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Olmstead studied it briefly and then went to the second sheet, which was a printout of the FBI’s wanted poster for Dehaven. He was charged with murder, sedition, and assault on a law enforcement officer. The poster prominently featured the same photo from the Idaho driver’s license plus two other shots of Dehaven inside the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. One photo showed him posing at the speaker’s podium in the chamber of the House of Representatives. The other shot was a candid taken at the Capitol’s entrance that showed Dehaven in a highlighted circle spraying a chemical under the helmet shield of a Capitol Police officer.
“You’re telling me this guy is here in L.A.?” Olmstead said.
“Yes,” Ballard said.
“And you can lead me to him?”
“Yes.”
Olmstead studied the summary of crimes on the wanted poster.
“You guys want him bad,” Bosch said. “He killed his ex-wife because she called the FBI after seeing him on TV at the Capitol.”
“Somehow he found out,” Ballard said. “Killed her and has been in the wind ever since.”
“And how did you come across him?” Olmstead asked.
“You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Ballard said.
“If I’m going to do anything with this, then I need to know,” Olmstead said.
Ballard turned to Bosch to make sure he was still with her. He nodded without hesitation.
“I could and should give this to LAPD counterterrorism,” she said. “So if I give it to you, I need two assurances.”
“Let’s hear them,” Olmstead said.
“First, my name is nowhere near it,” Ballard said. “You got this from a CI or a concerned citizen who saw the guy’s picture in a post office or online or something.”
“I can do that, but why?” Olmstead said.
“Because of condition number two,” Ballard said. “Dehaven has my badge. You arrest him, you get it, and you give it back to me. It does not get mentioned in any report.”
“Wait, what?” Olmstead said. “He’s got your badge? How?”
“That’s the story you wouldn’t believe if I told you,” Ballard said.
“Well, I think you’d better tell me anyway,” Olmstead said.
“My badge was stolen Monday while I was surfing up near Dockweiler Beach,” Ballard said. “There’s a surfing break called Staircases. While I was on the water, a couple of assholes broke into my car. I tracked them down but not before they got rid of the badge. They sold it to a fence, who then sold it to Dehaven.”
“You didn’t report it?” Olmstead asked. “It can’t be that big a deal, can it?”
“For me it would be,” Ballard said. “Suffice it to say there are people in the department who would use it against me. It would be myticket to a transfer and freeway therapy. The bottom line is I love my job, Gordon, and I’m good at it. I want to keep it.”
“Okay, I get it,” Olmstead said. “And I know firsthand that you’re good at your job. Where does Dehaven have your badge?”
“On him, we think,” Ballard said.
“Why do you think that?” Olmstead asked.
Ballard glanced at Bosch. She wasn’t going to reveal any of the lines she had crossed, no matter how much she trusted Olmstead.
“We just do,” she said. “It will be on him or nearby. That’s all you need to know.”
Olmstead looked from Ballard to Bosch and then back to Ballard.
“Okay, we won’t go there,” he said. “But let me see if I’ve got this clear. I’m supposed to take this guy down, get the badge, and turn it over to you. That would be evidence I’m handing over.”
