Майкл Коннелли - Two Kinds of Truth

“I’m sure it does,” the judge said. “But you can take your seat for the moment, Mr. Kennedy.”

Houghton turned his attention to the other table, specifically to Borders instead of the two lawyers who flanked him.

“Mr. Borders,” he said. “As you have seen, your petition for habeas corpus is no longer uncontested. It is opposed now by the District Attorney and the lead detective on the case. Furthermore, you have just expressed what I take as a desire to discharge your lawyer and abandon these proceedings. Is it in fact your desire to withdraw your petition?”

“Might as well,” Borders said. “It ain’t fucking going anywhere.”

“Very well,” the judge said. “The matter before the Court is withdrawn. Deputy Garza, you can take Mr. Borders out of here. But keep him in holding. I believe the detectives here may want to talk to him.”

The judge gestured toward Soto and Tapscott.

Garza nodded to the two deputies seated behind Borders and they moved in on the convict to unlock the lead chain and remove him. As he was stood up, Borders took a last look down at Lance Cronyn.

“Thanks for the road trip,” he said. “Better than three days in the cage.”

“Get him out,” Houghton ordered loudly.

“Fuck you all very much,” Borders called out as he was half walked, half carried through the door into the courthouse holding area. “And please tell my girls to stay in touch.”

The door banged closed and the sharp metal-on-metal reverb rolled through the courtroom like an earthquake.

Cronyn stood slowly to address the Court, but Houghton cut him off as well.

“Counselor, I advise you not to speak,” he said. “Anything you say here could be used against you later in another court of law.”

“But, Your Honor, if I may,” Cronyn insisted, “I need to put on the record how my client threatened me and my family and—”

“Enough, Mr. Cronyn. Enough. I’ve heard more than I need in order to know that you, your co-counsel, and your client came into this courtroom today with the clear intent of manipulating the court for financial gain, not to mention gaining the release into society of what appears to have been a rightfully convicted murderer, and tarnishing the reputation of a veteran police detective.”

“Your—”

“I’m not speaking to hear myself talk, Mr. Cronyn. I told you to be quiet. One more interruption and I will have you silenced.”

Houghton surveyed the entire court before bringing his eyes back to Cronyn and continuing.

“Now, I am assuming that the Los Angeles Police Department will have an interest in talking to you as well as to Terrence Spencer. Criminal charges may arise from that. I don’t know. I can’t control that. But what I can control is what happens in this courtroom, and I have to say that never in my twenty-one years on the bench have I seen such a concerted effort to undermine the rule of law by attorneys appearing before me. Therefore, I find Lance Cronyn and Katherine Cronyn in criminal contempt of this Court and order them taken into custody forthwith. Deputy Garza, you need to call a female court deputy in here as soon as possible to take custody of Ms. Cronyn.”

Katherine Cronyn immediately collapsed onto her husband’s shoulder in tears. As Bosch watched, her emotions shifted, and soon she was pounding a fist into her husband’s chest. He corralled her with his arms and pulled her into an embrace that stopped the pummeling and left only the tears. Deputy Garza walked up behind him, handcuffs dangling from one hand, ready to take him back into the jail.

“Now, Mr. Kennedy,” Houghton said, “I don’t know what you plan to do with the information Mr. Haller has brought to light, but I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to call members of the media and the public back into the courtroom and tell them exactly what happened in here today. You’re not going to like it because you and your agency are not going to come off too well, considering it was a defense lawyer and his investigators who put this together under the nose of the LAPD and assorted other agencies.

“But I’ll say this. Your office owes Detective Bosch a big fat apology and I will be watching to make sure you give it on a big stage, in a timely manner, and without any ‘buts’ or ‘becauses’ or asterisks attached. Nothing short of full exoneration of the suspicions and allegations that were published in Sunday’s newspaper will suffice. Do I make myself clear on that, Mr. Kennedy?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Kennedy said. “We would be doing that even if you had not ordered it.”

Houghton frowned.

“Knowing what I know about politics and the justice system, I find that highly unlikely.”

The judge scanned the room again, found Bosch, and asked him to stand.

“Detective, I imagine you have been put through the wringer in recent days,” he said. “I want to apologize on behalf of the Court for this needless torment. I wish you the best of luck, sir, and you are welcome in my courtroom anytime.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Bosch said.

Two deputies, including a female, entered through the holding area door and joined Garza in taking the Cronyns into custody. The judge instructed his clerk to go out into the hallway to tell those waiting that they could return to the courtroom.

An hour later Houghton adjourned his court for the day, and Kennedy was left to wade through the gaggle of reporters who demanded his comments and reaction to what the judge had just announced.

Out in the hallway, Bosch watched Soto and Tapscott approach Terrence Spencer and take him into custody. Cisco came up next to Bosch and they watched the detectives lead Spencer down the hall.

“I hope he tells them how he rigged the box,” Bosch said. “I really want to know.”

“Not going to happen,” Cisco said. “He’s taking the fifth.”

“But you said he was going to testify.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your text to Haller in the courtroom. You said he was ready to testify.”

“No, I said you can put him on the stand but he’ll take the nickel. Why, what did Mick say?”

Bosch stared across the hallway at Haller, who was talking one-on-one with a reporter writing in a notebook. There was no camera, so Bosch assumed it was a print reporter — which most likely meant he was from the Times.

“Son of a gun,” he said.

“What?” Cisco asked.

“I saw him read your text, and then he told the judge that Spencer was ready to go on the stand. He didn’t exactly say he would testify, only that he’d go on the stand. He tipped the whole thing with that bluff. Borders took the bait and blew a gasket. That was it.”

“Smooth move.”

“Dangerous move.”

Bosch continued to stare at Haller and he started to put things into place.

After all the interviews were over, Team Bosch decided to get out of the courthouse and walk over to Traxx in Union Station to celebrate the across-the-board victory. While Haller and Cisco went into the restaurant to get a table, Bosch walked his daughter down to the ramp to the Metrolink train she was due to board. She had bought a return ticket on her app.

“I’m so glad I was here, Dad,” Maddie said.

“I’m glad you were here too,” Bosch said.

“And I’m so sorry if it sounded like I ever doubted you.”

“Nothing to be sorry about, Mads. You didn’t.”

He pulled her into a long embrace and looked up the tunnel to the sunlight waiting at the boarding platform. He kissed the top of her head and let her go.

“I still want to come down for dinner when you get back to your house. I’ll get the app and take the train.”

“Definitely. Bye, Dad.”