Original release date: June 24, 2021
New Year’s Eve 2019. While Los Angeles celebrates, a fire break out in an East Hollywood apartment building killing several resident including a ten-year-old girl. When it’s determined to be arson, Detective Harry Bosch arrives on the scene but his partner, Detective Jerry Edgar, is noticeably absent.
* * *
Four Months Later
New Year’s Eve 12/31/19
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
[indistinct chatter]
How does Chandler know the mayor?
Chandler knows everybody.
Pretty chummy.
Yeah. After Irving dropped out, Chandler switched her endorsement, so Lopez owes her.
So now they’re, like, besties.
Kind of.
Antonio, Maddie, I’m so glad you made it.
I’m sorry your dad’s not here.
Yeah, he’d already made other plans.
Oh, I’m sure.
His idea of a wild New Year’s Eve: stay in, curl up with a good murder book.
He is who he is.
[chuckles] The one and only.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
[Barrel] …lays down.
And the bear comes in and the bear says to the guy, “You don’t really come up here to hunt, do you?”
[laughter]
Wait, I don’t get it.
That is just so bad.
You’re laughing.
Yeah, and I hate myself for it.
He tells that joke every year.
Every year. Without fail.
And every year it gets more ornate.
Talk about gilding your lily, eh?
Oh, bite me, cheese dicks.
[laughter]
Pearls before swine.
It’s great to see you.
Hey.
Hey.
I love the undercover look, Edge.
It’s very becoming.
Thanks, L.T.
You having fun?
Love it.
Kick-ass detail.
Excellent.
Commander Palka.
[Palka] Hey, L.T.
I’m so glad you’re here.
Yeah, having a great time.
Great. Great, great.
You met Anne. Obviously.
[soft laughter]
[chuckles]
You okay?
Rough crowd.
I know. Compared to eye doctors.
[chuckles]
They’re all so nice, your friends.
I mean, cops? Who knew?
[gasps] Happy anniversary.
Happy anniversary, darling.
[both laugh]
Happy New Year.
Happy, happy 2020.
L.T.
Hey.
Bennett. You remember Anne.
Anne, this is Joan Bennett.
Uh, yeah.
We met here last year. How are you?
Mm-hmm.
Very well, thank you. Happy New Year.
And to you. Edgar coming?
Ooh, well, he said he was.
I’m gonna try him.
[line ringing]
[Edgar] You’ve reached Detective Jerry Edgar.
Leave your name and number.
Hey, Jed, it’s Joan.
I’m at Billets’.
It’d be nice to see you.
Been a minute.
Anyway, um, Happy New Year.
I hope you’re well.
[dog barking in distance]
♪ ♪
[loud chatter]
[firework pops]
[TV announcer speaking Spanish]
Honey.
Take these upstairs to Auntie Consuela…
Sí, Mama.
Tell her she can return the dish anytime, no rush…
Okay, Mama.
[speaking indistinctly]
[laughter in distance]
What’s up, mija? Mija.
Happy New Year, Sr Rulfo. These tamales are for you.
My mama made them for good luck.
Ah, muchas gracias, mija.
Come in. Please.
[Spanish music playing]
Oh!
[all cheering]
Feliz año a todos. Feliz año.
[insects chirping]
[dogs barking in distance]
Hi, J. Tried your cell.
We are waiting for you to ring in the New Year.
[over phone] The boys are so excited to see you.
Hope you’re on your way.
[grunts softly]
[all] …eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!
Happy New Year!
[cheering]
[riffing on “Auld Lang Syne”]
♪ ♪
And here’s to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2020.
[cheering, applause]
[party horn blowing]
[Chandler laughing]
[lively music playing]
[music receding]
[lighter clicks]
[tires screeching]
[coughing]
[coughing]
Sonia, mija…
[speaking Spanish]
Sonia! Mija!
Mama?
[coughing]
Mama?
♪ ♪
♪ I got a feeling that I can’t let go ♪
♪ Can’t let go ♪
♪ I got a feeling that I can’t let go ♪
♪ I got a feeling that I can’t let go ♪
♪ Can’t let go ♪
♪ I got a feeling that I can’t let go ♪
♪ I got a feeling that I can’t let go ♪
♪ Can’t let go, can’t let go ♪
♪ Got a feeling that I can’t let go ♪
♪ I got a feeling that I can’t let go ♪
♪ Can’t let go, can’t let go ♪
♪ Can’t let go ♪
♪ ♪
♪ Like me ♪
[turns off engine]
Well, thank you for a lovely evening.
My pleasure. Thank you.
Happy New Year.
It’s off to a good start.
[chuckles]
Nightcap?
It’s late.
Could say it’s early.
Yeah, you could.
[phone buzzing]
[ringtone playing]
Saved by the bell.
Excuse me.
Mac.
Harry, sorry to bother you.
What’s up?
We have a situation.
East Hollywood. Multiple fatalities. Arson.
Yeah, okay. Text me the address.
Sorry.
You have to go.
Yeah.
Fire. East Hollywood.
Arson?
Looks like.
Fatalities?
‘Fraid so.
I spoke too soon.
[chuckles] About what?
A good start to the new year.
Crime never sleeps.
Rain check?
Rain check.
[starts engine]
Jerry, why aren’t you answering your cell?
We got a call. Arson fire. Three dead.
Meet me at the scene.
[beep]
[snoring softly]
[sirens wailing]
[helicopter blades whirring]
[indistinct radio chatter]
Kai.
Where’s MacVittie?
The arson guy?
Yeah.
Over there with Pierce and Vega.
Thanks, brother.
Talk to me, Mac. How bad is it?
Could’ve been worse. Most of the building was on the street celebrating.
Dozen or so in the hospital. Smoke inhalation.
Origin?
Manager’s apartment.
Fire damage confined to his apartment and the one up above.
Cause?
Arson. Incendiary device.
How do we know?
Multiple wits.
Stroke of midnight, car pulls up, guy jumps out of the passenger side, tosses a Molotov, throws a strike through a second-story window.
Hell of an arm.
Suspect description?
“Two guys in hoodies.”
Age? Ethnicity?
It was dark.
Car?
Dark gray. Black. “Fancy.”
Plate?
Not yet.
Where’d they take the residents?
[Pierce] School down the street.
Red Cross is en route.
Okay, you guys head over there.
Keep canvassing. Maybe somebody caught a video on their cell.
Right. On it.
[Bosch] Manager gonna make it?
Tried to put the fire out with his hands, but yeah.
After we’re done here, I’ll go to the hospital, get a statement.
Smoke inhalation, both of them.
[Bosch] You said three dead.
[Billets] Eight months pregnant.
Jesus.
According to the coroner.
So, she the tenant?
[Bosch] Other woman’s the tenant: Maria Hernandez.
Died in the building, southeast quadrant.
[Billets] Looking for a way out?
[Bosch] Looking for her child.
[Billets] So we’ve got a missing kid?
Sonia. Age ten.
Last seen visiting the neighbors.
Pierce and Vega are at the school searching for her.
[Billets sighs heavily]
Fingers crossed.
What about the knuckleheads who did this?
Wits say two guys.
High-end SUV.
We’re beating the bushes for video.
So, what’s your next move?
Hospital. Interview the manager.
That should have been done already.
Yeah. A bit short-handed.
Speaking of which, where’s Edgar?
Sick as a dog.
Stomach flu.
Tell him to stay home until he’s not contagious.
Exact words I used.
And get some sleep.
[sighs] Last thing I need is you down with the flu, too.
Roger that.
[camera clicks]
We found her.
♪ ♪
[rattling door]
♪ ♪
Can I help you?
Detective Bosch, LAPD.
Mm.
I was hoping to speak to Eduardo Rojas.
Mm, not in this world, honey.
He went to his reward about an hour ago. Stroke.
Thank you.
Mm-hmm.
Happy New Year.
Happy New Year.
[dialing]
[line ringing]
[phone buzzing]
[ringtone playing]
Hey. You okay?
I’m good.
Happy New Year.
You okay? You sound tired.
Where are you?
I’m home.
About to shower and shave, go to work.
Dinner?
I may be late.
Is this the fire?
Yeah.
Awful.
Yeah, it is awful.
I’ll see you tonight.
Be careful.
Always.
[telephone ringing]
[monitor beeping steadily]
Happy New Year.
Not quite how I pictured it.
We’ll celebrate when he’s home.
Everything is gonna be fine.
Do you not think so?
I’m striving to stay on the sunny side.
But?
As my grandmother used to say, “If wishes were horses…”
It’s gonna be okay.
You’ll see.
Where were you last night?
Overdid a little.
Too much to drink.
Fell asleep early and missed the main event.
Thanks for covering for me.
Forget it.
No, it’s big. I owe you.
No sweat.
Little shorthanded, but we managed.
Lost a crucial witness who was the probable target, but, hey, we’ll figure it out.
Or not.
I said I was sorry.
What’s up with you, man?
What?
Last few months, you’re a fucking mope.
Excuse me? A mope?
Ever since what went down went down?
Off your game big-time.
[scoffs]
Fuck you, man. Look, I’m fine.
Don’t worry about me.
Still talking to the shrink?
For what it’s worth.
Well, is she helping?
She help you?
I didn’t need help.
Neither do I.
Goddamn it, Jerry.
This is all on me.
What is?
What you did that night?
You would have never gotten to that place if you hadn’t known me.
Fuck you. I make my own mistakes.
You don’t get to take all the credit all the time for everything.
You been smoking?
I don’t smoke.
Not what I asked.
[indistinct chatter]
[speaking Spanish]
Okay. Si se te ocurre algo.
Sí. Lo haré. Gracias.
How’s your Spanish?
[sighs]
Malisimo. Lousy.
What do you got?
Not a lot.
They’re scared. Afraid they’ll be evicted if they talk to us.
Or arrested.
Undocumented?
A lot of them.
You tell them we don’t do that?
You tell them we don’t hand them over to ICE?
Over and over.
Why should they believe us?
I get the feeling there’s harassment going on, and nobody wants to complain on the record.
Got anything?
New landlord, brought in a new manager to clean up the building.
Clean it up how?
Chase off the dealers.
Okay. Make up a diagram of the building, compile a list of every resident, get the skinny on the new owners, run all the 311, 911 calls, especially the ones from the manager.
On it.
Can we help you?
Maria Hernandez? She had a husband.
Sonia’s papi.
“Hector Hernandez.” Know where can we find him?
Mexico.
Deported about a year ago.
Where in Mexico?
Jalisco.
[Bosch] Got an address? Phone number?
Sorry, no.
I found this number in their apartment.
52 is Mexico.
33 area code…
Treinta y tres is Guadalajara.
I hope you find him.
We’ll turn this over to the coroner.
They notify next of kin.
Ah.
[sighs]
Sir?
Do you have any idea who might have done this?
No.
Tell us about the new manager.
The new owners put him in, to get rid of the dealers.
The dealers.
Uh-huh.
Do you know their names?
Not their real names.
Street names are okay.
La Mayorista.
They work for La Mayorista.
La Mayorista?
Mm-hmm.
[Bosch] Who’s that?
It’s a woman, right?
No more. I can’t. Okay, no more.
Okay.
He got spooked.
Saw everybody watching him talk to us.
All these witnesses on the street at midnight?
Two guys roll up, toss a fire bomb.
Nobody saw who these guys were?
Just two mooks in hoodies in a big black car?
That’s bullshit.
They know who these guys are.
They know exactly what these guys are, for sure.
[Edgar] That was fast.
Let’s talk to the gang guy.
[Collins] That neighborhood, that block?
Las Palmas 13.
You get a statement from the manager before he passed?
No. “La Mayorista” ring a bell?
Ah, Gladys Rodriguez.
She controls the drug trade on that block.
Buys her dope from Las Palmas, pays rent, protection to them, too.
A woman. That’s unusual.
Yeah, she’s an unusual woman.
Looks like a banker.
Kind of a female Stringer Bell. Watch “The Wire”?
[chuckles] Yeah, I binged it.
Then you know what I’m talking about.
All business. Not to be underestimated.
Who runs Las Palmas?
Good question.
Shot caller’s a lifer, Pelican Bay.
Still calling the shots?
Yes, but leaves a power vacuum on the street.
Couple youngbloods vying for the crown.
Emmanuel Trejo, Mickey Peña.
I’ll work up a file.
They were sending a message to the manager.
Residents, too.
Business has been slow lately.
Beefed up police presence. More arrests, more patrols.
Less profits.
La Mayorista can’t be happy about that.
I hear more than unhappy. Fit to be tied.
You’ll get us what you got on her, yeah?
Will do. How’s your burrito?
Delicious.
Good, right?
This is one of my favorites.
You know, all these taco trucks and lunch wagons pay a mordida to the gangs.
A bite.
A bite, right. The gangs kick up to eMe.
It’s an ecosystem. And you can’t change it.
You can nibble around the edges, but in the end, eMe endures.
Makes you wonder, don’t it?
Every day.
[Lopez] Our brothers and sisters are in mourning.
This is a crushing tragedy to happen to our community, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families.
And now I’ll turn things over to Chief Irving who will say a few words and take a few questions.
Thank you, Madam Mayor.
We’re just in the initial phase of our investigation.
We’re interviewing witnesses, pursuing leads and bringing the full resources of the Los Angeles Police Department to bear.
[car door closes]
[engine starts]
Questions?
[Barrel] Hmm.
Mm.
Thunder road.
Ha. Hey, stop. Hold it right there.
Mm-hmm.
Okay, back it up. There.
Eureka.
Last three digits.
It’s a start.
One last question.
Is it true that the body of the Little Tamale Girl was found…
I’m sorry?
Sonia Hernandez, the Little Tamale Girl.
That’s what they’re calling her. It’s trending online.
Your question?
Is it true she was found in front of a locked fire door?
That’s under investigation.
If it proves true, we’ll refer the matter to the district attorney.
Thank you.
[camera shutters clicking]
Jen.
Irv.
Now, tell me something. What’s with Lopez?
The cold shoulder.
Well, maybe she doesn’t trust you.
Oh, Jen. Still?
You should’ve given me a heads-up.
[sighs] Well, you landed on your feet.
And as for your boss, my endorsement put her over the top.
We would have carried South L.A. without you.
I beg to differ.
I’ll convey that to the mayor.
Hey. Come in.
[Edgar] Wanted to see me, L.T.?
Yeah. Harry said you were sick as a dog.
[laughs softly] I’m good.
Got it out of my system.
Is everything all right, Jerry?
Why do you ask?
Well, I’m concerned about you.
Your performance.
Uh, what about my performance?
It’s been a little lackluster lately.
You’re not yourself.
Harry put you up to this?
Absolutely not.
I haven’t spoken to Bosch about you.
He wouldn’t tell me anything anyway.
Hmm.
I’m fine.
That’s all I needed to hear.
[door opens]
[door closes]
Join you?
Please.
Scott Anderson has an article in the paper today.
He’s calling the little girl… what’s her name, Sonia?
Sonia Hernandez.
He’s calling her the Little Tamale Girl.
Yeah.
She and her mother and the other woman who died…
The pregnant woman?
Yeah. They were making tamales for their neighbors for New Year’s.
For good luck.
You know, at my desk at work, I have pictures of three young women.
One’s Filipina, one’s Chinese, one’s Latina.
Undocumented, illegal, whatever you want to call them.
Immigrants.
And I don’t know their real names.
They’ve never been identified.
Their bodies have never been claimed.
No one ever reported them missing.
Their murders have never been solved, and…
…probably never will be.
That’s so sad.
It is.
Why do you keep them?
The pictures?
To remind me.
Everybody counts or nobody counts.
[car horns honking]
[exhales]
They’re gonna fire me.
Not gonna happen.
You might get dinged for tactics, that’s it.
The department responds to external pressure.
There hasn’t been any, not even a lawsuit.
Who’s gonna sue?
Avril had a gun.
Good shoot, end of story.
They’re ready for you, Detective.
After you.
[Sales] Detective Edgar, the board has reviewed the FID investigation of the officer-involved shooting that resulted in the death of Jacques Avril.
As to the tactics, the board finds that the tactics you employed to be out of policy and subject to disciplinary review.
As to the drawing, exhibiting and discharging of your firearm, the board finds that you acted within policy.
As to the disciplinary review, the board has determined that you displayed poor judgment.
Your failure to notify communications of your location, and your decision to enter that location without requesting or waiting for backup officers, directly contributed to the adverse outcome.
You are hereby ordered to schedule a tactical remediation session at the Police Academy to be completed not more than 90 days from now.
[indistinct chatter]
Hey. I’ll take those.
She’s been on the phone all morning.
What’s going on?
Hush-hush. New client.
Big case brewing.
So, how’d you like the party?
Party?
Chandler’s party. New Year’s Eve.
It was okay.
We left early.
I didn’t get invited.
Oh.
What’d you do?
I stayed in, streamed.
Well, you didn’t miss anything.
Mm.
See you later.
Tactical remediation?
I’d rather take days.
It’s one morning at the Academy. No big deal.
You got 90 days to get it done.
Stuck with a bunch of baby cops shooting at paper targets. It’s humiliating.
Congratulations.
Lang.
Got off easy.
You heard the man. It was a good shooting.
Was it?
Or was it an execution?
Fuck off.
I still have questions.
Get in line.
So, how do you want to play this?
Hold back the fire door till we get their story locked in.
All right.
Must feel relieved.
I guess.
So, we all good now?
Everything copacetic?
Get our shit together?
Like the old song says, straighten up, fly right?
I’ve moved on.
You’re the one needs to move on.
Partner.
Right.
[Hines] …the indictment and arrest of Vincent Franzen, millionaire hedge fund manager, in a $200 million phony gold bullion Ponzi scheme.
Damn. Look at that.
Fort fucking Knox.
This pyramid that you see here is not a stack of gold bars.
It’s not?
[Hines] It’s a pile of balsa wood spray-painted gold to lure hundreds of credulous investors into a massive Ponzi scheme.
Could’ve fooled me.
[Hines] So, let’s start the new year right by prosecuting some real criminals, crooks who steal people’s life savings, their pensions, who prey upon the elderly and gullible.
Amen, sister.
[Evans] The company purchased the building nine months ago and has been trying to bring it up to code.
By running the dealers off.
First and foremost, yes. Getting rid of the drugs.
And that’s why we brought in Mr. Rojas.
Must have known there’d be pushback from the gangbangers.
We never expected this.
A terrible tragedy.
What about the locked fire door?
That’s on the tenants. We had nothing to do with that unfortunate circumstance.
District attorney might feel otherwise.
We passed every city inspection with flying colors.
No, I’m sure your attorneys are standing by.
Some of your tenants are worried about gentrification.
We’re not trying to push anyone out.
But the fact of the matter is this neighborhood’s changing.
It’s only a matter of time.
“Unfortunate circumstance” my ass.
If that door hadn’t been locked, that little girl would still be alive.
You don’t think they ordered up a hit on their own property, do you?
Easier ways to gentrify a building.
I think they aren’t above using the gangs to their own ends.
Too cynical?
Probably not.
There he is.
Man of the hour.
[Crate] Congratulations, buddy.
We knew it was a good shoot.
Never in doubt.
You guys getting anywhere on the car?
Changing the subject.
Modest to a fault, this guy.
Mm-hmm. We got the partial. We’re working it.
Just a matter of time before the dominoes fall.
Cool. Let me know.
[Crate] Mm-hmm.
[door opens]
Hmm.
For a guy who just got a “pass go, collect 200 bucks,” he seems strangely blasé.
It just hasn’t sunk in yet.
Must be it.
I saw the press conference.
What is her problem?
Oh, the mayor?
So disrespectful to leave like that as soon as you started speaking.
I think she may be having second thoughts about my second term.
You helped get her elected.
Well, she seems to think otherwise.
Why would she not want you to have a second term?
[sighs] Maybe she wants to bring in someone new, someone not associated with the Ramos administration.
An outsider, a-a woman, a Latino.
What about the Commission? Aren’t they on your side?
Right now they are. Three to two in my favor.
Well, there you go.
I think you’re worrying about nothing.
I have to get to the hospital.
I’ll come with you.
No, no, no, it’s my turn.
You sure? I don’t mind.
You stay here and brood.
What I do best.
[sighs]
[operator] 911. What’s the nature of your emergency?
[Rojas] I want to report drugs being sold at my apartment complex.
[operator] Your name?
[Rojas] Eduardo Rojas.
[operator] Tell me exactly what’s going on.
[Rojas] This is all Las Palmas 13.
Mickey Peña, the dealers, they work for La Mayorista.
[operator] What’s the location, sir?
Mr. Franzen.
Ms. Chandler. Am I glad to see you.
How are you faring?
I-I’m not. When can you get me out of here?
Well, tomorrow morning, we’ll have a bail hearing.
Wait, I have to stay here tonight?
I’m afraid so.
Jesus.
You don’t understand. I’m…
You’ll be on keep away status.
A cell to yourself. You’ll be safe.
All right. Great.
Thank God for that.
Uh, D.A. wants to make an example of you.
She’s gonna ask for pie-in-the-sky bail.
I know the judge.
We’ll counter. Hondle a little.
“Hondle”?
Haggle. Bargain. Negotiate.
No, I-I know what it means.
I’m just a little surprised that you do.
Why?
Well, I mean, come on, you’re just a… I mean, look at you. You’re such a…
Shiksa?
Yeah.
My first husband was Jewish.
That’s good to know.
So, ballpark?
Under two.
[sighs]
I can do that.
Oh, I know you can.
I made sure of it.
Try to get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.
Okay.
Chin up. Don’t talk to anyone, even your wife.
And remember, all calls are recorded.
Okay.
Yes, sir.
Someone will reach out to you.
You’re welcome.
Again, I’m very sorry for your loss.
[phone rings]
Bosch.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪