The Night Fire: A Ballard and Bosch thriller (Harry Bosch 22) (24 page)

A Hollywood dispute would not normally become the stuff of murder investigations, but the actor’s lawsuit contained allegations that the agent was a front for an organized-crime family—and that he had used his position in Hollywood to siphon money from clients and launder it through investments in film productions. The actor said he had been threatened with violence by the agent and his associates, including a visit to his home—the address of which was a carefully guarded secret—by a man who said the actor would get acid thrown in his face and his career ruined if he persisted with the lawsuit or attempted to change agents.

In a case that spanned the entire three years that Montgomery occupied his bench in civil court, the judge ultimately ruled in favor of the actor, awarding damages of $7.1 million and voiding the contract between actor and agent. The case was included in the Montgomery murder investigation because at one point in the long proceedings Montgomery reported to court authorities that his wife’s pet cat had turned up dead in their front yard by what appeared to be foul play. The animal had been slashed open from front legs to back and did not appear to have injuries that could be attributed to a coyote, even though Montgomery and his wife lived in the Hollywood Hills.

An investigation of the incident pointed toward the dispute between the actor and his agent because of the threats alleged in the action by the actor. But no connection was found between the cat killing and the case, or any other case Montgomery was handling.

Gustafson and Reyes put the case on their list of possibles but carried it no further. Bosch agreed that it was the least likely of the five tracks of potential investigation. Despite the fact that the actor won a rich settlement and the dissolution of his contract with the agent, no harm had come to him in the time since the case was resolved and he had made no complaint of further threats. It seemed unlikely that anyone would go after Montgomery while leaving the actor alone and paying him the awarded judgment.

Bosch was now finished with his review of the murder book and had only two names on his follow-up list: Clayton Manley, the attorney Montgomery had publicly embarrassed, and Maura Frederick, to whom the judge had denied creative and financial rights in the Love for Lunch product.

He wasn’t particularly fired up about either one. They bore a further look, but both were long shots and the individuals involved did not nearly reach the level of suspect in Bosch’s mind.

And then there were the aspects of the case (and even possible suspects)
not
included in the discovery version of the murder book. Bosch had been on both sides of this. A murder book was the bible. It was sacred, yet there was something ingrained in every homicide detective to hold back and not give everything you’ve got to a defense attorney. He had to assume that Gustafson and Reyes had acted in such a way. But knowing that meant nothing. After what Gustafson had said to Bosch in court after the Herstadt case was dismissed, would he be willing to reveal anything else about the case to him? Would Reyes?

Bosch was pretty sure the answer was a resounding no. But he had to make the call or he would never know for sure.

He still remembered the main number at Robbery-Homicide Division by heart. He expected that he always would. He punched it in on his cell phone and when the call went through to the secretary he asked for Detective Lucia Soto. He was immediately connected.

“Lucky Lucy,” he said. “It’s Bosch.”

“Harry,” she said, with a smile he could hear in her voice. “A voice from the past.”

“Come on, it hasn’t been that long, has it?”

“Seems like it.”

Soto was Bosch’s last partner in the LAPD. It had been more than three years since he had retired, but they had crossed paths several times since.

“So I should be whispering,” Soto said. “You’re sort of persona non grata around here these days.”

“Is that because of the Montgomery case?” Bosch asked.

“You guessed that right.”

“That’s the reason I’m calling. I’ve gotta make a run at Gustafson and Reyes. They might have dropped the case because they think they had the right guy. But me, not so much. I’m still working at it and I don’t know either one of them. Which one of them do you think would be more receptive to a call from me?”

There was a short silence before Soto responded.

“Hmm,” she said. “That’s a good question. I think the answer would be neither one of them. But if my life depended on it, I would try Orlando. He’s more even and he wasn’t lead. Gussy was and he’s taken what happened pretty hard. If he had a dartboard at his desk he’d have your photo on it.”

“Okay,” Bosch said. “Good to know. Do you see Reyes in the squad right now?”

“Uh … yes. He’s at his desk.”

“What about Gustafson?”

“No. No sign of him.”

“You wouldn’t have a direct line for Reyes handy, would you?”

“There’s always a catch with you, Harry, isn’t there?”

“What catch? I’m just looking for a phone number, no big deal.” Soto gave him the number and followed it with a question.

“So, what’s it like working for the other side?”

“I’m not working for the other side. I’m doing this thing right now for myself. That’s it.”

His tone must have been too strident. Soto backed off with the small talk and asked in a perfunctory tone if there was anything else Bosch needed.

“No,” Bosch said. “But I appreciate your help. Who you working with these days?”

“I’m with Robbie Robins. You know him?”

“Yeah, he’s a good man. Sound detective, reliable. You like him?”

“Yeah, Robbie’s okay. I like his style and we’ve cracked a couple good ones.”

“Still working cold cases?”

“As long as they let us. Word is the new chief wants to close down cold case, put more people on the street.”

“That would be a shame.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Well, good luck, Lucia. And thanks.”

“Anytime.”

They disconnected and Bosch looked at the phone number he had just written down for Detective Orlando Reyes. He didn’t think Soto would give him a heads-up about Bosch calling but he decided to call right away.

“Robbery-Homicide Division, Detective Reyes. How can I help you?”

“You can start by not hanging up. This is Harry Bosch.”

“Bosch. I
should
hang up. You want my partner, not me.”

“I talked to your partner. I want to talk to you now.”

“I got nothin’ to say to you, man.”

“You and Gustafson, you still think you had the right guy?”

“We know we did.”

“So you’re not working it any longer.”

“Case is closed. We didn’t get the result we wanted—thanks to you. But the case is CBA.”

“So then where’s the harm in talking to me?”

“Bosch, I got here after you left but I heard about you. I know you fought the good fight and did some good work. But that’s in the past now. You’re history and I gotta go.”

“Answer one question.”

“What?”

“What did you hold back?”

“What are you talking about?”

“In discovery. I got the murder book you two turned over but you held something back. It always happens. What was it?”

“Goodbye, Bosch.”

“You know Clayton Manley’s alibi was cooked, right?”

There was a pause and Bosch was no longer worried about Reyes hanging up.

“What are you talking about?”

“He knew Montgomery was going to get hit, so he goes to Hawaii and keeps receipts for every penny he spent. Lots of selfies, including one predawn on the charter boat—within an hour of the judge getting hit. That didn’t strike you guys as bullshit?”

“Bosch, I’m not talking about the case with you. You want to go after Clayton Manley, have fun. But don’t expect us to back you on it. You’re on your own.”

“What about Maura Frederick? Pretty little wife number two selling Maura’s invention and making millions? If that isn’t motive, I don’t know what is.”

Bosch heard Reyes laughing over the phone. Bosch had been trying to get a rise out of him with his provocative statements, but he wasn’t expecting laughter.

“You think it’s funny?” Bosch said. “You’re letting her get away with murder.”

“I guess this is what happens when you don’t have a badge no more,” Reyes said. “Check your computer, Bosch. Google it. Tampa PD cleared that murder a month ago and Maura Frederick had nothing to do with it. You owe me, man. I just saved you some big-time embarrassment.”

Bosch seethed with humiliation. He should have checked the Florida case for an update before throwing it in Reyes’s face. He managed to gather himself and throw back something else.

“No, Reyes, you still owe me,” Bosch said. “I saved you from convicting an innocent man.”

“Bullshit, Bosch,” Reyes said. “A killer walks free because of what you and that asshole lawyer Haller have done. But it doesn’t matter because we’re done here.”

Reyes disconnected and Bosch was left holding a dead phone to his ear.

Bosch got up from the table and went into the kitchen to make more coffee. He was still stinging from the rebuke Reyes had hit him with. He had no doubt about his actions regarding Jeffrey Herstadt, but it stung when a representative of the police department he had invested three decades of his life in dismissed him so harshly.

A killer walks free because of you.

Those words hurt enough for Bosch to want to take another look at his actions to see if he had taken a wrong turn somewhere.

He checked his watch. He had an hour before he needed to get on the road to meet with Ballard. She had sent a message setting a rendezvous point at a gas station before she would go into Dulan’s to spy on the meeting between Elvin Kidd and Marcel Dupree.

Bosch refilled his cup and went back to the dining room table. He decided he would do exactly what Reyes suggested: he would Google the Tampa case and get the latest update.

Before he got the chance, his cell phone buzzed. It was Mickey Haller.

“About that thing we talked about at lunch during the trial,” he said, “when do you want to do the video?”

Bosch’s mind was so deep into his review of the Montgomery investigation that he had no idea what Haller was talking about.

“What video?” he asked.

“Remember, CML?” Haller said. “Chronic myeloid leukemia? I want to take a video deposition with you and get rolling on that, send out a demand letter with the video.”

Now Bosch remembered.

“Uh, it’s gotta wait a bit,” he said.

“Why is that?” Haller said. “I mean, you came to me with it. You know, make sure Maddie is covered. Now it’s gotta wait?”

“Just a bit. I have two different cases I’m working. I don’t have time to sit for a video. Give me about a week.”

Bosch thought of something as he mentioned the cases.

“It’s your life,” Haller said. “I’m here when you’re ready.”

“Hey, listen,” Bosch said. “I don’t know if this will happen but I might end up going to see another lawyer. Not because I want to hire him but I want him to think I do. I might mention this case—the CML thing—and he might ask why I chose him. All right if I tell him you recommended him? Then if he checks with you, you cover for me and let me know.”

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

“It’s complicated. His name is Clayton Manley. All you need to do if he calls is say yes, you recommended him to me.”

“
Clayton Manley
—why is that name familiar?”

“He was an early-on suspect in the Montgomery killing.”

“Oh, yeah. I knew it. You’re working that case, aren’t you? You think Manley’s the killer?”

Bosch was now regretting having brought up the half-formed idea. “I’m reviewing the murder book—at least what you got in discovery,” he said. “I may want to size up Manley with a ruse. That’s where you would come in.”

“The case is over, Harry,” he said. “We won!”

“
You
won, but the case isn’t over. I have it directly from the LAPD that they aren’t doing anything with it because they still say it was Herstadt. It’s
case closed
over there and that means nobody’s doing a damn thing to find the real killer.”

“Except you now. You’re a dog with a bone, Bosch.”

“Whatever. Are we good on the Manley thing? In case it happens?”

“We’re good. Just don’t hire him for real.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t.”

They disconnected and Bosch got back to his Google search. He quickly found and pulled up a story from the
Tampa Bay Times
on the arrest of two suspects in the killing of Larry and Melanie Cassidy.

Two Arrested in Palma Ceia Murders By Alex White, Staff Writer

Two men were arrested Thursday in the double slaying of a California couple who were found shot to death execution-style in a car parked at the Palma Ceia Country Club last February.

At a press conference at the Tampa Police Department, Chief Richard “Red” Pittman announced the arrests of Gabriel Cardozo and Donald Fields in the slayings of Larry and Melanie Cassidy on February 18. Both men are being held without bail pending arraignment on the charges.

Pittman said the killings were motivated by money. Larry Cassidy was known to have been carrying at least $42,000 in cash that he had won earlier that day at the Hard Rock Resort & Casino. Pittman said the suspects abducted the couple in their own car and had them drive to a darkened corner of the empty parking lot of the Palma Ceia Country Club, which is closed on Mondays. They forced Larry Cassidy to turn over the cash he was carrying as well as jewelry both victims were wearing. It was believed that Cardozo then executed the couple with shots to the back of the head.

“It was cold-blooded,” Pittman said. “They got what they wanted—the money and jewelry—but then they killed them anyway. It was heartless. The indications from the crime scene are that the victims put up no resistance.”

Pittman said Cardozo was believed to have been the shooter. The police chief praised the work of Detectives Julio Muniz and George Companioni in bringing the case to closure. According to Pittman, the two detectives solved the case by painstakingly back-tracing the movements of the doomed couple throughout the days before the murders.