Michael Connelly - 9 Dragons

“She’s a strong kid,” he offered.

“She’ll have to be after an experience like that.”

Bosch wanted to change the subject.

“What classes has she been in?”

“She started in math and then had a short break before social studies. They then went to lunch and now she just finished Spanish.”

“She was learning Chinese in Hong Kong.”

“I’m sure this is just one of the many difficult changes she’ll be going through.”

“Like I said, she’s tough. I think she’ll make it.”

Bambrough turned and smiled as she walked.

“Like her father, I assume.”

“Her mother was tougher.”

Children were crowding the hallway as they changed classes. Bambrough saw Bosch’s daughter before he did.

“Madeline,” she called.

Bosch waved. Maddie had been walking with two girls and somehow seemed to be already making friends. She said good-bye to them and rushed over.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hey, how’d you like it?”

“It was all right, I guess.”

Her voice was reserved and Bosch didn’t know if that was because the assistant principal was standing right there with them.

“How was Spanish” Bambrough asked.

“Um, I was kind of lost.”

“I heard you were learning Chinese. It’s a much more difficult language than Spanish. I think you’d pick up Spanish very quickly here.”

“I guess.”

Bosch decided to save her from the small talk.

“Well, are you ready, Mad? We’re going to go shopping today, remember?”

“Sure, I’m ready.”

Bosch looked at Bambrough and nodded.

“Thank you for doing this, and I’ll be in touch.”

His daughter chimed in with her own thanks and they left the school. Once they got in the car, Bosch started up the hill to their house.

“So, now that we’re alone, what did you really think, Mad?”

“Uh, it was okay. It’s just not the same, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. We can look at some private schools. There’s a few nearby on the Valley side.”

“I don’t want to be a Valley girl, Dad.”

“I kind of doubt you’ll ever be a Valley girl. It’s not about where you go to school, anyway.”

“I think that school will be fine,” she said after some thought. “I met some girls there and they were pretty nice.”

“You sure?”

“I think so. Can I start tomorrow”

Bosch looked over at her and then back at the curving road.

“That’s sort of fast, isn’t it? You just got here last night.”

“I know, but what am I supposed to do? Sit up in that house and cry all day?”

“No, but I thought if we took things kind of slow, it might-”

“I don’t want to fall behind. School started last week.”

Bosch thought for a few moments about what Bambrough had said about kids knowing what they need to heal. He decided to trust his daughter’s instincts.

“Okay, if you feel it’s right. I’ll call Mrs. Bambrough back and tell her you want to enroll. By the way, you were born in Las Vegas, right”

“You mean you don’t know?”

“Yeah, I know. I just wanted to make sure because I have to apply for a copy of your birth certificate. For the school.”

She didn’t respond. Bosch pulled into the carport next to the house.

“So, Vegas, right?”

“Yes! You really didn’t know, did you? God!”

Before he could work up a response, Bosch was saved by his phone. It buzzed and he pulled it out. Without looking at the screen, he told his daughter he had to take it.

It was Ignacio Ferras.

“Harry, I hear you’re back and your daughter’s safe.”

He sure was late getting the news. Bosch unlocked the kitchen door and held it open for his daughter.

“Yeah, we’re good.”

“You’re taking off a few days?”

“That’s the plan. What are you working on?”

“Oh, just a few things. Writing up some summaries on John Li.”

“What for? That one’s over. We blew it.”

“I know but we need to keep the file complete and I need to file the search warrant returns with the court. That’s sort of why I’m calling. You bugged out Friday without leaving any notes on what you found on the searches of the phone and the suitcase. I already wrote up the car search.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t find anything. That’s one reason why we didn’t have a case to file, remember?”

Bosch threw his keys on the dining room table and watched his daughter go down the hall to her room. He felt a growing annoyance with Ferras. At one point he had embraced the idea of mentoring the young detective and teaching him the mission. But he was now finally accepting the reality that Ferras would never recover from being wounded in the line of duty. Physically, yes. Mentally, no. He would never be the full package again. He would be a paper pusher.

“So put down zero returns” Ferras asked.

Bosch momentarily thought of the business card from the taxi service in Hong Kong. It had been a dead end and wasn’t worth putting into the search warrant return that had to go back to the judge.

“Yeah, zero returns. There was nothing.”

“And nothing on the phone.”

Bosch suddenly realized something but also knew in the same instant that it was probably too late.

“Nothing on the phone, but did you guys go to the company for the records?”

Chang might have wiped all call records off his phone but he wouldn’t have been able to touch the records kept by his cellular service carrier. There was a pause before Ferras answered.

“No, I thought-you had the phone, Harry. I thought you contacted the phone company.”

“I didn’t, because I was heading to Hong Kong.”

All phone companies had established protocols for receiving and accepting search warrants. It usually amounted to faxing the signed search warrant to the legal affairs office. It was a simple thing to do but it had fallen through the cracks. Now Chang had been kicked loose and was probably long gone.

“Goddamnit,” Bosch said. “You should’ve been on that, Ignacio.”

“Me? You had the phone, Harry. I thought you did it.”

“I had the phone but you were on point with the warrants. You should have checked it off before you left Friday.”

“That’s bullshit, man. You’re going to blame me for this?”

“I’m blaming us both. Yeah, I could’ve done it, but you should’ve made sure it was done. You didn’t because you left early and you let it slide. You’ve been letting the whole job slide, partner.”

There, he had said it.

“And you are full of shit, partner. You mean because I’m not like you, losing my family to the job and then risking my family to the job, that I’m letting it slide? You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Bosch was stunned silent by the verbal shot. Ferras had hit him right in the spot where he had been living for the past seventy-two hours. Finally, he shook it off and came back.

“Ignacio,” he said calmly. “This isn’t working. I don’t know when I will be back into the squad this week, but when I get in there, we’re gonna talk.”

“Fine. I’ll be here.”

“Of course you will. You’re always in the squad. I’ll see you then.”

Bosch closed the phone before Ferras could protest his final shot. Bosch was sure Gandle would back him when he asked for a new partner. He went back into the kitchen to grab a beer and take the edge off the conversation. He opened the refrigerator and started to reach in but stopped. It was too early and he was going to be driving his daughter around the Valley shopping for the rest of the afternoon.

He closed the refrigerator and walked down the hallway. The door to his daughter’s room was closed.