This story was written purely for entertainment and is not for profit, and is not meant to trespass in any way on the holders of the rights to Starsky and Hutch.

 

All my thanks to Tonya Dotson and Donna Engle for all her help correcting this story

 

 

His little sister was sleeping peacefully in the other bed. Tony was terrified…. a simple, silly joke, with teenagers having some fun, would turn his life into a hell.  All right, he made a mistake. A silly mistake, but with the wrong person, at the wrong place, at the wrong time. A mistake…. Just a mistake.  

 

Despite all the awful things he had seen over the years on the force, the vision of a young body, laying in a gym shower where he bleed to death from two cut wrists, was the worst view of all.

 

“Jesus…he was just a kid…fifteen years old.” Starsky whispered more to himself than to his partner.

 

Feeling his stomach revolting, Hutch dismissed himself with a wave of his hand. The lab guys carried the corpse away from the crime scene on a gurney.  The victim: Tony Savelli, fifteen years old.

 

“Did he leave a note or letter?” Hutch asked the guy from the crime lab. Hutch then asked a rookie who still stared at the blood in the shower.

 

“Nothing detective Hutchinson. We looked for one in his locker and there wasn’t anything. If he left something that explained this, it wasn’t at the school.”

 

 

“Maybe at his home, in his bedroom.” Starsky suggested.

 

“Parents?”

 

“Yeah, detective… father only, the school called him already.  Oh, about the weapon, it could be a knife but there was not one found when the first cops arrived.”

 

“Thanks, Frank, We appreciated your help.” Hutch smiled friendly, moving away from the young officer.

 

“If he cut himself, where did he leave the knife? There’s no blood anywhere but in the shower and if he had walked until got there, bleeding like hell, the floor would have been a mess, not just where he ended up.” Starsky argued.

 

“Yeah, good point Starsk.”   Hutch pointed to a janitor, the man was staring out the window still holding his broom.

 

“Good evening sir, I’m detective Ken Hutchinson and this is my partner David Starsky. We are here on the Tony Savelli’s case. We need to ask you some questions.”

 

“Sure, if I can help.” He answered, trembling slightly and looking scared.

 

“I’m sure you can. What’s your name sir? “Hutch asked politely.

 

“Roy, Roy Nolan.”

 

“Roy, when did you find Tony’s body and can you described exactly what happened?” Starsky asked.

 

“It’s really simple, I was cleaning the gym as I always do at this time, before the close of school, when I entered the showers and saw his body and all that blood. I ran to call for help and to call Mr. Whiston.”

 

“Mr. Whiston?” Hutch asked.

 

“The director; He wasn’t here at the time.”

 

“Did you see blood in any other part of the gym?” Starsky asked.

 

“No, he must have cut himself there…in the shower.” The man looked sadly to the ground. “There’s no chance that it could have been an accident?”  Obviously, the poor man was making a great effort to accept the idea that the kid had not killed himself.

 

“We have to conduct an investigation before we can come to any conclusions about that.” Hutch said as he squeezed Roy’s arms a little.

 

“Are people usually here in the school after the classes have finished?” Starsky asked.

 

“No. When the classes finish, all the students leave and the janitors began their work, and the School is closed.  No one is here after 6 p.m., only the security people.”

 

“The security staff circulates inside the school all the time?” Starsky asked.

 

“Yes, but not during the cleaning time.”

 

“What time did you find his body?” Hutch asked.

 

“I was at the beginning of my shift, it was around 4 p.m., probably.”

 

“Did you know Tony?”

 

“Yeah. He was polite and good-natured but I’ve heard that he didn’t like to study too much. You know, it’s a difficult period in their lives.  A lot of hormones, energy, and being here, only reading books are difficult.  Poor boy.”

 

“Roy, did you know if Tony seemed to be sad or depressed lately?” Hutch asked.

 

“Did you notice if he was having trouble with the other guys… fights and stuff like that?” Starsky asked.

 

“No, not that I noticed, but he didn’t talk much with me you know.”

 

“I suppose that you must be the detectives in charge of the case.” A strong voice startled them.  Turning theirs heads, they saw a huge man with gray hair standing a few steps behind them. In his sixties, he was wearing expensive clothes.

 

“My name is Edgar Whiston, the director of  St. Thomas High school.” He shook hands with both detectives.

 

“I hope Roy could assist you with this terrible incident here.”

 

“I’m Detective Starsky, this is detective Hutchinson sir, and yes he was really nice and helpful to us.”

 

“Ok Roy, you can finish your job. This kid did a terrible thing to himself, but this school will be open tomorrow and I need everything tidy and clean as always.”

 

Looking at both detectives, Roy nodded his head and left. “Roy, stick around just in case we need to talk to you again, we aren’t finished with our investigation yet.” Starsky informed the janitor, looking a little annoyed at the Director due to the sudden interruption.

 

“Roy has been working here for years detective, he’ll be here anytime you want.” Whiston said cordially.

 

“Mr. Whiston, what time did you leave the school today?”

 

“About 4 p.m. I guess. Everyday I wait until all the students leave and the cleaning staff start their jobs, then I go home. I live just a block away from here. I don’t even need a car.”

 

“Was Tony Savelli having problems in school?” Hutch asked.

 

“Let’s go to my office sirs, we’ll feel more comfortable and we can have more privacy.”

 

They walked in silence for a few minutes, and then they entered a large and dark room.  After turning on the lights, Whiston sat behind his huge and heavy desk. The two detectives sat on the available chairs.

 

“Now, about your last question detective Hutchinson, what kind of problems are you talking about?”

 

“I don’t know, anything that could make a young boy like Tony want to kill himself or make someone want to kill him.”  Hutch said.

 

“Oh, I see. I didn’t know that the police were working on any other theory than suicide.  Well, Tony wasn’t a brilliant student, sometimes he acted a little wild I mean. He had a quick temper, but nothing too serious. His grades were just ok. As I said, not brilliant. Unfortunately, he didn’t give importance to the fact that he was given a chance to study at one of the most important schools in Bay City. He had the chance to get to be an honorable man.”

 

“Do you know if he had been having problems at home?” Hutch asked.

 

“No, he never talked about it, but this would not surprise me. Unfortunately, the family is a failed institution nowadays. He lost his mother a few years ago, they were very close and he misses her, despite his father’s best efforts to give him a good education.”

 

“His father works in a liquor store and this school isn’t cheap, how does his father cover the expenses?” Starsky asked.

 

“Detective Starsky, I will give you Tony Savelli’s records, here.”  He put a folder in Starsky’s hands. “ As you can see, Antony Savelli had a scholarship. It was a gift from Mr. Stevens, the owner of the liquor store where Tony’s father has worked for years. Mr. Stevens is a very generous man.”

 

Starsky read the folder with great attention and gave it to Hutch to read too.

 

“In this file, it said that his best grades were in English and he was part of the school newspaper, is that correct?” Starsky asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

“What kind of paper was it?” Starsky insisted.

 

“Oh, nothing important, kid’s things. They like to play journalist, news about parties, school Olympic Game’s reports, things like that.”

 

“He worked on this paper alone?”

 

“No, detective Hutchinson, he usually worked with his friend, Brian Anderson.”

 

“We would like to talk with this boy, Brian. Maybe he knew something that was bothering his friend.”

 

“Of course.” He smiled.

 

“Well, I think we have everything done here Hutch.” Starsky exchanged a look with his partner.

 

“It was a pleasure detectives, but I don’t understand. If it was a suicide, why are you here? What is the investigation for?”

 

“Mr. Whiston, for now we don’t have anything to prove that it was a suicide; all we have is a teenager’s corpse found in the shower of the school under your administration. The fact that the victim had his wrists cut doesn’t prove anything.”

 

“I see, well I’ll be here to help you anytime you want.”

 

Shaking hands, both detectives left Mr. Whiston’s office.

 

Enrico Savelli was a man with a hardened expression. Starsky and Hutchison were met by a young girl with sad eyes who politely asked the detectives to have a seat and wait. A man in his mid fifties entered the small room of the simple apartment.

 

“Detectives, my daughter Laura said that you wanted to talk with me. I’ve already talked with the police today.”

 

“Mr. Savelli, we’re really sorry for your loss but we are in charge of the investigation of your son’s death.”

 

“You mean suicide don’t you?” The man asked Hutch roughly. Laura sat quietly on the sofa beside her father.

 

“Mr. Savelli, as my partner said, we are in charge of the investigation and there’s nothing conclusive about his death. Sure, it seems a suicide but the investigation is still underway.” Starsky explained.

 

“I don’t understand what you have to investigate. My son cut his wrists. He’s dead. He threw away his life, his future. All my efforts to give him a better life, a good education, a chance to be someone, to be an honorable man, to be a winner…gone.”

 

“Mr. Savelli, do you know if Tony was having problems at school, with some friends or here, at home?”  

 

“What are you talking about? Tony had just one thing to do in his life, he had to study. I gave him a home, food and the best school in Bay City and what he did with it? He didn’t have a thing to say against his family. When his mother died, I took care of him and Laura alone. I have been working like a slave and Mr. Stevens was a blessed man to my son, he paid all the expenses. All that Tony had to do was to study and looked at what he did…. killed himself….” He angrily smashed the arm of the couch.  Laura stirred in her seat, visibly nervous.

 

“Did you give him love too?” Starsky’s unexpected question took Hutch by surprise and Laura’s eyes almost fell to the ground.

 

“What?” The man was almost speechless, his dark eyes colder than before.

 

“Love, something that a child needs as a basic thing in his life.” Starsky’s eyes were flashing with the anger at this insensitive man. Hutch just stared at his friend, a little unsure about what to do or say.

 

“I don’t have time to fool with dumb questions. I have a lot of things to take care of. My son just killed himself and I have to take care of his service” Enrico stood up and opened the door without a second thought.

 

“Uh, Mr. Savelli, it will probably be necessary to talk with you and your daughter when a better opportunity arises.”

 

“Leave my daughter out of it. She’s just a child, she doesn’t know anything that could help the police.”

 

Ignoring the last comment made by Mr. Savelli, both detectives headed to the door.

 

“Good night sir and our condolences again for your son.” Hutch smiled at Laura and they both left the apartment.

 

“Where did that come from?” Hutch asked his friend as soon as they got into the Torino.

 

“What?” Starsky asked naïvely, just trying to get a hold of his emotions.

 

“Starsk….”

 

“Hutch, I don’t think that we need to investigate too much. Living with that man would make anyone want to kill himself. What the hell’s wrong with that guy? Living with him must be like living with Hitler or something.”

 

“I can relate to this kid too…education…better life… these words ring any bells for you?” Hutch asked with a sad smile.

 

“Your father.” Starsky whispered.

 

“Yeah. Mr. Savelli is like my father; he doesn’t know how to love. Actually, he thinks that this is the best way to show his love and that’s why he didn’t understand your question and was so upset.” Hutch look outside the window to the building where Tony Savelli had once lived.

 

“I’m sorry Hutch, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.”

 

“It’s ok, but we are cops not psychologists. Where is the Starsky that always reminds me that I can’t be so sentimental, and all the lecturing  you usually give me?”

 

“Ok, I lost control of my emotions and screwed things up.”  Starsky admitted.

 

Both men remained silent.

 

“Hutch, did you notice Laura?”

 

“Yeah, she looked pretty scared.”

 

“Maybe she knows something…you know…maybe Tony talked with her or she could have seen something.”

 

“It’s possible, but we need to talk with her away from her father.”

 

“Yeah, she was terrified, poor child. She will never open her mouth while she is near him.” 

 

“Let’s go Starsk, it’s getting late and we have to talk with Dobey first, then we can call it a night.

 

“Ok.”

 

Capitan Dobey wasn’t in one of his best moods and the fact that the chief had called him to ask that the investigation at St. Thomas School be as discrete as possible didn’t help much.  St. Thomas High school was a little bit remarkable and not a traditional High school in Bay City.  Affluent people from society had their sons studying there. A police investigation there wasn’t a good idea.

 

“What do you have?” Dobey asked.

 

“Not much, a young boy dead in the gym’s shower. Both wrists cut. Bleed to death. No note, no letter, no weapon.” Hutch resumed.

 

“No weapon?”

 

“No and we took a look at his records… not too bad a student.  Just a few friends. Good in English.  He worked at the school paper with his friend, Brian Anderson. He didn’t have mother. His father and Laura, his sister, were his family. We’ve already talked with his father. The man seemed very annoyed with the fact that his son was dead and now all his efforts were in vain.” Starsky explained dryly.

 

“Annoyed? His son is dead Starsky… he must be devastated…. don’t you think?” Dobey asked.

 

“I do, but Tony Savelli’s father is a cold man. He didn’t show any trace of pain. He was pissed with his son.”

 

“And what about the weapon? If he cut himself there in the shower, why wasn’t there any knife, razor blade or whatever he used to do it with, huh?

 

“Cap, we don’t think that we can close this investigation as a suicide case. There is an important loose end.” Hutch explained. “The weapon is missing. If he had cut himself some other place, it would have been impossible for him to not leave a trail of blood behind him. If he cut himself there in the shower, then someone took the weapon. If that’s the case, the question is why or did someone else use the weapon and split.”

 

“Hutch, are you guys suggesting that this is a homicide case?” Dobey asked.

 

“It seems so, let’s wait for the last lab reports. Then, I suggest we follow this line of investigation.  We’ll try to talk with Brian, Tony’s friend tomorrow. Maybe he knows something important. The director seemed annoyed with the investigation too. He probably is very concerned about the reputation of the school.” Hutch suggested.

 

“Hutch, did you noticed that Mr. Whiston told us that Tony Savelli was a wild student with a bad temper but there was not a single notation or warning in his record? If he was such a trouble student, how did he study there for years and never get a warning, or the director never asked to talk to his father?”

 

“You must know a lot about that Starsky.” Dobey teased his detective.

 

 Starsky rolled his eyes ignoring the comment of his superior officer.

 

“Good point Stark.” Hutch said thoughtfully and unaware of the little battle between his partner and his captain.

 

“He was rowdy but didn’t have any enemies there? Fights and the normal things stuff between students?” Dobey decided to trust his best detectives and let them follow this line of investigation.

 

“Not a single entry, cap. At least not recorded in his file.” Starsky said.

 

“Strange,” Dobey said thoughtfully,” Well, let’s see what you get from this Brian Anderson.”

 

“Yes, Capitan.” Hutch stood up and waited for his partner to leave his Capitan’s office.

 

Mr. Whiston was in his office when Starsky & Hutch arrived the next day. They were informed that Brian was asked to wait for them at the library. Mr. Whiston didn’t want to call the attention of the students to the presence of the police at the school. Tony’s death was already a bad thing to deal with. Brian sat at one of the large desks in the library. He was sad and had a thoughtful expression on his face.

 

“Brian, good morning, detectives Starsky and Hutchinson. As Mr. Whiston already told you, we would like to ask you some questions related to your friend Tony.”

 

“Yeah, have a seat.” The young boy was polite although he seemed annoyed with the presence of the cops there asking him questions.

 

“Brian, how long were you and Tony friends?”

 

“Since my first day here, two years now. He is…. was my best friend.”

 

Starsky looked at Hutch and smiled sadly. “Brian, do you know if Tony had any problems with something or someone lately? Did he talk to you about something that could upset Tony enough for him to commit suicide?”  Starsky used the word suicide on purpose.

 

“No, he had his problems like everybody does, but not something so terrible….”

 

“He never talked about being mistreated or something like that?” Hutch asked.

 

Brian didn’t answer immediately. Actually, he thought and remained silent for a few minutes. “No.”

 

Hutch looked at Starsky. There was something there; Brian was trying to avoid talking about something.

 

“And the paper, we know that you both did a great job with that, do you have any issues left? We would like to read it.” Hutch tried a different approach.

 

“No, the last one, he gave it to Mr. Whiston. He always read it first. We need his approval to distribute it to the students.”

 

“He had to approve the content?” Starsky asked.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Very democratic hum?” Starsky retorted.

 

“You made the paper here, right?” Brian nodded at Hutch.

 

“And you don’t keep a copy with you or even the original, after Mr. Whiston’s approval?”

 

Brian smiled “ Yeah, but this version I didn’t keep with me. Tony had to bring me one yesterday after Mr. Whiston’s approval. The version I have isn’t the original.” He smiled.

 

“Brian, what are you trying tell us?”  Hutch asked.

 

“Nothing. We…we were working on the paper and we were tired. We still had to study for an exam, we started to make jokes and all, and Tony…Tony wrote something funny. Something about Mr. Whiston. I had to leave to study at home and Tony was going finish the revisions.”

 

“What was written? What kind of joke?” Starsky was curious.

 

Brian felt uneasy then. “He wrote about Whiston liking young boys…to have fun with, you know.” He smiled a little shyly.

 

“Was this just a joke or it was based on something about his personal life, his real sexual preferences?” Hutch asked.

 

“Oh, it was just a joke. We didn’t know anything about this man, sometimes we’ve heard things but this is a very traditional school and he is very powerful.” Brian was now scared and his voice reflected that fear.

 

“Ok, Brian, take it easy. We’re just asking you questions to better understand the last hours of your best friend’s life.” This comment gave shivers to Starsky, which Hutch noticed and smiled at his best friend.

 

“Did Mr. Whiston read this joke?” Hutch asked.

 

“Of course not, Tony deleted that part and put the same dumb things that he usually asked to us to write but we laughed a lot, man.”

 

“And your best friend’s father, what do you think about the relationship him? Father and son, did Tony talk you about it?” Hutch asked.

 

“Not much. When we were together we tried to have fun and not talk about sad things.”

 

 

“Sad things? So Tony’s father was a sad thing in his life?” Starsky pressed.

 

“Yes, he is a cold man, only thinking about his work and how his son could be a great man. I didn’t like to go to Tony’s house. One day Tony was very sad and he told me that if he failed at school his father would kill him, he didn’t mean it. It’s just that Tony had trouble with Math. He was afraid of…He had a scholarship…he couldn’t fail, you know?”

 

“If he failed, he would lose the scholarship, right?” Starsky asked.

 

Brian nodded.

 

Both detectives got to their feet and gave their thanks. Brian gave them important information. Definitely, Whiston and Enrico Savelli were a problem for Tony.

 

Starsky was unusually quiet when they left the school. On the way back to the precinct, Hutch wait for some sign that his best friend would open up, but it seemed that Starsky had decided to keep his painful thoughts deep inside, one more time.

 

“A penny for your thoughts….”

 

Starsky smiled at his friend, knowing pretty well that he couldn’t keep anything from his concerned partner.

 

“Schools, I think that I really have problems with schools.”

 

“Oh come on, Starsk, what is it now?”

 

“I think I would die if I had to study in a school like that.”

 

“It’s a great place Starsk, excellent teachers, we can’t judge the school based only on a despotic and archaic director’s methods or the students.”

 

“I know it, it’s not that…. it’s something…. It’s me… this case is making me remember things that I thought that were buried inside of me.”

 

“In LA? After your mother sent you to live with Aunt Rosie?”

 

“Yeah.” Starsky parked the Torino in a gas station. He needed to talk.

 

“What is so painful to remember Starsk?”

 

“The kid that I was at that time. Confused, hurt, with so much anger inside me and doing dumb things. The terror of the school… always in fights…. The king of the broken noses…. He smiled sadly. “My mother sent me to live with my aunt Rosie expecting to help me, but I couldn’t help myself. I was stuck with the bad things, bad actions and bad feelings.”

 

“Must be something good in all this, the girls?” Hutch suggested.

 

“Girls? I was shy Hutch, really! Believe me… remember Sharman?” Hutch nodded and smiled remembering the chat that they had in that cheap and dirty room where Starsky found Sharman’s bracelet. How his best friend opened his heart to him, unashamed of his sweet and gentle heart. He could feel how Sharman was still special to Starsky after all this years.  Suddenly, Starsky´s voice brought back him from his reverie.

 

“I was romantic, I was a dreamer. I didn’t want to face reality, to accept my life as it was.”

 

“This doesn’t sound much like you buddy, you’re good at facing things, especially the rough ones…you’re a fighter Starsk.”

 

Starsky seemed not to hear Hutch. “And I wasn’t so popular you know. I used to be good natured, but at that time I felt such anger with…God.”  His voice was almost a whisper.

 

“Were you angry with God…because of your father’s death?”

 

Starsky finally look in his friend’s eyes. “Yeah, I didn’t accept the fact that the sun was out day by day… people were living their lives as nothing had happening…and my father was dead. He was killed in cold blood and no one seemed to care… God seemed not to care too” When Starsky stopped; single tears were running down his cheeks.  He smiled shyly at Hutch.  “I’m sorry, I don’t know what is happening with me.” He used his hand to dry his cheeks, turning away from Hutch’s eyes.

 

 

Hutch squeezed Starsky’s shoulder. He sighed and turned his head to Hutch again.  “And you know what bothered me most?  Greg Dawson…. him and his perfect life. His father was a cop too and he talked about his dad all the time at school.” He sighed.  “Probably the same way I did in New York until the day my father died. I hated Greg; he had everything that I had. I envied him and I felt so bad for it. My parents always said that was wrong, I was angry with God and hated everybody. I knew it was wrong but I couldn’t fight my feelings. I stayed locked in my room all the time, poor aunt Rosie. Listening to music as loud as I can stand, I didn’t want to hear my thoughts…my pain and compulsively looked at Playboy magazines that an older friend of mine loaned me. Music, girls and my anger, that was my world. One day aunt Rosie asked me to have dinner with our new neighbors, The Blaine’s. When I entered their living room for the first time and saw all the photos; John as a student at the academy, John in his new uniform, John as a detective, John and his fellow cops at parties and barbecues…it was as a breath of fresh air to my heart. With time and John’s friendship, I started to forget the anger and see the alternatives that I had. I started to wonder what I wanted to do with my life and I decided to be a cop. I realized that if I didn’t have my dad with me anymore, it didn’t mean that I should live on the wrong side of the world, doing bad things and living a life of resentment and sadness. My father would have hated that and I couldn’t let him down. Never!”

 

Hutch held Starsky’s hand and squeezed it firmly.

 

 “It was a painful time in your life buddy and you just can’t pretend that it didn’t happen. This case… knowing that there is always the possibility that Tony killed himself, something that your parents taught you was wrong, just brought back those feelings that you wanted to keep locked inside you. You recall the time when David Starsky was feeling and acting wrong, you were angry with God and this felt wrong to you, just as killing yourself felt wrong too. But, at that moment of your life was a turning point, this was the moment when you decided to be the man you are and you made that decision by yourself. How many kids would be capable of doing that?”

 

Starsky smiled warmly and sniffed. “Maybe, but I can’t help myself. I still feel like an idiot, how could I let this case bring this all back up?”

 

“Father…son… God…school…anger…grief, the values and feelings that you treasure most, mixed all together, simple as that.” Hutch smiled. 

 

“Sometimes I think that I’m transparent, made of glass or something like that, everything about me is so simple for you to understand.” Starsky said, amazed with his partner’s ability to read his heart and mind.

 

“Same thing goes for you when it is related to me, you understand so well. We know each other, we love each other, we accept each other as we are. We can open our hearts to each other and sometimes we don’t need words to do it.”

 

Very slowly and gently, Starsky removed his hand from Hutch’s and turned on the Torinos’s engine. “I have an idea, let’s talk to Huggy. He might know something about this Whiston, Tony or something about this school.”

 

Hutch just smiled and nodded. <Ok…no more soapy scenes…buddy>

 

 

 

 ******************************************************************

 

 

Huggy, as always, gave his support to his friends. He even had some important news. The word on the streets was that some ‘mysterious incidents’ that never were brought up for discussion or investigation, had happened in the last few weeks. Three cases involving students from affluent families in Bay City. All three students moved to study in other cities. Satisfied with Huggy information, they went to the precinct.

 

“Capitan we just read the final report from the coroner. Tony Savelli died from deep cuts in both writs caused by a knife or something similar, but he also had a lump on his head probably caused by a hitting it against the floor. The shower floor was dry, he didn’t had have the shower running at the time, so he couldn’t have slipped and fell.”

 

“Are you trying to tell me that this kid was pushed and…THEN…someone cut his wrist and left him to bleed to death?”  Dobey asked. “That could explain why the weapon wasn’t found at the scene or anywhere, right?” Dobey thought.

 

“Cap, we still need to talk with Laura Savelli. We’re sure that she knows something and this report just reinforces our investigation, this kid wasn’t alone in the shower” Starsky explain.

 

“And do you have any idea who could have been in there with him? Some teacher, the director or another student, the security people?” Dobey asked.

 

Starsky and Hutch exchanged looks.

 

“Cap, this was not the first time that unexplained or unreported incidents have happened at St. Thomas High School. Three students transferred to other cities without any investigation or further discussions by their parents, affluent parents, I must say.”  Hutch stated.

 

“We’re not sure, and we would like to talk with Laura Savelli. She knows something. It was written on her scared face.  Brian Anderson told us that there were some comments made about Mr. Whiston’s sexual preferences, it could only be jokes among rebels students, but we can’t ignore it either.”

 

“Ok, Starsky, when and where do you think we could talk with this girl?”

 

“Today, after Tony’s service”

 

“Ok, but don’t enter my office again without a solid lead. I don’t have any more excuses to give to the chief to keep this case open. The director of the school and some parents are putting pressure for it to end. They are afraid of the bad publicity that the press would make…Got it?”

 

“Yes, captain.” Hutch nodded and left the office with Starsky. Both detectives went to Tony’s service.

 

The service was quick and simple. There weren’t many people in the church. Mr. Savelli, his daughter, Mr. Stevens, Brian, a few other students and Mr. Whiston. No one from their neighborhood. The priest’s eulogy was beautiful, but it didn’t seem that Mr. Savelli was very touched by it. He remained in control of his emotions the entire time. Taking advantage of the few moments that Mr. Whiston and the priest talked with Mr. Savelli, Starsky and Hutch finally spoke with Laura for a few moments.

 

“Laura, can you answer a few questions sweetheart?” Hutch asked. The girl seemed a little scared and looked around but seeing that the other people distracted her father, she answered shyly.

 

“What do you want to know? My father doesn’t want me talking with strangers.”

 

“We’re not strangers Laura, we’re the detectives in charge of your brother’s case.” Starsky smiled.

 

“I don’t know anything.”

 

“Was Tony in trouble at school? Something happened, did he talk to you about it?” Hutch tried.

 

“Trouble? What you know about it?” Laura bowed her head and Hutch smiled. The girl did know something.

 

“What did he tell you Laura?”

 

“He didn’t want to upset Mr. Whiston. It…it was a mistake…he…he forgot to correct the thing.” Laura was choking on the words as she turned around, looking for her father who was still speaking with the people.

 

“What did he forgot to do?” Starsky asked.

 

“The paper…. He wrote something wrong and he forgot to correct it.”

 

“And that upset Mr. Whiston.” Hutch finished her sentence.

 

“Yeah and my brother had a fight with him, then Mr. Whiston asked him to do something” She lowered her face and voice.

 

“Hey sweetheart, only you can help us give justice to your brother’s memory by helping us find out the truth in all this.” Starsky smiled warmly.

 

“It’s a bad thing…what…this man asked Tony to do.” She moved her face in Mr. Whiston's direction.  “Tony only told me that if he didn’t obey him…he would tell our father about the insubordination and Tony would lose the scholarship. He would have to leave school…my father would kill him.”

 

“LAURA!!!” A huge voice startled the girl.

 

Mr. Savelli firmly took hold of Laura’s arm. “What are you doing with my daughter detectives? And you…how many times do I have to tell you not speak with strangers?”  He grabbed Laura’s arm hard and practically dragged the poor, terrified girl to the car. On the way, Mr. Savelli shouted, “ STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER, YOU HEAR ME? LEAVE MY FAMILY ALONE!” Saying this, Enrico Savelli entered his car and disappeared into the street.

 

“Poor Laura, he’s going punish her Hutch, I’m sure of that!” Starsky said with concern.

 

“Yeah…probably…and we can’t do anything. But she did give us the confirmation that Mr. Whiston is not the man he seems to be.”

 

“Let’s talk to the son of a bitch. He destroyed Tony’s life and probably destroyed other lives before. This must stop, Hutch.” Starsky almost ran to the Torino, leaving Hutch talking to the wind.

 

“We will, buddy…so help me God…we will”

 

************************************************************

 

Starsky entered Dobey’s office like a flash to give his Capitan give the good news. “Capitan, we need a warrant for Mr. Whiston’s office and home. We were just were talking with Laura and she confirmed that Tony forgot to correct the jokes in the paper about Mr. Whiston sexual preferences and Whiston tried to blackmail him. I bet that something very similar occurred with these three other cases and the former students transferred to other schools.” Starsky was determined to get Mr. Whiston.

 

“Calm down detective. What exactly did this girl tell you?” Dobey asked.

 

“Tony wrote something in the paper, something he thought was a joke, but was actually based on the truth that he and Brian probably knew. Tony forgot to delete …to correct it. When he showed it to Mr. Whiston, they had a discussion and Whiston asked him to do something ‘wrong’, as poor Laura had said.  Whiston told him that he’d do it or Whiston would tell his dad about the insubordination that was never reported, then Tony have to leave the school and lose his scholarship.” Hutch explained.

 

“Are you talking about sexual favors?”

 

“Yeah…that explains why the other three kids transferred without any further explanations. They are important people’s children who were used by Mr. Whiston for who knows how long and probably when they wouldn’t put up with him anymore, they told their parents, who decided to transfer them. Their parents decided to protect their names, not the mental and emotional health of their children.  It’s sickening but that’s what was happening.” Starsky finished.

 

“You will like this news, guys. We received a call during Tony’s service from the New Orleans police department. One of the kids, who lives there now, decided to press charges against Mr. Whiston. He is 22 years old now. He left the school when he was 17. He said that he heard about Tony’s death through a friend who still lives here. He was sure that Mr. Whiston has something to do with it.  He doesn’t want to keep this a secret anymore, he just asked us to keep his name out of it, obviously.”

 

“Bingo!!! That’s all we needed!!! Someone from the past. This guy will help us to break the silence about his crimes, Hutch!” Starsky was euphoric.

 

“I will get the warrants. You go to talk with Mr. Whiston; maybe a little pressure is just what we need to make this bastard talk. He is already upset with the investigation. I will send Barret and his partner to Whiston’s apartment.” Dobey picked up the phone and started making calls.

 

When Starsky and Hutch arrived, it was almost in the end of the day and the students had already left for the day. Mr. Whiston was in his office and his secretary informed him of the detective’s presence.

 

“Detectives, I wasn’t expecting you. I supposed that everything concerned with this unfortunate incident has already been cleared? The service this morning was very painful to all of us, please have a sit.” Whiston seemed very friendly, although he was clearly upset by the detective’s presence at the school again.

 

“This unfortunate incident hasn’t been cleared yet, Mr. Whiston, actually we have some more questions to ask.” Starsky was straightforward and firm.

 

“Questions?”

 

“Mr. Whiston, why didn’t you tell us that you and Tony had a chat the day before his death?” Hutch asked.

 

Whiston nervously changed position in his comfortable chair, obviously not expecting this turn on the events.

 

“I…I don’t know what you are talking about.  The day that Tony gave me the paper to be approved, I did disagree with something and the discussion was something normal according to the circumstances. ” Whiston was very nervous by then.

 

Starsky cut him off.

 

“Mr. Whiston, the first time we were here you confirmed that Tony was active with the school paper AND you didn’t tell my partner that you had a discussion with Tony…. YOU are telling us now.”

 

Whiston suddenly began to sweat as his face became pale. “Uh…I…don’t understand why my conversation with this student…. this discussion is so important…it’s a normal thing that happens between a temperamental student like Tony and a director… that’s why I didn’t mentioned it before… I thought that it wasn’t important. He killed himself, but, certainly not because of our discussion.”

 

“If he was as temperamental as you say, why, in a period of two years as a student at this School was there never a warning or simple mention in his record about insubordination? Isn’t that strange Mr. Whiston?” Starsky asked.

 

“Mr. Starsky, you are a detective and you don’t have the skills needed to deal with teenagers, sometimes a warning is not the best way to achieve our goals. I have more than 20 years of experience related with that and I think that I know perfectly well how to deal with these kinds of matters. I will not accept a policemen doubting about my methods.” Whiston raised his voice more than he wanted, but he was getting nervous and feeling trapped.

 

“Do your methods include threats and some kind of emotional blackmail?” Hutch asked.

 

“I´m afraid I don’t understand your question detective.”

 

A discrete knock at the door interrupted the conversation. Mr. Whiston’s secretary entered the room with another police officer.

 

“Mr. Whiston, this officer has an important document for these gentlemen.”

 

The officer gave the warrant to Hutch. “Thanks, Harry.” Hutch smiled. The secretary and the police officer left.

 

“As I said before this interruption, I don’t understand your question detective.”

 

“Let me explain better, Mr. Whiston. What my partner is trying to say is, we know that you were threatening Tony during this discussion AND we know that you asked him to do something that he didn’t want to do. Something dirty…something evil… something so dirty and evil that the kid probably refused to do it ”

 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Whiston stood up. “I don’t have to stand here and listen to such an slanderous things. I’m the director of this school and I have a name to preserve.”

 

“Exactly! You have a name to preserve, exactly like the parents of the three kids that mysteriously transferred to other cities…all the kids were from important families…. People that had a name to preserve.” Hutch now stood up too.

 

“Why did you want to keep Tony Savelli in this school if he was so temperamental and not a brilliant student as you said?  What kind of interest does the school have in this type of student? He even didn´t pay for enrollment, he had a scholarship. What kind of things did you ask him to do? Uh?  Then, when he said no, probably in the shower where you went to look for him, what did you do?” An irate Mr. Whiston interrupted Starsky.

 

“That’s enough! I will not talk anymore without the presence of my lawyer. Could you please leave my office and the school now? You aren’t welcome here anymore. If you have any more questions or any accusations, you’ll have to go through my lawyer.”

 

“Okay, Mr. Whiston, but we do have here a warrant to look in your office and apartment for evidence. It’s official; you or your lawyer can go over it. According to our investigation, you are the prime suspect in the murder of Tony Savelli.”  Hutch showed the warrant and Mr. Whiston sat in his chair speechless.

 

“I don’t understand… you are destroying my whole life’s work…. I built a name in this school… in this city….” He was just mumbling. Starsky and Hutch started to look for papers, photos, names, agendas, anything. Whiston remained silent. Suddenly the phone rang and Starsky answered it. It was Mr. Whiston secretary; more policemen were in front of the school. Starsky asked to speak with one of them.

 

“What do we have Barret?

 

“We just finished the search of Mr. Whiston’s place. We found all the evidence you need to press charges, Starsky. We have copies of the three transferred students records, Tony’s records, photos and an agenda with all the gory details where he stated that he used sexual favors from the students, in return for not reporting the students misbehaviors to their parents.”

 

“Great job, Barret! Harry bring us the warrant, we’re finished here too, thanks.”

 

Starsky made a quick nod to Hutch.

 

“I think that you really need to call your lawyer Mr. Whiston. All the evidence that was in your apartment was collected and now we have all the photos, records and your agenda.”

 

“Mr. Whiston, what exactly happened in the shower between you and Tony?”  Hutch asked.

 

“I…just wanted to…. I loved these kids… I would never hurt them… they were wild… so full of life… so wonderful in all their youth… I just wanted their attention… a man like me can feel pretty lonely at times.”

 

“And you asked Tony to have sex with you, or something like that?” Starsky asked.

 

Mr. Whiston stood up again, leaning his body on to the desk with shaking hands. He tried to defend himself.

 

“Tony was crazy…he pushed me… he said that he hated me… he called me names and… I just pushed him…but he fell and hit his head, passing out…I called his name… I tried to wake up him… but… I had to do something… don’t you understand? He would tell his father… everyone… he said that he didn’t care if he lost the scholarship… he would tell his father… he said that he would prefer that, than to touch me.” Whiston was out of his mind; tears were rolling from his cheeks. “So…. I had an idea and I used my pocketknife to cut his wrists… he would die sleeping… he would not suffer…I would never make him suffer…. He would just…sleep forever.”

 

“You cut his wrists and let him bleed to death there… alone,” Starsky said in low voice.

 

“He did not feel anything…he was unconscious. Everything would be ok. He would be free of me and free of this school that he hated so much.”

 

“You missed something very important Mr. Whiston, when someone cuts themselves they usually use something to do it with. But, took the knife with you when you left. That was your big mistake. How could you think that the police would accept the idea of suicide with no weapon, no note, nothing?” Starsky spoke, looking straight into Whiston eyes

 

“You killed a kid, it doesn’t matter if he suffered or not. You killed another human being, you ended his chances of becoming a man.” Hutch shouted.

 

“I was desperate, you must understand. How dare he reject me like that. Only when I returned home did I remembered about the knife. Tony was nothing special, his father wasn’t rich… no one would bother to investigate…he was just an angry kid that had problems with his father…. Everybody would believe that he had killed himself.”

 

“He may be nothing to you, but to the police he was a victim like anybody else.” Hutch said coldly.

 

Suddenly, Whiston remove the knife from under a pile of papers on his desk.  The closest person to him was Hutch, so he became Whiston’s target. He drove the knife into Hutch’s right shoulder. Hutch tried to get a hold of his hand and wrestle the knife from him, but the pain was too great. Whiston ran for the door.

 

“Stop!!!!  Give up Whiston; you don’t have a chance to get out of here. Give up or I’ll shoot!” Starsky was quick into position, aiming his gun at the mad man. Hutch drew his gun with his left hand and aimed at Whiston too. He was trapped and had no chance at all. Whiston held his position.

 

“Drop the knife Whiston, you’re already in enough trouble…. Drop it!!! There are cops all over the school by now.” Hutch commanded.

 

“You don´t understand me…my solitude…my… you don´t understand.” Mr. Whiston stood there repeating, until a flash of craziness appeared in his eyes. He bolted in Hutch’s direction again and tried to use the knife but Hutch fought against the old man. He was losing the battle because his wounded shoulder didn’t help at all. So, Starsky fired and Whiston fell to the ground with a wound in his back. Hutch kneeled beside the downed man and retrieved the knife as Starsky cuffed him. Hearing the shot, Whiston’s office was full of cops in matter of seconds. Starsky called an ambulance. Whiston and Hutch would need medical attention.

 

 Whiston’s days as an honorable, man were history.

 

*******************************************************************

 

 

Hutch had left the hospital and was resting at his apartment for a few days. His right shoulder muscles were damaged and according to the doctor, he would need complete rest for two weeks. Starsky, as always, was in his mother hen routine and Hutch was having fun with his very concerned partner.

 

“Hutch, you not supposed to use your right arm and here you are feeding your jungle. Didn’t hear the doctor’s orders?”

 

“Starsk, I’m not feeding my jungle because I don’t have a jungle to feed. Besides, you FEED jungles, I’m just watering my plants.” He smiled amused.

 

“Watering plants is the same as feeding jungles…. you know that…and you are using your injured arm… stop it right now!” Starsky took a firm hold of Hutch’s arm and led him to the couch, which actually hurt more than the act of watering his plants.

 

“Oh…. that hurts…. Starsk.”

 

“See, if you were here just resting, you wouldn’t be in pain now.”

 

“I’m in pain because of you, not because of my plants.”

 

‘What????” Starsky was genuinely offended.

 

“You dragged me like I was a doll.”

 

“Shut up. I’m doing what’s best for you. If this jungle needs water, which I doubt, I will water it. Jesus Hutch, you will not be satisfied until you drown them all.” Saying this, Starsky went to the greenhouse to finish Hutch’s work.

 

“You don’t understand a thing about plants.” Hutch teased.

 

“But I do understand you, shut up and sit on the damn couch!”

 

“Gee, you’re so polite today” Hutch laughed and sat comfortably on his couch, stretching his legs.

 

Starsky stayed in the greenhouse a few more minutes finishing Hutch’s work. Hutch smiled when he heard his friend whispering endearing words to the plants, obviously doing what he always told Hutch nonsense. “I can’t believe I am talking to this jungle.”   He mumbled as he finished and washed his hands, and then sat beside his friend.

 

“Better?” He asked a little concerned and guiltily.

 

“Yeah. I’m ok, you didn’t really hurt me.”

 

“Are you sure? The Doc said to not move your arm around too much.”

 

“No, I’m ok. Actually, I think that next week I will be ready to get back to work. I got all the rest I need.”

 

“That’s great Hutch.” Starsky smiled warmly.

 

A few moments of silence passed between the two before Starsky spoke.

 

“Hutch….”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You know what bothers me the most? About Tony’s death?”

 

“What buddy?’

 

“He died for nothing. He died just because a sick man wanted to preserve his reputation. That was the value of his life and Tony couldn’t even count on his father’s help. He didn’t have anyone in his life to help him… to give him a path… to tell him that he had other options in his life, other than to be stuck in that school just because his father wanted it. This is so sad.”

 

“Yeah, buddy, it’s sad.  But, at least we cleared his memory and he died a fighter. He put an end to Whiston’s era at the school and he was going to confront his father.  He was a brave kid.”

 

“Yeah, he was brave and Laura… I hope she can have a better future… she is brave too.”

 

“Yeah, I’m sure she will buddy… she will.” He smiled warmly, touched by his friend’s concern with the girl.

 

The two detectives remained in companionable silence. Both lost in their own thoughts. 

 

THE END

 

Back to: Gen Stories Index