Michael Connelly - Chasing the Dime

"You think your stepfather was the reason she ran away."

She said it as a statement and he gave an almost imperceptible nod. He thought about what Lilly Quinlan's mother had said about what her daughter and the woman she knew as Robin had in common.

"What did he do to her?"

"I don't know and it doesn't matter now."

"Then why would you say to Renner that it was your fault? Why do you think what happened to your sister was your fault?"

"Because I didn't find her. All those nights looking and I never found her. If only…"

He said it without conviction or emphasis. It was a lie. The truth he would not tell this woman he had known for only an hour.

Langwiser looked like she wanted to go further with it but also seemed to know she was already stretching a personal boundary with him.

"Okay, Henry. I think it helps explain things -both your actions in regard to Lilly Quinlan's disappearance and your statement to Renner."

He nodded.

"I am sorry about your sister. In my old job dealing with the families of the victims was the most difficult part. At least you got some closure. The man who did this certainly got what he deserved."

Pierce tried a sarcastic smile but it hurt too much.

"Yeah, closure. Makes everything better."

"Is your stepfather alive? Your parents?"

"My stepfather is. Last I heard. I don't talk to him, not in a long time. My mother is not with him anymore. She still lives in the Valley. I haven't talked to her in a long time, either."

"Where's your father?"

"Oregon. He's got a second family. But we stay in touch. Of all of them, he's the only one I talk to."

She nodded. She studied her notes for a long period, flipping back the pages on the pad as she reviewed everything he had said from the start of the conversation. She then finally looked up at him.

"Well, I think it's all bullshit."

Pierce shook his head.

"No, I'm telling you exactly how it hap -"

"No, I mean Renner. I think he's bullshitting. There's nothing there. He's not going to charge you with these lesser crimes. He'd get laughed right out of the DA's office on the B and E. What was your intent? To steal? No, it was to make sure she was okay. They don't know about the mail you took and they can't prove it anyway, because it's gone. As far as the obstruction goes, that's just an idle threat. People lie and hold back with the police all the time. It's expected. To try to charge somebody for it is another matter. I can't even remember the last obstruction case that went to court. At least there were none I remember when I was in the office."

"What about the tape? I was confused. He said what I said was an admission."

"He was playing you. Trying to rattle you and see how you'd react, maybe get a more damaging admission out of you. I would have to listen to the statement to get a full take on it, but it sounds as though it is marginal, that your explanation in regard to your sister is certainly legitimate and would be perceived that way by a jury. Add in that I am sure that you were under the influence of a variety of medications and you -"

"This can never go to a jury. If it does, I'm finished. I'm ruined."

"I understand that. But a jury's view is still the way to look at this because that is how the DA will look at it when considering potential charges. The last thing they will do is go into a case knowing a jury isn't going to buy it."

"There is nothing to buy. I didn't do it. I just tried to find out if she was all right. That's all."

Langwiser nodded but didn't seem particularly interested in his protestations of innocence. Pierce had always heard that good defense attorneys were never as interested in the ultimate question of their clients' guilt or innocence as they were in the strategy of defense. They practiced law, not justice. Pierce found this frustrating because he wanted Langwiser to acknowledge his innocence and then go out and fight to defend it.

"First of all," she said, "with no body, it is very difficult to make a case against anybody.

It is doable but very difficult -especially in this case, when you consider the victim's lifestyle and source of income. I mean, she could be anywhere. And if she is dead, then the suspect list is going to be very long.

"Second, his tying your break-in at one scene to a possible homicide at another scene is not going to work. That's a stretch that I cannot see the DA's office being willing to make. Remember, I worked there and bringing cops down to reality was half the work. I think that unless things change in a big way, you'll be okay, Henry. On all of it."

"What big way?"

"Like they find the body. Like they find the body and somehow link it to you."

Pierce shook his head.

"Nothing will link it to me. I never met her."

"Then good. Then you should be in the clear."

"Should be?"

"Nothing is ever a hundred percent. Especially in the law. We'll still have to wait and see."

Langwiser reviewed her notes for a few more moments before speaking again.

"Okay," she finally said. "Now, let's call Detective Renner."

Pierce raised his eyebrows -what was left of them -and it hurt. He winced and said,

"Call him? Why?"

"To put him on notice that you have representation and to see what he has to say for himself."

She took a cell phone out of her case and opened it.

"I think I have his card in my wallet," Pierce said. "It should be in the table drawer."

"It's all right, I remember the number."

Her call to the Pacific Division was answered quickly and she asked for Renner. It took a few minutes but she finally got him on the line. While she waited she turned up the volume on the phone and angled it from her ear so Pierce could hear both ends of the conversation. She pointed at him and then put her fingers to her lips, telling him not to enter the conversation.

"Hey, Bob, Janis Langwiser. Remember me?"

After a pause Renner said, "Sure. I heard you went over to the dark side, though."

"Very funny. Listen, I'm over here at St. John's. I was visiting with Henry Pierce."

Another pause.

"Henry Pierce, the Good Samaritan. Longtime rescuer of missing whores and lost pets."

Pierce felt his face redden.

"You are just full of good humor today, Bob," Langwiser said dryly. "That's a new wrinkle with you, isn't it?"

"Henry Pierce is the joker, the stories he tells."

"Well, that's why I'm calling. No more stories from Henry, Bob. I am representing him and he's no longer talking to you. You blew the chance you had."

Pierce looked up at Langwiser and she winked at him.

"I didn't blow anything," Renner protested. "Anytime he wants to start telling me the complete and true story, I'm here. Otherwise -"

"Look, Detective, you're more interested in busting my guy's chops than figuring out what really happened. That's got to stop. Henry Pierce is now out of your loop. And another thing, you try to take this to court and I'm going to shove that two-tape-recorders trick up your ass."

"I told him I was recording," Renner protested. "I read him his rights and he said he understood them. That is all I'm required to do. I did nothing illegal during his voluntary interview."

"Maybe not per se, Bob. But judges and juries don't like the cops tricking people. They like a clean game."

Now there was a long pause from Renner, and Pierce was beginning to think that Langwiser was going too far, that she might push the detective into seeking a charge against him out of pure anger or resentment.

"You really did cross over, didn't you?" Renner finally said. "I hope you'll be happy over there."

"Well, if I only get clients like Henry Pierce, people who were just trying to do a good thing, then I will be."

"A good thing? I wonder if Lucy LaPorte thinks what he did was a good thing."