Not at War, Not at Peace

By

Cynthia

Ethan and Dylan had just walked into the squad room when they heard their captain yell their names. Dylan crossed his arms and gave Ethan a look.

“I told you not to add that part to your report,” Dylan told him.

“Hey, partner. It had to go in. It wasn’t my fault the girl took a liking to you.”

“Girl, hell,” Dylan said with a foul look. “That was a transvestite!”

“Well, you didn’t know at the time,” Ethan replied walking towards his captain’s office.

It had been almost three months since Dylan and Ethan had partnered up. It turned into the best decision both of them had ever made. They worked extremely well together and had made quite the reputations on the street and in the 110^th precinct in Queens, New York. They had saved each other’s lives on several occasions and they never failed to back each other up. Not only were they partners, they were best friends.

Ethan and Dylan had first met on a difficult assignment in a precinct on the other side of the country. It was not only that coincidence that had brought them together. It was also the fact that their half brothers were the most popular cops in Metro Division. Ethan being David Starsky’s half brother and Dylan was Ken Hutchinson’s. It had been a decision to keep it to themselves which at times had been difficult.

While there had been some contact between them and their half brothers, it wasn’t the relationship either of them had hoped for. Starsky and Hutch both had come out once since their last visit. Ethan and Dylan enjoyed the visit with them, but it was nothing more than friends visiting. The only reason they had come out was the fact Starsky’s mother had been ill for a short time.

Starsky had been a bit surprised at Ethan’s involvement in his mother’s life. When he had arrived, Ethan stepped aside quickly enough so Starsky could stay with her. It had remained that way and Rachel Starsky respected Ethan enough to let him keep the secret she had known for many years.

Dylan had wanted to get to know Hutch better, but it had been difficult. In fact, he looked up to him. Dylan wanted to be as good as a cop as Hutch was. He wanted to be good enough for the entire Hutchinson family and there were times he had been on the verge of telling him the truth, but he still remembered Hutch’s disbelief and the hard punch to the face the one time he had attempted to tell him. It was what kept Dylan’s silence.

Ethan opened the door and Dylan walked through in front of him. They looked over at two suits that stood near the window of their captain’s office.

“These are Federal Agents Kosk and Myers,” Captain Milligan told Ethan and Dylan.

“Yippee,” Ethan said with a bored look.

“What do we owe this honor,” Dylan sighed crossing his arms.

“Gentlemen.” Agent Kosk stepped forward. “As well you know Tanner Caulfield’s trial will be starting in a week. After all the legal wrangling and the press this case has received, there is finally a trial date.”

“With all the evidence piled at his feet, I’m shocked that he even pleaded not guilty,” Dylan stated.

“Be that as it may,” Myers said, “his attorney is using a defense that was expected.”

“That doesn’t explain why the two of you are here,” Ethan retorted. “I know the feds have their hands in this thing, but Dylan and I did our jobs.”

“That’s what Caulfield’s attorney is aiming for,” Kosk told them. “The claim will be that you and your partner, Starsky and Hutchinson also conspired and set him up.”

“What a load of horse shit,” Dylan blurted out. “We got him dead to rights on this and he damn well knows it!”

“Knock it off, Wade,” Milligan hollered. Milligan looked over at the federal agents. “Why did you need to see my men?”

“Captain, because of the nature of the case, the publicity involved and the trial, the defense attorney wants these men quartered and isolated for the duration.”

“What?” Ethan exclaimed. “We’ve got a caseload right now and besides, we’re not the ones on trial here!”

“Detective,” Meyers said, “we understand, but you have got to realize this trial will have a great deal of focus. Everything has to be done above board and no one can question the integrity of the officers involved.”

“And separating us and pulling us off the street is the way to do it,” Dylan said shaking his head.

“The attorneys don’t want either of you to have an opportunity to put a story together.”

“Why?” Ethan turned his head towards the agents.

“They are questioning the actions of the officers involved in this case. Given how far it goes back and the involvement of other officers, it gives them enough suspicion to take it to the judge,” Kosk explained.

“The judge agreed with this?” Milligan asked.

“Yes.” Meyers said. “He believes this will prevent a mistrial and Caulfield from walking.”

“So what now?” Dylan asked.

“You both are relieved of duty for now,” Milligan said with a heavy sigh. “It’s only temporary so keep the badges and guns.”

“You both will also be escorted home where you will stay till the attorneys and the judge feels it will be no longer necessary. Your phones will be monitored as well as any visitors you might have. They will have to gain permission through the judge in order to see you,” Kosk stated.

“I don’t believe this!” Dylan yelled. “We get treated like criminals because we did our goddamn job and Caulfield’s probably laying out ways to stake us out to dry!”

“Wait a sec.” Ethan laid his hand on Dylan’s shoulder. “You mentioned Starsky and Hutch. Are they being called back here as well?”

“Yes,” Meyers answered. “They will live under the same conditions as you and your partner.”

Ethan shot a look over at Dylan who gave him a side look. Both knew where this could possibly go and neither of them liked it one single bit. Dylan looked over at Milligan.

“Can Ethan and I talk for a minute before we’re confined”, Dylan asked.

“No, Detective,” Kosk told him. “We’re under strict orders for this to begin immediately.”

“Everything will be fine, buddy,” Dylan told Ethan with a pat on the arm. “It’ll be a piece of cake. It’ll give me a chance to improve my cooking.”

“More like a chance to make more money,” Ethan muttered with a bit of a smile.

Dylan walked out of the office and Ethan stood looking at the federal agents and then at his captain. He hated this more than he had ever hated anything in his life which included Tanner Caulfield.

Starsky was pacing back and forth in front of Captain Dobey’s desk. He kept looking over at the Federal Agents standing behind him. He stopped and looked back at Hutch who was unusually quiet and subdued.

“You guys can’t be serious,” Starsky told them. “We got the guy cold.”

“The attorney’s feel that the investigation into their client needs to be looked at,” one of the agents told him.

“That’s because Caulfield is feeding them a line,” Hutch explained. “He thinks by throwing the focus off of himself and onto us it might get him off.”

“It could very well happen,” another agent said. “Given the numerous police officers involved, the involvement of the mob and the history we’re looking at here, it bears more scrutiny. You both know as well as I do every detail must be looked into.”

“Are you saying there’s something wrong with the case”, Starsky asked.

“There are a lot of unanswered questions,” one agent said quietly.

“What sort of questions?” Hutch asked.

“We’re not at liberty to say at this time,” he answered.

“Great,” Starsky said waving his hand. “We’ll get to New York and we’ll get blindsided at the trial. That ought to make Caulfield’s slime bag of a lawyer do cartwheels.”

“Settle down, Starsky,” Dobey said. “No one likes this situation any more than you do. I’ll hand your caseload over to Berry and Pierson.”

“The flights are scheduled for this afternoon,” an agent said stepping forward with the tickets in hand. “We’ll escort you both separately and once in New York, we’ll put you in hotel rooms.”

“Well, at least Ma will like an unexpected visit,” Starsky mumbled.

“Detective,” an agent said, “you will be allowed to see your mother, but the visit will be supervised.”

“No way!” Starsky said with a thunderous look.

“You have no choice in the matter. Given the involvement your father had with Tanner Caulfield that’s the way it has to be. It’s by order of the judge.”

“I don’t give a shit if the…”

“Starsky,” Dobey said raising his voice. “I’ll make some calls and see what I can do.”

“That’s my mother, Cap,” Starsky said raising his voice. “No one is going to be spying on her!”

Starsky stormed out of the office with Hutch close behind. Dobey looked over at the federal agents with a dark look.

“You both have jobs to do, but your treading on personal lives here. I’d watch it if I were you.”

Neither agent said anything as they left his office. Dobey leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. It had been hard on his men since this whole investigation had began and after speaking with Milligan he knew it had been difficult on Morgan and Wade as well. There were times Dobey had felt this had been much more personal than any of them had let on. He had a strange feeling it would get much more complicated and personal from the sounds of it.

A week later the four of them were brought to the federal courthouse in New York. The sidewalks were thick with spectators and the media alike. As each one was escorted by federal agents through the throng of people, they stole glances at each other. They ignored the questions coming from the press as they were pulled inside. Once inside each were separately put in offices until time for the trial to start.

Once inside the courtroom they were seated behind the prosecution. Ethan looked over at Tanner who was chatting with his lawyer. Tanner looked over and gave Ethan a nod which Ethan turned away from. Starsky looked over at Hutch who had also noticed it as well. Dylan looked over at Hutch and he could feel his own heart beating nervously.

The entire courtroom stood when the judge entered and when everyone was seated the formalities began. The charges were read and both attorneys pleaded their case before the jury. The judge granted a fifteen minute recess before the prosecution called its first witness.

Dylan closed his eyes slightly as he heard his name called. He stood up and walked to the stand. He was sworn in and the prosecutor came up to him. Katharine Gregory was a more than capable lawyer and she showed it as she began to question him. As an assistant District Attorney she was well aware of the complications of the case and where it could go. However, she was ignorant of the true connections between these officers as well as everyone else with the exception of Ethan and Dylan.

She questioned Dylan for close to two hours and he adequately explained how they had made the case against Tanner Caulfield. She sat down and pulled her notepad close as William Bennett stood. He was the most expensive attorney in New York and his designer suit showed it. He was also ruthless and unforgiving in going for the wins in court. Dylan hoped he was ready for this.

“Detective Wade,” Bennett began, “what made you take this case which was clear across the country?”

“Tanner Caulfield offered me the position as an investigating officer in Metro’s internal affairs department,” Dylan told him.

“He offered and you took,” Bennett stated.

“Asked and answered, your honor,” Katharine said.

“Move on, Counselor,” Judge Mathews said.

“Was that the only reason you took the assignment?”

“I don’t like dirty cops. They make it hard for the rest of us to do our jobs.”

“When you arrived at Metro Division you began looking into all the officers in the entire department. Did that include Starsky and Hutchinson?”

“Yes, it did.”

“What did you learn about those two officers, Detective?”

“They had no involvement in the committee or the activities related to them.”

“I understand you went through their entire caseload,” Bennett inquired.

“Yes, it’s SOP.”

“Did you study their past cases?”

“Yes,” Dylan answered.

Bennett walked over to his table and pulled a piece of paper out of the stack sitting on top. He walked over to Dylan with it in his hand.

“Detective, I have here the log from the records room at Metro Division. It says here that you pulled the case files for Starsky and Hutchinson for the last three years.”

“That is correct. It was essential that I establish a pattern of behavior for any officers that could be involved. Theirs weren’t the only ones, Mr. Bennett.”

“Yes, I see that,” Bennett said walking back to his table. He pulled another paper out from the stack and turned around to look at Dylan. “But late one evening you went to the records room and personally pulled more case files. Instead of having a rookie do the work for you, you did it yourself.”

Dylan didn’t answer and he could see what was coming a mile away. He shifted his eyes over to Hutch who was clueless. When he looked over at Ethan, he gave him a look of encouragement.

“You pulled Detective Sergeant Kenneth Hutchinson’s files for another two years previous to his partners,” Bennett insinuated. “Why did you pull them but not his partner’s?”

Dylan sighed heavily and paused before answering. He could feel the stares on him and rather to tell the real reason he made a decision to take another route.

“There were a few questions concerning a case. I felt it necessary to go back farther.”

“Which case would that be, Detective?” Bennett asked.

“The Ben Forrest case,” Dylan said as he reached for a glass of water. Dylan glanced up and he could see the hardness in Hutch’s eyes. He nervously took a small drink of the water.

“What questions did you have?” Bennett asked.

“Objection.” Katharine rose from her chair. “Your honor, this has no bearing on the matter at hand.”

“I disagree, Judge,” Bennett replied with a quick glance at opposing counsel. “This goes to the character of the investigating officers. Detective Wade was an Internal Affairs officer investigating a corrupt police department. He found questions regarding one of the original investigating officers when the committee first came to light.”

“I’ll allow it, Counselor, but tread carefully,” the judge told him. “Answer the question, Detective.”

“Actually, I’m not at liberty to discuss my findings. You would have to take that up with the attorney general who knows the particulars.”

“Detective,” Bennett said with a bit of an angry look. “You found problems regarding Detective Hutchinson and you are telling this court you can’t elaborate on them.”

“That’s correct.” Dylan explained. “Those records have been sealed and the only way of getting a look at them is by speaking with the Attorney General. You could even call Ben Forrest here and he couldn’t tell you a thing. He’s been restricted from speaking about it. A gag order was put in place by the Federal Courts at the request of the FBI and the Attorney General’s office.”

“We’ll see about that,” Bennett challenged turning towards the table. He pulled his notepad out and leafed through it. “Detective, there are a few more questions I have. In regards to your current partnership with Detective Morgan what made you decide to leave internal affairs and ask for Morgan as a partner?”

“I felt like I had seen enough bad cops,” Dylan answered honestly. “I was more than ready to hit the streets and since Detective Morgan and I had worked well together on this case, I wanted him for a partner.”

“It wasn’t because no one else would partner with him?”

“Your Honor,” Katharine stood up.

“Withdrawn,” Bennett replied. “While you were working on this investigation, an Oleander Wilson was shot and killed by a member of the committee during a bust.”

“Yes,” Dylan said softly

“Did you investigate the matter?”

“Harvey Quinton shot and killed him.”

“And you were aware of this?”

“Not until after the fact,” Dylan explained, “I didn’t get the opportunity to speak with Detective Morgan until later.”

“When you discovered what this officer had done, why didn’t you have him arrested?”

“It would have blown the case out of the water. We needed to get all the committee members and the only way was to let it play out.”

“So rather than take a killer cop off the streets you let him remain free to kill again.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Dylan replied with a forceful tone. “Detective Morgan was undercover and Quinton set it up to see if he would back him up. It was the only shot we had in shutting the committee down.”

“Detective, you took a huge risk by allowing Harvey Quinton to remain free to practice his form of vigilante justice. He could have easily killed someone else.”

“Move on, Mr. Bennett,” the judge ordered.

“Yes, your Honor,” Bennett replied. “Let’s turn our attention to my client, Detective. Your report stated that you approached Detective Hutchinson in regards to Mr. Caulfield.”

“Yes.”

“Why did you suspect my client?”

“Harvey Quinton had mentioned someone by the name of T.C.”

“Detective,” Bennett smiled. “I could pull a phonebook out with hundreds of names with those initials. Surely, that wasn’t your only reason.”

“It wasn’t,” Dylan admitted. “Tanner Caulfield’s name came up quite a bit which I thought was odd.”

“Are you speaking his affiliation with your partner and Detective Starsky’s father?”

“Yes”, Dylan replied. “He was involved with putting this task force together, he had known my partner since he was a kid and he knew Detective Starsky’s father. I had a hunch and went with it.”

“Why approach Detective Hutchinson?”

“I didn’t want him to see what we were doing. If Tanner Caulfield found out that we were investigating him he would have covered his bases and we would’ve gotten nowhere.”

“Detective, I find it strange that you didn’t let your partner in on your activity.”

“I knew how he felt about Tanner Caulfield. I had hoped I was wrong, but I wasn’t.”

“And how was this search into my client conducted without him discovering it?”

“I knew that Detective Hutchinson had political connections that could get it done quietly without anyone being the wiser.”

“Well,” Bennett said crossing his arms, “that brings us back to Detective Hutchinson. How did you know about his connections?”

“I investigated him among others.”

“It seems you knew a lot about this man, Detective Wade. What else did you know about him?”

“I learned he is a top rated cop and highly respected.”

“It seems you’ve taken quite an interest in him and his family over the years.” Bennett walked to the table and after spending a moment sorting through the various papers, he pulled one out. “Detective Wade, how much is your net worth?”

“You’re Honor,” Katharine interjected. “This entire line of questioning has no bearing on this case whatsoever. We are here to try Tanner Caulfield and not the investigating officers involved in this case.”

“Your Honor, these officers and their activities during this investigation have a bearing. These men have histories which go to character and a pattern of behavior which directly affects the case made against my client.”

“Continue, Mr. Bennett, but let me warn you. I will not have you going off on a witch hunt which will damage the careers of good police officers.”

“Yes, your honor.”

“Answer the question, Detective,” the judge instructed.

“Last I checked it was in the neighborhood of 22 million,” Dylan sighed.

“I have 29 million.”

“I sold some property last month.”

“Detective, Sotheby’s records indicate that you frequent their auctions.”

“From time to time.”

“Two years ago, you were a silent bidder at a charity auction they held.”

“That’s correct,” Dylan replied trying not to let his nervousness show.

“We’ve subpoenaed the auction records and they indicate you bought certain items which were put up by Margaret Hutchinson. That is Detective Hutchinson’s mother, is that correct?”

“So I’m told.”

“You knew that didn’t you?”

“Yes, I knew.” Dylan looked at the glass of water.

“We also have on record that you recently bought a home on Long Island.”

“My mother’s home. It came up for sale and I bought it.”

“Your mother worked for Detective Hutchinson’s father as well. Is that correct?”

Dylan looked up at Hutch who had an apologetic look on his face. He could feel the guilt eating away at him and Dylan turned his face.

“Yes,” Dylan looked down at his hands. “She did.”

“We managed to learn something quite interesting as well,” Bennett stated. He opened the file and looked down at the papers. “The money which paid for the house your mother bought came from Richard Hutchinson.”

“What?”

“It's right here, Detective.” Bennett walked forward. He handed Dylan the file and turned away. “Richard Hutchinson, the father of Detective Hutchinson, gave your mother $25,000 which she used to buy the house where you lived until she died. You bought several items which were owned by the Hutchinson family after his death and you also have managed to build quite a fortune which is almost comparative to the Hutchinson family. How do you explain this, Detective?”

“What?” Dylan repeated tearing his gaze away from the reality which had been handed to him.

“You have an unusual interest in the Hutchinson family and Richard Hutchinson gave your mother quite a sum of money. It would almost seem that you and the Hutchinson family are old friends.”

Dylan licked his dry lips and looked down at the Photostat copy of the check his father had made out to his mother. He looked back up at Bennett and over at Hutch. He could see the questions in his eyes.

“I can’t.” Dylan closed the folder.

“You can’t or won’t?”

“Both.”

“Detective,” Judge Mathews said, “if you don’t answer the question you will be faced with contempt of court.”

“I’m well aware of that, your honor,” Dylan replied. “I had no idea Richard Hutchinson gave my mother this money. I can’t discuss anything beyond that.”

“I will give you this, Detective,” the judge told him, “you have 24 hours to change your mind. If not, you will be jailed until you can adequately answer this question to the court’s satisfaction.”

“I have no further questions.”

“Prosecution, your witness.” Judge Mathews motioned towards the prosecution.

“Right to recall, your honor.” Katharine said.

“Agreed. Dismissed, Detective.”

Dylan stood up and he could feel the stickiness in his suit. He looked over at Hutch and he knew there were questions. He could see it in his eyes. Dylan already knew what they were, but he at least had some time to come to a decision. He sat down at the chair feeling tired and worn out.

The judge dismissed the courtroom for lunch and the four men were escorted their separate ways. None of them liked the turn of events and it wasn’t looking good for the prosecution even at this early start of the trial. Hutch sat in the chair and stared at the sandwich and the soda sitting across from him. He didn’t understand any of it. He wished he could talk to his mother but he knew he couldn’t do it without listening ears. He had no idea Caulfield’s attorney would pull something like this. If he kept going at it, it would look like the four of them conspired to set Caulfield up. He only hoped that when he got on the stand it was a bit easier on him.

Dylan stared out the window ignoring the lunch on the table. Richard Hutchinson had paid his mother. It seemed obvious to him now. More than likely Richard Hutchinson had known about him. There was nothing in his mother’s letter to indicate it. It had been more like a plea for him to see his son. Dylan had interpreted it as he had seen fit. He wasn’t willing to announce on the witness stand that Richard Hutchinson was his father. It would look like that as brothers they were protecting their best friends who were also brothers. God, Dylan thought. This thing was heading south fast and he had no idea how to stop it.

Everyone arrived after lunch and court was called to session. Ethan knew he would be next and he had a fairly good idea he was going to get crucified from the way Bennett had handled Dylan. He made his way to the stand and after taking the oath, he uneasily sat down. He was cross examined by Katharine and it had gone somewhat well. He hated the questions in regards to his mother and Michael Starsky. He had expected it. When she was finished, he swung his gaze over to Bennett who was talking with Tanner. Ethan felt a bit nervous as Bennett finished and stood up.

“Detective Morgan,” Bennett began “why did you take the assignment investigating the committee?”

“I spoke with my captain after hearing about it. It was a nice change of pace from New York.”

“Really?” Bennett said cynically crossing his arms.

“Sure,” Ethan said calmly “Running the streets of New York can get old after a while and California was a change. It was an important case.”

“So when you were partnered up with Harvey Quinton, you played hard and fast with the rules.”

“On a few occasions. It was important that I establish myself as a cop which walked the line.”

“As an undercover officer, you came dangerously close to breaking a few rules.”

“It’s in my report.”

“Yes, it is. Were there any that you broke that aren’t in your report?”

“Your Honor.” Katherine rose from her seat.

“Mr. Bennett, you had better have something to back up that statement?”

“I withdraw the question, your honor. Detective Morgan, I want to go over the shooting of Oleander Wilson briefly. You said in your report, when you and Harvey Quinton walked into the room, he stood up and Quinton shot him.”

“Yes. He had barely gotten to his feet.”

“You had your weapon drawn as well?”

“Yes.”

“You made no attempt to stop Harvey Quinton?”

“There was no time. He shot him before I could even move.”

“Did you question Quinton about it, Detective?”

“He walked over and planted his spare on Oleander Wilson,” Ethan sighed heavily. The horrible image flashed quickly in his mind. “He had walked over to me and it was directly after that Detective Starsky arrived.”

“Why didn’t you contradict Quinton’s word about the shooting?”

“I was undercover.” Ethan replied with a fixed stare at Bennett. “I had two choices. Either go along with it and maintain the cover or tell what had really happened. There would have been no chance we would have gotten any further with the investigation. I could have also been killed by the committee members if I had told what really had happening initially.”

“Would it have been worth it if Harvey Quinton had taken another life in that same manner, Detective?”

“Objection,” Katharine called out.

“I withdraw the question.” Bennett turned toward the table. “You’ve known Tanner Caulfield since you were a child?”

“Yes, he caught me swiping a radio from a car.”

“How old were you at the time?”

“Ten, I think.”

“He took quite an interest in you. Do you know why?”

“Objection,” Katharine looked up at Judge Mathews. "Detective Morgan can’t read the defendant’s mind.”

“Sustained,” the judge replied.

“Where you aware of the relationship your mother had with Tanner Caulfield at that time?”

“No, I was a kid.”

“He helped you get into the academy?”

“Yes. He’s the one that pulled the strings and helped me through a few rough spots.”

“So after all this time when your partner investigated the man that had been a father figure in your life, you must’ve been in shock.”

“It threw me,” Ethan admitted. “I thought I knew him.”

“You knew he was involved with an investigation against Mario Corellas.”

“He wrote the supplemental reports and he had mentioned it to me a few times. It was mostly in regard to my mother.”

“It was the same investigation which involved Michael Starsky, was it not?”

“Yes.” Ethan answered keeping his focus on William Bennett. “My mother was undercover.”

“Then you are also aware that Michael Starsky was her contact.”

“I’m aware of it.”

“Doesn’t it seem odd that you worked with Detective David Starsky who is the father of the man who worked with your mother who also knew Tanner Caulfield who was a role model for you growing up?”

“Not at first. Tanner Caulfield was in love with my mother. Everything he did from that case on was for her which included selling out to Corellas.”

Bennett shook his head. "Your Honor, I ask that statement be stricken from the record.”

Ethan looked over at Tanner who was sitting with a confident look on his face. Ethan barely listened to the judge who was instructing the jury to disregard his statement. He looked back at the judge who was talking to him.

“Detective Morgan, refrain from passing judgments on the defendant. Continue, Counselor.”

“Detective Morgan.” Bennett waved a file in his hand. “I have here a list of so-called pranks which were leveled in your direction during your time at your precinct. The last one was a dead rat that was hung in your locker.”

“One of the uniforms was pulling most of them. He admitted to them.”

“You had thought that Detective Stanley was responsible which led to a fight between the two of you in the squad room.”

“Yes.”

“What made you believe he had been responsible for that incident?”

“It was a comment he had made,” Ethan answered reluctantly.

“What was the comment, Detective?”

“He asked if I ratted out my partner. I made an assumption.”

“So upon this assumption, you physically attacked a fellow police officer?”

“Asked and answered, your honor,” Katharine said impatiently.

“Move on, Mr. Bennett.”

“Detective Morgan, I have here your mother’s police file from the time she was an officer in the NYPD. I understand you’ve read it several times from the logs in the records room. Could you please elaborate for the court her involvement in the Mario Corellas case?”

“I can only speak about what I’ve read and the little she had said about it,” Ethan said softly.

“Speak up, Detective Morgan”, Judge Mathews instructed.

“I said I can only speak about what I’ve read and what she had told me about it”, Ethan answered a little louder.

“Please do, Detective.”

“She was sent in to connect with Mario Corellas”, Ethan replied as if it were any other case. “He was suspected of running dope into the city and other attempts at finding the how had failed. They thought that as a girlfriend, she might have better luck. I guess at that time it was a well known fact that he loved the ladies.”

“She reported to Michael Starsky what she found?”

“Yes. She would hook up with him at a small bar on the south side. It was inconspicuous and quiet.”

“How long did this case last?”

“From what she said three… maybe… four months.”

“You can’t be any more specific than that?”

“I’m not positive.”

“Where did Tanner Caulfield come into play?”

“Michael Starsky would write up the reports and tell Tanner what he needed. Tanner conveyed the information to the brass and he kept supplemental reports.”

“Did Tanner Caulfield ever deal directly with your mother during this investigation?”

“Once, that I know of in one of her reports, Michael Starsky hadn’t been able to make the meeting and Tanner met with her at that bar instead. She told him what she knew concerning the investigation and he was to make sure Michael Starsky and the brass got the information.”

“Mr. Caulfield has stated he knew your mother before this case as did Michael Starsky."

“It’s possible. They all worked at the same precinct.”

“The same one as you do now?"

“Is it that big of a surprise?” Ethan shot back.

“Why were the investigating officers unable to make a case against Mario Corellas?”

“He shut his pipeline down and broke it off with my mother.”

“Your mother was brought up before a review board not long afterwards." Bennett smirked. “Tell the court why, Detective.”

“I think your doing a damn good job yourself." Ethan replied with a threatening look.

“Your honor, may we approach?” Katharine asked.

The judge motioned for the lawyers and as they conferred, Ethan looked over at Dylan who waved hi with his tie. He gave him a bit of a nod and looked over at Starsky. He could see the confidence in his face and Ethan wished he felt it.

The lawyers walked away and Ethan could see Katharine Gregory didn’t look happy about the discussion. Judge Mathews looked directly at Ethan giving him an understanding look.

“Detective Morgan, I know these questions will be uncomfortable, but you must continue on.”

Ethan didn’t reply as Bennett approached him.

“Detective Morgan, why was your mother brought up before a board of review?”

“She was accused of acting inappropriately with a suspect under investigation.”

“In what regard, Detective?” Bennett pressed.

Ethan straightened up in his seat and swallowed the large lump in his throat.

“They thought she had slept with him.” Ethan replied gripping the armrests on the chair.

“Was that the case?”

“No.” Ethan answered firmly. “She was cleared of any wrong doing by the review board.”

“How was she cleared?”

“Michael Starsky stood up for her and adamantly denied any impropriety on her part. He told them she handled herself professionally.”

“Why was she suspected of this behavior, Detective?”

“She was pregnant with me. They thought Corellas had gotten her pregnant.” Ethan was unable to hide his resentment.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Of course, I am.” Ethan glowered. “Who is your father, Detective Morgan?”

“Your honor,” Katharine shot up out of her chair. “This has no bearing on the case whatsoever!”

Ethan didn’t even listen as he swung his gaze over at Tanner Caulfield. He wished he could strangle the bastard at that very moment. He knew what he was doing. Caulfield knew if the relationships involved came to light, it would punch holes in the entire case. He would walk away.

“Your honor, I’m finished with this witness for now. I would like to call him later if needed.”

“Understood, Mr. Bennett,” the Judge said. “We’ll reconvene tomorrow morning at 9am. Court dismissed.”

With the pounding of his gavel the spectators began leaving the courtroom. Ethan stepped from the stand and looked over at Starsky who returned his gaze with one of understanding. If you only knew, Ethan thought. He only prayed he could keep it buried.

When Ethan arrived at his place he found it being turned upside down. He had a search warrant shoved in his face and he leaned back against the wall as they searched his apartment. Ethan watched as a few belongings were thrown into a small box. He looked down at the floor hating the sight and didn’t notice the scrapbook being tossed in among other items. After they had left, Ethan walked through the apartment righting a few things along the way. He walked into the kitchen and pulled a beer from the fridge.

After taking a long drink, he wondered how much worse things could get at this point.

Dylan sat quietly on his couch as his penthouse was searched. He looked over at his lawyer who sat across from him reading through the search warrant. Dylan moved his gaze over to his desk where it was being searched as well. He heard the searching through the rooms in the back and rubbed his eyes. Since Caulfield’s lawyer was manipulating the truth as he was, they were now considered rotten cops. He wondered if Starsky and Hutch’s places were being given the same run through.

The next morning at the courthouse, Hutch was called to the stand. He sat there for a brief moment and then pushed himself up from the chair. He looked over at Bennett who was conferring with his client. As Hutch took the oath he looked over at Starsky who gave him that look he always gave him when he got on the witness stand. As expected, Katharine Gregory cross- examined Hutch. He gave direct answers which were clear and concise. She seemed very pleased when she finished and Hutch readied himself for Bennett as he rose. He held a piece of paper in his hand as he walked over to Hutch.

“Detective Hutchinson,” Bennett began. “In Detective Morgan’s report a meeting took place between you, your partner, Captain Dobey and an informant in a bar.”

Bennett handed Hutch the paper and he continued.

“Please tell the court was discussed during this meeting.”

“I can’t,” Hutch said handing the report back to Bennett.

“And why is that, Detective?”

“It’s in regard to the matter you discussed with Detective Wade.”

“This is the sealed records involving problems with Ben Forrest?”

“Yes.”

“So you can’t enlighten the court as to why issues such as these rose during an important case such as this?”

“Mr. Bennett,” Judge Mathews said, “this court has received the motions filed with the Federal Courts and until they are answered this subject is off limits. Start a new line of questioning.”

“Yes, Your Honor.” Bennett set the report down on the table. He crossed his arms and looked at Hutch. “Detective Hutchinson, when Detective Wade approached you about my client what was your reaction?”

“I was a little surprised.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s not everyday someone requests an investigation to be brought forward in regards to someone like Tanner Caulfield.”

“I would imagine that it’s irregular for it to be done through the channels that you used.”

“Yes.”

“How was this done without my client learning about it, Detective?”

“My father had a friend in the state department.”

“May I have his name please?”

“Sure.” Hutch said easily. “He is Congressman Harry Lathem. He and my father went to college together.”

“Thank you, Detective.” Bennett said with displeasure. “I do have one thing I am curious about. What was your reaction when Detective Wade told you why he wanted this personal favor from you?”

Hutch didn’t like the way he said personal and he gritted his teeth slightly before answering.

“I was skeptical.”

“And why was that?”

“I thought the initials alone were pretty flimsy. But when he spoke of the other personal relationships involved and the length of time I thought he might have had a point. Also given Tanner Caulfield’s involvement in this case I felt it was suspect.”

“So you agreed and you went behind your partner’s back as well?”

“Given the circumstances, yes I did. It was a sensitive matter not only to Detective Wade’s partner but to mine as well. It was also the nature of the investigation which had to be handled carefully.”

“It’s understandable considering the personal entanglements which seem to be surfacing.” Bennett hedged.

“Objection”, Katharine called out.

“Sustained,” Judge Mathews responded.

“I withdraw the remark. Now, Detective Hutchinson, when you gathered your information on my client, was it handled at the precinct?”

“No. We met at Detective Wade’s home.”

“It’s a penthouse, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Getting back to what you had discovered, did you share everything you had learned with Detective Wade at this point?”

“Yes. I handed over everything I had found and we discussed it at length.”

“Even those dummy businesses which you had found?"

“Yes.”

“They were the same exact businesses, were they not?”

“With the exception of one.”

“Interesting.” Bennett walked to the table, retrieved a file and turned his attention back to Hutch. “Did you discover anything out of the ordinary at Detective Wade’s home?”

“He had a humidor on his desk.” Hutch said uneasily. He knew where Bennett was headed with this line of questioning.

“What was odd about this humidor?”

“It was exactly like the one my father kept on his desk.”

Bennett opened up the file and pulled a photo out. He crossed the courtroom and held it out for Hutch to see.

“Is this the humidor, Detective?”

“It looks like it.”

“This is one of the items Detective Wade bid on at the charity auction which he won. Detective, did you question him about the humidor?”

“Yes.” Hutch sighed.

“What was his response?”

“He claimed it was a copy.”

“Did you believe him?”

“I couldn’t be sure.”

“Detective, you mean to tell me that a fellow police officer that you had been working with closely on an important case such as this stated the humidor was a copy and you didn’t know whether you could believe him or not?”

“Mr. Bennett,” Hutch said a little impatiently, "given how much was involved during this entire investigation we had gotten in the habit of questioning just about anything and everything. At the time it didn’t seem to matter.”

“It turns out in fact that he was lying to you about the humidor."

“I found out later that he did.”

“Why did Detective Wade lie to you?" Bennett asked.

“You would have to ask him,” Hutch replied slightly annoyed.

“I will.” Bennett replied setting the photograph back in its place. “Detective, the list of fake businesses you came up with during your investigation into my client was this through the same contacts that you used initially?”

“They were bank records. I was given access when the large account belonging to Caulfield came to light.”

“Did you duplicate the list from Lt. Fargo’s?”

“No.” Hutch answered tersly. “The chain of command for those records I uncovered is well documented.”

“That is before you took them to the home of Detective Wade and shared them.” Bennett said. Bennett never gave Hutch a chance when he fired his next question. “Detective, what is the nature of your relationship with Detective Wade?”

“We’re friends.”

“Even after his lying to you about the humidor?”

“We worked it out.”

“So you were aware of the other items he had bought in the auction which belonged to your father?”

“Yes, I know about them.”

“And the $25,000 your father gave to his mother?”

“I wasn’t aware of that.” Hutch sighed deeply “He always took care of his employees.

“To the tune of $25,000, Detective?” Bennett raised his eyebrows. “That’s fairly extreme.”

“She was pregnant, Mr. Bennett. It was never unlike my father to help someone out.”

“He helped her out quite a bit, Mr. Hutchinson.” Bennett turned towards the table. “It would explain a great many things.”

Hutch watched as he opened up a file folder and pulled out another file. Bennett looked it over before turning around and walking towards him.

“Mr. Hutchinson, were you aware of the constant support your father provided Detective Wade and his mother?”

“What?” Hutch felt his heart rise into his throat.

“We discovered bank records showing anywhere from $500 to $1000 per month were being supplied to Amanda Wade. They began three months after Detective Wade was born up until he graduated from high school.”

“That’s a lie.”

Bennett didn’t even blink as he handed Hutch the file. Hutch glanced over at Dylan who wasn’t looking at him and then down at the record which indicated everything he said was true.

“Why was your father paying Detective Wade and his mother?"

“You could ask him if he was still alive.” Hutch took a deep breath as he leafed through the file in his hands.

“Detective, from all appearances it seems that this close association between your family and Detective Dylan Wade goes back quite sometime to your father and his mother. You both concocted this evidence to bring my client down. You both had the money to counterfeit any evidence you chose to railroad Tanner Caulfield who is a highly respected police officer in this city!”

“Really, Mr. Bennett.” Hutch closed the file angrily. “Why would we do that?”

“Oh, you’ll soon find out, Detective.” Bennett took the record from him. “I’m finished with this witness, your honor.”

“Redirect, Counselor?” Judge Mathews asked Katharine.

“Yes,” Katharine answered walking towards the witness stand. “Detective Hutchinson, were you aware of these funds being supplied to Detective Wade and his mother before now?”

“No.”

“You knew your father extremely well, Detective. You of all people might begin to shed some light as to why your father gave them the money.”

“When I think about it, it wouldn’t be any great surprise.” Hutch rubbed his eyes. “She was alone and pregnant.”

“After your conversation with Detective Wade regarding Tanner Caulfield, what did you do with the evidence you had discovered?”

“I asked Captain Milligan to secure it in his private safe in his office. It’s a part of his records.”

“Thank you, Detective.”

“You may step down,” Judge Mathews instructed.

Hutch was tired and he glanced over at Dylan who sat emotionless in the gallery. He wasn’t sure what he saw in his eyes as he sat down in his seat.

A recess was called and afterwards Starsky sighed a bit when he heard his name called. He slapped his hands to his knees before rising and walked to the stand. He took the oath and sat down. Katharine questioned him extensively and Starsky had no problems in answering the question. He took it rather easily even at the questions regarding his father and Ethan’s mother. When she had finished and sat down, Starsky looked over at Bennett and Caulfield who where talking quietly to each other. The courtroom sat in silence for a moment and Bennett finally stood up to face Starsky

“Detective Starsky, what is your impression of Detective Morgan?”

“Relevance?” Katharine asked.

“It goes to their working relationship, your honor.” Bennett explained.

“Proceed, Mr. Bennett,” the judge nodded.

“Morgan’s a good cop. I’d want him to have my back on any day.”

“You didn’t feel that way in the beginning given the reports you wrote.”

“I didn’t know he was undercover. We all thought he was well on the way to being a bad cop at the time.”

“You knew Tanner Caulfield as a child, too?”

“He came over to the house a few times to see my father.”

“Do you know what these visits were in regards to, Detective?”

“I was a kid. I had no idea. As far as I knew they were friends.”

“Did you know Olivia Morgan then?”

“No.”

“Both of them knew her and rather well it seems.”

“I wasn’t aware of it at the time.”

“When you discovered your partner and Detective Wade had investigated my client behind your back, what was your reaction?”

“I was a bit angry at first,” Starsky admitted. “But I know Hutch wouldn’t have done it unless he felt he had to.”

“What makes you say that, Detective?”

“Hutch and me have been partners for some time now. I know him as well as I know myself as he does me. It’s no surprise.”

“Is this how your partner regularly conducts himself, Detective?”

“No”, Starsky answered firmly.

“Has Detective Hutchinson ever kept anything from you in regards to the work you both share?”

Starsky looked over at Katharine Gregory and then over at Hutch who gave him a small nod.

“Answer the question, Detective,” Judge Mathews ordered.

“I can’t, Judge,” Starsky said. “It’s concerning the Ben Forrest case.”

“I see,” Bennett replied in a frustrating sigh. “Detective Starsky, were you present when Detective Morgan attacked Detective Stanley?”

“Yes.”

“How would you describe Detective Morgan’s demeanor?”

“He was obviously angry as hell.”

“What did you do?”

“I pulled him off of Stanley with the help of another cop. Captain Milligan called them both in his office.”

“What did you do next, Detective?”

“I had overheard him call a work order in for his locker over the phone prior to the fight. I headed down to the locker room because I thought something may have set him off.”

“What did you discover upon your arrival, Detective?”

“A dead rat had been hung in Morgan’s locker.”

“And knowing a fight had just taken place between Detective Morgan and another, you went to confront him as well.”

“Yes.”

“Only you didn’t react as Detective Morgan, did you?”

“I confronted Stanley about it and he denied it.”

“Did you believe him?”

“I wasn’t sure. I found out later there had been several pranks similar to that one for a while now.”

“How did you discover that, Detective?”

“Detective Morgan told me.”

“And what was your response?”

“I told him to report it or get a transfer.”

“And his, Detective?”

“He said he wasn’t going to report it and he refused a transfer.”

“Why did he refuse a transfer?”

“He didn’t say.”

“Detective, you were called to Detective Wade’s penthouse to meet with Detectives Hutchinson, Wade and Morgan. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Which is when you discovered the investigation into Mr. Caulfield.”

“Yes.”

“After learning this enormous amount of information about a man you had known since you were a child, what was your reaction?”

“I wasn’t sure if I could believe it. Caulfield had called my father his friend. It seemed a bit much to swallow at first.”

“What was Detective’s Morgan reaction to this information, Detective Starsky?”

“He was understandably upset.”

“How upset was he?”

“He was angry, Mr. Bennett. The man he had known since childhood was a rotten cop.”

“Your honor,” Bennett pleaded.

“The jury will disregard that statement,” Judge Mathews instructed. “Detective Starsky, limit your statements to the facts at hand.”

“Detective, you stated that at first you didn’t believe these charges leveled against my client. What changed your mind they might be true?”

“When Detective Wade stated that Tanner Caulfield knew Morgan’s mother. He said they were friends.”

“So you found his mother’s involvement with Mr. Caulfield with Olivia Morgan suspicious?”

“It seemed odd given everything else,” Starsky admitted.

“When you discovered this connection between my client and Olivia Morgan, what did you do next, Detective?”

“Hutch and I went to the records room at the precinct.”

“You went to follow up on Detective Morgan’s work?”

“No,” Starsky replied with an angry stare “I went to find out how they knew each other.”

“Detective, why didn’t you go to Detective Morgan and ask him?”

“I wasn’t sure if he’d tell me,” Starsky admitted.

“A fellow police officer you trusted,” Bennett asked.

“Given how his mother was involved with Tanner Caulfield and the charges which had been leveled at her during her time as a police officer, it wasn’t surprising he wouldn’t want to discuss it with anyone let alone me.”

“And you discovered the details of the case which was being made against Mario Corellas,” Bennett stated.

“Yes.”

“Did you make any surprising discoveries during this search?”

“I found out that my father worked with Olivia Morgan,” Starsky said looking down at his hands.

“Why was this a shock to you, Detective?”

“Detective Morgan had said previously that he wasn’t aware of them having any knowledge of each other,” Starsky said quietly.

“He lied to you.”

“It was a troubling case. There were a lot of factors playing into what happened with it.”

“Was that the first time Detective Morgan lied to you?” Bennett asked.

Starsky breathed deeply and gripped the chair’s armrests.

“Detective, do I need to repeat the question?”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“What other time did he lie about?”

“He lied about knowing my brother.”

“Ah, yes,” Bennett turned towards the table and walked over to where his client sat. He pulled a record out and opened it up. “Nicholas Marvin Starsky. It seems he had a few run-ins with the police in the last few years. How did you discover Detective Morgan had lied?”

“It was after an attempt had been made on me and my partner’s life,” Starsky said.

“Could you please elaborate for the court, Detective?”

“What appeared to be mafia associates of Vincent Corollas drove by my mother’s house and shot at us.”

“How did this give you the indication Detective Morgan had lied?”

“I knew about the problems my brother had.” Starsky said unhappy with the admission. “I confronted him and he had thought Morgan had said something to me about his activities.”

“Why did Detective Morgan lie?” Bennett asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You mean after all this time; you still don’t know why Detective Morgan lied a second time to you?”

“The opportunity never arose to question him about it.”

“Detective, don’t you think it’s odd given how much personal involvement there is between your family and Detective Morgan?”

“We’re all from the same neighborhood. It’s not a great surprise.”

“But the lies are,” Bennett shot at Starsky.

Starsky didn’t say anything as Bennett turned around and went to his table. He pulled a file with several papers inside. He leafed through him before pulling a few out. “Detective, how involved was your father with Olivia Morgan?”

“They worked together,” Starsky said. “My father stood up for her when those charges were levied against her.”

“Why did he do that, Detective?”

“My father was the kind of man that when he saw a wrong, he did what he could to make it right. It’s no great surprise.”

“To what extent would he go to ensure that, Detective?”

“Objection,” Katharine said firmly.

“Sustained,” the judge replied. “Mr. Bennett, make your point or move on.”

“Yes, your honor. Detective Starsky, did you know where Olivia Morgan lived when she was alive?”

“No.”

“Apparently your father did. I have affidavits from two of her previous neighbors which state he came to her home on several occasions.”

“Knowing my father as I did, he probably wanted to make sure she was okay. She was pregnant.”

“These visits continued until not long before your father’s death, Detective. Were you or your brother aware of these visits?”

“We were kids, Mr. Bennett.”

“It seems your father took a great interest in Olivia Morgan by all accounts. I also have statements indicating my client was also paying Olivia Morgan visits as well, Detective.”

“Mr. Bennett, I can’t answer that. You should know that.”

“You’re father and Tanner Caulfield was both involved Detective Morgan’s mother beyond the case the three of them worked on.”

“Tanner Caulfield admitted to being in love with Morgan’s mother when he was planning on killing me,” Starsky responded with a somber look.

“Oh, yes, Detective Starsky,” Bennett said, “this alleged act which you and Detective Morgan both allege that my client did everything he did because he was in love with Olivia Morgan. We’ll go into this allegation at a later time, Detective. What I would like to know is what did you surmise after you and Detective Morgan were sent to your respective homes?”

“What?” Starsky asked confused.

“Detective Starsky, after everything was said and done and all these allegations came to light, surely you drew your own conclusions as to what you believed had happened. As a Detective you are more than qualified to do so.”

“It appeared that Tanner Caulfield was in love with Olivia Morgan which is why he went to the lengths he had gone to attempt to gain her affection.”

“Was that the only conclusion you had drawn?” Bennett pressed.

“No,” Starsky said with a sigh. “Given how strong his feelings were towards Olivia Morgan, my partner and I believed he may have forced himself on her.”

“Detective,” Bennett said crossed his arms. “How on earth did you come to that conclusion?”

“It was discovered that Olivia Morgan was pregnant not long after the investigation into Mario Corellas had ended.”

“Why don’t you just state your conclusion, Detective?”

“It appeared that Tanner Caulfield is Detective Morgan’s father,” Starsky said softly.

“Really, Detective,” Bennett smiled, “this is some revelation. Did you say anything to Detective Morgan in regards to this?”

“Yes.”

“And what was his reaction?”

“He said I was right,” Starsky replied.

“Any chance he lied to you, Detective? Detective Morgan has done so in the past.”

“No,” Starsky said looking at Ethan whose head was turned away from him. Starsky returned his gaze to Bennett.

“One final question, Detective,” Bennett said. “Are you Jewish?”

“Objection,” Katharine said.

“I’ll answer that,” Starsky said flatly, never taking his eyes off Bennett. “Yes, I’m Jewish.”

“I’m finished, your honor.” Bennett returned to the table and sat beside his client.

“Detective, you may step down.”

Starsky left the stand and walked to his seat. He stole a glance over at Ethan who was still keeping his eyes averted. He looked back at Bennett who stood.

“Your honor,” Bennett said. “When the defense makes their case I may need to call upon the investigating officers. I would request that their confinement and separation continue until after I have completed my questioning.”

“Your honor,” Katharine said as she stood up. “These men are not on trial and to force them into this situation is uncalled for. The state sees no reason to continue with these conditions.”

“Mr. Bennett,” the judge asked, “response?”

“The defense feels given these complicated masters and the history involving these men there is no other choice but to continue the confinement. We are not only putting the integrity of a top rated police officer on trial, but the police department as a whole. The defense believes these men conspired against my client and fabricated the evidence against him.”

“I hope you can back up these charges, Mr. Bennett,” the judge said.

“Your honor, it will all become clear when I make my case.”

“Fine, Mr. Bennett”, Judge Matthews said with a heavy sigh. “The confinement will continue, but if you recklessly impugn the name of good police officers with no evidence you will be held in contempt of court.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” Bennett said. “One final matter, your honor, the defense requests that the order given to Detective Sergeant Dylan Wade to answer a defense question be dropped. We feel that it won’t be necessary to this case, your honor.”

“Granted, Mr. Bennett,” the judge replied. “Court will recess until 9am tomorrow morning.”

With the pounding of the gavel, the courtroom emptied out. The four officers were subdued and deep in their own thoughts. The lack of contact between their respective partners was taking its toll as well as the case which was no longer a simple matter.

The remainder of the week continued on with the prosecution calling various witnesses. While a few supported the case made against Tanner Caulfield, it was the evidence called into questions. With each witness, Tanner Caulfield’s attorney punched holes in the prosecution’s case which all went back to the investigation involving Starsky, Hutch, Morgan and Wade. When the prosecution had completed their case, they knew it was looking bad. The likelihood of Tanner Caulfield walking had greatly increased.

The defense seemed to be more than prepared for their case and Dylan felt unsure of himself for the first time in his life. He took the stand and looked over at the judge.

“Detective”, the judge said. “You are still under oath.”

“Yes, your honor.”

“Detective, I do have a few matters to discuss that have been brought to my attention. When you took this case, were you aware of Detective Hutchinson’s involvement?”

“Not at first. When I arrived at Metro Division I found out when I pulled the jackets of the investigating officers.”

“You knew there was a Detective Hutchinson. You didn’t believe that he was the son of Richard Hutchinson who your mother worked for?”

“The Hutchinson name isn’t uncommon, Mr. Bennett.”

“But when you became aware of whom he was did it not seem to be a conflict of interest?”

“No Mr. Bennett”, Dylan said sternly. “I came there to do a job and personal matters played no part in it.”

“Your mother would be very surprised to hear that.”

“Objection”, Katharine called out.

“Withdrawn”, Bennett replied.

“Your honor”, Katharine said standing up. “This line of questioning regarding Detective Wade’s relationship bears no relevance to the matter at hand.”

“I disagree, your honor”, Bennett responded. “It’s this very relationship which compromised this investigation from the very beginning. These interpersonal relationships involved play a major role in my client being forced to publicly defend himself in this way.”

“Mr. Bennett, I’m asking that you make your point and don’t waste this court’s time”, the judge replied.

“Yes, your honor. Detective Wade, you and your partner are close friends, are you not?”

“Yes. We’re best friends.”

“You weren’t aware of his existence prior to this case?”

“No. We hadn’t met until we both started our investigation at Metro Division.”

“You never met previously?”

“Asked and answered”, Katharine said not looking up from her notes.

“Detective Wade”, Bennett said looking in his briefcase. “You stated that you had no idea Detective Hutchinson was Richard Hutchinson’s son until you arrived at Metro Division.”

“Yes.”

“Well, what I’m curious to know, Detective is why his name and address is in your address book”, Bennett said pulling the address book from his briefcase.

“Detective Hutchinson and I are friends. I wanted to remain in touch with him and I gave him my address and phone number as well.”

“You placed it directly below Richard Hutchinson’s information”, Bennett flipped through the address book.

“They do have the same last name”, Dylan answered uneasily.

“It’s an uncommon coincidence. Your mother worked for Richard Hutchinson who had paid her quite a bit of money over the years and you wound up working with his son on a case involving his partner and yours who seem to have a common connection as well.”

“It’s a small world, Mr. Bennett.”

“It’s much more than that, Detective. From the search conducted in your penthouse several questionable items were found. I hope you can shed some light on them, Detective.”

“I’ll try”, Dylan said looking straight ahead.

“Richard’s Hutchinson’s financial statements for the four years preceding his death were found in your desk, Detective. Can you explain it for the court?”

“I was curious about him. My mother did work for him at one time.”

“It wasn’t more than that, Detective”, Bennett asked. Bennett didn’t give Dylan a chance to respond as he pulled a file from the briefcase. “You have amassed quite a bit of wealth in a short amount of time, Detective, much in the same way Richard Hutchinson had done. If I’m correct, he came up from a very meager background as you did.”

“I’d like to say that I overcame my circumstances.”

“You admired Richard Hutchinson”, Bennett speculated crossing his arms.

“Yes, I did.”

“Do you still admire him, Detective?”

Dylan looked down at his hands not wanting to answer the question. He looked back up at Bennett who pulled something from his briefcase. Dylan wasn’t quite sure what it was he had in his hand.

“Detective, would you clarify for the court your relationship to Detective Hutchinson and his father?”

“I already did.”

“But I’m asking that you expand on that, Detective”, Bennett walked closer to Dylan.

“There’s not more I can say”, Dylan said a little too quietly.

“But your mother can, Detective”, Bennett said with a gleam in his eye. “In fact, she did.”

Dylan felt like he had been punched in the gut when the letter his mother had written to his father was set before him. He couldn’t breathe and he tightly clenched his fist as he looked down on it.

“Detective Wade, read this letter for the court”, Bennett said.

“I can’t”, Dylan whispered. “I can’t.”

“Basically, it states who your father is. Is that correct?”

Dylan looked away not wanting to answer the question. He could feel his grip on his emotions loosening with each passing moment. There was no way in hell he was even going to look at Hutch.

“Detective Wade, this letter was written by your mother to Richard Hutchinson. Why did she write this letter to Richard Hutchinson?”

“She wanted him to know about me”, Dylan said after a moment. Dylan wiped an escaping tear from his face and hoped no one had seen it.

“Why did she want Richard Hutchinson to know about you, Detective?”

Dylan stayed non responsive and he wished it would all just go away. This was the last thing he had wanted and the last thing he had expected to happen. He purposefully kept his eyes away from Hutch ashamed to face him.

“Your honor, would you instruct the detective to answer the question?”

“Detective, I shouldn’t have to remind you that you are under oath and obligated to answer these questions.”

“No, your honor.” Dylan took a deep breath and looked straight ahead. “Richard Hutchinson was my father.”

“That’s a damn lie”, Hutch called out as he jumped up from his seat.

“Detective Hutchinson”, Judge Mathews sternly said pounding his gavel. “You will contain yourself in my courtroom or you will be removed.”

Hutch gave Dylan a deadly look and slowly sat down. He looked over at Starsky who gave him a nod and Hutch replied with a sigh and a nod. He slowly sat back down leaning his head on his hand in disbelief of what Dylan said.

“Detective Wade”, Bennett said. “You stated earlier you weren’t aware of Detective Hutchinson’s involvement in this case until you arrived at Metro Division.”

“That’s correct.” Dylan found his voice with Hutch’s words still ringing in his ears.

“This letter is dated two months after your birth, Detective. You had to have known.”

“I told you before, Mr. Bennett. I had no idea who he was until after I started my investigation at Metro Division.”

“Detective, you’ve spent years following the Hutchinson family and you can sit there and tell me you weren’t aware of any of Richard Hutchinson’s children”, Bennett said incredulously.

“I followed Richard Hutchinson”, Dylan replied with a resentful look directed at Bennett. “I never bothered checking into his family life.”

“Detective, it’s been shown that you’ve lied before. You could be lying now.”

“When it comes to this investigation it was handled by the book”, Dylan said forcefully. “This garbage you’re dragging up has nothing to do with the case made against your client!”

“You knew Detective Hutchinson was your brother the minute you set foot in Metro Division, Detective”, Bennett said angrily. “This garbage you call it is at the very heart of the matter. Knowing your brother was involved gave you all you needed to excuse yourself from this case!”

“He’s my half-brother”, Dylan shot off angrily.

“You and Detective Hutchinson conspired and fabricated evidence with Richard Hutchinson’s money to frame Tanner Caulfield”, Bennett said walking over to Dylan.

“That’s a lie”, Dylan fired back. “Detective Hutchinson and I have no reason to do so.”

“Detective Morgan is your best friend. Detective Starsky is Detective Hutchinson’s best friend by all accounts. You both worked with them to set up my client.”

“No. That’s not true!”

“It’s true, Detective”, Bennett said assuredly. “I’m finished with my questioning of this witness.”

“Ms. Gregory”, Judge Mathews said.

“Yes, your honor”, Katharine rose from her chair hoping to gain some lost ground. “Detective Wade, when you discovered Detective Hutchinson’s involvement in this case, why didn’t you have yourself excused?”

“There was no need. As far as I was concerned it had no bearing on the matter at hand.”

“You were a part of Internal Affairs, Detective.”

“Yes. It was even more imperative that this case be handled in the utmost care. My personal feelings played no part especially considering the lengths I was going to pertaining to the investigation of police officers. As the officers at Metro Division will tell you, I was quite aggressive during my investigation and left no stone unturned.”

“Thank you, Detective. I’m finished, your honor.”

“You may step down”, Judge Mathews instructed.

Dylan pushed himself up out of the chair. He looked over at Ethan and saw in his eyes that he understood. But when he looked at Hutch, the senior detective directed his stare to the front of the courtroom. Dylan could not divert his eyes from Hutch and he saw the anger and denial that Hutch couldn't hide. He knew if there was ever a chance between them, it was now lost.

“Your honor, may we approach?” Bennett asked.

The judge motioned with his hand and the attorneys stepped forward. Ethan looked over at Tanner who had his back to him. He could see the confidence in his body language. Ethan’s eyes scanned the courtroom and he looked over at Dylan who sat with his head down and his elbows resting on his knees. He could see how difficult of a time he had had on the stand. Looking at Hutch told him he was attempting to stay completely detached as possible with little success. Ethan looked over at Starsky out of the corner of his eye and he could see he still had no idea what was coming next. Ethan had a fairly good idea of it.

The attorney’s returned to their places and the judge looked up from his notes.

“We will bypass the short recess”, Judge Mathews explained. “Defense council has assured me they will be resting their case soon. Mr. Bennett, call your next witness.”

“The defense calls Detective Sergeant Ethan Morgan”, Bennett announced.

Ethan sat for a moment knowing the direction was likely to turn. He knew they were trying to throw him off by not allowing him any time to think after what had happened to Dylan on the stand. He stood up and walked to the stand. The judge reminded him he was still under oath as he sat down.

“Detective Morgan. When did you first meet Detective Wade?”

“It was during our investigation into Metro Division.”

“You didn’t meet prior to that.”

“I think I already answered that.”

“Move on, counselor”, Judge Mathews ordered.

“I would imagine that it was a stroke of luck when you found yourself working with Detective Wade’s brother.”

.

“I was a bit surprised”, Ethan admitted.

“So you knew they’re brothers”, Bennett said crossing his arms.

“He told me about it.”

“Did you not encourage your partner to tell Detective Hutchinson the truth?”

“No”, Ethan said plaintively. “I told him that more than likely they would never believe him.”

“So you directed Detective Wade to keep silent about his relationship with Detective Hutchinson.”

“It was his decision”, Ethan said with disproval. “I never told him to do one thing or another.”

“It was in your benefit to see that Detective Hutchinson remain in the dark”, Bennett asked.

“No”, Ethan replied firmly. “There was no benefit to anyone least of all Dylan.”

“Detective, you are aware of the wealth your partner possesses?”

“Yes, I know about it.”

“Did he ever share the wealth so to speak”, Bennett asked.

“We went out in his Porsche a few times”, Ethan said with a sparkle in his eye. “It helped in picking up girls.”

“I’m sure it did”, Bennett murmured after listening to a few chuckles in the courtroom. “Did you ever ask for a few favors from your partner as wealthy as he is?”

“No.”

“Surely, Detective, you saw the benefit as to having someone as wealthy as your partner.”

“Our friendship is not like that”, Ethan said with a dangerous look.

“We’ll get back to your friendship with your partner in a minute, Detective. Let’s talk about your mother for a moment. You heard Detective Starsky testify that he believed Tanner Caulfield to be your father.”

Bennett carefully watched Ethan before turning to his table. He opened up the file folder sitting on the desk and fished out several files. He leaned over and opened up his briefcase. Ethan froze when he saw the scrapbook and another book pulled out of the briefcase.

“Is Tanner Caulfield your father, Detective?”

“No”, Ethan said quietly.

“Detective Starsky believed he was. In fact he told you his conclusions. Did you lie to him?”

“I lied to him”, Ethan answered solemnly.

“Why did you lie to Detective Starsky?”

When he saw the silence in Ethan, he changed his approach.

“Detective, your mother became pregnant shortly after the investigation into Mario Corellas was dropped. If Tanner Caulfield wasn’t your father, was Mario Corellas your father?”

“No. My mother did nothing wrong during that investigation.”

“Well, why don’t you tell the court who your father is, Detective”, Bennett said holding the scrapbook and the book for the courtroom to see. “Do you know who your father is, Detective?”

Bennett walked forward and handed the scrapbook to Ethan.

“Detective open up the scrapbook and tell the court what’s inside”, Bennett ordered.

Ethan held the scrapbook in his hands and sighed. He was slow in his movements as he opened it up. Ethan saw the old photo and he knew he had to remain strong in his convictions.

“These are newspaper clippings. There is one here with a photo of Michael Starsky and Tanner Caulfield together.”

“What else is in the scrapbook, Detective?”

“There are several various clippings concerning Tanner Caulfield and Michael Starsky including when he was killed.”

“You could be lying about Tanner Caulfield being your father now. You have a history of lying, Detective.”

“The case against Tanner Caulfield is open and shut. I don’t have to lie about that.”

“We’ll see about that, Detective”, Bennett said taking the scrapbook away. He held up the book for Ethan to see. “Detective Morgan, do you know what this is?”

“It’s my baby book”, Ethan said looking away.

“On page four is a record of your birth, Detective. It shows that you were named Ethan Michael Morgan. You were seven pounds and eight ounces and 22 inches long.”

“And your making that a part of a court transcript”, Ethan said with a sly look.

“It also shows the name of the man your mother claimed to be your father, Detective. In fact, this book was well hidden, Detective. It was found under some loose floorboards in your apartment. Why would you hide this in such a way?”

“Private information should remain private”, Ethan replied hoping to slow Bennett down.

“I understand, Detective that you have recently taken up Judaism.”

“People change faiths”, Ethan said noncommittally.

Bennett walked back to the table and set the books down. He picked up the files he had grabbed and walked back to Ethan.

“Detective, I understand you were injured in the line of duty some time ago.”

“Which time?”

“I believe it was a deep stab wound to your left shoulder.”

“It was the right.”

“You lost a great deal of blood if I’m not mistaken.”

“Well, I almost bled to death.”

“Were any transfusions required?”

“I had two pints of blood pumped into me.”

“I have medical records of four police officers, Detective. One is yours. You are correct. It was in the right shoulder.”

“I would think I would be.”

“Settle down, Detective”, the judge ordered.

“The others are Olivia Morgan’s, Tanner Caulfield’s and Michael Starsky’s. I found something quite odd. When you admitted to Detective Starsky that Tanner Caulfield was your father, you were lying to him.”

“I think I already said that.”

“Well, I thought given your penchant for lying, I should check into the matter”, Bennett said setting one of the files down. “Tanner Caulfield isn’t your father by virtue of blood type. He has been eliminated. I also took the liberty of subpoenaing Mario Corellas’ medical records. His blood type indicates as well that he is not your father, Detective.”

Bennett tossed another file down on the table.

“I said that as well, Mr. Bennett.”

“Well, Detective that leaves only one possible person that this court is aware of. Now unless you don’t know who your father is, I don’t see how anyone could speculate other wise.”

“It’s possible.”

“Not by your own mother’s handwriting. Detective, are you left-handed?”

“Yes.”

“I also know that Detective Starsky is left handed. Let’s look at the baby book again, Detective”, Bennett said turning towards the table.

“If you think you know, why don’t you just say it”, Ethan said stopping Bennett. Bennett turned around and looked over at Ethan.

“No, Detective. I’m not letting you off the hook and this court will not either. You know who your father is as did your mother. I would imagine Detective Starsky knew as well.”

“Objection”, Katharine said shooting out of her chair.

“Sustained”, Judge Mathews said sternly. “Counselor, this is your final warning.”

“Who did your mother claim to be your father, Detective?”

“She said it was…”, Ethan looked down at his hands almost afraid to say it.

“Answer the question, Detective”, Judge Mathews ordered.

“Michael Starsky”, Ethan said with a heavy sigh.

The courtroom began whispering and as the judge pounded the gavel, Ethan looked over at Starsky. He could feel his emotions giving way as he watched Starsky lean his head down and rub his eyes. He wished he knew what he was feeling, but he was afraid.

“Did you believe this to be true, Detective?”

“I wasn’t sure”, Ethan said unsure of himself.

“Oh, come now, Detective”, Bennett replied cynically. “You are going to tell me that you weren’t confident in your own mother’s word of who your father was? Let’s look at the wording of your report when my client was arrested.”

Bennett pulled out the report and looked at it.

“You said that Mr. Caulfield claimed that your mother loved someone else and not him. Could it be the person she loved was in fact your father? Could it also be that the man she loved was your father who was Michael Starsky?”

Bennett let the report fall to the desk and he walked over to Ethan.

“Your father was Michael Starsky, Detective”, Bennett persisted. “Your mother fell in love with him during this assignment and the two carried on during the entire investigation!”

“No”, Ethan fired back angrily. “It was never like that! My mother would never put him in that position!”

“That’s because she was in love with him, wasn’t she, Detective. She let him know what her feelings about him were and Michael Starsky took your mother to bed!”

“That’s not how it was”, Ethan yelled. “He was a good man and a great cop!”

“How was it, Detective”, Bennett pressed. “You seem to know about this relationship in great detail.”

Ethan rubbed his face and sighed. He wasn’t about to look at Starsky knowing this was the one thing he had feared most.

“She did love him”, Ethan said wiping a stray tear from his face. “She had loved him even before they started working together on this case. I don’t know how long she had felt that way. They were spending a lot of time together and I guess she had finally told him how she felt. They were together the one time it took for…”

“For Michael Starsky to impregnate your mother”, Bennett continued. “When her pregnancy came to light, word began to spread and innuendo passed between officers until she was brought up before a board of review. The reason Michael Starsky stood up for your mother was because he knew he had gotten her pregnant and he knew there was no chance of it being from any suspect involved in the investigation. Would that cover what really happened, Detective?”

“Except for the part about Tanner Caulfield”, Ethan said hating himself.

“Interesting you should bring that up, Detective. You really hate my client, don’t you?”

“I’ve gotten quite good at it in the last few months”, Ethan replied unashamed.

“Tanner Caulfield loved your mother, didn’t he?”

“So he says.”

“You believe otherwise?”

“Oh, I think he has his own twisted version of love.”

“Given all the relationships coming to light and your hatred of my client, it seemed to be a perfect opportunity for you, Detective.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You hated Tanner Caulfield enough to put this entire thing into motion. You found your opportunity when the Committee investigation came to light in Metro Division.”

“Tanner Caulfield was like a father to me”, Ethan shot back. “I respected him before I found out he was just another rotten cop!”

“Tanner Caulfield wasn’t your father, Detective. Michael Starsky was. Tanner Caulfield loved your mother and that was the reason you made the decision to destroy his career!”

“That’s a lie! My mother thought he was a friend.”

“You hated the fact that he was taking the place of a father you never had, Detective. Your temperament has already been put into evidence in this trial by the fight you had with Detective Stanley in the squad room. Every time he showed up at your home or played father figure to you, you used what you had learned from him and the police academy to put a plan into motion. When you saw your opportunity, you conspired with Detectives Wade, Hutchinson and Starsky to frame Tanner Caulfield. You knew you couldn’t just railroad a highly respected officer as Tanner Caulfield alone. You also knew, Detective that if you ran him off the NYPD, your mother’s name would be restored and you would be able to make the claim of having Michael Starsky for a father! There would be no doubts as to who your father was and you would have the name of Michael Starsky which would also go a long ways in gaining the respect of your fellow officers who had a strong dislike towards you!”

“No.” Ethan shook his head. “He manipulated and lied his way through his career. He’s a bought and paid for cop.”

“As it appears”, Bennett said distastefully. “Having Detective’s Wade and Hutchinson as friends made it easy to fabricate the evidence, didn’t it? It was their money and Hutchinson’s influence which made this entire case possible. Having the help of your best friend who is also the brother of Detective Hutchinson made it extremely easy to fabricate the evidence needed to convict my client. You also gathered the assistance of Detective Starsky who was more than willing to help a brother he had never known as a child. His name added a hell of a lot of credibility to what you were doing, Detective.”

Ethan almost let it slip that it was Tanner Caulfield who had killed Michael Starsky, but he knew there was only his word and it would be turned around and used against him.

“We are to the final showdown between you and Tanner Caulfield at the warehouse where you and Detective Starsky met with my client.”

“More like abducted”, Ethan fired back.

“It appeared that way. Nicholas Starsky had to throw his two cents in as well, didn’t he?”

“He had nothing to do with any of this”, Ethan replied tiredly.

“It’s a well known fact that he has questionable ties to the mafia. At your request, Nicholas arranged for the late Vincent Corellas to be at this warehouse where you arranged for Tanner Caulfield to meet you. It was at this meeting that Detective’s Wade and Hutchinson arranged for the NYPD to be present. Quite a plan, I’d say.”

“None of it’s true”, Ethan said almost letting a laugh escape him. “Tanner Caulfield is a criminal of the worst kind.”

“No, Detective”, Bennett walked back to his table. “You and your cohorts are.”

Bennett sat down and no one spoke for a moment.

“Ms. Gregory”, Judge Mathews said clearing his throat.

“No questions, your honor”, Katharine said resignedly. There was nothing she could do. The damage was done.

“You may step down, Detective.”

Ethan was numb; he stepped off the stand and returned to his seat.

He looked at no one and remained silent.

“Your honor.” Bennett rose from his chair. “Given this information, I request a motion for a mistrial.”

“Objection”, Katharine responded rising as well. “Your honor, this testimony is all subject to interpretation.”

“On the contrary, Counselor”, Bennett said. “These four officers have interpersonal relationships which is at the heart of this case. Given the motivations of Detective Morgan, he and his friends have targeted a highly respected police officer.”

“In my chambers”, Judge Mathews ordered.

The courtroom was subdued and silent as they left with the court reporter. Starsky, Hutch, Wade and Morgan all kept to themselves not even looking at one another.

JUDGE MATHEWS’ CHAMBERS:

Judge Mathews felt tired as he removed his robe and sat behind the desk. He waited a few moments while the court reporter readied herself and the attorney’s stood before him.

“Mr. Bennett”, Mathews said. “It’s a bit presumptuous on your part to ask for a mistrial.”

“Your Honor, it’s obvious what is going on here. My client was conspired against by four police officers and the motivations all began with Detective Morgan.”

“There is evidence to back up these officers’ statements”, Katharine argued. “Aside from the relationships involved, there is no reason to suspect these officers did anything but their jobs.”

“You can’t set aside the relationships, Counselor”, Bennett responded. “Detective’s Wade and Hutchinson had the resources and capabilities to fabricate this evidence.”

“I find your reasoning for this ludicrous”, Katharine answered. “If those officers did, they would have had the cooperation of several other officers.”

“It’s possible”, Bennett told opposing counsel. “Given the officers who were involved with the committee at Metro Division and the influence Detective’s Starsky and Hutchinson have, it’s not far off base.”

“You have nothing concrete, Mr. Bennett”, Katharine said crossing her arms.

“Reasonable doubt is all I need which is what I have provided”, Bennett replied. “Given the conflict of interest and the lies which have permeated this entire case a mistrial is in order in my opinion.”

“The conflict of interest is one thing”, Katharine responded. “These so called lies you’ve managed to drag up was done out of the protection for Detective’s Starsky and Hutchinson.”

“Lies which have turned out to be relevant to this case”, Bennett stated.

“Everything which is a matter of interpretation, Counselor”, Katharine reiterated. “Based on what you have so far, it’s all a matter of interpretation. You haven’t been able to prove that one single piece of evidence was fabricated.”

“A mistrial is in order, Your Honor. These four officers targeted my client because of a personal vendetta. Their actions should be investigated and they should be held accountable.”

“File briefs with my clerk”, the judge ordered. “We’ll hold closed hearings tomorrow as soon as I have had a chance to review them. I’m ordering the jury be sequestered for the remainder of this trial and during deliberations should this case make it that far.”

“Your honor”, Katharine said. “If the defense is through questioning these police officers I think lifting the confinement and isolation from each other is in order.”

“Absolutely not.” Bennett shook his head adamantly. “It’s detrimental to my client and my defense should these men make another attempt to discredit him.”

“Your honor, one thing is obvious.” Katharine stepped closer to the judge’s desk. “These men have gone through some serious emotional turmoil. They need to be able to communicate with each other to air their grievances. These are highly personal and troubling issues for all four of them.”

“I’m reluctant to agree with Mr. Bennett on this matter”, Judge Mathews said with a heavy sigh. “Until this entire case is settled to my satisfaction the confinement will continue. The issues raised have been unsettling and I don’t doubt nothing will be finalized until this trial is complete.”

“Your honor, may I speak with the officers together rather than one by one”, Katharine asked.

“Yes”, Mathews agreed. “The visit with them will be off the record, but my bailiff will be present to assure that any and all impropriety is addressed.”

“Thank you, your honor.”

“As soon as I receive your briefs and the motions filed with them, I will contact your offices to let you know when court will resume.”

Judge Mathews watched them leave and after the door was closed, he leaned back in his chair and sighed. He had known this would be a complicated case when it had crossed his bench. He had no idea it would take the turn it had. For the sake of the police officers involved he hoped that it ended with the conviction of Tanner Caulfield. It could very well be out of his hands. He may be forced to declare a mistrial and if he wasn’t, Tanner Caulfield could very well leave the courtroom a free man. Either way, the future of these police officers was questionable at best.

Katharine walked into the conference room and set her briefcase on the long table. She turned to see the door open and all four officers quietly filed into the room. She could see by the looks on their faces that they had been emotionally hit hard by the revelations made during this trial.

“Gentlemen”, Katharine began.

“Tell me that the confinement is over”, Hutch said.

“I’m sorry”, she told him. “I’ve spoken to the judge and given the nature of this case, it has to continue.”

“You’re telling me that the judge actually buys all that bullshit that attorney of Caulfield’s have been spouting since day one”, Starsky blurted out.

“It’s not a matter of whether he does or not, Detective Starsky”, Katharine replied. “He has the people of the state he answers to and anything less could cost him his bench. We’re trying to avoid a mistrial if at all possible.”

“We’re paying the price for their lies”, Hutch motioned with his hand at Ethan and Dylan who stood on the other side of the room.

“Easy Hutch”, Starsky said quietly.

“We can’t undo the damage already done”, Katharine said regretfully. “I shouldn’t have to explain to any of you that these personal relationships that the four of you have with each other should have been brought to my attention a lot sooner. We could have prevented what’s been happening here. This case is sinking faster than the Titanic.”

“Are you saying that Tanner Caulfield could actually walk?” Dylan asked in disbelief.

“It’s entirely possible. His attorney has thrown enough misdirection and planted enough doubt in the minds of the jury. The best bet is avoiding a mistrial and finding some way of turning this thing around.”

“So what next”, Hutch asked leaning against a wall.

“I’m going to file a motion to put the four of you on the stand once again to repair the damage”, Katharine answered. “I think by putting a better spin on this, we might actually have a chance of a guilty verdict.”

“What about the mistrial”, Dylan asked.

“I’m pretty sure it can be averted at this point”, Katharine replied.

“It’s a booby trap which ever way you go”, Starsky told her. “If you can avoid a mistrial, Caulfield could still walk because of all of this.”

“It’s all I’ve got at this point”, Katharine admitted.

Starsky and Dylan looked over at Ethan who was unusually subdued and quiet. He hadn’t made a move or a sound since they had walked into the room.

“Ethan”, Dylan asked.

“We knew this was a fucked up case from the beginning”, Ethan said before leaving the room.

No one spoke and Katharine watched Starsky, Hutch and Dylan quietly leave the room. She knew the chances were small at this point that Caulfield would even see a day in prison.

Ethan sat on the fire escape outside his apartment window. He held a beer in one hand and took a long drag from his cigarette with the other. He looked down at the dark sedan parked behind his car. He would’ve bet these officers hated their bullshit assignment while they watched him like a baby.

His mind wandered back to the last week and half and everyway Ethan looked at it, it was his fault. There was no getting around it. He had taken the assignment in the first place to meet David Starsky. Once he became involved with Dylan it had tainted the case from his mother working with his father on a case to Tanner Caulfield’s involvement. He felt like a ball and chain dragging down Michael and David Starsky’s reputations and careers down to the gutter with his. The only way he could see a way out of this was by shooting himself in the foot and letting his own career get flushed down the toilet. It was the best chance Dylan, Hutch and Starsky had of keeping their jobs. The last thing Ethan had wanted was the good name of Michael Starsky to get mired down in the dirt along with his.

He stepped through the open window after tossing the cigarette butt down. He was going to make the Starsky name respectable once again and he was going to go down in the process. Ethan reached for the phone and dialed a number. He waited for the answer and spoke quietly.

“Ms. Gregory, this is Detective Sergeant Morgan. I have a proposal for you.”

Ethan started talking and he told the assistant D.A. what could ensure Tanner Caulfield goes to prison and save the careers of the good cops involved.

It was overcast the next morning and the sun was trying to break through the clouds. Ethan was a bit damp from the early morning mist and he surveyed the desolate park. He stopped when he saw Tanner Caulfield walking towards him. They met halfway and Tanner stuck his hands in his pockets. Ethan lit a cigarette as he looked around.

“This isn’t wise”, Tanner said.

“I had to talk to you”, Ethan told him.

“You perjured yourself on the stand when you stated your reasons for taking the assignment at Metro, Ethan.”

“I wasn’t looking to advertise my connection with Michael Starsky.”

“How are you holding up”, Tanner asked as he began walking.

“I don’t know, Tanner”, Ethan said blowing smoke out of his mouth. “My career is sure as hell in the toilet from the way it looks.”

“Well, it was a risk you were taking when you agreed to this assignment in the first place.”

“You knew that”, Ethan said with a bit of a smile.

“I had to protect myself, Ethan. You of all people should be able to understand that.”

“Yeah, you knew that David Starsky being my half-brother and Michael my father would be enough to help you walk if it were to ever come to light.”

“Ethan, I wasn’t looking to destroy your career. I had choices to make and unfortunately, you lost out.”

“I thought I was important to you, Tanner. Didn’t the years we had mean anything?”

“Of course, they did, Ethan”, Tanner said stopping and looking at him. “You have been like a son to me. I’ve never married because of how much I loved your mother. I would only want children that she had. You were the closest I’ve ever came to it.”

“Did you know about Dylan, too?”

“I suspected. I know you think a lot of him, Ethan, but he will only hurt you in the long run.”

“He’s been a good friend. None of those guys deserve what’s happening to them, Tanner.”

“There’s more here to think about than just ourselves, Ethan. I’ve got people that I still answer to who will use those I care about against me.”

“I’m not going to ask who they are”, Ethan said before taking a drag.

“Ethan”, Tanner gave him a serious. “There is one way we can salvage this. It can save the both of us and you’ll have a good career ahead of you.”

“What’s that?”

“Break away from Wade, Hutchinson and Starsky. Testify that Detective Starsky was the one with the personal vendetta. You were reluctant to go along with the rest of them and you were pressured. You were trying to protect your father’s name.”

“Jesus, Tanner”, Ethan blurted out. “If I do that, I’ll never be able to work at any precinct in this city.”

“You won’t need to, Ethan. If this happens to blow over, I’ve been offered a respected position in Washington D.C. I can take you with me. You’ll have an esteemed job which can ensure that neither of us loses everything.”

“I’m the one with the personal vendetta”, Ethan replied tossing his butte down. “Your attorney made sure of that.”

“Ethan, I pushed Benedict. I had no idea he would take it so far. I can give you the vendetta Starsky needed to see this thing through. It would settle this entire matter in one swift motion.”

“I can’t wait to hear this”, Ethan said with a shake of his head.

“The man who murdered Michael Starsky.”

“What?”

“Mario Corellas had Michael Starsky killed, Ethan. You can say and it will appear that David Starsky was so blinded by hatred that he came after anyone he felt was at fault which included Vincent Corellas and me.”

“They will never buy that, Tanner. Why would Mario Corellas kill Michael Starsky?”

“Because Michael Starsky was going to put him out of business”, Tanner replied. “Mario discovered his involvement with your mother. It would make any man jealous as well.”

“Why would he come after you, Tanner?”

“Because of my involvement with his father, your mother and you. There is enough history here which can put David Starsky in the place you are at now.”

“Just tell me one thing, Tanner. Before we take another step further, I have to know the truth.”

“Ethan, I’ve never lied to you. I know I haven’t been truthful when it came to everything going on, but I’ve never lied to you. I trust you, son.”

“Did Mario Corellas really kill Michael Starsky”, Ethan said forcing the bile down his throat.

“Yes, he did.”

“How did he find out about my father?”

“Ethan, it was never my intention for Michael to get killed. I had no choice.”

“You went to Mario Corellas.”

“Michael had found out everything about my involvement with the Corellas’. Mario was going to kill Olivia since he had discovered her involvement and I loved her.”

“But she loved my father.” Ethan looked down at the wet grass.

“Yes, Ethan. I hated the fact that she could never love me and I had hoped if I had more she might see her way clearly to seeing me in the same light she had seen Michael. I had thought that after you were born, and Michael had been killed…”

“Jesus”, Ethan breathed. “You knew what they were going to do.”

“I made a choice, Ethan”, Tanner said with an unrepentant look. “It was either Michael Starsky or your mother. For me there was no choice!”

Ethan turned away and Tanner grabbed him by the arms.

“Ethan. What are you going to do?”

Ethan yanked himself away from Tanner and walked away from him. He never even heard his name called as he began running out of the park. Ethan eventually slowed down to a walk. He walked several blocks until he reached an isolated restaurant. Ethan was wet and cold when he walked inside. He didn’t even slow down when he walked into the back. He made his way to a storage room and walked inside.

They were waiting for him. He didn’t say a word as he stripped himself of his jacket and shirt. The agents began removing the wire taped to his chest, and as they spoke to him, Ethan could only hear the words ringing in his hears. When it had been removed, Ethan stumbled to the toilet in the back of the room and vomited. He hated what he had done; he hated how he had done it and most of all he hated what he had learned in the process. Ethan sat back on the floor and leaned his head back against the wall feeling disgusted with himself.

Later that afternoon, court was in session. The judge, court reporter, and both attorney’s were in a mysterious meeting which left everyone waiting speculating on what could possibly be the hold up. Only Ethan was aware and he remained quiet and kept his gaze forward.

Finally after an eternity of waiting, the judge stepped to his bench. Mr. Bennett wasn’t happy as he sat down next to Tanner Caulfield. He attempted to calm him down but it was obvious at how upset he was. Katherine Gregory had a bit of a smile on her face as she sat down.

“Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury”, Judge Mathews began. “The defense’s motion for mistrial has been denied. His motion for the release of certain records concerning Detective Ken Hutchinson was denied by the Federal Courts. New evidence concerning Tanner Caulfield has been brought before this court. After reviewing the evidence by myself and the defense, I have allowed it to be brought before you, the jury. The defense objected to allowing this evidence being heard and I have overruled. What you are about to hear, ladies and gentlemen, is a recording made this morning. It is your duty as jurors to judge this as you see fit.”

Judge Mathews motioned for the bailiff and it took a moment before the recording began playing for the entire courtroom. No one moved or made a noise as the voices of Tanner Caulfield and Ethan Morgan spoke back and forth. Ethan looked over at Stasky when he heard Caulfield ask him to turn on him, Hutch and Dylan. He watched him closely as he learned the truth about the choice Tanner had made. Ethan watched Starsky when Caulfield said he had chosen Michael Starsky to die instead of Olivia Morgan. He could see how it had hit Starsky and Ethan slowly turned his head not wanting to see the emotion play on Starsky’s face.

After it was over, the courtroom hung in heavy silence knowing the life and death decisions Tanner Caulfield had made in the lives of people around him. Judge Mathews looked towards the defense as if in expectation. Bennett slowly pushed himself up from the chair and stood.

“Mr. Bennett.” Judge Mathews looked at William Bennett.

“The defense rests”, Bennett said in defeat.

Starsky, Hutch, Ethan and Dylan wanted to celebrate that it was finally over, but it was hard knowing the costs this case had taken. They were sent their separate ways as usual while the jury went into deliberations. They all knew that no matter what the verdict was, their own lives would never be the same.

The next afternoon court was called into session and much to no one’s surprise Tanner Caulfield was found guilty on all counts. The judge pounded the gavel to gain the attention of the courtroom.

“Bailiff”, Judge Mathews ordered. “Remand Mr. Caulfield into custody. I’m revoking his bail. Mr. Bennett, you will have ample opportunity to make your appeals. Sentencing will be in two weeks.”

The judge looked towards the courtroom and his gaze found Ethan.

“Detective Sergeant Ethan Morgan”, Judge Mathews instructed. “Approach.”

Ethan stood up and didn’t allow himself to look at anyone but the direction in which he was headed.

“Detective Morgan, this court appreciates your effort into seeing a man such as this be brought to justice. However, this court cannot ignore the fact you committed perjury on the stand. As a law enforcement official you of all people should be aware of how vital it is for the truth to be heard. Bailiff, take Detective Morgan into custody.”

Ethan looked over at the bailiff and as he walked towards him he ignored Dylan calling his name. He knew this would happen and he knew he had torpedoed his career.

Hutch headed across the street to the small park across the street from Starsky’s mother’s home. The sun had gone down and he found Starsky at the dimly lit basketball court shooting baskets. Starsky stopped in mid shot and looked over at Hutch who stood quietly at the edge of the court. Starsky turned back to what he was doing and shot the ball. It hit its mark and bounced towards Hutch who caught it.

They both took turns shooting into the basket for the next few minutes not speaking. They just took the moment to get their bearings and to decide what they wanted to say to each other.

“Your shot”, Starsky said bouncing the ball towards Hutch.

Hutch caught it and looked over at Starsky seeing he had broken the ice finally. Hutch shot the ball and it missed. Starsky ran over and caught it before it escaped the court.

“You okay”, Hutch finally asked.

“Sure.”

Hutch caught it coming through the hoop and looked over at his friend.

“I guess it’s not everyday you get blown out of the water.” Hutch looked down at the ball in his hand.

Starsky didn’t say anything as Hutch took his shot.

“Well, this whole case was like that.” Starsky had a bitter smile on his face.

Hutch tossed the ball to Starsky who caught it with both hands.

“We weren’t in the wrong, Starsk.”

Starsky turned towards the basket and shot the ball. He let his hands fall to his side seeing the miss. Hutch caught the ball and bounced it around the court.

“Why does it feel like it? We’re supposed to be the good guys, Hutch.”

“Starsky, we’re not the ones who put us here.”

“So we lay the blame at Morgan and Wade’s feet?”

“Actually, I don’t know where to put it at.” Hutch threw the basketball at the basket. “It sure as hell took a lot of years for it to get to this point.”

“Have you talked to your mother”, Starsky asked reaching for the bouncing ball.

“I’ve picked up the phone about a dozen times. I guess I’m too damn scared.”

“Well, Ma certainly didn’t let me get far until I got an earful.” Starsky tossed the ball into the basket.

“And”, Hutch asked in expectation.

“And I don’t know. I just don’t know, Hutch.”

Hutch grabbed the ball and held it in his hands for a moment.

“At least we’re in the dark together.” Hutch bounced the ball to Starsky.

Starsky caught the ball in his hands and looked at Hutch.

“They had no right”, Starsky said feeling his anger spill out a bit. “They kept this from us and they had no right.”

“I know, Starsk.”

“I want to know why”, Starsky told him. “I want to know right now.”

Starsky bounced the ball at Hutch and began walking away. Hutch let the ball fall from his hands and followed his partner.

Ethan walked through the lobby and headed towards the elevators. He gave George a look as he pushed the button.

“I wanna surprise him, George”, Ethan replied.

George set the phone down and gave Ethan an easy smile. A few minutes later Dylan opened the door and Ethan took note of the bottle in his hand.

“Starting right on time.” Ethan smiled walking through the door.

“Well, I had this feeling you’d see daylight today”, Dylan replied walking over to the bar. He pulled out two glasses and filled them with scotch. “So how bad is it?”

“A thousand dollar fine.” Ethan sat down on the couch. “The judge felt that was more than ample punishment considering the hell on earth we had all suffered.”

“What about your job”, Dylan asked crossing over to Ethan with both drinks in his hand.

“I have to go in to find out”, Ethan took the drink from Dylan. “I haven’t spoken with Milligan.”

“Well, he gave me tomorrow off which explains my sudden desire to obliterate myself.”

“It’s all for a good cause.” Ethan took a sip of his drink.

“My guess is it applies to you as well, Ethan. I would imagine Milligan is expecting you at my side.”

“What’s one with out the other”, Ethan replied before taking a drink from his glass.

“So, how does it feel?”

“What?” Ethan said lighting a cigarette.

“A crucifix,” Dylan replied. “I would bet you’ve got a stack of ‘em under your bed.”

“Oh, we don’t use those”, Ethan said with a humorous look.

“Okay, what do you use?”

“Well, if I wasn’t Jewish I suppose crucifying myself would be in order”, Ethan said blowing smoke out of his mouth. “I’ve thought a good stoning would make me an adequate martyr.”

“What, no takers?”

“Oh, there’s plenty of those. I would prefer something that’s a little more solitary in self punishment.”

Dylan chuckled as he took a drink and sat down across from Ethan.

“So what next for the east coast version of Starsky and Hutch?” Ethan asked.

“Hmm, here I was hoping to be an original.”

“We’re just bad copies, my friend.”

“Well, I would guess they will be more than happy to go back to the world in which they feel the safest and surest of themselves while they forget this horrible chapter in their history. We’re just the dirt under the carpet.”

“You seemed fairly optimistic about this not that long ago.”

“That was before we were raked over the coals for the entire world to see and we dragged our counterparts with us in the process.”

“God, this is fucking depressing.” Ethan leaned his head back on the couch.

“Look up, Ethan”, Dylan said taking his empty glasses. “It can’t get any worse than it already has.”

“This coming from one of the most eligible bachelors in this city”, Ethan said watching Dylan make more drinks.

“What”, Dylan laughed.

“I’m famous and single. That makes me somewhat desirable by the opposite sex. You on the other hand have the added benefit of being rich which makes you extremely desirable. If I hang around you too much, I’ll be lucky to get your castoffs.”

“Well, you do have that dark mood which women love, by the way.” Dylan handed him a drink. “That alone in itself will ensure that there will be women to sooth the savage beast.”

“Hmm”, Ethan said taking a sip of the strong liquor. “I like the potential with that approach. However, the drawback is the fact that these women will see themselves as my savior which has no appeal. I have no desire to be saved by any woman unless it’s by falling out of an extremely high bed.”

“Or from slipping in the shower”, Dylan said grinning.

Ethan laughed as he took a drink. They both paused at hearing the knocking at the door. Dylan had a serious look on his face knowing there had been no call from George downstairs. He set his drink down and walked over to the door. Dylan opened it and when he saw Starsky and Hutch at the door, he didn’t move.

“Well, I guess I’ll need to tip better from here on out”, Dylan stated as they walked through the door.

“Don’t blame poor George”, Hutch said carrying the phone receiver in his hand.

“I hope you didn’t shoot the guy.” Ethan caught the receiver Hutch had tossed him.

Starsky walked around the room. He eyed the bar and headed straight for it. “We don’t make a habit of being underhanded in our dealings with people we like.”

Dylan looked over at Ethan who shrugged his shoulders. He looked over at Hutch who was staring out at the skyline. He turned towards Starsky who was pouring scotch.

“Nice of you to join the party”, Dylan said. “If I had known you were coming I would’ve had more people over.”

“Like Tanner Caulfield”, Hutch replied raising his eyebrows.

“Oh, no”, Dylan told Hutch. “I would have made this a family affair.”

Starsky walked across the room and handed Hutch the drink he had made him.

“I can see the party”, Starsky said before taking a drink. “There would be contests for whoever has the most baggage.”

“As long as no blood is spilled, I’d be happy”, Dylan shot back. “This carpet is $235 a square yard.”

“Only the best, right, Wade.” Hutch took a drink from his glass.

“Of course, Hutch”, Dylan replied. “Gotta follow the old man’s footsteps right down the line.”

Hutch turned towards the large window overlooking the skyline. “You’re not far off the mark.

“So, you two came over here to see how the lower half lived”, Ethan said reaching for his cigarettes.

“More like judge”, Dylan responded.

“Actually we wanted to find out all the whys and wherefores”, Starsky said sipping his drink.

“It’s a good thing you two are here. We’ve got some whys and wherefores of our own. I would think you wouldn’t feel like you were the only ones that got shafted.” Ethan took a long drag from his cigarette.

“We don’t feel that way at all, do we Starsk”, Hutch replied looking out the window.

“No”, Starsky agreed. “It’s more along the lines of disbelief and shock on top of all the lies.”

“Lies”, Dylan laughed before taking a drink. “You think we owe you. Can you believe it Ethan? These guys actually think we’re the bad guys.”

“They probably want to lock us up right next to Caulfield”, Ethan snickered.

Hutch turned around and looked at Dylan and Ethan. “Let’s get down to it.”

“What, and quit trading potshots”, Dylan said. “I think this is the most fun we’ve had since we’ve known each other.”

“Someone should be taking this down for posterity”, Ethan replied playing with his cigarette.

“The courts have made sure of that”, Starsky told them. “I must especially thank Bennett. Maybe putting him on my Christmas card list isn’t such a bad idea.”

“He’d probably get you to testify at Caulfield’s next parole hearing”, Dylan responded. “It looks like he’ll the maximum allowed by law.”

“He should get more than that.” Ethan downed the remainder of his drink.

“Well, finally something we can agree on”, Starsky replied.

“No, it’s not.” Ethan looked at Starsky. “My reasons and yours are entirely different, Starsky, as is everything else about us.”

“And here I thought I was doing you a favor.”

“You would never do me a favor and you know it”, Ethan told him.

“Well, I’d say you used up the ones I had set aside for you”, Starsky answered.

Ethan stood up and walked over to the bar. He looked over at Hutch who was looking pensive. He turned back and picked up one of the decanters.

“You know, Dylan. I would take even money that in five years you’ll be richer than the Hutchinson clan and they still wouldn’t accept you.”

“You’d be right”, Hutch said. “Only it’s not about the money.”

“I’ve got to go with Hutch.” Dylan held out his glass for Ethan to fill. “In everyone’s eyes your mother is a whore and mine is a prostitute. I could be as rich as Hugh Hefner and those two little facts alone would keep us on the wrong side of the tracks no matter how rich we are and no matter how good of cops we are.”

“Look who’s doing the judging.” Starsky walked back to the bar. “They want us to feel guilty instead, Hutch. We were the ones that got blindsided when all of this shit could have been avoided when they showed their asses at Metro.”

“As if that had been possible at the time”, Ethan said with a heavy sigh.

“It was”, Hutch said walking to join Starsky at the bar. “There has been ample opportunity before this trial to let us in on the little club you had made for yourselves.”

“Oh, yeah”, Dylan smiled. “I remember now. Your belief in me was apparent. I had the knot on the side of my face for a week to prove it.”

Hutch ignored Dylan and reached for a bottle. He held it up and read the label. He poured himself a drink and set the bottle back down.

“It’s nice to see you only get drunk on the best, Wade”, Hutch said.

“I’m out of domestic beer”, Dylan replied.

“You know”, Starsky said. “I’m getting a little dizzy from all this dancing around we’re doing.”

“I couldn’t agree more”, Hutch said walking over with the drink in his hand. “Don’t the two of you think that’s its now time to start spilling your guts?”

“Us”, Dylan incredulously replied. “Why in the hell should we lay it all out for you? If I remember correctly, that was done in front of the entire city.”

“Your version of the truth would be nice for a change”, Starsky told him.

“The truth”, Dylan shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe the two of you actually expect it from us after all this time.”

“I think we’re owed that much”, Hutch replied.

“You think so”, Dylan said with raised eyebrows. He walked over to Hutch with his drink in hand and faced him. “This coming from the guy who had it slapped on him like a price tag and he dismissed it totally because it didn’t jive with what he thought the truth was. In fact, he totally retaliates against the truth rather than dealing with the lies he had been told my entire life.”

Dylan shifts his gaze over to Starsky and walked over to stand in front of him.

“And then there’s Starsky. A man who sees the world in black and white but wouldn’t know the truth if it stripped and wiggled it’s ass in front of him. The two of you have been so goddamn mad that we lied to you that you neglected one thing. You see, Ethan and I have no problem with the truth. Hell, we’ve had to live with it no matter how undesirable it is and no matter how much we hated it. But the one thing we did that the two of you never did was to accept it.”

“You see”, Dylan continued. “We lied to you and we’ll own up to that little fact. We have no problem in accepting responsibility for it. Ethan and I knew what we were doing by keeping it to ourselves. But the two of you lied to yourselves. The facts were laid all out there for you, but instead of putting two and two together, you took them apart and made it what you wanted. You dismissed every piece of evidence laid before you and called us the liars.”

“Well”, Starsky said looking down at his drink. “That was a nice little speech, Wade. How long did it take to write that? I would imagine you’ve got a few tucked away for occasions such as this.”

“You should have been a writer.” Hutch looked over at Dylan. “You could very well be right about Starsky and me lying to ourselves.”

“Please”, Ethan said with a shake of his head. “You’re going to stand there and say it might be possible we’re telling the truth. What’d I tell you, Dylan? They will never believe anything we say even when it is the truth.”

“That’s because of what we are, Ethan”, Dylan replied after taking a long drink. “We are the reminders that even the strongest of men can be human after all with weaknesses like the rest of our species.”

Ethan raised his glass to Dylan who returned it. Both men finished their drinks and Starsky took a long stride to the bar. He grabbed a bottle and walked over to them.

“Allow me”, Starsky said with a bit of a smile. “I want at least one good thing said about me before the nights over.”

Starsky poured Ethan and Dylan a drink and set the bottle down on the coffee table. He looked at them and raised his glass.

“Well, here’s to Ethan Morgan and Dylan Wade”, Starsky said. “The men who expect everyone to take the truth from them on the heel of their lies.”

Starsky and Hutch raised their glasses while Ethan and Dylan remained quiet with their in their hands. They each took a drink. Hutch gave Starsky a look who returned it.

“I think these two deserve a speech as well, don’t you think, Starsk”, Hutch asked.

“Maybe a bit of their own medicine is in order”, Starsky agreed.

“Give me a break.” Ethan stood up. “You two feel you’re the hurt party. Well for your information, Dylan and I’ve had that role for a hell of a lot longer than you guys.”

“Besides”, Dylan added. “It was for everyone’s best interest things remained as they were.”

“Well, thanks so much”, Hutch said sarcastically. “It’s nice to know that someone other than ourselves has a right to make decisions concerning us.”

“At least they weren’t thinking of themselves”, Starsky told Hutch before taking a drink.

“Why don’t you just let it out, Hutch”, Dylan said with a dark look. “I can see you are just about ready to explode with the little speech you’ve got tucked away in your back pocket.”

“Oh, it’s so hard to know where to begin”, Hutch told him. “The minute you laid eyes on me you knew who I was, but rather than just to air it out right then and there, you chose to tear into my career like it was an old newspaper you were using for birdcage lining.”

“It wouldn’t have looked good if you had knocked me on my ass at Metro”, Dylan shot off.

“At least our dirty laundry would have been aired between the four of us and not out for the world to see”, Hutch replied.

“Now we’re getting somewhere”, Dylan told Ethan. “He’s not pissed because of my circumstances. He’s got his underwear in his bunch because the world found what he already knew about his old man.

“What’s that supposed to mean”, Hutch replied angrily looking at Dylan.

“Oh, come on, Hutch.” Dylan walked over to Hutch. “You said so yourself that day when you came over here. The old man was a guy out to make a buck and his family played second fiddle. Rather than be a father to you or to me for that matter he just used the checkbook at playing father. You giving your sister that trust fund of yours is proof of that.”

“You have been doing your homework”, Hutch told him. “It’s a shame that you’re still vying for that approval from a man that’s been dead for almost three years. Look at you, Wade. Look at where you’re living. I’m sure you had hopes of somehow being his equal by amassing a fortune, but when it comes down to it you’re still looking for him to wave his hand over you and tell you that you are indeed a wonderful son.”

Hutch walked over to the window and looked out at the night sky. He took a drink from his glass and turned around to look at Dylan.

“At the same time, you still have an urge to have the approval from the big brother you never bothered telling that you even existed. You’ve balanced a life between two worlds in hopes that one of them will welcome you with open arms.”

“Well, it’s nice to know that you’ve studied me as hard as I’ve studied you.”

“It wasn’t difficult. The genes did all the talking for you.”

“None of this changes a damn thing”, Ethan said finishing off his cigarette. “We could go round and round about this. You guys will go on back to the world you made for yourselves and Dylan and I will stay down in the gutter where we were born at. You’ll be accepted back with open arms while Dylan and I will have to live with the repercussion of our actions for the rest of our lives.”

“Never knew you were one for feeling sorry for yourself, Morgan”, Starsky said.

“Never that, Starsky”, Ethan said looking at Starsky. “I’m a living repercussion. Hasn’t everything that’s happened so far convinced you of that? It all began with your father and my mother. Tanner Caulfield just happened to be right in the middle of it all.”

“I guess passing the buck does work. If that isn’t one for the record books I don’t know what is.”

“What really bugs you about this?” Ethan walked over to Starsky. “The fact that I lied to you or the fact that the great Michael Starsky actually had a few dents in his armor.”

“I can accept the fact that you felt you had to keep this to yourself. What I can’t accept is that every action you took when we came here in the first place was to make sure I never learned the truth. You both let Hutch and me add it up as we interpreted the events before us rather than to set us straight.”

Ethan chuckled before taking a drink from his glass.

“Maybe I should just toast you, Starsky. You’ve already tried and convicted us before we had a chance to even explain ourselves. You’ve laid down some hellacious rules for the rest of the world to follow. It’s no wonder with Michael Starsky as a father. I’ve never seen a guy work so damn hard to live up to a legacy like that.”

“Something every cop should be doing”, Starsky told him.

“I’ve got to agree with that”, Ethan smiled. “It’s all over the place at the 110. Every cop knows they’ve got to live up to the legacy of Michael Starsky and the memorial on the wall never lets you forget it. I’ve walked by that damn thing every day since I started working there. That memorial is a daily reminder that being just an ordinary cop isn’t good enough and it never will be.”

“You’ve done well enough”, Starsky observed. “Even with…what did Wade call it…your circumstances?”

“Hey, I had no choice in the matter”, Ethan told him. “I would never live down my mother’s reputation that she had been branded with. The only choice I ever had was to at least make an effort of being as good as a cop as the legendary Michael Starsky. And admitting that he was my father was not the way to go about it. Michael Starsky was a great cop and he had all the commendations to back him up. He earned the respect of every cop in this city and even now after his death; he’s a beacon of light for the entire NYPD. His tombstone should read ‘Michael Starsky, what a great cop, but a lousy husband’.”

Ethan had barely gotten the words out when Starsky swung his fist. The hard punch to his face threw him back knocking him to his butt. He had his hand to his jaw and when he looked into the eyes of Starsky, he knew he had pushed it too far and too hard. He looked up at Dylan who was helping him to his feet.

“Well, you survived their initiation”, Dylan told him.

“So, I guess that really does make us partners”, Ethan replied looking at Starsky.

“We’re not getting anywhere like this”, Hutch told Starsky. “These two will justify what they’ve done with each other and pat each other on the back telling each other that there was no other choice.”

“So the lines in the sand have been drawn”, Dylan stated. “We’ll stand on one side with you two on the opposite. We’ll be pointing fingers at each other like first graders.”

“We weren’t the ones that drew the line”, Starsky told him.

“We sure as hell didn’t do it by ourselves”, Ethan replied.

“Maybe not.” Hutch stared at Ethan and Dylan. “It doesn’t change a thing.”

“No, it doesn’t”, Dylan said quietly.

Hutch walked over to Starsky and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“I think the party’s over”, Hutch told him.

“Was that what this was”, Starsky said walking towards the door. Hutch turned and followed him. Dylan and Ethan watched as Starsky opened the door and Hutch walked through. After the door was closed, Dylan squeezed Ethan's shoulder.

It was two days later when Ethan pulled his car in front of Rachel Starsky’s house. He turned it off and when he looked back up he caught Dylan’s Porsche pulling in behind him. Ethan stepped from the car and walked over to Dylan who was getting out of his car.

“What are you doing here”, Ethan asked. “I didn’t expect to see you till tonight.”

“Well, Rachel called me and she said…you don’t think she’d…”, Dylan asked with a look.

“Yeah”, Ethan nodded. “She would. I figured they would have left by now.”

“Any chance of us slipping out of here?”

“Are you kidding, Dylan? She would never leave us in peace if we did.”

“Well, let’s get this over with.”

They began their walk towards the house wishing they could just go back the other way. Ethan and Dylan both were hoping Starsky and Hutch hated this idea as much as they did.

When the door was opened for them, Starsky didn’t move for a moment. It was obvious he knew the reason why they were there. He held the door open and when Ethan and Dylan walked inside. They looked over at Hutch who was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee.

Starsky closed the door and moved to the other side of the room. No one spoke and everyone’s attention was drawn to Rachel Starsky who walked into the room. She put her hands on her hips and surveyed the men.

“I will have peace in this house”, Rachel told them. “You four are a part of one another and it will be so for the rest of your lives. We only have one life to live in this world and it should not be wasted by the anger you each feel. In this house, there will be peace if no where else.”

Rachel walked from the room leaving them to think on her words. No one moved and no one spoke for a moment. Dylan gave Ethan a nod and walked out to the porch. A moment later, Hutch left and followed Dylan leaving Starsky and Ethan alone.

“You didn’t try to talk her out of this”, Ethan asked.

“Would it have done any good?”

“I’ll make this easy for you. Your mother has made a point of making me a part of her life. In fact, I think she’s trying to make up for the fact Michael Starsky couldn’t be. If I happen to be here, I’ll get out of your way if at all possible. If it’s not possible, we put on a good show of getting along.”

“That’s a noble sacrifice”, Starsky crossed his arms. “I doubt it would work, but noble nonetheless.”

“Just trying to avoid the avalanche”, Ethan responded.

“So you still want to play the lone suffering cop who hangs in the back to avoid the rest of us.”

“No, Starsky. I’m not looking to rock the boat, here. I’m not sure if your mother’s told you, but from what she’s said, Nicky isn’t taking any of this too well.”

“Nicky’s always preferred to do his own thing.”

“Well, we’ve given him the excuse now. He’s the middle brother stuck between two cops. If I were him, I’d probably take a step out, too.”

“Offering up excuses for his future screw ups now, Morgan”, Starsky asked.

“I have an idea of what he’s going to be dealing with in the next few months while he gets used to puking up the idea of having another cop in the family.”

Starsky sighed and leaned against the wall. There was no way this would be settled anytime soon and most definitely not like this. This took years to get to this point and it wouldn’t be solved over night. In fact, Starsky had no idea when or how it would. Maybe never, he thought.

“I can live with it. Let’s call it a temporary truce for now. We’ll do it for Ma.”

Ethan felt a bit perturbed Starsky wasn’t trying to do more, but then he wondered if he would feel the same way if he were in his shoes. Well, it was a start, Ethan thought. He gave Starsky a nod. Starsky walked out of the living room and Ethan stuck his hands in his pockets.

Outside on the porch, Hutch and Dylan hadn’t spoken. Both of them stood not far from another but it might as well have been the Atlantic between them.

“We don’t have to do this”, Dylan told Hutch. “You don’t even live in this city.”

“I visit often enough and Rachel considers me a part of her family.”

“Yeah”, Dylan said with a bit of a smile. “You come out a couple of times a year at least. I almost forgot.”

Hutch relaxed in the swing and Dylan looked back at him. He turned back towards the street and looked out.

“So, I’m curious to know if the subject of me came up during any conversations with your family.”

“A few times.” Hutch looked away.”

“I see”, Dylan said with a nod.

“What do you see”, Hutch irritably.

“I’ll be given the polite invitations for reunions or holidays. Your family will hope that I don’t show and if I do, I’ll be respectfully ignored just enough to insure I don’t darken the door of the Hutchinson mansion.”

“Can you blame them after this fiasco of a trial and our names being dragged through the mud?”

“You mean your name, don’t you?”

“You think that’s all there is.” Hutch stood ready for a confrontation. “You modeled yourself after Richard Hutchinson making as much money as you possibly could along the way. When confronted about it, you lied.”

“Are we actually going to replay what happened the other night all over again”, Dylan turned towards Hutch with a resigned look on his face. “Listen, I’m not going to pop up on your family’s doorstep. You may not believe it, but you’ve got my word on that. I sure as hell am not going to show up where I’m not wanted.”

“You think this is just about you”, Hutch said raising his voice. “You want me to say that my father was a bastard and at times you’d be right. But there is a hell of a lot of people besides you that got hurt, too!”

“I know that”, Dylan affirmed solemnly. “I can only guess at what learning the truth did to them and I am not going to hurt them. You and your family are off the hook, Hutch.”

Dylan stepped off the porch and walked towards his car. Hutch walked to the steps and watched as Dylan got in his Porsche. After watching it speed away, he sat back down on the swing.

He looked over at the opening of the door. Starsky walked through and sat down next to him. Hutch gave him an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder and Starsky responded with a small smile.

“I hope yours went better than mine did”, Hutch told him.

“Well, we’ve began a short term cease fire. Don’t know how long that’ll last. Wade left?”

“You have no choice but to negotiate a peace with your neighbor, Starsk. We’ll be continuing our cold war for quite some time.”

“Not at war, but not a peace.” Stasky sighed heavily. “Maybe that’s what we out to call this chapter.”

“There’s been so many”, Hutch smiled. “I’d hate to see what the next one is.”

“Well, it’ll never be boring.”

“I wanted to ask you a question. What would you think if I grew a mustache?”

“I’d hate to be the girl to kiss that face afterwards”, Starsky said with a distasteful look.

“I think it would make me more refined looking.” Hutch rubbed his upper lip.

“We’re getting older, partner”, Starsky said with a sigh. “It would make you look older than your years.”

“Speak for yourself, Starsk”, Hutch said with an offended look. “I’ve never looked better.”

Starsky leaned forward and gave Hutch an appraising look. He leaned back against the swing.

“Okay, I’ll give it a shot and if you don’t like it, then you shave it off.”

“You have to give it time to let it grow on you.”

“I’ll leave that to you, buddy. But I’ll give it some thought.”

Hutch smiled in satisfaction and both men eased back in the swing talking over old times and watching the sunset. The times were changing and neither knew what lay in the road ahead of them.

THE END