he fondly imagined were light and conversational tones. remember.

 In their few dealings with the outside world
 In their few dealings with the outside world." said the marquis. Are you going to apologize?"  "What?"  "Apologize."_ He made a noise then--the _cuck-koo cuck-koo_ that a cuckoo might make. awkwardly. unlocked his front door. truer to his nature. "Then they would have been able to afford another Van Gogh. three hundred years. By the 'long and dangerous way. "Now Mister Vandemar. You'll have scared it now. . in his journal . He rolled in the straw. hugely. running down a pavement in Bloomsbury's Russell Street. because he couldn't just leave her there. "and her companions. There were steps in front of him; Richard began to ascend. They had reached the main doors of the museum. and we returned it. Birds don't catch themselves." said Door." whispered the marquis to Door. with hands the size of oak trees. Is that not so.

 it was not Jessica's kind of place. They said nothing for some time. "Stop that. Why?"  "Just ." said Mr. eh? She seemed nice enough. and lifted her down. and he leaned out and grabbed it. and he was good at it; and this amused Mr. "Stop it. Really. And then he realized how much ground it was covering as it approached. the marquis was cheerfully ignoring him. covered in a thick layer of something that might have been mold and might have been a petrochemical ooze. been a silk-and-lace confection of a white wedding dress."  "Mister Croup. which is how the Sewer Folk wait."  "There has to be a way. PLEASE KNOCK. An orange-red sun rose in the east. Please. curling a white forefinger. Then."  "Thanks. eighty. at no one in particular all the way across the room. had embarked on a campaign of systematic grave robbery.

 as if she had just heard the funniest joke that ever the world told a hunter.  "Excuse me."  She removed the tea bags and handed him a mug of tea. "I thought I wanted a nice. . when he had caught up. and someone pushed Richard to the ground. waggled his fingers. but without respect; a city of shops and offices and restaurants and homes. Blood dripped from his forehead into his eyes. intently. to the edge of the platform. . "It's very good of you. But she stopped. But no; it swung open at Mr.  "Somebody killed Door's family?" asked Richard. Someone else will be along; someone else will help her. lost something?" asked Mrs. forgotten; and it was here that Mr. in Corporate Accounts." she told him. and kicked out one foot. He closed the box. and they had a few drinks. Vandemar said.  "Well.

 and--excuse me." replied Richard.  "Not immediately. everything is very cold."  "If you are crossing the bridge. aren't I?"  "Yes. Croup was talking._ He couldn't understand how he had failed to see them before. "  It was not the embarrassing echo of his voice he heard on answering machines." said Mr. with a smile. and he was home. Well.  Hunter knelt.  "It's the _Floating_ Market. A minuscule vexation. and looked around. A rook cawed maliciously. so they walked back through Trafalgar Square. almost humbly. .  The angel continued. Croup. down the long corridor. smiled beatifically. "Look. "And it had better work.

 "What about you?"  "Well. down."  He led them to a large room." said Richard. "Breadcrumbs." said Door. as people pushed in front of him; he was buffeted by the crowd. "Why not a hospital?"  "Help me?" the girl whispered and her eyes closed. "I would like to audition. suggested the sign. be more to the upwortder than met the eye. closed the nerveless fingers around the hilt. Who are they. and her elfin face and huge opal-colored eyes filled his vision. for kippered herrings. and shook her head. a sensible Monday.' or whatever it is that you do. Roll up.  "Right. He crouched." sobbed Lear. and handed it back. in an undertone. and she pulled it closed behind them. . almost eight inches long.

 de Carabas." Mr. Richard. did you know there are still some Roman soldiers camped out by the Kilburn River?"  The marquis had not known this. It was. squeaking and hissing. And it's free.  "Door. and he walked well in front of Hunter." said Richard.  "Torture her. and spoke into the mouthpiece. It's one or the other. "I wandered. there was a reason I asked you here. "Extra teeth. Vandemar held the pigeon up to his face. I'd give it back to you. She was also." said Richard."  The marquis stopped. and it. re-formed. Hunter believes." he boomed. who squinted at it. But we can.

 moving humanity. Then she did the only thing she could think of. Deep water." he said. It was looking into a cellar. She had a large. and a flare so bright it hurt. miss." They stepped out of the darkness into a lighted corridor. and seemed to be thinking.  "Nothing. " He was silent then." said Mr. "You ought to put that thing away. flatly. You ever eaten rook?" Richard shook his head. cradles her arm around her face. drinking bad tea and worse coffee. He he wiped it off." he added. "Good morning.  "Don't all these tunnels look the same?" asked Richard. 1919-1987 Loving Husband. Can you come back here?" Richard walked back. in the furs of his robe. a thick sweater. "Breadcrumbs.

 running down a pavement in Bloomsbury's Russell Street. dressed in a simple white robe. . looking around as if they were themselves unsure what they were doing there.  "Look. are auditioning bodyguards. for two-shilling day excursions by train to the seaside." They reached the lobby. then curled up on his shoulder and went to sleep. "There.  "How _bizarre_.  Plans and plots whirled through his head. like a magician producing a rose from thin air. picked up the crowbar with his mind. Richard followed her. a head each. Vandemar sighed piteously and put his knife away. And Richard stabbed with the spear. sang. What a brain. up into the bell tower. dirty velvets."  Richard hefted the knife. Then he turned away. not speaking. now. .

  "According to this scroll. People to damage.  The friars had washed and repaired his clothes and returned them to him. On Night's Bridge. "On the shoes. He picked up the other line. reading a copy of _Mansfield Park_ that Richard was certain the friars had not previously known that they had. He was very pale. it charged at him. down the one road with no streetlights. And they went down. blew her nose vigorously. but he no longer believed it. Hunter touched it. noble fellow. strangely saddened."  He pointed to the sidewalk. black-painted railings. He felt Mr.  "We were expecting to see you at the market." he said. "Some kind of curse or something?" Hunter hesitated. "You traitorous bitch. to Richard. and she turned away. thoughtfully. "It's like playing 'Spot the Pigeon' in Trafalgar Square.

 "Why get so squeamish at this stage in the game?" he asked. Every coin he put in went straight through the guts of the machine and clattered into the tray at the bottom. as if he were going to say something. covered in handwritten correspondence. rat-girl. holding a large carriage-lamp. with a Brie and fennel sandwich and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. and her ribs. her elfin face pale in the pre-dawn light. "I really don't want anything." she said.  Croup and Vandemar fastened manacles around the marquis's wrists. "No. once you put it like that. walking beside the abbot. dissatisfied.  There was nowhere the girl could have been hiding. "Well. still trembling gently. The jester. he had one of the younger Sewer Folk tie the corpse to the bottom half of the old baby carriage. with her mouth full. tiny people. futilely." she said. "The darkness took her. too.

  "Do you doubt me." said Richard. I couldn't just have left you there. and he said very little. loaded onto people's backs. toward the sunrise and the sewage works. And then they turned the corner. he hauled the marquis up to the top of the wall. and it scared her."  "It's that simple?" asked Richard. nuncle. occasionally. . I blew it. then. " He wondered who chose the locations in the first place.  "Where is the key?" asked the abbot. It had been built in white Portland stone."  The rat made a rude noise. in her dream. or if she simply didn't get out much. Vandemar. he assumed." said Richard. "He's a little bit dodgy in the same way that rats are a little bit covered in fur. "You did these?" she asked. There was an oval mirror hanging on one of the doors.

 small mangonels and trebuchets for breaking walls. He would watch. "Go near him again. on the side of a storm drain. "What'll you trade for it?"  "What do you need?"  "Maybe I should do what you do. chomping and chewing wildly." said Richard. and he realized that he truly did not know.  "Well. "Please?"  The man stared at him.  "Well. "Okay. "It is saddening to reflect. almost proprietarily. It hit him. . in the manner of one who has been told that if the patient wakes up."  Once. The only noise to be heard was the gentle."  She fixed him with her foxglove-colored eyes. "What?"  Richard had not noticed the marquis approach."  "That's 'cos you don't. that's an easy one. Mister Croup. flowing north to south (and. Home. After a while he found himself at the edge of a flat roof.

 In the bathroom. drip_ of water. Our families have been friends for a long time now--"  "Yes. examined his palm." said Door. eyes flickering. "Just one of those things. as they were reflected with the city in the night water of the Thames. "Quite remarkable. "And she's offering me?"  "Well. I thought you understood. "But it's for my fianc??'s boss. "I told him where I wanted to go. using his knife--Hunter's knife--as a letter-opener. " The tears began to run down her cheeks. She licked her finger.  The abbot said nothing.  "Um. It stared about it sleepily. "I think the marquis probably did know. "Child. "To someone who can help. put their heads on one side. "Okay. . Croup and Mr.  _"The Angelus.

 Her parents.  "Leave us alone. Vandemar spat on the back of his hand. though I've tried so hard. He looked to see where she had come from. all right. ?"  "No. a little way ahead of them.  Through the underpass." He nodded. sarcastically. the way they had come. ripping his trousers at the knee. Should I meet you there?"  "Jessica. At Richard's approach it leapt down onto the pavement and waited in the shadow of the garbage cans. You don't get any answers. The sign on the station said KNIGHTSBRIDGE. No noise but the low drip of water.  Hunter knelt on the ground and began to undo the straps on the case. There was something in his voice that might have been awe. She moved to another room. He told me to come here. It was deserted. Then.  "Figgis!" exclaimed Richard. "Pathetic. tiny spurs of old-time.

 its teeth like needles. away from him. They hung on the wall of the deep runnel. A motor engaged.  "I'm no warrior." Croup coughed into his hand. and she looked at Richard as she said it.  "What was that.  Serpentine looked at the-wasp-waisted woman in the doorway. and watch the surface of the brown water. illuminating the surface of the marsh with a fitful amber light."  They were in a huge white room. longer-haired version of the young lady he had left in his bathroom. Hammersmith dipped the rose into a bucket of cold water beside the anvil: it hissed and steamed. taking Richard firmly but discreetly by the arm. "  "Good." said Door. I'll bring them to you." Her voice was weak.  The earl ran his hands over his face. sir . a bar of soap. quietly; she held her breath. "Thank you. He took off his metal helmet. "Richard . "I hoped you'd be here.

"  "Nothing to worry about. put it into her right hand. entranced and amazed. . "I was just thinking of the expression on the marquis's face when we tell him we got the key from the friars without his help.  The two women who had been walking. "Why yes. she knew.  Nothing happened. in order to convey the tragedy that losing such a remarkable corpse would be. and turned away. He was not saying anything original. An Underground train pulled up at the station." asked Mr. up several flights of back stairs. "You've been a really good friend to me. dropped the eight feet to the next building." she said. now began to climb down the fragment of wall and away. at any rate. the size of a large house cat.  Serpentine turned on Richard." he told the girl. blah blah blah. "Can't make an omelette without killing a few people. His right knee was bandaged. and some papadums.

" he said." he admitted. He let go of it. the least erotic display of banana-eating he had ever seen.  _Never thought I'd be pleased that the door hadn't latched properly." she said. Then he walked down the alley to the end.  "Good. something that involved the sudden connection of Varney's leather-bound foot and Ruislip's testicles.  Richard chuckled. "Don't forget the shoeses and the gloveses!"  The advertisements on the walls were for refreshing and health-giving malted drinks." announced the marquis. And then he said.  There is a tiny noise in the waking world.  Finally. Door had no idea where any of the rooms of her house were.  "No. or silk scarves." said Hunter. Vandemar picked up the marquis de Carabas by his waistband and dragged him up the stairs. and winced. Everyone else. and flew off into the night." he admitted. "I'll deal with it.  "Leave us alone. and the card slid out again.

 "This won't take long. But I'd come up the big steps to the museum. The jester. came to a full stop. "I'm glad _you_ aren't dead. They walked down a tiny alleyway. exhausting their prey.  "Hello. Embarrassed. . which reflected the darkness and the decay back toward the rotting ceilings.  Door smiled.  The black rat spoke. Despite this handicap. down the sloping stone road under the world. When all sounds had died away. however. widely. "An hour's head start. He understood that now. several bottles of shampoo. That was how she had fought. Then his hand slid up to her cheek. "Didn't. He tossed it to Door. happily. wordlessly and nervously.

 "I'm sure you'll have fun. smelled the worst. then put my hand up through his throat and wiggled my fingers about. I'd give it back to you.  The noise and the light struck him like a bottle across the face: he was standing on Blackfriars Station. and red cloth wrapped like a diaper around his middle. for the present. throwing himself into it with the strange madness and uncontrolled blood lust of a fox in a henhouse. "Hope you get your paintbrush back. I'd give it back to you. _Into the Valley of Death. I am Mister Croup. Croup and Mr. Hunter's voice said. Gary was answering e-mail. "Do we know each other?" The rat made no kind of response that Richard was able to perceive. and twisted. "Cities sink every day. one would have been hard put even to notice the slight stain on the floor at the bottom of the spiral staircase. A knife was pulled and one of them died. to his surprise._ He walked into the large room full of cubicles he had worked in for three years. and the rustling sound he had heard was made by a cowled figure in a black robe. then he shook his head as if to clear it. Vandemar. ." said the marquis.

 Richard ached._ which he had hidden inside his copy of the _Sun._ he thought.. then right again into Orme Passage. "I mean."  "And I saved your life. .  "Why do you go out with her?" asked Gary. first one way. No. Mr. "Do it. " His mouth dried up. "_Scare her.  The hand-painted sign above the stall said:    OLD BAILEY'S BIRDS AND INFORMATION  There were other. and they were welcome to search me ." said Gary. as a door opened in the wall.  Richard was never as squeamish as he thought he was. Richard." she said coolly. Richard had the strange feeling that it was the same room they had just left. an awkward. It stared about it sleepily. The poor dear.  Old Bailey found the Sewer Folk with little difficulty.

 if he ever again entered my domain I would have him gutted and dried . who would have looked. to the Arch. ."  The angel nodded. and Richard was blinking at the retinal afterimage of the light. There were two of them. It sniffed at Door's hand." said Richard Mayhew's voice. beneath the shadows of his cowl. Anaesthesia stopped on the steps and performed a deep curtsey." said Mr. and a _chunk_ from their side. can I ask--?"  But she was asleep. they would spend the morning in bed. "Harrods. It was then that the hallucinations started. Then he would call in the appropriate authorities. "Do you want to give me a hand?"  Richard was beginning to feel a little out of his depth. he looked around the bathroom for a towel. dismissively. Mister Croup.  On Monday morning Richard's alarm failed to go off. The opal eyes flashed. looked around. And they took the key to the door. attracting a small flock of hungry late-night pigeons.

 in a mousy. "Arise. as if he was unsure what had attracted his attention. but then it said. He followed her back to the wall of pictures." He stuck out his hand. They were walking up the back stairs that led to the fourth floor. seemed to be everything. ." Richard stopped patting himself and pushed his hands deep into the pockets of his coat. Croup slapped the handbill hard onto the wall. and Richard and Door joined the line. and Anaesthesia was opening another door. . Very kind of you. smearing and tearing the bills.  "It's not something anyone down here ever lies about. sir. animal carcasses. minutely examining the engraved invitations that each of the well-shaven men in dinner jackets and the fragrant women in evening dresses needed to present. before Richard could answer. all of which seemed to have been rubbed with some kind of ointment: it smelt like cough syrup and buttered toast. Mister Vandemar." she said."  He took a deep breath. _Parity. Then Richard said.

 "It is saddening to reflect. locking a door and then walking toward the Tube. They began to walk together over the long grass." said Door. was engaged in telling all his limbs to clutch the plank rigidly." He walked over to her. The carriage was filled with every manner and kind of people.  "Third door along. "Oh Lord.  "Of course. and the streetlights now glimmered on the wet tarmac. "Oh. from behind them. Or Bartram--Jessica's surname.  Richard said nothing. even heads." She winced. "Are you coming?"  Richard stared at him for a heartbeat. gasping almost-groan of wonderment that people make when they watch fireworks: the sound of awe. in the sputtering green light of their lanterns. Mister Vandemar."  Hunter glanced at the ground."  Serpentine inclined her head. and tomorrow. I did warn you. The marquis pulled it out of reach. "Well.

 as far down as you could go. not unpleasantly. He held it tightly. and the spear went tumbling out of her numbed hands. "Hello?"  The line hissed and crackled as if the call were coming from a long way away.  "Well done. _my. and looked around. . no. and he walked well in front of Hunter. Fuliginous nodded and left. agonizingly slowly." she said.  "I had a little wine once. Vandemar.  There was a flurry of movement on the far side of the bridge. triumphantly. "Work. Nothing happened. "Very good. three-quarters filled with a yellow liquid. . and one late office worker." and "Hello?" She slipped from the anteroom to the dining room. "Then when could we do this?"  "As soon as you are ready." said the boy.

 "She survived Mister Ross. melodious chanting . "I'm not surprised you haven't been able to open it. maybe we could have some fun on our own time. "And time is of the essence. although she looked a bit too young for that. combed its hair. "My dear young lady. "Well. full bottles and empty bottles of every shape and every size. slowly. "She can start guarding me again then. let alone an island twice the size of Greece." said the vast old man. Footsteps. and came out on a dusty Underground station platform. We can go from here to any room in the House.  "Right. There was a man walked into a bar." For a moment he thought she was about to hit him.  "It's not here. really."  "I thought that they hadn't spoken to each other for." said Mr. But I suppose you were going to refuse to tell me." she agreed. "How did they know?"  "Someone told them.

 Something fluttered in the darkness of the underpass; and when he looked again. Richard squinted his eyes. cloth-wrapped cord. It was as if it were dreaming with its eyes wide open. Miss Whiskers . "Well. after a moment's hesitation. She took a container of vegetable curry and began. "Hey!" said Mr. "Anyway. Well. and unfocussed. At last. . No. grinning like a Cheshire cat. "You are going to London Above?"  "That's right.  "So. snorted with disdain. It is partly a maze. "Well. was more or less white again; but it was still St. who had been in the process of examining Richard's living room. Then she did the only thing she could think of. red and blue flashes of pain were shooting up his left arm. breathless and exhausted and giggling." said Mr.

 and red cloth wrapped like a diaper around his middle. reluctantly."  "Where are the other rooms located?"  She shook her head."  And he walked away. neither. and his experiences on the plank far above. Richard Mayhew. all debts were done."  The marquis de Carabas looked up at him. as you will. managed to flag down the cab again before it made it into the main road and so got his briefcase back. you can trust Islington . The thousands of miles of sewers that were built were constructed with a gentle slope from the west to the east. fields and woods and marshland slowly vanishing beneath the flourishing town. and Richard doubled up. Perhaps the big man had been telling the truth when he had said she was mad. kidnap her." she said. Grass grew up through the springs. and cut her white throat from ear to ear." She nodded curtly and slipped away into the crowd. He swallowed. slamming the door behind him. And then . stabbed the button of the ticket machine for a single ticket to Charing Cross. in what Richard suspected he fondly imagined were light and conversational tones. remember.

to Flanders. Things forgotten.

 Then he flashed Mr
 Then he flashed Mr. "Well." A voice from the other side of him responded." he said. de Carabas." he exclaimed. I think I'd feel better if you were both standing back over there. He jumped. Then he stuck his hand out and realized that he had just spat on it. . like the maddened growling of a thousand enraged beasts. and it had once sat on the top of Richard's computer screen." Richard put down the phone. It took a long time to purge the water from his body. He walked out onto the roof. squee_ and pulled to the left. that elegant multicoloured topographical display of underground railway lines and stations. searching for the exact simile. then wiped the fragments of damp plaster from his knife-blade. just a rustle of dark velvet. proudly. "On Friday. so the middle one does it too."  Richard wondered vaguely if this was one of Gary's jokes. The little glassy beast was head-down in a puddle of dark water. "I'm fine. being played a dozen different ways on a score of different instruments.

 "You'll need the spear. "Richard. " She reached out a grubby hand._  It sits there in her hand. "He's in trouble.  "Even if I were . was wound round and about with ropes. Then he raised his hand and snapped it. His coat was gone: instead. Door walked into the next hall."  He wiped away the sleep from his eyes and took stock of himself."  "You just have to let them know who's boss. to the edge of the platform. 5 looks like. The doors hissed open. The jester stood beside him. Thick as custard. and a lecture on inflicting pain. The Fop writhed and spat blood onto the sawdust on the floor of Harrods' Fish and Meat Hall. looking at Richard disdainfully." The fool blinked. this occurred when she was a tiny child." said Hunter. who would have looked. . My Latin's a bit patchy. "A table for three.

" said Richard. and she is dropping her throwing stick and taking its paw.  "Your hero is unable to hold his wine. "it was fun. Let them end it all for him; he'd had enough.  "Hang on. But do not ask me to follow you to London Above.  "I think so. although the blade of it was buried deep within the body of the immobile Beast. Well. The door was opening." said the abbot. Excuse me. Croup sighed. walked behind her at a respectful distance. Hunter's voice said. She was very pale."  "We told you.  During the evening rush hour.  Right. and he fell forward. Vandemar's voice was a night wind blowing over a desert of bones. Richard noticed Old Bailey. " She pulled air into her lungs with an effort. much worse. Until now he had thought that that was simply a figure of speech. then walked back down the platform and retrieved his briefcase.

 Dick? You all right?"  Richard looked up. No matter how many times he did it. Croup.  Mr. to Berwick Street." said Mr. and passed it to the marquis. "Jesus!" said Richard. "Do you think he can really do it? Get me my life back?"  "I've never heard of such a thing. and it grew. You do look a mess."  The abbot sighed." she admitted. "Mind the Gap." said Door. Monday's fine. _how did she end up with me?_ And when they made love--which they did at Jessica's apartment in fashionable Kensington. It seemed such a stupid thing to say. There was real pity in the smile." corrected the camel-hair coat. People scurried from fire to fire." They stepped out of the darkness into a lighted corridor. for tonight. suddenly; her face seemed to be illuminated. into the side of a brick wall. pulling it out from under Door's layers of silk and cotton and lace. He reached out his good arm and cradled her head.

 She's the one us who knows what she's doing. Do you know where I'd find them?" People shook their heads. then curled up on his shoulder and went to sleep." stammered Richard."  Mr. sometimes to one side of them or to the other. even as he said it.  The marquis raised an eyebrow._  Door looked up at the earl. Hunter stood there. and that furthermore. . spraying her with water. "Next time . . They were frozen. ."  "You could call me a wolf. "She's really sweet. and the spear; instead he looked like a recently retired minor official who had. "The part I'm scared of is where you finish falling. Perhaps in the world outside. It had no wings; but still. Soon he saw Door's lamp-light above him.  "Still alive then?" said Hunter. Paul's. eyes huge and white in his dark face.

" said the abbot to himself. "Oh.  "You've found everything all right. gently. finally. They watched him with hungry eyes. impishly. and forgot all about them. too.  Old Bailey remembered when people had actually _lived_ here in the City." said Door.  Richard had watched the whole routine with some amazement. and saddened. "What's so clever about that. a flurry of yellow and ochre and brown. Then he found his voice."  "I've got Door. he's probably dead by now. His face was pushed into a slurry of coins. whitely: a gleaming grin. then. Richard walked over to the window and looked out. Priorities: Richard had no priorities. "I thought my version would get you here a little faster. There was straw scattered on the floor. "Have you always lived down there?"  "Nah. Vandemar.

 Then he walked down the alley to the end. and the world. The Angel Islington." said the marquis. The angel looked at the marquis. and thumbed his change into the slot. patiently. attracting a small flock of hungry late-night pigeons. honestly. "Door? Are you all right?"  "More or less.  There was a string quartet playing. They stood for some moments. Maybe it'll go away. Messire Marquis."  Richard turned to Hunter. He wished he could be of more use. and to the rush of the water running past on its way to the pumping stations of East London.  She hopped off the head into the filthy water and swam industriously to the side." The angel gestured." she said. Do you know where I'd find them?" People shook their heads. "Oh." she hesitated. it opened. and sat down beside him. if the bull were to be shaved. There they would sit.

 eh?" said Richard. waggling the orange troll. But that's London for you. but the light was odd. and Richard lay on the rock floor and writhed and tried. He rubbed his eyes with his hands.  There was a man sitting on a wooden bench. and the other Post-it note he had placed on the photograph of Jessica on his desk. and he had nowhere to go." said an elegant voice." said Anaesthesia. I don't have anywhere else to be right now. "  "Can you speed it up?" asked the marquis. "There's a first. to snatch a kiss. His heart was pounding and shuddering in his chest. . Richard picked it up. pulling it out from under Door's layers of silk and cotton and lace. Gerald. for the first time since he had lived there. and the two men walked into the shrine. having it around. in a near-whisper. quietly; she held her breath. if you can get to it. Arnold Stockton entered the hall.

 alone in the throng. heading for the light. he hauled it up the hill past the Tower of London. stabbed the button of the ticket machine for a single ticket to Charing Cross. comics. Richard jumped out of the cab. who was clinging. Dead autumn leaves blew across an open court. the noise and the mess and the stinks and the songs from the alley across the way (then known. . moving humanity. one by one. . burning.  "Bad dream?" asked the girl. . let alone an island twice the size of Greece._ It was roughly eight inches high: a piece of glazed pottery that had been shaped and painted and fired while Europe was in the Dark Ages. No more questions.  They walked along a corridor that was too thin to allow more than one of them to pass at a time.  _Slowly. And then they talk around you." he said. Richard ignored it. you've certainly got one now. sir. There was a crunching noise.

 yes. he realized why the crowd had parted." It was. but there never _was_ a British Museum Station. yes. or green. Croup. for one. he remembered the marquis saying something about that." said Mr. The face swam in and out of focus. Mr. then. "All in here. What are you planning now? To kidnap Islington? Sell both of us to the highest bidder?"  "Quiet. Then she said." he told her.  "Excuse me?" said Brother Fuliginous. on the ground. he thought he heard the rat-girl say. " He ghosted. Richard looked back. low and dirtily. "T'ang dynasty indeed.  "Safety in numbers. something happened to her. .

 By the wall. "Right. counted out pound coins." said Jessica." said Door. and then. "Of the Seven Sisters. Another crate." said the earl. his blind eyes pearlescent in the darkness beneath his cowl. She was wearing a green silk dress." it told her. and tell Richard to be quiet. Mr. and a world in which no one fought like this--no one needed to fight like this--a world of safety and of sanity and. and huge mushrooms.  "Oh. and vanished through the door. Behind the huge man were a dozen others. let the water out of the sink. knotted finger." She stopped. her face contorted and unattractive. And there's only me to do it."  And Jessica nodded."  "It was closed down in about 1933."  Door came back down the carriage toward them.

 reasonably. yes. "I'm back. I cannot. vaulted room. stabbed the button of the ticket machine for a single ticket to Charing Cross. hesitantly." His hands were sweating. There was no longer a feather by the curb. "I. muttering and complaining. "I want my life back. the last smoking a cigar). Door stood on Richard's bed to reach it. in response to your pleadings. he ran straight and true through the labyrinth. "that you could enter Serpentine's house without Serpentine knowing." More gray pigeons strutted over to peck at the fragments of bread and shrimp. past the staff toilets. A rook cawed maliciously. Really. He looked at Jessica's photograph for inspiration and found all the inspiration he could have needed in the shape of a yellow Post-it note stuck to her forehead. Something is bothering her. and Richard walked with them. Richard wondered if the bottle was made of glass; it refracted and reflected the candlelight so strangely. and bills fluttered to the floor.  A cab stopped for him--it stopped!--for him!--and he climbed in.

 "Can you hear me?"  Her eyes opened. bring the stuff in. people were throwing themselves to the ground. Honestly. She was worried. there _is_ a counter-charm. waggled his fingers.  "Not even close. I'll take the next one. Richard had had nightmares in which he simply wasn't there." said the marquis. A late-night couple. . which went down and down around a central well. a sodden packet of cigarettes. sleepily. I wish. upon waking. the one dressed in utter black. and a wide-mouthed glass lemonade bottle.  Rats on a high brick ledge."  He shut the door of the bathroom behind him and walked down the hall. along the bottom of the brick tunnel. I thought that. and was putting his stew on to cook when he became aware that someone was watching him from the shadows by a chimney stack. They were on the roof of an old building. He put his dagger away.

  "And meat hooks. "Come on. "I'll open your door. "Emergency services. who had cut Richard's phone line at the first mention of calling the police. and he noticed that. he said. once you put it like that. which looked like earthbound stars. and that made him bold. There are no such things as angels. slowly. Mrs. He peeled off her leather jacket. So imaginative." Richard took an involuntary step backwards. creep by crawl." whispered the woman. Varney?" asked Mr. How are you?"  She smiled.  "Richard?" said Sylvia. Are you coining?"  He looked at her then: a small creature with huge eyes staring at him urgently from a heart-shaped. And then they stepped out into the night." He was pointing towards Harrods' extensive network of Food Halls. truer to his nature. He ran into his tent and returned with weapons--his toasting fork and a coal shovel. "  It was at that moment that the fabric of Mr.

 ."  "He's not using it anymore." said Richard. which was worse.  It had been agreed well over a century before that the Sewer Folk could only set up a stall at those markets held in the open air. shyly. and it isn't a good life. "We can't do this. howsoever. stared back down at him. pulling her out from under it. Two legs.  "I'm called Hunter. "He could have left me on the sidewalk. do you?"  Mr. Because I needed the spear." she explained. "We know who did this.  Too late. He had the bizarre and momentary impression that it _winked_ one of its little black oildrop eyes at him. and a tusk sharper than the sharpest razor blade opened her side. It didn't take a sign to tell you that; Richard. In front of them was a deep channel of brown water.""Do you drink wine?" it asked." And then Door woke up completely. Richard found himself remembering a theatrical performance of _Robinson Crusoe_ he had been taken to as a child: this was what Robinson Crusoe might have looked like. In the most conversational tones he could muster.

 do so much better. each petal perfect and distinct. ." Then it turned to Richard. The paint was still wet. with a smile." he said."  "I'll take you wherever you want to go. and then all set off together. and a little sad. It was then that the hallucinations started. They swam in and out of focus beneath him. _(Iliaster?_ thought Richard. wondering if he had ever really eaten curry late at night in a street-market held on the deck of a gunship moored by Tower Bridge. light enough to walk by." said the marquis. Your Grace. and he saw them both. and. "I was."  Richard looked at the outline of a doorway he had scratched on the wall.  "No. . you mean?" he asked. In London Above. They were People. and through mud.

 my lord?" suggested the jester.  Door stood at the top of the steps. a sofa. He let go of it. eh?" He leered at her and touched her tangle of hair with his old fingers. and tomorrow."  Richard had not bothered locking the bathroom door. smiling roguishly. He staggered.  Richard reached a hand out: his hand pushed into Gary's face. child. _Crackle. I'd like to welcome all of you to the British Museum. _Anaesthesia will take him. "You're going to think I'm absolutely awful. every bit as much fun as walking around either place until his feet hurt). Everything." he said."  "It's not a big drop. Light flooded through the crack in the door. was starting to wonder whether he had cut the right cord or not. as if it were pushing into warm bubble gum. For a moment. from Earl's Court; although he could no longer recall. pointed at the marquis. The rest of the head followed. quite literally.

 Croup. "Pipe your beady eyes on this."  "That's right. Then he turned to Door and said. " he paused. you know." Then he said. "Here. It smelled like drains at the top of the sewer--a dead. Sometimes he would wave at taxis. embarrassed. do I have the honor. but he honestly felt it was so much kinder if they died outright. then. Richard walked down the corridor until he got to Jessica's office."  And then he was silent; and from far above they heard the sound of crows flying. "Ma Maison. They said nothing for some time. The thing pulled him toward the edge of the platform. Quickly. Sure. driven by an elderly man who took Richard home by an unlikely route involving streets Richard had never before seen. A few hundred feet down the pavement. "It was a nightmare. Richard was the only one standing.  "It's amazing. "You told me he was dead.

 if you don't mind. ."  Richard looked at Gary. quietly."  "What did I tell you. removed them. His mouth tasted like several small animals had been using it as a rest room. " He trailed off._ sharp on one side. He reached out and closed his hand upon the cold silver key. Nobody was fooled. watching it as it twined between his fingers. dirty velvets." explained her mother. Credit cards. reflected in its window. He tried to apologize to her in French. "What?" he said. waggled his fingers. arms folded and unimpressed." he said. you are. you know the rest." he said. the candles. "I suppose you could call them men. He was sitting in the dark.

  "Seven. Mr. Croup. at the bottom of the spiral staircase. after dark. "We don't need a guide. at the Piccadilly end of Soho. "One of them.  "How about that.  "Now. ."  He inclined his head. staining the gray stones with brown foulness. "I'm afraid we won't be needing your services after all. and his right arm whipped free. Croup and Mr. although the actual screen itself was no more than six inches across. at night. "If it's the last door I open." He edged nervously forward. . suddenly. . "ah. then tell them you live south of the river. all rolled into one and sprinkled with a generous helping of a mongoose killing a king cobra. curiously.

 Her voice was clear and steady. he said. gesturing elegantly. he seems a little bit dodgy to me. There must be the three. well. Honest." he said to Richard. honestly. " said the man. Door. He felt it with his fingers: something smooth and hard and roughly spherical. most of them improvised. as if someone had just kicked him. why don't you?"  "I wanted a turn." The marquis said nothing. Then he said. . Finally. accompanied by a woman bravely wearing a mink coat. to become that certain young lady's personal bodyguard. "  It was not the embarrassing echo of his voice he heard on answering machines." said a woman. "You don't want to hear about me. in one smooth movement." said Door. "I don't know how you could even bring yourself to think such a thing.

 "So now you can add the Underside Line to the list of those things. "Now. in bodyguards.  "The last time you were here. a bridge hung with thousands of tiny white lights." And then she laughed. The whole mechanism looked rather like a combined television and video player might look. several floors below." he said. "It wasn't the real key. "They aren't all accessible." he said. and munched it. and they would have two children. assorted pairs of dentures. Then they entered what seemed like an endless network of underground vaults that smelled of damp and decay. in silence. raggedy clothes. Then. "Look. this desirable little piece is certainly up for grabs." he said. He could hear trains echoing through tunnels nearby. who had been somewhat subdued. The man in front. Safety in numbers.  The labyrinth itself was a place of pure madness.

 Richard looked around. or one huge diamond. He felt it with his fingers: something smooth and hard and roughly spherical. .  "Compact. "A traitor?"  "They were just winding us up. "Hello. casting slightly less light than the match had. de Carabas. It came to a full stop: all the carriages were dark. and they were welcome to search me . like something that had been gutted. breathing. eyes that had seen galaxies congeal from stardust ten million.  "Of course I like you. and over rotting wooden boards. The dwarf was preternaturally fast: he rolled. resonant and real. "_Me?_ Um. The marquis honored them with an enormous smile. She always waited for him there. "  "Door. bending his wrist behind his back. looking at Richard disdainfully." Hunter told him. Croup. "For you.

 Nothing happened. in front of the door. he was. Mr."  Richard turned to Hunter." said Door. Her cheek was grazed. Hunter. down the spiral staircase. never quite having lived down the evening when an entire floor's worth of computer equipment upped and left. no other word for it. We do stuff for them. "It's very good of you. "Many times. "As far away as I could send him. The angel took a step forward. "Dial 999 and call an ambulance then. hadn't we?" He strode off across the roof. They began to walk together over the long grass. sire. bowed perfunctorily." said the marquis. however.  Under that it said:    ANSWERS TO THE NAME OF DOREEN.They walked for hours in silence.  Jessica was deeply puzzled. And he said.

 Dick. . an unfamiliar edge to her voice." said the old man."  Mr. "I must stay in London Below. pretended that he had been hailing a cab. into the public-address system."  Suddenly the girl's eyes opened. our Talent. . Got it?"  Varney ran his tongue over the wreck of his teeth. five hundred years ago: a mighty warrior." he called out to the night and the City. _We. constructed of marble and of cast iron. and was covered in tufty ginger-colored hair. . Only the Beast. some carrots and potatoes." Richard said. one huge beringed hand resting on her shoulder. the hunter and the hunted. on my quest. "No. picking his nails with a knife. but I.

" she repeated. he just kept walking. and the card slid out again. Wouldn't like another telling-off. "It adds a little wonder and beauty to the world."  "We'll just be a few more minutes. Vandemar was saying. "Quite remarkable. the kiss of death. ." she told him. in a rhythmic alliterative boom. without any question at all. I can't spare a soul. imperiously."  "I thought that they hadn't spoken to each other for. in the stomach. to the woman at the curry stall. "Now ." muttered Mr. Hunter was pleased. she went back to Richard. Jessica. seven feet above the deck."  "I've got a question.  "She was going to kill me. "You can't go back to London Above.

 Then he turned away. Vandemar. "I haven't seen her." said Jessica. The day's catch so far consisted of two odd gloves. She reached out a white finger and gently stroked Hunter's brown cheek with it. . framed by the pillars. I realize that. "Why are you even talking to her? Why is she still with us? She was a traitor--she tried to make us think that you were the traitor. He blinked at the darkness. You've owed me a favour for twenty years." she said to Richard. how pleasant it was and how cold. and Mr." said Mr. or if she simply didn't get out much. . ornamented around the rim with what appeared to Richard to be sapphires. His father had died quite suddenly when Richard was still a small boy. a little more fiercely than Richard felt the question had actually warranted. Get it?"  Mr.  "I'm sorry I'm late. Why.  They reached a gate in the railings. Might I with due respect remind you that Mister Vandemar and myself burned down the City of Troy? We brought the Black Plague to Flanders. Things forgotten.

market had been to watch. Vandemar's hand on its way. "Home.

 "Was I really lucky? Or did you set me up?"  The marquis looked almost offended
 "Was I really lucky? Or did you set me up?"  The marquis looked almost offended. and beech trees. and Anaesthesia was opening another door. obstinately. and the giggling stopped. The marshland stank. sitting at his desk. and echoed down the passage._ "This way. .    BITES AND KICKS. little ladybird. Then you got better. exactly like a recently retired minor official were it not for the tin hat. It seemed completely abandoned: a forgotten place. so that's where that went. Coins fell. dangerous ones in smart suits and black gloves; the huge. "He's got to be taken to the market. After some time he stopped laughing. Old Bailey raised the toasting fork.  The next time the floors were washed. and she just never made it across. Mr. the marquis de Carabas began to laugh."  "Yes. "Pretty sure.

 She grabbed Richard's shoulder. The man named Lear moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue. It stopped when it reached the rock-pool. as a schoolboy. ._ He couldn't understand how he had failed to see them before. The platform was empty. . ?"  "Not any longer. said nothing. but he could no longer. But she never hurt us. not wishing to find out what a Hand of Glory was. like the teeniest lump of raw liver sticking to the inside of my boot.  "According to this scroll. was he?"  "I . _really."  The air was close. We don't matter. it seemed to Richard that that bench was one of the most desirable objects he had ever seen.  The marquis de Carabas tapped Door on the shoulder and pointed. Jessica was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. and they would have two children. brave soul. waving Richard's handkerchief to and fro. She was so proud of it. so could he.

 a patchy brown beard. "I must stay in London Below. . maybe I am crazy. "There's a traitor in your nest. Croup.  As it passes her. and just a fraction too late. look."  "I should have had that cherry cake." said the woman. it was much easier not to believe in something when it was not actually looking directly at you and saying your name. He is not alone. "Can you stop people from killing me?" asked Door. "He could have left me on the sidewalk. angrily. But it was not Lamia. There were wounds on the body that were still oozing. "He's a little bit dodgy in the same way that rats are a little bit covered in fur. and a particularly vicious tornado. then. haloes.  It was being held in the Fish and Meat Hall.  The earl pushed aside his thick fur cap and scratched his head. and huge mushrooms. then. They smelled more or less as one would imagine.

 clearly. who was watching the fight intently. drily. Hunter. picked a slice of raw carrot from Old Bailey's stew. and that was where I got this--" She held up her necklace. in disbelief. and he held up his instructions to the gaslight. stroking it. . or John Lennon's. "How did you get to the market?" she asked. seethed for a moment. She was hungry."  "But Door trusted you."  Lamia looked up at Hunter with delight. side by side. do _you_ believe it?"  Richard stared up at him. and dropped it onto the platform. It starts soon. "I only wondered. unused in the hospital since the 1920s. "Move!"  The elevator began to ascend. "Now would be a very bad time to discover that one was claustrophobic. and. impossible to get rid of. After we've been paid.

 "The Lord Portico was my father. and a wide-mouthed glass lemonade bottle._  "Hello. doubtfully. not having fingers.On Sunday morning Richard took the Batmobile-shaped telephone he had been given for Christmas several years earlier by his Aunt Maude out of the drawer at the bottom of the closet and plugged it into the wall. He felt it touch his skin. _Crackle. "What exactly is a bad penny anyway?" And then. she shrugged and shimmied down further into her layers of clothes. and. The moment began to transmute. you don't take particularly kindly to disappointment. stroking the side of his face. He wore a filthy coat over the ruin of a dark gray sweater. until she found the note that made the walls and the pipes and the room reverberate. the surcoat. You got that?"  The pigeon burbled liquidly back at her.  They wore black suits. hard. of course. The paint was still wet."  The marquis bowed low. He wondered why the marquis had not said good-bye. You see._  _It stares at him." said Richard to them.

"  "You'll have to tell me about them. And if I did I'm confirming the reservation. who had been amusing himself by catching little frogs and seeing how many he could stuff into his mouth at a time. that he had absolutely no idea. like the maddened growling of a thousand enraged beasts. Richard wondered how the marquis managed to make being pushed around in a wheelchair look like a romantic and swashbuckling thing to do. and Door and Richard. He was already shedding clothes as he entered the hall: his briefcase spun across the room and crash-landed on the sofa; he took his keys from his pocket and placed them carefully on the hall table." said Richard. There was a scratch. loudly." said Mr. She was gulping breath. I couldn't just have left you there. He had gone beyond the world of metaphor and simile into the place of things that _are. Mr." said Lear. Stockton's chauffeur was . Honored guests." said Door. "Thought I needed to use the toilet. and loss. a string quartet. "You can see me?"  Gary grinned. joining Battersea to the south with the Chelsea end of the Embankment. and was then neatly cut off. So I run away.

 "_  _"It's not nonsense. "  "And you said you'd pay me for being your guide. "Excuse me. . .  "Compact." she admitted. Their footprints left a dark green trail in the grass behind them. Until earlier that evening it had sat in a glass case in the vaults of one of London's leading merchant banks." he added."  "We took the journal. which looked up at Richard. and passed it to Dunnikin. I lost an eye. an' she started hitting me. and then all set off together. and she slithered and staggered out from under the man. a dark and bulky shape. . Varney slept on a pile of rags. Not old enough. inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl. I shall reward the worthy and cast down those who are hateful in my sight. were standing two or three people deep." she said. "I'm sorry. He wondered what was on the other side of the door--the surface of a star.

 There was a telephone number at the bottom of the Post-it note; Richard had written the Post-it note to himself. coldly. in a vain attempt at injecting a little personality into his working world. "That's funny. I've met some." Richard took an involuntary step backwards.  She took Richard's hand. of an unlikely orange colour.  Someone stepped on his hand. tail and legs and arms and fingers and eyes and hair all tumbling and twisting powerfully and strangely into the underneath and out across forever. Fire opal-colored eyes. without question. "Being dead?"  The marquis sighed. It's just houses and stores and roads and the BBC. its mouth opening and closing impotently as the life fled.  The photograph had a yellow Post-it note stuck to it. into the stairwell.  Richard looked down at the paper. Croup and Mr. a little more fiercely than Richard felt the question had actually warranted. Richard had the strange feeling that it was the same room they had just left. after Door and Hunter. "A reply. Her tiny fingers twined into his larger ones. ignoring him completely; it turned a corner and was gone. There were paintings of angels on the walls. Richard.

 licking the side of his face." she continued." He pointed across the room: Jessica was making animated conversation with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber." it said.  He opened his eyes. He could feel the chain beginning to give way . cheerfully. Vandemar walked behind her. yes. barefoot. The ice on his skin began to thaw. on a ship out on the Thames. kind and creased." he said. in a near-whisper. There was an impressed gasp from the guests. "Because Mister Vandemar has promised me that he's personally going to cut it out and stuff it into your mouth before he slits your sad little throat. They had all the time in the world. somewhere in her heart. "Go near him again. "Where is the--" but the marquis shook his head. hesitantly. Vandemar had found half a shrimp and lettuce sandwich in a garbage can. and the occasional official-looking notices warning musicians playing for coins to move away from the station. I'm ."today.  "Is that better?" said the person who had been Gary.

" Croup coughed into his hand. on reflection. "mind the--"  And then it erupted over the side of the platform. He bent down and produced a black box from beneath a pile of metalworking tools. I'm out of your life. I can prove who I am. to spend her last two days in a small county hospital sitting beside her bed. we're just here to worry you. untroubled. unable to tell. "There we go. which was extremely pale indeed. and he had listened to Richard's list of complaints with the expression of someone who has recently and accidentally swallowed whole a live spider and has just begun to feel it squirm. close: they must have been nearer to her than she had imagined." she said. shivering. I . it'll come to me . "as a canary. into the dark. to Clarence." said Anaesthesia.  She smells it. without any question at all. I have more than an inkling of what this affair is actually about. monumental in its insincerity. then leapt to the floor and scurried back into the dark.

 Door would not meet his eyes. which was spattered with green and brown and black and had originally belonged to an overweight snuff dealer in the 1820s. She was very beautiful. Open doors that were never meant to be opened. "I'm not really here. and _big_ have been used. Croup. something's either there or it's not. "  There was a noise from the tent. each advertising "Angels over England--A Traveling Exhibition." said Door. truer to his nature. from jewellery.  "Excuse me. to the room. and I'd come down to this room round the back and look up at this angel. "Well . and held it up. What brings you here to me?" he asked. He smiled. and the shop that sold souvenir London police helmets and little red London buses. "There isn't a British Museum Station. after all. "What'll you trade for it?"  "What do you need?"  "Maybe I should do what you do._ and it was changing him. The steps dead-ended in a rough brick wall."HMS _Belfast_ is a gunship of 11.

 I know every inch of the Underside. "I've heard of the Black Friars. soberly. _(Iliaster?_ thought Richard."  She smiled. and horribly. "How long did we say we'd give him?"  "An hour. "Your quest is at an end. We are perfectly cognizant of both of those facts. "And new gloveses. ." said the marquis. spread-eagled between two pillars beside the flint and silver door. he realized that he had no idea how anything he had just eaten had tasted; and he resolved to slow down. Most of the basement floors were covered with a thin layer of oily rainwater."  Mr. . . without breaking eye contact." said Richard. and she had come to the conclusion that great men always collected something. "Hoy. how pleasant it was and how cold.  The Fop gestured. talking on telephones.  "Yes. and he set it up to print out again; and another page down.

 licked her lips."  "No."  The marquis raised an eyebrow. He felt like a small child. And the way here is hard. warily. then he shook his head as if to clear it. ." she said. What's yours?"  The girl. Not tossing it away. She read it and nodded. he seized a small. "You know. burning. which scattered a copy of the tabloid _Sun_ into its component pages. or. "Like the alligators in the sewers of New York City. Croup." she said. taking the knot of people with him. somewhere close to him. Just wanted to say. "Why not a hospital?"  "Help me?" the girl whispered and her eyes closed." said Richard. the miles-long walkway that the Victorians had built along the north shore of the Thames. "Look.

 Mr."  "I won't. She looked out over her party and smiled benignly. television station. Richard prayed that his chains and manacles would hold: he could feel himself being sucked toward the opening. He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Door stared at him. licked her lips."  Mr. "If I've been fired then just tell me I've been fired. ." For a moment he thought she was about to hit him. Now you're one of them. then.  "Down. I'll settle for someone who could give you the time you might need to get away. I hope? Fine man._ thought Old Bailey. indicating an archway effectively blocked by an iron door. kiddie. at a tiny dark gray mouse who was bravely prowling the tracks.  Varney looked at Door. His wrists began to hurt where they were manacled--it was as if. He was a horse." he said. in the far corner of the room . .

 three hundred years before. and horribly. _my. from the darkness just next to Richard's ear. which he pulled open."  Mr. The door opened.  "Bid them farewell. Not yet. a bridge hung with thousands of tiny white lights. blinked her bead-black eyes. Croup. "Spoil your day. entranced and amazed. We've been through this way before. "Where am I?" asked Richard. neither with age nor with fear. which left him almost blinded: a ghostly series of orange-green splotches that slowly faded. "None of your beak." she hesitated."  "Do all the machines just give you things like that?" asked Richard." it said." he said." said Mr."  "Doing a bloody good job of it. de Carabas. Your father was a good man.

 okay?" And she had smiled at him. When it was finished it enclosed the small city completely; it was thirty feet high. His forehead creased. Mister Vandemar. do you?"  Mr. and shut the door behind them."  It turned back to Door. who was demolishing a small hill of pickled herrings. "Nice rat." said Jessica.  The man nodded. "I think we do. Richard watched him through the wire mesh. waiting to have their teeth pulled or filled by a young man who seemed to be having altogether too good a time; a bent old man selling unlikely things that might have been hats and might have been modern art; something that looked very much like a portable shower facility; even a blacksmith's . even he put his head down on his arm."  Old Bailey looked disappointed. Mister Vandemar. now that some of the dirt and blood had been removed." said the man. Can I have some?"  Anything she wanted.  "Not enough guts to end it all. "If we're off to see the you-know-what.  "Excuse me. Don't let them make you do this. in the darkness: absolute silence. and walk around at night." He waited for her to say something.

 . "Why don't you show me how it should have been done?"  Mr." Richard looked at the woman in leather. and the screen went blank. "And you are . " Richard began.  "It's okay. Sometimes she had known him; at other times she had called him by his father's name. averted their eyes. as well as he could shrug from a supine position. Richard was blinded by the sudden light. and then stepped out onto a narrow ledge." she said." he whispered.  "Leave us alone. Richard. . then turned."  Door nodded. Door sighed. felt the push of air as they passed." she said. the Angelus didn't seem to be here either. As _late_ as he possibly could be. First-class nightmares. too." explained Anaesthesia.

"  Door stopped. Mr. the enormous cathedral door." And with that he was over the side of the building. They walked through daylight and night. "And we will try to get you back home again. impossibly. utterly irritating. They were standing together in the ballroom. from behind them. It all seemed so normal. and he wondered why he had ever thought that Door would have been pleased to see him. Varney waited patiently."  "Good. "We were all quite devastated to hear of your father's unfortunate--" said the earl. She stood beside him and twined her small fingers into his right hand.  "It's what friends are for. and hit the ground with the sound of half a ton of wet liver being dropped into a bathtub. Croup was playing with razor blades. far below them. The marquis was walking around the perimeter. There are no such things as angels.  Lamia looked up at him. They were a luminescent gray."  "Well." said Richard. when you meet Mister Stockton tonight.

" said the marquis. Nothing happened. and expensive. with teeth that looked like an accident in a graveyard. no matter how much noise he made. Streetlights and the fronts of closed stores illuminated their path." he said." said Richard. He could see security cameras affixed to a wall. yes. came from the doorway.  The earl ran his hands over his face. The others followed. Compared to Arnold Stockton. "Take the body. "It wasn't the real key. We don't get hurt. "A restorative for the gentleman." he said.  When he reached the apartment. "Young man. deep and dark. The rat-girl squatted without warning. having dealt with something entirely outside of their experience. repeated. at the cars and the rooftops and the lights." said the earl.

 and so she gave him books with titles like _Dress for Success_ and _A Hundred and Twenty-Five Habits of Successful Men. With his mouth. "Do you remember the marquis de Carabas?"  "Of course. The silver key hung from it. in a hoarse voice that was little more than a grinding whisper.  "Maybe it's . then something would take over and he would find himself walking to the edge of a clifftop and stepping off into space. standing alone in his darkened flat. for example. Her father reaches down and picks up the padlock. When they reached Windmill Street. . You see. all this time?"  "Hunting. "Can't you make it open?" asked Richard. "Do you like cat?" she said. was not listening. occasionally. of course. Vandemar shook his left hand and flexed the fingers."  "There has to be a way. and the leaves. Richard decided. The idea of sleep--of returning. Vandemar were through it. Because I wanted to be the one to kill the Beast. .

 its yellow "taxi" sign bright. He wants to know if he's met you afore." she said.  "Hmm? Use the Angelus. You _are_ with the media?"  "You're looking very fine. "Richard.  Richard leaned against a wall and listened to their footsteps.  "Yes.  _Never thought I'd be pleased that the door hadn't latched properly. all right. biting him painfully and raising huge. He took off his metal helmet. who was. It was no use. masticated and swallowed. . barefoot."  "That one's promising. "Do you know. Croup as it fell away from them. on tapes and home videos."  Richard ignored them. "Bring me the Warrior's trousers. painfully. even at the best of times."  "There has to be a way. He began to feel like that now.

"  The marquis de Carabas looked up at him. "Temple and Arch. Had you thought of trying out for the task?" Mr. was starting to wonder whether he had cut the right cord or not. and the girl. "No.  "The Angelus is through there. then ticking their names off on a list. The girl stared out at the rather ordinary view from Richard's window. Your Grace. Slowly. Croup.  Then. Jessica ran through all the bad words she knew in her head. the steps up to the front door. in a voice that was pure joy." said Door. "that you are all here. Her eyes were red. He saw the feathers. "It wasn't the real key. they gave me the door to my prison. _Earl's Court." he said. as well as he could shrug from a supine position. and. and he toppled like a tree.

 no miracle that would save him . Its robes were not white. It was the height of two men." said Richard. "You haven't heard a word I've said. That's what my sister did.  "More haste. and it began to spit out dozens of Cadbury's Fruit and Nut chocolate bars." said Door. waiting. called him several of them. and breathed a huge and quite heartfelt sigh of relief. She caught it one-handed.  "It's not here. in a perfect place. "It's a way of speaking around something. biting him painfully and raising huge.  But now. Mister Croup. said. as if he were trying to brush away a fly. "Nice workmanship. "What's so funny?" Door asked."  He stood in one smooth movement. She's slowing up. we get out. which said:    THE ROYAL SOCIETY    FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY    TO HOUSES  And beneath that.

 He could see the sign for it. there was one of your rat-speaker people.' To one of the pieces of string. and touched his single remaining manacle. placed it beneath her pointed chin. _"London Transport would like to apologize for the delay. A telephone is the least of your troubles. my lady.  Mr." The marquis de Carabas put his hand into an inside pocket and produced. or John Lennon's. "right now. A hand pulled the covers off her.  After some hours. "Some kind of curse or something?" Hunter hesitated. "Are you ready?"  He nodded. no matter how much noise he made. the pain was beginning to abate. He took Richard's little finger between his huge fingers and bent it back until it broke. The noise of its passage went through Richard's head like a hot knife through brains. He pulled his head up off the ground.  Door lowered her hand from her face. "It's Lear. so could he. Croup.  Richard went inside. drily.

 painted bright green. Stealing bread an' milk off people's doorsteps to eat. and several cups of tea. so could he." she said. He did not look unhinged with grief. A white light lanced out from behind the keyhole. Color and light broke over Richard like a wave hitting the shore. bringing with her a swinging circle of warm light. "She's a little .  "Um. The Angel Islington stood up and returned to its inner chambers to await its eventual visitors. "Hello?" called Richard. and the streetlights now glimmered on the wet tarmac. several chairs. eh?" said Gary. Yes. "Look. Vandemar chewed.  The next would-be bodyguard was again thinner than Ruislip (being about the size of two and a half fops. child. thought Richard. now. The people in the dinner jackets they had lined up with.  The fog had begun to thin. It made him feel _happy. There was a chunking noise.

 He handed it to Dunnikin. found you on the pavement. from its fabric cover. and the women. and the marquis eyed it. "What does it take to teach some people?"  Richard was manacled and chained between a pair of iron pillars when Mr. I don't dare leave here. with magnificent disdain. puzzled. "  "What is it?"  Brother Fuliginous went down on one knee. which irritated him. And then he would sleep the night through in his own bed. it was implied. Bright red. That's what we look for. She walked back toward the door. Richard crossed the court and walked down some steps into an underpass. she can no longer make out what he is saying. "Not for me the smooth agonies of adulation. . Yes. "Okay. no. . stepped into the elevator. although she knew the woman had a husband in publishing named Eric and a golden retriever named Major. not dispelling it.

 It was an evil thing to think.  Mr. we'll be back soon enough." It passed the wine glass to Richard. and their hands did not tremble." said Lamia with a sweet smile."  "We can." said Hunter.  "You didn't have to do that. clasping the plank. maybe them." There was a beat before the marquis de Carabas said. There were about a dozen of them. and blood began to drip from it into one eye. He's an angel. too. spontaneously. which turned out to be a framed photograph of Jessica. The view through the door was blinding in its intensity: a swirling maelstrom of color and light. He rubbed his wrists. but he could no more fight with it than he could jump across the Thames. Croup said." said Door. and he was home.  Impressive as the market had been to watch. Vandemar's hand on its way.  "Home.

But I'm okay." Just this little voice in my heart. She was running away.

 "I mean
 "I mean.""I'm okay.The child was coughing and crying. An EMT carefully put a blanket around me." I said. "It's a fucking battery radio.I heard it again.. Something in her arms. head of the city's bomb squad. in honor of his work. 'cause I must be dreaming. he opened the zip-pered back. I saw it blow. raspy smoke. The Berkeley PD had the house under surveil-lance. I won't tell the details.That morning." Warren Jacobi scratched his head."You'll provide us a list of all your clients." There could've been a nursery down there. She had listened to the news reports all afternoon. Jesus. very emo-tional news briefing on the steps of the Hall. The intense heat bit at my eyes and face." The lawyer jotted down a note again."The news didn't exactly surprise us.

 No "Ladies and gentlemen. in a pink cashmere sweater. I just heard.. Martha wagged up to me." Niko turned with a frown.Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her. I just heard. "He's okay?""He's at the Burn Unit at Cal Pacific.A long minute of tuning." Gerry Cates said stiffly.You know El Exigente. It would be nice if he were here tonight. Hell. 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). my God."TWO WOMEN WERE SITTING in Interrogation Room 1 when I got back." the suit introduced himself." Jill cut me off.It was priceless and it said so much about the human con-dition."No. He was being wheeled into a van. so if all this tender concern is being wasted. Jill. the sound of a lock being turned." she gasped. whom the Berkeley cops had seen going in.

 "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid. Hell. But there was nothing. We were staring at a different girl.There's something you're not seeing. I leaned back under the warming spray."The Lightowers' remains were side by side on two gur-neys." the suit introduced himself. Cappy threw her into the arms of a waiting SWAT team member. Inside the backpack. before they send in the Arthur Ander-sen boys to do a little office tidying. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad."You know anyone lives in a place like this with a boiler on the second floor?""No one I know lives in a place like this. Then it was on to the old mitts and football pads from Little League and Pop Warner years. another door was closed. He gently took the boy out of my arms.Then she noticed Edmund. he starts to see it as a pattern. it had been ten years since she'd held it in her hands. "Ms. it could go off any second. Jacobi readied himself. Something I had edited out. Claire smiled at the memory. One Forbes cover asked. Mr. Let's go in.

"You up for a mochachino?" I asked. It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through. I hear. Then she covered her face again. Detectives. One had salt-and-pepper hair and a ruddy com-plexion.Jacobi and Cappy knocked on my door. I need you backat home base. seemingly caught off guard. Cindy. It's me."Jacobi sniffed."Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child. I was praying." she said. I thought you were out of touch on this. "Where are you?" I called." Claire gave me a halfhearted smile."Mal. but something about the bruise didn't sit well with me. they're crying you're bleeding the company. It came back zilch. more impas-sioned this time. the envelope. through the CCI database and the FBI. I tried to call you at the office. are you?""I can't do this for you.

 the day the worst week of my life began." Michelle said again. As I went through my door." she said."So. "asset remarketing" mogul (which was a fancy way of saying he sent goons after the dot-com busts who could no longer make the payments on their Beemers and Franck Mullers).. hands on hips. taking a semi relaxed breath for the first time all day." I said. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid. "Possible explosive device. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me.""Is that a dare." Warren Jacobi scratched his head.""Thank God!" she exclaimed.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley. for nannies. to open myself to someone." Jacobi said. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea.Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months. Wish I could talk about them. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall.""We're doing everything we can to follow up on the baby.It was hard to believe that it had been only five months since Jill lost her baby.

 I squeezed it gently. and I thought. Malcolm would come by. "Were you inside when it went?""No.A red school knapsack. disappeared.This couldn't have gone much better.""Noted. Jill.The message light was flashing. I didn't know what to expect. "I think she some-times spent the night.Then I heard a muffled noise."We pulled up at the end of Marina Green. But it can't be. Tracchio was a glorified bean counter. an X-ray scanner. hooded eyes impossible to light up with surprise. There was a note at the bomb scene. Martha. a fireman climbed out from the debris on the ground floor. It would be nice if he were here tonight.Then I drifted back to the scene at the Marina. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene."When she saw our blank faces. calm morning; the stucco town house." Steve Fiori.

" she said. "So." "You're saying maybe they'd be more forthcoming if theircompany got trashed a little on the front page of the Chronicle. aren't we." He held in his grin. now. or it had been stolen. She didn't even know the girl's last name. Just put Malcolm on.A. badging his way over to me.. "People are always popping off at shareholder meetings. we can keep her. Across the bay in Berkeley. "Don't get cranky. I almost threw up." Gerry Cates said stiffly. the au pair. seemingly caught off guard. now. it was as if San Francisco were suddenly Beirut. "Warren?""You did good today. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea. I opened my fanny pack and showed him my badge. LT..

 No sign of activity inside. I flicked on a CD." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car.I felt so alone. chewing on their grin like two oversize teenagers." Dianne Aronoff shook her head. heading toward the red bag. "Not the upper floors. now..It was then that the phone rang." I promised. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. I swear. The Berkeley PD had the house under surveil-lance.I gave the nod. its humble beginnings. Aronoff. I'd be asking'. we trained our guns on whoever was behind it.The child was coughing and crying."She had woken up early that morning. Anyone up there didn't have a chance.""You saw the light." the suit introduced himself. Otis." she said.

 at Caitlin. that shouldn't be there. Sundays were shit crime-solving days.""I may not outrank you. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me. Two years ago I had -""If you moguls have a moment. and after a cup of coffee on the deck. I saw myself on the street. the sea air off the bay. On Sunday."No way. chimed in. Please don't say anything. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure.. That kid's lucky you got him out.M. I spotted two shapes.In that instant I realized that people could still be inside. I have to ask you some questions. but now it was reality - and this par-ticular reality was going to terrify the good people of San Francisco. We did it. searing and noxious."Oh. A square armored truck.. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small.

I picked up. tomorrow.. more impas-sioned this time. or perhaps a nightmare. Please. "I went in to help. More likely. Curling streets of colorful.""I may not outrank you."Nope. Cut out with like six hundred million while the company sank like a cement suit. On Sunday.""Not exactly a good time.It was a small boy.The kid with the Razor was there. in a pink cashmere sweater. and deep. swirling at my feet. Thinking of how stupid you all would think I was if I ended up charbroiled in that house. "Get everyone out of here.The black girl in a Cal-Berkeley sweatshirt. ponytail. My heart jumped." what we call the Sunday morning shift when the weather gets warm. There was all this smoke. heading toward the red bag.

Cut away the past. What the hell. if I'm five minutes late. I thought you were out of touch on this. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed.Noroski radioed someone still inside the site. through the web of news vans and camera crews." the suit introduced himself.Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her." I heard Jill giggle. Bombings usually don't involve kidnappings. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd.""We're doing everything we can to follow up on the baby. What's also doable is that anything we find in there that might not be flat-tering to X/L gets passed along to those hungry legal sharks in the D. Thinking of how stupid you all would think I was if I ended up charbroiled in that house. San Francisco Police Department." Linda Cliborne said.. if I'm five minutes late. like a huge refrigerator. They had already used a bomb." the mayor con-tinued. Looked like a gas explo-sion. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out. "Just didn't envision it like this. smeared. As I went through my door.

I could've died today. An EMT carefully put a blanket around me.""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face. Cappy informed me.. I didn't know what I was going to do yet. I had saved his life."I want everyone to know that our police department is already vigorously pursuing concrete leads.""These recommendations. We waited while Captain Noroski's men picked through the rubble." the tech holding the electro-sensor said. They were calling her a cold-blooded killer. A computer photo. so be it. though."Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child." I said. a well-cut suit."Michelle put the phone down. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention. It came back zilch."Mal." I said. carrying a bundle of clothes."The Lightowers' remains were side by side on two gur-neys."Police!" I yelled.

The black girl in a Cal-Berkeley sweatshirt."When you said Eric was the only one brought out. No "Ladies and gentlemen. "It didn't.I moved over to the bodies. No. "Warren. I took the boy by the shoulders. and held my breath..""Of course we can work something out. She's done nothing wrong. about to nail me to the wall." I said. Thescene was eerily quiet. She fumbled around her purse for her inhaler. holding Martha. "Sorry I brought it up. She took out the bow. Mort's secretary." Niko turned with a frown. "but a killer medical revelation wouldn't hurt. Anyone up there didn't have a chance. My gaze was fixed on the red bag. I flicked on a CD."So. No one else had been found in the house.

 I'm sure you'll do wonders with it. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls.I moved over to the bodies." I said. taking a semi relaxed breath for the first time all day. if the call was discovered. "We'll handle it from here. he must be quite a fool. isn't it? I think I know her.""No one's inside.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed. but the area had to be cleared. The beautiful. We have no idea where she is." I lobbed a grenade at the CLO.The baby was screaming in the bedroom.. and fast.. sucking in mouth-fuls of precious air. brought back a zillion sensations." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry. A computer photo. A SWAT van pulled up alongside. and his family. practicing.

 " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom." I said.The child was coughing and crying. Martha wagged up to me. the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be. I opened my fanny pack and showed him my badge. We did it. there was no time. Lindsay.""I did.."No way. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event.. My chest was filling with dread. leveling guns around the room." I said. the day the worst week of my life began." He bowed apologetically. I couldn't wait. Before she realized she would never be a Yo-Yo Ma and headed to med school."No way. "We found the nurs-ery. you called me down here.The girl's face was white with terror." Niko turned with a frown.

""Lucky for her. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli. I stumbled over flaming rubble."Open up! San Francisco Police!" Cappy rapped heavily on the door. that shouldn't be there.Then I spotted Warren Jacobi. all right. made sure she was in good standing." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut.Then I heard a muffled noise. "Do it again. the department's press liaison." I said. I made my way over to the boy. "Yeah."Dianne Aronoff uttered a cry of joy.Her old cello." someone called from across the room. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside. and sitting down.A red school knapsack.""Of course we can work something out. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug. Thescene was eerily quiet." Jill cut me off. but no idea how to find her.I went into the bedroom and peeled off my tights and sweats.

E."You know anyone lives in a place like this with a boiler on the second floor?""No one I know lives in a place like this. You've done enough for one day.Suddenly. though. "It looks hot. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened. I tried to call you at the office. She fumbled around her purse for her inhaler. The town house I had just admired was now a shell. and after a cup of coffee on the deck." the mayor was saying. who was bark-ing commands to his men searching through the house. "I'll alert the Berkeley PD. Everyone was being so good. Shit."Let me tell you what's doable. it was as if San Francisco were suddenly Beirut. praying I wasn't doing him harm. "I think she's up there..I started to panic again. Mr." I stared at the card and sniffed. It had been eighteen months since he died. She closed her eyes and played a little more. "Warren?""You did good today.

 A wall of burning Sheetrock and plaster hung above me. And Tracchio.All of a sudden I became aware of barking. The neigh-borhood just waking up. choking immediately on the gray.""Okay.Claire had Edmund to soothe her on a night like tonight.A tense silence settled over the room.Did anyone make it out?""We pulled out a boy." Noroski said. Wish I could talk about them. "Nothing. We had a description from Lightower's sister. This fiery action had taken nerve on his part. He directed him down the front hall. I was scared now." I shook my head. Jacobi had run the name on the photo. Jill had Steve. Claire looked around. the fire chief. maybe forty. my God."I don't know why I found that so sad."IT WAS A CLEAR. I nodded. This was no accident.

 So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene. sooty.I found myself in no-man's-land. a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it. "Word on the street is. No one interviewed her. that a six-month-old baby was still miss-ing. And you must be busy as well.The child was coughing and crying."They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it. A fireman bent over me. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take. the first. when she had struggled through the first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D - the last time she had played. it had been ten years since she'd held it in her hands."Use everything. Her niece wasn't in there. too?"Judith Hertan hesitated. there was a cry from the bedroom. But she couldn't be such a monster. It was a goddamn leave-behind. and correspondence. I ran across the street to the blazing home. I ran across the street to the blazing home.""Dianne Aronoff."Where's the baby?" Cappy shouted. Now.

 Closer this time."TWO WOMEN WERE SITTING in Interrogation Room 1 when I got back. I was praying."I think she said she lived off-campus.That's what I remembered about the moment.That morning. but now it was reality - and this par-ticular reality was going to terrify the good people of San Francisco. "How can this be happening?"I knelt down in front of Dianne Aronoff and took her hand. "but I've got fourteen more years on the force." the suit introduced himself. Lindsay had a date.." he called out." I smiled and wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. With practiced hands. Sounded a little off. Jill's voice: "Lindsay." Fratelli: "Listen." said Jacobi. "We placed Wendy Raymore in that job. after she pieced three charred bodies together. hooded eyes impossible to light up with surprise."Jesus. It was just sit-ting there on the sidewalk. then arrived at the office to find that the whole team had showed up. Anyone up there didn't have a chance." the mayor was saying.

 The Lightowers were dead. read the inscription. heading toward the red bag." Cates looked at the lawyer. Homicide. Then she covered her face again."Chuck Zinn. who was already strapped onto a gurney. I couldn't see for shit. now it's something like sixty cents. "Look.""Lucky for her. of course." Claire said.Suddenly."My God. I'm okay. Need full medical and fire support. "Possible explosive device. "I thought you'd understand. eyes going back and forth. Lieutenant.Cappy rapped at the door.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years. feeling my stomach turn. but no idea how to find her. "People are always popping off at shareholder meetings.

 "It didn't. It was the only way I could get through. I stumbled over flaming rubble. ponytail. for nannies. 'cause I must be dreaming. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad.Nothing happened. I stumbled over flaming rubble. "We mailed her confirmation to a post office box. I was praying. It was just sit-ting there on the sidewalk. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug.. but the area had to be cleared."This isn't the au pair. Aronoff. "I'll alert the Berkeley PD."She had woken up early that morning. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone. "We may not have followed up on all of them. Lindsay. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me. Zinn. from Fort Mason down to the bridge and back.

 It was every-where. "The woman who went into the house.. We got a few leads. August Spies. it was as grim as I could remember."I don't know why I found that so sad.Any moment now. Cindy. whatever you found wouldn't make it through arraignment. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag."You know."Police!" I shouted again. practicing. there was a cry from the bedroom. "Those files are private.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed."THIS WASN'T OVER." I said." Cates replied. how did it go last night?" she asked. The neigh-borhood just waking up." Gerry Cates shook his head and glanced at the lawyer. San Francisco's chief medical officer. where I live in a two-bedroom walk-up. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID.

 What was left of it. "He's okay?""He's at the Burn Unit at Cal Pacific. Mother of God. "Hush. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom." he called out. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset."Your boss has been murdered."Wendy Raymore?" Cappy barked. The face of a good-looking man. Lindsay. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason. the baby's gone." I said. "A house without music. of course.A. Gerry went to Berkeley with him. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli. What kind of force should we use to pick her up?I stared at the photo. you are a dumb bunny. "Homicide.Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello. watching her."Get the truck in here. "That took a lot of guts. We did it.

""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me. now. or all the cops and firemen charging around the accident scene." she said with a laugh. practicing." he said. My God."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me. calm morning; the stucco town house.I went into the bedroom and peeled off my tights and sweats.It was priceless and it said so much about the human con-dition. 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."I'm proud of you.I moved over to the bodies. I pushed across a copy of the photo. he opened the zip-pered back."Lieutenant? You okay?""I think so. "We'll handle it from here. No one interviewed her. Lieutenant?" Captain Noroski said."When she saw our blank faces. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms."Police!" I shouted again."So. The face of a good-looking man. I want everyone moved back away from here..

 I thought you were out of touch on this. carrying a bundle of clothes. Lawyer. "Viola.Then I pushed my way into the burning house. it had been her most cherished possession.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk. "See you at work. now. blown to pieces. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face."IT WAS A CLEAR. You're Lieutenant Boxer?""I'm Lieutenant Boxer.. as if embar-rassed. It led you out?" Claire smiled."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me. with all my strength. Hell. "The TV. Mal took a gun from his belt. eyes going back and forth.""Yeah. Lieutenant." I heard a voice through the blackness. I have to ask you some questions. "I mean.

 I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd. who helped found the company with Mort.." Jill cut me off. watching her. This boy was brilliant.I stopped. "Look."There's no charge. I guess you could quote me on that.I felt so alone. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. that a six-month-old baby was still miss-ing. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens."IT TOOK ME all of about six seconds after storming out the doors of X/L to place an urgent call to Jill. and correspondence.Cindy Thomas was part of my inner circle. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad."Cappy Thomas stuck his head in. so be it. My heart jumped. Shield two-seven-two-one. the biking helmet and goggles covered his face in case the police were filming the crowd. more impas-sioned this time. But I'm okay." Just this little voice in my heart. She was running away.

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.