“And that’s not even the oldest date connected to this thing,” Chu added excitedly.
“What are you talking about?”
“The hotel, Harry. The Chateau Marmont is a duplicate of a French chateau built in the thirteenth century in the Loire Valley.”
“Okay, so?”
“I looked it up on Google. That’s what I was doing on my phone. Turns out that back then, the average height of Western Europeans was five foot three. So if they copied that place, that would explain why the balcony walls are so short.”
“The balustrades. But what’s that got to—”
“Accidental death, Harry. The guy comes out on the balcony to get some fresh air or something and goes right over the balcony. Do you know that Jim Morrison, that guy from the Doors, fell off a balcony there like that in nineteen seventy?”
“That’s great. What about a little more recently, Chu? Are you saying they have a—”
“No, there’s no history there. I’m just saying . . . you know.”
“No, I don’t know. What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that if we have to make this an accident so the chief and the powers that be are happy, then there’s our way to it.”
They had just crested the mountain and crossed Mulholland. They were now dropping down into Studio City, where George Irving had lived with his family. At the next street, Bosch jerked the wheel and pulled into Dona Pegita and stopped. He slammed the car into park and turned in his seat to confront his partner.
“What gave you the idea that we’re looking to appease the powers that be?”
Chu immediately became flustered.
“Well . . . I don’t . . . I’m just saying if we want—look, Harry, I’m not saying what happened. It’s just a possibility.”
“Possibility, my ass. He either checked in because he wanted to check out, or somebody drew him there, knocked him out and then dropped him. There was no accident and I’m not looking for anything but what really happened. If this guy offed himself, then he offed himself and the councilman has to live with it.”
“Okay, Harry.”
“I don’t want to hear about the Loire Valley or the Doors or anything else that is a distraction. There’s a good chance it wasn’t this guy’s idea to end up on the sidewalk at the Chateau Marmont. Right now it could go either way. And all politics aside, I’m going to find out.”
“I hear you, Harry. I didn’t mean anything, okay? I was just trying to help. Casting a big net. Remember, you told me that’s how it’s done.”
“Sure.”
Bosch turned forward again and dropped the car into drive. He made a U-turn and headed back to Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Chu desperately tried to change the subject.
“Was there anything on the call logs worth looking at?”
“No calls coming in. Irving called down to the garage about midnight and that was it.”
“What was that about?”
“We have to talk to the midnight man—he got out of there before we could hold him. They keep a log in the office down there and it says Irving called to ask him to see if he left his phone in his car. We found the phone in the safe, so either Irving was mistaken or the phone was left in the car and brought up to his room.”
They were silent for a moment as they considered the call to the garage. Finally, Chu spoke.
“Did you check out the car?”
“I did. There was nothing there.”
“Damn. I guess that would have made it easier, if there had been a note or something.”
“Yeah. But there wasn’t.”
“Too bad.”
“Yeah, too bad.”
They rode the rest of the way to George Irving’s home in silence.
When they got to the address that was on their victim’s driver’s license, Bosch saw a familiar Lincoln Town Car parked at the curb. The same two men were in the front. It meant Councilman Irving was on the premises. Bosch got ready for another face-to-face with the enemy.
7
Councilman Irving answered the door of his son’s home. He opened it just as wide as his own body, and it was clear before he said anything that he did not want to allow Bosch and Chu admittance.
“Councilman,” Bosch said, “we’d like to ask your son’s wife a few questions.”
“Deborah’s taken this very hard, Detective. It would be better if you could come back at another time.”
Bosch looked around on the doorstep, even glanced behind him and down at Chu on the lower step, before turning back to Irving and answering.
“We’re conducting an investigation, Councilman. Her interview is important and we can’t put it off.”
They stared at each other, neither yielding.
“You asked for me and you told me to proceed with urgency,” Bosch finally said. “This is what I’m doing. Are you going to let us come in or not?”
Irving relented and stepped back, opening the door wider. Bosch and Chu entered a vestibule with a table for dropping off keys and packages.
“What did you learn from the crime scene?” Irving said quickly.
Bosch hesitated, not sure whether to discuss the case with him this soon.
“So far not a lot. A case like this, a lot will ride on the autopsy.”
“When will that be?”
“It hasn’t been scheduled.”
Bosch checked his watch.
“Your son’s body only got to the morgue a couple hours ago.”
“Well, I hope you insisted that they schedule it quickly.”
Bosch tried to smile but it didn’t work out that way.
“Can you take us to your daughter-in-law now?”
“So that means you did not insist on any urgency.”
Bosch looked over Irving’s shoulder and saw the room opened into a larger room with a winding staircase. There was no sign of anyone else in the house.
“Councilman, don’t tell me how to run the investigation. If you want to take me off it, then fine, call the chief and have me pulled. But as long as I’m on the case, then I’m going to run the investigation the way I see best.”
Irving backed off.
“Of course,” he said. “I’ll go get Deborah. Why don’t you and your partner wait in the living room.”
He led them into the house and directed them to the living room. He then disappeared. Bosch looked at Chu and shook his head at the same moment Chu was about to ask a question that Harry knew was going to be about Irving’s meddling in the investigation.
Chu held his tongue and just then Irving returned, leading a stunningly beautiful blond woman into the room. Bosch guessed she was in her midforties. She was tall and thin but not too tall and thin. She looked grief stricken but that didn’t take much away from the beauty of a woman who was aging as gracefully as a fine wine. Irving led her by the arm to a seat across a coffee table from a couch. Bosch moved into the seating arrangement but did not sit down. He waited to see what move Irving made, and when it became clear the councilman planned on staying for the interview, Harry objected.
“We’re here to talk to Mrs. Irving and we need to do that alone,” he said.
“My daughter-in-law wants me to be with her at this time,” Irving responded. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“That’s fine. If you can be here somewhere in the house in case she needs you, that will be most helpful. But I need you to allow us to talk with Mrs. Irving alone.”
