Angels Flight

merely precautionary. I am expecting the citizens of this community to act in a calm and responsible manner. Hopefully, the media will act in the same way.”
    He waited for one more response from Russell but this time got none. O’Rourke moved forward and leaned in front of the chief to get to the microphones.
    “Okay, that’s it. There will be copies of Chief Irving’s statement down in media relations in about fifteen minutes.”
    As the reporters slowly filed out of the room Bosch kept his eyes on the man who had asked the question about the wallet and watch. He was curious to know who he was and what news outlet he worked for. At the logjam at the door the confluence of people brought the man side by side with Button and they started talking. Bosch thought this was odd because he had never seen a print reporter give a TV reporter the time of day.
    “Detective?”
    Bosch turned. The chief of police was standing to his side with his hand out. Bosch instinctively shook it. He had spent nearly twenty-five years in the department to the chief’s thirty, yet they had never crossed paths close enough to speak to each other, let alone shake hands.
    “Chief.”
    “Good to meet you. I want you to know how much we are counting on you and your team. If you need anything don’t hesitate to contact my office or to go through Deputy Chief Irving. Anything.”
    “Well, at the moment I think we’re okay. I appreciate the heads-up on the bureau, though.”
    The chief hesitated but only for a moment, apparently discarding Bosch’s gripe as unimportant.
    “That couldn’t be helped. I wasn’t sure the bureau was going to become involved until shortly before we started the press conference.”
    The chief turned and looked for the FBI man. Spencer was talking with Irving. The chief signaled them over and introduced Bosch to Spencer. Bosch thought he caught a glimmer of disdain on Spencer’s face. Bosch did not have a positive record over the years in his dealings with the FBI. He had never dealt directly with Spencer but if he was assistant special agent in charge of the L.A. field office, then he had probably heard of Bosch.
    “How are we going to work this, gentlemen?” the chief asked.
    “I’ll have my people assembled and here at eight tomorrow morning, if you like,” Spencer said.
    “Excellent. Chief Irving?”
    “Yes, that will be fine. We will be working out of the conference room next to my office. I’ll have our team there at eight. We can go over what we’ve got and take it from there.”
    Everybody nodded except Bosch. He knew he had no say in the matter.
    They broke up and headed toward the door the chief had come through. Bosch found himself next to O’Rourke. He asked him if he knew who the reporter was who asked about the watch and wallet.
    “Tom Chainey.”
    It almost rang a bell with Bosch but not quite.
    “He’s a reporter?”
    “Not really. He was with the Times a lot of years ago but now he’s TV. He’s Harvey Button’s producer. He’s not pretty enough to go on camera. So they pay him a ton of money to get scoops for Harvey and to tell him what to say and ask. To make him look good. Harvey’s got the face and that voice. Chainey’s got the brains. Why do you ask? Is there something I can do for you?”
    “No. I was just wondering.”
    “You mean the question about the wallet and the watch? Well, like I said, Chainey’s been around. He’s got sources. More than most.”
    They moved through the doorway and Bosch turned left to head back to Irving’s conference room. He wanted to leave the building but didn’t want to wait for an elevator with all of the reporters.
    Irving was waiting for him in the conference room. He was sitting in the same spot he had taken before.
    “Sorry about the bureau deal,” he said. “I did not know about it until right before. It was the chief’s idea.”
    “So I heard. It’s probably the smart play.”
    He was quiet for a moment, waiting for Irving to make the next move.
    “So what I want you to do is have your team finish up the interviews they are involved in now, then everybody gets a good night’s sleep, because tomorrow it all starts again.”
    Bosch had to stop himself from shaking his head no.
    “You mean just shelve everything until the bureau shows up? Chief, this is a homicide – a double homicide. We can’t just shut it down and start over tomorrow.”
    “I am not talking about shutting anything down. I said finish up what