2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #1 discussion

Irving was leaking information to the media. What do you think were his motives? Did he help or hurt the tension in the city and/or the case?

I think his goal was to show that the police were actively looking for Elias' killer, even if it turns out to be one of their own. I don't think his leaking information to the media really helped at all. He told them that they had a suspect in questioning (Sheehan), then he had to announce that they had let him go. The next day he announces that Sheehan's gun matched the bullets that killed Elias. It just made the LAPD look inept.

I forgot to add...When they mentioned a leak, did anyone else think it might be Edgar????

No, Robin, Edgar was not on my radar for that one.

He popped right into my head when they started talking about a leak in their group. I remember when he was selling information to a journalist a few books back.

Nah, Edgar has learned his lesson.

I thought it was Chastain but then when Roy said that he only told Irving about something, I realized it was him.

It was a bad move on his part - he made getting to the truth more difficult and that only made the tension in the city worse.

His leaks just made Harry and team's job so much harder. It undermined their efforts and made them seem disingenuous.

I think his motives were to quell the likelihood of rioting and destruction . . . but it definitely hindered the investigation, and it drew the wrong conclusions just because they were convenient and timely. He puts the murders on Sheehan and completely overlooks the real killer, Chastain.