O’Brien were trying to get in on the deal and interested to see how much they would be willing to pay. He wasn’t above working for two different groups wanting to buy heroin from him. Supply and demand was the name of the game. Hutton’s Warehouse by the docks was chosen as the venue. The time? Friday at 3pm.

On Friday, Starsky and Hutch arrived at Hutton’s Warehouse at 2:45pm.  Starsky was driving one of Huggy’s cousins’ cars, a cherry red Jag convertible. It was the perfect car for the personas of Rafferty and O’Brien. Starsky entered the parking lot and they slowly cruised the circumference of the warehouse, taking in all windows, doors and possible escape routes. Anything that might put them at a disadvantage. They were a bit early, but something didn’t feel right. They both had that gut instinct that put them on alert.

Hutch adjusted his cowboy hat as he eased his lanky frame out of the car. He looked his partner up and down.

“Well, Starsk, you’ve got it down pat.”

Starsky gave him a perplexed look.

“What?” he asked, surveying the warehouse.

“The ‘Pimp’ look,” remarked Hutch, as they walked towards the building.

Starsky scowled. “Okay, Charlie McCabe. You could pass as a midnight cowboy in that outfit!”

Hutch gave the curly haired detective a withering look as they pushed open the warehouse door.

Once inside, it took their eyes some seconds to adjust to the gloominess. A few hundred yards away, they could make out a couple of figures in a small amount of light. They headed towards the meeting, warily, every sense aware of their surroundings. As they got closer, they recognized Roscoe from his mug shot. His photo didn’t do him justice. He was a bull of a man. Starsky and Hutch exchanged quick looks before introducing themselves as Rafferty and O’Brien.

Seconds later, two more thugs emerged from their hiding places behind Starsky and Hutch, guns trained on them.  They moved forward and frisked Rafferty and O’Brien, removing their guns from their holsters.  The guns were placed on top of a crate by the door, with advice that the detectives could pick their weapons up on their way out.

Roscoe spoke. “Now gentlemen, I understand you’re interested in doing business with me. I already have business partners. What have you got to offer that might interest me enough to do business with you?”

Roscoe did not even bother to introduce the men with him. He just looked the partners up and down while he waited for their response.

The partners exchanged a glance, then Hutch spoke: “We are in the market for some high-grade product.”

Roscoe nodded slowly and took a menacing step towards them. Starsky started looking around, feeling like they had just walked into a trap. Roscoe smiled. It was not a pretty smile.

“I don’t think I like you. How did you hear about what I got or don’t got?”

Hutch did not smile back. He looked at Roscoe intently.

“We are looking to buy and buy a lot. If you aren’t selling, we will just find someone who is.”

It was then Starsky saw it. A glint coming from the balcony around the top of the room that could only be a gun barrel. He shoved Hutch to the side and into the crates their guns were on. As the guns fell, Hutch grabbed them and tossed Starsky’s to him.

Starsky saw Roscoe back-pedaling and knew it was a trap. He shot towards where he had seen the glint in the balcony just as a shot came from that direction. He felt the bullet enter his thigh and heard the powerful report from Hutch’s gun at the same time. The man on the balcony fell to the floor. If Hutch’s bullet had not killed him, the fall was sure to have.

He was still trying to fire towards Roscoe’s position as Hutch was trying to drag him to cover. Once safely behind some crates, Hutch checked Starsky’s leg, as Starsky kept watch.

“This is going to be a problem Starsk. There’s no exit. The bullet’s still in there.”

Starsky winced. “Yeah, I don’t suppose you told Dobey where we were going?”

Hutch shook his head. This was supposed to just be an introductory meeting. They hadn’t thought they would need back-up. The only one who knew where they were was Huggy. They didn’t know how many they were up against, and his partner was losing blood fast.

“I am hoping Huggy figures out something is wrong quickly. He can tell Dobey where we are.”

**S&HS&H**

The Pits was bustling with the late lunch/early dinner crowd. Huggy was doing his best to keep up with his customers. He was carrying a tray full of drinks to a table in the back when he stopped suddenly, a feeling of fear and dread washing over him. Instinctively, he knew something was wrong with his friends and he had to call Dobey. Giving the tray to the nearest waitress, Huggy ran to the phone, his hands shaking as he dialed the precinct.

Minnie was in Dobey’s office when his phone rang. Normally, she wouldn’t have answered, but a feeling inside told her this was important. Hesitantly, she picked up the receiver and heard the scared voice of Huggy on the other side.

“Captain Dobey, something’s wrong with Starsky & Hutch! I just know it. You gotta send help quick!”

“Huggy,” Minnie replied, “The Captain’s not here. He’s meeting with the Chief! Tell me where they are and I’ll get word to him right now!”

Minnie wrote the warehouse address down and ran out of Dobey’s office, raced up the two flights of stairs and burst into the Chief’s office.

“Captain Dobey,” she called breathlessly. “Hutch and Starsky, they are in trouble! Huggy just called and gave me this address. He said they went there to meet up with Roscoe Tolliver about a drug buy. We’ve got to get to them now!”

Taking the paper from Minnie, Dobey grabbed the Chief’s phone and put out the word for all units to head in that direction – lights only, no sirens.

“Captain,” Minnie called out, “Let the units know that Starsky and Hutch are undercover as Rafferty and O’Brien.”

After relaying that information, Dobey excused himself from the Chief with plans to head to the warehouse himself. On the way out, he saw the look of fear on Minnie’s face and made a split-second decision.

“Officer,” he called, looking straight at Minnie. “Get your gear. You’re coming with me to the warehouse. We’re going to make sure our guys are safe.”

With lights only, Dobey, Minnie, Simmons, Babcock and the uniformed teams arrived at the edge of the warehouse. From inside, they heard the sound of gun fire. Dobey indicated to the uniformed officers to cover the back. He sent Simmons and Babcock to enter the front. He and Minnie would take the side door.

Roscoe signaled to two of his officers to get around behind the trapped detectives. As they reached a position where they could just about see enough of them to take aim and shoot, doors on different sides of the building burst open with the shout. “Police! Drop your weapons!”

The two men nearest Starsky and Hutch were in direct line of sight of Dobey and Minnie. With looks of surprise and anger, they dropped their weapons and put their hands up. Dobey kicked their guns away and covered them with his weapon while Minnie handcuffed one. Hutch left Starsky’s side briefly to handcuff the other. Then he was back putting pressure on Starsky’s wound.

“Ambulance is on the way, honey,” Minnie reassured her fallen colleague.

She took the belt from the waist of her uniform and handed it to Hutch who wrapped it tightly round his partner’s leg to stop the bleeding.

“How you doin’, champ?” he asked the wounded detective.

Starsky grimaced. “Oh, just fine and dandy. Hey, did we get the bad guys?”

The wail of an ambulance siren could be heard approaching the warehouse. Hutch gave a little smile.

“Yeah, buddy. We got them.”

The boxes and bundles piled carelessly around the warehouse indicated a drug bonanza.  But Hutch ignored them as the ambulance arrived and he yelled at the technicians to rush to Starsky.  Dobey, Minnie and other arriving officers began investigating the booty as soon as they knew that Starsky was stabilized.

There were identifying labels stuck on the drugs – ‘Captain Smith,’ ‘Ismay,’ ‘Lightoller,’ ‘John Jacob Astor,’ ‘Molly Brown,’ which were all names of people associated with the original Titanic.  Clearly, Roscoe was as obsessed with the story of the Titanic as they had been told.

Hutch rode with Starsky in the ambulance.  The flashing red of its beacon shone eerily against the darkening sky. The faint blue moon was just rising.

The ambulance carrying a wounded Starsky arrived at Memorial Hospital with Hutch by his side. A team was waiting to whisk him into the emergency room. After a quick check of his vitals and peek at his wound, Starsky was then prepped for surgery. As he was being wheeled to a waiting operating room, Dr. Franklin stopped to speak with Hutch.

“As always, Detective Hutchinson, you both must have guardian angels looking out for you. What could have been a serious injury appears to not be as bad as it could have been. I’ll know more once your partner is on the table, but it looks like just a nicked artery.”

“Thanks Doc, please take good care of him,” Hutch said, as the doctor hurried after his patient.

While waiting for word on when Starsky was out of surgery, Hutch’s friends and co-workers slowly started arriving. First Huggy, followed by Simmons and Babcock and lastly Captain Dobey and Minnie. Shortly after Dobey and Minnie’s arrival, Dr. Franklin and a nurse appeared with an update.

“Just as I predicted,” the doctor started, “there was a nicked artery which was repaired and the bullet was removed. Detective Starsky will be staying here for a few days and back to his usual routine within two weeks or so, if he follows orders.”

“Thanks Doc,” Hutch said, while shaking the doctor’s hand. “You don’t know how relieved we are to hear it was nothing too serious.”

“I just hope it’s a long while before I see either of you in my hospital again unless you’re here for someone other than yourselves.”

The doctor smiled warmly at Hutch, nodded to the rest of the group and left.

With Starsky out of danger and in recovery, the group of officers and friends were told they could visit their friend in about two hours. As it was already morning, the nurse suggested the hospital cafeteria as a waiting place and that she’d be sure to come get them when Starsky was in a room. They all agreed they could use a bite to eat and drink.

After eating and waiting for time to pass, Dobey tore into Hutch with: “What have I told you about having private parties?”

“No private parties,” Hutch said sullenly. “To be fair, Captain, it was just supposed to be an introductory meeting.”

“Hmm. And you,” Dobey said, turning to Minnie. “Just how did you know Starsky and Hutchinson were undercover as Rafferty and O’Brien?”

“Well,” Minnie stammered, “I-”

“Spit it out, I don’t have all day,” Dobey demanded.

“Hutch asked me to check Rafferty and O’Brien’s status in the system. Were they released, still in prison, exactly where they were supposed to be? That’s how I knew that they were thinking of going undercover.”

Dobey then turned to Huggy.

“And I guess you set up ‘the party’?” he said, using air quotes.

“I just supplied information to the right people. I had nuthin’ to do with setting up ‘the party,'” Huggy stated.

Before Dobey could question Babcock and Simmons, Babcock replied, “We didn’t know about any of this until you grabbed us for back-up to go to the warehouse!”

**S&HS&H**

A couple of hours later, Starsky was admitted to his room and the doctor gave everyone permission to visit him for just a bit.  He knew this group well enough that that would be the only we he could get them all out of his hospital and that his patient could get some rest

Dobey, meanwhile, was still fuming and fussing about the whole operation and how he should have been informed of what was going on from the start.  The group knew Dobey was right and acting out of concern for his officers. Still, it was starting to wear a bit thin.

“Cap!” Starsky exclaimed. “Give ‘em all a break, huh? They didn’t know anything ‘cause, like my partner said, we didn’t know that this was going to be anything more than an introductory meeting. We didn’t know it was going to go wrong.”

“It always seems to go wrong with you two!” Dobey pointed out, with a grimace.

“That’s hardly our fault, Captain,” Hutch said.

“Yeah, we can’t control the universe,” Starsky pointed out.

Dobey rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, Cap, how’s the case looking? We got the suppliers but can they be linked to the Mendoza brothers?”

Dobey wiped his face with his handkerchief as everyone waited for the update.

“With Conrad’s testimony, we’ve got a watertight case against Roscoe and his goons. We’ll be putting pressure on Roscoe to give up the Mendoza brothers. I think he might. He’ll want to bargain for a shorter jail sentence.”

“What about the life preserver? Can Conrad’s family get that back soon?” Hutch asked.

“Yes,” Dobey said. “It’s irrelevant to the case. We’ll make sure it gets back to them.”

Hutch noticed his partner was starting to look a little sleepy.

“Hey, everyone, I think Starsky needs to get some rest,” Hutch said, gently encouraging his colleagues to leave.

They all wished Starsky a speedy recovery and then left. Hutch dragged the single chair over to Starsky’s bedside and settled in for the night.

“You can go home and get some rest, ya know,” Starsky said, with a yawn. “I ain’t going anywhere.”

Hutch nodded but said, “And I’m not going anywhere for a while either.”

Starsky acknowledged Hutch’s decision to stay by his side with a look and a nod and then settled down to get some much needed, healing sleep.

As Hutch sat and watched his partner dose off, he said a small prayer of thanks that his partner was alive and mostly in one piece. As the doctor had said, they must have a guardian angel somewhere. Or maybe it was Huggy, Minnie and Dobey that fulfilled that role?

That night, Hutch was still there by Starsky’s side. As the blond gazed through the window while his partner slept some more, he saw a new moon rising – and it was no longer blue.