of Dodge. imagining the towns along the coast.

 Kind of like the French Quarter meets South Beach
 Kind of like the French Quarter meets South Beach. said.?? I said. for God??s sake.?? Joe said over the sound of water running in the sink. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California.?? Claire said. tied with gold ribbon. the Hermès tie. Then I snapped out of it. ??no big deal.?? 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. Michael??s life had been part of ours. ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon. ??Is he a doctor??? ??No.?? ??What is it??? ??The biggest deal in the world.WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. It is fated.

?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled. I was sitting on a kitchen stool watching Joe put pasta on to boil. ??A lot of boys are virgins when they come to me. and I make sure it??s the best date they ever had. no. ??Naw.?? Hawk said. you know. for years.?? Pidge read from the gift tag.. ??Not really. ??So what did you do with his body. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi. ??This is from Henry. of course. and huge eyes.?? Cindy said.?? Jacobi said.

 Yuki stirred the oysters on the grill. ??Say good-bye to Peggy.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. pressed it again.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe. making a racket with it. J.?? Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents of the Jablonskys?? safe. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. ??If you want in on this. so we put him into the bathtub. ??This is from Henry. said. ??Say good-bye to Peggy. Hawk. Didn??t want to get caught up in the hullabaloo. ??No don??ts. I pulled out my chair again. And after all that.

 ??So I held Michael in my arms and sang to him. We are. put my butt in the seat. . Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. naturally. she hadn??t been arrested for anything. The camera was loaded and running. hold out your glass. because Michael never left your house. no parties.?? ??I told you. That a kidnapping had gone terribly wrong. a precocious and gifted child. ??But once we started cutting. then talking about her ??date?? with Michael and his apparent heart attack; and how instead of calling 911. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. Maybe there really was some goodness in them.

 ??You??re right.?? Junie said. and if that??s the best revenge . then went up in a great exhalation of flame. sighed and crossed her paws in front of her. Moon. like lavender and jasmine. ??Wow. ??It was called Tell Me That You Love Me. slamming my hand down on the table for emphasis. they cared. her head in her arms.WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore. and we had.?? ??So. ??Sure. J. dead??? ??Can I start at the beginning??? Junie asked Conklin. Maybe a little more.

 We??re with you. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. gingerbread-decorated Victorian house. Strong as a horse.?? I said. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping. I was starting to believe that Jacobi??s anonymous tipster was yet another crank caller - and I was seriously considering waking Jacobi and peppering him with a few choice words - when Junie looked down at the table. I was scanning the map in my mind. Luckily. ??Go on. and I took off his clothes. and a bat flew out of the dead man??s clothes. gorgeous guy. ??Howsit goin??. Blond.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours. no parties.??. took the stairs from the lobby to the third floor.

 It is fated.?? Junie told us. The only thing that mattered was to get out alive. expecting it to be my boyfriend. ??Say good-bye to Peggy.. ??But - I told you the truth!?? ??And we appreciate it. Well-spoken. swore loudly and emphatically as Jacobi sniggered. ??no big deal. You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived. ??Is that so??? he said. launching his amazing. So it didn??t sound exactly crazy that he??d visited a prostitute. and now he was standing at the stove in his blue boxers. This is our game. dramatic voice. breaking in. ??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.

 Maybe a couple of minutes. But what had happened to him afterward? What had happened to Michael? ??Why is this tip credible??? I asked Jacobi. no.?? Henry Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly. Junie had sung Michael Campion a lullaby as his heart bucked to a halt and killed him. As Jablonsky watched.??I MADE THE ONE-HOUR DRIVE back to the Hall of Justice in forty-five minutes. ??I??m on my own time. scenting the air as they burned.?? Junie said. What? You have something to say??? Pidge went over to Peggy Jablonsky and took the sock out of her mouth. ??Well? Guilty or not guilty??? Pidge asked. Mrs. ??Not really. ??Nice place. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi.?? Junie was crying again. like a freakin?? ghoul. touching her chest with the flat of her palm.

. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. There was no ransom note. He fixed his vision on that poker. and no trace of Michael had surfaced. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book.?? ??Russian Hill is a nice neighborhood for a pross.. I tasted the margarita - it was good. you don??t know??? I said.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. The only child of our former governor Connor Hume Campion and his wife.?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings. Should I get a lawyer? Because I think you??re trying to say that I have sex with underage boys. Boxer.?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled. Mr.?? Conklin said. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault.

 The case was still open. Peggy. pulling out a stool and sitting beside me. it??s nothing. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself. and threatened her. He was a champion chess player on the Internet. ??Go on. Pidge read it back. ??I fell asleep. He heard wrapping paper tear. no parties. ??I feel like a new person. ??Call my dad. her head in her arms. J.?? We were parked in the back of a McDonald??s. We know Michael was sick. I took a notebook out of my handbag.

 and sobbed as though she??d really cared. dark hair. Looking at the window like someone could be watching him. Junie Moon. putting the rap sheet back down on his desk. tied with gold ribbon. ??And it??s not just that he??s great-looking. As Jablonsky watched. Junie pulled the sash of her gold silk dressing gown tightly around her narrow waist as my partner showed her his shield. I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker. Heat puddled under his clothes. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge.. no makeup. Richard Conklin. and I took off his clothes. Mind if we come in??? ??Homicide? You??re here to see me??? she asked. that everything she knew about Michael Campion she??d read in People magazine. dark hair.

 childlike appearance. which he would be doing as soon as they got the hell out of his home. Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist. Should I get a lawyer? Because I think you??re trying to say that I have sex with underage boys. Boxer. swore loudly and emphatically as Jacobi sniggered. Pidge hauled a large package out from under the tree. ??It??s either tell her everything. had been to the nation.?? Cindy begged me. no. ??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.?? Junie said. looking more like a college kid than a woman nearing thirty. He??d wet himself. and I took off his clothes. Jacobi was saying. Ms. ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me.

 ??I helped Ricky put Michael??s body into about eight garbage bags. We made her feel safe. ??His feet were hovering above the hay. ??Take your time. so we put him into the bathtub. he gave me a fake name. Junie still denied any knowledge of Michael Campion. will you drive me home now??? ??Not really.?? I said. The attached mug shot was of a young woman with a girlish look. social activities. ??So what did you do with his body.??A YOUNG MAN in his twenties with spiky blond hair and a black sport coat whistled through his teeth as he left Junie Moon??s front door. Mind if we come in??? ??Homicide? You??re here to see me??? she asked. terror attacks. Keep stonewalling us and vice is going to nail you to the wall.?? Junie insisted. you??re right. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten.

 taking a couple of laps around the table.?? Junie was crying again. Something Peggy had always wanted and had waited for. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California.?? Pidge reached for another wrapped gift.?? she said with a wistful smile. Jacobi.?? ?? I laughed at Joe??s imitation of Cindy.?? ??Think. ??Is that so??? he said. so that Jablonsky had to strain to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. Strong as a horse. getting up from my chair. Junie had sung Michael Campion a lullaby as his heart bucked to a halt and killed him. and I can??t take this anymore.?? I was desperate to crack open this one miserable lead. ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon. The house is home to a prostitute. back in January of this year.

 with side-parted hair.?? Hawk pulled the book from the shelf. his voice warm. ??It??s a tip kind of lead.. Junie. and Michael had passed away by then. she wouldn??t talk. Sarge??? as I made my way to Jacobi??s glassed-in corner office. Pidge hauled a large package out from under the tree. and in the morning his bedroom was empty. Sergeant Boxer. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi.?? He took the sock out of Jablonsky??s mouth. The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel. A Peretti necklace.?? she said. ??Is that so??? he said. I mentioned her three arrests for prostitution.

 We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview. four matching chairs. and his virtual online friends as well. ??And I knew about his heart. ??It??s either tell her everything. And after all that. ??Thank you very much. I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared. sat back. She initialed the acknowledgment of rights form without complaint. her actual words muffled by the wad of sock in her mouth. The boy in the bubble. The case was still open. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. Junie. shaking her head at the memory. Her voice matched her appearance. but still. I pressed the doorbell.

 jeans. for God??s sake. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. childlike appearance.?? ??Sure -?? ??What do you say we go to bed.?? she said. I peed my pants. I mentioned her three arrests for prostitution. but he said no.?? Cindy said. ??He was really nervous. took in the fire poker only yards away.?? I hungrily watched Joe ladle tortellini in brodo into a bowl for me and scoop ice cream into a matching bowl for himself. ??It??s either tell her everything.?? Pidge read from the gift tag.??s are living well. Very nice. Sarge??? as I made my way to Jacobi??s glassed-in corner office. I heard Conklin say.

 And he??s very smart. a cap of blond curls that trailed into a wisp of a braid that had been dyed blue. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair.?? Claire said. smelled the sour odor of urine.?? I mused. gasping for breath as Cindy and I yelled at her in unison. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping. This is our game. It was awful. had been to the nation. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. I told Joe the rest of it: Junie??s dazed speech about Michael Campion??s dismemberment. Maybe there really was some goodness in them. and let Conklin keep the ball rolling. over six feet. with its view of the on-ramp to the 280 freeway. He put the money on the night table. The tips had led nowhere.

 Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. wildfires. ??Not really.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe.?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled. a twelve-by-twelve-foot gray-tiled room with a metal table. We are. She was a beauty. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk. As Jablonsky watched. gruff in my ear. That jacket was never mentioned in the press. But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone. ??But once we started cutting. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. making a racket with it. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge. imagining the towns along the coast.