CAPITOL PUNISHMENT

Park Service Officer Ellen Christian began her midnight shift with a check of the Vietnam Memorial, a place where veterans often showed up at all hours to visit this sad wall of memories. They came daily in large numbers to pay homage to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in a war that eventually became a divisive force in America from the mid-1960s through its end in 1975. The Vietnam War never had the full support of the American people, but now the memorial to its dead is one of the most popular places for tourists to visit in Washington. Driving down Constitution Avenue she made a right turn at 17th Street and stopped to check the new tourist Mecca, the recently completed World War II Memorial at the end of the Reflecting Pool. Ellen stepped from the patrol car and approached the security guard. “Beautiful night isn’t it,” she said. The security guard removed the earphones from his head and responded, “Yeah, not a cloud in the sky.” “The stars seem so bright on nights like this.” “I’ll say, and it’s quiet tonight. Not much traffic or tourists wandering around. I’ve been listening to one of those books on tape- a new Grisham novel.” I should be so lucky, she thought. “See you on the next loop,” she said walking back to the patrol car. She drove towards the Tidal Basin. Off to her left was the Washington Monument. As she eased into the right hand lane for the turn onto Independence Avenue she noticed the moon reflecting off an object in the Tidal Basin.

It must be the way the water is rippling that makes that effect; she said to herself and continued on past the Polo Field on her left and the wooded area on her right that shielded the reflecting pool where thousands of people congregated to hear Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. The whole area had quite a history. At the Lincoln Memorial she pulled up alongside a couple admiring the monument dedicated to America’s 16th President. They were from London and had walked all the way from their hotel in Georgetown. “See if you can stop a cab. This isn’t a safe area at night,” she advised them.

Ellen stopped again at the Vietnam Memorial and then drove by the World War II Memorial where she waved at the security guard who seemed totally absorbed in his Grisham novel. She decided to visit the Jefferson Memorial to check with the Park Ranger on duty. As she approached the Kutz Bridge to cross over the Tidal Basin she noticed the reflection again and this time it was clear it was the object she had observed earlier. Most of it was submerged, but it was now obvious that it was a car. She slammed on the brakes and drove the patrol car onto the sidewalk. She reached for her flashlight and focused it on the vehicle in the water.