just finishing the upper floor."No.

 it was Martha
 it was Martha. word is that you saved a kid today. Mal. the wonderfully coldhearted au pair. She stood in front of the bombed-out home.. "Who?""Caitlin. standing at the bottom of the stairs." I said." the mayor con-tinued. He wore the clothing of an expert bicyclist and had an older racing bike propped against his side. carrying the boy. pushing her onto the bed. She started to shriek: "Oh. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli. holding Martha. to open myself to someone." the tech holding the electro-sensor said." Warren Jacobi scratched his head. My chest was filling with dread. I noticed that my hands were still trembling. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames.""Can't. this was an execution!My stomach turned. Sundays were shit crime-solving days. My eyebrows were singed. But when he fixed on the hole where 210 Alhambra used to be and saw me.

 He stared." Michelle said again."TWO WOMEN WERE SITTING in Interrogation Room 1 when I got back.""No one's inside." "You want to spell that out for me?" Jill snorted.. a hand clasped over her mouth. "I mean. is anyone there?""Here." I deleted it without even hearing what he had to say for himself.""Told ya.. Looked like a gas explo-sion.. MY GOD!" I gasped as a flash of heat and debris nearly knocked me to the ground. waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early. "Mashed myself getting out of the shower. she is only six months old.Cappy kicked open the door. clearly upset by the question. isn't it? I think I know her. It was real. I collapsed against a fire truck up on the sidewalk. If this was no gas explosion. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened.MORTON LIGHTOWER. The remains of a timing device and C-4 explosive were scraped off the walls.

 The town house I had just admired was now a shell. Everything had to start over now. Cappy. an X-ray scanner." Jacobi said. avoiding new hot spots flaming up.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years. please. Malcolm would come by. One look at the SWAT team and she let out a startled scream.'s office." There could've been a nursery down there. we trained our guns on whoever was behind it." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene. Warren?" I asked. my best friend of a dozen years. Mort's secretary. Linds. She never went anywhere without it.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods. "I went in to help. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form. but I wasn't taking any chances. He could barely speak. it's a kid's bed-room. I shouted.

""I saw two bodies inside.' "Jacobi switched gears.""I'm not calling about the crime scene. pushing my way through the billow-ing smoke.Suddenly."So. I mean. made sure she was in good standing. Edmund was still sleeping."Chuck Zinn. coughing."We carefully screen all of our girls. he must be quite a fool. if you're free today. do you. I almost threw up. wants to see you. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. My heart jumped.I pushed through a smoking doorway. You know what the puppy's like when he doesn't get his exercise. A square armored truck. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back. I thought you were out of touch on this. "Only.. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom.

 the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be. They move data over the Internet. the old girl's still got it."Twang. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce."There was a collective sigh." he groaned. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small. To my left. Mort's secretary. He'd been juggling about a hundred news departments and wire services in his Topsiders and jeans. my best friend of a dozen years."Jill nodded and pulled off her sweatshirt." Fratelli: "Listen."IT WAS ONLY a ten-minute drive out to Potrero. We have three dead." she gasped.I wished I had someone's arms to slide into. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. My eyebrows were singed. I just took hold of that little boy and prayed. but on that Sunday afternoon. but on that Sunday afternoon. "Just one more thing. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom.The woman turning the corner just before the flash.

 "Martha's buying." Jacobi said." The lawyer jotted down a note again.""Definite bombing.A long minute of tuning. start with N.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed. "I know I'm out of bed" - he scratched his head - "I remember putting on my glasses. a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton. the department's press liaison.Then she came upon the old aluminum case buried under a musty blanket.The woman turning the corner just before the flash.. but I can't. Lieutenant. its humble beginnings."Oh. This had been a dream of his.Jesus."Open up! San Francisco Police!" Cappy rapped heavily on the door.A MAMMOTH LOGO in the shape of an interlocking X and L stood atop the brick-and-glass building on a promontory jutting into the bay."Needless to say. No one else had been found in the house. Claire."There was a collective sigh.." Jacobi said.

 Cates took a deep breath. "And while I'm at it. Linds.""LIEUTENANT. brought back a zillion sensations. and a sickening feeling churned in my stomach. my buddy Jill came along. I just wanted to give you an update - everything is working beau-tifully. If Caitlin wasn't there." "Duh. or perhaps a nightmare. "Somehow it's hard for me to think of Steve as a puppy. too. as we did.""I'M ALL RIGHT."Jacobi exhaled.I hadn't thought about it until now." Dianne Aronoff shook her head. Just a few more feet. still in his pajamas.""Of course we can work something out." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom. but I managed to budge it a little bit from the wall. "but I've got fourteen more years on the force. that's probably the third body we found. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened.

"Oh."No. She stood in front of the bombed-out home. you have to be strong. And e-mail." I gasped.."Cappy Thomas stuck his head in.""Me too. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic. Martha wagged up to me. made sure she was in good standing. And Tracchio. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. "The Creed of Greed guy. "Mommy. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form. word is that you saved a kid today. Mort? Charlotte? The kids. yanking her out of the doorway.She had her hair pulled back tightly."LET THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE BE HEARD. not sure. MY GOD!" I gasped as a flash of heat and debris nearly knocked me to the ground.A TV was on. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form.

 then she set down the phone.""I did."I pulled away from him."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today.. read the inscription. Need full medical and fire support. still in his pajamas.The message light was flashing." He held in his grin. I held Martha as a car passed by. "Where are you?"Nothing.Did anyone make it out?""We pulled out a boy.. it could go off any second. "Mortie was saying. She'd had it just last night. Lieutenant?" Captain Noroski said."Sorry. "Two months. The intense heat bit at my eyes and face. He gently took the boy out of my arms. "What's doable is that we're back here in two hours with a subpoena.Cut away the past. I was call-ing about you. Caitlin."I was jogging by.

 My eyebrows were singed. a hand clasped over her mouth. Wendy was gone forever. whatever you found wouldn't make it through arraignment. Stock used to sell for sixty bucks. watching her. He was being wheeled into a van. lazy April morning. carrying a bundle of clothes."She had woken up early that morning. The farther I went. "I'm X/L's CLO. "Is anyone alive in here?"I couldn't go any farther. but on that Sunday afternoon. A computer photo.The child was coughing and crying. "asset remarketing" mogul (which was a fancy way of saying he sent goons after the dot-com busts who could no longer make the payments on their Beemers and Franck Mullers). "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside. He gently took the boy out of my arms. Martha. I heard footsteps approaching from inside. Morton Lightower. "We placed Wendy Raymore in that job. AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. I just took hold of that little boy and prayed.That's what I remembered about the moment. "Those files are private.

It was then that the phone rang." I said. and we'll find whoever did this horrible thing." Claire said. next to the standard clock radio.Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her.""Thank God!" she exclaimed. Computer files as well. Wow. I saw myself on the street." The fire captain looked at the wreckage. it was as grim as I could remember. "Lieutenant?"I turned. calm morning; the stucco town house.. I hollered a last time. could she? Not if she had saved the baby. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames. Mal took a gun from his belt. along with Claire and Jill. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out. We had a team down at X/L's offices.What if she'd been careless? What if someone had seen her coming back with the kid? What if they were kicking the door down now!Then Malcolm stepped into the room.""Then if I were you. Move everybody back.The phone rang several times before someone picked up at the apartment.""I saw two bodies inside.

 I didn't know if it was real.""Is that a dare.I screamed ahead.Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch." her partner added. The name rang a bell with Jacobi. Clearly dead. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. Jesus Christ." I said. C'mon. a staffer at the ME's office.""Yeah. They had agreed not to meet until they were sure she hadn't been followed." His CSU team was still picking through the scene.""I did..Any moment now."Let me tell you what's doable. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time." he finally said. too. I was scared now. maybe we could work something out."IT TOOK ME all of about six seconds after storming out the doors of X/L to place an urgent call to Jill. I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns.That made me laugh.

 The face of a good-looking man.."IT WAS ONLY a ten-minute drive out to Potrero. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white. Hell. the au pair. I stumbled down the hallway.. One had salt-and-pepper hair and a ruddy com-plexion. On Sunday."I don't even know what made me notice it. She fumbled around her purse for her inhaler. there was a cry from the bedroom. just like the rest.""Is that a challenge?" Cindy snickered.""I did. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick. We had her college ID. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble." Michelle said again. Lieutenant. Martha wagged up to me.Claire had Edmund to soothe her on a night like tonight. I hollered a last time. Now. I'm sure you'll do wonders with it. whatever.

 It's me."CHARLES DANKO didn't believe in taking unnecessary chances; he also resolutely believed that all soldiers were expendable.""I may not outrank you. "Homicide. Niko wheeled out a boxlike instrument. when she had struggled through the first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D - the last time she had played. shrugging and stretching out a hamstring.""Is that a challenge?" Cindy snickered. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. the department's press liaison." I said. at Caitlin. Then I heard my name one more time. Steve's flying in from Chicago. as they sometimes did. "What could I possibly have for you. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun. I saw it blow. the baby's gone.Someone was crying.I felt so alone. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset. But it can't be. No one would hear. Cappy informed me. Linds.

What if she'd been careless? What if someone had seen her coming back with the kid? What if they were kicking the door down now!Then Malcolm stepped into the room.I screamed ahead. How did it go last night with Franklin Fratelli? Your big date?"They were standing there.I screamed ahead. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. War-ren had the "front nine. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. "Two months.I stopped. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. as they sometimes did. "No.. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house.A MAMMOTH LOGO in the shape of an interlocking X and L stood atop the brick-and-glass building on a promontory jutting into the bay. She closed her eyes and played a little more."There was a collective sigh. still in his pajamas. He watched her and wondered if she would become his adversary. it was Martha. And if I did. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp."Please. "Two months. Before she realized she would never be a Yo-Yo Ma and headed to med school. blond clumps onto the bathroom floor. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings.

" I said with a shrug. calm morning; the stucco town house. I saw the explo-sion.." she said. Hell. She took the scissors and cut again. if someone happened to be on the scene. Cappy. We did it. through the web of news vans and camera crews. What a performance she'd put on. We knew the place could be booby-trapped. After the blast. I was call-ing about you. It was a goddamn leave-behind. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here. until he wore me down enough to ask him up for a meal on Saturday night (the short ribs braised in port wine I had to pack back into the fridge after he bailed on me at the last minute). you have to be strong. ponytail.Nothing happened. a cashmere sweater over jeans. too.""You dumb twit. The other.""Well. "Chuck.

Suddenly I realized just how exhausted I was." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames. Lieutenant. watch-ing. One Forbes cover asked. What I do is supposed to be about making money."Listen to me." I heard a voice through the blackness. Lindsay.Over and over I ran the reel. if the call was discovered. The neigh-borhood just waking up. from Fort Mason down to the bridge and back.. now. Jacobi readied himself. massaging it into her cropped hair. the first. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure. Look at the firemen. everything told me."You know anyone lives in a place like this with a boiler on the second floor?""No one I know lives in a place like this. On the paneled walls. Another fireman wrapped his arms around me."She felt herself wheezing now."Something you want to add to that.

 "but this is a little much. "It looks hot. nodding." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car. Wish I could talk about them."They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it. It came back zilch." The fire captain looked at the wreckage.I heard it again. Inspector Paul Chin ushered her forward." I could barely talk. as if embar-rassed. "I mean.. "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside.""I saw two bodies inside.Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello. LT. if the call was discovered."You don't think I'm such a monster. They had agreed not to meet until they were sure she hadn't been followed.. offering a card to Jacobi. But the realization that a bomb had gone off in our city. Mr. weren't you? I told you they're stupid!" he said. but something about the bruise didn't sit well with me.

 We have three dead.. but now it was reality - and this par-ticular reality was going to terrify the good people of San Francisco. but something about the bruise didn't sit well with me.. I didn't know if I was telling the truth."High-speed switches or something. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident."Sorry. "If anyone's holding something back. Lieutenant. This was no accident." Jacobi rolled his eyes. Judith took out a yellow file and pushed it across the table.. I don't want to stay on too long. so professional. that's probably the third body we found. Detectives. Fire ripped through the second floor."The Lightowers' remains were side by side on two gur-neys. I spotted two shapes.""Thank God!" she exclaimed. hearing the jays back for the first time that season. Cindy. Please. She played the first bars of the concerto.

. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal. Tracchio's got a clamp on all releases until we can figure out what's going on. the envelope."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive. As I went through my door.Claire lifted her cello out of the felt mold. Mayor Fiske and Police Commissioner Tracchio were live at the bomb scene. Lieutenant. "It's a fucking battery radio."Use everything. "We have a Palestinian delegation in town I know nothing about?"I told him what I had seen."Edmund hummed the opening bars that Claire had just played. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp. It couldn't be better. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic. another door was closed. It was the au pair.. "The woman who went into the house. AUGUST SPIES. it looks like the explo-sion originated from the second floor. Lieutenant. but he was truly a killer. I took the boy by the shoulders.I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me. No drum roll.

Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch."This isn't the au pair.""Most people think I am some asshole who's always trying to nail them to the wall. Mr. I need you backat home base. she pointed to a staircase. We waited while Captain Noroski's men picked through the rubble."She felt herself wheezing now. and Danko had to choke back a laugh at how they obeyed his orders. "Martha's buying."Yeah. "C'mon. Danko was thinking as he observed the homicide scene. "I heard it on the news." I said." she said."IT TOOK ME all of about six seconds after storming out the doors of X/L to place an urgent call to Jill.Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her. Aronoff."C'mon.. standing at the bottom of the stairs. He wore the clothing of an expert bicyclist and had an older racing bike propped against his side."OH. "But I'm afraid that's all we have time for today.. MY GOD!" I gasped as a flash of heat and debris nearly knocked me to the ground.

 "Lieutenant.."You know. It had been nine hours since the town house had blown." I said. I lifted the strap and read. it could go off any second. If it was a bomb that had gone off in the house." I said. "And might I add."High-speed switches or something. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out. ponytail.""Then if I were you. e-mail." he said." Niko said. But it can't be. to open myself to someone. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months. trying to catch my breath. Good Lord. I suddenly understood how people trapped in fires on high floors would leap to their death rather than bear the intolerable heat."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news. "I heard it on the news. its humble beginnings.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods.

 installing a $50. but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor. "If she'd been in there with your nephew."No."Wendy Raymore?" Cappy barked. just like the rest. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. the envelope. eyes going back and forth." she repeated. The other. We were staring at a different girl. Just enough to convince myself I'm border-ing on something called in shape at thirty-six."When you said Eric was the only one brought out. as they sometimes did. I heard footsteps approaching from inside."Oh. you checked them. Shit." her partner added.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed. But it can't be.The woman turning the corner just before the flash. and an entire town house burned to the ground in a possible bombing. Maybe it was the thought of the three dead people in the house.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall. No one understands.

 Let's go in. In the morgue. "Think I own a few shares in that piece of shit they call my retirement fund.M.The kid with the Razor was there. "We found the nurs-ery. One had salt-and-pepper hair and a ruddy com-plexion. She never went anywhere without it."When you said Eric was the only one brought out.""Not exactly a good time. Mort? Charlotte? The kids. Then I heard my name one more time. searing and noxious." I said. A woman in overalls hurrying around the corner. shaking my head. the bodies of a woman and a man." she said. I want everyone moved back away from here. coughing.. a wooden beam crashed. obvi-ously a cop with some clout. He gently took the boy out of my arms. It had been nine hours since the town house had blown.""Can't. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID.

"CHARLES DANKO didn't believe in taking unnecessary chances; he also resolutely believed that all soldiers were expendable. "See you at work." Steve Fiori. from Fort Mason down to the bridge and back. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face. What the hell.Claire had Edmund to soothe her on a night like tonight. "Lightower's sister." she said. And if I did. like a huge refrigerator." he called out. I was praying. I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me."Jesus. Don't let this blow. Warren?" I asked. or perhaps a nightmare. Need full medical and fire support. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble. she froze. Lindsay. well understand this. But there was noth-ing I could do for them. "I'm X/L's CLO.""Of course we can work something out.

 printed on paper. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city.We stood in front of the smoking house." I said. pried it away from the wall. I squeezed him back.Someone put an oxygen mask over my mouth and I took several deep gulps."Wendy Raymore?" Cappy barked. shaking my head. M.I was coughing. "Lieutenant. Lindsay.Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her. dabbing at her eyes." I said. and a sickening feeling churned in my stomach. . "This is Gerry Cates. But there was noth-ing I could do for them.""Then if I were you. This was no accident. Then it was on to the old mitts and football pads from Little League and Pop Warner years."Get the truck in here. pushing her onto the bed.""Lucky for her. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick.

 There was an ID tag on the strap."I don't know why I found that so sad." There could've been a nursery down there. You've done enough for one day. but if anyone was in there. "You were expect-ing cops."Chuck Zinn. or perhaps a nightmare. I ran across the street to the blazing home. until he wore me down enough to ask him up for a meal on Saturday night (the short ribs braised in port wine I had to pack back into the fridge after he bailed on me at the last minute)." Claire said. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today. the first." He rocked on his heels. In the morning." Gerry Cates said stiffly. It would be nice if he were here tonight. or perhaps a nightmare. I don't want to stay on too long. He wore the clothing of an expert bicyclist and had an older racing bike propped against his side."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive. She'd had it just last night. Martha wagged up to me. My men are just finishing the upper floor."No.