Night Tide (16 page)

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!