Anthony Quinn Mural

Excerpt From Angels Flight (Photo by Wendy Werris)

     In the last room he noticed that through the windows behind Elias's large polished wood desk he could see the huge face of Anthony Quinn. It was part of a mural depicting the actor with arms outstretched on the brick wall of a building across the street from the Bradbury. 
     Rider came into the office behind him. She looked out the window, too.
     "You know every time I'm down here and see that I wonder who that is."
     "You don't know?"
     "Cesar Chavez?"
     "Anthony Quinn. You know, the actor."
     He got a nonresponse from her.
     "Before your time, I guess. The mural is called the Pope of Broadway, like he's watching over all the homeless around here."
     "Oh, I see." She didn't sound impressed. "How you want to do this?"
     Bosch was still staring at the mural. He liked it, even though he had a hard time seeing Anthony Quinn as a Christ-like figure. But the mural seemed to capture something about the man, a raw masculine and emotional power. Bosch stepped closer to the window and looked down. He saw the forms of two homeless people sleeping under blankets of newspapers in the parking lot beneath the mural. Anthony Quinn's arms were outstretched over them. Bosch nodded. The mural was one of the little things that made him like downtown so much. Just like the Bradbury and Angels Flight. Little pieces of grace were everywhere if you looked.