the backpack. He didn’t want her to see the bag Eleanor had packed for herself. He checked the compartments of Eleanor’s bag and found his daughter’s passport. He put it in his pocket.
He got in the front passenger seat and handed the backpack to her. He told her to change out of her school uniform. He then checked his watch and gave Sun a nod.
“Let’s go. We’ve got a plane to catch.”
Sun started driving, proceeding out of the waterfront area at a brisk but not attention-getting pace.
“Is there a ferry or train you can drop us at that will get us there direct?” Bosch asked.
“No, they closed the ferry route and you would have to switch trains. It would be better if I take you. I wish to.”
“Okay, Sun Yee.”
They drove for a few minutes of silence. Bosch wanted to turn and talk to his daughter, putting his eyes on her to make sure she was okay.
“Maddie, are you changed?”
She didn’t answer.
“Maddie?”
Bosch turned and glanced back at her. She had changed clothes. She was leaning against the door behind Sun, staring out through the window while hugging her pillow to her chest. There were tears on her cheeks. It did not appear that she had noticed the bullet hole through the pillow.
“Maddie, you all right”
Without answering or looking away from the window, she said, “She’s dead, isn’t she”
“What?”
Bosch knew exactly who and what she was talking about but was trying to stretch time, put off as long as possible the inevitable.
“I’m not stupid, you know. You’re here. Sun Yee’s here. She should be here. She would be here but something’s happened to her.”
Bosch felt an invisible punch hit him square in the chest. Madeline was still hugging the pillow in front of her and looking out the window with tear-filled eyes.
“Maddie, I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you but this wasn’t the right time?.”
“When is the right time?”
Bosch nodded.
“You’re right. Never.”
He reached back and put his hand on her knee but she immediately pushed it away. It was the first sign of the blame he would always carry.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I can say. When I landed this morning your mother was there at the airport, waiting for me. With Sun Yee. She only wanted one thing, Maddie. To get you home safe. She didn’t care about anything else, including herself.”
“What happened to her?”
Bosch hesitated but there was no other way to respond but with the truth.
“She got shot, baby. Somebody was shooting at me and she got hit. I don’t think she even felt it.”
Madeline put her hands over her eyes.
“It’s all my fault.”
Bosch shook his head, even though she wasn’t looking at him.
“Maddie, no. Listen to me. Don’t ever say that. Don’t even think that. It’s not your fault. It’s my fault. Everything here is my fault.”
She didn’t respond. She hugged the pillow closer and kept her eyes on the roadside as it passed by in a blur.
An hour later they were at the drop-off curb at the airport. Bosch helped his daughter out of the Mercedes and then turned to Sun. They had said little in the car. But now it was time to say good-bye and Bosch knew his daughter could not have been rescued without Sun’s help.
“Sun Yee, thank you for saving my daughter.”
“You saved her. Nothing could stop you, Harry Bosch.”
“What will you do? The police will come to you about Eleanor, if not everything else.”
“I will handle these things and make no mention of you. This is my promise. No matter what happens, I will leave you and your daughter out of it.”
Bosch nodded.
“Good luck,” he said.
“Good luck to you, too.”
Bosch shook his hand and then stepped back. After another awkward pause, Madeline stepped forward and hugged Sun. Bosch saw the look on his face, even behind the disguise of the sunglasses. No matter their differences, Bosch knew Sun had found some sort of resolve in Madeline’s rescue. Maybe it allowed him to find refuge in himself.
“I am so sorry,” Madeline said.
Sun stepped back and broke the embrace.
“You go on now,” he said. “You have a happy life.”
They left him standing there and headed into the main terminal through the glass doors.
Bosch and his daughter found the first-class window at Cathay Pacific and Harry bought two tickets on the 11:40 p.m. flight to Los Angeles. He got a refund for his intended flight the next morning but still had to use two credit cards to cover the overall cost. But