The Bookmark

Jaw clenched, Starsky leaned into Hutch’s old heap and began to dig through the mess in the back seat.

He unearthed a few serviceable items. It was an oddball assortment: a flannel shirt, a battered paperback, a flashlight that actually worked. Starsky was startled to find a horseshoe, of all things, and gave a short huff of unamused laughter at the irony.

Everything was covered in dirt. As Starsky tried to shake it off, a piece of paper fell out of the book. He picked it up and stopped short at the familiar faces.

It was a strip of photo booth pictures, of him and Hutch. They’d been goofing around, hanging all over each other, and mugging for the camera. About what you’d expect… until you got to the end.

Starsky smiled fondly and ran his thumb over the last shot. That kiss—yeah, they sure hadn’t been expecting that. But after it happened, Starsky wondered why they’d waited so long.

“You done in there, Starsky?”

Starsky tucked the photo strip into his pocket, grabbed the other items he’d salvaged, and backed out of the car. “I think so. Thanks, Chuck.”

The department mechanic nodded. “Sure. A complete write-off, obviously, but I thought you’d want to see it.”

“I did, yeah.”

“Find anything in there worth saving?”

“A few things.”

The most important one, of course, had been carefully extracted days ago and was currently recuperating at Memorial, thank God. Starsky laid a hand on the car’s battered frame.

“We had a helluva time hauling it out of the canyon. Look at it. Honestly, I’m kinda amazed that Hutch—” Chuck faltered, then went on, “I mean, I’m glad Hutch is doing okay. He’s something, huh?”

Starsky grinned. “He sure is.”

“Hey, maybe now you can talk him into getting something more snazzy.”

At that, Starsky laughed. It felt good, really good.

“I don’t think so, man. In fact, if you hear of another hunk-a-junk that looks like this one, let me know, will you?” At Chuck’s disbelieving expression, Starsky assured him, “I’m serious. That’ll make Hutch the happiest, I swear. In the meantime, I’m gonna return this to him.” He waved the book in farewell and headed for the Torino.

The bookmark would make Hutch pretty happy, too. Starsky patted his pocket. Maybe, if he was lucky, they’d get a chance between the nurses’ rounds to recreate that last picture.