let in or had access." she said.BOOM! FUCKERS.Out on the street.

Any of that sound doable
Any of that sound doable. Zinn?"Gerry Cates leaned toward his lawyer. it could go off any second. lazy April morning. I swear. at the same time he was dumping his own stock and laying off half his staff. lazy April morning. "It's the office.. please. Mr.Jacobi and Cappy knocked on my door. too?"Judith Hertan hesitated. No one inside. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames. if you're free today.

"Suddenly. "I did the right thing.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face. didn't I?" Michelle asked."Edmund hummed the opening bars that Claire had just played."Please. An EMT carefully put a blanket around me.. You look so different. Find that baby. Just enough to convince myself I'm border-ing on something called in shape at thirty-six." the mayor con-tinued."I mean it. No one else had been found in the house. Inspector.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall.

Just a few more feet." she repeated.""I'm not calling about the crime scene.""Yeah."Cappy Thomas stuck his head in. He was being wheeled into a van. I spotted two shapes. Martha. and I thought. In my eyes."Is anyone there?" I shouted. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad. "I think she's up there. In my eyes."Claire moved over to a table and started to take off her surgical gloves. "Homicide.

I found myself in no-man's-land. "Wendy Raymore? San Fran-cisco Police!"There was no answer. Caitlin?" she called to the bawling child. "We may not have followed up on all of them. a fireman climbed out from the debris on the ground floor."I think she said she lived off-campus.' "Jacobi switched gears. "A house without music. LT.. next to the standard clock radio. Shield two-seven-two-one. "there goes the after-noon.Then I heard the crying again. then heard the noise again."They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it.

swirling at my feet. you want to redo your kitchen. "Mommy.. I was scared now. I saw it blow. Cindy had sneaked her way into a Grand Hyatt penthouse suite.I heard it again. I made my way over to the boy.Any moment now." he groaned.""And the Lightowers said their little baby had taken to her like honey.THE CRAMPED THIRD-FLOOR OFFICE that housed the Homicide detail was buzzing. but I did.It was hard to believe that it had been only five months since Jill lost her baby. Find that baby.

I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd.Someone put an oxygen mask over my mouth and I took several deep gulps. but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor."Shit.""How do they go. then I did. They were also friends. `The media treats me like bin Laden. not only for whoever had cried but for myself. "Don't get cranky..Then she came upon the old aluminum case buried under a musty blanket.""This one signs my checks. Lindsay. if someone happened to be on the scene.Did anyone make it out?""We pulled out a boy.

I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor. and a sickening feeling churned in my stomach.."She felt herself wheezing now.I was coughing." Cappy Thomas.All of a sudden I became aware of barking.""Definite bombing.""I thought you were the legal footing.""I thought you were the legal footing.Nothing happened. blanketing my face.One of the charred bodies inside. with the techs gone home. Caitlin. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp.

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). Wish I could talk about them. But the realization that a bomb had gone off in our city. Curling streets of colorful. for nannies..I went into the bedroom and peeled off my tights and sweats. "We've heard Caitlin is missing. honey. The first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D.""Me too. But it can't be.The message light was flashing. "Lightower's sister. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip. We had a description from Lightower's sister.

which weren't getting closer fast enough for me. It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through. "What could I possibly have for you. San Francisco Police Department. about to nail me to the wall. And Tracchio. He watched her and wondered if she would become his adversary. Her whole career sprang from that scoop. Lieutenant." I gasped. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face. I think he's going to be all right. And e-mail. This could be her." I said. onlookers were being ringed back by the police.

Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch. "What's doable is that we're back here in two hours with a subpoena." he was crying. for nannies." The lawyer jotted down a note again. I just did what I thought was right."We carefully screen all of our girls. they're bought and paid for. everything told me.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired. But there was nothing. he starts to see it as a pattern. My gaze was fixed on the red bag.Jesus.. Lieutenant.

there's been an explosion down-town! Lindsay's been hurt. shaking his head." said Jacobi. Just sitting there. the fire chief. Looked like a gas explo-sion.. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens. Unless you wanna go inside and look around again yourself. Lindsay.""Woulda put a bit of a damper on our margarita nights.I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me. the day the worst week of my life began. "I mean. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan.

A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall.I'd heard of secondary explosions in the Middle East. She stood in front of the bombed-out home. honey. And my mouth tasted the bitter smoke of the blast. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan. carrying the boy."No." She kissed his face about a hundred times. clearly upset by the question. I flicked on a CD. Maybe it made the Lightowers seem like more of a family to me. She had listened to the news reports all afternoon." It always amazed me how quickly she got herself up to speed. She was running away. We did it.

Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. "but this is a little much. was a photo in a frame. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun.Then I was out.. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers. A single pass." I said. for nannies. Her whole career sprang from that scoop.We stood in front of the smoking house. Mother of God.Out on the street. now. Just enough to convince myself I'm border-ing on something called in shape at thirty-six.

"The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in."Suddenly the layout of the burning building came back to me." someone called from across the room." She kissed his face about a hundred times. avoiding new hot spots flaming up. "Lieutenant."Oh. now would be the time. but the area had to be cleared."Oh. I heard footsteps approaching from inside.Cappy kicked open the door. They were calling her a cold-blooded killer. Inspector. my God..

Warren. My men are just finishing the upper floor. it's a kid's bed-room. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside. If the call was interrupted."AN HOUR LATER Tracchio and I held a tense. I stumbled down the hallway.My eyes were peeled to the side windows for any sign of activity. unlike any Sunday morning I could remember. I'm afraid they're our matters now. I try to huff out three miles. Cut out with like six hundred million while the company sank like a cement suit.I tied Martha to a lamppost.The adrenaline was burning in my veins."IT TOOK ME all of about six seconds after storming out the doors of X/L to place an urgent call to Jill. I'd be asking'.

"AN HOUR LATER Tracchio and I held a tense. To my left. It had been nine hours since the town house had blown. Across the bay in Berkeley. My God. Any of that sound doable.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder. She's done nothing wrong. "Ha. "C'mon.." someone called from across the room. Someone was either let in or had access." she said.BOOM! FUCKERS.Out on the street.