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palms!up.!“Why!would!I!do!that?”!
!
His!eyebrows!dove!into!each!other.!“Bullet!hole!or!no,!I’ll!
kick!your!ass,!so!help!me.!I!saw!the!way!you!looked!at!her.”!
!
“She’s! an! attractive! woman.! I’d! be! a! fool! not! to! notice.!
Doesn’t!mean!I’m!fool!enough!to!make!a!play,!married!or!not.!
What!do!you!take!me!for,!Charlie?”!I!felt!my!fingers!curl!of!their!
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own! accord,! as! if! one! of! the! buttons! on! Charlie’s! remote! was!
linked!to!their!circuitry.!!
!
He! turned! his! hands! over! in! his! lap! and! inspected! them.!
“She!still!carries!a!torch!for!you.”!
!
“After! all! these! years?! I! doubt! it.! A! case! of! the! ‘what6ifs,’!
maybe.! We! all! do! it.! Hell,! I! was! spoken! for! even! back! then,!
Charlie,!and!you!know!it.”!
!
“Yeah,!and!look!how!well!that!turned!out.”!
!
My!jaw!clenched!and!I!took!a!step!toward!the!bed!before!I!
saw!him!smile!weakly!and!wave!me!off.!
!
“Get!a!grip,”!he!said.!“I’m!just!giving!you!a!hard!time.!You!
know!I!wish!you!and!Molly!would!get!back!together.”!
!
“You! hear! from! Babs! yet?”! It! came! out! before! I! could!
squelch!the!impulse.!
!
He! grunted! as! if! he’d! been! punched,! a! wince! turning! to!
something! more! morose.! The! tension! drained! out! of! my!
muscles,!making!me!look!for!a!chair.!I!stood!my!ground.!
!
“You!want!to!talk!about!it?”!I!said.!
!
“Nope.”!He!twisted!the!blanket!in!his!hands.!
!
I! looked! away.! Walked! over! to! the! window! and! read! the!
cards!sticking!out!of!the!bouquets!of!flowers!lining!the!ledge.!
!
“You! given! any! more! thought! to! what! happened! to! your!
folks?”!I!said.!
!
His!reflection!looked!at!me.!“Not!much!else!to!do!in!here!
but!think.!Not!that!these!painkillers!make!it!easy.”!
!
“And?”!
!
“I!don’t!have!a!clue.”!
!
“Maybe!you!should!rethink!taking!that!detective’s!exam.”!
!
His! eyes! bored! into! my! back! for! a! long! time! before! he!
spoke.!“Maybe!I!should.”!His!reflection!said!something!else.!
!
“It’s!just!as!well!Sarah’s!not!here.!She’d!just!be!bugging!me!
to!find!them.”!
!
“You?!That’s!a!laugh.!Stay!out!of!it.”!
!
“I!intend!to,”!I!lied.!!
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!
I! stayed! a! while! longer! and! tried! to! shake! off! the!
grumpiness! that! settled! into! my! bones! like! a! bad! cold.! But!
whatever! Charlie! had! was! contagious,! and! I! left! feeling!
frustrated!and!mean.!
*!*!*!*!*!
!
Frank! called! me! late.! Late! for! him,! anyway.! Early! for! me,!
since!I!was!getting!ready!to!head!for!the!warehouse!in!Ballard!
to!start!work.!He!said!he!wanted!to!meet.!
!
He’d!moved!twenty!feet!from!where!we’d!eaten!lunch,!his!
wiry!frame!now!settled!on!a!stool.!He!hunched!over!the!dark!
oak!of!the!bar,!a!small!paunch!resting!in!his!lap,!elbows!pointed!
bulwarks! against! encroachments! on! the! half6empty! pint! glass!
centered!under!his!nose.!His!arms!circled!it!tightly!when!I!slid!
onto! the! stool! next! to! his.! He! glanced! over! and! his! shoulders!
relaxed.!
!
“Where’s! the! patter?”! I! said.! “The! twenty! questions?”! His!
silence!was!uncharacteristic,!but!I’d!never!run!across!him!after!
an!all6day!bender!before.!
!
He! grunted.! “You! ever! serve?”! He! went! on! before! I! could!
figure! out! what! he! meant.! “I! did.! Army.! Arty! METRO,! over! in!
’Nam.!’Sixty6eight,!’sixty6nine.”!
!
“You!got!drafted?!
!
“Enlisted.! There! was! no! draft! until! ’seventy.! Screwed!
around! too! much! my! first! year! of! college! and! flunked! out.!
Didn’t!know!what!else!to!do.”!He!shrugged!and!picked!up!the!
beer.! “Figured! they’d! send! me! to! Ft.! Lewis! and! train! me! as! a!
grunt.! Wound! up! in! artillery! at! Ft.! Sill! in! Oklahoma! instead.!
Ended!up!at!a!fire!support!base!outside!Tay!Ninh,!maybe!sixty,!
seventy! miles! from! Saigon.! Sent! up! weather! balloons! during!
the! day.! At! night,! we! went! on! patrol.! Did! that! for! the! first!
month,! twenty6four/seven.! Slept! in! one6hour! rotations.! We!
finally! got! enough! reinforcements! we! could! work! a! normal!
shift.! Do! our! work! in! the! day,! get! drunk! or! stoned! at! night,!
sitting! in! our! bunkers! watching! the! fireworks—mortars! and!
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rockets! the! VC! lobbed! at! us.! We’d! crank! up! some! music—
Joplin,! Hendrix,! Stones—and! watch! the! show.! Mortars,! blue;!
rockets,! red.! A! couple! of! times,! the! VC! got! through! the! fence,!
overran!the!camp!and!we!had!to!fight!them!off.”!
!
He!turned!his!head,!his!eyes!taking!a!half!second!to!focus!
on! me.! “I! spent! about! two! maybe! three! months! out! of! a!
thirteen6month! tour! over! there! unofficially! AWOL.! We’d! tell!
our!CO!we!were!going!to!the!beach!at!Cam!Ranh!Bay,!spend!a!
long!weekend!there.!He!didn’t!give!a!shit.!Not!too!many!did.”!
!
My!knee!bounced!up!and!down!under!the!bar.!I!ran!a!hand!
down!the!top!of!my!thigh!and!pressed!hard,!willing!it!to!stop.!
!
He!stared!into!his!glass.!“When!I!joined!up,!there!was!still!
honor!in!serving.!Barely.!The!shit!hit!the!fan!that!year.!King!and!
Kennedy! assassinated;! the! riots! in! Chicago.! By! the! time! I! got!
back! to! the! States,! the! whole! fucking! world! had! gone! topsy6
turvy.! Demonstrators! were! everywhere.! I! went! back! to! U.W.,!
got! interested! in! journalism.! Covered! the! protests! here! in!
town,!and!the!Seattle!Seven!trial!down!in!Tacoma!for!a!campus!
rag.”!
!
“This!is!a!fascinating!walk!down!memory!lane,!Frank,!but!
I’ve!gotta!go!to!work.”!
!
His!lip!curled.!“You!probably!weren’t!even!born!yet.!Got!no!
idea!what!I’m!talking!about.”!
!
“Yeah,! I! get! it.! Hippies! versus! ‘The! Man.’! I’m! not! that!
young.”!
!
He!leaned!back!to!get!a!better!look,!eyes!slowing!focusing.!!
!
“Bet! you! were! in! diapers,! then.! The! history! lesson! is!
important,! smart! guy.! I’ll! tell! you! why.! You! got! me! thinking!
about! the! past! this! afternoon.! Crazy! times.! A! whole! different!
world.”!
!
“What’s!your!point?”!
!
He!waved!and!shook!his!head.!“A!while!after!t
hat!bombing!
you!asked!about—I!don’t!know,!maybe!a!year!later—a!guy!got!
killed! in! a! road! accident.! Guy! named! Fitch,! Sebastian! Fitch.! I!
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don’t!remember!all!the!details.!What!I!do!remember!is!that!the!
cops! thought! Fitch! could! be! linked! to! the! bombing.! Fitch! ran!
with!a!wild!crowd!way!back!in!the!day.”!
!
“Meaning?”!
!
“He! was! a! card6carrying! member! of! the! SLF—Seattle!
Liberation!Front,!the!protest!group.”!
!
“They!protested!the!war,!right?!What’s!that!got!to!do!with!
what!happened!at!SIU?!Twenty!years!later,!I!might!add.”!
!
His!head!bobbed!on!his!shoulders,!and!his!face!tightened!
as! he! held! himself! together.! “I’m! just! saying,! leopards! don’t!
change! their! spots,! you! know?! People! complain! about! the!
weather!when!they!don’t!have!anything!else!to!complain!about.!
Some!activists!just!gotta!have!a!cause.”!
!
I!absorbed!what!he!was!telling!me.!“You!think!if!I!find!the!
people! this! guy! Fitch! ran! with! back! in! the! ’Sixties,! I’ll! find!
whoever’s!responsible!for!the!Southern!Illinois!bombing.”!
!
He! nodded! and! took! a! long! draft! from! his! glass,! Adam’s!
apple!bobbing!rhythmically.!He!motioned!to!the!bartender!for!
another.!!
!
“It’s!a!possibility,”!he!said.!!
!
He!was!probably!over!the!legal!limit,!and!Frank!had!never!
known! a! conspiracy! theory! he! hadn’t! liked.! But! he’d! always!
been! a! good! journalist,! digging! up! the! facts! before! writing! a!
story.!
!
“Are!you!still!plugged!in,!Frank?!Got!some!names!for!me?”!
!
“I’ve! been! thinking! about! that.! Some! are! dead.! A! few! got!
religion.! Most! got! respectable.”! He! paused.! “A! lot! of! kids! got!
mixed! up! in! the! protests.! Like! sheep.! First! time! away! from!
home!for!most!of!them.!First!taste!of!freedom.!First!chance!to!
‘express’! themselves.! The! real! activists! came! from! outside.!
Teachers,! grad! students,! transfers.! Even! guys! like! Fitch! who!
just! liked! the! action.! Lot! of! people! at! the! time! who’d! tell! you!
they! were! members! of! SDS! that! never! went! to! a! meeting! or!
demonstration.! A! few! hardcore! activists! who’d! never! let! on!
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now! that! they! were! with! Weathermen! or! some! other! group!
back!then.”!
!
“Names,!Frank.”!
!
He!shrugged.!“Too!many!possibilities,!and!too!much!water!
under!the!bridge.”!
!
I! gritted! my! teeth! and! sighed.! “Thanks! for! nothing.”! I!
stood.!“See!you!around.”!
!
He!put!a!bony!hand!on!my!arm.!“Lot!of!memories!better!off!
staying!buried.”!
!
“I! don’t! like! surprises.! I’d! rather! know! what’s! coming! at!
me.”!
!
“Cop! who! investigated! the! accident! that! killed! Fitch! is! a!
guy! named! Ned! Collins.! Retired! now.! Lives! up! in! Shoreline,! I!
think.”!He!took!his!hand!away.!!
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!
! Chapter(17(
!! The!idling!engine!of!the!black!coupe!rumbled!softly!as!the!
car!rolled!slowly!down!an!incline!toward!the!water.!The!driver!
stopped!at!the!edge!of!the!pavement,!shut!it!off!and!stared!into!
the! inky! darkness.! His! eyes! slowly! adjusted,! allowing! him! to!
see!the!end!of!the!breakwater!against!the!water!of!the!sound.!
Beyond,!the!lights!of!a!freighter!danced!their!way!north!across!
the!water!out!to!sea.!In!the!distance,!lights!twinkled!in!houses!
on!the!far!shore,!the!dark!outline!of!the!Olympics!looming!on!
the!horizon!above!them.!
!
The! ghostly! outline! of! a! small! sport! cruiser! materialized!
off!the!end!of!the!breakwater,!running!lights!appearing!to!float!
in!mid6air.!The!driver!flashed!his!headlights!once!and!waited.!
Less!than!five!seconds!later,!the!boat’s!lights!blinked!off!and!on!
and! turned! toward! a! dock! that! jutted! out! from! the! headland!
twenty! yards! away.! The! driver! climbed! out! of! the! coupe! and!
made!a!slow!turn,!taking!in!his!surroundings.!The!park!to!the!
north! was! quiet! and! deserted,! even! the! late6night! revelers!
gone,!beach!bonfires!long!since!burned!out,!their!embers!now!
cold.!Music!that!earlier!had!drifted!over!from!the!marina!had!
gone! silent,! the! last! of! the! party6goers! having! gone! home.! An!
occasional!car!drifted!past!on!the!road!behind!him,!but!the!only!
people!out!at!this!time!of!night!would!be!locals!getting!home!or!
early!risers!going!to!work.!Confident!he!wasn’t!being!watched,!
he!strode!down!the!embankment!to!the!dock.!
!
The! cruiser! had! silently! drifted! alongside! the! end! of! the!
dock,! and! while! one! man! snugged! a! line! over! a! cleat! on! the!
dock,!mooring!the!boat,!another!black6clad!figure!lithely!leaped!
onto!the!dock!and!walked!toward!the!approaching!driver.!His!
jet6black! hair! shone! in! the! starlight,! pale! face! beneath! it!
wraithlike!in!the!night.!The!two!men!met!in!the!middle!of!the!
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dock! and! turned! to! face! north.! They! stood! shoulder6to6
shoulder!looking!out!over!the!water!as!if!admiring!the!view!on!
a!late!evening!stroll.!!
!
“You’re!late,”!the!driver!said.!!
!
He!glanced!at!his!companion,!saw!the!flat!planes!of!his!face!
in! profile,! a! hardness! in! his! expression! that! suggested!
authority.!Up!close,!he!realized!the!man!was!much!older!than!
he’d!thought!from!the!way!he!moved.!
!
“You! know! the! risk! I’m! taking.”! The! man! from! the! boat!
spoke! impeccable! English,! but! couldn’t! completely! hide! an!
accent!that!placed!him!from!somewhere!in!Asia.!
!
“You!think!I’m!not?”!the!driver!said,!amused!and!annoyed!
at!the!same!time.!He!knew!exactly!where!the!Asian!was!from—
Beijing—and! how! much! trouble! he’d! be! in! if! caught! for!
entering! the! country! illegally.! But! he! had! his! own! problems.!
Lately,! he’d! begun! to! think! his! partner! suspected! him! of!
something.!He!was!sure!he’d!been!circumspect!enough!not!to!
let!on!what!he’d!been!up!to,!but!his!partner!had!seemed!more!
curious! recently! about! the! few! times! he’d! been! late! to! work!
and! the! time! he’d! been! spending! on6line! researching! this!
project! instead! of! the! cases! the! two! were! working.! They!
weren’t!that!dissimilar,!actually.!He!smiled!to!himself.!
!
The!Asian!interrupted!his!thoughts.!“So,!do!you!have!what!
we!want?”!!
!
The!driver!shook!his!head.!“Not!yet.”!
/>
!
“Have!you!made! any!progress?”!
!
He! felt! anger! flare! up! inside! at! the! imperious! tone! in! the!
man’s!voice,!but!he!remained!motionless,!stonily!looking!out!at!
the!sound.!!
!
“Yes,! we’ve! made! progress.! We! located! the! people! we!
think! may! have! the! information.! Unfortunately,! they! gave! us!
the!slip.”!!
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!
“Then! what! am! I! doing! here?! We! could! have! covered! all!
this! safely! at! a! distance! using! the! usual! communication!
channels.”!
!
“You’re!here,”!the!driver!said!coldly,!“because!I!wanted!to!
see!how!serious!you!are.!I’m!not!about!to!betray!my!country!on!
a!whim.!If!you!want!the!technology!badly!enough,!you’ll!meet!
my!price,!on!my!terms.”!
!
“If!it!actually!exists,”!the!Asian!said.!“And! if!it!works.!The!
information!you!seek!to!sell!us!is!more!than!twenty!years!old.!
What! makes! you! think! someone! else! hasn’t! already! come! up!
with!it,!whatever!this!breakthrough!was!supposed!to!be?”!
!
“Trust! me.! Someone! else! wants! it,! too,! and! judging! from!
the!interest!they’ve!shown,!this!is!the!real!deal!all!right.”!!
!
“Then!next!time!we!meet,!have!it!with!you.”!
!
“Or!what?”!
!
The! Asian! shrugged! and! walked! away! before! he! had! a!
chance!to!react.!!
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!
! Chapter(18(
!! Collins!lived!in!a!bungalow!just!east!of!the!freeway.!Gray!
concrete!rose!into!an!uncertain!sky!at!the!end!of!the!block!like!
the!Berlin!Wall,!shutting!off!the!cul6de6sac!from!the!rest!of!the!
world.!Traffic!droned,!too!loud!to!be!confused!with!the!sound!
of!the!ocean!despite!the!sound!barrier.!The!incessant!roar!of!a!
two6stroke! engine! nearby! almost! drowned! it! out.! A! cinder!
block!on!legs!pushed!a!lawnmower!across!the!grass!in!front!of!
the! house! at! the! address! written! on! the! piece! of! paper! in! my!
hand.!The!only!curve!on!his!body!was!a!tonsured!scalp!fringed!
with!white!hair,!the!rest!all!flat!planes!and!chiseled!angles.!!
!
I!contorted!my!long!limbs!out!of!the!car,!stepped!onto!the!
walk!and!waved!to!get!his!attention.!He!pulled!up!short!and!cut!
the!engine,!curious.!!
!
“Mr.!Collins?”!
!
A! pleasant! smile! crossed! his! face,! but! it! didn’t! reach! his!