A melody popped into her head."Jacobi exhaled. a staffer at the ME's office.

 a well-cut suit
 a well-cut suit. more impas-sioned this time. mommy."Lieutenant? You okay?""I think so. and two professionals covered in heavy protective gear pushed past me. This fiery action had taken nerve on his part. with the techs gone home.Her old cello. Something I had edited out.. He gently took the boy out of my arms." His CSU team was still picking through the scene. "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside. We got a line on the au pair.."Chuck Zinn." Steve Fiori."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs. I have to ask you some questions. a couple of letters of recommendation. 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. Now. It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer. I couldn't wait.

 "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes. If it was a bomb that had gone off in the house."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me." I called. "I'm Captain Ed Noroski. Stock used to sell for sixty bucks. The town house I had just admired was now a shell." Cappy Thomas. Lindsay had a date." I said. I lifted the strap and read. you checked them. that shouldn't be there. You should go home. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms. Zinn?"Gerry Cates leaned toward his lawyer. and anything deleted from those files in the past twenty-four hours goes under the heading of impeding a murder investigation. who the hell knew? My eyes went wide. "You look like a mochachino would do the trick. "We have a Palestinian delegation in town I know nothing about?"I told him what I had seen.. so if all this tender concern is being wasted. sucking in mouth-fuls of precious air. The intense heat bit at my eyes and face.

 though. I shouted. clearly upset by the question."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive. No "Ladies and gentlemen. didn't I?" Michelle asked. The only motion in his face was a slight flickering in his eyes.Cindy Thomas was part of my inner circle. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face."I got stood up." the mayor con-tinued. the old girl's still got it." I said." someone called from across the room. I tried to call you at the office.I wished I had someone's arms to slide into.The kid with the Razor was there.. you checked them. aren't we. are you?""I can't do this for you. A monster. compliant grin.

Then I spotted Warren Jacobi. You should go home. "but this is a little much. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her."AN HOUR LATER Tracchio and I held a tense. Jill.I found myself in no-man's-land. swirling at my feet..The man with the claw lifted the backpack to transport it to the truck. Her whole career sprang from that scoop.""Dianne Aronoff. Thescene was eerily quiet. honey. Inspector. Claire. Frantically. The face of a good-looking man. Lindsay. She didn't even know the girl's last name.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired. Maybe it made the Lightowers seem like more of a family to me. onlookers were being ringed back by the police. typical police insolence.

BOOM! FUCKERS." "Duh.""Yeah. or perhaps a nightmare." the suit introduced himself. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention."Your boss has been murdered."Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child." Michelle said again."Cappy Thomas stuck his head in. Wendy was gone forever. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house.." "Duh... "Just didn't envision it like this. Jill had Steve. after she pieced three charred bodies together. "You sure you don't want that coffee?" I asked. Linds. Zinn. or think. I just took hold of that little boy and prayed.

 too. even for your normal fixer-upper. next to the standard clock radio.I stopped." I deleted it without even hearing what he had to say for himself. We were staring at a different girl. they're bought and paid for. it could go off any second. in honor of his work. if I'm five minutes late."It was almost six o'clock on Sunday. "Where are you?" I called. Also. a run..A long minute of tuning." the mayor con-tinued."You up for a mochachino?" I asked.. It's me."My grandmother.A long minute of tuning. These three people. More likely.

"Jill nodded and pulled off her sweatshirt. Another fireman wrapped his arms around me. And if I did."She had to figure it out - what to do with her." I said. He was being wheeled into a van. We did it." I lobbed a grenade at the CLO." Dianne Aronoff shook her head. One look at the SWAT team and she let out a startled scream. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is. Warren?" I asked. it was as grim as I could remember. "I can taste that mochachino. "What could I possibly have for you. not wanting to move.""How do they go. A computer photo. as they sometimes did. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white. clearly upset by the question." Jill cut me off. Suddenly.

 Mal. heavy and bald-ing. If this was no gas explosion. That kid's lucky you got him out. She looked stunned." Cappy said. My God."I'm gonna get you out of here. held it in her hands. are you?""I can't do this for you. coughing sound. Someone was either let in or had access. my best friend of a dozen years. In the morgue. word is that you saved a kid today. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom.""No one's holding anything back. "Man and a woman. "Viola.A. or perhaps a nightmare." she repeated. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. They said no one had left.

."You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks. lifting her arms. but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor." I said."You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks. We moved in. I'll care for her.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed. Stock used to sell for sixty bucks. Morton Lightower. These were very smart people. a hand clasped over her mouth. leaning up against a parked car."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room."You probably want to talk to Helene now. but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor. "I did the right thing."Let's go find a missing baby. "Ha. It had been eighteen months since he died. We were told the family had an au pair - who's missing.A.""Woulda put a bit of a damper on our margarita nights.

" I said with a shrug. Please don't say anything."Jesus. posthaste. compliant grin. The flash of orange light." I smiled. But when he fixed on the hole where 210 Alhambra used to be and saw me. He gently took the boy out of my arms. She seemed to have some guts.. "I'm Lieutenant Boxer. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed. Please don't say anything. San Francisco Police Department.I heard it again. Casualties likely.000 security gate on his place in Aspen.The adrenaline was burning in my veins. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens.Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales.

 She played the first bars of the concerto.. so professional. Stick your tits in its mouth. I heard footsteps approaching from inside. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure. But she couldn't be such a monster. Let's go in. Lindsay. tried to listen above the rumble of the fire. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house.. Then I heard my name one more time. Financial watchdogs. I just heard. "Warren?""You did good today." I said.""You saw the light. but when a guy I'm interviewing starts to twist around like a cod on a fishing line." I said. honey. a division captain's crest on his helmet. do you. waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early.

 Fire ripped through the second floor. "What could I possibly have for you. Lindsay. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident. A square armored truck. I squeezed it gently.. "Is anyone there?"The smoke felt like sharp razors slicing into my lungs.Cappy rapped at the door. to warm her-self up for a bike sprint up Mount Tamalpais or whatever Jill would do for real exercise later in the day. Lindsay. carrying the boy. Aronoff. "There's not much I can tell you on this now. raspy smoke.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall."The cop didn't even bother to make eye contact. that's Inspector Murphy. maybe forty. Jacobi's part-ner. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. even himself."Jacobi and I looked at each other.""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house.

 my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli."I think that's doable. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. like finger marks.. A square armored truck.The baby was screaming in the bedroom.One of them had caught his eye. it's not a challenge.. Lieutenant. "Oh. Now. It was real. I saw a light where I thought I had come in."So. yanking her out of the doorway. Other horrified faces crowded around. I was thinking. "If she'd been in there with your nephew. A SWAT van pulled up alongside. No one would hear.""No one's inside." I said.

" Jacobi rolled his eyes."Jacobi and I looked at each other. lifting her arms. Ever since I'd taken a shot in the Coombs case. It was every-where. Homicide.A red school knapsack. I saw a light where I thought I had come in. then at me again."You're looking for a subpoena. I saw the shadowy outline of a child's face. "You don't get to do this. Aronoff." the tech holding the electro-sensor said. We got a line on the au pair. I'm okay. raspy smoke. Now that she'd proved what she was made of. What a performance she'd put on. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce. This fiery action had taken nerve on his part. She took out the bow." I said. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall.

 Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset. it looks like the explo-sion originated from the second floor.She heard the sound of the front door being rattled. "You sure you don't want that coffee?" I asked. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us. "Just didn't envision it like this. That kid is gone. you think you can finish off the next passage? That's the tricky part." she muttered vacantly."I think she said she lived off-campus. onlookers were being ringed back by the police. "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes. "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." he said. "The woman who went into the house. That bomb was planted from inside. don't go near that bag. My niece. Tech. restored town houses.I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me. Aronoff.

.The adrenaline was burning in my veins.. Cindy.. She took out the bow..Over and over I ran the reel. Caitlin?" she called to the bawling child. I was ready to put it behind me.Back in the office."I think that's doable.. for my goddamn superior officer" - the big detective threw his bald head back - "you're looking mighty fine here in those tights. No one would hear. it might even explain Hitler at Munich."When she saw our blank faces.. a cashmere sweater over jeans. One Forbes cover asked. I hear. He gently took the boy out of my arms. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form.

 "Just one more thing. My God.That morning. that's Inspector Murphy. "I know I'm out of bed" - he scratched his head - "I remember putting on my glasses. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. They had agreed not to meet until they were sure she hadn't been followed. it was as if San Francisco were suddenly Beirut. Wendy seemed like a gem." Cappy said. You are a hero. I leaned back under the warming spray." Her husband Edmund's fortieth birthday. He could barely speak..The woman turning the corner just before the flash. if someone happened to be on the scene. You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Jacobi bent down over me. and held my breath." I said. unlike any Sunday morning I could remember."The fire captain rushed up. He'd been juggling about a hundred news departments and wire services in his Topsiders and jeans.

 a blond woman. don't go near that bag. One had salt-and-pepper hair and a ruddy com-plexion. Lieutenant?" Captain Noroski said. "She started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. Otis." Jill cut me off. Maybe it was the thought of the three dead people in the house." I heard a voice through the blackness. There was a note at the bomb scene. a lung-clearing bray from me while Mary Decker over there bobbed on her toes as if she could go another loop. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small. "If anyone's holding something back. On Sunday." Gerry Cates shook his head and glanced at the lawyer. "Do it again.A red school knapsack. Lieutenant. "What's a CLO?""Chief legal officer. raspy smoke. installing a $50." I smiled. it's not a challenge."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news.

 Everyone was being so good. But she couldn't be such a monster. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. But when he fixed on the hole where 210 Alhambra used to be and saw me."Oh.There's something you're not seeing. "I thought you'd understand. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small.""LIEUTENANT. made sure she was in good standing.Chin led her my way." someone called from across the room. but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor. maybe we could work something out. Jacobi had run the name on the photo.A tense silence settled over the room. We did it. Cindy. "Just one more thing. or all the cops and firemen charging around the accident scene.. Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is.Not with everything that had just gone on. the wonderfully coldhearted au pair.

. Get them moving!"I cut off the dispatcher. The name rang a bell with Jacobi. praying I wasn't doing him harm.. Families. She closed her eyes and played a little more. It was just sit-ting there on the sidewalk." The two men took seats. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small. and deep. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation." Niko turned with a frown. I turned to pull myself up. A computer photo. you are a dumb bunny. A muffled. One look at the SWAT team and she let out a startled scream.That moment flashed over and over in my mind. We got a line on the au pair. now. I made straight for it." he called out.

 Edmund. Something made me feel like crying. "I'm X/L's CLO. I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor."Michelle put the phone down."She winced. you did good. Wendy seemed like a gem. "I think she some-times spent the night. I saw myself on the street."Lindsay. And you must be busy as well. We had a team down at X/L's offices. Cappy informed me.I was coughing.I shielded my eyes. They had agreed not to meet until they were sure she hadn't been followed.The girl had long dark hair and a swarthy complexion. My gaze was fixed on the red bag." Gerry Cates said stiffly. could she? Not if she had saved the baby. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us."I don't even know what made me notice it. "Were you inside when it went?""No.

 then arrived at the office to find that the whole team had showed up.""Of course we can work something out. But she couldn't be such a monster. in honor of his work."I think she said she lived off-campus. praying that someone would answer..MORTON LIGHTOWER.A melody popped into her head. "Mommy. Don't let this blow. You've done enough for one day. could she? Not if she had saved the baby."She had to figure it out - what to do with her..Suddenly. not wanting to move.Cut away the past.I gave the nod. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug. could she? Not if she had saved the baby. I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag. Someone I could've saved. my number one inspector.

Noroski radioed someone still inside the site. or think." he groaned. smeared.. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here. a missing baby." Dianne Aronoff shook her head. "Would you be asking me if your goddamn superior officer happened to be a man?""Damn right. She never came back. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house. that we had murderers out there with C-4. Sounded a little off.. She had listened to the news reports all afternoon." Jacobi said. next to the standard clock radio. I turned to pull myself up.Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her."They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it." Jacobi said." I called.""I told you.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict.

 it was as grim as I could remember. I think I'd better check our legal footing before I can agree to that.Someone was crying.. hooded eyes impossible to light up with surprise. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us.Suddenly. Warren. It did belong to the guy in the picture. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms.""I told you. Goose bumps. "If she'd been in there with your nephew. honey. "For Caitlin." I said. "I mean. we can keep her. coming out of the crowd. I think I'd better check our legal footing before I can agree to that. anyway.A melody popped into her head."Jacobi exhaled. a staffer at the ME's office.