Bending the Bow

Bending the Bow

He's given me his thee to keep,
secret, alone, in Love's name,
for what sake I have only in faith.

(Robert Duncan, Sonnet 4, Bending the Bow)

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

The beach was deserted, and frighteningly still and quiet. Only was there sand and the ocean, no air to breathe, or fresh water to drink. Nor was there bird song. The ocean washed over his feet calmly, gently, inexorably, mounting higher with each succeeding wave.

Behind him, the ground shook. He turned in time to see the sand open and reveal a small tree. The tree burst into leaf, the leaves turned brown and fell. The dead leaves became earth.

'Earth,' said the tree.

..............................................

Laughter. A soft wet tongue in his ear.

'Hutch. So now I'm a tree. Once I was a baby bird, but now I'm a tree. How I've grown.'

Hutch moaned as Starsky pressed against him to demonstrate just how he had grown.

'Keep on dreaming, I'm a tree. What's tree-like about me? Mmm? This maybe?'

'Starsk?'

'I love your dreams, Hutch. You're the earth and I'm a tree. Let me plant myself in you.'

'Starsk!'

'Yeah, I'm disgusting. I know.'

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

Hutch entered the bull pen alone for once. Starsky had decided to stop in at the men's room first. On his desk was a long white envelope. Detective Kenneth Hutchinson. Private.

He opened it and stared at the single sheet of paper. The typed words danced in front of his disbelieving eyes. The blood roared in his ears as he read the obscene message. As if from a great distance, he heard his partner enter the room and walk toward his desk.

Starsky was talking to him, but the words made no sense. Hutch jumped up, babbling something about deciding that he had to use the can too, and would meet Starsky in the garage, and ran out of the room.

In the men's room, he tore the blackmail note into tiny pieces and flushed it down the toilet, where it belonged. Then he threw up all his breakfast, and a good part of last night's dinner as well.

So, it begins, he thought. He imagined Starsky getting a letter like that. Then another. He could see Starsky's eyes growing cold. His gentle touches growing less and less frequent until at last they stopped altogether. How will I live, Hutch thought. Once I had his friendship, the greatest friendship that ever was. Then he gave me his love to keep. Then his body, and that tremendous joy we shared last night. And now some sick, jealous, bottom feeding pond scum has dared....

When Hutch was sure there was no more to come up, and he had splashed enough cold water on his face to turn his face blue, he squared his shoulders and strolled out to join his partner in the Torino.

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

The ocean had claimed more of the beach. He and the tree now lived on their own tiny island. The waves lapped gently at the margins of their world, but did not engulf them.

The tree gave birth to more leaves, and the leaves created oxygen. Now they could both breathe.

'Air,' said the tree.

..............................................

'Are we breathing? That's nice. Breathing is good. Breathe for me, love.'

Hutch sighed in his sleep. In his sleep he was enjoying the luxury of breathing for the first time since he had read that note.

'What note, baby? What aren't you telling me, Hutch?'

'No. No note.'

'Shh. It's alright. Everything's fine. Just sleep and breathe and dream I'm a tree.'

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

The second letter waited on his desk when they got in to work the next morning. Starsky saw it, and tried to grab it. Hutch managed to keep it out of his hands and stomped out of the bullpen. 'I'll wait for you in my car,' he announced, as he exited stage left. Starsky took a while to join him, which did not improve Hutch's temper any.

'Look, Starsk,' he said.

'I'm looking, babe, but I'm not seeing anything I understand. What was in that letter?'

'Starsky, I do not owe you an explanation for everything I do. Just drop the subject. Maybe we need some time apart. Maybe I'll go back to my place, and you should go home to yours tonight. How's that?'

'What? Hutch, all I wanted to know was...'

'Squack! Attention all units in the vicinity of Ocean and Larch. There is a serious domestic disturbance at 8576 Larch, apartment 236. Repeat. All units. Domestic disturbance....'

Hutch turned on the siren and Starsky attached the Mars light. They roared off down the street, and were the first on the scene. Domestic disturbances were not among their usual duties, but right now, anything was welcome as a distraction, thought Hutch.

He thought that until they entered the building. The screams had an animalistic quality about them that was nothing like he had ever heard. The hall outside the door of 236 was full of other residents of the building. All were standing around wondering what was going on. Hutch kicked down the door. The smell of burning flesh was unbearable. The screams from this close up were unbearable as well. But what was truly unbearable, was the sight that greeted them in the kitchen. A man jumped up from the table to protest as they stormed in, interrupting breakfast. His wife looked up from her cup of coffee.

Their baby was there as well. In a frying pan on the stove. The stove was turned on. And if that were an accident, you'd think the occupants of suite 236 would have noticed by now.

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

No light was on in the whole apartment, and his eyes were accustomed to the dark by now, so he could see every detail in the empty street below, including the watcher in the doorway across the street and several doors down. 'Waiting for Starsky to show up?' he wondered out loud. 'Well, you'll be disappointed. Crawl back under that rock you slithered out from. We had a big fight, thanks to you, and...'

He had been standing there alone and silent so long that the knock at his door actually made him jump, before he realized that the rhythm of the knock was achingly familiar. So familiar, and so welcome and unwelcome that he couldn't bring himself to move or even turn around for a few moments. His paralysis lasted too long and Starsky used his own key to let himself in.

'Hutch?'

Hutch opened his mouth to speak, but found that he could say nothing.

'Hutch, love, please, what did I do? I'm sorry, Hutch, I'll never do it again. I just want to apologize and....'

Hutch managed to turn around. The light from the open hallway door must have been enough for Starsky to see his face, because in an instant he had obliterated the distance between them and wrapped Hutch in his arms.

'I'm a coward,' Hutch said.

'You're full of shit, but I can deal with it. The baby's going to live, Hutch.'

'Yeah. Live. No thanks to her parents.' Hutch said that last word as if it were obscene.

'Come on, let's go to bed, Beloved. Whatever you're angry at me about, let it go for now. Neither of us should be alone tonight.'

'I'm not angry at you, Starsky.'

'Good. We'll talk in the morning, okay?'

'Yeah. Morning. Talk.'

'Right, Tarzan.' ..............................................

The tree grew. More leaves fell. Dead branches fell at his feet. The sunlight warmed them and they burst into flame.

'Fire,' said the tree.

'Hutch. Dreaming of fire? I know. But fire can warm as well as burn. Dream of fire, Hutch. Dream of this....' ..............................................

Starsky looked at the envelope carefully, then opened it and removed the contents with scientific precision, as if he were a dissecting something that might be poisonous. He read the letter and laughed. 'I don't think this will win the next Pulitzer Prize.'

'It's not funny, Starsk.'

'No. It's not. He wrote you crap like this before?' 'Once.'

'Tuesday morning.'

'Yeah.'

Starsky held the letter up and waved it under Hutch's nose.

'This is shit, babe.'

'I know. And I'm ignoring it like the first one.'

'Good.'

'But he knows. Someone has figured it out, and he may say something. He may tell everyone, like he threatened. Starsky, I'm sorry. I should have told you.'

'Yes. You should have told me so I could help you deal with it. That's what I'm for. Look, do you have any idea who this bozo is?'

'Yeah. I've noticed him following me. I managed to get his license plate number.'

'Great. That's great. Let's find out who we're dealing with. Then we'll handle him. Or her?'

'No. Him. Last night I saw him watching the building. He probably saw you come here, and knows you spent the night.'

'Big fuckin' deal.'

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

They strode into the bullpen. Starsky stalked up to their desks and picked up the two long white envelopes with the tips of his fingers.

'Look,' he chirped. 'I got one too.'

'Wonderful.'

'Makes no difference, babe. Come on. Let's go see Dobey.'

Hutch knocked on the captain's door. Starsky opened it, and stalked in.

'Come in, gentlemen.'

'Thanks. We will.'

'I thought you'd like to know, Hutch. The father of that little girl you rescued from the stove? He's going to press charges against you. Says you burned his face on the stove while arresting him.'

'Who? Hutch? No way, Cap. I was there. He slipped and hit his head on the stove. Grease on the floor. Saw it with my own two eyes.'

'Good. You'll testify to that, Starsky?'

'Swear on a stack of Bibles.'

'Fine. Now, to what do I owe the honour of this visit?'

Starsky tossed the letters on his desk. Dobey picked up the opened one and read it. He laughed, heartily.

'Okay. Is this some sort of joke, because...'

'It's no joke, Cap. Hutch has had several of these notes, and this morning, I got this one.' He picked up the letter addressed to himself and held it up.

'I haven't read it, as you can see, but it's probably the same crapola.'

'Yeah. Whoever this creep is, he sure as Hell has an active imagination.'

'Captain Dobey?'

'Yeah, Starsky?'

'He's not imagining anything. What he says in there is true. Well, except for the bit about what we do bein' disgusting.'

Dobey stared at them for a long time, silently. Starsky stared back. Then he said, 'We just thought you should know that we're not gonna lie. You lie like that long enough about your life, and eventually you choke to death on all the falsehoods. We're not gonna up and resign. If we're fired we're not gonna leave quietly.'

'I see.'

'Good. Seeing is believing. Right, Hutch?'

Hutch's face seemed to be lit from within as if he had just witnessed a miracle. He was gazing at Starsky as if he expected him to walk through walls next, or on water. Then he turned to Dobey.

'I saw this blackmailing scum following me and I got his license number. It was a rental, but we got the name of the guy who rented it.'

'And?'

'It was a cop, of course, which I'd already figured out. Who else would have so much easy access to our desks? Detective Myerson, in fact.'

'Ah.'

'Uh, Cap?'

'Yes, Starsky?'

'Are you going to say anything useful?'

'Just give me a minute. I'm thinking. Is all this really necessary?'

'Is all what really necessary?'

'I thought you two were just friends. Why couldn't you have stayed friends? It'd make my life easier. Why do you have to...'

'Uh, Cap?'

Dobey roared, 'Yes, Starsky?'

'This isn't getting us anywhere. Things are stayin' the way they're stayin'. We're not changing to suit you or anyone else. We're not lying. We're not...'

'Starsky!' Dobey was bellowing again. 'I got all that the first time.'

'Good. Then I won't have to repeat it?'

'No. Leave this with me. Just carry on as usual. I'll take care of it.'

'Okay. We've got places to go and people to arrest. Bye, Cap.'

'Yeah. God, I've got a headache.'

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

'Looking for something, Detective?'

Detective Myerson looked up from Hutch's desk with an expression of utter innocence.

'These maybe? It seems you left them there earlier. Come on in my office if you want them back.'

Myerson followed Dobey into his office.

'Well, Detective. It seems that you have talents which you have been hiding from me. I was wondering why your arrest rate was so low, but now I understand.'

'Captain, I don't know what...'

'Be silent! You speak when I give you permission. Understand me?'

'Yes, Sir!'

'Good. Now, to get back to what I was saying. It seems that you've been using your time to follow my best detectives around and take pictures. Pictures of them walking along a beach, no less. This is not what you were hired for. I checked with IA, and they know nothing of your activities. And certainly blackmail isn't on their list of duties anyway. These letters a fair sample of your usual style?'

'Um...'

'Here. Sign this.'

'What?'

'It's a request for a transfer to Vice. Sign. Now. They'll put your talents to better use. Just stay away from Detectives Starsky and Hutchinson. And me. I don't want to hear or see any more of this crap. Got it?'

'I don't want to work for Vice.'

'That's too bad, because it's either there or nowhere in this building. I've contacted some of your former employers. They're not saying much, but most of them seem to have some suspicions that you've done this sort of thing before. Want me to make a big issue out of it?'

'No, Sir.'

'That's good. I have more important things to do than dig around in the cesspool of your past life. But make no mistake. If it becomes necessary, I will.'

'Over those sick faggots?'

'Sign this. Right here. Thank you so much. Now, get out. And I don't want to see your face again. Clear?'

'Yes, Sir.'

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

The roots of the tree now ran deep. They shook and created a fissure in the soil from which cool water bubbled.

'Water,' said the tree.

*** The End ***

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