“Three weeks isn’t so bad.”
“We’re experienced long-distance-relationship veterans.”
“Three weeks is nothing. Been there, done that.”
She took a slow breath and nodded.
I said, “The rings. May I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Did you bring them from BR?”
“La Jolla. I bought them when we went to San Diego.”
I smiled, but she couldn’t see it.
She said, “Do you think this is a mistake?”
“Us?”
“So many things to consider. So many changes ahead. I want to get it right.”
I took her shoulders and gently turned her so we faced each other.
“The true mistake would be not trying.”
Lucy gazed up at me and made the most lovely smile. Her amber eyes sparkled.
“Yes, Yoda. You are right.”
“Are you mocking me?”
“Mocking you I am.”
I laughed and we went inside and it was good.
65
Lucy and Ben flew back to Baton Rouge the next morning. After they left for the airport I put away the futon, then stripped the bed and carried the sheets and towels and facecloths to the washer. I got the washer going, put fresh sheets on the bed and cases on the pillows and made the bed to Sergeant Zim’s exacting standards.
Between last night and my making the bed, Josh Schumacher’s podcast and episode page dropped. I found out because I had a local TV news channel on while I was washing dishes. I heard Josh’s name and ran into the living room to see a shaky video clip of Sanford Richter fending off a mic as Josh’s voice asked a question.
“Is it true you accepted bribes from the Crystal Future Hospitality Group and others to approve their development projects?”
The news cut to a clip of Richter on the steps of City Hall as he arrived that morning. Richter chuckled as he answered the reporter’s question.
“There is absolutely no truth to these fictions. Absurd. People like this crave attention or have some darker, more sinister motive. Who knows?”
The news cut back to the anchor. A photo of Grady Locke was behind her.
“The councilman’s chief of staff, Grady Locke, could not be reached for comment. Join us at noon for updates and more late-breaking news.”
I muted the volume and wondered if Josh was watching. I hoped so. Josh hadn’t simply dropped the podcast and launched the web page. He sent links and audio files to over one hundred local, state, and national news agencies and included Rachel Bohlen’s and Kimberly Laird’s unedited audio and video statements.
Mainstream journalists had risen to the bait.
Lou Poitras arrived an hour later. I knew he was coming. I had called him.
He said, “Lemme see.”
I carried the bright green duffel down from my loft and opened it on the couch.
Poitras peered inside and made a little hiss.
“How much is here?”
“One hundred sixty-two thousand.”
“Where’d he get it?”
“Where he said. Grady Locke’s loft. Check his website. You’ll see pictures, video, everything.”
Poitras stared at the money as if he didn’t know what to do with it.
I said, “If you don’t want it, I’m happy to keep it.”
“Come down later? Make a statement?”
“Sure. Whatever you want.”
Over the next three days, I gave statements and answered questions for the L.A. police, the FBI, three D.A.s, and two very polite women who identified themselves as agents from the Defense Intelligence Agency. They asked if I had seen or heard anything unusual at Adele Schumacher’s residence. I told them I hadn’t.
Six days after the podcast dropped, the Los Angeles Times launched a full-scale investigation into Crystal Future Hospitality Group’s L.A. building projects, Horton Tarly and LWL, and the pay-to-play allegations against Sanford Richter. Four days later, Horton Tarly cut a deal to testify against Chow Wan Li, Sanford Richter, and his brother-in-law, Grady Locke. Chow Wan Li and his jet had already returned to the PRC. To the best of my knowledge, the woman referred to as the scarecrow was never identified.
Sixteen days after Tarly cut the deal, Grady Locke flipped. In a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney, Locke acknowledged the murder of Rachel Belle Bohlen and named as conspirators himself, Sanford Richter, and Chow Wan Li. Locke stated he found Rachel Bohlen photographing cash he’d hidden in his bedroom, after which she admitted knowing of his dealings with Richter and had photographed a text exchange between Tarly and himself. Locke stated he asked Richter what they should do and Richter had told him to get rid of her. Richter told him “the Chinaman” would do it. Later that night, Donghai An Bo and a second Chow employee named Jeffries T. Jordan arrived and took Bohlen away. Jeffries T. Jordan was the ponytailed gardener.