extortion?”
“It gives us PC but it won’t go anywhere if Robert Li doesn’t step up.”
Chu nodded.
“High Noon, Harry. That was a movie. A western.”
“I never saw it,” he said to Chu.
Bosch looked down the long row of parked cars and saw a patrol car make the turn toward them. He waved.
He pulled his phone to check the message. The screen said he had received a video from his daughter.
He would have to check it later. It was very late in Hong Kong and he knew his daughter should be in bed. She was probably unable to sleep and expecting him to respond. But he had work to do. He put the phone away as the patrol car stopped in front of them.
“I’m going to ride in with him,” he said to Chu. “In case he decides to say something.”
“What about your car?”
“I’ll get it later.”
“Maybe I should ride with him instead.”
Bosch looked at Chu. It was one of those moments. Harry knew it would be better for Chu to make the ride with Chang because he knew both languages and he was Chinese. But it would mean Bosch would be ceding some control of his case.
It would also mean he was showing trust in Chu, just an hour after pointing the finger of blame at him.
“Okay,” Bosch finally said. “You ride with him.”
Chu nodded, seeming to understand the significance of Bosch’s decision.
“But take the long way,” Bosch said. “These guys probably work out of Pacific. Go by the division first, then call me. I’ll tell you there’s a change of plans and we’re going to book him downtown. That ought to add an extra hour to the ride.”
“Got it,” Chu said. “That’ll work.”
“You want me to drive your car in?” Bosch asked. “I don’t mind leaving mine here.”
“No, it’s okay, Harry. I’ll leave mine and come get it later. You wouldn’t want to hear what I’ve got on the stereo, anyway.”
“The musical equivalent of tofu hot dogs?”
“To you, probably, yeah.”
“Okay, then I’ll take mine.”
Bosch told the two patrol officers to put Chang in the back of the patrol car and to load the suitcase into the trunk. Harry then got serious with Chu.
“I’m going to put Ferras to work on search warrants for Chang’s property. Any admission from him will help with the PC. Him telling us he had a flight is an admission that goes to his fleeing. Try to make him slip up like that when you’re riding in the back with him.”
“But he already said he wants a lawyer.”
“Make it conversational. Not an interrogation. Try to find out where he was going. That’ll help Ignacio. And remember, stretch everything out. Take the scenic route.”
“Got it. I know what to do.”
“Okay, I’m going to wait here for the tow truck. If you get to the PAB ahead of me, just put Chang in a room and let him stew. Make sure you turn the video on-Ignacio can show you how. You never know, sometimes these guys sit for an hour in a room by themselves and they start confessing to the walls.”
“Got it.”
“Good luck.”
Chu slipped into the back of the patrol car next to Chang and closed the door. Bosch slapped his palm twice on the roof and then watched the cruiser pull away.
16
It was almost one by the time Bosch got back to the squad room. He had waited for the tow truck and then taken his time coming in, stopping at the In-N-Out near the airport for a hamburger on the way. He found Ignacio Ferras in place in his cubicle, working on his computer.
“Where are we at?” he asked.
“I’m almost done with the search warrant app.”
“What are we going for?”
“I have one affidavit going for the suitcase, the phone and the car. I take it that the car is at the OPG?”
“Just towed it in. What about his apartment?”
“I called the DA’s help line and told the woman what we were doing. She suggested two waves. These three first and then we hopefully come up with something that will give us the PC for the apartment. She said the apartment was a stretch with what we have now.”
“Okay, you got a judge waiting on this?”
“Yeah, I called Judge Champagne’s clerk. She’s getting me in as soon as I’m ready.”
It sounded like Ferras had things in order and moving along. Bosch was impressed.
“Sounds good. Where’s Chu?”
“Last I knew he was in the video room, watching the guy.”
Before joining Chu, Bosch stepped into his cubicle and dropped