The Closers

she away from you at any time?
    ROBT. VERLOREN: No. She was sixteen. She was in school. She didn’t go away on her own.
    GREEN: What about a sleepover with her friends?
    MURIEL VERLOREN: No, I don’t think so.
    ROBT. VERLOREN: What are you looking for?
    GREEN: Was she sick at all in the month or two prior to the disappearance?
    MURIEL VERLOREN: Yes, she had the flu the first week after school ended. It delayed her going to work for Bob.
    GREEN: Was she in bed sick?
    MURIEL VERLOREN: A lot of the time. I don’t see what this has to -
    GARCIA: Mrs. Verloren, did your daughter go to see a doctor at this time?
    MURIEL VERLOREN: No, she just said she had to rest. To tell you the truth, we thought she just didn’t want to go to work in the restaurant. She didn’t have a fever or a cold. We just thought she was being lazy.
    GREEN: She didn’t confide in you at this time that she had been pregnant?
    MURIEL VERLOREN: What? No!
    ROBT. VERLOREN: Look, Detective, what are you telling us?
    GREEN: The autopsy revealed that Becky had had a procedure called a dilation and curettage about a month before her death. An abortion. Our guess is that she was resting and recovering from this procedure when she told you she had the flu.
    GARCIA: Would you two like to take a break here?
    GREEN: Why don’t we take a break? We’ll step out and get all of us some water.
    [Break]
    GARCIA: Okay, we’re back. I hope you understand and forgive us. We do not ask questions or attempt to shock you to hurt you. We need to follow procedure and employ methods that allow us to collect information that is unfettered by preconceived perceptions.
    ROBT. VERLOREN: We understand what you are doing. It’s part of our life now. What’s left of it.
    MURIEL VERLOREN: You are saying our daughter was pregnant and chose to get an abortion?
    GARCIA: Yes, that’s right. And we think there is a possibility that it could have a bearing on what happened to her a month later. Do you have any idea where she would have gone for this procedure?
    MURIEL VERLOREN: No. I had no idea about this. Neither of us.
    GREEN: And as you said before, she did not go away overnight during that time?
    MURIEL VERLOREN: No, she was home every night.
    GARCIA: Any idea who the relationship could have been with? In our earlier talks you said she had no current boyfriend.
    MURIEL VERLOREN: Well, obviously I guess we were wrong about that. But, no, we don’t know who she was seeing or who could have… done this.
    GREEN: Have either of you ever read the journal that your daughter kept?
    ROBT. VERLOREN: No, we didn’t even know there was a journal until you found it in her room.
    MURIEL VERLOREN: I would like to get that back. Will I get that back?
    GREEN: We will need to keep it through the investigation but you will eventually get it back.
    GARCIA: There are several references in the journal to an individual referred to as MTL. This is a person we would like to identify and talk to.
    MURIEL VERLOREN: I don’t know anyone with those initials offhand.
    GREEN: We looked at the school’s yearbook. There is one boy named Michael Lewis. But we checked and his middle name is Charles. We think the initials were a code or an abbreviation. It could stand for My True Love.
    MURIEL VERLOREN: So there was obviously someone we didn’t know about, that she kept from us.
    ROBT. VERLOREN: I can’t believe this. You two are telling us we didn’t really know our little girl.
    GARCIA: I’m sorry, Bob. Sometimes the damage from a case like this goes deep. But it’s our job to follow it where it goes. This is the current we are in right now.
    GREEN: Basically, we need to pursue this aspect of the investigation and find out who MTL is. Which means we need to ask questions of your daughter’s friends and acquaintances. Word about this, it will get around, I’m afraid.
    ROBT. VERLOREN: We understand this, Detective. We will deal with it. As we said on the day we met, do what you have to do. Find the person who did this.
    GARCIA: Thank you, sir. We will.
    [End of interview, 2:40 p.m.]
    Bosch read the transcript a second time, this time writing down notes on his pad as he went. He then moved on to three more formal interview transcripts. These were conducted with Becky Verloren’s three closest friends, Tara Wood, Bailey Koster and Grace Tanaka. But none of the girls-girls at the time-said they had knowledge of Becky’s pregnancy or the secret relationship that produced it. All three said they did