A Darkness More Than Night (Harry Bosch, #7; Harry Bosch Universe, #10)

by Michael Connelly

He knew one thing for sure at this point. The painter Bosch would have made a good profiler. He knew his stuff. He had a handle on the nightmares that rattle around inside most people’s minds. As well as those that sometimes get out.

It had been his experience that while in open court a judge could not possibly tell a joke that the lawyers did not laugh at.

He thought the best point had been scored by the defense. Fowkkes had made a smooth move telling the jury that he, too, found his client’s personal life and habits offensive. He was telling them that if he could stand it, so could they. He was reminding them that the case was about taking a life, not about how one lived a life.

“Let’s go out and look at the night.” They walked out to the back deck and both looked at the view. The 101 was its usual ribbon of light, a glowing vein cutting through the mountains. The sky was clear, the smog having been washed out by rain the week before. Bosch could see the lights on the floor of the Valley seemingly extending into infinity. Closer to the house there was only darkness held in the brush on the hillside below. He could smell the eucalyptus from below; it was always strongest after the rain.

He puked as soon as it was over and went back to bed.”

You better make damn sure you’ve got it right before you put anything in that paper of yours. A good investigator always knows the motivation of his sources—it’s called having a bullshit meter. Yours better be working real well.”

“I remember you once told me something,” Bosch said. “You said if God is in the details, so is the devil. Meaning, the person you are looking for is usually right there in front of us, hiding in the details all the time. I always remember that. It still helps me.”

“The Following Sea. What’s that mean?” “My father named the boat. It was his originally. The following sea is the wave that comes up behind you, that hits you before you see it coming. I guess he named the boat as sort of a warning. You know, always watch your back.” Bosch nodded. “Overseas we used to tell each other, ‘Watch six.’” Now McCaleb nodded. “Same thing.”

“They leaked it to that reporter,” Bosch said. “Once it hit the media they could jump on it and use it and act like it was news to them, like they were behind the curve when all along they were bending the goddamn curve.”