“Sounds like a helluva cop.”
“Yeah. It’s funny. He was the guy who found the body, you know, last week. It was on his beat. And because he was a cop, I didn’t give him a second thought. I knew that day he was an asshole, but I didn’t even look at him at all as anything other than the cop who found the stiff. And he must’ve known that. And he timed it so that we’d be in a rush out there. He was pretty smart about it.”
“Or she was.”
“Yeah. More likely it was her. But, anyway, I feel more, I don’t know, upset or disappointed about that first day, that I didn’t take a look at him, than I do about letting him get away today. I should’ve looked at him. More often than not the one who finds the body is the one. His uniform blinded me to that.”
She got up from the table and came over to him. She put her arms around his neck and smiled up at him.
“You’ll get him. Don’t worry.”
He nodded. They kissed.
“What were you going to say before?” she asked. “When we both talked at once.”
“Oh . . . I don’t remember now.”
“Must not have been important, then.”
“I wanted to tell you to stay here with me.”
She put her head down against his chest so that he couldn’t see her eyes.
“Harry . . .”
“Just to see how it works. I feel like . . . it’s almost like all this time hasn’t gone by. I want—I just want to be with you. I can take care of you. You can feel safe and you can have all the time you need to make a new start here. Find a job, whatever you want to do.”
She stepped back from him and looked up into his eyes. The warning Irving had given him was the furthest thing from his mind. Right now all he cared about was keeping her close and doing whatever it took to accomplish that.
“But a lot of time has gone by, Harry. We just can’t jump in like this.”
Bosch nodded and lowered his eyes. He knew she was right but he still didn’t care.
“I want you, Harry,” she said. “Nobody else. But I want to take it slow. So that we’re sure. Both of us.”
“I already know I’m sure.”
“You just think you are.”
“Santa Monica is so far away from here.”
She smiled and then laughed and shook her head.
“Then you’re just going to have to sleep over when you come visit.”
He nodded again and they embraced for a long moment.
“You can make me forget a lot of things, you know that?” he whispered into her ear.
“You, too,” she said back.
While they made love the phone rang, but whoever was calling did not leave a message when the machine picked up. Later, after Bosch got out of the shower, Eleanor reported that another call had come in but no message was left.
Finally, while Eleanor was boiling water for the pasta, the phone rang a third time and Bosch got it before the machine picked up.
“Hey, Bosch?”
“Yeah, who’s this?”
“It’s Roy Lindell. Remember me, Luke Goshen?”
“I remember. Was that you who called a couple times before?”
“Yeah, why didn’t you pick up?”
“I was busy. What do you need?”
“So, it was the bitch, huh?”
“What?”
“Tony’s wife.”
“Yeah.”
“Did you know this guy Powers?”
“Not really. Just to see around.”
Bosch didn’t want to tell him anything he didn’t already know.
Lindell exhaled in a bored way loudly into the phone.
“Yeah, well, Tony once told me that he was more afraid of his wife than he was of Joey Marks.”
“Yeah?” Bosch said, suddenly interested. “He said that? When?”
“I don’t know. One night we were talking in the club and he just said it. I remember the place was closed. He was waiting for Layla and we were talking.”
“Lindell, thanks a lot for telling me this. What else did he say?”
“Hey, I’m telling you now, Bosch. Anyway, I couldn’t before. I was in character, man, and in that character you don’t tell the cops shit. And then after, I . . . well, then I thought you were trying to fuck me over. I wasn’t going to tell you shit then, either.”
“And now you know better.”
“Yeah, right. Look, Bosch, most guys you would’ve never heard from. But I’m calling. You think you’ll hear from anybody else from the bureau saying maybe we made a mistake about you? No way. But I like your style. I mean, you get pulled off the case and what do you do, you turn around and get right back on it. Then you solve the fucker. That takes balls and style, Bosch. I can dig that.”
“You can dig it. That’s great, Roy. What else did Tony Aliso tell you about his wife?”
“Nothing much. He just said she was cold. He said that she had him by the short hairs. Hooked and snooked and that was that. He couldn’t get a divorce from her without losing half his wad and then having her running around out there with all that she knew about his business and his business associates. If you know what I mean.”
“Why didn’t he just go to Joey Marks and ask for a whack on her?”
“I think on account that she knew Joey from way back and he liked her. It was Joey who introduced her to Tony way back when. I think Tony knew that if he went to Joey, it would get KO’d pretty quick and it might get back to her. And if he went to somebody else, he’d have to answer to Joey. Joey had the final say on that kind of stuff, and he wouldn’t want Tony getting involved in a freelance job like that and possibly endangering the wash operation.”
“How well do you think she knew Joey Marks? You think she could’ve gone back to him now?”
“No way. She killed the golden goose. Tony made Joey legitimate money. His first allegiance is always to the money.”
Bosch was quiet for a few moments and so was Lindell.
“So what happens with you now?” Bosch finally said.
“You mean with my thing? I go back to Vegas tonight. I sit down in front of the grand jury in the morning. I figure I’ll be talking to them at least a couple weeks. I’ve got a pretty good story to tell ’em. We should have Joey and his crew tagged and bagged by Christmas.”
“Hope you’re bringing your bodyguards.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m not alone.”
“Well, good luck, Lindell. All the bullshit aside, I like your style, too. Let me ask you something, why’d you tell me about the safe house and the Samoans? That wasn’t in keeping with your character.”
“I had to, Bosch. You scared me.”
“You thought I’d actually clip you for them?”
“I wasn’t sure, but that didn’t really worry me. I had people watching over me that you didn’t know about. But I was sure that they’d clip her. And I’m an agent, man. It was my duty to try to stop that. So I told you. I was surprised you didn’t guess I was undercover right then.”
“Never crossed my mind. You were good.”
“Well, I fooled the people I had to fool. I’ll see you around, Bosch.”
“Sure. Oh, Lindell?”
“Yeah.”
“Did Joey Marks ever think that Tony A. was skimming off him?”
Lindell laughed.
“You don’t give up, do you, Bosch?”
“I guess not.”
“Well, that information would be part of the investigation and I can’t talk about it. Officially.”
“What about unofficially?”
“Unofficially you didn’t hear it from me and I never talked to you. But to answer your question, Joey Marks thought everybody was skimming off him. He trusted no one. Every time I wore a wire with the guy, I was sweating bullets. Because you never knew when he was going to put his hand down your chest. I was with him more than a year and he was still doin’ that every now and then. I had to wear the bug in my armpit, man. You try pulling tape out of your a
rmpit sometime, man. It hurts.”
“What about Tony?”
“That’s what I’m getting at. Sure, Joey thought Tony was skimming. He thought I was, too. And you gotta understand, a certain amount of that was permissible. Joey knew everybody had to make a buck to be happy. But he mighta felt Tony was taking more than his share. He never told me that’s what he thought, but I know he had the boy followed a couple times over here in L.A. And he got to somebody in Tony’s bank in Beverly Hills. Joey was being copied on the monthly statements.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. He would’ve known if there were any deposits that were outta line.”
Bosch thought a moment but couldn’t think what else to ask.
“Why’d you ask that, Bosch?”
“Oh, I don’t know, something I’m workin’ out. Powers said the wife told him Tony had a couple million he skimmed. It’s hidden somewhere.”
Lindell whistled over the line.
“Seems like a lot to me. Seems like Joey would’ve caught that and put the hammer down on Tony pronto. That’s not what you call permissible.”
“Well, I think it accrued over the years, you know. He could have piecemealed it. Also, he was washing money for some of Joey’s friends in Chicago and Arizona, remember? He could’ve skimmed them, too.”
“Anything’s possible. Listen, Bosch, let me know how it all shakes out. I have to catch a plane.”
“One more thing.”
“Bosch, I gotta get to Burbank.”
“You ever heard of anybody in Vegas named John Galvin?”
Galvin was the name of the man who had last visited Veronica Aliso on the night she disappeared. There was a beat of silence before Lindell finally said the name was not familiar. But that silence was what Bosch really heard.
“You sure?”
“Look, I never heard of the guy, okay? I gotta go.”
After hanging up, Bosch opened his briefcase on the dining room table and took out a notebook so he could write down a few notes about what Lindell had said. Eleanor came out of the kitchen with utensils and napkins in her hands.
“Who was that?”
“Lindell.”
“Who?”
“The agent who was Luke Goshen.”
“What did he want?”
“I guess to apologize.”
“That’s unusual. The bureau usually doesn’t apologize for anything.”
“It wasn’t an official call.”
“Oh. Just one of those macho male bonding calls.”
Bosch smiled because she was so right.
“What’s this?” she asked as she put the silverware down and took the tape of Casualty of Desire out of his briefcase. “Oh, was this one of Tony Aliso’s movies?”
“Yeah. Part of his Hollywood legacy. It’s one of the ones Veronica was in. I was supposed to give it back to Kiz.”
“You already saw it?”
Bosch nodded.
“I would’ve liked to see it. Did you like it?”
“It was pretty bad, but we can put it on tonight if you want.”
“You sure you wouldn’t mind?”
“I’m sure.”
During dinner Bosch updated her in detail about the case. Eleanor asked few questions and eventually they lapsed into a comfortable quiet. The Bolognese sauce and linguini Eleanor had made was fantastic and Bosch broke the silence to tell her so. She had opened a bottle of red wine and that tasted good, too. He told her about that as well.
Afterward, they left the dishes in the sink and went out to the living room to watch the movie. Bosch sat with his arm on the back of the couch, his hand lightly touching Eleanor’s neck. He found it boring to watch the film again and his mind quickly drifted away as he thought over the day’s events. The money was what held his attention the longest. He wondered if Veronica already had it in her possession or if it was in a place where she had to go to get it. Not a local bank, he decided. They had already checked the local bank accounts.
That left Las Vegas, he concluded. Tony Aliso’s travel records showed that in the last ten months he had not been anywhere but Los Angeles and Las Vegas. If he had been operating a skim fund, he’d have to have had access to it. If the money wasn’t here, then it was over there. And since Veronica had not left the house before today, Bosch also concluded that she didn’t have the money yet.
The phone rang and interrupted these thoughts. Bosch climbed up from the couch and answered the phone in the kitchen so he wouldn’t disturb Eleanor’s viewing of the movie. It was Hank Meyer calling from the Mirage but it didn’t sound like Hank Meyer. It sounded like a scared boy.
“Detective Bosch, can I trust you?”
“Sure you can, Hank, what’s the matter?”
“Something’s happened. I mean, something’s come up. Uh, because of you I know something I don’t think I should know. I wish this whole thing . . . I don’t know what to —”
“Hold on, hold on, Hank. Just calm down and tell what it is that’s wrong. Be calm. Talk to me and we’ll fix it. Whatever it is, we’ll fix it.”
“I’m at the office. They called me at home because I had a flag on the computer for that betting slip that belonged to your victim.”
“Right.”
“Well, somebody cashed it tonight.”
“Okay, somebody cashed it. Who was it?”
“Well, you see, I put an IRS flag on the computer. Meaning that the cashier was supposed to request a driver’s license and get a Social Security number, you know, for tax purposes. Even though this ticket was worth only four thousand I put the flag on it.”
“Okay, so who cashed the slip?”
“A man named John Galvin. He had a local address.”
Bosch leaned over the counter and pressed the phone tightly to his ear.
“When did this happen?” he asked.
“At eight-thirty tonight. Less than two hours ago.”
“I don’t understand, Hank. Why is this upsetting to you?”
“Well, I left instructions on the computer for me to be contacted at home as soon as this slip was cashed. I was contacted. I came in and got the information on who cashed the slip so I could get it to you ASAP and then I went directly to the video room. I wanted to see this John Galvin, you know, if we got a clear picture of him.”
He stopped there. It was like pulling teeth getting the story out of him.
“And?” Bosch said. “Who was it, Hank?”
“We got a clear picture. It turns out I know John Galvin but not as John Galvin. Uh, as you know, one of my duties is to interface with law enforcement, maintain relations and help when I can whenever there —”
“Yes, Hank, I know. Who was it?”
“I looked at the video. It was very clear. John Galvin is a man I know. He’s in Metro, a captain. His name is —”
“John Felton.”
“How’d —”
“Because I know him, too. Now listen to me, Hank. You didn’t tell me this, okay? We never talked. It’s best that way. Safest for you. Understand?”
“Yes, but . . . but what is going to happen?”
“You don’t have to worry. I’ll take care of it and no one at Metro will ever know about this. Okay?”
“Okay, I guess. I —”
“Hank, I’ve got to go. Thanks, and I owe you a favor.”
Bosch hung up and called information for the number of Southwest Airlines at the airport in Burbank. He knew Southwest and America West handled most of the flights to Las Vegas and they both flew out of the same terminal. He called Southwest and had them page Roy Lindell. While he waited, he looked at his watch. It had been more than an hour since he had talked to Lindell, but he didn’t think the agent was in as much of a hurry as he had intimated on the phone. Bosch thought he had just said that to get off the phone.
A voice came on the line and asked who he was holding for. After Bosch repeated Lindell’s name, he was told to hold and after two clicks Lindell’s voice was on the li
ne.
“Yeah, this is Roy, who’s this?”
“You son of a bitch.”
“Who is this?”
“John Galvin is John Felton and you knew it all the time.”
“Bosch? Bosch, what are you doing?”
“Felton is Joey’s man in Metro. You knew that from being on the inside. And when Felton does things for Marks, he uses the name John Galvin. You knew that, too.”
“Bosch, I can’t talk about this. It’s all part of our in —”
“I don’t give a shit about your investigation. You have to figure out whose side you’re on, man. Felton has got Veronica Aliso. And that means Joey Marks has got her.”
“What are you talking about? This is crazy.”
“They know about the skim, don’t you see? Joey wants his money back and they’re going to squeeze it out of her.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“Because I know.”
Bosch thought of something and looked out through the kitchen door to the living room. Eleanor was still watching the movie and she looked over at him and raised her eyebrows in a question. Bosch shook his head to show his dissatisfaction with the person on the other end.
“I’m going to Vegas, Lindell. And I think I know where they’ll be. You want to get your people involved? I sure as hell can’t call Metro on this.”
“How are you so sure she’s even there?”
“Because she sent up a distress signal. Are you in or out?”
“We’re in, Bosch. Let me give you a number. You call it when you get over there.”
After Bosch hung up, he went into the living room. Eleanor had already turned off the tape.
“I can’t watch any more of that. It’s terrible. What’s going on?”
“That time you followed Tony Aliso around in Vegas, you said he went to a bank with the girlfriend, right?”
“Right.”
“Which bank? Where?”
“I, uh . . . it was on Flamingo, east of the Strip, east of Paradise Road. I can’t remember the name. I think it was Silver State National. Yes, that’s it. Silver State.”
“The Silver State on Flamingo, are you sure now?”