Resurrection Walk

“We don’t,” I said. “I’ve never used Applied Forensics, but they’ve pitched me for my business. They have a full DNA lab. All we need to do is get Silver to tell them to test the evidence for touch DNA.”

“Not just that,” Arslanian said. “There will likely be touch DNA from whoever wiped the pads and whoever was wiped. We need to get Lucinda’s DNA to the lab for a comparison.”

“Do we have her DNA?” Cisco asked.

“Not yet,” I said. “But I have a plan for getting it. The question is, can we get a comparison done by Monday, when we’re back in court?”

“If I stay on top of Applied Forensics we can,” Arslanian said. “I’ll camp out there and walk them through it.”

“No, Shami, you need to get back home,” I said.

“Please let me do this,” she said. “I need to.”

I nodded.

“Okay,” I said. “So you three go to Applied Forensics in the morning. Silver will likely go there too, so be there as soon as they’re open. I’ll go see the judge. I’ll wait to hear from you before I knock on her door.”

“How do we know Silver won’t try to run a game on us?” Bosch asked.

“I’ll call him in the morning,” I said. “If he becomes a problem, Cisco will make him see the light.”

Everyone looked at Cisco. He gave us a nod.

35

On Wednesday morning at ten I was posted on the hallway bench outside Judge Coelho’s courtroom. I knew the courtroom would be dark now that the habeas hearing was continued. While I was checking my phone for messages, the courtroom door opened and out stepped one of the journalists who had attended the hearing Monday and Tuesday. She was young, dark-haired, and attractive and had a serious air about her. I had not recognized her among the other journalists I knew from previous trials and cases.

“Mr. Haller, I’m surprised to see you here,” she said. “I mean, with the case put over till Monday.”

“I need to see the clerk about something,” I said. “You’re a journalist, right? You were here both days of the hearing.”

“Yes, Britta Shoot,” she said as she held out her hand.

I shook it.

“Shoot?” I asked. “Really?”

“Yes,” she said. “I know, it’s a little coincidental since this case is about a shooting.”

“Who do you work for?”

“For myself mostly — I’m a freelancer. But I’ve had my stories published in the New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, a lot of publications. I often write about technology and I’m working on a book about geofencing, how it’s increasingly being used by law enforcement — and some defense attorneys like yourself — and the Fourth Amendment privacy issues and all of that.”

“Interesting. How did you hear about this case?”

“Uh, a source told me that geofencing was going to come up. And, boy, it sure did yesterday with your witness Bosch. I’d like to interview him — and you — if you have time.”

“It will have to wait until this is over. Federal judges aren’t too keen on attorneys and witnesses from their ongoing cases talking to the media.”

“It’s a long-term project. The judge would not see anything until the book comes out, but I can wait. I know you have your hands full, especially after the ruling on the re-creation. AI in the courts is another story I’d like to write about.”

She put her computer bag down on the bench next to me, unzipped it, and gave me a business card. It just had her name and phone number on it.

“That’s my cell,” she said.

“Four-one-five — you’re down from San Francisco?” I asked.

“Yes. I’m going back up later today but I’ll be sure to be here Monday.”

“Yeah, don’t miss Monday.”

“Why? Got a surprise?”

“Maybe. We’ll see. What were you in the courtroom for?”

“I wanted to get a copy of your subpoena for the tower data and a copy of what you entered as an exhibit. I got the subpoena but the cost of the data printout is a little over my budget.”

“Yeah, they charge something like a buck a page for copying costs. Here.”

I pulled out my wallet, dug out a card, and handed it to her.

“If you come back Monday, I’ll give you a copy,” I said.

“Thank you very much,” she said. “You sure?”

“Yeah, not a problem.”

“That’s really nice. You’re saving me money and time. I would have had to wait till the end of the day for them to copy everything. I can get back on an earlier flight now.”

I held up her card.

“Cool,” I said. “Maybe someday you can do me a favor. Interview me for your book or maybe a profile in The New Yorker, huh?”

She smiled.

“Maybe,” she said. “See you Monday.”

“Monday,” I said. “I’ll be here.”

I watched her head down the hall to the elevator. I wondered who her source was and guessed it was probably someone in the AG’s office who knew about the subpoena I had gotten for the cell-tower data.

I pulled my phone out and googled geofencing because I had never heard the term before. I was halfway through a Harvard Law Review article on the Fourth Amendment issues surrounding the use of cell data to track individuals when my phone buzzed. It was Bosch.

“Give me good news,” I said.