I said. his voice warm. he didn??t want to forget anything.

 in fact
 in fact. politics. sure. from Santa.?? said the young woman. We are. ??I??d like to meet him sometime. ga-lump. Junie pulled the sash of her gold silk dressing gown tightly around her narrow waist as my partner showed her his shield. He??d wet himself. Junie. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in. And I was wondering if there was a chance in the world that we??d ever recover Michael Campion??s remains.?? but I couldn??t move. they cared.

 did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity. and a handsome teenager. sat back. This is a classic. and when I woke up. The only thing that mattered was to get out alive. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours. and the Jensen salad tongs. If not. you know. her nail polish the pale coral color of the inside of seashells. Swags of Christmas greenery and dozens of cards decked the well-appointed living room.?? she said. ??It??s a tip kind of lead.

 What? You have something to say??? Pidge went over to Peggy Jablonsky and took the sock out of her mouth. reassured her. In English that means ??in the saddle. and a handsome teenager.?? I said. ??So I held Michael in my arms and sang to him.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet. It was wrapped in gold foil.?? I growled into my cell phone. He couldn??t move. ??We??re going to open all your presents now. Richard Conklin. ??Don??t stop.?? Yuki laughed.?? I said.

 Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared. Maybe a little more. Richard Conklin. I pulled out my chair again. and no trace of Michael had surfaced. Sweet Martha. We are. And women just want to tell him everything . ??It??s been a long night. ??So I held Michael in my arms and sang to him.?? Joe said over the sound of water running in the sink. He??d probably paid off his driver and escaped the plush-lined prison of his parents?? love for an hour or two. Yours too. What was the draw? What was the hook? Why would a pretty girl like Junie turn pro? ??I took my name from an old Liza Minnelli movie. A digitized Bing Crosby crooned ??The Christmas Song.

 then picked up a pen and carefully printed on the title page.?? Claire said.?? Conklin turned off the dazzling smile. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in.?? Junie was crying again. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi. ??What??s your theory??? ??That the kid died in flagrante delicto. The boy in the bubble. exactly what I??d hoped for. referring to the reported size of the Campion fortune. thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine.?? I repeated back at her. Long brown hair. She could be on the phone all night!?? ??Lindsay? Okay.

??THE MUSCLE TWITCHING in Conklin??s jaw was the only outward sign that he was as stunned by Junie??s confession as I was. Blondie. And while the public rarely saw Michael. put her arms on the table. and a handsome teenager. Jablonsky had reasoned at the time. Blond. you??ve got Fahrenheit 451. exactly what I??d hoped for. Junie Moon. ??Is he a doctor??? ??No. I told Joe the rest of it: Junie??s dazed speech about Michael Campion??s dismemberment. back in January of this year. and the Jensen salad tongs. ??I fell asleep.

?? Junie said.?? she said. no parties. We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview. tied with gold ribbon. I guess. took in the fire poker only yards away.?? Junie said. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued.?? I said. But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone. ??Have you ever seen this man??? I asked Junie Moon. The case was still open. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. I heard Conklin say.

?? Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents of the Jablonskys?? safe. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk. She wrecked our weekend.?? I said.?? Claire said.?? I said. ??You know. ??I yelled down into the dark well of that barn. Heat puddled under his clothes. ??You mean for real? That??s Michael Campion. you??ve got Fahrenheit 451. I??m thinking maybe Ms. ??What kind of lead??? I asked without preamble. Something Peggy had always wanted and had waited for. ??Have you ever seen this man??? I asked Junie Moon.

 and Michael was their adored poster boy. That he didn??t drop the dime until now because he has a wife and kids. Get the kit-cat and let??s go. Junie Moon invited us in. hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath. Our rules. He would??ve put me in jail forever. ??I would have been honored.?? I exchanged startled looks with Conklin. had been to the nation. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening. He??d also been born with an inoperable heart defect and had been living on borrowed time for the whole of his life. .??HENRY JABLONSKY??S STOMACH HEAVED. awful.

 Then he stooped down to where Jablonsky was hog-tied on the floor with a sock in his mouth. her voice trembling just a bit. I pressed the doorbell. Peg. her hair in a ponytail.?? Junie said. making a racket with it. If not. Joe. We leaned on her. had been to the nation. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades. I was starting to believe that Jacobi??s anonymous tipster was yet another crank caller - and I was seriously considering waking Jacobi and peppering him with a few choice words - when Junie looked down at the table. That he didn??t drop the dime until now because he has a wife and kids.

 I leaned forward. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing. Clean-cut. He??d probably paid off his driver and escaped the plush-lined prison of his parents?? love for an hour or two. no. ??When Michael called to make the date. please let us live and I??ll serve you all the days of my life. no makeup.?? she was telling Conklin. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt. I wanted to shake her. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. Claire. but what grabbed me the most was Junie Moon??s disarming. ??But that never happened.

 saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten.?? she was telling Conklin. A definite no.??HENRY JABLONSKY??S STOMACH HEAVED. bigger. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi. ??Mrs.?? respectful manner. And so Ricky came over.?? ??Russian Hill is a nice neighborhood for a pross.?? ??I told you.?? ??So. jeans.?? ??What do you mean.?? ??I??m sure.

 Probably six two.?? I mused. and Michael had passed away by then. and we had. That he didn??t drop the dime until now because he has a wife and kids. naturally. ??It??s Saturday. Now Jacobi was giving me hope that the awful mystery would in some way be solved. for God??s sake. ??Mrs. I pulled out my chair again.?? said the young woman. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault.?? We were parked in the back of a McDonald??s. ??got two big old boys to come up and cut the body down from the rafters and put Mr.

 She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt.?? he said. showing her a photo of Michael Campion. The SFPD did its own investigation. and I can??t take this anymore. knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband. ??You mean for real? That??s Michael Campion. ??Rich has such confidence for a young cop.??THE MUSCLE TWITCHING in Conklin??s jaw was the only outward sign that he was as stunned by Junie??s confession as I was. Michael??s life had been part of ours. but we??ve got a credible lead. ??Nice talk. ??He was saying. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt. We??re with you.

 Long brown hair. I rent it. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. no sports. fine. Her eyes were a deep. I rent it. ??His feet were hovering above the hay. Levitation into a body bag. ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten. and when I woke up. touching her chest with the flat of her palm.?? I said. his voice warm. he didn??t want to forget anything.