Angels Flight

baitin’ the crowd. This isn’t good. Just back the hell out, man. Live to fight another day.”
    “Tried that last time,” Edgar said. “Didn’t work.”
    The three of them watched for a few more moments in silence, then Pelfry reached over and turned off the tube. He looked at his visitors.
    “What can I do for you?”
    Bosch introduced himself and his partner.
    “I suppose you know why we’re here. We’re working the Howard Elias case. And we know you were doing some work for him on the Black Warrior thing. We could use your help, Mr. Pelfry. If we find who did this, we maybe have a shot at cooling this place off.”
    Bosch nodded at the blank tube of the television to underline his point.
    “You want my help,” Pelfry said. “Yeah, I worked for Eli – I always called him Eli. But I don’t know what I can do for you.”
    Bosch looked at Edgar and his partner made a subtle nod of his head.
    “Mr. Pelfry, our conversation here has to be kept confidential. My partner and I are following an investigative trail that indicates that whoever killed Stacey Kincaid may have also killed your employer. We think Elias got too close to the truth. If you know what he knew, then you could be in danger yourself.”
    Pelfry laughed at him – a short, loud snort. Bosch looked at Edgar and then back at Pelfry.
    “No offense but that’s about the worst pickup line I ever heard,” Pelfry said.
    “What are you talking about?”
    He pointed at the television once more. Bosch noticed how white the underside of his hand was.
    “I told you I been watchin’ the news. Channel Four says you guys are already measuring a cell for somebody. One of your own.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “They’re sweatin’ a suspect over at Parker right now.”
    “Did they have a name?”
    “They didn’t say a name but they knew it. They said it was one of the Black Warrior cops. The lead detective, in fact.”
    Bosch was dumbfounded. The lead detective was Frankie Sheehan.
    “That’s impos – can I use your phone?”
    “Help yourself. By the way, do you know you have glass in your hair?”
    Bosch brushed his hand through his hair while he stepped to the desk and picked up the phone. While he punched in the number of Irving’s conference room Pelfry watched. The phone was answered immediately.
    “Let me talk to Lindell.”
    “This is Lindell.”
    “It’s Bosch. What’s this on Channel Four about a suspect?”
    “I know. I’m checking into it. Somebody leaked. All I can say is that I updated Irving and the next thing I know it’s on TV. I think he’s your leak, not Chas – ”
    “I don’t care about that. What are you saying, it’s Sheehan? That’s im – ”
    “I’m not saying that. That’s the leak talking and I think the leak is the goddamned deputy chief.”
    “Have you brought Sheehan in?”
    “Yeah, we got him in here and we’re talking to him. Strictly voluntary at this point. He thinks he can talk his way out of the box. We got all day and then some. We’ll see if he can.”
    “Why Sheehan? Why’d you bring him in?”
    “I thought you knew. He was on top of Chastain’s list this morning. Elias sued him once before. Five years ago. He shot some asshole while trying to make an arrest on a murder. Put five holes in him. The widow sued and eventually won a hundred grand – even though to me it looked like a righteous shoot. In fact your buddy Chastain was the one who investigated the shoot and cleared him.”
    “I remember the case. It was a righteous shoot. But that didn’t matter to the jury. It was just a little while after Rodney King.”
    “Okay, well before it went to trial, Sheehan threatened Elias. During a depo, in front of the lawyers, the widow and, most important, the steno girl. She got it down word for word and it was in the depo which was in the file that Chastain and his people read yesterday. The threat was that Sheehan told Elias that someday when he least expected it, somebody was going to come up from behind and put him down like a dog. Words to that effect. Words that describe what happened on Angels Flight pretty good.”
    “Come on, that was five years ago. You’ve got to be kidding me.”
    Bosch noticed that both Edgar and Pelfry were watching him intently.
    “I know it, Bosch. But then you have this new lawsuit on the Black Warrior thing and who’s the lead? Detective Frank Sheehan. On top of that, he uses a nine-millimeter Smith and Wesson. And one other