by Mike Sherer
eyes.!“Depends!on!who’s!asking.”!
!
“Blake!Sanders.!Frank!Shriver!suggested!I!look!you!up.”!
!
“The!man’s!not!dead!yet?!What!can!I!do!for!you?”!
!
“Wondered! if! you! might! be! willing! to! talk! about! an! old!
case.!Sebastian!Fitch.”!
!
He! maintained! a! poker! face,! but! something! other! than!
surprise!flickered!in!his!eyes.!Wariness,!maybe,!like!a!lounging!
cat!that’s!gone!on!alert.!He!shifted!his!weight.!
!
“There’s!a!name!I!haven’t!heard!in!a!while.!Tell!you!what.!
I’ve!got!a!couple!more!passes!here.!Let!me!finish!up!and!I’ll!get!
us!some!iced!tea.!We’ll!take!it!out!back.”!
!
I!nodded.!He!bent!and!pulled!the!starter!cord!with!a!clean!
jerk.!The!mower!roared!to!life.!I!stifled!a!yawn!and!rubbed!the!
corner!of!an!eye!with!my!finger.!The!day!was!as!bright!as!it!had!
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promised! when! I’d! gone! to! bed! that! morning,! the! sky! a!
patchwork!quilt!of!blue!and!white.!
!
Five! minutes! later,! he! walked! me! through! the! house! into!
the! kitchen,! fetched! two! tall! glasses! from! a! cupboard! and! a!
pitcher! from! the! refrigerator,! and! led! me! out! the! back! onto! a!
deck! overlooking! a! small! yard.! A! hemlock! towered! over! one!
corner,! branches! shading! the! grass! beneath.! A! cloud! passed!
overhead,!sprinkling!us!with!a!few!drops!even!though!the!sun!
shone!brightly.!Collins!tipped!his!face!up.!
!
“Not!quite!the!weather!for!iced!tea!yet,”!he!said,!“but!I!keep!
thinking!summer!will!get!here!faster!if!I!drink!it.”!
!
I!took!a!sip.!It!had!a!hint!of!lemon!and!was!sweetened!with!
just!enough!sugar!to!take!the!bitter!edge!off!the!tea.!“It’s!good.!
Thanks.”!
!
“How! do! you! know! Frank?”! he! said! as! we! got! settled!
around!a!patio!table.!
!
“I!met!him!when!I!worked!at!UW.!Later,!I!tried!to!get!him!
to!write!stories!about!my!clients.”!
!
“Past!tense?”!
!
“I! don’t! work! in! that! business! anymore.”! I! waved.! “Old!
news.”!
!
He! emitted! something! close! to! a! grunt! and! waggled! a!
finger,! fat! as! a! sausage.! “I’ve! got! it! now.! I! couldn’t! place! it! at!
first,!but!I!recognized!your!name.!You’re!the!guy—”!
!
“Yeah,!I’m!the!guy.”!I!sighed,!hoping!he!wouldn’t!make!me!
relive! the! events! that! had! made! me! infamous! six! months!
earlier.!“Is!that!good!or!bad?”!
!
He!shrugged,!and!didn’t!bother!to!pursue!it.!“Too!bad!what!
happened!to!the!paper.”!
!
“The!newspaper?!At!least!they!kept!Frank!on!staff.”!
!
He!cocked!his!head.!“Sort!of!like!me!working!security.!It’s!
not!the!same!as!being!a!cop.”!
!
“Is!that!what!you!do!now?”!
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!
He!laughed.!“No,!I’m!retired.!Every!once!in!a!while!I’ll!work!
a!private!party!or!a!fundraiser!as!a!favor!if!people!ask!real!nice.!
Otherwise,!I’ve!got!plenty!to!do!around!the!house.!When!I!get!
caught! up,! I! go! fishing.! Read.! Talk! to! strangers! about! old!
cases…”!His!smile!faded.!“What’s!your!interest!in!Fitch?”!
!
I!launched!into!the!story.!Without!too!many!details,!I!gave!
him! reason! to! think! I! might! be! in! danger,! hoping! he’d! be!
sympathetic! enough! to! help.! When! I! finished,! he! looked!
skeptical.!
!
“So,!you’re!trying!to!find!this!guy?”!he!said.!“Your!friend?”!!
!
I!shook!my!head.!“I’m!just!trying!to!avoid!trouble!if!I!can.!If!
Langford!does!come!looking!for!me,!it’d!be!nice!to!know!what!
or!who!he’s!after.!Ditto!the!feds.!I!don’t!like!being!the!center!of!
attention,! not! when! people! are! carrying! guns.”! An! image! of!
black6clad!commandos!flashed!through!my!head.!
!
He!wrapped!his!fingers!around!his!glass!and!leaned!back!
in! his! chair,! his! gaze! settled! on! a! squirrel! foraging! for! food!
under!the!hemlock.!
!
“Couldn’t!hurt,!I!guess.”!He!took!a!sip!of!tea!and!wiped!the!
corners! of! his! mouth! with! his! thumb! and! forefinger.! “Seattle!
was! a! backwater! in! the! ’Sixties.! Still! is! in! a! lot! of! ways,! but!
Boeing! put! us! on! the! map! back! then.! Microsoft,! too,! later! on.!
The!point!is,!nothing!happens!here.!We!had!that!little!world’s!
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!sh
ift.!
!
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.!!
!