“I have the gloves and the other stuff in my car,” Ballard said. “I’ll walk out with you.”

Her phone buzzed and she saw on the screen that it was Nelson Hastings.

“Let me take this first,” Ballard said.

“I’ll be at my desk,” Bosch said. “Remember, I need to go.”

Ballard answered as he walked out the door.

“Nelson, I was just about to call you, when I got—”

“The councilman is on his way. Surprise visit.”

Hastings disconnected.

“Shit,” Ballard said.

One of the things that helped Jake Pearlman get elected and then keep his job for a second term was his routine of making so-called surprise visits to people and places in his district. These, of course, were photo ops for the media, which was always invited. And Ballard knew that the heads-up from Hastings was to allow her time to prep for what was actually a no-surprise surprise visit.

She left the interview room to warn the team about what was coming.

20

BECAUSE OF A massive construction project to build Metro train access to the LAX terminal loop, two of the six parking structures were closed and Bosch had to drive out of the loop, park at a garage on Century Boulevard, and take a shuttle bus back to the American Airlines terminal. He then faced a long security line, and by the time he got to his gate, boarding was well underway, and Bosch was the very last passenger allowed on.

He had hoped for some downtime in the terminal to make some calls and reserve a hotel room for that night, as well as check on the lineups of performers in the Chicago jazz clubs.

His seat was midway through the economy cabin, and there was no room in the overhead bins for his carry-on bag. He stuffed it under the seat in front of his window seat, which left him little room for his feet. Cramped and crammed in, he had to turn sideways in his seat to dig the cellphone out of his pocket. It had been almost three years since he had been on a plane, and he realized he hadn’t missed it at all.

His daughter worked a mid-watch shift, so he believed she would be awake but not working yet. As he was about to call her to inform her of his travels, he received an incoming call from an unknown number.

“Bosch.”

“Leave my son alone.”

It was a woman’s voice and Bosch immediately knew who it belonged to. He turned toward the window and talked softly so as to not be overheard.

“Mrs. Walsh? He—”

“You just leave him out of this, you understand? You punched him! You punched my son!”