The Narrows

CHAPTER 38

I'll have to call you back." Rachel closed her phone and slid it into the pocket of her blazer. Bosch's last words echoed in her heart.

"Agent Walling, I'd appreciate it if you could stay in our conversation."

She looked up at Alpert.

"Sorry."

She looked past him at the telecommunication screen where Brass Doran's face was larger than life. She was smiling.

"Agent Doran, continue," Alpert said.

"Actually, I'm finished. That's all we have at this time. We can confirm through the latents that Robert Backus was at that trailer. We cannot confirm that he was in it when it exploded."

"What about the DNA?"

"The DNA evidence gathered by Agent Walling, at great danger, I might add, and later by the ERT will only be useful if we have something to compare it with. That is, if we somehow find a source of Robert Backus's DNA. Or we use it to identify the body that was in the trailer as someone else."

"What about Backus's parents? Can't we extract his DNA from-"

"We went that route before. His father was dead and cremated before we thought of it-the science wasn't really there back then-and his mother has never been located. There is some thought that she might have been his first victim. She disappeared some years ago without the proverbial trace."

"This guy thought of everything."

"In the case of the mother it was more likely a revenge thing for her abandonment. It is hard to believe that he did something back then in order to prevent later DNA extraction."

"All I meant was that we are genuinely fucked."

"I am sorry, Randal, but the science can only go so far."

"I know that, Agent Doran. Can you tell me anything else? Anything new?"

"I guess not."

"Terrific. Okay, so then I will tell the director just that. That we know Backus was in that trailer-we have forensics and witness accounts to that effect. But as of this time we cannot take the next step and say he is dead and good riddance."

"Is there no way we can convince the director to sit tight and give us more time to sew it all up? For the good of the investigation."

Rachel almost laughed. She knew the good of the investigation would always take second place to political considerations in the Hoover Building in D.C. "I have already tried," Alpert said. "The answer is no. There is too much at stake. The cat is out of the bag on this-thanks to the explosion in the desert. If that was Backus blown to bits out there, then fine, we'll eventually confirm it and everything will be fine. If that was not Backus and he has some other play in mind, the director has to get on record with this now or the consequences of the blowback could be fatal. So he is going on record with what we know now: Backus was there, Backus is the suspect in the killings in the desert, Backus may or may not be dead. There is no dissuading him at this point."

Alpert had thrown Rachel a look when he said the cat was out of the bag, as if he held her responsible for everything. She thought about revealing what Bosch had just told her but in that instant decided against it. Not yet. Not until she knew more.

"Okay, people, that's it," Alpert announced abruptly. "Brass, we'll see you on the big screen tomorrow morning. Agent Walling, can you stay behind for a moment?"

Rachel watched Brass leave the screen and then it went black, the transmission ended. Alpert then walked up close to the table where Rachel sat.

"Agent Walling?"

"Yes?"

"Your work is done here."

"Excuse me?"

"You're finished. Go back to your hotel and pack your bags."

"There's still a lot to do here. I want to-"

"I don't care what you want. I want you out of here. You have undermined this investigation since you ar- rived. Tomorrow morning I want you on the first plane back to wherever it is you come from. Understand?"

"You are making a mistake. I should be a part of-"

"You are making a mistake arguing with me about it. I can't make it any clearer for you. I want you out of here. Turn in your paperwork and get on a plane."

She stared at him, trying to communicate all the anger that was behind her eyes. He held a hand up as if to ward something off.

"Be careful what you say. It could come back to bite you on the ass."

Rachel swallowed back her anger. She spoke in a controlled and calm voice.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Alpert looked like his eyes might pop out of his head. He turned and waved Dei out of the room. He then turned back to Rachel and waited for the sound of the door closing.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?"

"I said I am not going anywhere. I am staying on this case. Because if you put me on a plane, I won't go back to South Dakota. I'll go to D.C. headquarters and right into the Office of Professional Responsibility to file on you."

"For what? What are you going to file?"

"You've used me as bait since the beginning. Without my knowledge or consent."

"You don't know what you are talking about. Go ahead. Go to the OPR. They'll laugh you back to the Badlands and put you down for another ten years out there."

"Cherie made a mistake and then you did, too. When I called in from Clear she asked me why we took Bosch's car. Then in the hangar you did the same thing. You knew I had gone up there in Bosch's car. I started thinking about that and then I figured out why. You put a GPS tag on my car. I went underneath it tonight and found it. Standard bureau issue, even has the code label still on it. There will be a record of who checked it out."

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Well, I'm sure the OPR will be able to figure it out. My guess is Cherie will help them. I mean if I were her I wouldn't tie my career to you. I'd tell the truth. That you brought me out here as bait, that you thought I would draw Backus out. I bet you had a shadow team on me the whole time. There will be a record of that, too. What about my phone and my hotel room? Did you bug them?"

Rachel saw Alpert's eyes change. He went inward, his mind no longer consumed by her accusations but by the future consequences of an ethics complaint and investigation. She saw him recognize his own doom. One agent bugging and following another agent, using her as unwitting bait in a high-stakes gamble. Under the current climate of media scrutiny and bureau-wide avoidance of any controversy, his actions wouldn't hold up. It would be he who would go down, not her. Quickly and quietly he would be dealt with. Maybe, if he was lucky, he'd end up working side by side with Rachel in the Rapid City office.

"The Badlands are really quite beautiful in the summer," she said.

She stood up and headed to the door.

"Agent Walling?" Alpert said to her back. "Hold on a second."