The Night Fire (Renée Ballard, #3)(63)

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.”