Michael Connelly - The Wrong Side of Goodbye

“Briefly,” Valdez said. “She’s in bad shape emotionally and I just didn’t want to put her through it. I mean, there’s no hurry, is there?”

“No.”

“Anyway, she said she went over to the yard about noon and nobody was around because it was lunchtime. She went into the offices and found Dockweiler eating at his desk. When she asked about the metal detector, he volunteered to put it in a truck and take it up there to the house.”

“And she said yes because I wasn’t there to help.”

“Don’t beat yourself up. You told her to take Sisto, and besides, Dockweiler, no matter what kind of an asshole he is, is a former cop. She had no reason to feel unsafe.”

“So when did he grab her?”

“They went to the house and searched. The metal detector was heavy and he volunteered to drive it up in a city truck and operate it. You were right. There were keys in the bushes. She just didn’t know they were his. He had parked the truck in the back by the garage so it was pretty secluded. The victim from the attempted assault Friday had not come back yet and there was nobody around. He asked her to help him get the metal detector back in the truck and that’s when he grabbed her from behind and choked her out. He must’ve drugged her then, because she was out a long time. When she woke up she was already down in that dungeon and he was on top of her. He was rough... she’s pretty banged up.”

Bosch shook his head. It was impossible to imagine what Lourdes had experienced.

“The sick fuck,” Valdez said. “He told her he was going to keep her alive down there. He said she would never see sunlight again...”

Bosch was rescued from the grim details by Taryn, who entered the hallway looking for him.

“I just went back to tell her you were here,” she said to Bosch. “She’s awake and wants to see you.”

“She doesn’t have to see me,” Bosch said. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“No, she wants to. Really.”

“Okay, then.”

Taryn led Bosch back through the waiting room and into another hallway. As they walked she shook her head in anguish.

“She’s tough,” Bosch said. “She’ll get through this.”

“No, that’s not it,” Taryn said.

“Then what?”

“I just can’t believe that he’s here, too.”

Bosch was confused.

“The chief?”

“No, Dockweiler! They have him in this hospital.”

Now Bosch got it.

“Does Bella know?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, don’t tell her.”

“I wouldn’t. It would freak her the fuck out.”

“As soon as he’s stabilized they’ll move him. They have a jail hospital down at County-USC. He’ll go there.”

“Good.”

They came to an open door and entered a private room, where Lourdes lay in a bed with side guards up. She was turned away from the door, gazing at the room’s window. Her hands lay limply at her sides. Without looking at her visitors she asked Taryn to give them privacy.

Taryn left and Bosch stood there. He could only see Bella’s left eye but could tell it was swollen and bruised. She also had swelling and a bite mark on her lower lip.

“Hey, Bella,” he finally said.

“I guess I owe you that beer you were talking about,” she said.

Bosch remembered telling her she would owe him if she found something with the metal detector.

“Bella, I should’ve been there with you,” he said. “I am so sorry. I messed up and you paid an awful price.”

“Don’t be silly,” she said. “You didn’t mess up. I did. I should never have turned my back on him.”

She finally looked at him. There was hemorrhaging around both eyes from when Dockweiler had choked her. She turned a hand up on the bed, an invitation to hold it. Bosch moved closer and squeezed her hand, trying somehow to communicate what he couldn’t find the words to say.

“Thanks for coming,” she said. “And for saving me. The chief told me. You, I would have guessed. Sisto, that was a surprise.”

She tried to smile. Bosch shrugged.

“You solved the case,” he said. “And that saved a lot of other women from him. Remember that.”

She nodded and closed her eyes. Bosch could see tears.

“Harry, I have to tell you something,” she said.

“What is it?” he asked.

She looked up at him again.

“He made me tell him about you. He... hurt me and I tried but I couldn’t take it. He wanted to know how we knew about the keys. And about you. He wanted to know if you had a wife or kids. I tried to hold out, Harry.”

Bosch squeezed her hand.

“Don’t say any more, Bella,” he said. “You did great. We got the guy and it’s over now. That’s all that matters.”

She closed her eyes again.

“I’m going to go back to sleep now,” she said.

“Sure,” he said. “I’ll be back soon, Bella. You hang in there.”

Bosch headed down the hall, thinking about Dockweiler torturing Bella to get information about him. He wondered where that would have led if things hadn’t ended that night.

In the waiting room Bosch found Valdez but no Taryn. The chief explained that she went home to get clothes for Bella for when she was released, whenever that would be. They spoke about the Screen Cutter case and what needed to be completed on their end for both the Sheriff’s shooting investigation and the prosecution of Dockweiler. They had forty-eight hours to present their case against the suspected rapist to the D.A.’s Office and ask for charges. Because Lourdes was out of commission in the hospital, Bosch was going to have to be point.

“I want this case to be airtight, Harry,” Valdez said. “And I want to hit him with everything we can. Every charge possible. I don’t want him ever breathing free air again.”

“Got it,” Bosch said. “That’s not going to be a problem. I’m going to go home, sleep till about noon, and then I’ll get back on it.”

Valdez clapped him on the upper arm in encouragement.

“Let me know what you need,” he said.

“You’re staying here?” Bosch asked.

“Yeah, for a while. Sisto texted and said he wanted to come by. I think I’ll wait for him. When this thing levels out, we need to all get together for some beers, make sure everybody’s okay.”

“That’ll be good.”

Bosch left the hospital then and ran into Sisto in the parking garage. He was in fresh clothes and looked like he might even have gotten some sleep.

“How’s Bella?” he asked.

“I don’t really know,” Bosch said. “She’s been through a kind of hell that’s hard to imagine.”

“Did you see her?”

“For a few minutes. The chief’s up there in the waiting room. He’ll get you in if he can.”

“Cool. See you back at the bureau.”

“I’m going to go home and sleep first.”

Sisto nodded and walked off. Bosch thought of something and then called after him.

“Hey, Sisto.”

The young detective walked back.

“Yeah, listen, I’m sorry for losing my cool and pushing you,” Bosch said. “And throwing your phone. It was just a tense situation, you know?”

“No, man, it was cool,” Sisto said. “You were right. I don’t want to be a fuckup, Harry. I want to be a good detective like you.”

Bosch nodded his thanks for the compliment.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “You’ll get there. And you did good work last night.”

“Thanks.”

“You want to do something after you see Bella?”

“What do you mean?”

“Go over to Public Works and tape off Dockweiler’s desk. We’ll need to go through it. Then get the supervisor over there to pull records on all code inspections he did over the last four years. You’re looking for unpermitted dwellings.”