Page 70 of Resurrection Walk

“Cindi identified Sanger as the one who conducted the GSR test,” Bosch said.

Haller whistled. Bosch could hear traffic noises and guessed that he was in the Lincoln.

“This is good,” Haller said. “It’s what we thought but nice to have it on the record.”

“Sort of,” Bosch said. “They wouldn’t give me the lawyer room. I had to show her the photos through the glass. She couldn’t sign the photo, but there was a camera behind her. It’s on video if we ever need it.”

“Good. Anything else?”

“She’s nervous, especially about Sanger. Afraid.”

“Well, we’re six days out. I’d say it’s time to initiate our plan.”

“Subpoena Sanger?”

“And her pal Mitchell.”

“Yeah, they’re not going to like it.”

“That’s an understatement. I also want you to pick up the thumb drive AT and T has been holding for us.”

“Doesn’t it become discovery the minute I do?”

“Technically it’s not discoverable until I decide I’m going to present it in court. But if I wait and sandbag ’em with it the day before, they’ll scream bloody murder and get a continuance from the judge.”

“So what do we do?”

“You pick it up, download the data, then print out the entire file. Should be a couple thousand pages, I’m guessing. Then we give them the hard copy while you keep the searchable electronic file. My guess is they’ll look at that haystack and think we’re scamming them into wasting time on it. And they’ll have no valid complaint when we put it into evidence.”

“Ifwe put it into evidence.”

“That’s a big if. We have our hunches about what you’ll find, but it’s all got to pan out or we’ve wasted our time and our client’s chance at freedom.”

“Well, I’ll get to work on the cell data as soon as I have it.”

“Let me know what you get.”

“Wait — what about the FBI?”

“I’m not going to play that card until I have to.”

Bosch wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but he knew not to ask further questions about it. Haller was trying to play hide the ball with the attorney general’s office — handing over what he had to but only when he had to and disguising his court strategy as best he could. It was a high-wire act with no net that could ultimately come down to an angry federal judge wanting to know what he knew and when he’d known it. It was the kind of defense ploy that would have made Bosch’s blood boil when he carried a badge. Now he almost admired Haller for the moves he was making. He saw the Lincoln Lawyer as a master at staying just inside the ethical boundary lines when it came to dealings with those sitting across the aisle. Haller called it dancing between the raindrops.

In the seven months they had worked the Sanz case together, Bosch had come to realize that working on the defense side made Haller the long-shot underdog. He was like a man on the beach holding a surfboard and looking up at a hundred-foot wave coming in. The power and might of the state was limitless. Haller was just one man making a stand for his client. He was willing to paddle out to that crushing wave. Bosch was beginning to see that there was something noble in that.

“You heard anything from Morris yet?” Bosch asked. “We’re still good to go Monday?”

Hayden Morris was the assistant attorney general for California who would defend the conviction of Lucinda Sanz at the federal habeas hearing. He had made little contact with Haller other than sending him a note every Monday morning demanding full discovery.

“Not a word,” Haller said. “So, as far as I’m concerned, all systems are go for Monday. Be there or be square.”

“Got it,” Bosch said. “I’ll pick up the AT and T stuff on my way in. I’ll dive in tonight and then go paper Sanger and Mitchell tomorrow.”

“If you find what we hope is in there, you call me right away. But remember, no emails, no texts.”

“Right. Nothing you’ll have to turn over to the AG.”

“There you go. You’re thinking like a defense lawyer again.”

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