“Very well, Detective,” she finally said.
She looked down and scribbled a signature at the bottom of the last page and started to fill in the spaces that dictated the length of the wiretaps.
“But I am still not convinced,” she said sternly. “So I am giving you seventy-two hours.”
“Your Honor,” Bosch said.
But Rider put her hand on Bosch’s arm again, trying to stop him from turning a yes into a no. Then she spoke.
“Your Honor, seventy-two hours is a very short time period for this. We were hoping that we would have at least a week.”
“You said the newspaper article is coming out tomorrow,” the judge responded.
“Yes, Judge, it is supposed to, but -”
“You will know something pretty quick then. If you feel you need to extend it then come back and see me on Friday and try to convince me. Seventy-two hours, and I want daily summaries delivered each morning. If I don’t get them I am going to hold you both in contempt. I am not going to allow you to go fishing. If what is on the summaries is not on point then I will shut you down early. Is all of that clear?”
“Yes, Your Honor,” Bosch and Rider said in unison.
“Good. Now, I have a status conference in my courtroom. It is time for you to go and for me to go back to work.”
Rider collected the paperwork and they said their thanks. As they headed to the door, Judge Demchak called out to their backs.
“Detective Bosch?”
Bosch turned around and looked at her.
“Yes, Judge?”
“You saw the picture, didn’t you?” she said. “Of my daughter. You guessed I have only one child.”
Bosch looked at her for a moment and then nodded.
“I only have one myself,” he said. “I know what it’s like.”
She held his eyes for a moment before speaking.
“You can go now,” she said.
Bosch nodded and followed Rider through the door.
24
THEY DIDN’T SPEAK to each other as they left the courthouse. It was as if they wanted to get out of there without putting the jinx on it, as if their saying one word about what had happened might echo back through the building and make the judge change her mind and recall them. Now that they had the judge’s signature on the authorization forms, all they cared about was getting out.
Once on the sidewalk in front of the monolithic courthouse Bosch looked at Rider and smiled.
“That was close,” he said.
She smiled and nodded her approval.
“Ripples, huh? You took it right up to the red line with her. I thought I was going to have to go downstairs and post a bond for you.”
They started walking toward Parker Center. Bosch pulled his phone out and turned it back on.
“Yeah, it was close,” he said. “But we got it. You want to tell Abel to set up the meeting with the others?”
“Yeah, I’ll tell him. I was just going to wait until we got over there.”
Bosch checked his phone and saw he had missed a call and had a message. He didn’t recognize the number but it had an 818 area code-the Valley. He checked the message and heard a voice he didn’t want to hear.
“Detective Bosch, it’s McKenzie Ward at the News. I need to talk to you about Roland Mackey as soon as possible. I need to hear from you or I may have to hold the story. Call me.”
“Shit,” Bosch said as he deleted the message.
“What?” Rider asked.
“It’s the reporter. I told Muriel Verloren not to mention Mackey to her. But it sounds like she let it slip. Either that or the reporter is talking to somebody else.”
“Shit.”
“That’s what I said.”
They walked a little further without speaking. Bosch was thinking of a way to deal with the reporter. They had to keep Mackey out of the story or else he’d probably just cut and run without bothering to call anyone else.
“What are you going to do?” Rider finally asked.
“I don’t know. Try to talk her out of it. Lie to her if I have to. She can’t put his name in the story.”
“But she has to run the story, Harry. We only have seventy-two hours.”
“I know. Let me think.”
He opened his phone and called Muriel Verloren. She answered and he asked her how the interview went. She said it was fine and she was glad it was over.
“Did they take photos?”
“Yes, they wanted pictures of the bedroom. I didn’t feel good, opening it up like that to them. But I did.”
“I understand. Thank you for doing that. Just remember, the story is going to help us. We’re getting close, Muriel, and the newspaper story will push things. We appreciate your doing it.”
“If it helps, then I am glad to do it.”
“Good. Let me ask you something else. Did you mention the name Roland Mackey to the reporter?”
“No, you told me not to. So I didn’t.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m more than sure. She asked me what you people were telling me but I didn’t say anything about him. Why?”
“No reason. I just wanted to make sure, that’s all. Thank you, Muriel. I’ll call you as soon as I have some news.”
He closed the phone. He didn’t think Muriel Verloren would lie to him. The reporter had to have another source.
“What?” Rider asked.
“She didn’t tell her.”
“Then who did?”
“Good question.”
The phone started to vibrate and chirp while he was still holding it. He looked at the screen and recognized the number.
“It’s her-the reporter. I have to take this.”
He answered the call.
“Detective Bosch, it’s McKenzie Ward. I’m on deadline and we need to talk.”
“Right. I just got your message. My phone was off because I was in court.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about Roland Mackey?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Roland Mackey. I was told you already have a suspect named Roland Mackey.”
“Who told you that?”
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you withheld a key piece of information from me. Is Roland Mackey your prime suspect? Let me guess. You are playing both sides and giving that to the Times.”
Bosch had to think quickly. The reporter was sounding pressed and upset. A reporter who goes off angry could be a problem. He had to calm the situation and at the same time take Mackey out of the mix. The one thing he had going for him was that she had not mentioned a DNA link between Mackey and the gun. This made Bosch think that her source of information was outside the department. Someone with limited information.
“First of all, I’m not talking to the Times on this. As long as it runs tomorrow, you are the only one with this story. Secondly, it does matter where you got that name from because your information is wrong. I am trying to help you here, McKenzie. You would be making a big mistake if you put that name in the article. You might even get sued.”
“Then who is he?”
“Who is your source?”
“You know I can’t give you that.”
“Why not?”
Bosch was stalling for time while he thought it out. While the reporter rattled off a standard response about shield laws and protecting sources, Bosch was ticking off the names of people outside the department whom he and Rider had talked to about Mackey. They included Rebecca Verloren’s three friends-Tara Wood, Bailey Sable and Grace Tanaka. There was also Robert Verloren, Danny Kotchof, Thelma Kibble, the parole agent, and Gordon Stoddard, the school principal, as well as Mrs. Atkins, the secretary who looked for Mackey’s name in the school’s rolls.
There was also Judge Demchak but Bosch dismissed that as a long shot. Ward’s message had been left on his line while he and Rider were with the judge. The idea that the judge would have picked up the phone and called the reporter while she had been alone in chambers studying the search warrant application seemed out of the question. She hadn’t even known of the pending newspaper story let alone the reporter assigned to it.