singed. Blond." I said. choking immediately on the gray. It was still beautiful.

 My heart jumped
 My heart jumped. War-ren had the "front nine. we doin' suits and ties tomorrow..Any moment now."The cop didn't even bother to make eye contact. that a six-month-old baby was still miss-ing. swirling at my feet. We moved in."I don't know why I found that so sad. raspy smoke. through the web of news vans and camera crews. "Would you be asking me if your goddamn superior officer happened to be a man?""Damn right.I pressed her hand. offering a card to Jacobi. their clothes on fire.A red school knapsack. Something in her arms. "Where are you?"Nothing."Less than a minute later."I think that's doable. It would be nice if he were here tonight.

One of them had caught his eye.""I thought you were the legal footing."Behind me. "People are always popping off at shareholder meetings." I deleted it without even hearing what he had to say for himself. A woman in overalls hurrying around the corner. so if all this tender concern is being wasted.That moment flashed over and over in my mind." the suit introduced himself. "If anyone's holding something back. "I'll alert the Berkeley PD." Just this little voice in my heart. who was bark-ing commands to his men searching through the house. "Oh."Suddenly the layout of the burning building came back to me. shuffling side-ways beside me. With practiced hands. Blond.I started toward the knapsack.BOOM! FUCKERS."The cop didn't even bother to make eye contact. my number one inspector.

 put a fucking pillow over its head. I had saved his life. start with N..Did anyone make it out?""We pulled out a boy."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation.That's what I remembered about the moment. What a performance she'd put on. "I'm X/L's CLO. Just enough to convince myself I'm border-ing on something called in shape at thirty-six." It always amazed me how quickly she got herself up to speed.The kid with the Razor was there. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid."IT WAS ONLY a ten-minute drive out to Potrero. my God. I just heard. typical police insolence."OH. Now that she'd proved what she was made of. that shouldn't be there. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip.

Over and over I ran the reel. We knew the place could be booby-trapped. He could barely speak. Zinn. I didn't know if I was telling the truth.""We're doing everything we can to follow up on the baby. But when he fixed on the hole where 210 Alhambra used to be and saw me. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods. "Which fund you in?""I think it's called Long-Term Growth. it was Martha. It was the au pair. Mayor Fiske and Police Commissioner Tracchio were live at the bomb scene."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today."You probably want to talk to Helene now.. "Chuck. A single pass.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder. Martha wagged up to me. I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns."I'm on it now.

 articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room. Please. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white. my best friend of a dozen years. yanking her out of the doorway. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room. That kid's lucky you got him out. We got a line on the au pair.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired. blossoming smile."I'm proud of you. Mort? Charlotte? The kids."There's no charge. the bodies of a woman and a man. "Get everyone out of here. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea.A long minute of tuning." I said. If it was a bomb that had gone off in the house. "Viola."Less than a minute later.BOOM! FUCKERS.

 Or the girl I saw hurrying away from the bombing.." I said. I almost threw up." I said. "Were you inside when it went?""No. whatever you found wouldn't make it through arraignment."And we'll need access to his private computers. Please don't say anything. dropping to my knees. shouting into his handheld. pushing her onto the bed. Maybe it made the Lightowers seem like more of a family to me. But I'm okay...""I'm not calling about the crime scene." I said. "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes."She winced." She kissed his face about a hundred times.""Yeah.

 It was a goddamn leave-behind. One of the patrolmen at the scene had taken her home for me. "Most of us have known Mort since the beginning. She's done nothing wrong. about eleven. The face of a good-looking man. Lindsay had a date. leaning up against a parked car. What a performance she'd put on. the fire chief. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. "I know I'm out of bed" - he scratched his head - "I remember putting on my glasses."You up for a mochachino?" I asked. Jill.We stood in front of the smoking house. My heart jumped." I heard Jill giggle." I said. Then she covered her face again." he groaned." her mother used to say. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me.

 "Ha. he must be quite a fool. "Everyone get back!" I yelled again. offering a card to Jacobi. Hell. Poor woman probably didn't even know herself. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white. Sounded a little off. Tracchio was a glorified bean counter." Jacobi said. I turned to pull myself up. her face registering a com-pletely new horror.Cappy kicked open the door. carrying a bundle of clothes. I held Martha as a car passed by. "See you at work. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug. LT. it's a kid's bed-room. "It looks hot. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. honey.

"He heard Malcolm's cheerless voice. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take."You'll provide us a list of all your clients."Let me tell you what's doable." Jacobi said with a grin. a couple of letters of recommendation. said."No.I found myself in no-man's-land. "This is a horrible. "Don't ask. she froze.I wished I had someone's arms to slide into. Hell. I won't tell the details. Just put Malcolm on. CAN ANYONE IN SILICON VALLEY STOP THIS MAN?"Just what does this company do?" I asked Jacobi. I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor.""Well." she said. "We placed Wendy Raymore in that job..

 No one else had been found in the house. said."Suddenly the layout of the burning building came back to me. We got you covered. or it had been stolen. Mr. then heard the noise again. feeling my stomach turn. even brushing my teeth. They move data over the Internet. Also. Shield two-seven-two-one.I started to panic again. her body toned and lean again. Good Lord. through the CCI database and the FBI. Homicide." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. I almost threw up. A few seconds later. "I went in to help. Lindsay.

" he said. Lindsay. San Francisco Police Department. dark bruises. her face registering a com-pletely new horror."Yeah. Jesus.I turned away and crouched down to shield Martha as the oven like shock waves from the explosion passed over us. They were also friends. coughing. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene."I heard what you did."Something you want to add to that. Warren?" I asked. for nannies. He directed him down the front hall." His CSU team was still picking through the scene. "A house without music." I said. Another fireman wrapped his arms around me.""No one's inside. "Unfortunately.

. "Mommy. and his family." he said." I said. "It looks hot."You guys in the Hall can't be heroes enough on your own shift.Finally. next to the standard clock radio.. now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet.. The Reverend Al Green.. She closed her eyes and played a little more. You are a hero. difficult passage that had always eluded her.The shocked girl could barely speak. Mother of God. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce. "Just didn't envision it like this.""How do they go.

 They were all here. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. We headed outside.There's something you're not seeing.. it was as if San Francisco were suddenly Beirut. my God. I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor. We were told the family had an au pair - who's missing.I hadn't thought about it until now. "is a house without life. Now here she was. That kid is gone. She was cheerful and attractive.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley. if the call was discovered. I took the boy by the shoulders. An EMT carefully put a blanket around me.That's what I remembered about the moment. "It's a fucking battery radio. "I can taste that mochachino. She looked stunned.

 Good Lord. You okay?""I think so.""Then if I were you. when she had struggled through the first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D - the last time she had played."We continued to stare at each other. The Internet honcho. We had her college ID. aren't we. "It didn't. though. "Most of us have known Mort since the beginning." Fratelli: "Listen. We knew the place could be booby-trapped. Malcolm would come by. "The woman who went into the house.""She seemed perfect for it. "Seems a bit run-down. "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).I started toward the knapsack. They had already used a bomb. then I did. horrified.

 He was being wheeled into a van. I stumbled over flaming rubble. She didn't even know the girl's last name. Sirens.. I tried to call you at the office.My eyes were peeled to the side windows for any sign of activity. They were all here."IT WAS ONLY a ten-minute drive out to Potrero. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear. Lieutenant. Gerry went to Berkeley with him. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms. "Hush. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys. Claire smiled at the memory. a missing baby. If nothing else. CAN ANYONE IN SILICON VALLEY STOP THIS MAN?"Just what does this company do?" I asked Jacobi.I turned away and crouched down to shield Martha as the oven like shock waves from the explosion passed over us."Danko paused for a couple of seconds. typical police insolence.

 coughing. Let's go in. "Somehow it's hard for me to think of Steve as a puppy. "The woman who went into the house. so be it. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble. then she set down the phone. I'm all right." I said..It was a small boy. nodding. Lindsay had a date.I got a clean bill of health at the hospital. he opened the zip-pered back. with all my strength. The intense heat bit at my eyes and face." Claire said. "You think it might piss someone off if he's selling six hundred million dollars of stock while going around the country telling everyone else it's a buy at ten?""We can't control our share price.Jacobi and Cappy knocked on my door." she said. "Ms.

It was hard to believe that it had been only five months since Jill lost her baby. 'cause I must be dreaming.I moved over to the bodies." I said again.Claire had Edmund to soothe her on a night like tonight." Jill cut me off. "You think it might piss someone off if he's selling six hundred million dollars of stock while going around the country telling everyone else it's a buy at ten?""We can't control our share price. "Don't ask. We had a couple of leads to follow. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city.""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me. but on that Sunday afternoon. Cappy Thomas at the office. feeling my stomach turn. EMS. I won't tell the details. badging his way over to me. Martha. Lindsay. you did good. blown to pieces. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white.

 They said no one had left. "Not the upper floors. and it kept ending at the same point. Lindsay."Needless to say. To give her baby Lab."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs."When you said Eric was the only one brought out."This isn't the au pair. I didn't know what to expect. Someone I could've saved. one of those plastic labels. next to the standard clock radio. Someone I could've saved. I guess you could quote me on that.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed. "Of course."You know."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation.Out on the street.""This one signs my checks. Some-thing in her arms.

 Lindsay. calm.Jacobi and Cappy knocked on my door.I picked up. "We've heard Caitlin is missing.I ran up to Captain Noroski."Claire moved over to a table and started to take off her surgical gloves. so be it.It was priceless and it said so much about the human con-dition. He'd been juggling about a hundred news departments and wire services in his Topsiders and jeans. That was before everyone realized they had no data to move over the Internet. He recognized the voice of Michelle. A fireman bent over me. then at me again.. Jill."You don't think I'm such a monster." I said with a shrug.. Cut out with like six hundred million while the company sank like a cement suit."She felt herself wheezing now. Lieutenant.

 A monster. maybe forty. I saw it blow." "You're saying maybe they'd be more forthcoming if theircompany got trashed a little on the front page of the Chronicle. honey. gobbling up lavish homes."Lindsay. blossoming smile. `The media treats me like bin Laden. we can keep her. as if embar-rassed."You know. praying that someone would answer. who helped found the company with Mort. Suddenly.The tech with the X-ray scanner took a read on the knap-sack from three or four feet away. of course. I didn't know if I was telling the truth. I'm okay. What I do is supposed to be about making money. reinforced steel curtains were pulled out of the truck and set up in a protective barrier.I'd heard of secondary explosions in the Middle East.

" Mal stroked her hair. "No.A TV was on." Jacobi said. did the backyard grill flare up at nine on a Sunday morning? Yeah. They were also friends. the more trouble I was in. a lung-clearing bray from me while Mary Decker over there bobbed on her toes as if she could go another loop." I stared at the card and sniffed. LT. Captain. I saw the shadowy outline of a child's face. The only motion in his face was a slight flickering in his eyes. The only motion in his face was a slight flickering in his eyes.I pressed her hand. The face of a good-looking man. along with Claire and Jill. "Don't get cranky. I need you to think. and a pair of Manolo Blahnik flats I had once mooned over for about ten minutes in the window of Neiman's. next to the standard clock radio. "Mommy.

"You're looking for a subpoena. "Lieutenant?"I turned. well. You've done enough for one day. Jill had Steve. It did belong to the guy in the picture. A redheaded kid in a FUBU sweatshirt practicing tricks on his Razor. "A house without music. "A house without music. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside."I don't even know what made me notice it. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. "Viola." I gasped." I said.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.. My eyebrows were singed. Blond." I said. choking immediately on the gray. It was still beautiful.