Fuzzy Around the Edges

Maybe there’s something to that biorhythm thing Hutch and Huggy keep going on about. I mean, I spent a lot of time with Monique, but it never occurred to me that she could be the murderer. Or that she was even capable of that kind of murderous rage. I really believed she had a jealous stalker. I thought she was a nice woman just caught up in a bad situation.

Hell, I thought she had the hots for me.

Triple-zero phase, alright.

It was only at the end that her story went a little hinky. That’s when I got suspicious, but it was too late by then. I let her drug me, great cop that I am. If it wasn’t for Hutch…

I turn my head to look at my partner. His face is all blurry, but I can feel his arm around me, his body as he keeps me sitting upright, more or less.

Sittin’ up here, wondering why

“Hutsh?”

“Yeah?”

“Smthin’ in th’ tea.”

My mouth isn’t working so good, but Hutch understands me.

“I know. We’re gonna find out what she gave you and get you fixed up, okay?”

“Shh calloo?”

“What? No, she didn’t call me.”

I squint up at him, trying to focus.

The blue out there, the sun and the sky

Oh, right. I told her to call Hutch, but she didn’t do that. Tried to kill me instead.

“Howwdjuu–”

My head lolls over, I think, ’cause all of a sudden Hutch’s hands are on my face.

“Starsky. Stay with me.”

“Mmmm ‘k.”

It’s nice, not to have to hold my head up. Hutch can do it for me. Nice hands. All I have to do is stay with him. Easiest thing in the world.

“Starsk, open your eyes.”

That’s less easy, but I manage to do it. One of ’em, anyway.

Lookin’ at all you, the people way down there

“Howwdjuu gedeer?”

“The lab results. Found out the samples were from a woman and worked it out from there.”

Aw, that’s my Hutch. Second best cop in the department.

Now I feel bad, though. He was working overtime, and here I was, sleeping on the job. Not on purpose, but still.

Shit. No more fucking tea, ever.

“Alright, Starsky. The paramedics are here to take care of you.”

Then other hands start touching me, poking and prodding, shining lights in my eyeballs. Which is the opposite of fixing me up, it makes them even blurrier than they already were. I shut them and try to listen for Hutch, but now my ears are kinda blurry, too. It’s getting harder and harder to concentrate. I hear him talking to somebody about Monique. Dobey?

“Starsk? Taking you to the hospital now— Whoa, take it easy.”

My arms don’t work any better than the rest of me, but Hutch, he knows.

“Calm down. Don’t worry, I’m going with you.”

Okay—first best cop in the department.

“Hutshh?”

I want to tell him, for the record, that I hadn’t been into Monique. In case he was wondering.

“Yeah?”

“Wassn… innmmoniqk.”

“You… oh, Monique. Yeah, I get it. She was just the assignment. Just another day at the office.”

He sounds tired. And blurry.

I want to tell him something else, for the record. Just in case…

“Hussh? Immnnnouu.”

“What?”

“Immmmnnnouu. Lubbbuuuuuu—”

“Shh. Don’t try to talk. You’re going to feel better real soon, partner. Relax.”

I give up. Fucking tea. Fucking triple-zero phase. I let the blur wash over me; its waves, cold and dark.

Playin’ in the water, the sun and the sea
And I say
It’s just another day