Authors: Mike Sherer
fair!that!gave!us!the!Space!Needle.!That!was!it.!I!was!a!rookie!in!
the!late!’Sixties.!Worked!a!beat!around!‘The!Ave.’!The!U!District!
was!quiet,!peaceful.!Politically,!the!anti6war!movement!gained!
steam! elsewhere—Berkeley,! Madison,! Columbia.! We!
practically!had!to!import!it!here.”!
!
I! stilled! a! restless! foot,! and! reminded! myself! that! some!
people! from! that! generation! apparently! liked! reliving! the!
flashbacks.!!
!
“The! movement! here! started! out! peaceful,”! he! said.! “We!
didn’t!have!a!lot!of!militants.!Not!at!first.!SDS!was!pretty!small!
on! the! U.W.! campus,! almost! nonexistent.! And! even! the! group!
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Seattle! was! known! for! in! the! ’Sixties—SLF—started! out! as! a!
nonviolent! alternative! to! SDS! and! Weatherman.! You! know!
about!any!of!this?”!
!
The! question! brought! me! back,! my! attention! already!
drifting!off.!“Some.!All!before!my!time,!but!I!read!about!it.”!
!
He!nodded.!“What!I’m!getting!at!is!that!more!radical!arms!
of!organizations!like!SDS!thought!violence!was!the!only!way!to!
make! their! point.! Since! they! weren’t! big! in! numbers,!
sometimes!they!hired!professional!agitators.!Gave!them!cash!if!
they!had!it.!Paid!them!with!drugs,!sex,!favors!sometimes!if!not.!
Fitch!was!one.”!
!
“Someone!to!stir!up!the!crowd?”!
!
“Organizers! did! a! pretty! good! job! of! that.! Guys! like! Fitch!
took!things!even!further.!Riled!up!the!crowd!around!them,!then!
provoked! a! response! from! security! or! cops.! Maybe!
‘accidentally’! shove! a! student! into! a! barricade! or! a! cop.! Cops!
would! react,! and! it! would! escalate.! Like! lighting! a! bunch! of!
little!fires!around!the!edges.!Pretty!soon!the!whole!thing!goes!
up!in!flames.”!
!
“Where’d!he!come!from?”!
!
“He!grew!up!around!Chicago.!Dropped!out!of!high!school!
and! ended! up! in! a! biker! gang.! The! Outlaws,! I! think! it! was.!
Decided!it!wasn’t!for!him!and!left!the!gang!on!a!road!trip!up!to!
Wisconsin.! Ended! up! in! Madison.! Kicked! around! and! did! odd!
jobs.! Couple! of! minor! scrapes! with! the! law.! Nothing! too!
serious.!Hung!around!the!Wisconsin!campus!and!got!recruited!
by! some! radicals! to! provide! protection! and! security! for! their!
meetings.”!
!
“How!did!he!end!up!out!here?”!
!
“Fitch! got! to! be! friends! with! some! of! them.! They! sort! of!
adopted!him.!One!of!them!got!into!grad!school!at!U.W.!Half!of!a!
married! couple,! if! I! remember! right.! The! wife! came! too,! of!
course,!and!Fitch!drifted!out!here!after!them.”!
!
“You!remember!all!your!cases!this!well?”!
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!
“No.”! He! stared! into! the! middle! distance! for! a! moment.!
“Fitch!was!different.!A!born!troublemaker,!but!for!all!he!went!
through—the! biker! gang,! the! protest! groups—he! never! got!
busted!for!anything!more!than!a!misdemeanor.!Big!guy.!Loved!
to! fight.! Go! out! of! his! way! to! mix! it! up! in! a! bar.! Deep! down,!
though,! kind! of! a! teddy! bear.! Far! as! anyone! knows,! he! never!
got! involved! in! the! really! hardcore! stuff—bombings,! bank!
heists,!that!sort!of!thing.”!
!
His!gaze!didn’t!leave!my!face.!
!
“I!don’t!understand.!How’d!he!get!linked!to!what!happened!
in!Illinois?”!
!
“Fitch! didn’t! care! about! politics.! It! was! more! about!
belonging.!He!was!a!little!slow.!I!guess!they’d!call!him!learning!
disabled! or! something! now.! He! hooked! up! with! the! students!
because!they!had!a!use!for!him,!a!job.!He!felt!needed.”!Collins’!
gaze!walked!up!and!down!my!face.!“Probably!why!he!followed!
the!ones!who!treated!him!well!out!here.”!
!
He! drained! a! third! of! his! tea,! smacked! his! lips.! “Fitch! got!
killed!in!a!motorcycle!accident.!Went!off!the!road!into!a!ravine.!
No!helmet.!Had!no!ID!on!him!when!he!died.!We!ran!his!prints!
and!registration.!Bike!came!up!registered!to!Fitch.!We!matched!
his! prints! with! what! we! had! on! file! from! a! couple! of! arrests!
back! around! the! time! of! the! antiwar! demonstrations.! Only!
reason!I!took!any!notice!is!because!I!ran!into!him!a!couple!of!
times!back!when!I!was!a!beat!cop.”!
!
He!motioned!toward!my!glass.!“You!want!a!refill?”!
!
I!looked!at!my!empty!glass,!unaware!that!I’d!finished!the!
tea.!“No,!I’m!good,!thanks.”!
!
He!reached!for!the!pitcher,!filled!his!own!glass!and!took!a!
sip.! “I! get! dehydrated! easy! when! I’m! working! outside.! Where!
was! I?! Oh,! yeah,! the! connection.! Funny! thing.! When! we! were!
trying! to! ID! Fitch’s! body! after! the! accident,! we! sent! a! set! of!
prints!to!the!FBI.!This!was!before!AFIS.!You!familiar!with!it?”!
!
I!nodded.!“Fingerprint!identification.”!
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!
“Right.!I!don’t!think!the!feds!had!their!automated!system!
up! and! running! until! the! late! ’Nineties.! Well,! wouldn’t! you!
know,!about!ten!years!after!Fitch!got!killed,!we!get!a!call!from!
CJIS!in!Virginia.!Some!techie!had!been!running!the!backlog!of!
old! prints! against! the! database.! Fitch’s! prints! were! close!
enough! to! match! the! partial! print! of! an! UNSUB! found! at! the!
scene!of!the!SIU!bombing.”!
!
“Then!it’s!possible!that!Fitch!might!have!been!involved!in!
the!bombing.”!
!
“Or!not.!It!was!only!a!partial!print.!Seems!like!a!long!way!to!
go!to!do!a!job,!and!Fitch!wasn’t!part!of!that!crowd,!remember.”!
!
“So!that!was!the!end!of!it?”!!
!
“Not! quite.! The! FBI! let! us! know! about! the! prints! as! a!
courtesy.! The! SIU! thing! was! their! case.! But! we! investigated!
Fitch! anyway.! I! got! the! case.! Asked! for! it,! actually.! Thought! it!
curious!that!his!name!kept!popping!up,!even!after!he!was!long!
gone.”!
!
“You!find!anything?”!
!
He!leaned!back!and!rubbed!the!smooth!skin!on!the!top!of!
his!head.!“First!thought!I!had!was!that!couple!he!followed!out!
here.!The!Wilsons.!Odd!pair,!those!two.!Got!caught!up!in!SDS,!
and! worked! behind! the! scenes! in! Madison.! Made! flyers,!
organized! meetings.! Stayed! out! of! the! limelight.! Never!
arrested.! Never! even! took! part! in! a! demonstration! that! we!
know.! They! didn’t! show! up! in! any! news! photos,! at! least.!
Apparently! got! really! disillusioned! with! the! random! violence!
during!the!Days!of!Rage!in!Chicago.!When!they!came!out!here,!
they! got! involved! with! SLF! because! the! group! said! it! didn’t!
condone! that! kind! of! crap.! Hard! to! control! mob! mentality,!
though.! When! the! demonstrations! here! turned! ugly,! the!
Wilsons!split.!Next!thing!you!know,!they!showed!up!in!Canada!
supporting!a!new!cause—Greenpeace.”!
!
“But!you!thought!they!might!be!involved!somehow?”!
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!
“They! dropped! out! of! sight! after! a! couple! of! years.! This!
was!back!in!the!early!’Seventies.!But!I!always!wondered!if!they!
kept!in!touch!with!Fitch!for!old!times’!sake.!Not!much!I!could!
do! about! it! anyway! with! them! up! in! Canada.! But! around! the!
time! of! the! bombing! out! in! Illinois,! some! rumors! floated!
around! that! the! Wilsons! had! affiliated! themselves! with! the!
environmental!group!that!claimed!responsibility.”!
!
I! pondered! a! moment.! “In! Canada?! I! thought! ELF! was!
based!in!Oregon!or!Northern!California.!Any!way!to!track!them!
down?!The!rumors,!I!mean.”!
!
He! shook! his! head.! “Happened! a! long! time! ago.! Rumors!
cool! pretty! fast.! We! questioned! the! members! of! the!
environmental! group! at! the! time.! They! said! they! didn’t! know!
any!Wilsons.!I!talked!to!Fitch’s!known!associates.!Never!came!
up!with!anything!solid.”!
!
!“Sounds!like!a!lot!of!maybes.!Could!be!Fitch’s!fingerprint!
the! FBI! found! down! in! Carbondale.! But! Fitch! never! bombed!
anything!before,!you!say.!Could!be!Fitch’s!friends,!the!Wilsons,!
were!involved,!but!they!went!north!and!disappeared.!Could!be!
Langford!is!out!here!looking!for!Fitch!or!the!Wilsons.!Or!both.!
Then!again,!maybe!not.”!
!
Collins!grinned.!“I!think!you!got!the!gist!of!it.”!
!
What!bothered!me!more!than!the!unknowns!was!that!the!
Wilsons’! story! sounded! familiar! in! some! ways! to! another! I’d!
heard!recently.!!
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!
!
Chapter(19(
!! Late!afternoon!traffic!snaked!slowly!into!town,!a!python!
heavy! from! a! freshly! swallowed! meal.! I! barely! made! it! to! the!
restaurant!in!time!for!my!shift.!
!
Javier! directed! the! symphony! in! the! kitchen,! conducting!
the!chamber!group!of!chefs!and!line!cooks!prepping!for!dinner!
with!a!large!stainless!steel!spoon.!!
!
“
¡Hola,*mi*amigo!
”!he!called!when!he!saw!me!come!in!the!
back!door.!“
¿Cómo*estás?
”!
!
I! waved.! He! glanced! at! his! watch,! held! it! out! and! tapped!
the!crystal.!!
!
“Right!on!time,”!I!said!over!the!din.!
!
White! teeth! flashed! under! the! thin! black! mustache,! an!
editor’s!penciled!em6dash!that!split!his!face!in!two.!He!pointed!
his!finger!toward!me,!slashed!a!Z!in!the!air!and!turned!away.!I!
headed! straight! for! the! dishroom,! changed! into! a! white! work!
shirt,!donned!a!clean!apron!and!pair!of!latex!gloves,!and!waded!
into! the! pile! of! pots! and! pans! that! already! waited! for! me.!
Scrubbing!away!the!cooked6on!food!required!elbow!grease!in!
addition! to! hot! soapy! water.! The! tropical! confines! of! the!
dishroom!coated!me!with!a!good!sweat!by!the!time!the!stack!
diminished.!
!
The! stream! of! soiled! cookware! slowed! to! a! trickle.! The!
flow!would!strengthen!again!later!when!orders!flew!out!of!the!
kitchen.! With! a! moment! for! a! short! break,! I! helped! myself! to!
some! of! the! food! that! had! been! prepared! for! the! employees!
before! the! shift! started.! I! took! a! plate! to! the! dishroom! and!
leaned!against!a!worktable!to!eat.!Soon!bus!tubs!full!of!dishes!
began! to! filter! through! the! kitchen,! waitstaff! twirling! and!
skipping! around! cooks! and! obstacles! with! their! heavy! loads.!
Stuffing!a!last!forkful!of!
enchiladas*suizas
!in!my!mouth,!I!rinsed!
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the!plate!and!placed!it!in!an!empty!rack.!The!kitchen!filled!with!
the! boisterous! music! of! clanging! metal,! bubbling! sauces! and!
pans!of!sizzling!food!on!the!stove!accompanied!by!laughter!and!
lyrics!in!rapid!Spanglish.!Faint!strains!of!Spanish!guitar!music!
floated!in!from!the!dining!room.!
!
I! found! a! rhythm! to! match! the! music—scrap,! rack,! load,!
empty,! stack,! and! start! over.! Every! time! I! caught! up! with! a!
flood!of!dishes!as!the!tables!turned,!the!growing!pile!of!sauté!
pans,! hotel! pans! and! sheet! pans! in! the! sink! clamored! for!
attention.! Time! passed! quickly,! which! meant! the! restaurant!
was!busy.!Good!for!Javier!and!his!wife!Maria,!and!for!all!of!us!
who!depended!on!paychecks.!!
!
The! kitchen! quieted! after! eleven! as! the! pace! slowed.! The!
crew!put!away!unused!food!and!cleaned!their!stations,!keeping!
the!dishroom!filled.!Waitstaff!bussed!in!dinner!dishes!from!the!
last!turn!while!the!remaining!guests!still!enjoyed!desserts!and!
coffee.!At!eleven6thirty!Javier!closed!the!kitchen,!causing!a!rush!
on! the! pot! sink.! Cooks! finished! up,! changed! into! their! street!
clothes!and!left!one!by!one.!Waitstaff,!too,!as!the!dining!room!
emptied.!
!
Carlos,!the!chef,!checked!inventory!for!the!next!day’s!order!
and!said!goodnight.!That!left!two!of!us!in!the!kitchen,!José!the!
prep! cook! and! me.! José! flipped! on! a! small,! dented! boom! box!
that! sat! on! a! shelf! alongside! tins! of! spices.! Brassy! mariachi!
music! blared! off! the! tile! walls! and! stainless! steel! worktables.!
José!sang!along!in!a!loud!voice!as!he!worked.!He!carried!in!the!
metal!baffles!from!the!ventilation!hood!and!racked!them!to!run!
through! the! dishwasher.! As! I! finished! washing! the! last! of! the!
pots!and!pans!and!ran!the!last!few!racks,!José!pulled!the!floor!
mats! from! behind! the! cooking! line! and! took! them! outside! to!
hose! them! off.! When! he! returned,! he! filled! a! mop! bucket! and!
salsaed! across! the! tiles! to! the! music! with! the! mop,! crooning!
into!the!handle.!!
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!
Javier! entered! from! the! dining! room.! Smiling,! he! clapped!
José!on!the!shoulder.!“
Buenas*noches
,”!he!said!loudly!over!the!