Michael Connelly - The Drop

For the first time Rosen was not quick with her response. She had a confused look on her face.

“Am I to assume because of all these questions that George didn’t kill himself?”

“All I can tell you is that we are not assuming anything. It’s an open investigation and we haven’t made a finding in regard to his death. Until we do, we are trying to conduct a thorough investigation of all possibilities. Now, can you answer the question? Who was Mr. Irving concentrating his time on most recently?”

“Well, he had two clients that he was working with intensively. One was Western Block and Concrete and the other was Tolson Towing. But both those went to council vote last week. George got what he wanted in both cases and was now just coming up for air.”

Bosch wrote the names down.

“What did his work for those companies involve?” he asked.

“Western was bidding on the contract for the new parking garage at Parker Center. They got it. And Tolson was reapplying as OPG designee for Hollywood and Wilshire Divisions.”

The Official Police Garage designation would mean Tolson would continue to handle all towing called for by the LAPD in those two police divisions. A lucrative deal, just as he assumed the concrete pour on a parking garage would be. Bosch had heard or read that the new city garage would be six levels and was designed to service the overflow from all municipal buildings in the civic center.

“So these were his main clients as of late?” he asked.

“That’s right.”

“And they would have been happy with the results they got.”

“Absolutely. Western wasn’t even the low bidder and Tolson had strong competition this time. Plus a two-inch-thick complaint file to overcome. George had his work cut out for him but he came through.”

“And how did it work with his father being on the council? Wasn’t that a conflict of interest?”

Rosen nodded emphatically.

“Of course it was. That was why the councilman abstained from voting whenever one of George’s clients had business before the council.”

This seemed odd to Bosch. Having a father on the council seemed to give George Irving the inside edge. But if his father excused himself from voting on such matters, the edge disappeared.

Or did it?

Bosch assumed that even if the older Irving made a show of abstaining from voting, the other council members knew they could curry his favor for their own pet projects if they supported his son’s.

“What about clients who were unhappy with the work George did?” he asked Rosen.

She said she could not think of a client who was ever upset with George Irving’s efforts. Conversely, the companies competing with his clients for city contracts would be upset.

“Anything that you remember from these situations that Mr. Irving considered to be a threat?”

“Offhand, not that I know of.”

“You said Western Block and Concrete was not the low bidder on the garage. Who was?”

“A company called Consolidated Block Incorporated. They underbid just to try to get the contract. It happens a lot. But the city planners usually see through that. In this case, George helped them. The planning division recommended Western to the council.”

“And no threat came out of it? No bad blood?”

“Well, I doubt they were happy about it over at CBI but as far as I know, we didn’t hear anything. It was just business.”

Bosch knew that he and Chu would have to review both contracts and Irving’s work on them. But he decided to move on.

“What did Mr. Irving have coming up next on his work schedule?”

“There wasn’t a lot. He had been talking about slowing down a little bit. His son went away to college and George and his wife were going through the empty nest phase. I know George really missed his son. He was depressed about it.”

“So he had no active clients?”

“He was talking to people but he only had one under contract. That was Regent Taxi. They’re going to try to get the Hollywood franchise next year and they hired us back in May to work with them.”

Under Bosch’s questioning, Rosen explained that the city awarded geographic franchises for taxi service. The city was divided into six taxi zones. Each zone had two or three lease or franchise holders, depending on the population of the district. The franchising controlled where in the city a company could pick up fares. Of course, a taxi with a fare onboard could go anywhere instructed.

The designation allowed them to sit on taxi stands and at hotels or cruise for fares and take phone requests within their franchise zone only. Competition on the streets for fares was sometimes fierce. Competition for a franchise designation was equally so. Rosen explained that Regent Taxi already had a franchise in South L.A. but was seeking a more lucrative assignment in Hollywood.

“When was that going to come up?” Bosch asked.

“Not till after the new year,” Rosen said. “George was just getting started on the application.”

“How many franchises are given in Hollywood?”

“There are only two and they are two-year terms. They stagger them, so one comes up for renewal or reassignment every year. Regent has been waiting for this upcoming year because the current franchise holder coming up for renewal has problems and is vulnerable. George told the clients that their best shot was in the coming year.”

“What’s the name of the company that’s vulnerable?”

“Black and White. Better known as B and W.”

Bosch knew that there had been an issue a decade or so ago with B&W Taxi painting its cars so that they looked a little too much like police cars. The LAPD had complained and the company changed their design to a black and white checkerboard scheme. But he didn’t think this was what Rosen meant by the company’s being vulnerable.

“You said it has problems. What problems?”

“Well, for starters, they’ve had three DUIs in the last four months alone.”

“You mean cabdrivers driving drunk?”

“Exactly, and that’s the ultimate no-no. That doesn’t go over well with the city franchise board or the city council, as you can imagine. Who wants to vote for a company with that record? So George was pretty confident that Regent could get the franchise. They’ve got a clean record, plus they’re minority owned.”

And he had a father who was a powerful member of the city council, which appointed the members of the franchise board. Bosch was intrigued by this information because it all came down to money. Somebody making it and somebody losing it. That often played into the motivations for murder. He got up and stuck his head into the back room, telling Hadlow and Chu that he would want to take any files relating to the taxi franchise matter.

He then came back to Rosen and moved the interview back toward the personal side of things.

“Did George keep any personal files here?”

“Yes, he did. But they’re locked in the desk and I don’t have the key.”

From his pocket Bosch pulled the keys that had been taken from the Chateau’s valet and impounded along with Irving’s car.

“Show me.”

Bosch and Chu emerged from the office at noon and headed back to the PAB. Chu carried the box containing the files and other materials they had seized with Hadlow’s approval under the authority of the search warrant. This included the records pertaining to the most recent projects George Irving had been working on or planning, as well his personal files, which contained a number of insurance policies and a copy of a will that was dated only two months earlier.

As they walked, they discussed their next moves. They agreed that the rest of the day would be worked inside the PAB. They had several records to study concerning Irving’s projects and will. Reports were also overdue from Glanville and Solomon concerning their interview of the guest who checked in behind Irving at the Chateau Marmont and the canvasses conducted in the hotel and on the hillside neighborhood behind it.