The Narrows

have been around the time that Backus had supposedly resurfaced in Amsterdam. Terry had probably just gotten the internal files on the investigation.
    "Nothing since then?"
    "No, I can't remember anything."
    "Okay, Graciela. So what do you think? I cannot talk to them unless you allow it. I think it is okay."
    "Then go ahead if you think it will help."
    "It means they'll be coming out there soon. FBI agents. They'll probably take The Following Sea back to the mainland to go over it."
    "What for?"
    "Evidence. This guy was on the boat. First as a charter and then he came back and snuck on. That was when he changed the meds."
    "Oh."
    "And they'll also come to the house. They'll want to talk to you. Just be honest, Graciela. Tell them everything. Don't hold anything back and it will be all right."
    "Are you sure, Harry?"
    "Yes, I'm sure. So you're all right with this?"
    "I'm all right."
    We said good-bye and disconnected. As I was walking back toward Zigo I opened my phone again and called my home number. I then disconnected and repeated the process nine more times, wiping out any record on my phone of the calls to Buddy Lockridge and Graciela McCaleb. If things went wrong in the RV and Dei wanted to know who I called, it wouldn't be easy for her. She'd get nothing off my phone. She'd have to go to the phone company with a warrant.
    As I approached, Zigo saw what I was doing. He smiled and shook his head. "You know, Bosch, if we wanted your phone numbers, we would've picked them out of the air."
    "Is that right?"
    "That's right, if we wanted to."
    "Wow, you guys are really rather special, aren't you?"
    Zigo looked at me over his sunglasses.
    "Don't be an asshole, Bosch. It gets tiring after a while."
    "You should know."

CHAPTER 19
    Zigo escorted me back in without another word. Agent Dei was waiting at the table. Rachel Walling still stood by the counter. I calmly sat down and looked at Dei.
    "How'd it go?" she asked in a pleasant tone.
    "It went fine. My client says I can talk to you. But it's not going to be a one-way street. We trade. I answer your questions, you answer mine."
    She shook her head.
    "Uh-uh, that's not how it works. This is an FBI investigation. We don't trade information with amateurs."
    "You're saying I'm an amateur? I bring you a photo of the long-lost Robert Backus and I'm the amateur?"
    I saw movement and looked over to Rachel. She had brought her hand up to her face to hide a smile. When she saw me looking at her she turned toward the counter and acted like she was studying the photo of Backus again.
    "We don't even know if that is Backus," Dei said. "You've got a guy with a beard, a hat and dark glasses. It could be anybody."
    "And it could be the guy that is supposedly dead but somehow managed to kill five men in Amsterdam a few years ago and now, what, six men here. Or is it more than the six listed in that newspaper story?"
    Dei gave me a tight, unpleasant smile.
    "Look, you may be impressing yourself with all of this, but we're still not impressed. It still comes down to one thing: you want to get out of here, then start talking to us. Now you have your client's permission. I suggest you start by telling us who this client is."
    I leaned back. She was a fortress I didn't think I could break through. But if nothing else, I had gotten that smile from Rachel Walling. That told me I might have a shot at climbing over the FBI barricade with her later.
    "My client is Graciela McCaleb. Terry McCaleb's wife. Widow, I mean."
    Dei blinked, then quickly recovered from the surprise. Or possibly it wasn't surprise. Possibly it was a confirmation of some sort.
    "And why did she hire you?"
    "Because somebody switched out her husband's medicine and killed him."
    That brought a momentary silence. Rachel slowly stepped away from the counter and came back to her chair. With few questions or any direction from Dei I told them the story of how I had come to be called by Graciela, the details of her husband's tainted medications, and my investigation up until the point I reached the desert. I began to believe I was not surprising them with anything. Rather, it seemed more like I was confirming something or at least telling a story they already knew parts of. When I was finished Dei hit me with a few clarifying questions related to my movements. Zigo and Walling asked nothing.
    "So," Dei said after the story was finished. "That's an interesting story. A lot of information. Why don't you put it into context for us