The Concrete Blonde (hb-3)

hopeless.”
    “Thank you. Now, one more thing, is there a box on the cover form listing next of kin?”
    “Yes, it identifies the next of kin as Hieronymus Bosch. Next to that in brackets it says ‘Harry.’ A box marked ‘son’ has been checked off.”
    Chandler referred to her yellow pad for a few moments to let this information soak into the jury. It was so quiet Bosch could actually hear Chandler’s pen scratching on the pad as she made a notation.
    “Now,” she said, “Chief Irving, would knowing about Detective Bosch’s mother have caused you to take a closer look at this shooting?”
    After a long moment of silence, he said, “I can’t say.”
    “He shot a man suspected of doing almost the exact same thing that had happened to his mother-his mother’s slaying being unsolved. Are you saying you don’t know if that would have been germane to your investigation?”
    “I, yes... I don’t know at this time.”
    Bosch wanted to put his head down on the table. He had noticed that even Belk had stopped scribbling notes and was just watching the interchange between Irving and Chandler. Bosch tried to shake off the anger he felt and concentrate on how Chandler had obtained the information. He realized she had probably gotten the P-file in a discovery motion. But the details of the crime and his mother’s background would not be in it. She had most likely procured the due diligence report from the archives warehouse on a Freedom of Information petition.
    He realized he had missed several questions to Irving. He began watching and listening again. He wished he had a lawyer like Money Chandler.
    “Chief, did you or any IAD detectives go to the scene of the shooting?”
    “No, we did not.”
    “So your information about what happened came from members of the shooting team, who in turn got their information from the shooter, Detective Bosch, correct?”
    “Essentially, yes.”
    “You have no personal knowledge of the evidentiary layout: the toupee under the pillow, the cosmetics beneath the sink in the bathroom?”
    “Correct. I was not there.”
    “Do you believe all of that was there as I just stated?”
    “Yes, I do.”
    “Why?”
    “It was all there in the reports-reports from several different officers.”
    “But all originating with the information from Detective Bosch, correct?”
    “To a degree. There were investigators swarming that place. Bosch didn’t tell them what to write.”
    “Before, as you say, they swarmed the place, how long was Bosch there alone?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Is that piece of information on any report that you know of?”
    “I’m not sure.”
    “Isn’t it true, Chief, that you wanted to fire Bosch and refer this shooting to the district attorney’s office for the filing of criminal charges against him?”
    “No, that is wrong. The DA looked at it and passed. It’s routine. They said it was within policy, too.”
    Well, score one for me, Bosch thought. It was the first misstep he had seen her take with Irving.
    “What happened to the woman who gave Bosch this tip? Her name was McQueen. I believe she was a prostitute.”
    “She died about a year later. Hepatitis.”
    “At the time of her death was she part of an ongoing investigation of Detective Bosch and this shooting?”
    “Not that I am aware of and I was in charge of IAD at the time.”
    “What about the two IAD detectives who investigated the shooting? Lewis and Clarke, I believe their names were. Didn’t they continue their investigation of Bosch long after the shooting had been determined officially to be within policy?”
    Irving took a while to answer. He was probably leery of being led to slaughter again.
    “If they conducted such an ongoing investigation it was without my knowledge or approval.”
    “Where are those detectives now?”
    “They are also dead. Both killed in the line of duty a couple years ago.”
    “As the commander of IAD wasn’t it your practice to initiate covert investigations of problem officers that you had marked for dismissal? Wasn’t Detective Bosch one of those officers?”
    “The answer to both questions is no. Unequivocally, no.”
    “And what happened to Detective Bosch for his violation of procedures during the shooting of the unarmed Norman Church?”
    “He was suspended for one deployment period and transferred within detective services to Hollywood Division.”
    “In English, that means he was suspended for a month and demoted from the elite