The Brass Verdict

tell me before the arrests. I thought it might be even nicer to go down to the CCB and watch them take Holder out of there in handcuffs.
    “Is it solid?” I asked. “Holder
is
a judge, you know. You better have it nailed down.”
    “It’s solid. McSweeney gave it all up. We’ve got phone records, money transfers. He even taped her husband during some of the conversations.”
    I nodded. It sounded like the typical federal package. One reason I never took on federal cases when I was practicing was that when the Big G made a case, it usually stayed made. Victories for the defense were rare. Most times you just got flattened like roadkill.
    “I didn’t know Carlin was hooked up in this,” I said.
    “He’s right at the center. He goes way back with the judge and she used him to approach Vincent in the first place. Vincent used him to deliver the money. Then when Vincent started getting cold feet because the FBI was sniffing around, Carlin got wind of it and told the judge. She thought the best thing to do was get rid of the weak link. She and her husband sent McSweeney to take care of Vincent.”
    “Got wind of it how? Wren Williams?”
    “Yeah, we think. He got close to her to keep tabs on Vincent. We don’t think she knew what was going on. She’s not smart enough.”
    I nodded and thought about how all the pieces fit together.
    “What about McSweeney? He just did what he was told? The judge tells him to hit a guy and he just does it?”
    “First of all, McSweeney was a con man before he was a killer. So I don’t for a minute think we’re getting the whole truth out of him. But he says the judge can be very persuasive. The way she explained it to him, either Vincent went down or they all went down. There was no choice. Besides, she also promised to increase his cut after he went through with the trial and tipped the case.”
    I nodded.
    “So what are the indictments?”
    “Conspiracy to commit murder, corruption. This is only the first wave. There will be more down the road. This wasn’t the first time. McSweeney told us he’d been on four juries in the last seven years. Two acquittals and two hangers. Three different courthouses.”
    I whistled as I thought of some of the big cases that had ended in shocking acquittals or hung juries in recent years.
    “Robert Blake?”
    Bosch smiled and shook his head.
    “I wish,” he said. “O.J., too. But they weren’t in business back then for that one. We just lost those cases on our own.”
    “Doesn’t matter. This is going to be huge.”
    “Biggest one I’ve ever had.”
    He folded his arms and glanced over his shoulder at the view.
    “You’ve got the Sunset Strip and I’ve got Universal,” he said.
    I heard the door open and looked back to see Hayley peeking out.
    “Dad?”
    “What’s up, Hay?”
    “Is everything all right?”
    “Everything’s fine. Hayley, this is Detective Bosch. He’s a policeman.”
    “Hello, Hayley,” Bosch said.
    I think it was the only time I had ever seen him put a real smile on his face.
    “Hi,” my daughter said.
    “Hayley, did you eat your cereal?” I asked.
    “Yes.”
    “Okay, then you can watch TV until it’s time to go.”
    She disappeared inside and closed the door. I checked my watch. She still had ten minutes before we had to leave.
    “She’s a cute kid,” Bosch said.
    I nodded.
    “I gotta ask you a question,” he said. “You started this whole thing tumbling, didn’t you? You sent that anonymous letter to the judge.”
    I thought for a moment before answering.
    “If I say yes, am I going to become a witness?”
    I had not been called to the federal grand jury after all. With McSweeney giving everything up, they apparently didn’t need me. And I didn’t want to change that now.
    “No, it’s just for me,” Bosch said. “I just want to know if you did the right thing.”
    I considered not telling him but ultimately I wanted him to know.
    “Yeah, that was me. I wanted to get McSweeney off the jury and then win the case fair and square. I didn’t expect Judge Stanton to take the letter and consult other judges about it.”
    “He called up the chief judge and asked her advice.”
    I nodded.
    “It’s gotta be what happened,” I said. “He calls her, not knowing she was behind the whole thing. She then tipped McSweeney and told him not to show up for court, then used him to try to clean up the mess.”
    Bosch nodded as though I was confirming things he already knew.
    “And you