The Reversal

yourself.”
    Bosch stayed at the window, his back to us. I didn’t know what he was thinking.
    “Harry,” I said. “I know your concerns and I agree with them. But we can’t let this be a distraction. The trial is coming up quick and we have work to do. If we convict this guy, he goes away forever and it won’t matter if he knows where you live.”
    “So what do I do till then, sit on my front porch every night with a shotgun?”
    “The SIS is on him twenty-four/seven, right?” Maggie said. “Do you trust them?”
    Bosch didn’t answer for a long moment.
    “They won’t lose him,” he finally said.
    Maggie looked at me and I could see the concern in her eyes. Each of us had a daughter. It would be hard to put your trust in anybody else, even an elite surveillance squad. I thought for a moment about something I had been considering since the conversation began.
    “What about you moving in here? With your daughter. She can use Hayley’s room because Hayley’s going back to her mother’s today. And you can use the office. It’s got a sleeper sofa that I’ve spent more than a few nights on. It’s actually comfortable.”
    Bosch turned from the window and looked at me.
    “What, stay here through the whole trial?”
    “Why not? Our daughters will finally get a chance to meet when Hayley comes over.”
    “It’s a good idea,” Maggie said.
    I didn’t know if she was referring to the daughters meeting or the idea of Bosch and child staying with me.
    “And look, I’m here every night,” I said. “If you have to go out with the SIS, I got you covered with your daughter, especially when Hayley’s here.”
    Bosch thought about it for a few moments but then shook his head.
    “I can’t do that,” he said.
    “Why not?” I asked.
    “Because it’s my house. My home. I’m not going to run from this guy. He’s going to run from me.”
    “What about your daughter?” Maggie asked.
    “I’ll take care of my daughter.”
    “Harry, think about it,” she said. “Think about your daughter. You don’t want her in harm’s way.”
    “Look, if Jessup has my address, then he probably has this address, too. Moving in here isn’t the answer. It’s just… just running from him. Maybe that’s his test—to see what I do. So I’m not doing anything. I’m not moving. I’ve got the SIS, and if he comes back and so much as crosses the curb out front, I’ll be waiting for him.”
    “I don’t like this,” Maggie said.
    I thought about what Bosch had said about Jessup having my address.
    “Neither do I,” I said.

Twenty-four
    Wednesday, March 31, 9:00 A.M .
    B osch didn’t need to be in court. In fact, he wouldn’t be needed until after jury selection and the actual trial began. But he wanted to get a close look at the man he had been shadowing from a distance with the SIS. He wanted to see if Jessup would show any reaction to seeing him in return. It had been a month and a half since they had spent the long day in the car driving down from San Quentin. Bosch felt the need to get closer than the surveillance allowed him to. It would help him keep the fire burning.
    It was billed as a status conference. The judge wanted to deal with all final motions and issues before beginning jury selection the next day and then moving seamlessly into the trial. There were scheduling and jury issues to discuss and each side’s list of exhibits were to be handed in as well.
    The prosecution team was locked and loaded. In the last two weeks Haller and McPherson had sharpened and streamlined the case, run through mock witness examinations and reconsidered every piece of evidence. They had carefully choreographed the ways in which they would bring the twenty-four-year-old evidence forward. They were ready. The bow had been pulled taut and the arrow was ready to fly.
    Even the decision on the death penalty had been made—or rather, announced. Haller had officially withdrawn it, even though Bosch assumed all along that his use of it to threaten Jessup had merely been a pose. He was a defense attorney by nature, and there was no getting him across that line. A conviction on the charges would bring Jessup a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, and that would have to be enough justice for Melissa Landy.
    Bosch was ready as well. He had diligently reinvestigated the case and located the witnesses who would be called to testify. All the while, he was still out riding with the SIS as often as