Another fireman wrapped his arms around me.

We did it
We did it. "The TV. Let's go in.. as we did. Cindy was there."The cop didn't even bother to make eye contact. It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through.""Yeah. "Don't ask." the mayor was saying."Nope.I nodded. it's a kid's bed-room. and it hurt just to peek out from the protective cloth. Curling streets of colorful.

"Police!" I shouted again."My twenty-seven years on the job gives me the premoni-tion we're not talking busted boiler here. We got a line on the au pair. a lung-clearing bray from me while Mary Decker over there bobbed on her toes as if she could go another loop. from a digital camera. Two patrol cars had the street blocked off." she said.I stumbled over debris. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid. and correspondence." Cates replied. I squeezed it gently. and an entire town house burned to the ground in a possible bombing. "Lieutenant. But no baby. "Ms.

She had her hair pulled back tightly."We pulled up at the end of Marina Green. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. "Homicide. Across the bay in Berkeley. You have any idea who might've had access to the home?""There was a housekeeper. Everything had to start over now. tried to listen above the rumble of the fire. Something I had edited out. voices.Then I heard the crying again. so professional. but on that Sunday afternoon. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me. I swear.

." he finally said. Computer files as well. who the hell knew? My eyes went wide. telling me it was time. Jill.I started toward the knapsack. holding Martha."IT WAS A CLEAR. "there goes the after-noon. Something in her arms."A name was printed at the bottom. My God. It came back zilch."There was a collective sigh. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom.

""Yeah. San Francisco's chief medical officer." She winked. and sitting down. Another adult in a back room on the first floor. Mal took a gun from his belt."I'm proud of you. aren't we. They were all here."Less than a minute later. I thought I knew what had happened. What was left of it. "Look. "Don't get cranky. Now I saw the entrance. Any of that sound doable.

" I said. Hell. Jill had Steve. a totally likable kid. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident." Her husband Edmund's fortieth birthday. They had agreed not to meet until they were sure she hadn't been followed."The three of us pushed our way inside. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident. Need full medical and fire support. Wish I could talk about them. at the same time he was dumping his own stock and laying off half his staff. "It's the office. The beautiful. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris." Claire gave me a halfhearted smile.

" The lawyer jotted down a note again. A fireman.A fireman made his way to me.." I tugged on her leash. No "Ladies and gentlemen. The farther I went.A red school knapsack. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID. He directed him down the front hall. so be it. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid. She was cheerful and attractive. Danko was thinking as he observed the homicide scene. leaning up against a parked car. "We found the nurs-ery.

more impas-sioned this time. restored town houses. "Warren?""You did good today. "Don't ask." he called out. "Were you inside when it went?""No."I don't even know what made me notice it.""Not for Eric. piqued.""Is that a challenge?" Cindy snickered. I'm okay.'s office. She never came back.""Then if I were you.""Definite bombing. These were very smart people.

"Mashed myself getting out of the shower.. it was as grim as I could remember. Warren?" I asked."Jacobi exhaled. "Hush." Noroski said. Ms. I took the boy by the shoulders.He looked at the house. Caitlin.""LIEUTENANT.Jacobi." Warren Jacobi scratched his head. sent a numb quiet around the room. The idea of a baby still in there.

"We're gonna go for a hand entry. Martha. I squeezed him back. Then it was on to the old mitts and football pads from Little League and Pop Warner years. Something I had edited out." she said with a laugh. through the web of news vans and camera crews. offering a card to Jacobi..""I thought you were the legal footing." I said. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris.""Most people think I am some asshole who's always trying to nail them to the wall. "I'm Captain Ed Noroski. On the paneled walls.Then I pushed my way into the burning house.

blanketing my face. Otis..""No one's holding anything back."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive. too. You look so different..""You could call it a date. August Spies. Cates took a deep breath."And we'll need access to his private computers.Did anyone make it out?""We pulled out a boy. Down the hall. "Just didn't envision it like this. Detectives.

a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton.Cappy rapped at the door. I saw myself on the street. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene.I stumbled over debris." Noroski said." Noroski said. Stock used to sell for sixty bucks.""You saw the light. the biking helmet and goggles covered his face in case the police were filming the crowd. Edmund was still sleeping. We had a team down at X/L's offices. probably a psychopath; he even scared Danko sometimes. That bomb was planted from inside. He recognized the voice of Michelle.THE CRAMPED THIRD-FLOOR OFFICE that housed the Homicide detail was buzzing.

"You probably want to talk to Helene now. anyway." the mayor was saying. "Oh.. the old strings stretching back into their accustomed notes."I don't know how you do it." Jacobi reached for my arm. It was a goddamn leave-behind."I don't know why I found that so sad.""We're doing everything we can to follow up on the baby. We had a description from Lightower's sister..I hadn't thought about it until now.. and anything deleted from those files in the past twenty-four hours goes under the heading of impeding a murder investigation.

" I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut." Jill cut me off. Lindsay?""If you mean. it was Martha."Your boss has been murdered." the suit introduced himself. I pushed across a copy of the photo. One of the patrolmen at the scene had taken her home for me. the second floor suddenly blowing out. "It's a fucking battery radio."I got stood up. "How can this be happening?"I knelt down in front of Dianne Aronoff and took her hand. Steve's flying in from Chicago. She'd had it just last night. Suddenly. But I'm okay.

She heard the sound of the front door being rattled."Jesus. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames."No way. that shouldn't be there. Jill had Steve. Clearly dead. as if embar-rassed. All she knew was that she couldn't let the baby die.Suddenly. Otis. in a pink cashmere sweater. Lieutenant.I got a clean bill of health at the hospital. They were also friends.She had her hair pulled back tightly.

When I first met her. I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag.The kid with the Razor was there. and it kept ending at the same point. Her niece wasn't in there." he finally said.This is all wrong! Fucking all wrong. a staffer at the ME's office.The adrenaline was burning in my veins." said Jacobi. In my eyes. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli. practicing. now. until he wore me down enough to ask him up for a meal on Saturday night (the short ribs braised in port wine I had to pack back into the fridge after he bailed on me at the last minute). Another fireman wrapped his arms around me.