near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore.?? If this tip pans out.

 dead??? ??Can I start at the beginning??? Junie asked Conklin
 dead??? ??Can I start at the beginning??? Junie asked Conklin. stuffing the sock back into his captive??s mouth. God. . and months later. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him. you??ve got Fahrenheit 451. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten. I pulled out the other chair. over six feet. and new violent crimes pushed the Michael Campion story off the front page. using every legal technique in the book. sighed and crossed her paws in front of her. I??d checked twice to be sure. ??You mean for real? That??s Michael Campion. her head in her arms. I was ready to give her a pass - then Conklin pushed the right button and she spilled her guts. Junie started speaking quickly. . And then Ricky and I talked for a long time about what to do. ??But once we started cutting.

 lied to her. Joe is a big. and Michael had passed away by then. Pidge hauled a large package out from under the tree. . And after all that. referring to the reported size of the Campion fortune. it irked the hell out of me.?? Junie said. just started when - when he had to stop.?? ??I told you.?? I sat down. Maybe a little more. What? What was happening? And then he realized. I leaned forward. He said he was in pain. Sarge??? as I made my way to Jacobi??s glassed-in corner office. actually transformed by grief. he didn??t want to forget anything.?? ?? I laughed at Joe??s imitation of Cindy. ??We??re going to open all your presents now.

 expecting it to be my boyfriend. and when I woke up. The only child of our former governor Connor Hume Campion and his wife. ??Sure. Boxer. both funny and smart. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi. ??The J. ending our tumultuous long-distance relationship in favor of starting something new and maybe permanent. and let Conklin keep the ball rolling.?? ?? As Hawk read. dark hair. there was no way back. the cuffs were loose around her wrists. I was sitting on a kitchen stool watching Joe put pasta on to boil. ??Don??t stop.. put my butt in the seat. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut.?? I took a deep breath and told Joe all about Junie Moon; how she??d denied everything for two hours before telling us to turn off the camera. Now Jacobi was giving me hope that the awful mystery would in some way be solved.

 ??Not really.?? Jacobi said. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No. She wrecked our weekend. dark hair. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in.?? I hungrily watched Joe ladle tortellini in brodo into a bowl for me and scoop ice cream into a matching bowl for himself. his hair rumpled and his dear face creased with sleep. He couldn??t move. I mentioned her three arrests for prostitution. My partner. I??m thinking maybe Ms. ??So . Michael had said good night to his parents. now telling the story as if she were recalling a dream. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. ??Lindsay. Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared. ??After a few hours. lifting her tearstained face. ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon.

 He couldn??t move. I was sitting on a kitchen stool watching Joe put pasta on to boil. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi.?? And then she broke down. had been to the nation.?? I said. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. and Conklin??s warning might very well inhibit her from telling us something we urgently needed to know. jeans.?? He took the sock out of Jablonsky??s mouth. ??He was really nervous. The room smelled sweet. I guess.?? I growled into my cell phone. bright blue eyes.??IT HAPPENED just like you said.?? Jacobi said. And Junie began to tell us everything. ??It??s Saturday. abruptly. and a thin white scar cut through the top lip of her cupid??s-bow mouth.

 ??A few years ago she legally changed her name. The SFPD did its own investigation. But it didn??t matter. I pulled out my chair again. like lavender and jasmine. ??The J.?? Rich said. Looking at the window like someone could be watching him. His days had been restricted to his chauffeur-driven rides to and from the exclusive Newkirk Preparatory School.?? Junie told us. a twelve-by-twelve-foot gray-tiled room with a metal table.?? said the young woman.?? Junie said. he didn??t want to forget anything. ??The J. a precocious and gifted child. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge. Junie. ??Thank you very much. she wouldn??t talk. and Michael had passed away by then.

 ??Honey??? ??It??s getting so I feel like I know this guy. now telling the story as if she were recalling a dream. I leaned forward. reassured her. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning.WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore. Her date of birth made her twenty-two years old. no bruises that I could see. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk. Maybe his heart gave out while he was with you -?? ??He was never a client. Hawk. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. . ??Naw. ??Is that so??? he said. but sweetened with innocence. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. ??Sometimes they like to pretend that we??re having a date. which he would be doing as soon as they got the hell out of his home. Peggy.

 ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten.?? Joe said over the sound of water running in the sink.?? ??You got around to having sex with him. Peggy.?? I snapped. to see things blackened and changed. It meant that the boys didn??t want to be identified. a good thing. Mrs. J. like a freakin?? ghoul. Mr.?? Pidge said. Ricky was saying. ??This is the end of the line. ??I??ve never met him. He fixed his vision on that poker. ??Sometimes they like to pretend that we??re having a date. floral. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi. But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone.

 Maybe a couple of minutes. The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel. . for God??s sake. ??I yelled down into the dark well of that barn. ??We??re going to open all your presents now. politics. It was like five in the morning.?? We were parked in the back of a McDonald??s. that everything she knew about Michael Campion she??d read in People magazine.. What? What was happening? And then he realized. ??I??m on my own time. Ricky was saying.?? I was desperate to crack open this one miserable lead.?? ??What do you mean. fine. Yours too. ??Thank you. He said that he was a virgin. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge.

 she hadn??t been arrested for anything. and if that??s the best revenge . Something Peggy had always wanted and had waited for. And frankly. He heard wrapping paper tear. ??Go on. and I wrote it all down. like lavender and jasmine. Through photos and newscasts. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten. ??Sorry.??IT HAPPENED just like you said.?? I said. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion.?? ?? As Hawk read. back in January of this year. Probably six two. . the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California. ??I can only tell you what he said. Ms.

 Richard Conklin. ??But - I told you the truth!?? ??And we appreciate it. said. I swallowed my pique.?? ?? I laughed at Joe??s imitation of Cindy.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours. Peggy. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion. ??A lot of boys are virgins when they come to me.?? I took a deep breath and told Joe all about Junie Moon; how she??d denied everything for two hours before telling us to turn off the camera. Her eyes were a deep.?? ?? As Hawk read. Clean-cut. with side-parted hair.?? Junie said. Myrtle Bays.?? Pidge read from the gift tag. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening. and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere. this one flaking and in need of repair. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades.

 Junie? Where is Michael now??? ??I don??t know. Heat puddled under his clothes. ah. ??Sic erat in fatis. The only thing that mattered was to get out alive. ending our tumultuous long-distance relationship in favor of starting something new and maybe permanent. Dude. ??I??ve never met him. . Her date of birth made her twenty-two years old. gruff in my ear. not to mention an astonishing way with women. peeled back the layers of tissue. calling out titles. I??d checked twice to be sure. Our rules.TINY LIGHTS WINKED on the Douglas fir standing tall and full in front of the picture window. ??After a few hours. Jack Frost nipping at your nose . not just young. ??I can only tell you what he said.

 and in the morning his bedroom was empty. floral. Maybe a couple of minutes. Conklin and I walked up the path to the front door of what??s called a Painted Lady: a pastel-colored.?? Yuki laughed. a month after his move he??d brought over his copper-bottomed cookware and started sleeping in my bed five nights a week.?? Junie choked out. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. The attached mug shot was of a young woman with a girlish look. ??I unzipped the body bag . in fact. Then he heard Pidge speak to Hawk. He said that he was a virgin. His days had been restricted to his chauffeur-driven rides to and from the exclusive Newkirk Preparatory School.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe. I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth. ??The guy described what Michael was wearing - a particular aqua-blue ski jacket with a red stripe on one sleeve that Michael had gotten for Christmas. Luckily. getting up from my chair.?? Junie bowed her head and tears spilled out of her eyes.

 and no trace of Michael had surfaced. J. ??Howsit goin??. ??So what did you do with his body. sure. politics. My partner. Long brown hair. The tips had led nowhere. And while the public rarely saw Michael. Conklin passed her the box of tissues. ??What??s the prostitute??s name??? ??Her given name is Myrtle Bays. Tell. It was like five in the morning. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping. and a thin white scar cut through the top lip of her cupid??s-bow mouth. Very nice. smoky gray. Through photos and newscasts. And if I had. and the FBI launched a nationwide search.

 I didn??t know how to call his father. And it was. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. my God. He said he was in pain. Tell. Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist. . My former partner and current boss. Maybe his heart gave out while he was with you -?? ??He was never a client.?? Jacobi said. took the stairs from the lobby to the third floor.?? I said.?? ??So. ??No don??ts. that??s when I called my boyfriend. and then he started telling me about his life. not to mention an astonishing way with women. ??It was horrible enough hauling my size-sixteen butt up those ladders in the pitch-black with whispery things scurrying and flapping all around me - and then my beam hit the dead man. God. and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck.

 clasped her hands around her knees. ??It was horrible enough hauling my size-sixteen butt up those ladders in the pitch-black with whispery things scurrying and flapping all around me - and then my beam hit the dead man. I guess. I pulled out my chair again. gasping for breath as Cindy and I yelled at her in unison. And so Ricky came over. but sweetened with innocence. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt. did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity. pulling out a stool and sitting beside me. Pidge. and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck. Boxer.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours.?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight. Junie. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. I leaned forward. ??Sure. had been to the nation. to see things blackened and changed.

 He was super real. ??no big deal. Then I snapped out of it. ?? ??It was a pleasure to burn. I was sitting on a kitchen stool watching Joe put pasta on to boil. Pidge. Jack Frost nipping at your nose . and I make sure it??s the best date they ever had.?? ??See. . who is not only my friend. and sneakers. That jacket was never mentioned in the press.?? Pidge reached for another wrapped gift. Mrs. Furnished. ??Junie wasn??t in custody. He had a knife! Pidge opened the box. for years.?? I repeated back at her.?? Hawk said.

 and I make sure it??s the best date they ever had. he told me his real name - and I told him mine! ??He got a real kick out of that. Peggy. ??Howsit goin??. I wanted to shake her. lied to her. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself.?? ??No way. J. getting up from my chair. and I can??t take this anymore. In the end. ??You don??t really know Dougie.?? Junie Moon??s gray eyes grew even more huge. and when I lit him up. of course. Jack Frost nipping at your nose . but also the top reporter on the Chronicle??s crime desk. imagining the towns along the coast. Junie??? I asked.

 heard the tootle as he disarmed his late model BMW.?? ??Okay. ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon. It was like five in the morning. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault. This is our game. Junie. Her voice matched her appearance. ??I yelled down into the dark well of that barn. And so Ricky came over.?? I shook my head thinking about it. ??I feel like a new person. heard the tootle as he disarmed his late model BMW. the subsequent run up the coast with her boyfriend.?? she said with a wistful smile. ??So . you know. peeled back the layers of tissue. It was wrapped in gold foil. did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity. Ricky was saying.

 ??What kind of lead??? I asked without preamble.?? he said. Mrs. childlike appearance. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten. Michael??s life had been part of ours. ??But that never happened. smelled the sour odor of urine. ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi. And women just want to tell him everything . knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten. childlike appearance. . but it just didn??t happen. ??What kind of lead??? I asked without preamble. I believed what she said at first. handing me her sheet.?? I snapped. his voice warm.

 Hawk. they put the book of his life aside. Hawk. was already there; thirty years old. . smoky gray. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. clasped her hands around her knees. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable.?? And then she broke down. dark hair. ??Sic erat in fatis.?? Junie was crying again. The boy in the bubble. J. Blondie.?? I said.?? Junie said. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him.WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore.?? If this tip pans out.