Майкл Коннелли - Law of Innocence

9

We came into the three o’clock meeting with good spirits, despite the surroundings. Not only had we accomplished what we wanted to get done and on the record in the court hearing that morning, but both Jennifer and Cisco said they had good news to share. I told Jennifer to go first.

“Okay, you remember Andre La Cosse?” she asked.

“Of course I do,” I said. “My finest hour.”

It was true. The State of California versus Andre La Cosse might as well be etched on my tombstone at the end of my days. It was the case I was proudest of. An innocent man with the entire weight of the justice system against him charged with murder, and I walked him. And it wasn’t just an NG. It was the rarest of all birds in the justice system. It was the Big I. My work in trial had proved him innocent. So much so that the state paid damages for their malfeasance in charging him in the first place.

“What about him?” I asked.

“Well, he saw something about your case online and he wants to help,” Jennifer said.

“Help how?”

“Mickey, don’t you get it? You got him a seven-figure settlement for wrongful prosecution. He wants to return the favor. He called up Lorna and said he could go up to two hundred on bail.”

I was a bit stunned. Andre had barely survived the case while being held in this same place—Twin Towers—while we were in trial, and I had negotiated a settlement for him in compensation. I had taken a third, but that was seven years ago and it was long gone. He had apparently done better with his money and was now willing to chip off some of what he had in order to spring me.

“He knows he doesn’t get it back, right?” I said. “Two hundred out the window. That’s a big chunk of the money I got him.”

“He knows,” Jennifer said. “And he hasn’t just been sitting on that money. He invested it. Lorna said he’s into the whole crypto-currency thing and he says the settlement was only seed money. It has grown. A lot. He’s offering the two hundred, no strings attached. I want to go in and set up a bail hearing. We get Warfield to knock it down to two and a half or three million—where it should be—and you walk out of here.”

I nodded. Andre’s money could go for a 10 percent bond against the set bail. But there was a problem.

“That’s very generous of Andre, but I don’t think that’ll get it done,” I said. “Berg’s not going to roll over and play dead on a sixty percent reduction on bail. I don’t think Warfield will either. If Andre really wants to kick in, maybe we talk about using his money for expert witnesses, exhibits, and everybody on staff getting paid for the overtime they’re putting in.”

“No, boss,” Cisco said.

“We thought about that,” Jennifer said. “And there’s somebody else who wants to help. Another donor.”

“Who?” I said.

“Harry Bosch,” she said.

“No way,” I said. “He’s a retired cop, for god’s sake. He can’t—”

“Mickey, you got him a million-dollar settlement from the city last year and didn’t even take a cut. He wants—”

“I didn’t take a cut, because he might need that money. He’s going to max out his insurance and then he’ll need it. Besides, I set up a trust and he put it in there.”

“Look, Mickey, he can tap it or borrow against it,” Jennifer insisted. “The point is, you have to get out of here. Not only is it dangerous in this place, but you’re losing weight, you don’t look good, and your health is at risk. Remember what Legal Siegel used to say? ‘Look like a winner and you’ll become a winner’? You don’t look like a winner, Mickey. You can tailor your suits but you still look pale and sick. You need to get out of here and get yourself in shape for trial.”

“He actually said, ‘ Act like a winner and you’ll be a winner.’ ”

“Doesn’t matter. Same thing. This is your chance. These people came to us. We didn’t go to them. In fact, Andre said he came because he saw you on TV from that last hearing and it reminded him of himself when he was in here.”

I nodded. I knew she was right. But I hated taking the money, especially from Bosch, my half brother, who I knew needed it for other things.

“Not only that, but you need to get home for Christmas and see your daughter,” Jennifer said. “This no-visitation thing is hurting her as much as it must hurt you.”

She nailed me with her final argument. I missed my daughter, missed her voice.

“Okay, I hear you,” I said.

“Good,” Jennifer said.

“I think we might be able to knock the bail down to three million,” I said. “But that’s probably it.”

“We can cover three million,” Jennifer said.

“Okay, set it up,” I said. “Don’t give any hint that we can go up to three million. I want Berg to think we’re coming in hat in hand. She’ll think dropping bail a couple million will still probably keep me in stir. We ask for one million and she compromises at two or three.”

“Right,” Jennifer said.

“And one last thing,” I said. “Are you sure Harry and Andre came in voluntarily with this? It wasn’t the other way around?”

Jennifer shrugged and looked at Cisco.

“Scout’s honor, boss,” he said. “That’s straight up from Lorna.”

I looked for any sign of deception and didn’t see any. But I could tell something was bothering Jennifer.

“Jennifer, what?” I asked.

“On bail, what if the judge makes a monitor part of the deal?” she asked. “An ankle bracelet. Can you live with that?”

I thought about it for a moment. It would be the ultimate invasion, having the state monitoring my every move while I was building my defense. But I recalled what Jennifer had said about spending time with my daughter.

“Don’t offer it,” I finally said. “But if it comes up as part of the deal, I’ll accept it.”

“Good,” Jennifer said. “I’ll file the motion as soon as we get out of here. If we’re lucky, we’ll get before the judge tomorrow and you’ll be home for the weekend.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I said.

“There’s one other thing from Harry Bosch,” Jennifer said.

“What’s that?”

“He said he also wants to help with the defense, if we want him.” This was cause for hesitation. There had always been a low-level friction between Cisco and Bosch that stemmed from their origins as investigators. Bosch was retired now, but from law enforcement. Cisco was from the defense side from the start. Bringing Bosch on could be extremely useful because of his experience and connections. It could also throw off the chemistry of my team. I didn’t have to ponder the offer long before Cisco ended my uncertainty.

“We need him,” Cisco said.

“You sure?” I asked.

“Bring him on,” he said.

I knew what he was doing. He was casting all friction or animosity aside for me. If it had been any other case, he would have said we didn’t need Bosch, and that was probably true. But with my life and freedom on the line, Cisco wanted any possible advantage we could get.

I nodded my thanks to him and looked at Jennifer.

“Get me out of here first,” I said. “Then we meet with Bosch. Make sure he gets everything from the discovery file, especially all the crime scene photos. He’s good with that stuff.”

“I’m on it,” she said. “Is he on your visitors list here?”

“No, but I can add him,” I said. “He may have already tried to see me.”

I shifted my focus back to Cisco.

“Okay, Big Man, what’ve you got?” I asked.

“I got the full autopsy from a guy at the coroner’s,” he said. “You’re going to like the tox report.”

“Tell me.”