While Bosch had solved three cold case murders since coming to work for San Fernando, this would be the first live murder investigation, so to speak, since his arrival. It meant there would be an active crime scene, with victims on the floor, not just photos from a file to observe. The protocol and pace would be quite different, and it invigorated him despite the upset from the meeting he had just escaped from.
As Lourdes turned in to the mall, Bosch looked ahead and saw that the investigation was already starting off wrong. Three patrol cars were parked directly in front of the farmacia, and that was too close. Traffic through the two-lane mall had not been stopped and drivers were going slowly by the business, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever had caused the police activity.
“Pull in here,” he said. “Those cars are too close and I’m going to move them back and shut down the street.”
Lourdes did as he instructed and parked the car in front of a bar called the Tres Reyes and well behind a growing crowd of onlookers gathering near the drugstore.
Bosch and Lourdes were soon out of the car and weaving through the crowd. Yellow crime scene tape had been strung between the patrol cars, and two officers stood conferring by the trunk of one car while another stood with his hands on his belt buckle, a common patrol officer pose, watching the front door of the farmacia.
Bosch saw that the front door of the store containing the crime scene was propped open with a sandbag, which had probably come from the trunk of a patrol car. There was no sign of Chief Valdez or any of the other investigators, and Bosch knew that meant they were all inside.
“Shit,” he said as he approached the door.
“What?” Lourdes asked.
“Too many cooks...,” Bosch said. “Wait out here for a minute.”
Bosch entered the pharmacy, leaving Lourdes outside. It was a small business with just a few retail aisles leading back to a rear counter, where the actual pharmacy was located. He saw Valdez standing with Sisto and Luzon behind the counter. They were looking down at what Bosch guessed was one of the bodies. There was no sign of Trevino.
Bosch gave a short, low whistle that drew their attention and then signaled them to come to the front of the store. He then turned around and walked back out the door.
Outside, he waited by the door with Lourdes, and when the three men stepped out, he pushed the sandbag out of the way with his foot and let the door close.
“Chief, can I start us off?” he asked.
Bosch looked at Valdez and waited for the chief to give him the nod. He was asking to take charge of the investigation and he wanted it clear to all parties.
“Take it, Harry,” Valdez said.
Bosch got the attention of the patrol officers huddled together and signaled them over as well.
“Okay, listen up everybody,” Bosch said. “Our number one priority here is to protect the crime scene, and we’re not doing that. Patrol, I want you guys to move your cars out and shut down this block on both ends. Tape it up. Nobody comes in without authorization. I then want clipboards on both ends, and you write down the name of every cop or lab rat that comes into the crime scene. You write down the license-plate number of every car you let out too.”
Nobody moved.
“You heard him,” Valdez said. “Let’s move it, people. We’ve got two citizens on the floor in there. We need to do this right by them and the department.”
The patrol officers quickly returned to their cars to carry out Bosch’s orders. Bosch and the other detectives then split up and started moving the gathered onlookers back up the street. Some shouted questions in Spanish but Bosch did not reply. He scanned the faces of those he was pushing back. He knew the killer could be among them. It wouldn’t be the first time.
After a two-zone crime scene had been established, Bosch and the chief and the three detectives reconvened by the door of the pharmacy. Bosch once more looked at Valdez for confirmation of his authority, because he didn’t expect his next moves to go over well.
“I still have this, Chief?” he asked.
“All yours, Harry,” Valdez said. “How do you want to do it?”
“Okay, we want to limit people inside the crime scene,” Bosch said. “We get this thing into court and a defense lawyer sees all of us crammed in there, wandering around, and it just gives him more targets to potshot, more confusion to throw at a jury. So there’s only going to be two people inside and that’s going to be Lourdes and me. Sisto and Luzon, you’ve got the exterior crime scene. I want you going down the street in both directions. We’re looking for witnesses and cameras. We—”
“We got here first,” Luzon said, pointing to himself and Sisto. “It should be our case and us inside.”
At about forty, Luzon was the oldest of the three full-time investigators, but he had the least experience as a detective. He was moved into the unit six months earlier after spending twelve years in patrol. He had gotten the promotion to fill the void left by Lourdes’s leave of absence and then Valdez found the money in the budget to keep him on board at a time when there was a spike in property crimes attributed to a local gang called the SanFers. Bosch had observed him since he’d gotten the promotion and concluded he was a good and earnest detective — a good choice by Valdez. But Bosch had not yet worked with him on a case and he had had that experience with Lourdes. He wanted her to take the lead on this.
“That’s not how it works,” Bosch said. “Lourdes is going to be lead. I need you and Sisto to go two blocks in both directions. We’re looking for the getaway vehicle. We’re also looking for video and I need you guys to go find it. It’s important.”
Bosch could see Luzon fighting back the urge to again argue Bosch’s orders. But he looked at the chief, who stood with his arms folded in front of his chest, and saw no indication that the man ultimately in charge disagreed with Bosch.
“You got it,” he said.
He went in one direction, while Sisto headed off in the other. Sisto did not bother to complain about the assignment but had a hangdog look on his face.
“Hey, guys?” Bosch said.
Luzon and Sisto looked back. Bosch gestured to Lourdes and the chief to include them.
“Look, I’m not trying to be an arrogant ass,” he said. “My experience comes with a lot of fuckups. We learn from our mistakes, and in over thirty years of working homicides, I’ve made many. I’m just trying to use what I’ve learned the hard way. Okay?”
Reluctant nods came from Luzon and Sisto and they headed off to their assignments.
“Take down plates and phone numbers,” Bosch called after them, immediately realizing it was an unneeded directive.
Once they were gone, the chief stepped away from the huddle.
“Harry,” Valdez said. “Let’s talk for a second.”
Bosch followed him, awkwardly leaving Lourdes alone on the sidewalk. The chief spoke quietly.
“Look, I get what you’re doing with those two and what you said about learning the hard way. But I want you on lead. Bella’s good but she’s just back and getting her feet wet. This — homicide — is what you’ve been doing for thirty years. This is why you’re here.”
“I get that, Chief. But you don’t want me on lead. We have to think about when this gets into court. Everything’s about building a case for trial, and you don’t want a part-timer on lead. You want Bella. They try character assassination on her, and she’ll eat their lunch after what happened last year, what she went through and then her coming back to the job. She’s a hero and that’s who you want on the witness stand. On top of that, she’s good and she’s ready for this. And besides, I may have some problems coming up soon from downtown. Problems that could be a big distraction. You don’t want me on lead.”