Город костей | страница 19



Bosch reached down and rubbed the scruff of the dog's neck. The dog growled and he quickly took his hand away, wondering if it was the dog's training or something about himself that had caused the hostile response.He picked up the phone and called the home of his supervisor, Lt. Grace Billets. He explained what had happened on Wonderland Avenue and his findings up on the hill."Harry, how old do these bones look?" Billets asked.Bosch looked at the Polaroid he had taken of the small bones he had found in the dirt. It was a bad photo, the flash overexposing it because he was too close.Босх наклонился и взъерошил загривок собаки. Та зарычала, и детектив отдернул руку, недоумевая, то ли собака так воспитана, то ли он чем-то вызвал эту враждебную реакцию.Босх снял трубку и позвонил своей начальнице, лейтенанту Грейс Биллетс. Объяснил, что произошло на Уандерланд-авеню, и сообщил о своей находке на холме.- Гарри, насколько старыми выглядят эти кости? -спросила Биллетс.Босх взглянул на поляроидный снимок. Он вышел неважным, из-за вспышки получилась передержка, потому что расстояние было слишком близким.- Не знаю насколько, но старыми. Думаю, они пролежали там годы.
"I don't know, they look old to me. I'd say we're talking years here.""Okay, so whatever's there at the scene isn't fresh." "Maybe freshly uncovered, but no, it's been there.""That's what I'm saying. So I think we should stick a pin in it and gear up for tomorrow. Whatever is up there on that hill, it's not going anywhere tonight.""Yeah," Bosch said. "I'm thinking the same thing." She was silent a moment before speaking."These kind of cases, Harry ...""What?""They drain the budget, they drain manpower ... and they're the hardest to close, if you can close them.""Okay, I'll climb back up there and cover the bones>up.I'll tell the doctor to keep his dog on a leash." "Come on, Harry, you know what I mean." She exhaled loudly. "First day of the year and we're going to start in the hole."Bosch was silent, letting her work through her administrative frustrations. It didn't take long. It was one of the things he liked about her."Okay, anything else happen today?""Not too much. A couple suicides, that's it so far." "Okay, when are you going to start tomorrow?""I'd like to get out there early. I'll make some calls and see what I can get going. And get the bone the dog found confirmed before we start anything.""Okay, let me know."