Coincidence

Protagonist Harry Bosch, an LAPD homicide detective repeats at intervals throughout The Black Echo that he does not believe in coincidence. The question first comes up when William Meadow is found dead in a pipe at the Mulholland Dam. They fought side-by-side 15 years earlier as "tunnel rats" in Vietnam. When Bosch tells his lackadaisical partner, Jerry Edgar about it, Edgar cries conflict of interest and will not consider the signs that Bosch alone sees pointing to murder. The question of coincidence comes up again at the Happy Hocker pawnshop: a valuable piece is taken in a break-in around 4:30 AM, a half hour after the 911 call that alerts the LAPD to Meadows' body. The shop owner produces a Polaroid of the bracelet, recalls the transaction and recognizes Meadow's dead face. Bosch takes the evidence he has gathered linking Meadows to the unsolved WestLand National Bank robbery and is shocked...