As Gunn had explained, David Blitzstein was cooperative at the moment. It was too early in the investigation to tag him as it.

“Okay, we’ll hold that till later,” Bosch said. “Where’s your partner?”

“He’s driving Blitzstein downtown. He’ll come back after.”

“What’s his name?”

“Glenn Simmons.”

Bosch didn’t know him. So far he didn’t know anybody on the case and that was a rub. So much of the work came down to personalities and relationships. It always helped to already know people.

“Forensics at the scene yet?” he asked.

“They just rolled in. I’ll keep an eye on things till you’re here.”

Bosch checked his watch. It was now 6 A.M. and he knew his promise of being there in a half hour was a stretch. He’d have to stop on the way to get coffee.

“Better yet,” he said, “why don’t you knock on doors before we start losing people to work and school and the day. See if anybody saw or heard anything.”

He almost heard her nod over the phone.

“I’ve got a number of the neighbors already standing in the street here watching,” Gunn said. “Shouldn’t be too hard to scare up some wits.”

“Good,” Bosch said. “I’ll see you soon.”

The crime scene was already a hive of activity by the time Bosch got there. He parked half a block down the street and as he approached on foot he got his bearings. He realized that the houses on the left side of the street backed up against one of the Venice canals, while those on the right, smaller and older, did not. This resulted in the houses on the left being quite a bit more valuable than those on the right. It created an economic division on the same street. The residents on the left had money, their houses newer, bigger and in better condition than those right across the street.