Trunk Music

her until a couple hours ago.”
    Billets nodded, a pained expression on her face.
    “If they don’t get a line on her in the next fifteen minutes, put it out on the air.”
    “Right.”
    “Listen, getting back to Powers, you think he’s holding anything back?”
    “Hard to say. Probably. There’s still the question about why this time.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean Aliso had been going over to Vegas for years and bringing back suitcases full of money. He’d been skimming for years, according to Powers, and also had been having his share of the women over there. Veronica knew all of this. She had to. So what was it that made her do it now, rather than last year or next year?”
    “Maybe she just got fed up. Maybe this was just the right time. Powers came along and it clicked.”
    “Maybe. I asked Powers and he said he didn’t know. But I think maybe he was holding back. I’m going to take another run at him.”
    Billets didn’t respond.
    “There’s still some sort of secret we don’t know about,” Bosch continued. “There’s something there. I’m hoping she’ll tell it. If we find her.”
    Billets dismissed it with a wave of her hand.
    “You have Powers on tape?” she asked.
    “Audio and video. Kiz was watching in room four. As soon as he said he wanted to talk she started it all rolling.”
    “Did you advise him again? On the tape?”
    “Yeah, it’s all on there. He’s sealed up pretty good. You want to watch it, I’ll get the tape.”
    “No. I don’t even want to look at him if I can help it. You didn’t promise him anything, did you?”
    Bosch was about to answer but stopped. There was the sound of muffled yelling that he could tell was coming from Powers, still sequestered in room three. He looked through the glass of the lieutenant’s office and saw Edgar get up from the homicide table and go down the hall to check it out.
    “He probably wants his lawyer now,” Bosch said. “Well, it’s a little late for that…Anyway, no, I made no promises. I did tell him I’d talk to the DA about dropping special circs, but that’s going to be tough. With what he told me in there, we can take our pick. Conspiracy to commit, lying in wait, murder for hire maybe.”
    “I guess I should get a DA in here.”
    “Yeah. If you don’t have anyone in mind or anybody you owe a hot case to, put in a request for Roger Goff. This is his kind of case and I’ve owed him one for a while. He won’t blow it.”
    “I know Roger. I’ll ask for him… I have to call out the brass, too. It’s not every day you get to call a deputy chief and tell him not only have your people been running an investigation they were specifically told to stay away from, but that they’ve arrested a cop to boot. And for murder, no less.”
    Bosch smiled. He would not relish having to make such a call.
    “It’s really going to hit the fan this time,” he said. “One more black eye for the department. By the way, they didn’t seize any of it because it’s not related to this case, but Jerry and Kiz found some scary stuff in Powers’s place. Nazi paraphernalia, white-power stuff. You might alert the brass about that, so they can do with it what they want.”
    “Thanks for telling me. I’ll talk to Irving. I’m sure he won’t want that to see the light of day.”
    Edgar leaned in through the open door.
    “Powers says he’s got to take a leak and can’t hold it any longer.”
    He was looking at Billets.
    “Well, take him,” she said.
    “Keep him hooked,” Bosch added.
    “How’s he gonna piss, his hands behind his back? Don’t be expecting me to be taking it out for him. No way.”
    Billets laughed.
    “Just move the cuffs to the front,” Bosch said. “Give me a second to finish in here and I’ll be right there.”
    “Okay, I’ll be in three.”
    Edgar left and Bosch watched him through the glass as he walked to the hallway leading to the interview rooms. Bosch looked back at Billets, who was still smiling at Edgar’s comical protest. Bosch put a serious look on his face.
    “You know, you can use me when you make that call.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean, if you want to say you didn’t know about any of this until I called you this morning with the bad news, that’s cool with me.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. We cleared a murder and got a killer cop off the street. If they can’t see that the good in this outweighs the bad, then…well, fuck ’em if they can’t take a