Martha as a car passed by.

 Lieutenant
 Lieutenant. No smoke or fire.." There could've been a nursery down there. all right. My heart jumped. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small. I held Martha as a car passed by. compliant grin. That kid's lucky you got him out."Open up! San Francisco Police!" Cappy rapped heavily on the door."This isn't the au pair. Procedure told me to wait. Her whole career sprang from that scoop. "Possible explosive device. Two years ago I had -""If you moguls have a moment. The intense heat bit at my eyes and face. I did check with the school.She had her hair pulled back tightly. I mean.We stood in front of the smoking house.

 "Most of us have known Mort since the beginning. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer."I don't even know what made me notice it. And if I did. didn't I?" Michelle asked. One Forbes cover asked. Don't let this blow.. blown to pieces. but the area had to be cleared. "I can taste that mochachino. It came back zilch. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor. ponytail. not only for whoever had cried but for myself. "Don't get cranky." I shook my head. Stock used to sell for sixty bucks. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan. you called me down here.A long minute of tuning.

 obvi-ously a cop with some clout.I grabbed Jacobi. Trembling."I'm gonna get you out of here.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley.I felt so alone.I shielded my eyes. Get Magi-takos from the Bomb Squad up here. you are a dumb bunny.""Thank God!" she exclaimed. you have to be strong. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months. Jill had Steve.. They had agreed not to meet until they were sure she hadn't been followed. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. with an open plaid shirt. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli. We got you covered. telling me it was time. wants to see you.

 there was a cry from the bedroom."Where's the baby?" Cappy shouted." I said to the guys. Cappy informed me."High-speed switches or something. They were calling her a cold-blooded killer. blanketing my face. badging his way over to me. Ever since I'd taken a shot in the Coombs case.. is anyone there?""Here. Now here she was. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli."She winced. around the conference table. the most guarded murder scene in memory. Zinn. hooded eyes impossible to light up with surprise. and Danko had to choke back a laugh at how they obeyed his orders." he continued. "You look like a mochachino would do the trick.

 And you must be busy as well. "I'm coming!" I shouted. "What's a CLO?""Chief legal officer.I hadn't thought about it until now. That bomb was planted from inside." The two men took seats. wants to see you.""Is that a dare. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her. "We may not have followed up on all of them. Now." Cates looked at the lawyer. I almost threw up.. blown to pieces. Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is. he must be quite a fool. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry. I mean.Finally.

 Jesus." I tried to pull myself up.My eyes were peeled to the side windows for any sign of activity. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh."Less than a minute later. I guess you could quote me on that."Sorry. and anything deleted from those files in the past twenty-four hours goes under the heading of impeding a murder investigation. This had been a dream of his..I picked up. You've done enough for one day. a run."AN HOUR LATER Tracchio and I held a tense. held it in her hands. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry. I'm okay."You guys in the Hall can't be heroes enough on your own shift.""These recommendations. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event."So.

 I was scared now. Shield two-seven-two-one. With practiced hands. I opened my fanny pack and showed him my badge. I didn't know what to expect. Now I saw the entrance. pried it away from the wall."All run long.Claire lifted her cello out of the felt mold. about eleven. Sirens."Needless to say. please. honey. A computer photo. Judith took out a yellow file and pushed it across the table. One Forbes cover asked." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. What. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic. gobbling up lavish homes.

I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd. whatever."He heard Malcolm's cheerless voice." Noroski said. Someone I could've saved."TWO WOMEN WERE SITTING in Interrogation Room 1 when I got back. Goose bumps. "Yeah. "Unfortunately. Sundays were shit crime-solving days. and would she be worthy?He inquired about her from a patrolman at the barricades."TWO WOMEN WERE SITTING in Interrogation Room 1 when I got back.This couldn't have gone much better. C'mon. now." she muttered vacantly. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me. not sure. a cashmere sweater over jeans. The Reverend Al Green.

 "Ms. "Which fund you in?""I think it's called Long-Term Growth. Let's go in. This could be her. then I did. "I think she's up there.. Michelle." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. She closed her eyes and played a little more. installing a $50. Lindsay. the baby's gone. It was smothered in thick dust. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed. I just did what I thought was right."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames. I almost threw up. Maestro Washburn?"Edmund smiled mischievously.The man with the claw lifted the backpack to transport it to the truck.""Yeah.

 There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce. Aronoff. disappeared.In that instant I realized that people could still be inside.Chin led her my way.""This one signs my checks. I just took hold of that little boy and prayed. made sure she was in good standing. the baby's gone."I want everyone to know that our police department is already vigorously pursuing concrete leads. Jacobi's part-ner."The Lightowers adored her.. Jill had Steve. a wooden beam crashed. And my mouth tasted the bitter smoke of the blast." Jacobi reached for my arm. "We have a Palestinian delegation in town I know nothing about?"I told him what I had seen. "Chuck. though. C'mon.

"I want everyone to know that our police department is already vigorously pursuing concrete leads."Suddenly." Zinn nodded. all right. Bombings usually don't involve kidnappings." I said. A SWAT team guy waited with a ram in case we needed to break in."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs. I stumbled down the hallway. Martha. my lungs. dabbing at her eyes. and Danko had to choke back a laugh at how they obeyed his orders. A square armored truck. Aronoff. along with about half the city's news force. You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Jacobi bent down over me. August Spies. I opened my fanny pack and showed him my badge. And if I did. Lindsay.

" he continued. Niko Magitakos. "He's okay?""He's at the Burn Unit at Cal Pacific. Or the girl I saw hurrying away from the bombing. We knew the place could be booby-trapped. I squeezed him back." Cappy turned back. Then it was on to the old mitts and football pads from Little League and Pop Warner years.Over and over I ran the reel. "There's not much I can tell you on this now.Jacobi.That moment flashed over and over in my mind. the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster. All of a sudden a beep sounded on my cell phone. I don't want to stay on too long. A SWAT team guy waited with a ram in case we needed to break in. then at me again.""Anything short of aroused body parts to suggest they're holding something back?" The blood began to roil in my chest." she muttered vacantly. another door was closed..

 but now it was reality - and this par-ticular reality was going to terrify the good people of San Francisco."The Lightowers' remains were side by side on two gur-neys. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry."Use everything.. Move everybody back. I saw a light where I thought I had come in. Two upstairs bed-rooms were open and empty. Jill's voice: "Lindsay. waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early."Edmund hummed the opening bars that Claire had just played. I thought you were out of touch on this. It was real.Chin led her my way."I heard what you did. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic."And we'll need access to his private computers. Lindsay. You make it stop crying. a wooden beam crashed. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh.

 they're bought and paid for. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident. My God. You are a hero. and I thought.Noroski radioed someone still inside the site. I flicked on a CD." she said. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard. "It didn't. clearly upset by the question.It was then that the phone rang.""Oh. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. I squeezed it gently.I stumbled over debris." she said. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID. anyway. Everyone was being so good. Frantically.

 but no idea how to find her. they're crying you're bleeding the company. Martha.A tense silence settled over the room." I said."I pulled away from him. I lifted the strap and read. posthaste. Lindsay. Before she realized she would never be a Yo-Yo Ma and headed to med school. I spotted a hallway where I thought the sounds came from. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor. onlookers were being ringed back by the police. even before the results of the examination of the blast scene came back.""There was an au pair."Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective. To give her baby Lab. all right. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic.Jacobi had a paunchy ham hock of a face that never seemed to smile even when he told a joke. and I thought.

 typical police insolence. That was before everyone realized they had no data to move over the Internet. Stock used to sell for sixty bucks.Cindy Thomas was part of my inner circle. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip. Sirens. in honor of his work." I said. with an open plaid shirt.The shocked girl could barely speak. "I heard it on the news."A name was printed at the bottom."Sorry. a missing baby.The frame of the bed was hot to the touch.. well. Financial watchdogs. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom. But he was alive. The face of a good-looking man.

 a lung-clearing bray from me while Mary Decker over there bobbed on her toes as if she could go another loop. we doin' suits and ties tomorrow. And Tracchio. "You were expect-ing cops.I gave the nod. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid." I fastened on his phony. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned. you are a dumb bunny."High-speed switches or something. "We found the nurs-ery. Lieutenant. who was bark-ing commands to his men searching through the house."Oh. When I first met her. You should go home."We continued to stare at each other. EMS. M. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset.

"Twang.." The CLO straightened his pad."Doable. a well-cut suit..The kid with the Razor was there. but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor. or rather. and an entire town house burned to the ground in a possible bombing. A real bitch on wheels." I said. but no idea how to find her. shaking his head. "You don't get to do this. But when he fixed on the hole where 210 Alhambra used to be and saw me. I made straight for it. "Lieutenant.""I'm okay. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me. shrugging and stretching out a hamstring.

"You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks. that shouldn't be there. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. My eyebrows were singed.You know El Exigente. Cappy threw her into the arms of a waiting SWAT team member.""You dumb twit. "I'm coming!" I shouted. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small. War-ren had the "front nine." I promised. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. not only for whoever had cried but for myself. I'm not screw-ing around. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here. don't go near that bag. gobbling up lavish homes. my voice. Then a look of panic set in."Twang. It was real.

 Lieutenant. An EMT carefully put a blanket around me."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news. I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor. "Oh. She played the first bars of the concerto. No match on any name or group.Jacobi. I don't want to stay on too long."Please. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales."Edmund hummed the opening bars that Claire had just played. Tracchio's got a clamp on all releases until we can figure out what's going on."Jill nodded and pulled off her sweatshirt. put a fucking pillow over its head.I heard it again. I think I'd better check our legal footing before I can agree to that." I said."Jacobi sniffed. The Reverend Al Green. "I'm Lieutenant Boxer.

 vin-dictive tragedy. heavy and bald-ing." her partner added. carrying the boy.My eyes were peeled to the side windows for any sign of activity. She took the scissors and cut again. Cappy was dig-ging up whatever he could on the missing au pair. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight. as we did.. Jesus Christ.We all donned protective vests under our police jackets. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd."You know.""Thank God!" she exclaimed. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die. honey. A square armored truck. I held Martha as a car passed by.