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“Rawls, was he part of that tight fist you mentioned?”
“He was. And so, yeah, we tried to do what we could, but we didn’t know how to help. We were just kids.”
“I understand that. Did the police back then talk to you all?”
“I think so. They talked to me, that’s for sure. I had gone out on one date with Sarah, but it was a long time before. But they still gave me the third degree. Are these cases somehow connected? Sarah and the girl who had the button?”
“We don’t know. It’s probably just a grim coincidence. I was curious about it. It’s still a big thing for Jake.”
“And always will be, I’m sure. Sarah was great. She was smartand beautiful and had a lot going for her. I never understood why someone would want to take all of that away.”
Ballard nodded.
“Well, it’s almost time for your appointment,” she said. “I think I’ll let you get ready for that. I appreciate your time, Mr. Kramer. Could you do one thing for me?”
“Sure,” Kramer said. “What do you need?”
“I need you to keep this conversation between us. Is that a problem?”
“Not at all, Detective.”
Ballard gave Kramer her cell number and told him to call if he thought of anything else she should know. She was almost hyperventilating by the time she got back to her car. She started the engine and cranked up the air conditioning. She composed herself and then reached over to the passenger seat to get her case list. She studied it for a moment, trying to modulate her breathing. She focused on one entry on the paper.
Hastings—send photo of LW
She realized that she had never done that. And that raised a big question.
She checked the dashboard clock, did the math, and realized that Harry Bosch was in the air and it would still be a few hours until she would be able to talk to him. She knew she had much to do before then.
She dropped the car into drive and pulled away from the curb.
24
BOSCH DROVE INTO the north parking lot of the Hawthorne mall and easily spotted Ballard’s city ride. It was the only vehicle in the vast sea of asphalt that surrounded the abandoned mall. He drove directly to her and parked so that their driver’s-side windows faced each other and they could talk without getting out of their vehicles. In LAPD slang, it was called a “69 meeting” because of the positioning of the cars.
Bosch’s window was already down because the old Cherokee’s air-conditioning did little to effect climate change in the car. Ballard’s window glided down upon his arrival.
“Harry, how was the flight?”
“Fine. I listened to some good music. So what’s with the code sixty-nine?”
“I didn’t want to talk at Ahmanson. Rawls was in today and he’s a pipeline to Hastings and Pearlman. In fact, he’s been coming in a lot this week and I think that’s because Hastings wants to know what moves we’re making.”
“Really? Can’t Hastings just call you anytime he wants?”
“He could, yeah. But he wants to hide how closely he’s paying attention, because Hastings is our guy.”
“What do you mean? The killer?”
“I’d bet my badge on it, Harry. We get his DNA, and it’s going to match.”
“Tell me how you got there.”
Ballard recapped the interview she conducted that morning with Sandy Kramer and how one of her very last questions to the tuxedo salesman revealed that Hastings had lied to her when he said that the Laura Wilson murder occurred before his time working for Jake Pearlman.
“He’s been with Pearlman all along,” she said. “And that’s not a little lie. That is a lie meant to throw me off. That makes it a big lie.”
“Okay, I get it,” Bosch said. “That’s suspicious, but it doesn’t get you to handcuffs. You have anything else?”
