Page 79 of Resurrection Walk

“Got it. Did Cindi tell you what she’d told Moder?”

“She didn’t tell her anything. Moder’s a jailhouse snitch. She’s going to lie. She’s going to say Lucinda admitted to killing her husband.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“It doesn’t matter. That’s why I want you to get out of here and find out everything you can about her. Find me something I can burn her to the ground with.”

“I’m on it.”

“Call Cisco if you need help. No stone left unturned, but you’re working against the clock. I should be finished with my witnesses tomorrow. That’s when Morris will bring Moder in.”

“If I’m on this, I won’t be able to get Dr. Arslanian to court tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll deal with her. You go. Call me as soon as you have something. Court is dark this afternoon because Coelho has a judges’ conference. I’m going to put Sanger on the stand now, Arslanian and the rest tomorrow. That includes you, so get going on Moder.”

“I’ll call you. Good luck with Sanger.”

“Luck won’t have anything to do with it.”

Bosch walked off toward the elevator. I checked my watch. There were still a few minutes left in the break. I went into the restroom, cupped my hands under the cold water at a sink, then held my hands to my face. There was a heaviness growing in the center of my chest. It was the feeling of being unprepared. I hated that feeling more than anything in the world.

On my way back to the courtroom I saw Sanger still posted on the bench.

“Not going so good, is it?” she said.

I stopped and looked at her. She had that smirk again.

“It’s going great,” I said. “And you’re next.”

With that, I opened the courtroom door and went in.

The marshals were returning Lucinda from the courtroom lockup to the plaintiff’s table, a sign that the judge was ready. I took my seat next to my client as the shackles came off her wrists and ankles, and one wrist was locked to the steel ring on the underside of the table.

“What will happen now?” she whispered.

“I’m going to call Sanger, put her on the record, then tomorrow we prove she’s a liar.”

“No, I mean what happens now with Isabella?”

“Harry is working on it, trying to find something we can impeach her with.”

“‘Impeach’?”

“Prove she’s lying. You sure you never talked about your case with her?”

“Never. We never talked about her case either.”

“All right. I need you to think, Lucinda. Is there anything you know about her that will help us? I can almost guarantee she’s going to come in here and testify that you told her you killed Roberto. I need to come back at her with something. Is there —”

The marshal interrupted us with his call to rise. We stood and the judge entered the courtroom and bounded up the steps to the bench. Ellen Coelho had been on the federal bench for nearly thirty years. She was a Clinton appointee, which tended to put her on the liberal side, which was good for us. But when push came to shove, I had no idea what her view of jailhouse snitches would be.

“Continuing in the matter ofSanz versus the State of California,” she said. “Mr. Haller, call your next witness.”

I called Stephanie Sanger. Since Bosch was no longer in the hall to wrangle witnesses, I asked the judge to send one of the courtroom marshals to get her. The judge seemed annoyed but complied, and while we waited I turned back to my client.

“I need something to go at Isabella with,” I whispered. “Try to remember what you talked about. When they put the lights out at night, did you two talk?”

“Yes. It’s hard to fall asleep.”

---