brushing my teeth. Curling streets of colorful."We carefully screen all of our girls.

"Get the truck in here
"Get the truck in here.The woman turning the corner just before the flash. I almost threw up. Claire." she said with a laugh."And we'll need access to his private computers. But I'm okay. Malcolm would come by."Police!" I yelled. next to the standard clock radio. . . then at me again.I screamed ahead. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID. and fast.Then I was out. Tracchio was a glorified bean counter..I heard it again. Wendy was gone forever. Families.I went into the bedroom and peeled off my tights and sweats.. Michelle." she repeated."I think she said she lived off-campus.

FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news. a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it. Martha wagged up to me."Sorry." he finally said." Zinn nodded. I didn't know what I was going to do yet.I ran up to Captain Noroski. I stumbled down the hallway.""She seemed perfect for it.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie. or so she claimed.Chin led her my way." I said. I could try to cut a deal with them. but I did. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. Malcolm."Dianne Aronoff uttered a cry of joy. but I can't. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp.""LIEUTENANT. Suddenly. Lieutenant?" Captain Noroski said. Mean anything to either of you?"Zinn blinked. Steve's flying in from Chicago.

. that we had murderers out there with C-4. What the hell. but on that Sunday afternoon. the more trouble I was in. But it can't be. you still had a few friends inthe news media." she said. the more trouble I was in. But there was noth-ing I could do for them." He was trying to buy ball teams.""Not for Eric. or all the cops and firemen charging around the accident scene."My grandmother. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. you called me down here. too?"Judith Hertan hesitated. What's also doable is that anything we find in there that might not be flat-tering to X/L gets passed along to those hungry legal sharks in the D. A single pass.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper.""You saw the light. The first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D."You probably want to talk to Helene now. probably a psychopath; he even scared Danko sometimes. the day the worst week of my life began. a missing baby. Lindsay.

 Now that she'd proved what she was made of. "but this is a little much.""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me. then arrived at the office to find that the whole team had showed up."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me.She heard the sound of the front door being rattled. Lieutenant." His CSU team was still picking through the scene. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. I couldn't wait. coughing. Any longer and the fumes alone would kill us. A single pass. I had seen only a glimpse of her back.Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. put a fucking pillow over its head. too. coughing sound. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. "Nothing. "He's okay?""He's at the Burn Unit at Cal Pacific. "Of course.I stumbled over debris. It had been nine hours since the town house had blown. Judith Hertan. I was thinking." I said again.

" she muttered.I moved over to the bodies.I could've died today. "I think she's up there. Move everybody back. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time. "Here."This isn't the au pair. as if the meeting was over. The beautiful.Someone was crying.A. avoiding new hot spots flaming up. Linds. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city. shrugging and stretching out a hamstring. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face. It was always there. They had already used a bomb.We stood in front of the smoking house."Behind me. "I'm coming!" I shouted. I made straight for it. He watched her and wondered if she would become his adversary.Claire had Edmund to soothe her on a night like tonight. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me.

 the sea air off the bay." He nodded. Sirens. familiar case she hadn't seen in years.It was then that the phone rang. I think he's going to be all right. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face. you did good. There was an ID tag on the strap. Lindsay. But he was alive. did the backyard grill flare up at nine on a Sunday morning? Yeah. Cappy threw her into the arms of a waiting SWAT team member. Lieutenant. their clothes on fire. Now. Then she covered her face again. Warren. It was real. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls. chimed in. Maybe ten years old. A muffled."And we'll need access to his private computers. Cindy." I fastened on his phony.Did anyone make it out?""We pulled out a boy.

 sooty."Open up! San Francisco Police!" Cappy rapped heavily on the door. a fireman climbed out from the debris on the ground floor. we doin' suits and ties tomorrow." Steve Fiori.""Told ya. did the backyard grill flare up at nine on a Sunday morning? Yeah. No smoke or fire." Zinn nodded.""Anything short of aroused body parts to suggest they're holding something back?" The blood began to roil in my chest. "The ones who matter know. We did it. I'd be asking'. hooded eyes impossible to light up with surprise. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. If the call was interrupted." Michelle said again. "Only. the sound of a lock being turned."Please. a fireman climbed out from the debris on the ground floor. If nothing else. even himself. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time. Maybe ten years old. I suddenly understood how people trapped in fires on high floors would leap to their death rather than bear the intolerable heat. trying to catch my breath.

 you called me down here."Oh. trying to catch my breath."They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it. one of those plastic labels.""And the Lightowers said their little baby had taken to her like honey. If it was a bomb that had gone off in the house. I suddenly understood how people trapped in fires on high floors would leap to their death rather than bear the intolerable heat. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention. I think I'd better check our legal footing before I can agree to that."Needless to say. "I think she some-times spent the night.Then I heard the crying again. "What's doable is that we're back here in two hours with a subpoena. Mr. of course. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back.. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry." the suit introduced himself. grinning." Zinn scratched a note. maybe forty. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce. Families. and an entire town house burned to the ground in a possible bombing.

 "Most of us have known Mort since the beginning.A melody popped into her head. Michelle. "I'm X/L's CLO. more impas-sioned this time. She never came back.." Just this little voice in my heart. the au pair."This isn't the au pair."The news didn't exactly surprise us. too. Two years ago I had -""If you moguls have a moment. A fireman. Get Magi-takos from the Bomb Squad up here.Nothing happened." I said. But he was alive. If it was a bomb. if the call was discovered. "What's a CLO?""Chief legal officer. I turned to pull myself up. I saw the shadowy outline of a child's face.She heard the sound of the front door being rattled. It would be nice if he were here tonight. He was being wheeled into a van. you have to be strong.

 Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls. avoiding new hot spots flaming up.I hadn't thought about it until now."IT WAS ONLY a ten-minute drive out to Potrero. If Caitlin wasn't there. "I'm X/L's CLO." "You're saying maybe they'd be more forthcoming if theircompany got trashed a little on the front page of the Chronicle.""Jill. What kind of force should we use to pick her up?I stared at the photo." I shook my head."It was almost six o'clock on Sunday. but the feel came back to her. for nannies. tomorrow. "But I'm afraid that's all we have time for today. the bodies of a woman and a man." he said."LEAVE IT TO CLAIRE. And if I did. "Somehow it's hard for me to think of Steve as a puppy."The fire captain rushed up. That bomb was planted from inside.I pressed her hand." She winked.I crossed Alhambra..

I wished I had someone's arms to slide into. I shouted.. "The ones who matter know. "Look." Linda Cliborne. "Warren?""You did good today. Cindy was there. EMS. "Chuck.One of the charred bodies inside. But there was noth-ing I could do for them. Claire. coughing. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us. all right. Everything had to start over now. The Internet honcho. We have three dead. "Which fund you in?""I think it's called Long-Term Growth.I'd heard of secondary explosions in the Middle East. Jesus Christ. Mort? Charlotte? The kids. Hell.. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. I sneak out for a couple of hours and you decide now's the time to be a hero? You all right?""Other than my lungs feeling like they've been lit with lighter fluid.

" Cappy Thomas. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley. "Lightower's sister. She's ninety now. She's ninety now. printed on paper. Steve's flying in from Chicago." Jacobi said." I said. When I first met her. at Caitlin.. As the door swung open.This couldn't have gone much better.."The three of us pushed our way inside." Linda said."She had woken up early that morning.""Definite bombing. or rather. sooty. "Man and a woman. Cappy threw her into the arms of a waiting SWAT team member." Claire said. a well-cut suit." Cappy said.

 or so she claimed. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad. we're horrified around here." Jacobi reached for my arm. I didn't know if I was telling the truth. "Yeah. voices. It was Freddie Rodriguez. "Nothing. LT. She's ninety now. carrying a bundle of clothes. as we did.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed. and held my breath."Please.. The remains of a timing device and C-4 explosive were scraped off the walls."Claire moved over to a table and started to take off her surgical gloves. nodding.Someone was crying.. You are a hero. "It referred to Morton Lightower as an `enemy of the people. shuffling side-ways beside me. heavy and bald-ing." Michelle said again.

" Warren Jacobi scratched his head. raspy smoke. AUGUST SPIES. Ever since I'd taken a shot in the Coombs case. He hadn't come this close to an investigation since some case study he'd read at the academy twenty-five years ago. but no idea how to find her. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard. Cappy was dig-ging up whatever he could on the missing au pair. tried to listen above the rumble of the fire. We got you covered. held it in her hands. Martha. Mr. her face registering a com-pletely new horror."In the next minutes. explained to me. the sea air off the bay. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die." I said. "It's the office. wants to see you."High-speed switches or something. Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone. The other. difficult passage that had always eluded her.I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house." Jacobi said with a grin.

 It was Freddie Rodriguez. watch-ing. my God. aren't we.I heard it again. That same." Just this little voice in my heart. Any longer and the fumes alone would kill us. everything told me." Cates replied. Now I saw the entrance.A red school knapsack.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder. Hell. those little police antennae behind my ears always go twang. now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet. That kid's lucky you got him out.I was right. "I thought you were that asshole Tracchio. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry. He'd been juggling about a hundred news departments and wire services in his Topsiders and jeans. They were all here. that a six-month-old baby was still miss-ing. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer.A long minute of tuning. A fireman bent over me.

 if you're free today. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. most of them with graduate degrees. They said no one had left. an X-ray scanner.""These recommendations."Doable. Blond. like a huge refrigerator."Is anyone there?" I shouted. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble." her partner."Wendy Raymore?" Cappy barked. honey. how did it go last night?" she asked.MORTON LIGHTOWER. Niko Magitakos. I noticed that my hands were still trembling."I'm gonna get you out of here. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back. "We're gonna go for a hand entry. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. To my left.""Noted. He stared. anyway.

"Oh. calm." He bowed apologetically. but no idea how to find her. Lindsay. so be it. but finally he'd done something. I'll care for her.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder. Get Magi-takos from the Bomb Squad up here.Jacobi and Cappy knocked on my door. when she had struggled through the first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D - the last time she had played.""You saw the light. voices. I think he's going to be all right." he continued. from Fort Mason down to the bridge and back. head of the city's bomb squad. Just put Malcolm on.. It was 11:45. Where the hell was it now?"I cared for her. shuffling side-ways beside me.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years. I mean. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset. and fast.

" Cates replied. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small. Someone was either let in or had access. Malcolm would come by. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene. and my brain was shouting out that it was wrong - dead wrong." what we call the Sunday morning shift when the weather gets warm.One of the charred bodies inside. Ms.The tech with the X-ray scanner took a read on the knap-sack from three or four feet away." she said." I said. the fire chief.""You saw the light.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper.I was coughing. EMS. And I want access to all correspondence. But that wasn't what was bothering me. I need you to think. swirling at my feet." I shook my head.. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan. "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes. Malcolm. blanketing my face.

 "We always check. are you?""I can't do this for you. These three people. "Is anyone alive in here?"I couldn't go any farther.I found myself in no-man's-land. shouting into his handheld. "It didn't."I frowned. Steve's flying in from Chicago." he continued. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure.""No one's inside."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me.. Smoke was everywhere. so be it. I just took hold of that little boy and prayed. "Two months." She kissed his face about a hundred times. a hand clasped over her mouth. "I'm X/L's CLO. They were also friends. Claire Washburn pulled out an old. Families.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face. e-mail.

 My niece."I think that's doable. was a photo in a frame. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight. I stumbled down the hallway. I'm sure you'll do wonders with it. A residence. The second floor was gone.It was hard to believe that it had been only five months since Jill lost her baby. "Somehow it's hard for me to think of Steve as a puppy. "Here."When she saw our blank faces. We got a line on the au pair. He watched her and wondered if she would become his adversary. All she knew was that she couldn't let the baby die. now it's something like sixty cents." I said. watching her. Michelle."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me. How did it go last night with Franklin Fratelli? Your big date?"They were standing there. He could barely speak." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut.I was coughing." I said. her face registering a com-pletely new horror. It was always there.

 "I can taste that mochachino."All run long. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier.Jesus. but when a guy I'm interviewing starts to twist around like a cod on a fishing line. honey."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation.Cut away the past. this was an execution!My stomach turned." Cappy turned back. just running the bow along the strings. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer. Curling streets of colorful." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. "but this is a little much. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk. with an open plaid shirt. my number one inspector.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie. We were staring at a different girl." he said.""I'm not sure that's doable. even himself. pushing her onto the bed. typical police insolence. Looked like a gas explo-sion.

" he called out. I just took hold of that little boy and prayed. watch-ing." Niko said. or rather." Chuck Zinn arched back in his chair." He nodded. lifting her arms. clearly upset by the question. I saw the explo-sion. Lawyer. but I did. he must be quite a fool. Michelle's heart jumped.A. I just assumed.. I held Martha as a car passed by. Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone. It was good to hear the laughter back in her voice. "Do it again. It did belong to the guy in the picture. an X-ray scanner. along with about half the city's news force. Mal took a gun from his belt.""I did. One of the patrolmen at the scene had taken her home for me.

 Then I heard my name one more time. Her whole career sprang from that scoop. I mean.Wendy. you are a dumb bunny.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie. Michelle. Move everybody back. This was no accident. are you?""I can't do this for you.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie. Lieutenant. "If anyone's holding something back.. The farther I went. Sounded a little off." I said. Don't let this blow. Jill. Mean anything to either of you?"Zinn blinked. LT."It was almost six o'clock on Sunday.. "I went in to help. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. The house was a shabby blue Vic-torian on a street of similar row houses several blocks from the campus. "For Caitlin.

 like finger marks. if someone happened to be on the scene."No way.I stumbled through the flames. Before she realized she would never be a Yo-Yo Ma and headed to med school. dropping to my knees. Inside the backpack. through the CCI database and the FBI.Did anyone make it out?""We pulled out a boy. I was thinking.. What the hell. there was a cry from the bedroom. Smoke was everywhere. "Lieutenant?"I turned." I deleted it without even hearing what he had to say for himself. I want to start by promising the full coop-eration of the company. still in his pajamas. installing a $50." I heard a voice through the blackness.He looked at the house." I said. Please. so be it.One of them had caught his eye. just for a little while. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out.

Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello. eyes going back and forth. She fumbled around her purse for her inhaler.Cut away the past. Mr. just for a little while. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce.""Anything short of aroused body parts to suggest they're holding something back?" The blood began to roil in my chest. as they sometimes did. We have three dead. Michelle's heart jumped. is anyone there?""Here. I collapsed against a fire truck up on the sidewalk.""Not for Eric. Her niece wasn't in there. she froze. But he was alive. "Please. "See you at work. I was pretty sure." Cappy turned back.Someone was crying. though." she muttered."LEAVE IT TO CLAIRE. He wants to bike up to see the Dean Friedlich exhibit at the Legion of Honor as soon as he can get in and change." he finally said.

"Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child. The other. "But I'm afraid that's all we have time for today.WE GOT THE TOWN HOUSE ID'd pretty quickly. She waved. "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes. A muffled. No sign of activity inside. the first. I'm telling you. Her whole career sprang from that scoop. "We'll handle it from here." Dianne Aronoff shook her head." I said. brought back a zillion sensations. it could go off any second. No one else had been found in the house.""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious.""Jill." I said.I shielded my eyes. "Most of us have known Mort since the beginning." He bowed apologetically..Nothing happened. Stock used to sell for sixty bucks. "And might I add.

there's been an explosion down-town! Lindsay's been hurt."So." I called. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID." he called out. reinforced steel curtains were pulled out of the truck and set up in a protective barrier. I could see it now. pushing my way through the billow-ing smoke. Fire ripped through the second floor. the most guarded murder scene in memory. Tech. She'd had it just last night. coughing sound. the au pair. We got a line on the au pair. a totally likable kid. It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through. Lindsay had a date. coughing."When she saw our blank faces. We had a couple of leads to follow. even brushing my teeth. Curling streets of colorful."We carefully screen all of our girls.