“I’ve got pictures,” Tafero said.
Winston hooked her hair behind her ear and narrowed her eyes. She leaned across the table.
“Pictures? What do you mean, photographs? Photographs of what?”
Tafero shook his head.
“No. Pictures. He drew pictures for me while we were in the attorney visiting room in the jail. Drawings of what he wanted the scene to look like. So it would look like the painting.”
McCaleb gripped his hands into fists at his sides.
“Where are the drawings?” Winston said.
Tafero smiled again.
“Safe deposit box. City National Bank, Sunset and Doheny. The key’s on the ring that was in my pocket.”
Bosch brought his hands up and slapped them together.
“Bang!” he exclaimed, loud enough that Tafero turned and looked toward the glass.
“Please!” the videographer whispered. “We’re taping.”
Bosch went to the door of the little room and stepped out. McCaleb followed. Bosch turned and looked at him. He nodded.
“Storey goes down,” he said. “The monster goes back into the darkness from which it came.”
They looked at each other silently for a moment and then Bosch broke it away.
“I gotta go,” he said.
“Where?”
“Get ready for court.”
He turned and started walking through the deserted bullpen of the Sheriff’s Department homicide squad. McCaleb saw him bang a fist on a desk and then punch it into the air above him.
McCaleb went back into the viewing room and watched the interview continue. Tafero was telling the assemblage in the interview room that David Storey had demanded that the killing of Edward Gunn take place on the first morning of the new year.
McCaleb listened for a while and then thought of something. He stepped out of the observation room and into the bullpen. Detectives were now filtering in to start the day of work. He went to an empty desk and tore a page off a note pad on its top. He wrote, “Ask about the Lincoln” on it. He folded it and took it to the door to the interview room.
He knocked and after a moment Alice Short opened the door. He handed her the folded note.
“Give this to Jaye before the interview is over,” he whispered.
She nodded and closed the door. McCaleb went back into the observation room to watch.
Chapter 45
Freshly showered and shaved, Bosch stepped off the elevator and headed toward the doors to the Division N courtroom. He walked with purpose. He felt like a true prince of the city. He had taken only a few strides when he was accosted by McEvoy, who stepped out of an alcove like a coyote that had been waiting in a cave for his unsuspecting prey. But nothing could dent Bosch’s demeanor. He smiled as the reporter fell into stride with him.
“Detective Bosch, have you thought any more about what we talked about? I’ve got to start writing my story today.”
Bosch didn’t slow his pace. He knew that once he got into the courtroom he wouldn’t have a lot of time.
“Rudy Tafero,” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“He was your source. Rudy Tafero. I figured it out this morning.”
“Detective, I told you that I can’t reveal -”
“Yeah, I know. But, see, I’m the one who’s revealing it. Anyway, it doesn’t matter.”
“Why not?”
Bosch suddenly stopped. McEvoy walked a few steps past and then came back.
“Why not?” he asked again.
“Today’s your lucky day, Jack. I’ve got two good tips for you.”
“Okay. What?”
McEvoy started pulling a notebook from his back pocket. Bosch put his hand on his arm to stop him.
“Don’t take that out. The other reporters see that, they’ll think I’m telling you something.”
He gestured up the hall to the open door of the media room where a handful of reporters were loitering and waiting for the day’s court session to begin.
“Then they’ll come over and I’ll have to tell them.”
McEvoy left the notebook in place.
“Okay. What are the tips?”
“First of all, you’re full of shit on that story. In fact, your source was arrested this morning for the murder of Edward Gunn as well as the attempted murder of Terry McCaleb.”
“What? He got -”
“Wait. Let me talk. I don’t have a lot of time.”
He waited and McEvoy nodded.
“Yeah, Rudy got popped. He killed Gunn. The plan was to put it on me and spring it on the world during the defense case.”
“Are you saying that Storey was a part of -”
“Exactly. Which brings me to tip number two. And that is, if I were you, I would be in that courtroom today long before the judge comes in and starts things. You see those guys standing down there? They’re going to miss it, Jack. You don’t want to be like them.”
Bosch left him there. He nodded to the deputy on the courtroom door and was allowed in.
Two deputies were walking David Storey to his place at the defense table as Bosch came into the courtroom. Fowkkes was already there and Langwiser and Kretzler were seated at the prosecution table. Bosch looked at his watch as he came through the gate. He had about fifteen minutes before the judge would take the bench and call for the jury.
He went to the prosecution table but remained standing. He leaned down and put both palms on the table and looked at the two prosecutors.
“Harry, you ready?” Langwiser began. “Today’s the day.”
“Today’s the day but not because of what you think. You two would take a plea on this wouldn’t you? If he copped to Jody Krementz and Alicia Lopez, you wouldn’t go for the needle, right?”
They both looked at him with blank stares of confusion.
“Come on, we don’t have a lot of time before the judge comes out. What if I could go over there and in five minutes get you two murder ones? Alicia Lopez’s family would love you for it. You told them you didn’t have a case.”
“Harry, what are you talking about?” Langwiser said. “We floated a plea. Twice. Fowkkes shot it down both times.”
“And we don’t have the evidence on Lopez,” Kretzler added. “You know that – the grand jury passed. Nobody, no -”
“Listen, you want the plea or not? I think I can go over there and get it. I arrested Rudy Tafero for murder this morning. It was a setup orchestrated by Storey to get to me. It backfired and Tafero is taking a deal. He’s talking.”
“Jesus Christ!” Kretzler said.
He said it too loudly. Bosch turned and looked over at the defense table. Both Fowkkes and Storey were
