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Cutler pushed himself off the edge of the desk and started around to his seat.
“Let’s sit down and talk,” he said.
Showing his willingness to meet Cutler halfway, Bosch took a seat. He glanced again at Cavanaugh as he did so and saw the agent’s face set in a grim frown. Clearly, he didn’t like the way Cutler was handling this.
“I need you to agree that what is discussed in this room remains confidential,” the prosecutor said.
“Fine with me,” Bosch said.
“Do I have your word?”
“Sure. I’ll even do a pinkie swear if you want.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary. So, let’s talk. Today you, shall we say, stumbled into a surveillance the federal government is conducting in regard to activities involving Nikolai Novak. We would appreciate knowing why you were conducting your own surveillance at Novak’s home.”
“Mr. Cutler, you haven’t told me anything I don’t already know. So why don’t you tell me what activities have caught the attention of the federal government, then I’ll know we have a good-faith deal.”
Cutler leaned back in his seat as if assessing Bosch for the first time. His eyes went over Bosch’s shoulder to the agent leaning against the back wall.
“I know Agent Cavanaugh doesn’t want you to talk to me,” Bosch said. “But I think we could help each other here if we were open and honest.”
“Well, I’m for that,” Cutler said. “So let me say this. It is no secret that Nicky Novak is the head of an organized-crime group called the Spolu. This group is entrenched in human and drug trafficking, loan-sharking, and extortion — the entire organized-crime playbook.”
“And Nicky served time for trafficking in ecstasy — again, I can get all this off Google. If that’s all you’ve got, then I’m going to call an Uber and go back to Cedars and pick up my — ”
“You haven’t let me finish. Can I finish now?”
“Sure, go ahead and finish.”
“Nikolai Novak is the adopted son of Mikhail Novak, an immigrant from the former Czechoslovakia who founded the Spolu here in California in the 1950s and was its leader for almost four decades. When Mikhail died in prison in 1991, Nikolai ascended to the top position in the organization. Nikolai has sought to expand the Spolu’s activities, and in recent years that has included dealing American arms to terrorist cells primarily in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. And that’s why we’re watching him and why we saw what occurred today involving you.”
Bosch shifted in his seat to find a more comfortable position for his bruised insides. The move sent a shooting pain through his torso.
“Are you all right?” Cutler asked.
“I will be,” Bosch said.
“Your turn now. What were you doing up there today, Mr. Bosch?”
“I was just getting the lay of the land. I wanted to see where Novak lives.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m investigating him for a murder.”
“You mean the Wonderland case?”
“No, but that did come up, and I’m interested in it — if there is a case to be made. Like you said, I was there that day and I saw what was done to those victims. It has stayed with me. But what I’ve been looking into is a murder that was covered up at MacLaren in 1965. I think Novak might be good for it.”
Cavanaugh made a tsk sound behind him and Bosch glanced back.
“It was a fifteen-year-old kid,” Bosch said. “And nobody did a thing about it. I’m beginning to see why.”
“Please, continue,” Cutler said. “Tell us about the case.”
“Victim was Charles Lamb. Someone beat him to death in an isolation space they called the hollow. I think Novak was in there with him. I think it was covered up by the man in charge of that place. His name was Anton Cerny. He was born in Czechoslovakia and likely knew Mikhail out here and might even have been part of the Spolu. I think he saw Stokely as a perfect recruit for Mikhail and orchestrated the adoption. Nick Stokely became Nikolai Novak, and now he even has a Czech accent.”
Cutler nodded.
