“He’s a mobster, Mrs. Aliso. And your husband knew him pretty well, I’m afraid. We’re going to Las Vegas now to get him. If all goes well, we will be coming back with him tomorrow. Then the case will proceed through the courts. There will be a preliminary hearing in municipal court, and then if Goshen is bound over for trial as we assume he will be, there will be a trial in Los Angeles Superior Court. It is likely you will have to testify briefly during the trial. Testify for the prosecution.”

She nodded, her eyes far off.

“Why did he do it?”

“We’re not sure yet. We’re working on that. We do know that your husband was involved in business dealings with this man’s, uh, employer. A man named Joseph Marconi. Do you recall if your husband ever mentioned Goshen or Joseph Marconi?”

“No.”

“What about the names Lucky or Joey Marks?”

She shook her head in the negative.

“What business dealings?” she asked.

“He was cleaning money for them. Washing it through his film business. You sure you did not know anything about this?”

“Of course not. Do I need my lawyer? You know he already told me not to talk to you people.”

Bosch gave an easy smile and held his hands up.

“No, Mrs. Aliso, you don’t need your lawyer. We’re just trying to get to the facts of the case. If you knew something about your husband’s business dealings, it might help us build a case against this man Goshen and possibly his employer. You see, right now we’ve got this Goshen character pretty well tied up for this. We’re not sweating that. We’ve got ballistics, fingerprints, hard evidence. But he wouldn’t have done what he did if Joey Marks didn’t tell him to. Joey Marks is who we’d really like to get. And the more information I have about your husband and his business, the better the chance we have of getting to Joey Marks. So if there is anything you can help us with, now is the time to tell us.”

He was silent and waited. She looked down at the now folded piece of paper in her hand. She finally nodded to herself and looked at him.

“I know nothing about his business,” she said. “But there was a call last week. It came here on Wednesday night. He took it in the office and closed the door but…I went to the door and listened. I could hear his side of it.”

“What did he say?”

“He called the caller Lucky. I know that. He did a lot of listening and then he said he’d be out there by the end of the week. He then said he’d see the caller at the club. And that was it.”

Bosch nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell us this before?”

“I didn’t think it was important. I…you see, I thought he was talking to a woman. The name Lucky, I thought it was a woman’s name.”

“Was that why you were listening through the door?”

She averted her eyes and nodded her head.

“Mrs. Aliso, have you ever hired a private investigator to follow your husband?”

“No. I thought about it but I didn’t.”

“But you suspected he was having an affair?”

“Affairs, Detective. I not only suspected, I knew. A wife can tell.”

“Okay, Mrs. Aliso. Do you remember anything else about the telephone conversation? Anything else that was said?”

“No. Just what I told you.”

“It might help us with the court case, as far as questions of premeditation go, if we could isolate this call. Are you sure it was Wednesday?”

“Yes, because he left the next day.”

“What time did the call come in?”

“It was late. We were watching the news on Channel 4. So it was after eleven and before eleven-thirty. I don’t think I can narrow it down any further.”

“Okay, Mrs. Aliso, that’s good.”

Bosch looked over at Edgar and raised his eyebrows. Edgar just nodded. He was ready to go. They stood up and Veronica Aliso led them to the door.

“Oh,” Bosch said before he got to the door. “There was a question that came up about your husband. Do you know, did he have a regular doctor that he went to?”

“Yes, on occasion. Why?”

“Well, I wanted to check to see if he suffered from hemorrhoids.”

She looked like she was about to laugh.

“Hemorrhoids? I don’t think so. I think Tony would’ve complained loud and often if he did.”

“Really?”

Bosch was standing in the doorway now.

“Yes, really. Besides, you just told me that the autopsy was completed, wouldn’t that doctor be able to tell you the answer to that question?”

Bosch nodded. She had him there.

“I guess so, Mrs. Aliso. The only reason I ask is that we found a tube of Preparation H in his car. I was wondering why it was there if, you know, he didn’t need it.”

She smiled this time.

“Oh, that’s an old performer’s trick.”

“A performer’s trick?”

“You know, actresses, models, dancers. They use that stuff.”

Bosch looked at her, waiting for more. She didn’t say anything.

“I don’t get it,” he said. “Why do they use it?”

“Under their eyes, Detective Bosch. You know, shrinks the swelling? Well, you put it under your eyes and the bags from all that hard living get shrunk, too. Probably half the people who buy that stuff in this town use it under their eyes, not what it’s supposed to be used for. My husband…he was a vain man. If he was going to Las Vegas to be with some young girl, I think he would have done this. It was just like him.”

Bosch nodded. He thought of the unidentified substance under Tony Aliso’s eyes. You learn something new every day, he thought. He would have to call Salazar.

“How do you think he would have known about that?” he asked.

She was about to answer but hesitated, then she just hiked her shoulders.

“It’s a not-so-secret Hollywood secret,” she said. “He could’ve learned it anywhere.”

Including from you, Bosch thought but didn’t say. He just nodded and stepped through the door.

“Oh, one last thing,” he said before she closed it. “This arrest is probably going to hit the media today or tomorrow. We’ll try to contain it as much as possible. But in this town, nothing’s ever sacred or secret for long. You should be prepared for that.”

“Thank you, Detective.”

“You might want to think about a small funeral. Something inside. Tell the director not to give information out over the phone. Funerals always make good video.”

She nodded and closed the door.

On the way out of Hidden Highlands, Bosch lit a cigarette and Edgar didn’t object.

“She’s a cold piece of work,” Edgar said.

“That she is,” Bosch answered. “What do you think of the phone call from Lucky?”

“It’s just one more piece. We got Lucky by the balls. As far as he’s concerned, it’s over.”

Bosch took Mulholland along the crest of the mountains until it wound down to the Hollywood Freeway. They passed without comment the fire road down which Tony Aliso had been found. At the freeway, Bosch turned south so he could pick up the IO in downtown and head east.

“Harry, what’s up?” Edgar asked. “I thought we were leavin’ outta Burbank.”

“We’re not flying. We’re driving.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I only reserved the flights in case somebody checked. When we get to Vegas, we let on that we flew in and that we’re flying out right after the hearing with Goshen. Nobody has to know we’re driving. You okay with that?”

“Yeah, sure, fine. I get it. Precautions, settin’ a smoke screen in case somebody checks. I can dig it. You never know with the mobsters, do you?”

“Or with the cops.”