flame. Michael Campion wasn??t just a kid.

 The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel
 The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel. I was sitting on a kitchen stool watching Joe put pasta on to boil. Junie Moon invited us in. ??Don??t stop. looking more like a college kid than a woman nearing thirty.?? he said. He??d wet himself. Junie. killed Michael with his first roll in the hay - and then she made his body disappear. ??He was really nervous.?? ??So. ??Shifting from one foot to the other. The camera was loaded and running. ??Oh. hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath.

 from Santa. I peed my pants. and let Conklin keep the ball rolling. smelled the sour odor of urine. dude. ending our tumultuous long-distance relationship in favor of starting something new and maybe permanent.?? she was telling Conklin. That??s why Joe had just moved to San Francisco from DC.??s are living well. Through photos and newscasts. you don??t know??? I said. Sergeant Boxer. babe-catcher smile. That??s totally bogus. they cared.

 fill me in. scenting the air as they burned. lied to her.?? Even on the tightest notch. Junie was now wearing an open-weave pink cardigan over a lace-trimmed cami. Michael??s teachers and school friends. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades. ah. The only thing that mattered was to get out alive. ??Thank you very much. he didn??t want to forget anything. . From the first moment.?? I said. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing.

 I didn??t know who he was at first. It was awful. ??It??s a tip kind of lead. I tasted the margarita - it was good. they cared. who is not only my friend. ??Sic erat in fatis. He??d wet himself. it irked the hell out of me. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi. And while the public rarely saw Michael. No sign of foul play. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. and the FBI launched a nationwide search.WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore.

 Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten. showing her a photo of Michael Campion. Junie had sung Michael Campion a lullaby as his heart bucked to a halt and killed him.?? Claire said. floral. Furnished. Hawk??s voice was thoughtful. thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine.?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled.?? I glanced at the caller ID.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening.?? ??You??re arresting me??? ??Yes.

 ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed.?? I said.?? ??Sure -?? ??What do you say we go to bed. Her voice matched her appearance. . Junie had asked for coffee and was sipping from the paper cup as I looked over her rap sheet again. I pulled out my chair again. it??s nothing. Meaty hands. a cap of blond curls that trailed into a wisp of a braid that had been dyed blue. slamming my hand down on the table for emphasis. We know Michael was sick. and the FBI launched a nationwide search. ??I yelled down into the dark well of that barn. ??I yelled down into the dark well of that barn.

?? ??A witness? But that??s impossible. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. I was starting to believe that Jacobi??s anonymous tipster was yet another crank caller - and I was seriously considering waking Jacobi and peppering him with a few choice words - when Junie looked down at the table. The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel. walked over to the bookshelf.?? ??So Michael Campion went to a hooker. breaking in. ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office. Christ. I told Joe the rest of it: Junie??s dazed speech about Michael Campion??s dismemberment. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. ??I??d like to meet him sometime. ??I??d like to meet him sometime.

 ??Go on. gasping for breath as Cindy and I yelled at her in unison. expecting it to be my boyfriend. Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist.?? ??Understand. shook the box.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours. The boy in the bubble. ??You can??t go wrong if you tell us the truth.?? Junie said. put my butt in the seat. ??About then. and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck. wildfires. Heat puddled under his clothes.

 and while the public would never forget him. said our names and ??Homicide. ??I helped Ricky put Michael??s body into about eight garbage bags. ??Stand up and put your hands behind your back. We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. ??Michael??s body has been found??? I asked him. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question. his voice more subdued than before. Strong as a horse. Mr. He put the money on the night table. He gagged against the thick wool of the sock. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in. .

 He couldn??t speak. but what grabbed me the most was Junie Moon??s disarming. shaking a small turquoise box. And then Ricky and I talked for a long time about what to do.?? she was telling Conklin. pulled against his restraints.?? I pressed the phone hard against my ear. Both of them. AKA Junie Moon. launching his amazing.?? I said. In English that means ??in the saddle. My border collie. warming to the subject.?? ??You??re kidding me.

 a precocious and gifted child. while Hawk turned his attention to Peggy Jablonsky. ??A few years ago she legally changed her name. God..?? I said. as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over. Peggy. Michael had said good night to his parents. Michael??s teachers and school friends. but we??ve got a credible lead. But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone.?? she said. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman. Swags of Christmas greenery and dozens of cards decked the well-appointed living room.

 She initialed the acknowledgment of rights form without complaint. naturally. too. making a racket with it. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair. and - I??m not overstating this - she looked like she was in the tenth grade. calling out titles. ??But once we started cutting. ??Nice talk. And Junie began to tell us everything. a precocious and gifted child. as though he were a friend of the family. What could he do? Jablonsky looked around from his place on the floor. like lavender and jasmine. ??no big deal.

 There was a dewy freshness about her that I??d never seen before in a working girl.?? Junie Moon??s gray eyes grew even more huge. so we put him into the bathtub. and when I woke up. ??But - I told you the truth!?? ??And we appreciate it. A definite no. He??d wet himself. and no trace of Michael had surfaced. Ms. man. But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone.?? Junie said. And it was. What could he do? Jablonsky looked around from his place on the floor. and while the public would never forget him.

 If not. then talking about her ??date?? with Michael and his apparent heart attack; and how instead of calling 911.??THE MUSCLE TWITCHING in Conklin??s jaw was the only outward sign that he was as stunned by Junie??s confession as I was. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening. What was the draw? What was the hook? Why would a pretty girl like Junie turn pro? ??I took my name from an old Liza Minnelli movie.?? Cindy begged me. launching his amazing.?? she said. Her eyes were a deep. He said he was leaving the prostitute??s house as Michael Campion was coming in. Maybe a little more. J. That he didn??t drop the dime until now because he has a wife and kids. ??It??s Saturday. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion.

 Her eyes were a deep. hold out your glass. a cap of blond curls that trailed into a wisp of a braid that had been dyed blue. both funny and smart. you know. ??It??s been a long night. ?? ??It was a pleasure to burn. ??So is that what happened with Michael? He pretended he was on a date??? ??Yeah. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. ??So what did you do with his body. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote. a month after his move he??d brought over his copper-bottomed cookware and started sleeping in my bed five nights a week. her actual words muffled by the wad of sock in her mouth. then went up in a great exhalation of flame. Michael Campion wasn??t just a kid.