“I told you I wasn’t upset. Can we just drop it for now?”

Bosch reached for his glass and took a long drink of wine, draining it. He then reached for the bottle so he could pour some more.

“Sure,” he said.

Chapter 24

24

Bosch split Saturday between work and family. He had persuaded Chu to meet him in the squad room in the morning so they could work without the scrutiny of Lieutenant O’Toole and others in the unit. Not only was OU dead, but both wings of the vast Robbery-Homicide Division squad room were completely abandoned. With paid overtime a thing of the past, the only time there was activity in the elite detective squads on a weekend was when there was a breaking case. It was lucky for Bosch and Chu that there was no such case. They were left alone and undisturbed in their cubicle to do their work.

Once he finished grumbling about giving up half a Saturday for no pay, Chu dug in on the computer and conducted a third- and fourth-layer search on the men of the 237th Transportation Company of the California National Guard.

While Bosch had ratcheted down his focus on the four men in the photograph on the Saudi Princess and on the fifth man, who had taken the photograph, he knew that a thorough investigation required that they check every name they had come up with in regard to the 237th, especially those who had also been on the cruise ship either at or around the same time as Anneke Jespersen.

If nothing else, Bosch knew the exercise could pay dividends if a prosecution should arise from the case. Defense attorneys were always quick to claim the police had put on blinders and focused only on their clients while the true culprit slipped away. By widening their scope and thoroughly looking at all known members of the 237th in 1991 and 1992, Bosch was undercutting the tunnel-vision defense before it had even been put forth.

While Chu worked his computer, Bosch did the same, printing out everything they had accumulated on the five men in the main focus. All told, there were twenty-six pages of information, more than two-thirds of which were dedicated to Sheriff J.J. Drummond and Carl Cosgrove, the two who were powerful in Central Valley business, politics, and law enforcement.

Bosch next printed out maps of the Central Valley locations he intended to visit in the week ahead. These also allowed him to see the geographical relationships between the places where the five men worked and lived. It was all part of a travel package that was routine to put together before making a case trip.