The Reversal

“So, hypothetically, if Detective Kloster or Steiner had wanted to take hair from the victim to plant elsewhere, they would have had to do it under the noses of eight other officers or enlist them in allowing them to do it. Is that correct?”

“Yes, it would seem so.”

I thanked the witness and sat down. Royce then went back to the lectern for recross.

“Also hypothetically, if Kloster or Steiner wanted to plant hair from the victim at the third crime scene, it would not have been necessary to take it directly from the victim’s head if there were other sources for it, correct?”

“I guess not if there were other sources.”

“For example, a hairbrush in the victim’s home could have provided hair to them, correct?”

“I guess so.”

“They were in the victim’s home, weren’t they?”

“Yes, that was one of the locations where they signed in.”

“Nothing further.”

Royce had nailed me and I decided not to pursue this any further. Royce would have a comeback no matter what I brought forward from the witness.

Gordon was dismissed and the judge broke for lunch. I told Bosch that he would be on the stand after the break, reading Kloster’s testimony into the record. I asked if he wanted to grab lunch together to talk about the defense’s theory but he said he couldn’t, that he had something to do.

Maggie was heading over to the hotel to have lunch with Sarah Ann Gleason, so that left me on my own.

Or so I thought.

As I headed down the center aisle to the rear door of the courtroom, an attractive woman stepped out of the back row in front of me. She smiled and stepped up to me.

“Mr. Haller, I’m Rachel Walling with the FBI.”

At first it didn’t compute but then the name caught on a memory prompt somewhere inside.

“Yes, the profiler. You distracted my investigator with your theory that Jason Jessup is a serial killer.”

“Well, I hope it was more help than distraction.”

“I guess that remains to be seen. What can I do for you, Agent Walling?”

“I was going to ask if you might have time for lunch. But since you consider me a distraction, then maybe I should just…”

“Guess what, Agent Walling. You’re in luck. I’m free. Let’s have lunch.”

I pointed to the door and we headed out.

Thirty

Tuesday, April 6, 1:15 P.M.

This time it was the judge who was late returning to court. The prosecution and defense teams were seated at the appointed time and ready to go but there was no sign of Breitman. And there had been no indication from the clerk as to whether the delay was because of personal business or some sort of trial issue. Bosch got up from his seat at the railing and approached Haller, tapping him on the back.

“Harry, we’re about to start. You ready?”

“I’m ready, but we need to talk.”

“What’s wrong?”

Bosch turned his body so his back was to the defense table and lowered his voice into a barely audible whisper.

“I went to see the SIS guys at lunch. They showed me some stuff you need to know about.”

He was being overly cryptic. But the photos Lieutenant Wright had showed him from the surveillance the night before were troubling. Jessup was up to something and whatever it might be, it was going to go down soon.

Before Haller could respond, the background hubbub of the courtroom ceased as the judge took the bench.

“After court,” Haller whispered.

He then turned back to the front of the courtroom and Bosch returned to his seat at the railing. The judge told the deputy to seat the jury and soon everyone was in place.

“I want to apologize,” Breitman said. “This delay was my responsibility. I had a personal matter come up and it took far longer than I expected it would. Mr. Haller, please call your next witness.”

Haller stood and called for Doral Kloster. Bosch stood and headed for the witness stand while the judge once again explained to the jury that the witness called by the prosecution was unavailable and that prior sworn testimony would be read by Bosch and Haller. Though all of this had been worked out in a pretrial hearing and over the objection of the defense, Royce stood once again and objected.

“Mr. Royce, we’ve already argued this issue,” the judge responded.

“I would ask that the court reconsider its ruling as this form of testimony entirely undercuts Mr. Jessup’s Constitutional right to confront his accusers. Detective Kloster was not asked the questions I would want to ask him based on the defense’s current view of the case.”

“Again, Mr. Royce, this issue has been settled and I do not wish to rehash it in front of the jury.”

“But, Your Honor, I am being inhibited from presenting a full defense.”

“Mr. Royce, I have been very generous in allowing you to posture in front of the jury. My patience is now growing thin. You may sit down.”

Royce stared the judge down. Bosch knew what he was doing. Playing to the jury. He wanted them to see him and Jessup as the underdogs. He wanted them to understand that it was not just the prosecution against Jessup but the judge as well. When he had drawn out the stare as long as he dared, he spoke again.