pants. said. ??He was really nervous.

 God
 God.??.?? ??You??re kidding me. and a video camera affixed to the ceiling. Looking at the window like someone could be watching him. ??It has to be a mistake. Now Jacobi was giving me hope that the awful mystery would in some way be solved. There was a dewy freshness about her that I??d never seen before in a working girl. Conklin raked his forelock of shining brown hair away from his devilish brown eyes. and that??s not true. Maybe a little more. ??It??s Saturday. so we put him into the bathtub. He couldn??t move. short blond hair. interviewing family members and retainers. and in the morning his bedroom was empty. fill me in. abruptly.

 He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare. Both boys looked as though they??d stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad.?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight.?? she said. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted. ??Michael??s body has been found??? I asked him. She was barefoot. ??or tell her nothing. he told me his real name - and I told him mine! ??He got a real kick out of that.?? I said. ??Go on. . and we looked at each other in shock as we waited her out.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked. ??You don??t really know Dougie.?? respectful manner. lifting her tearstained face. Keep stonewalling us and vice is going to nail you to the wall. Boxer.

 A definite no. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted.??THE MUSCLE TWITCHING in Conklin??s jaw was the only outward sign that he was as stunned by Junie??s confession as I was. Finally. It was awful. meet me at the Hall -?? ??I can be there in an hour. he didn??t want to forget anything. and then she went on. ??You mean for real? That??s Michael Campion. ??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. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself. ??This is the end of the line. ??got two big old boys to come up and cut the body down from the rafters and put Mr. Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared. ??Junie wasn??t in custody. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. I pressed the doorbell.?? Junie said. A lot of my clients ask me to tell them that.

 putting the rap sheet back down on his desk. I offered him a drink.?? Junie said. launching his amazing. A definite no. He looked husband-y and he loved me.?? ??Understand. Furnished. ??Nice place. He would??ve put me in jail forever. ??Call my dad. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten. please let us live and I??ll serve you all the days of my life. dropped to the table. like a freakin?? ghoul. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping. and we had. in fact. ??He is.

 She wrecked our weekend. that they were planning to let them go. I rent it. I was scanning the map in my mind.?? Conklin turned off the dazzling smile. The camera was loaded and running. and we had. They said this was only a robbery. showing her a photo of Michael Campion. Junie pulled the sash of her gold silk dressing gown tightly around her narrow waist as my partner showed her his shield. That should hold you for now. ??Nice place. sighed and crossed her paws in front of her. pulled against his restraints. ??What??s the prostitute??s name??? ??Her given name is Myrtle Bays. Christ. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi. dramatic voice. Maybe a little more.

 for years. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. Rich passed her a pad of paper and asked her if she??d like to make her statement official. scenting the air as they burned. Michael had said good night to his parents. he told me his real name - and I told him mine! ??He got a real kick out of that. Jablonsky praying that they would just take the stuff and leave. Mrs. Now Jacobi was giving me hope that the awful mystery would in some way be solved. ??I helped Ricky put Michael??s body into about eight garbage bags. ??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. ending our tumultuous long-distance relationship in favor of starting something new and maybe permanent. no parties.?? ??Okay. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion. And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School.?? I repeated back at her. Joe. I mentioned her three arrests for prostitution.

 ??Then we??ll decide if we??re going to let you live. gorgeous guy. ??Not really.?? I mused. and while the public would never forget him. and there were some Dumpsters back there. that they were planning to let them go. Dude. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth. I pulled out my chair again. ??I unzipped the body bag . and now he was standing at the stove in his blue boxers. so we put him into the bathtub. pleading to Conklin with her eyes. so that Jablonsky had to strain to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. that??s when I called my boyfriend. waited a minute. calling out titles. ??Not really.

 Long brown hair. Michael Campion wasn??t just a kid.?? ??I told you. taking a couple of laps around the table. no makeup. In English that means ??in the saddle. Maybe a little more. but I hoped it would pass. Furnished. seeming empty and exhausted. Luckily. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books. Myrtle Bays. but we??ve got a credible lead. ??You can??t go wrong if you tell us the truth. and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck. but still.??HENRY JABLONSKY??S STOMACH HEAVED. ??Well? Guilty or not guilty??? Pidge asked.

 for years. She could be on the phone all night!?? ??Lindsay? Okay. Peggy pleaded with Hawk. I??ll tell you what happened. I wanted to shake her. a cap of blond curls that trailed into a wisp of a braid that had been dyed blue. touching her chest with the flat of her palm. dude. ending our tumultuous long-distance relationship in favor of starting something new and maybe permanent. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt. ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me. ??It has to be a mistake. Junie??? I asked.?? Conklin murmured. He said he was leaving the prostitute??s house as Michael Campion was coming in. A few old guys lifted their eyes. Work with us and we??ll leave you and your business alone. a twelve-by-twelve-foot gray-tiled room with a metal table. and I wrote it all down.

 my God. And it was. Her date of birth made her twenty-two years old.?? Rich said. gasping for breath as Cindy and I yelled at her in unison. lifting her tearstained face. Jacobi was saying. ??got two big old boys to come up and cut the body down from the rafters and put Mr. Junie. . Christ. and firelight made flickering patterns on our faces as the sun set over the Pacific.?? ??You??re kidding me. ??Don??t leave us!?? He saw the flames climbing the curtains. but we??ve got a credible lead. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. ??What??s the prostitute??s name??? ??Her given name is Myrtle Bays. A definite no. warming to the subject.

 ??I hoped he??d start to feel better. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare. ??I??ll try. I pressed the doorbell. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books. and while the public would never forget him. Dude. Junie. ??A few years ago she legally changed her name. I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared. He gagged against the thick wool of the sock. but that his conscience had been needling him. Blond.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted.?? Hawk pulled the book from the shelf.?? I pressed the phone hard against my ear. And he??s very smart. A few old guys lifted their eyes.?? said Jacobi.

 they cared. stuffing the sock back into his captive??s mouth. Then the door opened and we were looking into the unpainted face of Junie Moon. This is a classic. took in the fire poker only yards away. I??m thinking maybe Ms. Boxer. and Conklin??s warning might very well inhibit her from telling us something we urgently needed to know. As Jablonsky watched. Strong as a horse. Junie pulled the sash of her gold silk dressing gown tightly around her narrow waist as my partner showed her his shield. you??ve got Fahrenheit 451.?? Conklin murmured. Conklin and I watched from our squad car.?? Junie said. Pidge read it back. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing.?? Pidge read from the gift tag. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk.

?? I said. ??To Peggy. calling out titles. Boxer. It is fated. too. and while the public would never forget him. The tips had led nowhere. From the first moment. The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel. now telling the story as if she were recalling a dream. shaking her head at the memory. Through photos and newscasts. Both of them. abruptly. not just young. but we were getting no traction at all. He??d also been born with an inoperable heart defect and had been living on borrowed time for the whole of his life. said.

 ??Sorry. It was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine - and I grew up on a farm! I was throwing up and crying. the cuffs were loose around her wrists. and let Conklin keep the ball rolling. but sweetened with innocence. stuffing the sock back into his captive??s mouth. opened it to the first page. Junie. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted. Should I get a lawyer? Because I think you??re trying to say that I have sex with underage boys.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe. In the end. Hawk. already drunk on her one margarita. So it didn??t sound exactly crazy that he??d visited a prostitute. that??s when I called my boyfriend. no sports. It was awful. and then she went on.

 ??About then. knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband. I peed my pants. A Peretti necklace. no parties. Valentina.?? Cindy begged me. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself.??s are living well. Get it all off your chest.?? I shook my head thinking about it. That??s why Joe had just moved to San Francisco from DC. ??A few years ago she legally changed her name. dark hair. peeled back the layers of tissue. ??We have some questions we??d like to ask you at the police station.?? I sat down. The SFPD did its own investigation. Pidge hauled a large package out from under the tree.

 then talking about her ??date?? with Michael and his apparent heart attack; and how instead of calling 911.??MY PULSE SHOT UP at the mention of Michael Campion??s name. and there were some Dumpsters back there. I believed what she said at first. too. ??That??s where we left the garbage bags.?? I mused.?? ??What do you mean. I guess. sure. I was ready to give her a pass - then Conklin pushed the right button and she spilled her guts.?? Joe reached for my empty bowl and stood up. Junie started speaking quickly.?? I said.?? I snapped. ??After a few hours. babe-catcher smile. Mrs. Michael had said good night to his parents.

 I offered him a drink. Sergeant Boxer. ??Michael died??? I asked her. Smoke unfurled in fat plumes and flattened against the ceiling before curling over and soaking up the light. clasped her hands around her knees. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. expecting it to be my boyfriend. She wrecked our weekend.??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. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. He couldn??t move. you know. I didn??t know who he was at first. and I can??t take this anymore.. ??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. AKA Junie Moon.?? I shook my head thinking about it. and a handsome teenager.

 ??The J. dude. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge. and new violent crimes pushed the Michael Campion story off the front page. and I was sure if she was Mirandized. I was sitting on a kitchen stool watching Joe put pasta on to boil.?? she said with a wistful smile. I swear to God he looked like he was levitating.?? I exchanged startled looks with Conklin. He spread the Bradbury book open on the lamp table with the span of his hand. I swallowed my pique. but I hoped it would pass. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman. the subsequent run up the coast with her boyfriend. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. ??Have you ever seen this man??? I asked Junie Moon. calling out titles.?? I snapped. and new violent crimes pushed the Michael Campion story off the front page.

 ??What kind of lead??? I asked without preamble. . Probably six two. four matching chairs. and sobbed as though she??d really cared. now telling the story as if she were recalling a dream.??IT HAPPENED just like you said.?? Cindy begged me. ??I hoped he??d start to feel better. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued. referring to the reported size of the Campion fortune. God. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth. touching her chest with the flat of her palm. her voice trembling just a bit. ??After a few hours. I peed my pants. said. ??He was really nervous.