The Closers

looked around the room at the crowded tables. He didn’t know where he would sit. He knew that these sorts of chow halls had the same unspoken protocols as prisons. Add in the high degree of mental illness in the homeless population and you could be crossing some sort of line just by the seat you chose.
    “Come back with me,” Verloren said. “We have a table in the back.”
    Bosch turned back to Verloren but the breakfast chef was already heading back to the kitchen. Bosch followed and was led through the cooking and prep areas to a rear room where there was an empty stainless steel table with a full ashtray on it.
    “Have a seat.”
    Verloren removed the ashtray and held it behind his back. It was not like he was hiding it. It was like he was a waiter or a maître d’ and he wanted his table perfect for the customer. Bosch thanked him and sat down.
    “I’ll be right back.”
    It seemed that in less than a minute Verloren brought a plate back loaded with all the things Bosch had seen on the serving table. When he put down the silverware Bosch saw the shake in his hand.
    “Thank you, but I was just thinking, will there be enough? You know, for the people coming through?”
    “We’re not turning anybody away today. Not as long as they’re on time. How’s your coffee?”
    “It’s fine, thanks. You know, it wasn’t like I didn’t want to sit out there with them. I just didn’t know where to sit.”
    “I understand. You don’t have to explain. Let me get those trays out and then we can talk. Is there an arrest?”
    Bosch looked at him. There was a hopeful, maybe even pleading look in Verloren’s eyes.
    “Not yet,” Bosch said. “But we’re getting close to something.”
    “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Eat. I call that Malibu scrambled.”
    Bosch looked down at his plate. Verloren went back to the kitchen.
    The eggs were good. So was the whole breakfast. No toast, but that would have been asking too much. The break area where he sat was between the cooking area of the kitchen and the large room where two men loaded an industrial dishwasher. It was loud, the noise from both directions ricocheting off the gray tiled walls. There was a set of double doors leading to the back alley. One door was open and cool air came in and kept the steam from the dishwasher and the heat from the kitchen at bay.
    After Bosch cleaned his plate and washed it down with the rest of his coffee he got up and stepped into the alley to make a phone call away from all the noise. He immediately saw the alley was an encampment. The rear walls of the missions on one side and the toy warehouses on the other were lined almost end to end with cardboard and canvas shanties. It was quiet. These were probably the self-made shelters of the night people. It wasn’t that there was no room for them in the mission dormitories. It was that those beds came with basic rules attached and the people in the alley did not want to abide by such rules.
    He called Kiz Rider’s cell phone number and she answered right away. She was already in room 503 and had just finished distributing the wiretap application. Bosch spoke in a low voice.
    “I found the father.”
    “Great work, Harry. You still got it. What did he say? Did he recognize Mackey?”
    “I haven’t talked to him yet.”
    He explained the situation and asked if there was anything new on her end.
    “The warrant’s on the captain’s desk. Abel’s going to push him on it if we don’t hear back by ten, and then it goes up the chain.”
    “How early did you come in?”
    “Early. I wanted to get this done.”
    “Did you ever get a chance to read the girl’s journal last night?”
    “Yeah, I read it in bed. It’s not much help. It’s high school confidential stuff. Unrequited love, weekly crushes, stuff like that. MTL is mentioned but no clue to identity. He might even be a fantasy figure, the way she writes about how special he is. I think Garcia was right to give it back to the mom. It’s not going to help us.”
    “Is MTL referred to in the book as a
he
?”
    “Hmm, Harry, that’s clever. I didn’t notice. I have it here and I’ll check. You know something I don’t know?”
    “No, just covering all the bases. What about Danny Kotchof? Is he in there?”
    “In the beginning. He’s mentioned by name. Then he drops off and mysterious MTL takes his place.”
    “Mr. X…”
    “Listen, I’m going up to six in a few minutes. I’m going to see about getting access