Trunk Music

asked.
    “Through Goshen,” she said.
    “If those ballistics come back a match,” Bosch said, “then you can stick a fork in Goshen because he’ll be done. He’ll be looking at the needle or life without possibility. Or a reduced sentence if he gives us something.”
    “Joey Marks,” Gregson and Edgar said at the same time.
    “So who is the letter writer?” Billets asked.
    “Who knows?” Bosch answered. “I don’t know enough about the organization over there. But there’s a lawyer who was mentioned by the cops there. A guy who handles everything for Marks. He’d know about Aliso’s scam. He could pull this off. There’s probably a handful of people close to Marks capable of doing it.”
    They all were silent for a long moment, each one thinking the story through and seeing that it could work. It was a natural conclusion to the meeting and Billets stood up to end it.
    “Let’s keep up the good work,” she said. “Matthew, thanks for coming out. You’ll be the first one I call when we get the ballistics in the morning.”
    Everyone else started standing up.
    “Kiz and Jerry, flip a coin,” Billets said. “One of you will have to go to Vegas to work the extradition escort with Harry. It’s regulations. Oh, and Harry, could you wait a minute? There’s something I need to discuss with you about another case.”
    After the others left, Billets told Bosch to close the door. He did so and then sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk.
    “So what happened?” she asked. “Did you really talk to Fitzgerald?”
    “Well, I guess it was more that he talked to me, but, yeah, I met with him and Carbone.”
    “What’s the deal?”
    “Basically, the deal is that they didn’t know Tony Aliso from a hole in the ground until they, too, got a letter, probably the same one that went to the IRS. I’ve got a copy of it. It has details. It was from somebody with knowledge, just like Kiz said. The letter OCID got also was postmarked in Las Vegas and it was addressed specifically to Fitzgerald.”
    “So their response was to bug his office phone.”
    “Right, illegal bug. They had just started-I have nine days’ worth of tapes to listen to-when I call up and say Tony got whacked. They panicked. You know his situation with the chief. If it came out that first of all they illegally put the bug on Tony and second of all might have somehow been the cause of his death because Joey Marks found out, then the chief would pretty much have all he’d need to move Fitzgerald out and reestablish controls on OCID.”
    “So Fitzgerald sends Carbone in to get the bug and they play dumb about Tony.”
    “Right. Carbone didn’t see the camera or we wouldn’t know any of this.”
    “That prick. When this is over, the first thing I’m going to do is give it all to the chief.”
    “Uh…”
    Bosch wasn’t sure how to say it.
    “What is it?”
    “Fitzgerald could see that coming. I cut a deal with him.”
    “What?”
    “I cut a deal. He gave me everything, the tapes, the letter. But their activities go no further than you and me. The chief never knows.”
    “Harry, how could you? You had no-”
    “He’s got something on me, Lieutenant. He’s got something on you, too…and Kiz.”
    A long silence followed and Bosch watched the anger flush her cheeks.
    “That arrogant bastard,” she said.
    Bosch told her what it was Fitzgerald had come up with. Since Bosch now was privy to her secret, he thought it was only fair that he tell her about Eleanor. Billets just nodded. She was clearly thinking more about her own secret and the consequences of Fitzgerald having knowledge of it.
    “Do you think he actually put people on me? A tail?”
    “Who knows? He’s the kind of guy who sees opportunities and acts on them. He keeps information like money in a bank. In case of a rainy day. This was a rainy day for him and he pulled it out. I made the deal. Let’s forget about it and move on with the case.”
    She was silent a moment and Bosch watched her for any sign of embarrassment. There was none. She looked directly at Bosch, her eyes searching him for any sign of judgment. There was none. She nodded.
    “What else did they do after the letter came?”
    “Not much. They put Aliso on a loose surveillance. I have the logs. But they weren’t watching him Friday night. They knew he’d gone to Las Vegas, so they were planning to pick him up again after the holiday if he was back. They were really just getting