"I think they want to throw the book at your guy," he said. "I think they think he's a stuck-up rich guy who thinks he can get away with murder."

I nodded. His take probably wasn't too far off.

"Well, thanks for the encouraging word," I said. "I'll make sure I tell Walter to not be so stuck-up and rich from now on."

Patrick looked down at the table and seemed embarra.s.sed.

"I was just saying, is all."

"No, Patrick, I appreciate it. Any and all opinions are welcome and they all matter. But some things you can't change. My client is rich beyond anything any of us can imagine and that gives him a certain style and image. An off-putting countenance that I'm not sure I can do anything about. Julie, what do you think of the jury so far?"

Before she could answer, the waiter came and took our drink orders. I stuck with water and lime, while the others ordered iced tea and Lorna asked for a gla.s.s of Mad Housewife Chardonnay. I gave her a look and she immediately protested.

"What? I'm not working. I'm just watching. Plus, I'm celebrating. You're in trial again and we're back in business."

I grudgingly nodded.

"Speaking of which, I need you to go to the bank."

I pulled an envelope out of my jacket pocket and handed it across the table to her. She smiled because she knew what was in it: a check from Elliot for $150,000, the remainder of the agreed-upon fee for my services.

Lorna put the envelope away and I turned my attention back to Julie.

"So what are you seeing?"

"I think it's a good jury," she said. "Overall, I see a lot of open faces. They are willing to listen to your case. At least right now. We all know they are predisposed to believe the prosecution, but they haven't shut the door on anything."

"You see any change from what we talked about Friday? I still present to number three?"

"Who is number three?" Lorna asked before Julie could answer.

"Golantz's slip-up. Three's a lawyer, and the prosecution should've never left him in the box."

"I still think he's a good one to present to," Julie said. "But there are others. I like eleven and twelve, too. Both retirees and sitting right next to each other. I have a feeling that they're going to bond and almost work as a team when it gets to deliberations. You win one over and you win them both."

I loved her English accent. It wasn't upper-crust at all. It had a street-smarts tone to it that gave what she said validity. She had not been very successful as an actress so far, and she had once told me that she got a lot of audition calls for period pieces requiring a dainty English accent that she hadn't quite mastered. Her income was primarily earned in the poker rooms, where she now played for keeps, and from jury reading for me and the small group of lawyers I had introduced her to.

"What about juror seven?" I asked. "During selection he was all eyes. Now he won't look at me."

Julie nodded.

"You noticed that. Eye contact has completely dropped off the chart. Like something changed between Friday and today. I would have to say at this point that that's a sign he's in the prosecution's camp. While you're presenting to number three, you can bet Mr. Undefeated's going to number seven."

"So much for listening to my client," I said under my breath.

We ordered lunch and told the waiter to hurry the order because we needed to get back to court. While we waited I checked with Cisco on our witnesses and he said we were good to go in that department. I then asked him to hang around after court and see if he could follow the Germans out of the courthouse and stay with them until they reached their hotel. I wanted to know where they were staying. It was just a precaution. Before the trial was over, they were not going to be very happy with me. It was good strategy to know where your enemies were.

I was halfway through my grilled-chicken salad when I glanced through the window into the waiting room. It was a grand mixture of architectural designs but primarily it had an art deco vibe to it. There were rows and rows of big leather chairs for travelers to wait in and huge chandeliers hanging above. I saw people sleeping in chairs and others sitting with their suitcases and belongings gathered close around them.

And then I saw Bosch. He was sitting alone in the third row from my window. He had his earbuds in. Our eyes held for a moment and then he looked away. I put my fork down and reached into my pocket for my cash. I had no idea how much Mad Housewife cost per gla.s.s but Lorna was into her second round. I put five twenties down on the table and told the others to finish eating while I stepped out to make a phone call.

I left the restaurant and called Bosch's cell. He pulled his plugs and answered it as I was approaching the third row of seats.

"What?" he said by way of a greeting.

"Frank Morgan again?"

"Actually, Ron Carter. Why are you calling me?"

"What did you think of the story?"

I sat in the open seat across from him, gave him a glance but acted like I was talking to someone far away from me.

"This is kind of stupid," Bosch said.

"Well, I didn't know whether you wanted to stay undercover or-"

"Just hang up."

We closed our phones and looked at each other.

"Well?" I asked. "Are we in play?"

"We won't know until we know."

"What's that mean?"

"The story is out there. I think it did what we wanted it to do. Now we wait and see. If something happens, then, yes, we're in play. We won't know we're in play until we're in play."

I nodded, even though what he had said made no sense to me.

"Who's the woman in black?" he asked. "You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend. We should probably put coverage on her, too."

"She's my jury reader, that's all."

"Oh, she helps you pick out the cop haters and anti establishment types?"

"Something like that. Is it just you here? Are you watching me by yourself?"

"You know, I had a girlfriend once. She always asked questions in bunches. Never one at a time."

"Did you ever answer any of her questions? Or did you just cleverly deflect them like you are doing now?"

"I'm not alone, Counselor. Don't worry. You have people around you that you'll never see. I've got people on your office whether you are there or not."

And cameras. They had been installed ten days earlier, when we had thought that the Times Times story was imminent. story was imminent.

"Yeah, good, but we won't be there for long."

"I noticed. Where are you moving to?"

"Nowhere. I work out of my car."

"Sounds like fun."

I studied him a moment. He had been sarcastic in his tone as usual. He was an annoying guy but somehow he had gotten me to entrust my safety to him.

"Well, I've got to get to court. Is there something I should be doing? Any particular way you want me to act or place you want me to go?"

"Just do what you always do. But there is one thing. Keeping an eye on you in motion takes a lot of people. So, at the end of the day, when you are home for the night, call me and tell me so I can release some people."

"Okay. But you'll still have somebody watching, right?"

"Don't worry. You'll be covered twenty-four-seven. Oh, and one other thing."

"What?"

"Don't ever approach me again like this."

I nodded. I was being dismissed.

"Got it."

I stood up and looked toward the restaurant. I could see Lorna counting the twenties I had left and putting them down on the check. It looked like she was using them all. Patrick had left the table and gone to get the car from the valet.

"See ya, Detective," I said without looking at him.

He didn't respond. I walked away and caught up with my party as they were coming out of the restaurant.

"Was that Detective Bosch you were with?" Lorna asked.

"Yeah, I saw him out there."

"What was he doing?"

"He said he likes to come over here for lunch, sit in those big, comfortable chairs and just think."

"That's a coincidence that we were here too."

Julie Favreau shook her head.

"There are no coincidences," she said.

Thirty-eight

After lunch Golantz began to present his case. He went with what I called the "square one" presentation. He started at the very beginning-the 911 call that brought the double murder to public light-and proceeded in linear fashion from there. The first witness was an emergency operator with the county's communications center. She was used to introduce the tape recordings of Walter Elliot's calls for help. I had sought in a pretrial motion to thwart the playing of the two tapes, arguing that printed transcripts would be clearer and more useful to the jurors, but the judge had ruled in the prosecution's favor. He ordered Golantz to provide transcripts so jurors could read along with the audio when the tapes were played in court.

I had tried to halt the playing of the tapes because I knew they were prejudicial to my client. Elliot had calmly spoken to the dispatcher in the first call, reporting that his wife and another person had been murdered. In that calm demeanor was room for an interpretation of calculated coldness that I didn't want the jury to make. The second tape was worse from a defense standpoint. Elliot sounded annoyed and also indicated he knew and disliked the man who had been killed with his wife.

Tape 1-13:05-05/02/07 Dispatcher: Nine-one-one. Do you have an emergency? Nine-one-one. Do you have an emergency?

Walter Elliot: I... well, they look dead. I don't think anybody can help them. I... well, they look dead. I don't think anybody can help them.

Dispatcher: Excuse me, sir. Who am I talking to? Excuse me, sir. Who am I talking to?

Walter Elliot: This is Walter Elliot. This is my house. This is Walter Elliot. This is my house.

Dispatcher: Yes, sir. And you say somebody is dead? Yes, sir. And you say somebody is dead?

Walter Elliot: I found my wife. She's shot. And there's a man here. He's shot, too. I found my wife. She's shot. And there's a man here. He's shot, too.

Dispatcher: Hold on a moment, sir. Let me type this in and get help going to you. Hold on a moment, sir. Let me type this in and get help going to you.

-break- Dispatcher: Okay, Mr. Elliot, I have paramedics and deputies on their way. Okay, Mr. Elliot, I have paramedics and deputies on their way.

Walter Elliot: It's too late for them. The paramedics, I mean. It's too late for them. The paramedics, I mean.

Dispatcher: I have to send them, sir. You said they are shot? Are you in danger? I have to send them, sir. You said they are shot? Are you in danger?

Walter Elliot: I don't know. I just got here. I didn't do this thing. Are you recording this? I don't know. I just got here. I didn't do this thing. Are you recording this?