A Darkness More Than Night - Michael Connelly [114]
He carried the baby down to the cart and secured her in the safety seat. He put her bouncing chair in the rear storage compartment. Graciela came down with Raymond a few minutes later. Her eyes were swollen from the crying. McCaleb put his hand on Raymond’s shoulder and walked him to the front passenger seat.
“Raymond, you’re going to have to watch the second game without me. I have some work I have to do.”
“I can go with you. I can help you.”
“No, it’s not a charter.”
“I know, but I can still help you.”
McCaleb knew Graciela was looking at him and he felt the guilt like the sun on his back.
“Thanks but maybe next time, Raymond. Put on your seat belt.”
Once the boy was safely in, McCaleb stepped back from the cart. He looked at Graciela, who was no longer looking at him.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. And I’ll have the phone with me if you want to call.”
Graciela didn’t acknowledge him. She pulled the cart away from the curb and headed up Marilla Avenue. He watched them until they were out of sight.
33
On the walk back to the pier his cell phone chirped. It was Jaye Winston returning his call. She was talking very quietly and said she was calling from her mother’s house. McCaleb had difficulty hearing so he sat down on one of the benches along the casino walk. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, one hand holding the phone tightly to one ear, his other hand clasped over the other.
“We missed something,” he said. “I missed something.”
“Terry, what are you talking about?”
“In the murder book. In Gunn’s arrest record. He was —”
“Terry, what are you doing? You’re off the case.”
“Says who, the FBI? I don’t work for them anymore, Jaye.”
“Then says me. I don’t want you getting any further —”
“I don’t work for you, either, Jaye. Remember?”
There was a long silence on the phone.
“Terry, I don’t know what you are doing but it’s got to stop. You have no authority, no standing in this case anymore. If those guys Twilley and Friedman find out you’re still snooping around on this, they can arrest you for interference. And you know they’re just the type that will.”
“You want standing, I have standing.”
“What? I withdrew my authorization to you yesterday. You can’t use me on this.”
McCaleb hesitated and then decided to tell her.
“I have standing. I guess you could say I’m working for the accused.”
Now Winston’s silence was even longer. Finally she spoke, her words delivered very slowly.
“Are you telling me that you went to Bosch with this?”
“No. He came to me. He showed up on my boat this morning. I was right about the other night. The coincidence; me showing up at his place, then the call from his partner about you. He put it together. The reporter from the New Times called him, too. He knew what was going on without me having to tell him a thing. The point is, Jaye, none of that matters. What matters is that I think I jumped on Bosch too soon. I missed something and now I’m not so sure. There’s a chance all of this could be a setup.”
“He’s convinced you.”
“No, I convinced myself.”
There were voices in the background and Winston told McCaleb to hold on. He then heard voices muffled by a hand over the phone. It sounded like arguing. McCaleb stood up and continued walking toward the pier. Winston came back on in a few seconds.
“Sorry,” she said. “This is not a good time. I’m in the middle of something right now.”
“Can we meet tomorrow morning?”
“What are you talking about?” Winston said, her voice almost shrill. “You just told me you are working for the target of an investigation. I’m not going to meet with you. How the fuck would that look? Hold on —”
He heard her muffled voice apologizing for her language to someone. She then came back on the line.
“I really have to go.”
“Look, I don’t care how it would look. I’m interested in the truth and I thought you would be, too. You don’t want to meet me, fine, don’t meet me. I’ve gotta go myself.”
“Terry, wait.”
He listened. She said nothing. He sensed that she was distracted by something there.
“What,