The Reversal

said. “Let’s just talk here for a few minutes about what you can remember, okay? And if it’s not going to work, then it won’t work. You were a victim, Sarah, and we don’t want to victimize you all over again.”
    He waited a moment for Gleason to respond but she sat mute, staring at the water bottle in front of her on the table.
    “Let’s start with that day,” Bosch said. “I don’t need you at this point to go through the horrible moments of your sister’s abduction, but do you remember making the identification of Jason Jessup for the police?”
    She slowly nodded.
    “I remember looking through the window. Upstairs. They opened the blinds a little bit so I could look out. They weren’t supposed to be able to see me. The men. He was the one with the hat. They made him take it off and that’s when I saw it was him. I remember that.”
    Bosch was encouraged by the detail of the hat. He didn’t recall seeing that in the case records or hearing it in McPherson’s summary but the fact that Gleason remembered it was a good sign.
    “What kind of hat was he wearing?” he asked.
    “A baseball cap,” Gleason said. “It was blue.”
    “A Dodgers cap?”
    “I’m not sure. I don’t think I knew back then either.”
    Bosch nodded and moved in.
    “Do you think if I showed you a photo lineup, you would be able to identify the man who took your sister?”
    “You mean the way he looks now? I doubt it.”
    “No, not now,” McPherson said. “What we would need to do in trial is confirm the identification you made back then. We would show you photos from back then.”
    Gleason hesitated and then nodded.
    “Sure. Through everything I’ve done to myself over the years, I’ve never been able to forget that man’s face.”
    “Well, let’s see.”
    While Bosch opened the file on the table, Gleason lit a new cigarette off the end of her old one.
    The file contained a lineup of six black-and-white booking photos of men of the same age, build and coloring. A 1986 photo of Jessup was included in the spread. Harry knew that this was the make-or-break moment of the case.
    The photos were displayed in two rows of three. Jessup’s shot was in the middle window on the bottom row. The five hole. It had always been the lucky spot for Bosch.
    “Take your time,” he said.
    Gleason drank some water and then put the bottle to the side. She leaned over the table, bringing her face within twelve inches of the photos. It didn’t take her long. She pointed to the photo of Jessup without hesitation.
    “I wish I could forget him,” she said. “But I can’t. He’s always there in the back of my mind. In the shadows.”
    “Do you have any doubt about the photo you have chosen?” Bosch asked.
    Gleason leaned down and looked again, then shook her head.
    “No. He was the man.”
    Bosch glanced at McPherson, who made a slight nod. It was a good ID and they had handled it right. The only thing that was missing was a show of emotion on Gleason’s part. But maybe twenty-four years had drained her of everything. Harry took out a pen and handed it to Gleason.
    “Would you put your initials and the date below the photo you chose, please?”
    “Why?”
    “It confirms your ID. It just helps make it more solid when it comes up in court.”
    Bosch noted that she had not asked if she had chosen the right photo. She didn’t have to and that was a secondary confirmation of her recall. Another good sign. After she handed the pen back to Bosch he closed the file and slid it to the side. He glanced at McPherson again. Now came the hard part. By prior agreement, Maggie was going to make the call here on whether to bring up the DNA now or to wait until Gleason was more firmly onboard as a witness.
    McPherson decided not to wait.
    “Sarah, there is a second issue to discuss now. We told you about the DNA that allowed this man to get this new trial and what we hope is only his temporary freedom.”
    “Yes.”
    “We took the DNA profile and checked it against the California data bank. We got a match. The semen on the dress your sister was wearing came from your stepfather.”
    Bosch watched Sarah closely. Not even a flicker of surprise showed on her face or in her eyes. This information was not news to her.
    “In two thousand four the state started taking DNA swabs from all suspects in felony arrests. That same year your father was arrested for a felony hit-and-run with injuries. He ran a stop sign and