“ ‘We closed the garages, and one of the drivers-I believe, Mr. Clinton-had a key to the door. I borrowed it to lock the door.’ ”
“ ‘Did you return the key to him after?’ ”
“ ‘No, I asked if I could keep it for the time being and he said that was okay.’ ”
“ ‘So when you went back with the signed search warrant, you had the key and you simply unlocked the door to enter.’ ”
“ ‘That is correct.’ ”
Royce flipped the page on his copy and told Bosch to do likewise.
“Okay, now reading from another point in the cross-examination. ‘Detective Kloster, what did you conclude when you were told about the hair specimens found in the tow truck Mr. Jessup had been driving that day?’ ”
“ ‘Nothing. The specimens had not been identified yet.’ ”
“ ‘At what later point were they identified?’ ”
“ ‘Two days later I got a call from SID. A hair-and-fiber tech told me that the hairs had been examined and that they closely matched samples taken from the victim. She said that she could not exclude the victim as a source.’ ”
“ ‘So then what did that tell you?’ ”
“ ‘That it was likely that Melissa Landy had been in that tow truck.’ ”
“ ‘What other evidence in that truck linked the victim to it or Mr. Jessup to the victim?’ ”
“ ‘There was no other evidence.’ ”
“ ‘No blood or other bodily fluids?’ ”
“ ‘No.’ ”
“ ‘No fibers from the victim’s dress?’ ”
“ ‘No.’ ”
“ ‘Nothing else?’ ”
“ ‘Nothing.’ ”
“ ‘With the lack of other corroborating evidence in the truck, did you ever consider that the hair evidence was planted in the truck?’ ”
“ ‘Well, I considered it in the way I considered all aspects of the case. But I dismissed it because the witness to the abduction had identified Jessup, and that was the truck he was driving. I didn’t think the evidence was planted. I mean, by who? No one was trying to set him up. He was identified by the victim’s sister.’ ”
That ended the read-back. Bosch glanced over at the jury box and saw that it appeared that everyone had remained attentive during what was most likely the most boring stage of the trial.
“Anything further, Mr. Royce?” the judge asked.
“Nothing further, Judge,” Royce responded.
“Very well,” Breitman said. “I think this brings us to our afternoon break. I will see everyone back in place-and I will admonish myself to be on time-in fifteen minutes.”
The courtroom started to clear and Bosch stepped down from the witness stand. He went directly to Haller, who was huddled with McPherson. Bosch butted into their whispered conversation.
“Atwater, right?”
Haller looked up at him.
“Yes, right. Have her ready in fifteen minutes.”
“And you have time to talk after court?”
“I’ll make time. I had an interesting conversation at lunch, as well. I need to tell you.”
Bosch left them and headed out to the hall. He knew the line at the coffee urn in the little concession stand near the elevators would be long and full of jurors from the case. He decided he would hit the stairwell and find coffee on another floor. But first he ducked into the restroom.
As he entered he saw Jessup at one of the sinks. He was leaning over and washing his hands. His eyes were below the mirror line and he didn’t realize Bosch was behind him.
Bosch stood still and waited for the moment, thinking about what he would say when he and Jessup locked eyes.
But just as Jessup raised his head and saw Bosch in the mirror, the door to a stall to the left opened and juror number ten stepped out. It was an awkward moment as all three men said nothing.
Finally, Jessup grabbed a paper towel out of the dispenser, dried his hands and tossed it into the wastebasket. He headed to the door while the juror took his place at the sink. Bosch moved silently to a urinal but looked back at Jessup as he was pushing through the door.
Bosch shot him in the back with his finger. Jessup never saw it coming.
Thirty-one
Tuesday, April 6, 3:05 P.M .
During the break I checked on my next witness and made sure she was good to go. I had a few spare minutes, so I tracked Bosch down in the line at the coffee concession one floor down. Juror number six was two spots in front of him. I took Bosch by the elbow and led him away.
“You can get your coffee later. There’s no time to drink it anyway. I wanted you to know that I had lunch with your girlfriend from the bureau.”
“What? Who?”
“Agent Walling.”
“She’s not my girlfriend. Why did she have lunch with you?”
I led him to the stairwell and we headed back upstairs as we talked.
“Well, I think she wanted to have lunch with you but you split out of here too fast so she settled for me. She wanted to give us a warning. She said she’s been watching and reading the reports on the trial and she thinks if Jessup is going to blow, it’s going to be soon. She said he reacts to pressure and he’s probably never been under more than he is right now.”
Bosch nodded.
“That’s sort of what I wanted to talk to you about before.”
He looked around to make sure that no one was in earshot.
“The SIS says Jessup’s nighttime activities have increased since the start of the trial. He’s going out every night now.”
“Has he gone down your street?”
“No, he hasn’t been back there or to any of the other spots off Mulholland in a week. But over the last two nights he’s done things that are new.”
“Like what, Harry?”
“Like on Sunday they followed him down the beach from Venice and he went into the old storage area under the Santa Monica Pier.”
“What storage area? What’s this mean?”
“It’s an old city storage facility but it got flooded by high tides so many times it’s locked up and abandoned. Jessup dug underneath one of the old wood sidings and crawled in.”
“Why?”
“Who knows? They couldn’t go in or they would risk exposing the surveillance. But that’s not the real news. The real news is, last night he met with a couple of guys at the Townhouse in Venice and then went out to a car in one of the beach lots. One of the guys took something wrapped in a towel out of the trunk and gave it to him.”
“A gun?”
Bosch shrugged.
“Whatever it was, they never saw, but through the car’s plates they IDed one of the two guys. Marshall Daniels. He was in San Quentin in the nineties-same time as Jessup.”
I was now catching some of the tension and urgency that was coming off Bosch.
“They could’ve known each other. What was Daniels up there for?”
“Drugs and weapons.”
I checked my watch. I needed to be back in court.
“Then we have to assume Jessup has a weapon. We could violate his OR right now for associating with a convicted felon. Do they have pictures of Jessup and Daniels together?”
“They have photos but I am not sure we want to do that.”
“If he’s got a gun… Do you trust the SIS to stop him before he makes a move or does some damage?”
“I do, but it would help if we knew what the move was.”
We stepped out into the hallway and saw no sign of any jurors or anyone else from the trial. Everybody was back in court but me.
“We’ll talk about this later. I have to get back into court or the judge will jump on my ass next. I’m not like Royce. I can’t afford a contempt hearing just to make a point with the jury. Go get Atwater and bring her in.”
I hurried back to Department 112 and rudely pushed around a couple of the courthouse gadflies who were moving slowly through the door. Judge Breitman had not waited for me. I saw everyone but me in place and the jury was being seated. I moved up the aisle and through the gate and slipped into the seat next to Maggie.