The fourth book in the Harry Bosch series, 1995

“ANY THOUGHTS THAT you’d like to start with?”

“Thoughts on what?”

“Well, on anything. On the incident.”

“On the incident? Yes, I have some thoughts.”

She waited but he didn’t continue. He had decided before he even got to Chinatown that this would be the way he would be. He’d make her have to pull every single word out of him.

“Could you share them with me, Detective Bosch?” she finally asked. “That is the purpose of-”

“My thoughts are that this is bullshit. Total bullshit. That’s the purpose. That’s all.”

“No, wait. How do you mean, bullshit?”

“I mean, okay, I pushed the guy. I guess I hit him. I’m not sure exactly what happened but I’m not denying anything. So, fine, suspend me, transfer me, take it to a Board of Rights, whatever. But going this way is bullshit. ISL is bullshit. I mean, why do I have to come here three times a week to talk to you like I’m some kind of-you don’t even know me, you don’t know anything about me. Why do I have to talk to you? Why do you have to sign off on this?”

“Well, the technical answer is right there in your own statement. Rather than discipline you the department wants to treat you. You’ve been placed on involuntary stress leave, which means-”

“I know what it means and that’s what’s bullshit. Somebody arbitrarily decides I’m under stress and that gives the department the power to keep me off the job indefinitely, or at least until I jump through enough hoops for you.”

“Nothing about this was arbitrary. It was predicated on your actions, which I think clearly show-”

“What happened had nothing to do with stress. What it was about was…never mind. Like I said, it’s bullshit. So why don’t we just cut through it and get to the point. What do I have to do to get back to my job?”