Desert Star (Renée Ballard, #5; Harry Bosch Universe, #36) (13)

“So McShane is your suspect,” Masser said, attempting to get back to Bosch’s story. “Any estimate on how much selling all the equipment brought in?”

“We were able to track the sales,” Bosch said. “It was just over eight hundred thousand.”

“Four lives for eight hundred K,” Rawls said.

“If he did it,” Hatteras said.

“Tell them about the letter,” Ballard said.

“We got a letter addressed to the LAPD, supposedly from him,” Bosch said. “He claimed he was innocent and that he left because he didn’t want to be falsely accused.”

“Postmark?” Hatteras asked.

“It was local,” Bosch said. “We put flags on his passport. If he left the country and got back to Belfast or anywhere else, then he did it without his passport.”

“I think he’s still here,” Hatteras said. “I can feel it.”

Bosch looked at her, then turned his eyes to Ballard.

“Talk about the evidence,” Ballard said. “How were they killed?”

“They were executed,” Bosch said. “With a nail gun from one of Gallagher’s warehouses. It was in the grave with them. And there was evidence that the grave had been dug with an excavator.”

“What the heck is an excavator?” Masser asked.

“It’s got two wheels and it can be towed on the back of a pickup,” Bosch said. “I’ve got a picture here somewhere I can show you. The point is, the grave wasn’t dug with a shovel. It was too precise, and it was clear that some solid rock had been split by something with more force than a shovel or a pickax. The grave was close enough to the paved road up there that he could have backed in there with the excavator and used it to get in and out pretty quickly. And one of the first machines McShane sold after the family disappeared was an excavator. We can prove that.”

Bosch pulled open one of the murder books on his desk and started leafing through it, looking for the photo of the excavator. He spoke as he searched.

“We were able to trace that sale, and the buyer let us examine the excavator. There was still a piece of rock lodged in one of the tire treads that matched the creosote at the gravesite.”

“All four were in one grave?” Rawls asked.

“Yes,” Bosch said. “It would have been the fastest way to do it. The hole was about six by four and then four feet deep. The parents were dropped in first, then the children on top of them. Along with the nail gun.”

He found a brochure from Shamrock Industrial Rentals that showed the excavator in question. He handed it over the partition to Masser.

“But that was the only link we ever made to McShane, and it wasn’t enough for an arrest warrant,” Bosch said.

“You went to the D.A. with this?” Masser asked. “I would have been tempted to file.”

“I did, and I guess I wish I’d come to you,” Bosch said. “The filing deputy I brought it to said he wanted more. McShane selling the excavator was not proof he used it to bury the family. There were holes in the linkage. The equipment yard was unguarded at night. Someone could have used Stephen Gallagher’s keys to open the yard and take the excavator for the night.”

“That’s a hell of a stretch,” Masser said.

“I felt the same,” Bosch said. “But I didn’t get to make the call. I was told to get more evidence … and I didn’t. So plan B was to find McShane, stick him in a room, and get him to cop-out. But that never happened and he’s still in the wind. That’s where it stands.”

Finished with his summary, Bosch waited for more questions and suggestions from the others. There was only silence until finally Hatteras asked, “Do you still have the original letter McShane wrote expressing his innocence?” she asked.

“We do,” Bosch said. “It’s handwritten on letterhead from the company.”

“I meant, do you have it there, or is it in evidence archives?” Hatteras said. “I’d like to see the original.”

“It’s here,” Bosch said.

He opened the thickest murder book because he knew it contained the plastic sleeves holding the photos from the case. The letter was sealed in one of the sleeves. He opened the binder’s rings, slipped out the sleeve with the McShane letter, and handed it to Hatteras.

She looked at it for a moment, holding the sleeve at the edges with two hands.

“Can I take it out?” she asked.

“Why?” Bosch asked. “It’s evidence.”

“I want to hold it,” Hatteras said.

“It was processed back then, right?” Ballard said.

“Yes,” Bosch said. “No prints, but the signature was matched to McShane’s. He sent it.”

“I mean, she can take it out,” Ballard said. “It’s been processed.”

“I guess,” Bosch said. “Whatever.”

He watched Hatteras open the sleeve and slip the document out. She then held it the same way with two hands, no gloves. But she wasn’t reading it. Bosch saw that her eyes were closed.

Bosch turned to Ballard, a puzzled look on his face. Before either could speak, Hatteras did.

“I think he’s telling the truth,” she said.

“What?” Bosch asked.