“Did you know about it before the detective called?”
“Yeah, I’d heard. Mrs. Verloren called my dad and he broke the news to me. I also got some calls on it from some of my friends out there. They knew I’d want to know about it. It was weird, man, this girl that I knew gets wiped out like that.”
“Yeah.”
Bosch thought about what else he could ask. Kotchof’s story conflicted in small ways with Muriel Verloren’s account. He knew he would need to square the stories at some point. Kotchof’s alibi also continued to bother him.
“Hey, look, Detective, I should get going,” Kotchof said. “I’m at work. Is there anything else?”
“Just a few more questions. Do you remember how long before Rebecca’s death it was that you stopped calling her?”
“Um, I don’t know. Somewhere around the end of that first summer. Something like that. It had been a while, almost a year.”
Bosch decided to try to rattle Kotchof and see what came out. It was something he would rather have attempted in person but there was no time or money for a trip to Hawaii.
“So your relationship was definitely over by the time of her death?”
“Yes, definitely.”
Bosch thought the chances of recovering phone records from back then were not very high.
“When you were still calling was it always at a certain time? You know, like an appointment.”
“Sort of. I was two hours behind so I couldn’t call too late. I usually called right after dinner and that was right before she was going to go to bed. But like I said, it didn’t last too long.”
“Okay. Now I have to ask you something pretty personal. Did you have sex with Rebecca Verloren?”
There was a pause.
“What’s that got to do with this?”
“I can’t explain that, Dan. But it is part of the investigation and it could have a bearing on the case. Do you mind answering?”
“No.”
Bosch waited but Kotchof said nothing else.
“Is that your answer?” Bosch finally asked. “You two never had sex?”
“We never did. She said she wasn’t ready and I didn’t push it. Look, I have to go.”
“Okay, Dan, just a few more. I’m sure you would like for us to catch the guy who did this, right?”
“Yes, right, it’s just that I’m at work.”
“Yes, you said that. Let me ask you, when was the last time you saw Rebecca?”
“I don’t remember the exact date but it was like the day we left. When we said good-bye. That morning.”
“So you never came back from Hawaii once your family moved?”
“No, not at first. I mean, I’ve been back since. I lived in Venice for a couple years after I finished school, but then I came back here.”
“But not between the time your family moved and the time of Rebecca’s murder. Is that what you are saying?”
“Yes, right.”
“So if another witness I have spoken to said she saw you in town that weekend of July Fourth, right before Rebecca disappeared, then she would be wrong about that?”
“Yeah, she’d be wrong. Look, what is this? I told you. I never went back. I had a new girlfriend. I mean, I didn’t even go back for the funeral. Who told you they saw me? Was it Grace? She never liked me-that dyke. She was always trying to get me in trouble with Beck.”
“I can’t tell you who it is, Dan. Just like if you want to tell me something in confidence then I will respect that.”
“Whoever it is, she’s a fucking liar,” Kotchof said, his voice turning shrill. “That is a goddamn lie! Check your records, man! I had an alibi. I was working on the day she was taken, and I was working the next day, too. How could I have gotten there and back? Whoever told you that is totally fucking bogus!”
“It’s your alibi that is bogus, Dan. Your old man could have put your supervisor up to it. That was easy.”
A moment of silence passed before there was a response.
“I don’t know what you are talking about. My father didn’t put anybody up to anything and that’s a goddamn fact. We had the time cards and my boss talked to the cops and that was it. Now you come along seventeen years later with this shit? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Okay, Dan, take it easy. Sometimes people make mistakes. Especially when you are going back all those years.”
“This is all I need, to be dragged into this. Man, I’ve got a family over here.”
“I said take it easy. You aren’t dragged into anything. This is just a phone call. Just a conversation, okay? Now, is there anything else you can tell me or want to tell me to help with this thing?”
“No. I told you all I know, which is nothing. And I have to go. I mean it this time.”
“So were you upset when Rebecca told you she was pregnant and it was obvious to you that it was with another guy?”
There was no answer at first so Bosch tried to turn the screw a bit.
“Especially since she would never have relations with you when you two were together.”
Bosch realized he had gone too far and tipped his hand. Kotchof realized that Bosch was playing good cop and bad cop with him all at once. When he responded, his voice was calm and modulated.
“She never told me that,” he said. “I never knew until it came out after.”
“Really? Who told you?”
“I can’t remember. One of my friends, I guess.”
“Really? Because Rebecca kept a journal. And you’re all over it, man. And she says she told you and you weren’t too happy about it.”
Now Kotchof laughed and Bosch knew he had really blown it.
“Detective, you are full of shit. You’re the one who’s lying. This is really weak, man. I mean, I watch Law and Order, you know.”
“Do you watch CSI?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Well, we got the killer’s DNA. If we match it to somebody they’re going to take a fall. DNA is the ultimate closer.”
“Good. Check mine and maybe this can all be over for me.”
Bosch knew he was the one backpedaling now. He had to end the call.
“Okay then, Dan, we’ll let you know about that. Meantime, thank you for your help. One last question. What’s a hospitality manager?”
“You mean here at the hotel? I take care of large parties and conferences and weddings and things like that. I make sure it all runs smoothly when these big groups come in here.”
“Okay, well, I’ll let you get back to it. Have a good day.”
Bosch hung up and sat at the desk thinking about the call. He was embarrassed by how he had let the upper hand slip across the line to Kotchof. He knew his interviewing skills had largely been dormant for three years but that did not salve the burn. He knew he had to get better and it had to be soon.
Aside from that, there was a lot of content from the call to consider. He didn’t read much into Kotchof’s angry reaction to supposedly being seen in L.A. right before the murder. After all, Bosch had fabricated the witness and Kotchof’s angry response would certainly be justified. But what was notable was how Kotchof’s anger zeroed in on Grace Tanaka. Their relationship might be worth exploring further, maybe through Kiz Rider.
He also considered Kotchof’s statement about not knowing about Rebecca Verloren’s pregnancy. Bosch instinctively believed him. All in all it didn’t drop Kotchof from the suspect list, but it at least pushed him to a back burner. He would discuss all of Kotchof’s answers with Rider and see if she agreed.
The most interesting information gleaned from the call was in the conflicts between Kotchof’s memories and those of Muriel Verloren, the victim’s mother. Muriel Verloren had said Kotchof had called her daughter religiously, right up until the time of her death. Kotchof said he had done no such thing. Bosch didn’t see any reason for Kotchof to lie about it. If he hadn’t, then Muriel Verloren’s memory was wrong. Or it was her daughter who had lied about who called her every night before bed. Since the girl was hiding a relationship and the pregnancy that came from it, it seemed likely that the phone calls did come in every night but they were not from Kotchof. They were from someone else, someone Bosch started thinking of as Mr. X.