Cassidy "Cassie" Black (b. 1968) is a professional thief and former Blackjack dealer who lived in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. She was the student and lover of Max Freeling, with whom she bore a child named Jodie Shaw, and an associate of Leo Renfro and Jersey Paltz.
After a job at the Cleopatra Casino and Resort fell apart in 1994, resulting in Freeling's death, she was incarcerated at the High Desert State Prison in Clark County, Nevada. She was pregnant at the time and the child was put up for adoption shortly after birth. She served five years of a seven-year sentence before she was paroled in 1999 and transferred to Los Angeles under the supervision of parole officer Thelma Kibble. Soon after, she began working for Ray Morales at Hollywood Porsche. Part of her motivation for moving to L.A. was to be able to secretly observe her birth-daughter whose adopted family lived in Laurel Canyon. She was planning to abduct the girl and take her to Tahiti, but she needed cash to carry it out.
In 2000, Black contacted Renfro, who arranged for her to take part in another heist at the Cleopatra. Black traveled to Las Vegas and met with Paltz, who agreed to sell her the necessary electronic equipment as a cover for attempting to rob her. She overpowered him and left him bound in his van in the parking garage of the Flamingo, then proceeded to the Cleopatra to carry out the robbery of Diego Hernandez in suite 2014. She soon learned that the robbery had far larger implications than she had been told, as Jack Karch attempted (unsuccessfully) to kill her. When Karch abducted Jodie Shaw, Cassie saved the girl and returned her to her adopted family.
Black initially hid in California but then made her way back to Las Vegas. In the Spring of 2004, she encountered private investigator and retired LAPD detective Harry Bosch while staying at the Executive Extended Stay Motel, with a new look, under an alias. She appeared to have returned to her criminal ways.
Appearances[]
- Void Moon
- The Narrows (unnamed)
- The Closers (mentioned)
- The Brass Verdict (mentioned)