And Babies Make Six

Part 1

 

            Micki Hutchinson unlocked the door to her apartment, turned on the lights and sat her suitcases down, sighing with relief. It was good to be home. Ken’s flight wasn’t due in for several hours, so that would give her the time she desperately needed to think. Blair Sandburg’s face haunted her and she could still feel the touch of his lips on hers.  She was a married woman. Why was she so attracted to the young student when she was still so in love with her husband? What had made her so vulnerable to his youthful good looks and endearing personality? She knew that if she wanted to save her marriage, she had to be honest with herself.

            Tracy was right. Until recently, their lives consisted of jumping from one major crisis to another. The first months of her relationship with Ken were spent in constant turmoil. The undercover assignment involving Tommy Carruthers, the increasing hold he had on her, and the terror-filled events that haunted her for months afterward propelled her on a roller coaster ride that only ended with his death. Just when she thought her life would return to normal, Simonetti had snapped and turned an inherent suspicious attitude concerning Ken and David into a murderous obsession to ruin the two detectives. The renegade IA agent had nearly robbed them of their future, their happiness, and their lives. The four detectives had hoped that their story book wedding signaled the end of the battles and the beginning of new lives.

 The task force that the Commissioner created grew from two men to twenty in the first six months. Now, two years later, the staff had doubled. The most competent detectives in the area now answered only to Captain Harold Dobey and the Commissioner. The Bay City Task Force was the template for similar programs all over the country. As senior members, David and Ken were constantly asked to assist other police departments as they created special crimes units of their own.  Although flattering, it was a daunting task and often involved being away for days or weeks at a time. At first, Micki and Tracy tolerated their husbands’ absence good naturedly. However, as Ken and David were forced to travel more frequently, the two women felt the separation with increased intensity.

            The one saving grace of the situation was the women’s accelerating careers. It was easy to lose themselves in the cases that they were asked to profile, serious criminal cases where the ability to crawl inside the head of the suspects was a substantial advantage. The psychiatric evaluations they were asked to perform took them all over the state, and soon they were traveling as much as their husbands. And yet, with all the success the four detectives were having in their careers, something vital was missing. It was as if their personal lives were being sacrificed for their professions. Tracy once compared it all to a run away train headed straight for the end of the tracks. If they didn’t find a way to slow things down, their lives would completely derail.

            With one part of her mind, Micki unpacked her bags and straightened up the apartment while the other concentrated on vacillating emotions. When she was younger, she thought about what her life would be like. She never thought she would have to choose between a career, a husband, and a family. If she tried hard enough, one would naturally follow the other. Now, her career had taken on a life of its own, leaving little room for anything else. It wasn’t just her career; it was Tracy’s, David’s and Ken’s. If they wanted to be truly happy, they would all have to make some changes. But where should they begin?

            Micki looked at her watch. Ken should be home soon. First, I’ll get us something to eat then we’ll sit down and really talk. I don’t want to fight any more! We have to sit down like rational adults and decide where we’re going. Like mom told me, marriage is about compromises. It won’t work if only one of us changes. Her mind made up, she grabbed her purse and keys and drove to their favorite restaurant. Twenty minutes later, she had the table set and dinner keeping warm in the oven.

            She had just changed into a clean pair of jeans and tee shirt when she heard him unlock the door. Suddenly unsure of his reaction, she stood in the doorway of their bedroom, waiting for him to come in.

            Hutch put his suitcase down and stood in the doorway, gazing somberly at his wife. When he saw the tears glistening in her eyes, he simply spread his arms and caught her as she leapt into his embrace. He closed his eyes and held her tightly.

            “I’m sorry, Mick. I didn’t mean to put you off like that. I don’t know what I was thinking. I hope you know that I would never hurt you.”

            She smiled through her tears. “I know. Everything is just so crazy right now! One of us is always running off somewhere and we can’t seem to stop. I saw more of you before we were married than I do now. I’m tired of saying good-bye. All I want is to be with you.”

            He put her down and took her hand in his. “Yeah, Starsky and I were talking about that on the plane. We got off the streets so we could have a normal life, but it sure hasn’t worked out that way. I think we just got caught up in the novelty of the job and put the rest of our lives on hold. But that’s going to change. We’ve had our fifteen minutes of fame, now it’s time for someone else to shoulder the load. There are thirty-eight other detectives on the Task Force. Let some of them do the traveling now.”

            “I’m glad to hear you say that. Tracy and I are going to stick closer to home, too. There’s a lot we can do from Bay City. We don’t have to go gallivanting all over the country to be useful. It’s time we took care of the home fires, too.”

            She gave him a gentle nudge toward the bathroom. “We’ll start by having a real sit-down dinner for once. It’s not a home cooked meal, but it’s almost as good. So, go wash up while I set the table. Then, after dinner, we can unpack your bags and throw them in the closet with mine. I think we’ve wracked up enough frequent flyer miles for a while.”

            He sniffed the air and threw her a grin over his shoulder. “I’ll second that emotion. Mmmm, that smells a lot better than those room service meals we’ve been eating. I’ll be out in a jiffy.”

            Micki took the fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and rolls out of the oven, and the salad out of the fridge, tossing it slightly to mix the dressing. As a finishing touch, she set tapered candles on the table and lit them then dimmed the lights in the apartment.

            The romantic setting took them back to the month’s right after their wedding, when the time they spent together was new and exciting. After they ate, Micki helped Ken put his clothes away, discussing the future as they worked.

            Hutch rubbed his face as he hung his suit in the closet.

            “You know, we’ve been trying to put together a petition to have the organized crime laws changed. It’s going to take some time, but Starsky and I thought we might have some good input for the testimony when we go before Congress next year. God knows, we had enough experience with Gunther. That would be a way for us to really contribute something important and stay closer to home at the same time.”

            “That sounds like a good idea to me. Your names were linked with Gunther’s arrest, so what ever you say should carry a lot of weight. It’s not going to be easy, but it needs to be done.”

            She sat on the bed and watched him take the last of his clothes out of the suitcase.

            “Tracy and I have been talking, too. We’re going to tell Dobey that we want to stay closer to home. We can still do what we’ve been doing, but we don’t want to go farther than we can travel in one day. Maybe later on, we’ll even think about going back to school and getting our doctorate degree.”

            Hutch put his suitcases in the closet beside Micki’s then took his wife in his arms.

            “Now that’s the best news I’ve heard all day. I’ve seen the inside of enough hotel rooms to last me a lifetime. There’s no place I’d rather be than in my own bed with my wife.”

            Micki grinned wickedly as she put her arms around his neck. “Like Dorothy said, there’s no place like home.”

            That night, as they lay in bed, Micki brought up the question that was most on her mind. She raised her head from Hutch’s chest and checked to see if he was asleep. When she moved, his eyes opened. Micki took a deep breath and jumped right in.

            “Ken, we’ve never really sat down and talked about starting a family. Do you still want kids?”

            Hutch rubbed the sleep from his eyes and was silent for a few minutes. Then he answered slowly.

            “I’ve been too busy with the Task Force lately to think about it, honestly. I wanted kids when I was married to Van, but she wasn’t about to mess up that perfect body by getting pregnant. After we got divorced, I concentrated on my work. As time went by, I gave up the idea of ever having kids. I never thought I’d get married again. Then Starsky and I were on the streets for ten years, and I knew that wasn’t the place for a father to be. I guess you could say that fatherhood was one of my dreams that never came true.”

            She propped herself up on one elbow and ran her fingers through his hair. “But you’re not on the streets now, and neither am I. I’ve wanted kids ever since my sister had her first one, but I wasn’t sure how you felt. I don’t want you to feel trapped. If you don’t want a family, please tell me.”

            He turned over onto his side and ran his fingers down her face. “I think everything has a time and place. Maybe it wasn’t time back then for me to have a child. I’d love to have a baby with you. But, you have to be sure. Our whole lives will change, but you’re the one that will be pregnant.  If you want to start a family, I’m all for it.”

            The love she had for her husband shone in her eyes. “I think you would make a great dad. Tracy stopped taking birth control a few weeks ago. Maybe it’s time I stopped taking mine.”

            Hutch leaned over and kissed her. “That’s the second best news I’ve heard all day.”

            A week later, the two men sat in Hutch’s apartment, waiting for Micki and Tracy to return from the doctor. Both women were determined to approach parenthood in the best possible physical condition. So, the first step was a complete physical exam. Starsky and Hutch had wanted to go with their wives, but were immersed in meetings with the commissioner all morning. After the last meeting, they drove back to the apartment and waited for the women.

            Ten minutes later, Micki’s Torino pulled behind Starsky’s. The two women walked into the apartment, carrying small brown bags. Micki put her purse on the table and kissed her husband.

            “I’m sorry we took so long. The doctor’s office was really busy. I never saw so many pregnant women in one place in all my life.”

            Hutch grinned. “That’s because he’s an OB-GYN, Micki. How did it go?”

            Micki put a thumb up. “Everything checked out fine. Dr. Sawyers said that I should stop taking my pills at the end of this cycle, but we should use another form of birth control for a month, to make sure the drug is out of my system. Then we can start trying to have a baby.” She handed him the bag. “Here, these are for you.”

            Hutch opened the bag with Starsky looking over his shoulder. Starsky laughed out loud when he saw the bag was filled with condoms.

            He gave Hutch a wicked grin. “It looks like you’re going to be busy, partner. Do you think you have enough in there?”

            He snickered as Hutch turned beet red, until Tracy handed him her sack. She smiled sweetly.

            “Well, if he runs out, he can borrow some of yours.”

 

Six months later

 

            Micki sat in front of her computer, trying to digest what she’d just read. Rodney Fellows had been released from prison, after serving only a fraction of his life sentence. How could that be? He’d been convicted of two counts of first degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. She muttered an oath out loud.

            “Damn these lawyers anyway! How can these creeps just get away with murder and walk out the door? Why are we doing this if the courts just let them go?”

            Tracy stopped what she was doing and glanced over at Micki’s monitor. Her blue eyes widened as she read the file.

            “Rodney’s out of prison? How the Hell did that happen?”

            Both women were silent as they thought back to their last assignment with the Vice department. They had only been married for a short time when Lieutenant Atkinson had asked for their help. To Micki and Tracy, it wasn’t an unreasonable request, but it turned out to be a bone of contention between Micki and her husband.

 

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Micki Ellis Hutchinson stood in front of the bathroom mirror and checked her make-up carefully. The dark mascara and eyeliner brought out the green in her eyes and the gold eye shadow glittered under the light. She put the red lipstick on and nodded to herself. She looked exactly like what she was supposed to be: a hooker. A thirteen year old hooker, she amended to herself.

Lieutenant Atkinson had called her a few days ago, asking for her assistance. Mary Jensen, the undercover detective that normally worked the beat surrounding Hooker Row, had fallen down the stairs and broken her ankle the night before. It wasn’t a serious injury, but it would keep her on the sidelines for at least six weeks. Normally, that wasn’t a problem, because Jody Stewart was also a seasoned undercover cop, and was perfectly capable of participating in almost any sting Atkinson thought up. Unfortunately, that didn’t include the one that targeted Rodney Fellows.

Rodney was the new pimp on the street, but it didn’t take long for him to catch the attention of the Vice squad. His stable consisted of some of the youngest prostitutes in the city, which was the second reason Atkinson wanted him behind bars. The first reason was Rodney’s temper and his propensity for punishing any of his girls that disobeyed him with a twelve inch switch-blade. In the past four months, three of Rodney’s girls had been customers at the local hospital and two more had turned up dead. With Captain Dobey on his back, as well as the Commissioner, taking the homicidal pimp off the street was Atkinson’s top priority.

So, Roger had asked Micki to fill in for Mary, with Tracy as her back-up. The girls had helped the department on other occasions, so they knew the drill. Tracy would be in the background, with a dozen other officers, while Micki played the part of a prostitute. The sting was carefully set up and Micki would be in no danger. It was going to be a routine bust, a piece of cake, just a normal day’s work for the undercover team.

Micki sighed to herself. If only her husband of six months was as comfortable with the whole thing as she was! Ken knew Micki and Tracy helped out the other department when they were needed in the past. But now that he and Micki were married, his thoughts on the subject had changed radically. She took one last look at herself and walked out of the bathroom, braced for another confrontation. She wasn’t disappointed.

Hutch didn’t try to hide his dissatisfaction as he looked his wife over from head to toe.

“I guess this means you’re going through with it.”

Now Micki’s sigh was audible. “We talked about this last night, Ken. I don’t want to fight with you. I told Roger that I would help, and that’s what I intend to do.”

“Mary’s not the only female they have on the team. Jody isn’t much older than you are. Why can’t she do it?”

Micki turned to look at her husband. “You know why! Jody is five foot, ten inches tall and weighs 180 pounds. She looks like what she is: a grown woman. There’s no way Rodney would fall for her as a teen-aged hooker. Two girls have already died and three more are scarred for life. This guy is a homicidal maniac. We can’t wait six more weeks to bring him down.”

She walked up to him and softened her voice. “Please don’t worry about me. Tracy will be there, and so will a dozen other cops. I’ll be fine, I promise. Nothing’s going to happen.”

“Bull. Starsky and I spent ten years on the street. There’s plenty that can go wrong. I’ve had it happen myself. You can’t plan for every contingency. It’s just not possible.”

“You and Davy were involved in something completely different. You were out there with Davy as your only contact. I’m going to be surrounded by cops. I’ll be wearing a wire and they’ll be able to hear everything that goes on.”

She paced around the room then turned back. “If it will make you feel any better, I’ll tell Roger that you want to sit in. Then you can see for yourself how safe it’s going to be.”

Hutch glared at her. “Oh, you’d better believe I’m going to be there! But, it’s not going to make me feel any better.”

Micki’s green eyes flashed. “You’ll be there to observe, only! Roger is in charge of this assignment, and the Task Force doesn’t have any jurisdiction. If you do anything to jeopardize this bust, I’ll never forgive you.”

She marched to the closet and took out a light-colored jacket. She slipped into it and slung her purse over her shoulder.  As she opened the front door, she looked back at her husband.

“I’m leaving now. I have to pick Tracy up and get over to the station. The final briefing is at five o’clock, and I want to be in position before the other hookers come out. If you want to be there, fine. If you don’t, that’s fine, too. I don’t care either way.”

She walked out of the apartment without looking back. Hutch bored a hole through the door with his eyes and muttered a curse.

“Damn you, Micki! Don’t you dare get hurt!”

Micki was still fuming as she pulled up in front of Tracy’s apartment. She honked once then waited. The woman that emerged from the apartment bore no resemblance at all to the Tracy she knew. This woman was old, and obviously homeless. She wore a tattered trench coat over a stained white t-shirt and faded blue jeans with holes in the knees. Under a faded red bandana, her blonde hair lay limp and looked unwashed. Her feet were caked with dirt and she wore a pair of worn sandals.

As she got in the car, Micki grinned at her. “I don’t think you’ll be modeling for Cosmo in that get up. You look like something the cat wouldn’t want to drag in.”

Tracy grinned back, exposing a space where her front tooth should have been. “I hate to break it to you, kid, but you look like you’re auditioning for a part in Debbie Does Dallas. We make a great pair.”

Micki laughed out loud. “Don’t we, though?” Then she sobered. “Well, did Ken call Davy?”

Tracy nodded. “They were still talking when I left. Judging from the way Davy looked, Ken was still pretty pissed. I guess it didn’t go very well.”

“That’s an understatement. He’s practically got me in a coffin and buried six feet under already. I tried to reason with him, but he’s not having any of that. He’s convinced that I’m going to get hurt, and no one is going to change his mind.”

“He’s scared, Mick. He knows how fast things can go wrong. After he sees that Roger is in complete control of the situation, he’ll feel better.”

“I hope so. Damn him, anyway! It was OK when he went undercover, but God forbid that I do it. It’s not fair! It’s like he doesn’t trust me, or have any confidence in me.  And it’s not like we do this all the time. We’re doing Roger a favor.”

“I know, but he can’t help it, Micki. He just doesn’t want to see you get hurt. He’ll get over it, you’ll see.”

Micki snorted as she pulled into traffic but didn’t say anything. She pushed the argument she’d had with her husband to the back of her mind and concentrated on the upcoming assignment. Work came first. She’d deal with Hutch later.

 

Later that evening, Starsky pulled the Torino behind a small white car and parked. Hutch opened the glove compartment and handed Starsky a pair of binoculars then looked through a second pair. Wordlessly, he scanned the surrounding area for their wives.

Starsky peered out the Torino’s front wind shield. “It’s almost show time. Micki said she wanted to be in position before the other working girls show up.”

Hutch nodded without taking his eyes off the scene. “I don’t see Tracy.”

Starsky looked through is own binoculars then pointed. “There she is, just coming out of that alley. She’s a bag lady. If you didn’t know who she was, you’d miss her.”

Hutch followed Starsky’s finger then grinned. “You got that right, buddy. I’d never believe your beautiful wife was hidden under those ratty clothes if you hadn’t told me. She did a good job.”

Starsky looked offended. “Hey, I helped. I was the one that suggested the bandanna.”

Hutch snorted mildly. “Your sense of fashion never ceases to amaze me.” He lowered the glasses and glanced at his watch. “OK, it’s almost nine o’clock. Where’s Micki?”

Starsky spotted the dark-haired detective walking down the sidewalk and cleared his throat. “Uh, there she is. She’s headed right for us.”

Hutch didn’t like the short leather skirt and halter any better in public than he had in private. He had to hand it to her, though. She looked like a teen-aged hooker, all right. Hutch knew that her purse was wired and the other members of the sting were in constant communication with her, but he still couldn’t shake a feeling of dread. Rodney Fellows was known to be quick with that knife, and if he even thought Micki was a cop, she’d be dead before anyone could get close enough to help her. He took one hand away from the glasses and raised it in the air.

“Why the Hell is she doing this? I just don’t get it.”

Starsky glanced sideways at his friend. “Why did we do it?”

“Yeah, but that’s different. It was part of our job. Micki’s not even in this department.”

“She’s helping Roger out. She’s one of the few detectives on the force that can pull this off. She looks like a kid playing dress-up in her mommy’s clothes, and that’s a plus for Vice. Relax. Atkinson knows what he’s doing. We may not see them, but the whole area’s crawling with cops. Micki will be just fine.”

Hutch didn’t reply as he watched the sting unfold. Although they could hear what went down, Atkinson had made it plain that he ran the show. The two men were spectators only. Hutch hated being out of the loop, but it was better than cooling his heels at home. All he could do was watch and hope fervently that nothing went wrong.

Micki spotted the Torino as she walked down the street, but pushed the argument she’d had with her husband out of her mind. Rodney Fellows was her only priority now. She stood on the street corner and watched the cars go by. A couple of times, a car pulled to the curb and the driver rolled down his window. After chatting with the driver, Micki got in the car and it drove off. The drivers were members of Atkinson’s team, too, but to the uninformed spectator, it looked like Micki was plying her trade. The whole point of the sting was to lure Rodney out of hiding so they could arrest him. With the pimp behind bars, the DA was confident that his victims that were still alive would overcome their fear and testify in court. Atkinson believed that the quickest way to draw Rodney out was to have Micki encroach on his territory. Rodney didn’t like independent workers. If anyone else had invaded his space, they would have died in one of the dark alleys bordering hooker row. But, Micki was an exception. She was obviously a new model and a beautiful piece of merchandise. Rodney would see dollar signs as soon as he laid eyes on her, and would do his best to lure her into his stable. It wouldn’t matter what transpired between them. All Micki had to do was keep Rodney occupied long enough for the rest of the team to apprehend him. Once the pimp was handcuffed and in the car, Micki would melt into the background and disappear.

It was almost midnight when Rodney finally ambled into view. He was a long, lanky figure with dark curly hair and squinting blue eyes. The scar that ran the length of the right side of his face made him look sinister and out of place in his garish purple jumpsuit. A long mink stole hung over his shoulders and dangled below his waist. Large diamonds glittered from the first three fingers of each hand and a Rolex watch covered his left wrist. Judging from Rodney’s appearance, business was booming.

Micki took a deep breath and watched him approach. She kept her expression neutral as he got closer to her.

His voice was deep and sugary. “Hey, little momma, what’re you doing? Didn’t you know this was my spot? I own this street. You’re trespassing.”

Micki looked at him with fear in her eyes. “I’m sorry! Don’t hurt me! I didn’t know. I’m new around here and didn’t see anyone else on this corner. I’ll go stand somewhere else.”

Rodney put his hand on her shoulder. “Now hold on, little darlin’. Nobody said you had to go anywhere. We can talk about this. How long you been in town? I don’t remember seeing you before.”

“I just got here a couple of days ago. I took the bus from Santa Fe, but when I got off, somebody stole my suitcase. Everything I own was in it. I didn’t have any money to get a room, or something to eat. I tried the corner by the bus station, but a couple of cops threatened to arrest me if I didn’t move on. So, I walked a few blocks and found this street.”

“So, where are you sleeping? When’s the last time you ate?”

She pointed to the alley to her right. “I found a corner back there, under a stoop. I think I ate something yesterday, but it might have been the day before. I don’t really remember.”

“Where are your momma and your daddy? Why ain’t they here taking care of you?”

“I don’t have a momma and my daddy doesn’t care about me. He works all day long and spends the night in the bar down the street from where we live. My momma ran off when I was two and never came back.”

“Awww, so you’re on your own? That’s too bad. How old are you, honey child?”

Micki looked defiant. “I’m eighteen. I don’t have a driver’s license, though, because we don’t have a car.”

Rodney threw his head back and laughed. “Sweetie pie, if you’re eighteen then I’m the Pied Piper. I’ll bet you ain’t much more than twelve.”

“I’m thirteen,” Micki blurted out then clapped her hand over her mouth.

Rodney nodded. “That sounds more like the truth. What’s your name? I can’t just keep calling you honey child, can I?”

“It’s Candace, but I like Candy better.”

“It fits you. You’re as sweet as a candy cane and twice as pretty. So, Candy Cane, you want to work for me? You’ll have a place to stay and three square meals a day. And you won’t have to worry about the cops rousting you anymore. I take care of all my girls.”

“I don’t know. You won’t make me go home, will you? I hate Santa Fe! Nobody cares if I live or die, and I’m never going back there.”

“No one’s going to send you back, Candy. Bay City is your home now. You can stay as long as you want to.”

“OK. Where do you live?”

He pointed in the direction from where he’d appeared. “Right over that way, in the Palms Hotel. It’s not the Ritz, but it’s clean and nobody bothers you.”

Micki laughed. “I don’t care. Anything is better than sleeping in an alley. Can I see it?”

“Sure thing, Candy Cane. We’ll get you settled in tonight and I’ll let you meet some of the other girls. Then tomorrow night, we’ll get you set up in a corner of your own. And after you learn the ropes, I can set up some private gigs for you. If things work out, you’ll be off the street for good.”

“Wow that would be great! Can we go now? I’m starving and my feet are killing me.”

Rodney grinned. “How does a steak dinner with all the trimmings sound?”

“It sounds yummy. I can’t believe how lucky I am. I feel like I’m Dorothy and you’re the wizard.”

Rodney looked down at his feet and chortled. “Well, this ain’t the yellow brick road, but it will still take us home. Let’s go, Candy Cane. It’s time for dinner.”

Just as they turned to leave, the rest of the team converged on them, grabbing Rodney from behind. As they put the handcuffs on him, the pimp glared at Micki and shouted.

“You set me up, bitch! I should have known you were too clean for somebody that was sleeping on the streets. You can bet that I won’t forget this. My lawyer will bail me out before your head hits the pillow and then I’ll come after you. You can take that one to the bank, Candy Cane!”

Micki dropped all pretenses and looked at him through cold eyes. “I wouldn’t bet on it, scum. We’ve got two bodies down in the morgue with your signature all over them and three scared kids just waiting to spill their guts about you. They don’t give bail for murder one. Hell will freeze over before you see the sun without bars in your window again.”

The enraged pimp was still shouting as the squad car pulled away. Tracy walked out of the alley and the two women exchanged high fives.

Micki grinned. “That’s one more pimp off the street. Not bad for a night’s work.”

Tracy laughed. “Roger’s so happy that he’s almost dancing in the street.”

“I imagine Dobey and the commissioner will be happy, too, when Roger tells them that Rodney’s behind bars.”

Tracy nodded agreement then looked down the street. “Uh oh, I think I know someone that isn’t too happy right now.”

Micki looked in the same direction and cursed. “Damn, I guess he heard everything Rodney said. Brace yourself, partner. Here comes trouble.”

Hutch walked up to the two women with Starsky trailing behind him. Micki gazed up at her husband.

“See, I told you nothing would go wrong.”

Hutch scowled. “Oh, you don’t think anything went wrong? I guess Rodney threatening to come after you was just part of a day’s work.”

Micki groaned. “Come on, Ken. How many times have you been threatened? It comes with the job. Rodney isn’t going anywhere and you know it.”

“You hope he isn’t going anywhere! Damn it, Micki! Why do you keep putting yourself in these situations?  Creeps like Rodney don’t forget who put them in the clink. Don’t you have enough people gunning for you already?”

Micki glared up at him. “Then I guess if Rodney wants a piece of me, he’ll just have to take a number and stand in line.”

Hutch threw both hands in the air. “I give up! There’s no talking sense into you. Forget I said anything.”

Micki snarled. “Gladly.” She turned to her partner. “Come on, Tracy. It’s been a long night and I’m tired. I want to get our reports written so I can go home and go to bed.”

The two women walked back to Tracy’s car and got in. Micki stared out the window at her husband as they passed.

“Men!”

 

Hutch was already in bed when Micki got home. She undressed in the dark and slipped under the covers on her side. She wasn’t sure if he was really asleep or simply avoiding her, so she turned away from him and tried to sleep. Tears stung her eyes as the gulf between them seemed wider than ever before.

The next morning, Micki woke up in an empty bed. Hutch had slipped out of the apartment while she was still sleeping. The ache in her heart worsened. If they couldn’t talk about this, how would they ever resolve their differences?

As a reward for Rodney’s arrest, Dobey had given the two detectives the day off. So, instead of sitting in the empty apartment, Micki took off for Tracy’s.

The blond half of the duo took one look at her and immediately handed her another cup of coffee. Then Tracy carried her glass of Dr. Pepper and sat down at the bar, motioning for Micki to sit beside her.

“I guess things aren’t any better this morning?”

Micki shrugged. “I don’t know, since Ken left before I woke up.”

She looked at the blonde, tears glistening in her eyes. “What am I going to do, Tracy? Ken knew I did undercover work before we got married. Why is it such a big deal now? And don’t say it’s because he’s worried about me. He was worried before, but now he won’t even talk to me. How can we work this out if we can’t talk about it?”

Tracy shook her head. “I don’t know, Micki. I’m new to this marriage stuff, too. Maybe we should talk to someone who knows what marriage is like. Why don’t we go see your mom? She could give us some advice.”

Micki laughed. “Mom’s been married and divorced three times, Tracy. She’s not exactly an expert on happy marriages.” Then she sighed. “She could probably tell us what not to do, though. It’s worth a try, I guess. I feel like I’m walking a tightrope with Ken, and I don’t like it. Why can’t I do any thing right?”

An hour later, they were sitting in Carrie Gentry’s kitchen. Although Micki and her two sisters were grown and out on their own, Carrie had kept the house where she had raised her family. After the death of her first husband, the insurance had paid the mortgage in full, which took a large financial burden off Carrie’s shoulders. When her two subsequent marriages failed, she renovated the house completely, leaving her personal stamp on everything. Since both of Micki’s sisters had children, the three bedrooms came in handy for sleepover’s and baby sitting duties. And now that Micki was married, too, Carrie hoped for the patter of little feet around the house again, soon.

At the moment, though, a new grandchild didn’t seem likely. After listening to her youngest daughter recount her troubles, Carrie stared at her in amazement.

“You know, for somebody so smart, you can be really dumb sometimes.”

Micki’s eyes widened. “Gee, thanks, Mom! I love you, too.”

Carrie shook her head and softened her voice. “You don’t understand. You and Tracy are used to taking care of yourselves. You had to when you were growing up, with all of us working. You’re independent, and stubborn as Hell. You aren’t used to answering to anyone. But you aren’t alone any more. You have someone else to think about now.”

“What has that got to do with me going undercover?”

“You’re used to Tracy covering your back. If something goes wrong, you know she’s there to back you up. Now, you have Ken and Dave to consider. They’re older than you are, and they’re more experienced. Plus, they have all sorts of horror stories about their own careers. They’re afraid the same things that happened to them will happen to you.”

“I know that, but Ken didn’t throw that big a fit when I was sleeping with Tommy Carruthers. Why is he having a cow, now?”

“You weren’t married, then. You went undercover before you met Ken. It’s different now. Did you even talk to Ken before you accepted this assignment?”

“Of course I did. I told him that I was doing a favor for Roger. For Heaven’s sake, he knows I don’t do this all of the time. I know how to take care of myself and so does Tracy.”

Carrie sighed, exasperated. “That’s just it. You told him. You didn’t discuss it with him and you didn’t give him the chance to tell you how he felt. You just went on your merry way, whether he liked it or not. Marriage is about compromise, Micki.  You have to take Ken’s feelings into consideration, too.”

“I tried, but all we did was fight. I’m tired of arguing with him. What am I supposed to do now?”

Carrie poured glasses of tea for them all and thought for a moment.

“Answer some questions for me. Did you tell Ken that you turned down a spot in the Vice squad right after you made detective?”

“No.”

“Well, have you changed your mind about that decision?”

Tracy and Micki both shook their heads. Micki looked confused.

“No. I don’t know what you’re getting at.”

“OK, answer a few more questions and I’ll explain it to you. You used to want kids. Do you still want them?”

Micki thought for a moment. “Of course I still want them.”

“Have you even thought about what will happen when you have kids? Are you going to be going undercover when you’re pregnant? How do you think Ken will feel about that? Do you really want to put your baby in that kind of danger?”

Micki and Tracy exchanged looks. Tracy voiced what they were both thinking.

“We hadn’t thought about that. We always figured we’d be off the streets before we had kids. I don’t think Roger would even allow us to help him if we were pregnant.”

“Then why in the world are you putting this kind of strain on your marriage? Is showing your independence worth the problems it’s causing? Micki, you and Ken are fighting about something you don’t even want. I don’t know how David feels about it, but I can’t imagine he’s too happy, either.”

Micki looked over at her partner and raised her eyebrow. Tracy shrugged and nodded. Micki got up and kissed her mother on the cheek.

“Thanks, mom, we know what we have to do. If Ken calls, tell him I’ll be home later.”

As they walked out the door, two voices said, “I love you!”

Carrie sipped her tea and shook her head in amazement. “Someday they’ll put a book of instructions out about marriage and then all mothers every where will breathe a sigh of relief. Kids!”

 

Later that evening, Hutch paced their small apartment as he waited for Micki to come home. He regretted leaving that morning without resolving their argument and was determined to clear the air as soon as she got home. It was nearly dark when he heard her car pull to the curb. He sat down on the couch and pretended to read the newspaper as her key unlocked the door.

Micki was subdued as she put her keys on the small table and hung her purse on the door. She helped herself to a bottle of cold water and sat beside him on the couch.

“Hi.”

“Hi yourself. Where’ve you been?”

“Tracy and I went to see my mom, and then we went to see Roger.”

His jaw clenched behind the paper. “Oh, yeah, does he have another assignment for you?”

Micki pulled the newspaper down so she could see his face. “No, we told him that we couldn’t fill in for him any more. We’ll help with the plans, and coach the undercover officers on safety measures, but that’s all. We’re off the active duty list as of now.”

Hutch sighed as a heavy burden was lifted from his shoulders. He took Micki in his arms and held her tight. He buried his face in her hair and whispered with gratitude.

“Thank God! I don’t know why you did it, but you made me a happy man.”

Micki looked in his eyes and smiled slightly. “I’m not too good at this marriage stuff yet. Tracy and I have been together a long time. We know how we feel and we both want the same things. I wasn’t thinking about you. I was trying so hard to be independent that I didn’t stop to consider your feelings. I felt like you were forbidding me to go undercover and I just rebelled. I can be stubborn and kind of hard-headed sometimes. And I’m not real good at taking orders.”

Hutch grinned. “No, really? I hadn’t noticed.”

Micki grinned back. “OK, smart ass, don’t push it. When we talked to my mom, she made me see that I was fighting for something I didn’t even want. Tracy and I turned down a position in the Vice department right after we got our detective shields. So, we figured that it was time to concentrate on what we do want. We talked to Roger and after we explained things, he was cool with it. I get the feeling he was kind of relieved. When one of his people gets married, Roger usually takes them off the active duty roster. He told me that he considered this a one time shot, anyway. If I hadn’t talked to him, he would have taken me off the roster himself.”

Hutch ran his fingers through her hair. “I’m glad you talked to him. It means a lot that you went to him first. I know that it seemed like I wasn’t being fair, but I was really worried about you. You’re my wife and I love you. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“I know. I feel the same way about you. I’m really glad that you and Davy are off the streets, too.”

She kissed him and held him tight. “Tracy and I never wanted to be on the street. We worked our buns off to get through school and now it’s time to concentrate on our careers. Tomorrow, we’ll talk to Dobey and let him know that we want to focus on criminology.” She grinned again. “At least the hours will be more normal. We won’t have to spend our nights sitting in the Torino any more, and we might even get a day off once in a while.”

“Now that’s what I wanted to hear.”

 

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

 

Micki snapped back to the present and closed the file with a sharp click of her mouse, shaking her head. “I have no idea, but I’m going to find out.”

            She marched into Dobey’s office with Tracy right behind her. Captain Dobey looked up from the file he was reading.

            He frowned at the two women. “You’re picking up some bad habits from Starsky, Micki. Or, have you forgotten how to knock?”

            Micki didn’t waste time on answering him. “I just read that Rodney Fellows was released a week ago. Why? We had an air tight case! How could they just let him go?”

            Dobey sighed. He’d known this was coming. “They didn’t just let him go. He worked out a deal with the Feds.”

            Micki couldn’t believe her ears. “Rodney is nothing but a small time pimp. What could he possibly have that the Feds would want?”

            “He might have been small time in Bay City, but his rap sheet goes a long way back. He originally lived in Miami. Before he migrated to California, Rodney was involved with the Morales family. Juan Morales dabbles in everything from drugs to white slavery. The Feds always thought that Rodney was Juan’s top man in the white slavery trade, but they could never gather any hard evidence of that. When Louis Morales was found dead on the docks, the homicide detectives thought Rodney was partly responsible. Louis was older than Juan, but he was impulsive and sloppy. The Feds think Louis was murdered because he tried to run a scam on a European client that was buying teen age runaways and shipping them over to the Middle East. Louis was supposed to trade the girls for uncut heroin, but when the client headed home with the girls, something went wrong. The Feds got a tip and were waiting for the ship to leave port. The girls were sent home and the European client was put in prison. Louis, on the other hand, still had the uncut heroin. When the client’s employer heard about it, he was understandably annoyed. Soon after that, Louis was murdered and the Feds think Rodney had a hand in it.”

            Micki scowled at her captain. “And we didn’t know about this because….”

            “The whole incident was left out of Rodney’s file, on purpose. The Feds say they didn’t want the investigation to be compromised, so they kept Rodney’s part confidential. They insist that one thing had nothing to do with the other. Rodney was being tried for murder and that was a domestic dispute. It didn’t have anything to do with Morales. Now that he’s been convicted, it seems that Rodney has decided to cooperate with the Feds. He’s offered to help them bring down the whole Morales family in exchange for immunity and a place in the witness protection program.”

            “So the Feds get what they want, and Rodney gets away with murder. You know, that really stinks.”

            Dobey sat back and spread his hands out. “Of course it stinks, but that’s the way it is. To the Feds, Morales is a whole lot more important than a couple of dead hookers. I don’t like it, but there isn’t much we can do about it.”

            “So where’s Rodney now? Knowing his propensity for sweet young things, do the Feds actually think he’ll behave himself? Or, don’t they care?”

            Tracy had been standing quietly to one side, but now she shook her head slowly.

            “The Feds have really short memories. Have they forgotten JoJo Forentic? They gave him immunity in exchange for Dombarris and he went right out and raped another girl. Apparently, they didn’t learn their lesson from that.”

            Dobey shrugged. “I reminded them of that little fiasco, but they wouldn’t budge. The deal with Fellows stands. The Feds have assured us that Rodney won’t come any where near Bay City again and that’s the best I can do.”

            “That’s just wonderful! Now we have another psycho to worry about. Ken and Dave are going to be real thrilled when they hear this.”

            A voice came from behind the women. “When we hear what?”

            Micki turned and saw Starsky and Hutch standing in the door way. She decided that she didn’t want to be in the same room when her husband exploded, so she smiled sweetly at her captain.

            “I’ll let you explain it to him.”

With that, the women left the room. Micki held her breath and counted. She jumped when she heard Hutch bellow.

“HE WHAT?”

Ten minutes later, the two men stomped out of Dobey’s office and stalked right past their wives. Micki looked at her partner.

“Can I stay with you tonight?”

Tracy gazed thoughtfully at the door. “I don’t think you’ll want to.”

Micki looked in the same direction. “Mom has that extra bedroom.”

“I thought your sister and her kids were staying there.”

“That was last week. She went back to her husband.”

“Oh. Think she’d mind?”

“Nope.”

Tracy shook her head regretfully. “But we’d have to go home sometime. Maybe they’ll cool off in a little while.”

Micki snorted. “You really think so?”

Tracy sighed. “No, but it sounded encouraging.”

“Hey, how bad can it be? We’ve survived Tommy Carruthers and a psychotic Internal Affairs detective. Why should we be afraid of our own husbands?”

Tracy looked at her. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

Micki looked at the closed door again and sighed. “No.”

The two women picked up their purses and slowly walked out of the office. Micki cast her eyes to the ceiling and whispered a plea.

“Help?”

Micki dropped Tracy off then drove back to her apartment. On the way, she stopped at The Holman House and picked up dinner for her and Hutch. Maybe he won’t be quite so angry on a full stomach, and even if he is, it will give me time to come up with a defense. Damn Rodney Fellows anyway! He picked one Hell of a time to come back.  Don’t we have enough to deal with already?

She carried the food up the stairs and unlocked the front door. She knew her husband was home because his old Ford was parked in front of the building. As she laid the food on the kitchen table, she could hear the shower running. After hanging her purse on the hook by the bedroom door, she walked over to the bathroom door.

“I’m home, Ken! I brought dinner. I hope you’re in the mood for sliced beef and mashed potatoes.”

“I’ll be out in a minute.”

Micki sighed to herself. His voice wasn’t exactly filled with enthusiasm, but he didn’t seem angry, either. Micki watched her husband come out of the bathroom as she sat the table. He stopped toweling his hair long enough to give her a kiss then went back into the bedroom. She finished getting out the food then went into the bathroom to wash up. When she came out, she put a smile on her face.

“I thought take out would be faster than cooking tonight. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Nope, it looks good to me. I’m hungry. Starsky and I didn’t have time to eat lunch. We were tied up in meetings all day.”

She kept the conversation light as they ate their meal. After they carried their drinks into the living room and sat down on the couch, she turned to Hutch.

“I know hearing about Rodney wasn’t the way you wanted to end your day. Dobey wasn’t any happier about it than we were. The Feds don’t care about our little cases down here. Rodney was out to save his own ass and they were more than willing to listen.”

“I don’t care about Rodney, Micki. If he wants to sing for the Feds, let him. I’m worried about him coming after you. We all know how bad the Feds screwed up with JoJo. I don’t want you or Tracy to become Rodney’s next victims.”

“I don’t either, Ken. But there isn’t much we can do about it now. Tracy and I are off the streets. If Rodney wants to come after us, he’ll have to follow us into the station, or come after us at home. I don’t think he’s dumb enough to try either one. Whether we like it or not, Rodney isn’t the only convict that has a grudge against us. We can’t hide our heads in the sand and wait for him to go away.”

Hutch fixed her with a look. “I know, but you can be careful. I don’t want either you or Tracy to go any where alone. I want you to stick together and stay in public places whenever possible. If you have to go into one of the seedier parts of town, take back-up with you. If you think you see Rodney, I want you to yell out as loud as you can, and get somewhere safe.”

“We will, Ken. We’re not out to be heroes. Tracy and I are trying to get pregnant. We wouldn’t put our babies in danger by being reckless. I hope you know that.”

Hutch sighed and took her in his arms. “I know, but it scares the Hell out of me to think he’s back on the streets. The Feds can make promises until the cows come home, but I don’t trust them any more than I trust Rodney. If we give him enough rope, he’ll hang himself eventually, but I don’t want you in harms way until then. So, stick together and stay close to home.”

She kissed him and hugged his neck. “We will. I don’t want you to worry about this. You have enough on your mind. We’ll be careful, and if we hear anything about Rodney, you’ll be the first to know.”

Micki held her husband close and drove all thoughts of Rodney Fellows from her mind. They were trying to start a new generation of Starsky’s and Hutch’s and didn’t want it spoiled by specters from their past.

 

 

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