The Harry Bosch Novels Vol Ii Part 136

"Can we ask the FBI agent questions?"

Irving glanced at Lindell, who was standing at the rear of the stage next to Bosch, Edgar and Rider. He then looked back at the crowd of lights, cameras and reporters.

"The FBI and the LAPD have decided this will best be handled by funneling information through the police department. If you have a question, ask me."

"Are other cops being questioned?" b.u.t.ton called out.

Irving had to think again to make sure he put the right words in the right order.

"Yes, police officers are being questioned in a routine manner. At this point there are no police officers that we would cla.s.sify as suspects."

"Then you are saying Sheehan is not a suspect."

b.u.t.ton got him. Irving knew it. He had talked himself into a logic corner. But he took the easy, if not disingenuous, way out.

"No comment."

"Chief," b.u.t.ton continued, above the din of other reporters, "the murders are almost forty-eight hours old. Are you saying there are no solid suspects at this time?"

"We're not going to get into what suspects there may or may not be. Next."

Irving quickly pointed to another reporter in order to steer things away from b.u.t.ton. The questioning went on for another ten minutes. At one point Bosch looked over at Rider and she gave him a look that said, What are we doing here? What are we doing here? And Bosch returned a look that answered, And Bosch returned a look that answered, We are wasting our time We are wasting our time.

When it was finally over, Bosch huddled on the stage with Edgar and Rider. They had arrived from Hollywood station just as the press conference had begun and he hadn't had time to talk to them.

"So where are we on the search warrants?" he asked.

"Almost done," Edgar said. "It didn't help that we had to come down here for the dog and pony show."

"I know."

"Harry, I thought you were going to steer us clear of this stuff," Rider said.

"I know. It was selfish. Frankie Sheehan is a friend. What they did to him, leaking his name like that, was bulls.h.i.+t. I was hoping that having you two here might add some credibility to the announcement that he was being let go."

"So you used us the way Irving wanted to yesterday," she said. "You wouldn't let him do it but it was okay for yourself."

Bosch studied her face. He could tell she was genuinely angry at being used in such a way. Bosch knew that it was a betrayal. A small one in his mind, but a betrayal just the same.

"Look, Kiz, we can talk about this later. But like I said, Frankie's a friend. He's now your friend for this. And that could be valuable someday."

He waited and watched and finally she gave a slight nod. It was over, for now.

"How much more time do you need?" he asked.

"Maybe an hour," Edgar said. "Then we've got to find a judge."

"Why?" Rider said. "What did Irving say?"

"Irving's sitting on the fence. So I want to have everything ready. I want to be able to move. Tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning's no problem," Edgar said.

"Good. Then you two go back and finish up. Get to a judge tonight. Tomorrow we'll -"

"Detective Bosch?"

Bosch turned. Harvey b.u.t.ton and his producer, Tom Chainey, were standing there.

"I can't talk to you," Bosch said.

"We understand that you have reopened the Stacey Kincaid case," Chainey said. "We'd like to talk to you about -"

"Who told you that?" Bosch snapped, anger quickly showing on his face.

"We have a source who -"

"Well, tell your source he's full of s.h.i.+t. No comment."

A cameraman came up and poked his lens over b.u.t.ton's shoulder. b.u.t.ton raised a microphone.

"Have you exonerated Michael Harris?" b.u.t.ton blurted out.

"I said no comment," Bosch said. "Get that out of here."

Bosch reached to the camera and put his hand over the lens. The cameraman shrieked.

"Don't touch the camera! This is private property."

"So is my face. Get it away from me. The press conference is over."

Bosch put his hand on b.u.t.ton's shoulder and forcefully ushered him off the stage. The cameraman followed. So did Chainey, but in a slow, calm way as if daring Bosch to manhandle him as well. Their eyes locked.

"Watch the news tonight, Detective," Chainey said. "You might find it interesting."

"I doubt that," Bosch said.

Twenty minutes later Bosch was sitting on an empty desk at the mouth of the hallway that led to the RHD interview rooms on the third floor. He was still thinking about the exchange he'd had with b.u.t.ton and Chainey and wondering what they had. He heard one of the doors open and looked up. Frankie Sheehan came down the hallway with Lindell. Bosch's old partner looked drained. His face was slack, his hair unkempt and his clothes-the same ones he had worn the night before in the bar-were disheveled. Bosch slid off the desk and stood up, ready to deflect a physical a.s.sault if need be. But Sheehan apparently read his body language and raised his hands, palms forward. He smiled crookedly.

"It's okay, Harry," Sheehan said, his voice very tired and hoa.r.s.e. "Agent Lindell here gave me the scoop. Part of it, at least. It wasn't you who ... It was myself. You know, I forgot all about threatening that douche bag."

Bosch nodded.

"Come on, Frankie," he said. "I'll give you a ride."

Without thinking too much about it Bosch led him to the main elevators and they headed down to the lobby. They stood side by side, both looking up at the lighted numbers above the door.

"Sorry I doubted you, buddy," Sheehan said quietly.

"Don't worry about it, buddy. That makes us even."

"Yeah? How so?"

"Last night when I asked about the prints."

"You still doubt them?"

"Nope. Not at all."

In the lobby they went out a side door to the employee parking lot. They were about halfway to the car when Bosch heard a commotion and turned to see several reporters and cameramen moving toward them.

"Don't say anything," Bosch said quickly. "Don't say a word to them."

The initial wave of reporters descended quickly and surrounded them. Bosch could see more coming.

"No comment," Bosch said. "No comment."

But it wasn't Bosch they cared about. They shoved their microphones and cameras at Sheehan's face. His eyes, so tired before, seemed wild now, even scared. Bosch tried to pull his friend through the crowd and to the car. The reporters shouted their questions.

"Detective Sheehan, did you kill Howard Elias?" a woman asked, louder than the others.

"No," Sheehan said. "I didn't-I didn't do anything."

"Did you previously threaten the victim?"

"Look, no comment," Bosch said before Sheehan could react to the question. "Do you hear that? No comment. Leave us a -"

"Why were you questioned?"

"Tell us why you were questioned, Detective."

They were almost there. Some of the reporters had dropped off, realizing they would get nothing. But most of the cameras were staying with them. They could always use the video. Suddenly, Sheehan broke from Bosch's grip and wheeled around on the reporters.

"You want to know why I was questioned? I was questioned because the department needs to sacrifice somebody. To keep the peace. Doesn't matter who it is, as long as they fit the bill. That's where I came in. I fit the -"

Bosch grabbed Sheehan and yanked him away from the microphones.

"Come on, Frankie, forget about them."

By moving between two parked cars they were able to cut off the clot of reporters and cameramen. Bosch pushed Sheehan quickly to his slickback and opened the door. By the time the reporters followed in single file to the car, Sheehan was inside and safe from the microphones. Bosch went around to his side and got in.

They drove in silence until they were on the 101 Freeway going north. Bosch then glanced over at Sheehan. His eyes were staring ahead.

"You shouldn't have said that, Frankie. You're fanning the fire."

"I don't give a f.u.c.k about the fire. Not anymore."

Silence returned. They were on the freeway cutting through Hollywood and traffic was light. Bosch could see smoke rising from a fire somewhere to the south and west. He thought about putting KFWB on the radio but decided he didn't want to know what that smoke meant.

"They give you a chance in there to call Margaret?" he asked after a while.

"Nope. They didn't give me a chance to do anything other than confess. I'm sure glad you rode into town and saved the day, Harry. I never did get told what you told 'em but whatever it was it sure saved my a.s.s."

Bosch knew what Sheehan was asking but he wasn't ready to tell him.

"The media's probably been out to your house," he said instead. "Margaret probably got blindsided with this."

"I got news for you, Harry. Margaret left me eight months ago. Took the girls and moved to Bakersfield. To be near her folks. There's n.o.body at my house."

"Sorry, Frankie."

"I should've told you last night when you asked about them."

Bosch drove for a little bit, thinking about things.

"Why don't you get some stuff from your place and come stay at my house? The reporters won't find you. Until this blows over."

"I don't know, Harry. Your house is the size of a box of Girl Scout cookies. I'm already claustrophobic from being in that room all day. Besides, I never met your wife, you know? She's not going to want some stranger sleeping on your couch."

Bosch looked at the Capitol Records building as the freeway cut past it. It was supposed to resemble a stack of records with a phonograph stylus on top. But as with most of Hollywood, time had pa.s.sed it by. They didn't make records anymore. Music came on compact discs. They sold record alb.u.ms in secondhand stores now. Sometimes all of Hollywood seemed like a secondhand store to Bosch.

"My house got wrecked in the earthquake," Bosch said. "It's rebuilt now. I even have a guest room ... and, Frankie, my wife left me, too."

It felt strange to say it out loud. As if it was some form of confirmation of the death of his marriage.

"Oh, s.h.i.+t, Harry, you guys only got married a year or so ago. When did this happen?"

Bosch looked over at him and then back at the road.

"Recently."

There were no reporters waiting outside Sheehan's home when they got there twenty minutes later. Bosch said he was going to wait in the car and make some calls while Sheehan got his things. When he was alone he called his house to check for messages, so he wouldn't have to play them in front of Sheehan when they got there. But there were none. He put the phone away and just sat. He wondered if his inviting Sheehan to stay at his house had been a subconscious effort to avoid facing the emptiness of the place. After a while he decided it wasn't. He had lived alone most of his life. He was used to places that were empty. He knew the real shelter of a home was inside yourself.

Light was.h.i.+ng across the mirrors caught Bosch's eyes. He checked the side view and saw the lights of a car that was being parked against the curb a block or so back. He doubted it was a reporter. A reporter would have pulled right into Sheehan's driveway, made no effort at concealment. He started thinking about what he wanted to ask Sheehan.

A few minutes later his former partner came out of the house carrying a grocery bag. He opened the back door and tossed it in, then got in up front. He was smiling.

"Margie took all the suitcases," he said. "I didn't realize that till tonight."

They took Beverly Glen up the hill to Mulholland and then took it east to Woodrow Wilson. Bosch usually loved driving Mulholland at night. The curving road, the city lights coming in and out of view. But along the way they drove by The Summit and Bosch studied the gate and thought about the Kincaids somewhere behind it in the safety of their home with jetliner views.

"Frankie, I have to ask you something," he said.

"Shoot."

"Back on the Kincaid thing, during the investigation, did you talk to Kincaid much? Sam Kincaid, I mean."

"Yeah, sure. Guy like that you handled with kid gloves. Him and the old man. You be careful, else it might come back on you."