Los Angeles Union Station is the setting for a lunch during the first day of Walter Elliot’s trial, where the station’s public waiting room becomes the backdrop to both the defense team’s practical planning and an unexpected encounter with Harry Bosch. Its scale and steady presence of travelers contrast with the private, watchful business Haller conducts there.

Setting and Trial-Day Lunch

To avoid running into a juror, Haller took his companions to Traxx, far enough from the courthouse to reduce the chance of crossing paths with one. Patrick Henson drove the Lincoln, parked it with the valet, and joined the group; Haller wanted him to feel like part of the team. Lorna Taylor arranged the seating, placing Haller beside jury consultant Julie Favreau. The restaurant’s quiet enclosure looked through a window onto the station’s large waiting room. Haller noticed its art deco character, rows of leather chairs, and huge chandeliers. Travelers slept in the chairs or kept their suitcases and belongings close. The scene gave the lunch a distinctly public setting: the defense group spoke and ate behind the restaurant window while the station’s transient crowd waited in full view.

The Defense Team and Its Work

Elliot declined to have lunch with Haller, returning instead to Archway Pictures to make his usual appearance in the executive offices. Haller wondered whether Elliot considered the trial an inconvenience or simply felt more confident than his lawyer. At the station, the remaining group ordered lunch and hurried the waiter because they needed to return to court. While they waited, Haller checked that the defense witnesses were ready. He also asked Cisco Wojciechowski to follow the German visitors after court and find out which hotel they were staying at. Haller described this as a precaution: he expected them to be unhappy with him before the trial ended and considered it useful to know where his opponents were. The lunch therefore served as a working interval, with witness preparation and surveillance planning folded into the meal.

Haller’s Encounter with Bosch

As Haller ate a grilled-chicken salad and looked through the window, he spotted Harry Bosch sitting alone in the third row of the waiting room, earbuds in. Their eyes met briefly before Bosch looked away. Haller put down his fork, left cash on the table for the others to finish their meal, and stepped out to call him. Bosch removed his earbuds and answered as Haller approached the seats. The station became a discreet meeting point within a crowded public space. After exchanging a few words, the two men closed their phones and looked at each other. Haller asked, “Are we in play?” Bosch replied, “We won’t know until we know.” The location does not resolve their uncertainty; instead, its open waiting room frames a private exchange whose meaning depends on what the investigation may yet uncover.