Michael Connelly - The Reversal

“ ‘What did that mean to you?’ ”

“ ‘To me it meant there was now a second connection between the murder of this girl and Aardvark. We had the lone witness, Sarah Landy, identifying one of the Aardvark drivers as the abductor, and now we had the victim found in a Dumpster next to a parking lot used by Aardvark drivers. To me the case was coming together.’ ”

“ ‘What was your next step?’ ”

“ ‘At that point my partner and I split up. He stayed with the crime scene and I went back to Wilshire Division to work on search warrants.’ ”

“ ‘Search warrants for what?’ ”

“ ‘One for the entire premises at Aardvark Towing. One for the tow truck Jessup was driving that day. And two more for Jessup’s home and personal car.’ ”

“ ‘And did you receive these search warrants?’ ”

“ ‘Yes, I did. Judge Richard Pittman was on call and he happened to be playing golf at Wilshire Country Club. I brought him the warrants and he signed them on the ninth hole. We then began the searches, starting at Aardvark.’ ”

“ ‘Were you present at this search?’ ”

“ ‘Yes, I was. My partner and I were in charge of it.’ ”

“ ‘And at some point did you become aware of any particular evidence being found that you deemed important to the case?’ ”

“ ‘Yes. At one point the forensics team leader, a man named Art Donovan, informed me that they had recovered three hairs that were brown in color and over a foot in length each from the tow truck that Jason Jessup was driving that day.’ ”

“ ‘Did Donovan tell you specifically where in the truck these hair specimens were found?’ ”

“ ‘Yes, he said they were caught in the crack between the lower and upper parts of the truck’s bench seat.’ ”

Bosch closed the transcript there. Kloster’s testimony continued but they had reached the point where Haller had said he would stop because he would have all he needed on the record.

The judge then asked Royce if he wished to have any of the defense’s cross-examination read into the record. Royce stood to respond, holding two paper-clipped documents in his hand.

“For the record, I am reluctant to participate in a procedure I object to but since the court is calling the game, I shall play along. I have two brief read-backs of Detective Kloster’s cross-examination. May I give a highlighted printout to Detective Bosch? I think it will make this much easier.”

“Very well,” the judge said.

The courtroom deputy took one of the documents from Royce and delivered it to Bosch, who quickly scanned it. It was only two pages of testimony transcriptions. Two exchanges were highlighted in yellow. As Bosch read them over, the judge explained to the jury that Royce would read questions posed by Jessup’s previous defense attorney, Charles Barnard, while Bosch would continue to read the responses of Detective Doral Kloster.

“You may proceed, Mr. Royce.”

“Thank you, Your Honor. Now reading from the transcript, ‘Detective, how long was it from when you closed and locked Aardvark Towing and took the three drivers over to Windsor, and returned with the search warrant?’ ”

“ ‘May I refer to the case chronology?’ ”

“ ‘You may.’ ”

“ ‘It was about two hours and thirty-five minutes.’ ”

“ ‘And when you left Aardvark Towing, how did you secure those premises?’ ”

“ ‘We closed the garages, and one of the drivers-I believe, Mr. Clinton-had a key to the door. I borrowed it to lock the door.’ ”

“ ‘Did you return the key to him after?’ ”

“ ‘No, I asked if I could keep it for the time being and he said that was okay.’ ”

“ ‘So when you went back with the signed search warrant, you had the key and you simply unlocked the door to enter.’ ”

“ ‘That is correct.’ ”

Royce flipped the page on his copy and told Bosch to do likewise.

“Okay, now reading from another point in the cross-examination. ‘Detective Kloster, what did you conclude when you were told about the hair specimens found in the tow truck Mr. Jessup had been driving that day?’ ”

“ ‘Nothing. The specimens had not been identified yet.’ ”

“ ‘At what later point were they identified?’ ”

“ ‘Two days later I got a call from SID. A hair-and-fiber tech told me that the hairs had been examined and that they closely matched samples taken from the victim. She said that she could not exclude the victim as a source.’ ”

“ ‘So then what did that tell you?’ ”

“ ‘That it was likely that Melissa Landy had been in that tow truck.’ ”

“ ‘What other evidence in that truck linked the victim to it or Mr. Jessup to the victim?’ ”

“ ‘There was no other evidence.’ ”

“ ‘No blood or other bodily fluids?’ ”

“ ‘No.’ ”

“ ‘No fibers from the victim’s dress?’ ”

“ ‘No.’ ”

“ ‘Nothing else?’ ”

“ ‘Nothing.’ ”

“ ‘With the lack of other corroborating evidence in the truck, did you ever consider that the hair evidence was planted in the truck?’ ”

“ ‘Well, I considered it in the way I considered all aspects of the case. But I dismissed it because the witness to the abduction had identified Jessup, and that was the truck he was driving. I didn’t think the evidence was planted. I mean, by who? No one was trying to set him up. He was identified by the victim’s sister.’ ”

That ended the read-back. Bosch glanced over at the jury box and saw that it appeared that everyone had remained attentive during what was most likely the most boring stage of the trial.

“Anything further, Mr. Royce?” the judge asked.

“Nothing further, Judge,” Royce responded.

“Very well,” Breitman said. “I think this brings us to our afternoon break. I will see everyone back in place-and I will admonish myself to be on time-in fifteen minutes.”

The courtroom started to clear and Bosch stepped down from the witness stand. He went directly to Haller, who was huddled with McPherson. Bosch butted into their whispered conversation.

“Atwater, right?”

Haller looked up at him.

“Yes, right. Have her ready in fifteen minutes.”

“And you have time to talk after court?”

“I’ll make time. I had an interesting conversation at lunch, as well. I need to tell you.”

Bosch left them and headed out to the hall. He knew the line at the coffee urn in the little concession stand near the elevators would be long and full of jurors from the case. He decided he would hit the stairwell and find coffee on another floor. But first he ducked into the restroom.

As he entered he saw Jessup at one of the sinks. He was leaning over and washing his hands. His eyes were below the mirror line and he didn’t realize Bosch was behind him.

Bosch stood still and waited for the moment, thinking about what he would say when he and Jessup locked eyes.

But just as Jessup raised his head and saw Bosch in the mirror, the door to a stall to the left opened and juror number ten stepped out. It was an awkward moment as all three men said nothing.

Finally, Jessup grabbed a paper towel out of the dispenser, dried his hands and tossed it into the wastebasket. He headed to the door while the juror took his place at the sink. Bosch moved silently to a urinal but looked back at Jessup as he was pushing through the door.

Bosch shot him in the back with his finger. Jessup never saw it coming.

Tuesday, April 6, 3:05 P.M .

During the break I checked on my next witness and made sure she was good to go. I had a few spare minutes, so I tracked Bosch down in the line at the coffee concession one floor down. Juror number six was two spots in front of him. I took Bosch by the elbow and led him away.