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“Yes.”

Sears stood up and walked over to a table against the wall. She picked up the plate Bosch had brought and took it to Bishop.

“Vernon, I want you to open your eyes now and look at something,” she said.

Bishop opened his eyes and she handed him the plate. He took it in both hands.

“Do you remember that, Vernon?” Sears asked.

There was a long moment of silence during which Bishop appeared to study the plate, rubbing its surface with his thumbs. He finally responded, his voice taut with emotion:

“They hit me with it,” he said.

13

AS A SMOOTH instrumental version of the Beatles hit “I Want to Hold Your Hand” played, Sears methodically moved Bishop through the story of how he was injured by a flying plate during a cafeteria uprising at MacLaren on April 1, 1965. Her efforts were enhanced by the aroma from the Salisbury steak, which had been heated in a microwave, brought in by a nurse, and placed on a table next to Bishop’s recliner.

Bosch marveled at the details Sears was bringing out and realized that she was also digging up memories in himself. He hadn’t been there that day, but there were other days when he had taken part in the melees that were inevitable when children were treated like prisoners.

Sears took her time as her questions zeroed in on the things Bosch wanted to know.

“Who threw the plate at you?” Sears asked.

“I don’t know for sure,” Bishop said.

“Do you think you know who it was?”

“A kid they called Oakley.”

“You mean that wasn’t his real name?”

“No, his nickname.”

“What was his real name?”

“Stokely.”

Sears turned and looked at Bosch. They had agreed that he was not to speak, so he just nodded that he knew who Stokely was. He wrote the name Nick Stokely in his notebook and held it out for Sears to read. She turned back to Bishop.

“What happened after you were hurt?” she asked.

“The kids laughed,” Bishop said.

“Did that make you mad?”

“Yes.”

“What did you do?”

“I first tried to find my teeth. The plate broke ’em off.”

“Did you find them?”

“No.”

“Did you go to the infirmary then?”

“No, it was all hands on deck. Kids were throwing stuff, fighting. Plates and cups were flying all over the place. Food. Water jugs. We had to take control of the situation.”