Echo Park Part 2

He was looking at Bosch as he spoke.

"I don't have any problem with Freddy," Bosch said. "I don't even know Freddy enough to call him Freddy."

"I should tell you that any reluctance on his part to fill you in on what we have here came directly from me because of the sensitive nature of what we are doing. So if you are angry, be angry with me."

"I'm not angry," Bosch said. "I'm happy. Ask my partner-this is me when I'm happy."

Rider nodded.

"He's happy," she said. "Definitely happy."

"Okay, then," O'Shea said. "Everybody's happy. So let's get down to business."

O'Shea reached over and put his hand above a thick accordion file placed on the right side of his desk. It was open and Bosch saw that it contained several individual files with blue tabs on them. Bosch was too far away to read them-especially without putting on the gla.s.ses he had recently begun carrying with him.

"Are you familiar with the Raynard Waits prosecution?" O'Shea asked.

Bosch and Rider nodded.

"It would have been kind of hard to miss," Bosch said.

O'Shea nodded and offered a slight smile.

"Yes, we have pushed it out in front of the cameras. The guy's a butcher. A very evil man. We've said from the start that we are going for the death penalty on it."

"From what I've heard and seen, he's a poster boy for it," Rider said encouragingly.

O'Shea nodded somberly.

"That's one reason why you are here. Before I explain what we have going, let me ask you to tell me about your investigation of the Marie Gesto case. Freddy said you've had the file out of Archives three times in the past year. Is there something active?"

Bosch cleared his throat after deciding to give first and then receive.

"You could say I've had the case for thirteen years. I caught it back in 'ninety-three, when she went missing."

"But nothing ever came of it?"

Bosch shook his head.

"We had no body. All we ever found was her car and that was not enough. We never made anybody for it."

"Not even a suspect?"

"We looked at a lot of people, one in particular. But we couldn't make the connections and so n.o.body rose to the level of active suspect. Then I retired in 'oh-two and it went into Archives. A couple years go by and things don't work out the way I thought they would in retirement and I come back on the job. That was last year."

Bosch didn't think it was necessary to tell O'Shea that he had copied the Gesto file and taken it with him, along with several other open cases, when he left his badge behind and walked out the door in 2002. Copying the files had been an infraction of department regs, and the fewer people who knew that the better.

"In the last year I pulled the Gesto file every time I had a little time to work it," he continued. "But there's no DNA, no latents. There's only legwork. I've talked to all the princ.i.p.als again-everybody I could find. There's still the one guy out there who I always felt could be the guy, but I never could make anything out of it. I talked to him twice this year, leaned pretty hard."

"And?"

"Nothing."

"Who is it?"

"His name's Anthony Garland. He comes from Hanc.o.c.k Park money. You ever heard of Thomas Rex Garland, the oilman?"

O'Shea nodded.

"Well, T. Rex, as he is known, is Anthony's father."

"What's Anthony's connection to Gesto?"

"'Connection' might be too strong a word. Marie Gesto's car was found in a single garage attached to a Hollywood apartment building. The apartment it corresponded to was empty. Our sense of things at the time was that it wasn't just coincidence that the car ended up in there. We thought whoever hid the car there knew the apartment was vacant and that he'd get a decent ride out of hiding it there."

"Okay. Anthony Garland knew about the garage or he knew Marie?"

"He knew about the garage. His former girlfriend had lived in the apartment. She had broken up with him and then moved back to Texas. So he knew the apartment and the garage were empty."

"That's pretty thin. That's all you had?"

"Pretty much. We thought it was thin, too, but then we pulled the ex-girlfriend's DMV mug and it turned out she and Marie looked a lot alike. We started to think that maybe Marie had been some sort of replacement victim. He couldn't get to his ex-girlfriend because she had left, so he got to Marie instead."

"Did you go to Texas?"

"Twice. We talked to the ex and she told us that the main reason she split with Anthony was because of his temper."

"Was he violent with her?"

"She said no. She said she left before it got to that point."

O'Shea leaned forward.

"So, did Anthony Garland know Marie?" he asked.

"We don't know. We are not sure he did. Until his father brought his lawyer into it and he stopped talking to us, he denied ever knowing her."

"When was this?-the lawyer, I mean."

"Back then, and now. I came at him again a couple times this year. I pressed him and he lawyered up again. Different lawyers this time. They were able to get a restraining order reissued against me. They convinced a judge to order me to stay away from Anthony unless he had a lawyer with him. My guess is that they convinced the judge with money. It's the way T. Rex Garland gets things done."

O'Shea leaned back, nodding thoughtfully.

"Does this Anthony Garland have any kind of criminal record before or after Gesto?"

"No, not a criminal record. He hasn't been a very productive member of society-he lives off his old man's handouts, as near as I can tell. He runs security for his father and his various enterprises. But there's never been anything criminal that I could find."

"Wouldn't it stand to reason that someone who had kidnapped and killed a young woman would have other criminal activity on his record? These things usually aren't aberrations, are they?"

"If you went with the percentages, yeah. But there are always exceptions to the rule. Plus, there's the old man's money. Money smooths a lot of things over, makes a lot of things go away."

O'Shea nodded again like he was learning about criminals and crime for the first time. It was a bad act.

"What was your next move going to be?" he asked.

Bosch shook his head.

"I didn't have one. I sent the file back to Archives and thought that was it. Then a couple weeks ago I went down and pulled it again. I don't know what I was going to do. Maybe talk to some of Garland's more recent friends, see if he ever mentioned Marie Gesto or anything about her. All I knew for sure was that I wasn't going to give up."

O'Shea cleared his throat and Bosch knew he would now get down to the reason they were there.

"Did the name Ray or Raynard Waits ever come up in all these years of investigating Gesto's disappearance?"

Bosch looked at him for a moment, his stomach twisting.

"No, it didn't. Should it have come up?"

O'Shea pulled one of the folders out of the accordion file and opened it on the desk. He lifted a doc.u.ment that looked like a letter off the top.

"As I said, we've made it public that we're going for the death penalty on Waits," he said. "After the prelim I think he realized the writing was on the wall. He's got an appeal on the probable cause for the traffic stop. But it will go nowhere and he and his lawyer know it. An insanity defense is a nonstarter as well. This guy's as calculating and organized as any killer I've ever prosecuted. So they responded last week with this. Before I show it to you I have to know that you understand that this is a letter from an attorney. It is a proffer. No matter what happens, whether we move forward with this or not, the information contained in this letter is off the record. If we choose to ignore this offer, no investigation can come of the information in this letter. Do you understand that?"

Rider nodded. Bosch didn't.

"Detective Bosch?" O'Shea prompted.

"Maybe I shouldn't see it, then," Bosch said. "Maybe I shouldn't be here."

"You were the one who wouldn't give Freddy the file. If the case means that much to you, then I think you should be here."

Bosch finally nodded.

"Okay," he said.

O'Shea slid the paper across the desk and Bosch and Rider leaned forward to read it together. Bosch first unfolded his gla.s.ses and put them on.

Sept. 12, 2006 Richard O'Shea, a.s.sistant District Attorney Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office Office 16-11 210 West Temple Street Los Angeles, CA 90012-3210 Re: California v. Raynard Waits California v. Raynard Waits Dear Mr. O'Shea: This letter is intended to open discussions regarding a disposition in the above-referenced case. All statements made herein and hereafter in connection with these discussions are made with the understanding that they are inadmissible under California Evidence Code 1153, California Penal Code 1192.4 and People v. Tanner, People v. Tanner, 45 Cal. App.3d 345, 350, 119 Cal. Rptr. 407 (1975). 45 Cal. App.3d 345, 350, 119 Cal. Rptr. 407 (1975).

I suggest to you that Mr. Waits would be willing, on terms and conditions outlined below, to share with you and investigators of your choice information regarding nine homicides, excluding the two in the above-referenced case, and to plead guilty to the charges in the above-referenced case, in exchange for the People's agreement not to seek the death penalty on the instant homicide charges or to file charges in regard to the homicides about which he would provide information.

Furthermore, in return for the cooperation and information Mr. Waits would provide, you must agree that any and all statements by Mr. Waits and any information derived therefrom will not be used against him in any criminal case; no information provided pursuant to this agreement may be divulged to any other state or federal law enforcement agencies unless and until those agencies, through their representatives, agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this agreement; no statements made or other information provided by Mr. Waits during any "off-the-record" proffer or discussion may be used against him in the prosecution's case-in-chief; nor may you make derivative use of or pursue any investigative leads suggested by any statements made or information provided by the defendant.

In the event the above-referenced case goes to trial, if Mr. Waits offers testimony materially different from any statements made or other information provided during any proffers or discussion, then you may, of course, impeach him concerning such prior inconsistent statements or information.

I suggest that the families of eight young women and one male victim will attain some form of closure with the knowledge of what transpired in regard to their loved ones and, in eight of these instances, be able to conduct proper religious ceremonies and burials after Mr. Waits leads your investigators to the places where these victims now rest. Additionally, these families will find, perhaps, some comfort in knowing that Mr. Waits is serving a prison sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Mr. Waits offers to provide information in regard to nine known and unknown homicides between 1992 and 2003. As an initial offer of credibility and good faith, he suggests that investigators review the investigation into the death of Daniel Fitzpatrick, 63, who was burned to death in his Hollywood Boulevard p.a.w.nshop on April 30, 1992. Investigative files will reveal that Mr. Fitzpatrick was armed and standing behind the roll-down security fence at the front of his store when he was set afire by an a.s.sailant using lighter fluid and a butane lighter. The can of EasyLight lighter fluid was left behind, standing upright in front of the security fence. This information was never made public.

Further, Mr. Waits suggests that police investigative files in regard to the September 1993 disappearance of Marie Ges...o...b.. reviewed as an additional showing of his credibility and good faith. The records will reveal that while the whereabouts of Ms. Gesto were never determined, her car was located by police in a garage at a Hollywood apartment complex known as the High Tower. The car contained Ms. Gesto's clothing and equestrian equipment plus a grocery bag containing a one-pound package of carrots. Ms. Gesto intended to use the carrots to feed the horses she groomed in exchange for riding time at the Sunset Ranch stables in Beachwood Canyon. Again, this information was never made public.

I would suggest that if an agreement of disposition could be achieved, such an agreement would fall within the exceptions to California's prohibition against plea bargaining serious felonies inasmuch as, absent Mr. Waits's cooperation, there are insufficient evidence and material witnesses to prove the People's case in regard to these nine homicides. Moreover, the People's forbearance regarding the death penalty is entirely discretionary and does not represent a substantial change in sentence. (California Penal Code 1192.7a.) Please contact me at your earliest convenience if the foregoing is acceptable.

Sincerely, Maurice Swann, PA 101 Broadway Suite 2 Los Angeles, CA 90013 Bosch realized he had read almost the entire letter without taking a breath. He now gulped down some air but it did not displace the cold tightness that was forming in his chest.

"You're not going to agree to this, are you?" he asked.

O'Shea held his gaze for a moment before responding.

"As a matter of fact, I am negotiating with Swann right now. That was the initial proffer. I've improved the State's take substantially since that arrived."

"In what way?"

"He'll have to plead to all the cases. We'll get eleven murder convictions."

And you'll get more headlines in time for the election, Bosch thought but didn't say.

"But he still walks?" he asked.

"No, Detective, he doesn't walk. He never sees the light of day again. Have you ever been up to Pelican Bay, the place they send s.e.x offenders? It only sounds like a nice place."

"But no death penalty. You're giving him that."

Olivas smirked as if Bosch didn't see the light.

"Yes, that is what we are giving," O'Shea said. "That's all we're giving. No death penalty and he goes away forever and a day."

Bosch shook his head, looked at Rider and then back at O'Shea. He said nothing because he knew it wasn't his decision to make.

"But before we agree to such a deal," O'Shea said, "we need to make d.a.m.n sure he is good for those nine. Waits is no dummy. This could all be a trick to avoid the needle or it could be the real thing. I want to bring you two into this to work with Freddy in finding out which it is. I'll make the calls and you will be cut loose. That will be the a.s.signment."

Neither Bosch nor Rider responded. O'Shea pressed on.

"It is obvious he knows things about the two bait cases cited in the letter. Freddy confirmed the Fitzpatrick thing. He was killed during the riots after the Rodney King verdict came in, burned to death behind the roll-down fence in his p.a.w.nshop. He was heavily armed at the time and what is not clear is how his killer got close enough to set him on fire. The can of EasyLight was found just like Waits said, standing upright in front of the security fence.

"The mention of the Gesto case we could not confirm because you've got the file, Detective Bosch. You've already confirmed the part about the garage. Did he get that right about the clothes and the carrots?"

Bosch reluctantly nodded.

"The car was public information," he said. "The media was all over it. But the bag of carrots was our ace in the hole. n.o.body knew about that except me, my partner at the time and the evidence tech who opened the bag. We held it back because that's where we ended up thinking she crossed his path. The carrots came from a Mayfair Supermarket on Franklin at the bottom of Beachwood Canyon. Turned out it was her routine to stop there before going up to the stables. The day she disappeared she followed the routine. She came out with the carrots and probably her killer as a trailer. We found witnesses who put her in the store. Nothing else after that. Until we found her car."

O'Shea nodded. He pointed to the letter, which was still on the desk in front of Bosch and Rider.

"Then this is looking good."

"No, it's not," Bosch said. "Don't do this."

"Don't do what?"

"Don't make the deal."