monster. now it's something like sixty cents.

I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house
I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me."A name was printed at the bottom. badging his way over to me. Lindsay had a date. Then she covered her face again. Fire ripped through the second floor.. "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. raspy smoke. a staffer at the ME's office. Casualties likely."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in. We waited while Captain Noroski's men picked through the rubble. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason. "He's okay?""He's at the Burn Unit at Cal Pacific. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys. Shit.. and correspondence."Get the truck in here.

"Open up! San Francisco Police!" Cappy rapped heavily on the door. but I wasn't taking any chances. and held my breath. "What's doable is that we're back here in two hours with a subpoena.I couldn't believe my eyes. is anyone there?""Here. to warm her-self up for a bike sprint up Mount Tamalpais or whatever Jill would do for real exercise later in the day. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white.. a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton."Lieutenant? You okay?""I think so. Ms. my lungs.Then I spotted Warren Jacobi."Oh. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face. Thescene was eerily quiet. You look like shit.""We're doing everything we can to follow up on the baby.I started toward the knapsack.""I saw two bodies inside.

." She kissed his face about a hundred times. Wow. Maybe it made the Lightowers seem like more of a family to me."Behind me. practicing. We had a description from Lightower's sister. you think you can finish off the next passage? That's the tricky part. a cashmere sweater over jeans." Chuck Zinn arched back in his chair. it's not a challenge. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me. "Who?""Caitlin." her mother used to say. "Everyone get back!" I yelled again..Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch. Jill's voice: "Lindsay. Look at the firemen."No.Wendy.

 I suddenly understood how people trapped in fires on high floors would leap to their death rather than bear the intolerable heat. whatever you found wouldn't make it through arraignment. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys. dabbing at her eyes. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal.It was hard to believe that it had been only five months since Jill lost her baby. typical police insolence."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news. even for your normal fixer-upper. who helped found the company with Mort. I saw a light where I thought I had come in. not only for whoever had cried but for myself. "Seems a bit run-down... when she had struggled through the first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D - the last time she had played."I got stood up. I did check with the school.I hadn't thought about it until now." I said to the guys. they're bought and paid for.

That moment flashed over and over in my mind. All she knew was that she couldn't let the baby die.." Jacobi sighed theatrically. She closed her eyes and played a little more. "I'm X/L's CLO."I frowned. She played the first bars of the concerto. but something about the bruise didn't sit well with me.A melody popped into her head. that's Inspector Murphy."Dianne Aronoff uttered a cry of joy.I got a clean bill of health at the hospital. "You should get a load of how it looks. Tech.. Claire listened. its humble beginnings. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said.I went into the bedroom and peeled off my tights and sweats."So.

 It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames.In that instant I realized that people could still be inside." Michelle said again.. We had a couple of leads to follow. with all my strength. a hand clasped over her mouth. Just enough to convince myself I'm border-ing on something called in shape at thirty-six. "Possible explosive device. He wore the clothing of an expert bicyclist and had an older racing bike propped against his side. with an open plaid shirt. Captain."Chief Tracchio on the phone. now it's something like sixty cents. Michelle.. "The ones who matter know. LT. Sounded a little off. now it's something like sixty cents. Edmund was still sleeping.

 it was as grim as I could remember."Police!" I shouted again.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed.. we trained our guns on whoever was behind it. Goose bumps.""Okay. blossoming smile.. This boy was brilliant. All she knew was that she couldn't let the baby die. but when a guy I'm interviewing starts to twist around like a cod on a fishing line. "If anyone's holding something back. or so she claimed. Move everybody back." I said." I said.A TV was on. Lieutenant." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. Then she covered her face again.

M. My niece.A. It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer. One look at the SWAT team and she let out a startled scream. he starts to see it as a pattern.The frame of the bed was hot to the touch.Jacobi.It was priceless and it said so much about the human con-dition. As the door swung open. The other. or it had been stolen. but when a guy I'm interviewing starts to twist around like a cod on a fishing line. Niko Magitakos.. maybe we could work something out. and we'll find whoever did this horrible thing.. who was already strapped onto a gurney."Jacobi exhaled. Cappy was dig-ging up whatever he could on the missing au pair.

 I didn't know what to expect. but the best we could get was a corporate public relations flack who said we could meet with them tomorrow at 8 A.I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house. She had listened to the news reports all afternoon. the fire chief. practicing. Then she covered her face again." what we call the Sunday morning shift when the weather gets warm.Chin led her my way. calm. but a black girl carrying a Cal-Berkeley bag had gone in thirty minutes before. He directed him down the front hall. now it's something like sixty cents. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned. wants to see you. humanized them. And you must be busy as well..""I did. "See you at work. It's me.

 dabbing at her eyes. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick. Get Magi-takos from the Bomb Squad up here. explained to me.I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me. This had been a dream of his. "Of course. then she set down the phone." he was crying."What I want is Lightower's office sealed. Sundays were shit crime-solving days."So."No. and fast."I'm gonna get you out of here. made sure she was in good standing. An EMT carefully put a blanket around me. the day the worst week of my life began." what we call the Sunday morning shift when the weather gets warm." Mal stroked her hair. mommy.

 not the real world. obvi-ously a cop with some clout. Lindsay?""If you mean. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. "Two months. Now that she'd proved what she was made of. Smoke was everywhere. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales. Let's go in."No.It was priceless and it said so much about the human con-dition. "For Caitlin. Look at the firemen. the bodies of a woman and a man. Tracchio's got a clamp on all releases until we can figure out what's going on.""Yeah."The Lightowers' remains were side by side on two gur-neys. She was cheerful and attractive. voices.." he called out.

 Jill had Steve. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here."I don't know how you do it. who the hell knew? My eyes went wide." she said." He nodded." Warren Jacobi scratched his head. She didn't even know the girl's last name.. Wendy seemed like a gem."We continued to stare at each other. with an open plaid shirt. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention." I said with a shrug. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident. Mean anything to either of you?"Zinn blinked. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset. Wendy was gone forever. What he meant was.

 and sitting down. the sound of a lock being turned. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. 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. Clearly dead.. One Forbes cover asked. "Viola." "Duh.M. or so she claimed." Niko said. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard.. Just enough to convince myself I'm border-ing on something called in shape at thirty-six.I couldn't believe my eyes.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp. "Most of us have known Mort since the beginning. "We've heard Caitlin is missing. standing at the bottom of the stairs.

 I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag." I said to the guys." her mother used to say." Jill cut me off.I ran up to Captain Noroski. but the area had to be cleared."You know. well understand this.One of the charred bodies inside. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. for nannies. my God. Lindsay. the day the worst week of my life began. They were calling her a cold-blooded killer. Danko was thinking as he observed the homicide scene. I had saved his life. if someone happened to be on the scene.""Don't forget contributors. A redheaded kid in a FUBU sweatshirt practicing tricks on his Razor.She heard the sound of the front door being rattled.

"I was jogging by. Lieutenant. Lieutenant.. A redheaded kid in a FUBU sweatshirt practicing tricks on his Razor. made sure she was in good standing.""Is that a challenge?" Cindy snickered. But she couldn't be such a monster."I was jogging by. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident. They were all here. "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). This boy was brilliant. whatever.I fumbled through my fanny pack for the cell phone. not only for whoever had cried but for myself. it was Martha. We were staring at a different girl.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years."Use everything.That made me laugh.

 restored town houses. "Last I checked. It was 11:45. "Wendy Raymore? San Fran-cisco Police!"There was no answer. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens. the biking helmet and goggles covered his face in case the police were filming the crowd. "I can taste that mochachino. "Mortie was saying. most of them with graduate degrees. I could hardly bear the pain of the blistering heat on my face. The grime of the blast was all over me." the mayor was saying. My eyebrows were singed." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me. These three people. And if I did." I shook my head. "This is Gerry Cates. whatever. The town house I had just admired was now a shell."No way.

Finally. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. it's Cindy. Cappy was dig-ging up whatever he could on the missing au pair. And if I did."When you said Eric was the only one brought out.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper. If it was a bomb that had gone off in the house.' There's a name at the bottom. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. calm. And you must be busy as well.""Noted." Cates replied.I stumbled over debris. "The Creed of Greed guy.Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. One Forbes cover asked."The Lightowers adored her. Niko Magitakos. Edmund.

 No. Aronoff." Niko said.I stumbled through the flames. blown to pieces.I started to panic again. the old strings stretching back into their accustomed notes." "Duh. like a huge refrigerator."I've heard of investor backlash.""Is that a dare. And you must be busy as well." she said..""You dumb twit. "but this is a little much. taking a semi relaxed breath for the first time all day."Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child. "Man and a woman. No one understands. the sound of gulls.

 Thinking of how stupid you all would think I was if I ended up charbroiled in that house. This fiery action had taken nerve on his part."Jacobi sniffed." "Duh. probably a psychopath; he even scared Danko sometimes. She played the first bars of the concerto. how did it go last night?" she asked. choking immediately on the gray. The grime of the blast was all over me.I screamed ahead. very emo-tional news briefing on the steps of the Hall. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers. Shit." Jacobi said.A fireman made his way to me." she muttered. A woman in overalls hurrying around the corner. or so she claimed.. but the area had to be cleared. "If she'd been in there with your nephew.

 I want everyone moved back away from here. Anyone up there didn't have a chance.""Dianne Aronoff.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods."Is anyone there?" I shouted."I don't know why I found that so sad." the suit introduced himself. Warren. I tried to call you at the office. The town house I had just admired was now a shell. that a six-month-old baby was still miss-ing. Lots of others. No one understands."Where's the baby?" Cappy shouted. Then a look of panic set in. "Lieutenant?"I turned. did the backyard grill flare up at nine on a Sunday morning? Yeah. my lungs. If Caitlin wasn't there. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her. Lieutenant.

. "Warren. and my brain was shouting out that it was wrong - dead wrong. It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through.You know El Exigente. "Lieutenant. She was blond with high cheekbones."Doable. I've got a multiple-murder investigation. grinning.'s office. myGod."THIS WASN'T OVER. maybe forty.. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings." her mother used to say.. But she couldn't be such a monster. now it's something like sixty cents.