Angle of Investigation

talking to her? Willy was with me the whole time.”
    “We talked to her for the same reason we’re talking to you. I’m sorry for the delay.”
    Bosch pulled out the chair that was across the small table from Helton and sat down.
    “First of all,” he said, “thank you for coming in for the interview. You understand that you are not under arrest or anything like that. You are free to go if you wish. But by law we have to conduct an investigation of the death and we appreciate your cooperation.”
    “I just want to get it over with so I can begin the process.”
    “What process is that?”
    “I don’t know. Whatever process you go through. Believe me, I’m new at this. You know, grief and guilt and mourning. Willy wasn’t in our lives very long but we loved him very much. This is just awful. I made a mistake and I am going to pay for it for the rest of my life, Detective Bosch.”
    Bosch almost told him that his son paid for the mistake with the rest of his life but chose not to antagonize the man. Instead, he just nodded and noted that Helton had looked down at his lap when he had spoken most of his statement. Averting the eyes was a classic tell that indicated untruthfulness. Another tell was that Helton had his hands down in his lap and out of sight. The open and truthful person keeps his hands on the table and in sight.
    “Why don’t we start at the beginning,” Bosch said. “Tell me how the day started.”
    Helton nodded and began.
    “Sunday’s our busiest day. We’re both in real estate. You may have seen the signs, Haddon and Helton. We’re PPG’s top-volume team. Today Arlene had an open house at noon and a couple of private showings before that. So Willy was going to be with me. We lost another nanny on Friday and there was no one else to take him.”
    “How did you lose the nanny?”
    “She quit. They all quit. Willy is a handful… because of his condition. I mean, why deal with a handicapped child if someone with a normal, healthy child will pay you the same thing? Consequently, we go through a lot of nannies.”
    “So you were left to take care of the boy today while your wife had the property showings.”
    “It wasn’t like I wasn’t working, though. I was negotiating a sale that would have brought in a thirty-thousand-dollar commission. It was important.”
    “Is that why you went into the office?”
    “Exactly. We got an offer sheet and I was going to have to respond. So I got Willy ready and put him in the car and went into work.”
    “What time was this?”
    “About quarter to ten. I got the call from the other Realtor at about nine thirty. The buyer was playing hardball. The response time was going to be set at an hour. So I had to get my seller on standby, pack up Willy and get in there to pick up the fax.”
    “Do you have a fax at home?”
    “Yes, but if the deal went down we’d have to get together in the office. We have a signing room and all the forms are right there. My file on the property was in my office, too.”
    Bosch nodded. It sounded plausible to a point.
    “Okay, so you head off to the office…”
    “Exactly. And two things happened…”
    Helton brought his hands up into sight but only to hold them across his face to hide his eyes. A classic tell.
    “What two things?”
    “I got a call on my cell—from Arlene—and Willy fell asleep in his car seat. Do you understand?”
    “Make me understand.”
    “I was distracted by the call and I was no longer distracted by Willy. He had fallen asleep.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “So I forgot he was there. Forgive me, God, but I forgot I had him with me!”
    “I understand. What happened next?”
    Helton dropped his hands out of sight again. He looked at Bosch briefly and then at the tabletop.
    “I parked in my assigned space behind PPG and I went in. I was still talking to Arlene. One of our buyers is trying to get out of a contract because he’s found something he likes better. So we were talking about that, about how to finesse things with that, and I was on the phone when I went in.”
    “Okay, I see that. What happened when you went in?”
    Helton didn’t answer right away. He sat there looking at the table as if trying to remember so he could get the answer right.
    “Stephen?” Bosch prompted. “What happened next?”
    “I had told the buyer’s agent to fax me the offer. But it wasn’t there. So I got off the line from my wife and I called the agent. Then I waited around for the fax. Checked