Suddenly, a wave of mechanical sound and wind broke over him as a helicopter came in over the grove and hovered above. Bosch broke and ran back toward the grove, sliding down the embankment into the mud and water. He looked back and watched the helicopter—a black silhouette against the dark sky—maneuver into position over the landing pad. A spotlight on the craft’s underside came on and lit the targeted H on the pad. Bosch ducked down lower and watched as the craft seemed to struggle against the wind to hold the line of its landing rails. As the helicopter slowly came down and gently met the pad, the light cut off and the high-pitched turbine was shut down.

The rotors free spun for a while and then came to a halt. The pilot’s-side door opened and a figure climbed out. Bosch was at least a hundred feet away and could only see the shape of the person, whom he identified as a male. The pilot moved to the back door and opened it. Bosch expected another person to alight from the rear cabin, but it was a dog that leaped out. The pilot reached in for a backpack, closed the door, and started toward the house.

The dog trotted behind the pilot for a few yards but then suddenly stopped and turned directly toward the spot where Bosch was hiding. It was a big dog, but it was too dark for Bosch to identify a breed. He heard it growl first and then it started running toward him.

Bosch froze as the animal quickly covered the ground between them. He knew there was nowhere he could move. The mud was behind him. He wouldn’t make it two steps. He crouched lower and closer to the embankment, thinking that maybe the angry dog would jump over him and get mired in the mud.

And he pulled his weapon off his belt. If the dog didn’t stop, Bosch would be ready to stop it.

“Cosmo!”

The man had shouted from the pathway to the house. The dog stopped in midstride, its hind legs sliding out from beneath as it struggled to respond to the command.

“Get over here!”

The dog looked back at Bosch, and for a moment Harry thought he saw its eyes glowing red. It then took off, heading back to its master. It was chastised anyway.

“Bad boy! You don’t run off! And no barking!”

The man clapped the dog on the haunch as it ran by him. The dog moved ahead on the path and then crouched into a pose of submission. A moment ago it was going to tear Bosch’s throat out. Now Bosch felt sorry for it.

Harry waited until the man and his dog were inside the château before he headed back into the grove, hoping he would not get lost on the way back to his car.