A Darkness More Than Night - Michael Connelly [101]
“It’s still not going to work.”
“I’ll tell you one thing, with John Reason reserving on all of these wits, we’re moving really quickly. He keeps this up, we’re going to finish our case Tuesday or Wednesday.”
“Good. I can’t wait to see what they’ve got.”
“I can,” Bosch interjected.
Langwiser looked at him.
“Oh, Harry. You’ve weathered these storms before.”
“Yeah, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this one.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Kretzler said. “We’re going to kick their ass across the courtroom. We’re in the tube, man, and we ain’t coming out.”
They put their three Styrofoam cups together in a toast.
• • •
Bosch’s current partner, Jerry Edgar, and former partner, Kizmin Rider, testified during the afternoon session. Both were asked by the prosecutors to recall the moments after the search of David Storey’s home when Bosch got into the car and reported to them that Storey had just bragged of committing the crime. Their testimony was solidly in tandem with Bosch’s own testimony and would act to buttress the case against defense assaults on Bosch’s character. Bosch also knew that the prosecutors hoped to gain additional credence with the jury because both Edgar and Rider were black. Five members of the jury and the two alternates were black. In a time when the veracity of any white police officer in Los Angeles would fall under suspicion by black jurors, having Edgar and Rider join a line of solidarity with Bosch was a plus.
Rider testified first and Fowkkes passed on cross-examination. Edgar’s testimony mirrored hers but he was asked additional questions because he had delivered the second search warrant issued in the case. This one was a court order seeking hair and blood samples from David Storey. It had been approved and signed by a judge while Bosch was in New York following the Architectural Digest lead and Rider was on a Hawaiian vacation planned before the murder. With a patrol officer in tow, Edgar had once again appeared at Storey’s house at 6 A.M. with the warrant. He testified that Storey kept them waiting outside while he contacted his lawyer, who by now was the criminal defense attorney J. Reason Fowkkes.
Once Fowkkes was apprised of the situation he told Storey to cooperate and the suspect was taken to Parker Center in downtown where samples of his pubic hair, scalp hair and blood were collected by a lab nurse.
“Did you at any point during this traveling time and collection process question the defendant about the crime?” Kretzler asked.
“No, I did not,” Edgar responded. “Before we left his residence he gave me his phone and I spoke to Mr. Fowkkes. He told me his client did not wish to be questioned or harassed, as he put it, in any way. So we basically drove in silence — at least on my part. And we didn’t talk at Parker Center either. When we were finished, Mr. Fowkkes was there and he drove Mr. Storey home.”
“Did Mr. Storey make any unsolicited comments to you during the time he was with you?”
“Just one.”
“And where was that?”
“In the car while we were driving to Parker Center.”
“And what did he say?”
“He was looking out the window and just said, ‘You people are fucked if you think I’m going down for this.’”
“And was this piece of conversation tape-recorded?”
“Yes, it was.”
“Why is that?”
“Because of his earlier admission to Detective Bosch, we thought there was a chance he might go ahead and make another statement like that. On the day I served the hair and blood warrant, I used a car borrowed from the narcotics unit. It’s a car they use for making street buys. It is wired for sound.”
“Did you bring the tape from that day with you, Detective?”
“Yes.”
Kretzler introduced the tape as evidence. Fowkkes objected, saying that Edgar had already testified as to what was said and the audio wasn’t necessary. Again the judge overruled and the tape was played. Kretzler started the tape well before the statement made by Storey so that the jurors would hear the hum of the car engine and traffic noise and know that Edgar did not violate the defendant