The Reversal

the accusatory tone still in his voice.
    “Look, Harry, you’re blaming me for something I had nothing to do with. I don’t know how he found your house but it couldn’t have been that hard. I mean, come on. Anybody can find anybody on the Internet. You own your house, right? You pay property taxes, have utility accounts, and I bet you’re even registered to vote—Republican, I’m sure.”
    “Independent.”
    “Fine. The point is, people can find you if they want. Added to that, you have a singular name. All anybody would have to do is punch in—”
    “You gave them my full name?”
    “I had to. It’s what’s required and what’s been given in discovery for every trial you’ve ever testified in. It doesn’t matter. All Jessup needed was access to the Internet and he could’ve—”
    “Jessup’s been in prison for twenty-four years. He knows less about the Internet than I do. He had to have help and I’m betting it came from Royce.”
    “Look, we don’t know that.”
    Bosch looked pointedly at me, a darkness crossing his eyes.
    “You’re defending him now?”
    “No, I’m not defending anybody. I’m just saying we shouldn’t rush to any conclusions here. Jessup’s got a roommate and is a minor celebrity. Celebrities get people to do things for them, okay? So why don’t you calm down and let’s back up a little bit. Tell me what happened at your house.”
    Bosch seemed to take it down a notch but he was still anything but calm. I half expected him to get up and take a swing at a lamp or punch a hole in a wall. Thankfully, Maggie was the one who told the story.
    “We were with the SIS, watching him. We thought he was going to go up to one of the parks he’s been visiting. Instead, he drove right by them all and kept going on Mulholland. When we got to Harry’s street we had to hang back so he wouldn’t see us. The SIS has a bike car. Two of them saddled up and rode down. They found Jessup sitting in his car in front of Harry’s house.”
    “Goddamn it!” Bosch said. “I have my daughter living with me. If this prick is—”
    “Harry, not so loud and watch what you say,” I said. “My daughter’s on the other side of that wall. Now, please, go back to the story. What did Jessup do?”
    Bosch hesitated. Maggie didn’t.
    “He just sat there,” Maggie said. “For about a half hour. And he lit a candle.”
    “A candle? In the car?”
    “Yeah, on the dashboard.”
    “What the hell does that mean?”
    “Who knows?”
    Bosch couldn’t remain sitting. He jumped up from the couch and started pacing.
    “And after a half hour he drove off and went home,” Maggie said. “That was it. We just came from Venice.”
    Now I stood up and started to pace, but in a pattern clear of Bosch’s orbit.
    “Okay, let’s think about this. Let’s think about what he was doing.”
    “No shit, Sherlock,” Bosch said. “That’s the question.”
    I nodded. I had that coming.
    “Is there any reason to think that he knows or suspects he’s being followed?” I asked.
    “No, no way,” Bosch said immediately.
    “Wait a minute, not so fast on that,” Maggie said. “I’ve been thinking about it. There was a near-miss earlier in the night. You remember, Harry? On Breeze Avenue?”
    Bosch nodded. Maggie explained it to me.
    “They thought they lost him on a walk street in Venice. The lieutenant sent a guy in with a pizza box. Jessup came out from between two houses after taking a leak. It was a close call.”
    I spread my hands.
    “Well, maybe that was it. Maybe that planted suspicion and he decided to see if he was being followed. You show up outside the lead investigator’s house and it’s a good way to draw out the flies if you’ve got them on you.”
    “You mean like a test?” Bosch asked.
    “Exactly. Nobody approached him out there, right?”
    “No, we left him alone,” Maggie said. “If he had gotten out of his car I think it would’ve been a different story.”
    I nodded.
    “Okay, so it was either a test or he’s got something planned. In that case, it would’ve been a reconnaissance mission. He wanted to see where you live.”
    Bosch stopped and stared out the window. The sky was fully lit now.
    “But one thing you have to keep in mind is that what he did was not illegal,” I said. “It’s a public street and the OR put no restrictions on travel within Los Angeles County. So no matter what he was up to, it’s a good thing you didn’t stop him and reveal