HB: Did your husband respond to this?
EC: My husband is an arrogant man, Detective Bosch. The money made him that way. I saw it long before this. It changed him. He thought he was bulletproof. That he could say and do whatever he wanted because the money protected him. I think that is why he stole. At some point, millions were not enough for him. He wanted more. He wanted tens of millions, and he believed he could just take it and there wouldn't be any consequences. He was an honest man when I first met him. But that was a long time ago.
(phone ring)
HB: Sorry, let me take care of this.
HB: Bosch?
HB: I'm in the interview with her. I told you not to--
HB: Okay, I understand. Thank you.
HB: Sorry about that, Mrs. Conover. Let's continue. What did your husband say to Eric Anderson?
EC: He tried to turn things around so that he was the one who was wrong. He told him he was a victim of his own greed. That he should have known that the IGE investment was too good to be true. He said he got what he deserved. He told Eric that if he wanted to shoot anybody he should go ahead and shoot himself. He said it was his own fault that he lost his home and his wife left him. Because he was a fool.
HB: What did Eric do or say?
EC: He started to cry a little bit, and he called my husband a monster. He said that he preyed on people who were just trying to make a better life for themselves. My husband laughed at him then and said that it was people like him that made the world go around. Eric called him a liar. He said they spoke once. He said that when he heard the rumors about the company folding he called and said he wanted to talk to somebody about his gold. He talked to my husband, and my husband went into the vault and told him his gold was safe, that we was looking right at it on the shelf and Eric had nothing to worry about. But Eric now knew that that was a lie.
HB: And what did your husband say to that?
EC: He laughed. He said that Eric wasn't the only one who called. He said dozens of people called, and he told them all the same thing, that he was going into the vault to check on their gold reserve. But there wasn't any gold — he had already cashed it out — and there wasn't even a vault. That was just a picture on the website. What he would do is get down and crawl under his desk, and it sort of echoed like he was in a vault. And he laughed because the people always believed him because they thought he was in a real vault. He told Eric that he was a sucker and that suckers were born every minute to feed the rich. He taunted the poor man, Detective. He told him that on Monday the charges were going to be dismissed because there was no evidence against him. He had guaranteed nothing to his customers. The small print on the futures contracts didn't even guarantee that they were secured with actual gold. He told Eric that greed had made him blind and that he deserved every bit of his misery. By then, I could see the tears on Eric's cheeks. He was defeated. He was a beaten man.
HB: What happened next?
EC: That was when Eric fired the gun.
HB: Mrs. Conover, I need to know as much detail about the shooting as you can remember. The paramedics--
EC: Elyse.
HB: Right, Elyse. The paramedics who treated and transported your husband to the hospital said your husband appeared to have been hit by at least three bullets in the upper chest area. Do you recall exactly how many times Eric Anderson discharged the weapon and whether he was sitting when he did this?
EC: He only fired the gun once.
HB: Are you sure?
EC: Yes, I'm sure. He looked at my husband and said, "My blood is on your hands." He then held the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.
HB: You mean after he shot your husband?
(no response)
HB: Elyse? You mean after he shot your husband?
EC: No, he didn't shoot my husband. He shot himself. And my husband laughed. He was relieved and… proud. Yes, I think he was proud that he talked this poor man into killing himself. Then he looked over at me, and he said, "Don't worry, blood washes off. With enough money, anything washes off."
HB: So what happened next?
EC: It was strange. When Eric shot himself, the gun popped out of his hand and skittered across the table. Right to me. So I picked it up. It was heavy. I pointed it at my husband. Then I shot him. Three times I shot him.
HB: Mrs. Conover, I think I'm going to stop you here and inform you of your constitutional rights.
EC: I don't think you have to.
HB: You have the right to remain silent and to refuse to answer any further questions. Do you understand?
EC: Yes, of course.
HB: Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand that?
EC: Yes. But is this really necessary?
HB: You have the right to consult an attorney and to have an attorney present during any questioning now or in the future. Do you understand?
EC: Yes.
HB: Okay, knowing and understanding your rights as I have explained them to you, are you willing to continue this interview and answer my questions without an attorney present?
EC: Might as well.
HB: I need a yes or no answer to my question, Mrs. Conover.
EC: Yes, I will continue to answer. Please call me Elyse.
HB: Elyse, I also need to tell you that the phone call I took a few minutes ago was from my partner at the hospital. I'm afraid your husband has succumbed to his wounds. They couldn't save him. He is dead and I am now placing you under arrest on suspicion of his murder.
EC: I understand.
HB: Do you want to call an attorney now?
EC: I don't think so. I want to explain what happened. So the victims will know.
HB: I understand. Why did you do it, Elyse? Why did you shoot your husband?
EC: Because Eric was right. He was a monster and I saw it right then. I killed the monster and I'll wash off his blood. You watch. I have the money now. I'll wash the blood off.
HB: Okay, Mrs. Conover. We're going to go over to central booking now. We can continue this afterward. They'll have a doctor there who will want to talk to you to determine your mental facility.
EC: I'm fine, Detective. I feel good about myself for the first time in a long time.
HB: Okay, Mrs. Conover.
EC: Call me Elyse.
HB: Let's go, Elyse.
(5:29 a.m.)