Vol Ii Part 33 (2/2)
”If you don't, then you are stupid. And you deserve whatever happens to you.”
”What is it that you think I'm doing, Chief?”
”I don't think, think, I I know know what you're doing. It's easy. You pulled the book on your mother's homicide. Why at this particular point in time you've done this, I don't know. But you're out running a freelance investigation and that's a problem for us. You have to stop it, Harry, or I'll stop you. I'll shut you down. Permanently.” what you're doing. It's easy. You pulled the book on your mother's homicide. Why at this particular point in time you've done this, I don't know. But you're out running a freelance investigation and that's a problem for us. You have to stop it, Harry, or I'll stop you. I'll shut you down. Permanently.”
”Who are you protecting?”
Bosch saw the anger move into Irving's face as his skin turned from pink to an intense red. His eyes seemed to grow smaller and darker with fury.
”Don't you ever suggest such a thing. I've dedicated my life to this depart-”
”It's yourself, isn't it? You knew her. You found her. You're afraid of being dragged into this if I put something together on it. I bet you already knew everything McKittrick told you on the phone.”
”That's ridiculous, I-”
”Is it? Is it? I don't think so. I've already talked to one witness who remembers you from those days on the Boulevard beat.”
”What witness?”
”She said she knew you. She knows my mother knew you, too.”
”The only person I am protecting is you, Bosch. Can't you see that? I'm ordering ordering you to stop this investigation.” you to stop this investigation.”
”You can't. I don't work for you anymore. I'm on leave, remember? Involuntary leave. That makes me a citizen now, and I can do whatever I G.o.dd.a.m.n want to do as long as it's legal.”
”I could charge you with possession of stolen doc.u.ments- the murder book.”
”It wasn't stolen. Besides, what if you bulls.h.i.+t a case, what's that, a misdemeanor? They'll laugh you out of the city attorney's office on your a.s.s with that.”
”But you'd lose your job. That would be it.”
”You're a little late with that one, Chief. A week ago that would've been a valid threat. I'd have to consider it. But it doesn't matter anymore. I'm free of all of that bulls.h.i.+t now and this is all that matters to me and I don't care what I have to do, I'm doing it.”
Irving was silent and Bosch guessed that the a.s.sistant chief was realizing that Bosch had moved beyond his reach. Irving's hold over Bosch's job and future had been his leverage before. But Bosch had finally broken free. Bosch began again in a low, calm voice.
”If you were me, Chief, could you just walk away? What does doing what I do for the department matter if I can't do this for her ... and for me?”
He stood up and put the notebook into his jacket pocket.
”I'm going. Where's the rest of my stuff?”
”No.”
Bosch hesitated. Irving looked up at him and Bosch saw the anger was gone now.
”I did nothing wrong,” Irving said quietly.
”Sure you did,” Bosch said just as quietly. He leaned over the table until he was only a few feet away. ”We all did, Chief. We let it go. That was our crime. But not anymore. At least, not with me. If you want to help, you know how to reach me.”
He headed toward the door.
”What do you want?”
Bosch looked back at him.
”Tell me about Pounds. I need to know what happened. It's the only way I'll know if it's connected.”
”Then sit down.”
Bosch took the chair by the door and sat down. They both took some time to calm down before Irving finally spoke.
”We started looking for him Sat.u.r.day night. We found his car Sunday noon in Griffith Park. One of the tunnels closed after the quake. It was like they knew we'd be looking from the air, so they put the car in a tunnel.”
”Why'd you start looking before you knew he was dead?”
”The wife. She started calling Sat.u.r.day morning. She said he'd gotten a call Friday night at home, she didn't know who. But whoever it was managed to convince Pounds to leave the house and meet him. Pounds didn't tell his wife what it was about. He said he'd be back in an hour or two. He left and never came back. In the morning she called us.”
”Pounds is unlisted, I a.s.sume.”
”Yes. That gives rise to the probability it was someone in the department.”
Bosch thought about this.
”Not necessarily. It just had to be someone with connections to people in the city. People that could get his number with a phone call. You ought to put out the word. Grant amnesty to anyone who comes forward and says they gave up the number. Say you'll go light in exchange for the name of the person they gave it to. That's who you want. Chances are whoever gave out the number didn't know what was going to happen.”
Irving nodded.
”That's an idea. Within the department there are hundreds who could get his number. There may be no other way to go.”
”Tell me more about Pounds.”
”We went to work right there in the tunnel. By Sunday the media had wind that we were looking for him, so the tunnel worked to our advantage. No helicopters flying over, bothering us. We just set up lights in the tunnel.”
”He was in the car?”
Bosch was acting like he knew nothing. He knew that if he expected Hinojos to respect his confidences, he must in turn respect hers.
”Yes, he was in the trunk. And, my G.o.d, was it bad. He ... He'd been stripped of his clothes. He'd been beaten. Then- then there was the evidence of torture ...”
Bosch waited but Irving had stopped.
”What? What did they do to him?”
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