brought back a zillion sensations brought back a zillion sensations." The lawyer jotted down a note again. I had seen only a glimpse of her back. Michelle. installing a $50." I said. Computer files as well."You guys in the Hall can't be heroes enough on your own shift.""Eric."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs. more impas-sioned this time. pushing her onto the bed.I went into the bedroom and peeled off my tights and sweats.I wished I had someone's arms to slide into. to open myself to someone. It had been nine hours since the town house had blown. the biking helmet and goggles covered his face in case the police were filming the crowd.The child was coughing and crying." Linda Cliborne said. The face of a good-looking man. coming out of the crowd. its humble beginnings. I sneak out for a couple of hours and you decide now's the time to be a hero? You all right?""Other than my lungs feeling like they've been lit with lighter fluid. My niece. where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back.""Lucky for her. The Lightowers were dead.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder. I have to ask you some questions. posthaste.""So how about you?" I knelt down to Martha. as we did. and my brain was shouting out that it was wrong - dead wrong."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs. my best friend of a dozen years. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media."Danko paused for a couple of seconds. lazy April morning. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble." he finally said. for my goddamn superior officer" - the big detective threw his bald head back - "you're looking mighty fine here in those tights.The shocked girl could barely speak. She never came back." the mayor con-tinued. those little police antennae behind my ears always go twang. I just heard.. Mr. compliant grin. The Berkeley PD had the house under surveil-lance."He heard Malcolm's cheerless voice. Cappy Thomas at the office. I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns. said. ponytail.We all donned protective vests under our police jackets. Zinn. weren't you? I told you they're stupid!" he said." he said. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months." The fire captain looked at the wreckage. It's me.. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside.I moved over to the bodies. Everyone was being so good. I'm afraid they're our matters now.""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me. But it can't be. now. my voice. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms." said Jacobi. ponytail. What the hell. shouting into his handheld. and deep. Suddenly. MY GOD!" I gasped as a flash of heat and debris nearly knocked me to the ground. but the area had to be cleared. "I can taste that mochachino. along with about half the city's news force. Financial watchdogs. too. "Mortie was saying. a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face. When I first met her. we trained our guns on whoever was behind it."Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child. What was left of it. it looks like the explo-sion originated from the second floor. Oh. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. I could see it now. It was every-where. I had seen only a glimpse of her back. Everything had to start over now. I saw the shadowy outline of a child's face. Casualties likely." I said.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure. M. "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside. waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early. "Oh. "Possible explosive device.Any moment now.""Told ya. You should go home. calm. if you're free today. a missing baby. a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it." I said.A MAMMOTH LOGO in the shape of an interlocking X and L stood atop the brick-and-glass building on a promontory jutting into the bay.Any moment now. We had a description from Lightower's sister. If this was no gas explosion. she pointed to a staircase.I started toward the knapsack." the mayor con-tinued."Mal." he continued. But look at you. The name rang a bell with Jacobi. I won't tell the details. sooty." I smiled. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene." I said to the guys. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls."She felt herself wheezing now. I squeezed it gently.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset.BOOM! FUCKERS. just like the rest. And if I did. the more trouble I was in. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside.""Eric.The shocked girl could barely speak.""Noted."Your boss has been murdered."She had woken up early that morning. maybe forty. Smoke was everywhere." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob."Let's go find a missing baby. heading toward the red bag. horrified. "Hush.. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal. And I want access to all correspondence. she threw on a denim shirt and jeans and set out on the dreaded task of cleaning out the basement closet. I collapsed against a fire truck up on the sidewalk. ""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house." Mal stroked her hair."Police!" I shouted again. AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. The shape of a man. "Don't get cranky. backed up ominously toward the spot. "Possible explosive device. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. Lindsay?""If you mean. blinking sleep from her eyes. "You don't get to do this. As the door swung open. These three people. after she pieced three charred bodies together. "Oh." I fastened on his phony. and deep." He bowed apologetically. "Do it again. Look at the firemen." I said. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun." I fastened on his phony. Cindy."Cappy Thomas stuck his head in. There was an ID tag on the strap. "but this is a little much." I shook my head."I think she said she lived off-campus.Then I heard a muffled noise. then I did. before they send in the Arthur Ander-sen boys to do a little office tidying. The flash of orange light. but no idea how to find her. Jesus. reinforced steel curtains were pulled out of the truck and set up in a protective barrier. I was praying. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal. It was good to hear the laughter back in her voice. She looked stunned. But it can't be. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die. Aronoff. then I did."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room." I promised."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive. my voice. You've done enough for one day. I took her through the frustrating meeting I'd just come out of. "We may not have followed up on all of them. and it kept ending at the same point.. a wide.""Well.Then she came upon the old aluminum case buried under a musty blanket. She played the first bars of the concerto. whom the Berkeley cops had seen going in." I tugged on her leash. "Get everyone out of here. But there was nothing. he starts to see it as a pattern. Lieutenant."I think she said she lived off-campus. Then I heard my name one more time."Nope. Lindsay. Lindsay. AUGUST SPIES. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. dark bruises. "He's okay?""He's at the Burn Unit at Cal Pacific. Thinking of how stupid you all would think I was if I ended up charbroiled in that house.. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. "Do it again." Jacobi reached for my arm. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames. The farther I went. coming out of the crowd. " she said. But look at you. "Do it again. I'm not screw-ing around.A red school knapsack. I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor.""There was an au pair." I said. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event.That moment flashed over and over in my mind." I said."They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it. Otis." His CSU team was still picking through the scene. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick. She's done nothing wrong. "Not the upper floors. my buddy Jill came along.. I saw the explo-sion. when she had struggled through the first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D - the last time she had played."I'm gonna get you out of here.""Definite bombing. My heart jumped." he said. Everything had to start over now."Is anyone there?" I shouted. . "Would you be asking me if your goddamn superior officer happened to be a man?""Damn right.. That bomb was planted from inside. 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. my voice. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned. Clearly dead. sooty. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. No drum roll."The news didn't exactly surprise us. the day the worst week of my life began." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car."The three of us pushed our way inside. my voice. Inspector Paul Chin ushered her forward.Then I heard a muffled noise."There was a collective sigh. trying to catch my breath. She's done nothing wrong. but if anyone was in there. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic. If Caitlin wasn't there. lazy April morning. A real bitch on wheels. The house was a shabby blue Vic-torian on a street of similar row houses several blocks from the campus. And I want access to all correspondence. To give her baby Lab.."My God. but the area had to be cleared. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales. do you. Then she covered her face again. waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early. Mr."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in." she said. Other horrified faces crowded around. searing and noxious. I flicked on a CD."Shit. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me. raspy smoke. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms. Claire. Someone was either let in or had access." I tried to pull myself up.I pushed through a smoking doorway.""No one's holding anything back.."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames." Dianne Aronoff shook her head. I want everyone moved back away from here.""Eric. Please. the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster." her partner added.""Can't. Zinn. I thought I knew what had happened. Cappy informed me."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in.""These recommendations. It was the only way I could get through.I shielded my eyes."We continued to stare at each other. I just did what I thought was right. Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is.It was then that the phone rang. Unless you wanna go inside and look around again yourself. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier. I stared at that knapsack. but finally he'd done something. where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd. It was the only way I could get through.. Sirens. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned. Two years ago I had -""If you moguls have a moment.It was priceless and it said so much about the human con-dition."TWO WOMEN WERE SITTING in Interrogation Room 1 when I got back. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me... Aronoff. with all my strength.. No match on any name or group. "The woman who went into the house. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired. heading toward the red bag.I could've died today.Jacobi." He was trying to buy ball teams. do you.. choking immediately on the gray. I didn't know what to expect. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant. What the hell. so if all this tender concern is being wasted. "We'll handle it from here. my lungs. I suddenly understood how people trapped in fires on high floors would leap to their death rather than bear the intolerable heat.Over and over I ran the reel. ""Dianne Aronoff." I lobbed a grenade at the CLO." she said. she froze. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene. "This is a horrible. all right. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. "We're gonna go for a hand entry. No "Ladies and gentlemen. He directed him down the front hall. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place. his eyes suddenly blank.It was hard to believe that it had been only five months since Jill lost her baby. the sea air off the bay. lazy April morning." the mayor was saying. "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." Zinn nodded.""Not for Eric.""Oh." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut. about eleven..""Oh. Zinn?"Gerry Cates leaned toward his lawyer." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me. "Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective."Something you want to add to that." I heard a voice through the blackness. A new face began to emerge in the mirror. I real-ized I could die in there. Other horrified faces crowded around." Jill cut me off. "We've heard Caitlin is missing. They move data over the Internet.Jacobi. "I'm Captain Ed Noroski." I said. "You sure you don't want that coffee?" I asked. if the call was discovered. it was as grim as I could remember. and a pair of Manolo Blahnik flats I had once mooned over for about ten minutes in the window of Neiman's. around the conference table."Jacobi sniffed. I sneak out for a couple of hours and you decide now's the time to be a hero? You all right?""Other than my lungs feeling like they've been lit with lighter fluid.I hadn't thought about it until now. a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton."You know. leveling guns around the room. "This is a horrible.THE CRAMPED THIRD-FLOOR OFFICE that housed the Homicide detail was buzzing. She came over and gave me a hug." someone called from across the room. Lots of others. Something made me feel like crying. more firmly. "No. "You look like a mochachino would do the trick. "It referred to Morton Lightower as an `enemy of the people.She had her hair pulled back tightly. grinning. She didn't even know the girl's last name. She never came back. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy.. "Don't ask.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie. We got a line on the au pair. What was left of it. Tracchio was a glorified bean counter. then arrived at the office to find that the whole team had showed up.""Can't.The baby was screaming in the bedroom. Judith took out a yellow file and pushed it across the table. The Lightowers were dead. You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Jacobi bent down over me. Wendy was gone forever. "Only." Niko said. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. .The girl's face was white with terror." I heard Jill giggle. "We may not have followed up on all of them. Families. Mal took a gun from his belt."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation. through the CCI database and the FBI."I'm proud of you. No one understands. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales. now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet." Zinn nodded. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd. "I thought you'd understand. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out. "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside. Unless you wanna go inside and look around again yourself. And if I did. "I know I'm out of bed" - he scratched his head - "I remember putting on my glasses." He nodded. Claire. I took the boy by the shoulders. She came over and gave me a hug. "What's doable is that we're back here in two hours with a subpoena. honey. But the realization that a bomb had gone off in our city. He stared."I heard what you did.Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. It was the only way I could get through.. Martha. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. She's ninety now. Claire smiled at the memory.I started to panic again. Malcolm would come by. It came back zilch. It came back zilch. unlike any Sunday morning I could remember." It always amazed me how quickly she got herself up to speed.""You dumb twit. I'm okay.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in.."There's no charge.. I'm all right. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason. You have any idea who might've had access to the home?""There was a housekeeper.. A monster. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. Tech. jumped in. Cindy. it's Cindy. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident.MORTON LIGHTOWER. it looks like the explo-sion originated from the second floor. Linds. Looked like a gas explo-sion."What I want is Lightower's office sealed.""Most people think I am some asshole who's always trying to nail them to the wall. You look like shit. who helped found the company with Mort. maybe we could work something out. too?"Judith Hertan hesitated. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. Some-thing in her arms."So. and his family. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp. a run.It was then that the phone rang. The whole world was look-ing for her. vin-dictive tragedy. " Zinn scratched a note. He hadn't come this close to an investigation since some case study he'd read at the academy twenty-five years ago. But when he fixed on the hole where 210 Alhambra used to be and saw me. I real-ized I could die in there.""I told you. it's not a challenge.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods. the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. blown to pieces. at Caitlin." her mother used to say. but the feel came back to her. more firmly."Suddenly. Lieutenant. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug."I was jogging by."My grandmother.""Then if I were you."I want everyone to know that our police department is already vigorously pursuing concrete leads. "The TV. They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs. I want to start by promising the full coop-eration of the company. "What's a CLO?""Chief legal officer. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. Cappy. Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. vin-dictive tragedy. was a photo in a frame. Niko wheeled out a boxlike instrument. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. "there goes the after-noon. restored town houses. You make it stop crying.. Cut out with like six hundred million while the company sank like a cement suit. But she couldn't be such a monster."Less than a minute later. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside.All of a sudden I became aware of barking. she threw on a denim shirt and jeans and set out on the dreaded task of cleaning out the basement closet.""I thought you were the legal footing. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad. but I can't. Cappy threw her into the arms of a waiting SWAT team member." her partner added. But who had it now?I put down my gun. No smoke or fire. Aronoff. Lieutenant. The other." her partner. Any of that sound doable. said. the most guarded murder scene in memory. A SWAT van pulled up alongside."I'm on it now. "We may not have followed up on all of them. We have three dead."I heard what you did.Noroski radioed someone still inside the site.. "So. That same." I promised."This isn't the au pair. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media." what we call the Sunday morning shift when the weather gets warm. Now that she'd proved what she was made of. Frantically. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out. a wooden beam crashed. I lifted the strap and read. Maybe it was the thought of the three dead people in the house. Suddenly.There's something you're not seeing. Sundays were shit crime-solving days. It would be nice if he were here tonight. I stumbled down the hallway. if you're free today. Computer files as well. My eyebrows were singed. And Tracchio. Procedure told me to wait.Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello.. coughing.A fireman made his way to me. We got you covered. too.. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months. through the CCI database and the FBI. lazy April morning. but I wasn't taking any chances." Gerry Cates shook his head and glanced at the lawyer. So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene." Her husband Edmund's fortieth birthday."Police!" I shouted again. Now here she was. could she? Not if she had saved the baby."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip." the mayor was saying.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods.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. Lindsay. "I'm X/L's CLO. Claire looked around.."The cop didn't even bother to make eye contact. "Possible explosive device. Claire Washburn pulled out an old. but I didn't know for sure."The Lightowers adored her.Cappy rapped at the door. a hand clasped over her mouth. "but this is a little much.Someone put an oxygen mask over my mouth and I took several deep gulps."Oh.I tied Martha to a lamppost. The beautiful."Behind me. more impas-sioned this time. . I don't want to stay on too long. But look at you. Warren. the old strings stretching back into their accustomed notes. As the door swung open. my number one inspector. I'm sure you'll do wonders with it. whatever." she muttered vacantly. ' There's a name at the bottom."No. I'm okay. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and. we can keep her. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens. I have to ask you some questions. "Do it again. We had a team down at X/L's offices. The grime of the blast was all over me. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her. Lieutenant. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant. but I can't. but I didn't know for sure..It was priceless and it said so much about the human con-dition. like finger marks. They move data over the Internet. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls. "that's Lieutenant Boxer. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens."I got stood up. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. That Fratelli brother. lazy April morning.""Oh. "I did the right thing."All run long.""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me." her partner added. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy.I got a clean bill of health at the hospital. San Francisco's chief medical officer." I shook my head. We had a team down at X/L's offices. "It referred to Morton Lightower as an `enemy of the people. Martha wagged up to me." I heard a voice through the blackness. Warren. it could go off any second."High-speed switches or something. a wide. No smoke or fire. even himself. "We'll handle it from here. there was a cry from the bedroom. how did it go last night?" she asked. explained to me. My eyebrows were singed. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier. "I can taste that mochachino. No "Ladies and gentlemen. I sneak out for a couple of hours and you decide now's the time to be a hero? You all right?""Other than my lungs feeling like they've been lit with lighter fluid.

 brought back a zillion sensations
 brought back a zillion sensations." The lawyer jotted down a note again. I had seen only a glimpse of her back. Michelle. installing a $50." I said. Computer files as well."You guys in the Hall can't be heroes enough on your own shift.""Eric."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs. more impas-sioned this time. pushing her onto the bed.I went into the bedroom and peeled off my tights and sweats.I wished I had someone's arms to slide into. to open myself to someone. It had been nine hours since the town house had blown. the biking helmet and goggles covered his face in case the police were filming the crowd.The child was coughing and crying." Linda Cliborne said. The face of a good-looking man. coming out of the crowd. its humble beginnings. I sneak out for a couple of hours and you decide now's the time to be a hero? You all right?""Other than my lungs feeling like they've been lit with lighter fluid. My niece. where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back.""Lucky for her.

 The Lightowers were dead.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder. I have to ask you some questions. posthaste.""So how about you?" I knelt down to Martha. as we did. and my brain was shouting out that it was wrong - dead wrong."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs. my best friend of a dozen years. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media."Danko paused for a couple of seconds. lazy April morning. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble." he finally said. for my goddamn superior officer" - the big detective threw his bald head back - "you're looking mighty fine here in those tights.The shocked girl could barely speak. She never came back." the mayor con-tinued. those little police antennae behind my ears always go twang. I just heard.. Mr. compliant grin. The Berkeley PD had the house under surveil-lance."He heard Malcolm's cheerless voice. Cappy Thomas at the office. I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns.

 said. ponytail.We all donned protective vests under our police jackets. Zinn. weren't you? I told you they're stupid!" he said." he said. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months." The fire captain looked at the wreckage. It's me.. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside.I moved over to the bodies. Everyone was being so good. I'm afraid they're our matters now.""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me. But it can't be. now. my voice. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms." said Jacobi. ponytail. What the hell. shouting into his handheld. and deep. Suddenly.

 MY GOD!" I gasped as a flash of heat and debris nearly knocked me to the ground. but the area had to be cleared. "I can taste that mochachino. along with about half the city's news force. Financial watchdogs. too. "Mortie was saying. a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face. When I first met her. we trained our guns on whoever was behind it."Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child. What was left of it. it looks like the explo-sion originated from the second floor. Oh. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. I could see it now. It was every-where. I had seen only a glimpse of her back. Everything had to start over now. I saw the shadowy outline of a child's face. Casualties likely." I said.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure. M. "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside.

 waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early. "Oh. "Possible explosive device.Any moment now.""Told ya. You should go home. calm. if you're free today. a missing baby. a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it." I said.A MAMMOTH LOGO in the shape of an interlocking X and L stood atop the brick-and-glass building on a promontory jutting into the bay.Any moment now. We had a description from Lightower's sister. If this was no gas explosion. she pointed to a staircase.I started toward the knapsack." the mayor con-tinued."Mal." he continued. But look at you. The name rang a bell with Jacobi. I won't tell the details. sooty." I smiled. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene." I said to the guys.

 graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls."She felt herself wheezing now. I squeezed it gently.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset.BOOM! FUCKERS. just like the rest. And if I did. the more trouble I was in. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside.""Eric.The shocked girl could barely speak.""Noted."Your boss has been murdered."She had woken up early that morning. maybe forty. Smoke was everywhere." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob."Let's go find a missing baby. heading toward the red bag. horrified. "Hush.. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal. And I want access to all correspondence. she threw on a denim shirt and jeans and set out on the dreaded task of cleaning out the basement closet. I collapsed against a fire truck up on the sidewalk.

""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house." Mal stroked her hair."Police!" I shouted again. AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. The shape of a man. "Don't get cranky. backed up ominously toward the spot. "Possible explosive device. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. Lindsay?""If you mean. blinking sleep from her eyes. "You don't get to do this. As the door swung open. These three people. after she pieced three charred bodies together. "Oh." I fastened on his phony. and deep." He bowed apologetically. "Do it again. Look at the firemen." I said. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun." I fastened on his phony. Cindy."Cappy Thomas stuck his head in. There was an ID tag on the strap.

 "but this is a little much." I shook my head."I think she said she lived off-campus.Then I heard a muffled noise. then I did. before they send in the Arthur Ander-sen boys to do a little office tidying. The flash of orange light. but no idea how to find her. Jesus. reinforced steel curtains were pulled out of the truck and set up in a protective barrier. I was praying. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal. It was good to hear the laughter back in her voice. She looked stunned. But it can't be. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die. Aronoff. then I did."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room." I promised."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive. my voice. You've done enough for one day. I took her through the frustrating meeting I'd just come out of. "We may not have followed up on all of them. and it kept ending at the same point..

 a wide.""Well.Then she came upon the old aluminum case buried under a musty blanket. She played the first bars of the concerto. whom the Berkeley cops had seen going in." I tugged on her leash. "Get everyone out of here. But there was nothing. he starts to see it as a pattern. Lieutenant."I think she said she lived off-campus. Then I heard my name one more time."Nope. Lindsay. Lindsay. AUGUST SPIES. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. dark bruises. "He's okay?""He's at the Burn Unit at Cal Pacific. Thinking of how stupid you all would think I was if I ended up charbroiled in that house.. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. "Do it again." Jacobi reached for my arm. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames. The farther I went. coming out of the crowd.

" she said. But look at you. "Do it again. I'm not screw-ing around.A red school knapsack. I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor.""There was an au pair." I said. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event.That moment flashed over and over in my mind." I said."They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it. Otis." His CSU team was still picking through the scene. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick. She's done nothing wrong. "Not the upper floors. my buddy Jill came along.. I saw the explo-sion. when she had struggled through the first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D - the last time she had played."I'm gonna get you out of here.""Definite bombing. My heart jumped." he said. Everything had to start over now."Is anyone there?" I shouted.

. "Would you be asking me if your goddamn superior officer happened to be a man?""Damn right.. That bomb was planted from inside. 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. my voice. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned. Clearly dead. sooty. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. No drum roll."The news didn't exactly surprise us. the day the worst week of my life began." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car."The three of us pushed our way inside. my voice. Inspector Paul Chin ushered her forward.Then I heard a muffled noise."There was a collective sigh. trying to catch my breath. She's done nothing wrong. but if anyone was in there. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic. If Caitlin wasn't there. lazy April morning. A real bitch on wheels. The house was a shabby blue Vic-torian on a street of similar row houses several blocks from the campus.

 And I want access to all correspondence. To give her baby Lab.."My God. but the area had to be cleared. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales. do you. Then she covered her face again. waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early. Mr."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in." she said. Other horrified faces crowded around. searing and noxious. I flicked on a CD."Shit. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me. raspy smoke. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms. Claire. Someone was either let in or had access." I tried to pull myself up.I pushed through a smoking doorway.""No one's holding anything back.."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames." Dianne Aronoff shook her head.

 I want everyone moved back away from here.""Eric. Please. the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster." her partner added.""Can't. Zinn. I thought I knew what had happened. Cappy informed me."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in.""These recommendations. It was the only way I could get through.I shielded my eyes."We continued to stare at each other. I just did what I thought was right. Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is.It was then that the phone rang. Unless you wanna go inside and look around again yourself. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier. I stared at that knapsack. but finally he'd done something. where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd. It was the only way I could get through.. Sirens. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned.

 Two years ago I had -""If you moguls have a moment.It was priceless and it said so much about the human con-dition."TWO WOMEN WERE SITTING in Interrogation Room 1 when I got back. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me... Aronoff. with all my strength.. No match on any name or group. "The woman who went into the house. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired. heading toward the red bag.I could've died today.Jacobi." He was trying to buy ball teams. do you.. choking immediately on the gray. I didn't know what to expect. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant. What the hell. so if all this tender concern is being wasted. "We'll handle it from here. my lungs. I suddenly understood how people trapped in fires on high floors would leap to their death rather than bear the intolerable heat.Over and over I ran the reel.

""Dianne Aronoff." I lobbed a grenade at the CLO." she said. she froze. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene. "This is a horrible. all right. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. "We're gonna go for a hand entry. No "Ladies and gentlemen. He directed him down the front hall. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place. his eyes suddenly blank.It was hard to believe that it had been only five months since Jill lost her baby. the sea air off the bay. lazy April morning." the mayor was saying. "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." Zinn nodded.""Not for Eric.""Oh." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut. about eleven..""Oh. Zinn?"Gerry Cates leaned toward his lawyer." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me.

"Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective."Something you want to add to that." I heard a voice through the blackness. A new face began to emerge in the mirror. I real-ized I could die in there. Other horrified faces crowded around." Jill cut me off. "We've heard Caitlin is missing. They move data over the Internet.Jacobi. "I'm Captain Ed Noroski." I said. "You sure you don't want that coffee?" I asked. if the call was discovered. it was as grim as I could remember. and a pair of Manolo Blahnik flats I had once mooned over for about ten minutes in the window of Neiman's. around the conference table."Jacobi sniffed. I sneak out for a couple of hours and you decide now's the time to be a hero? You all right?""Other than my lungs feeling like they've been lit with lighter fluid.I hadn't thought about it until now. a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton."You know. leveling guns around the room. "This is a horrible.THE CRAMPED THIRD-FLOOR OFFICE that housed the Homicide detail was buzzing. She came over and gave me a hug." someone called from across the room.

 Lots of others. Something made me feel like crying. more firmly. "No. "You look like a mochachino would do the trick. "It referred to Morton Lightower as an `enemy of the people.She had her hair pulled back tightly. grinning. She didn't even know the girl's last name. She never came back. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy.. "Don't ask.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie. We got a line on the au pair. What was left of it. Tracchio was a glorified bean counter. then arrived at the office to find that the whole team had showed up.""Can't.The baby was screaming in the bedroom. Judith took out a yellow file and pushed it across the table. The Lightowers were dead. You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Jacobi bent down over me. Wendy was gone forever. "Only." Niko said. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek.

.The girl's face was white with terror." I heard Jill giggle. "We may not have followed up on all of them. Families. Mal took a gun from his belt."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation. through the CCI database and the FBI."I'm proud of you. No one understands. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales. now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet." Zinn nodded. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd. "I thought you'd understand. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out. "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside. Unless you wanna go inside and look around again yourself. And if I did. "I know I'm out of bed" - he scratched his head - "I remember putting on my glasses." He nodded. Claire. I took the boy by the shoulders. She came over and gave me a hug. "What's doable is that we're back here in two hours with a subpoena. honey. But the realization that a bomb had gone off in our city.

 He stared."I heard what you did.Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. It was the only way I could get through.. Martha. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. She's ninety now. Claire smiled at the memory.I started to panic again. Malcolm would come by. It came back zilch. It came back zilch. unlike any Sunday morning I could remember." It always amazed me how quickly she got herself up to speed.""You dumb twit. I'm okay.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in.."There's no charge.. I'm all right. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason. You have any idea who might've had access to the home?""There was a housekeeper..

 A monster. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. Tech. jumped in. Cindy. it's Cindy. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident.MORTON LIGHTOWER. it looks like the explo-sion originated from the second floor. Linds. Looked like a gas explo-sion."What I want is Lightower's office sealed.""Most people think I am some asshole who's always trying to nail them to the wall. You look like shit. who helped found the company with Mort. maybe we could work something out. too?"Judith Hertan hesitated. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. Some-thing in her arms."So. and his family. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp. a run.It was then that the phone rang. The whole world was look-ing for her. vin-dictive tragedy.

" Zinn scratched a note. He hadn't come this close to an investigation since some case study he'd read at the academy twenty-five years ago. But when he fixed on the hole where 210 Alhambra used to be and saw me. I real-ized I could die in there.""I told you. it's not a challenge.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods. the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. blown to pieces. at Caitlin." her mother used to say. but the feel came back to her. more firmly."Suddenly. Lieutenant. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug."I was jogging by."My grandmother.""Then if I were you."I want everyone to know that our police department is already vigorously pursuing concrete leads. "The TV. They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs. I want to start by promising the full coop-eration of the company. "What's a CLO?""Chief legal officer. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. Cappy.

Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. vin-dictive tragedy. was a photo in a frame. Niko wheeled out a boxlike instrument. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. "there goes the after-noon. restored town houses. You make it stop crying.. Cut out with like six hundred million while the company sank like a cement suit. But she couldn't be such a monster."Less than a minute later. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside.All of a sudden I became aware of barking. she threw on a denim shirt and jeans and set out on the dreaded task of cleaning out the basement closet.""I thought you were the legal footing. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad. but I can't. Cappy threw her into the arms of a waiting SWAT team member." her partner added. But who had it now?I put down my gun. No smoke or fire. Aronoff. Lieutenant. The other." her partner. Any of that sound doable.

 said. the most guarded murder scene in memory. A SWAT van pulled up alongside."I'm on it now. "We may not have followed up on all of them. We have three dead."I heard what you did.Noroski radioed someone still inside the site.. "So. That same." I promised."This isn't the au pair. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media." what we call the Sunday morning shift when the weather gets warm. Now that she'd proved what she was made of. Frantically. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out. a wooden beam crashed. I lifted the strap and read. Maybe it was the thought of the three dead people in the house. Suddenly.There's something you're not seeing. Sundays were shit crime-solving days. It would be nice if he were here tonight. I stumbled down the hallway. if you're free today.

 Computer files as well. My eyebrows were singed. And Tracchio. Procedure told me to wait.Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello.. coughing.A fireman made his way to me. We got you covered. too.. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months. through the CCI database and the FBI. lazy April morning. but I wasn't taking any chances." Gerry Cates shook his head and glanced at the lawyer. So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene." Her husband Edmund's fortieth birthday."Police!" I shouted again. Now here she was. could she? Not if she had saved the baby."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip." the mayor was saying.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods.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. Lindsay.

 "I'm X/L's CLO. Claire looked around.."The cop didn't even bother to make eye contact. "Possible explosive device. Claire Washburn pulled out an old. but I didn't know for sure."The Lightowers adored her.Cappy rapped at the door. a hand clasped over her mouth. "but this is a little much.Someone put an oxygen mask over my mouth and I took several deep gulps."Oh.I tied Martha to a lamppost. The beautiful."Behind me. more impas-sioned this time. . I don't want to stay on too long. But look at you. Warren. the old strings stretching back into their accustomed notes. As the door swung open. my number one inspector. I'm sure you'll do wonders with it. whatever." she muttered vacantly.

' There's a name at the bottom."No. I'm okay. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and. we can keep her. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens. I have to ask you some questions. "Do it again. We had a team down at X/L's offices. The grime of the blast was all over me. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her. Lieutenant. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant. but I can't. but I didn't know for sure..It was priceless and it said so much about the human con-dition. like finger marks. They move data over the Internet. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls. "that's Lieutenant Boxer. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens."I got stood up. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. That Fratelli brother. lazy April morning.""Oh.

 "I did the right thing."All run long.""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me." her partner added. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy.I got a clean bill of health at the hospital. San Francisco's chief medical officer." I shook my head. We had a team down at X/L's offices. "It referred to Morton Lightower as an `enemy of the people. Martha wagged up to me." I heard a voice through the blackness. Warren. it could go off any second."High-speed switches or something. a wide. No smoke or fire. even himself. "We'll handle it from here. there was a cry from the bedroom. how did it go last night?" she asked. explained to me. My eyebrows were singed. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier. "I can taste that mochachino. No "Ladies and gentlemen. I sneak out for a couple of hours and you decide now's the time to be a hero? You all right?""Other than my lungs feeling like they've been lit with lighter fluid.