The Late Show Quotes

“If you go into darkness, the darkness goes into you.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“it’s like the laws of physics—for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. If you go into darkness, the darkness goes into you. You then have to decide what to do with it. How to keep yourself safe from it. How to keep it from hollowing you out.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“why don’t you just Uber your ass out of here.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“They call him Stormy Monday, but he's kind of a dick every single day.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“And there’s this saying they have about conformist society: The nail that sticks out gets pounded down.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“Big evil. There was no doubt that the same callous malignancy moved through the blood of the shooter here.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“It was the Holy Grail of detective work. It had nothing to do with evidence or legal procedure or probable cause. It was just knowing it in your gut. Nothing in her life beat it.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“She’s interested in Japanese history right now, so that’s what I’m reading to her. And there’s this saying they have about conformist society: The nail that sticks out gets pounded down.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“I’ve seen long careers and careers cut short. The difference is in how you handle the darkness.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“Michael Connelly is the author of twenty-nine previous novels, including #1 New York Times bestsellers The Wrong Side of Goodbye and The Crossing. His books, which include the Harry Bosch series and Lincoln Lawyer series, have sold more than sixty million copies worldwide. Connelly is a former newspaper reporter who has won numerous awards for his journalism and his novels and is the executive producer of Bosch, starring Titus Welliver. He spends his time in California and Florida.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“The nail that sticks out gets pounded down.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“she was collateral damage,”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“New York Times bestsellers The Wrong Side of Goodbye and The Crossing. His books, which include the Harry Bosch series and Lincoln Lawyer series, have sold more than”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“Ballard.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“your”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“DSS—didn’t see shit.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“Look, Lieutenant, it was the best way to take the guy down. Even now, if I had it to do again, I would do the exact same thing—draw him out of the room. Only I’d put on a vest and a raid jacket just so Smitty wouldn’t get so fucking confused.” “Take it easy, Ballard. Sometimes you’re like a feral fucking cat. Smitty wasn’t confused, okay? He just wanted his boot to know how it should be done.” “Whatever. You said you weren’t writing me up.” “And I’m not. I told Smitty I’d talk to you, and I have. That’s it. Learn from it, Ballard.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“Because Nettles was on parole for a felony conviction, Ballard did not need to jump through most of the constitutional hoops that protected citizens from unlawful search and seizure. By legal definition, being on parole from prison meant Nettles was still in the custody of the state. By accepting parole he had given up his protections. His parole agent was allowed to access his home, vehicle, and workplace without so much as a nod from a judge.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“Is somebody in there now?” “Yeah, a guy. Stormy Monday took it.” “That’s the name he uses?” “Yeah. People ’round here use a lot of different names, you know? They’ve left their other names behind.” “Got it. Let’s go talk to Stormy. I’ve got to look inside.” “He’s not a happy guy when you wake him up. They call him Stormy Monday but he’s kind of a dick every single day.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“It was clear that the RVs, no matter how decrepit and despairing, were the choice habitats in the community. A cottage industry had recently arisen in which old inoperable campers were pulled out of junkyards and backyards, towed to street parking locations under freeways or in industrial areas, and sold cheap or even rented to homeless people. They were passed from hand to hand and were often the subject of ownership fights and unlawful evictions. The department was in the process of putting together a task force to deal with this and the many other issues of the city’s growing homeless population—the largest west of New York City.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“Something else?” she asked. “Uh, yeah,” he said. “You know, Renée, I’m really sorry about how everything worked out back then.” Ballard looked at him for a moment before answering. “It took you two years to say that?” she finally said. He shrugged. “I guess so. Yeah.” “You’re totally forgetting something you told me back then.” “What are you talking about?” “I’m talking about when you told me to back off the complaint. About how you said Olivas was going through a bad divorce and losing half his pension and not acting right and all of that bullshit—as if it made what he did to me okay.” “I don’t understand what that has to do with—” “You didn’t even keep my number in your phone, Kenny. You washed your hands of the whole thing. You’re not sorry about anything. You saw an opportunity back then and you took it. You had to throw me under the bus but you didn’t hesitate.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“KMA—I’m heading to scene. KMA was an old LAPD designation used at the end of a radio call. Some said it stood for Keep Me Apprised but in use it was the equivalent of over and out. Over time it had evolved to mean end of watch or, in this case, the victim’s death.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“Who’s your training officer?” “Officer Smith, ma’am.” “I’m not your mother. Don’t call me ma’am.” “Sorry, ma’am. I mean—” “You’re in good hands with Smitty. He’s cool. You guys get an ID on the vic?” “No, there was no purse or anything but we were trying to talk to her while we were waiting on the paramedics. She was in and out, not making a lot of sense. Sounded like she said her name was Ramona.” “She say anything else?” “Yeah, she said ‘the upside-down house.’” “‘ The upside-down house’?” “That’s what she said. Officer Smith asked if she knew her attacker and she said no. He asked where she was attacked and she said ‘the upside-down house.’ Like I said, she wasn’t making a lot of sense.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“There is no need for this ‘fluid situation,’ as you say,” he said. “The system only works if we catch the guy,” Ballard said. “Don’t you see? Stopping the card from being used is only part of it. That protects your corporate client. It doesn’t protect Mrs. Lantana, who had someone inside her house.” “I am sorry,” the supervisor said. “I cannot help you without documentation from the courts. It is our protocol.” “What is your name?” “My name is Irfan.” “Where are you, Irfan?” “How do you mean?” “Are you in Mumbai? Delhi? Where?” “I am in Mumbai, yes.” “And that’s why you don’t give a shit. Because this guy’s never going to come into your house and steal your wallet in Mumbai. Thanks very much.” She stepped back into the kitchen and hung up the phone before the useless supervisor could respond.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“she was going straight into Hollywood Station. 9 Ballard kept all her work suits in her locker at the station and dressed for her shifts after arriving each night. She had four different suits that followed the same cut and style but differed in color and pattern. She dry-cleaned them two at a time so that she always had a suit and a backup available. After arriving nearly eight hours early for her shift, Ballard changed into the gray suit that was her favorite. She accompanied it with a white blouse. She kept four white blouses and one navy in her locker as well. It was Friday and that meant Ballard was scheduled to work solo. She and Jenkins had to cover seven shifts a week, so Ballard took Tuesday to Saturday and Jenkins covered Sunday to Thursday, giving them three overlap days. When they took vacation time, their slots usually went unfilled. If a detective in the division was needed during the early-morning hours, then someone had to be called in from home. Working solo suited Ballard because she didn’t have to run decisions by her partner. On this day, if he had known what Ballard’s plan was, Jenkins would have put the kibosh on it. But because it was Friday, they would not be working together again until the following Tuesday, and she was clear to make her own moves. After suiting up, Ballard checked herself in the mirror over the locker room sinks. She combed her sun-streaked hair with her fingers. That was all she usually had to do. Constant immersion in salt water and exposure to the sun over years had left her with broken, flyaway hair that she kept no longer than chin length out of necessity. It went well with her tan and gave off a slightly butch look that reduced advances from other officers. Olivas had been an exception. Ballard squeezed some Visine drops into her eyes, which were red from the salt water. After that she was good to go. She went into the break room to brew a double-shot espresso on the Keurig. She would be operating now and through the night on less than three hours of sleep. She needed to start stacking caffeine. She kept her eye on the wall clock because she wanted to time her arrival in the detective bureau at shortly before four p.m., when she knew the lead detective in the CAPs unit would also be watching the clock, getting ready to split for the weekend. She had at least fifteen minutes to kill, so she went upstairs to the offices of the buy-bust team next to the vice unit. Major Narcotics was located downtown but each division operated”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“exigent”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“years”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“She had played the part in an episode of a television show called Bosch, which Ballard knew was based on the exploits of a now-retired LAPD detective who had formerly worked at RHD and the Hollywood detective bureau. The production occasionally filmed at the station and had underwritten the division’s last Christmas party at the W Hotel.”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“barramundi”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show

“When you walked the dog, did you see anything unusual on the street?” Ballard asked the old woman. “Anybody out of place?” “No, nothing unusual,” Lantana said. “Is there any construction on the street? Workers hanging around?”
― Michael Connelly, The Late Show