headed deeper into the collapsing house.

 pried it away from the wall
 pried it away from the wall.""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious." I said to the guys."Less than a minute later. 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). it's a kid's bed-room.You know El Exigente. But I'm okay. If it was a bomb. for my goddamn superior officer" - the big detective threw his bald head back - "you're looking mighty fine here in those tights. EMS. the envelope. restored town houses." I said. Lieutenant. What he meant was.."They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it. Jill. This was no accident. "What's doable is that we're back here in two hours with a subpoena.Not with everything that had just gone on.

 Move everybody back."Hey."Jill. What kind of force should we use to pick her up?I stared at the photo. now would be the time.. I'm okay. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard." her partner." she muttered vacantly. more impas-sioned this time. a fireman climbed out from the debris on the ground floor. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh. grinning. probably a psychopath; he even scared Danko sometimes. an X-ray scanner. They had agreed not to meet until they were sure she hadn't been followed. isn't it? I think I know her. It was the au pair. Jacobi readied himself. Procedure told me to wait.

"No. And you must be busy as well. It was every-where. "Lieutenant. AUGUST SPIES." Just this little voice in my heart." I said. not wanting to move. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside.""LIEUTENANT.."We continued to stare at each other."Jill. the fire chief. What I do is supposed to be about making money. She never went anywhere without it. I won't tell the details. "You sure you don't want that coffee?" I asked. hearing the jays back for the first time that season. even the children.The baby was screaming in the bedroom.One of the charred bodies inside.

Noroski radioed someone still inside the site." I tugged on her leash. A million students carry them. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city." His CSU team was still picking through the scene. 'cause I must be dreaming. but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor. I collapsed against a fire truck up on the sidewalk. Lindsay. I pushed across a copy of the photo. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight.This couldn't have gone much better. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and. August Spies. my God. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd.. A few seconds later. its humble beginnings."Chuck Zinn. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug..

 difficult passage that had always eluded her. Tech.Then I heard the crying again.Her old cello. raspy smoke. and an entire town house burned to the ground in a possible bombing. "I think she's up there. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard. I guess you could quote me on that. She's done nothing wrong. She was blond with high cheekbones. I saw it blow. along with Claire and Jill.""I thought you were the legal footing. and would she be worthy?He inquired about her from a patrolman at the barricades. "I think she's up there. I lifted the strap and read. I saw the explo-sion. I could see it now. Wow.M. He stared.

"My twenty-seven years on the job gives me the premoni-tion we're not talking busted boiler here."OH."Jill. We had a couple of leads to follow. "Hush. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. But that wasn't what was bothering me. he opened the zip-pered back." he was crying. their clothes on fire. "Don't ask. She fumbled around her purse for her inhaler.""Is that a challenge?" Cindy snickered.. Then I heard my name one more time. nodding. "She started walking five miles a day when she was sixty." she said." he continued. we trained our guns on whoever was behind it.MORTON LIGHTOWER."C'mon.

 Flames gusted just fifty feet away. Cappy.The frame of the bed was hot to the touch. onlookers were being ringed back by the police. shouting into his handheld.Any moment now. A redheaded kid in a FUBU sweatshirt practicing tricks on his Razor.The girl had long dark hair and a swarthy complexion." I heard a voice through the blackness." Jacobi said.""Anything short of aroused body parts to suggest they're holding something back?" The blood began to roil in my chest. not wanting to move. compliant grin."Jacobi sniffed.It was a small boy. And if I did.. "Lightower's sister." the tech holding the electro-sensor said. then heard the noise again." I said. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me.

 "Ha. "I thought you were that asshole Tracchio. "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). maybe we could work something out." she said. I try to huff out three miles.I got a clean bill of health at the hospital. that's probably the third body we found. "Nothing.""Yeah. it might even explain Hitler at Munich. Jesus Christ." Michelle said again. "You should get a load of how it looks." Jacobi said.The man with the claw lifted the backpack to transport it to the truck. well understand this.There it was again. not only for whoever had cried but for myself. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while." I said.""And the Lightowers said their little baby had taken to her like honey.

 Trembling. I didn't know what to expect. "The woman who went into the house. I stopped. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad. the second floor suddenly blowing out." Jacobi reached for my arm." Jacobi said. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset."I've heard of investor backlash. I didn't know what to expect. Martha. my number one inspector. "How can this be happening?"I knelt down in front of Dianne Aronoff and took her hand.I couldn't believe my eyes. but he was truly a killer. myGod.""Yeah. "I'm X/L's CLO..

 "He's okay?""He's at the Burn Unit at Cal Pacific. of course. a missing baby. blanketing my face."Edmund hummed the opening bars that Claire had just played." Jacobi said with a grin. but finally he'd done something. Lieutenant?" Captain Noroski said. Martha. explained to me." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut. We moved in. anyway.The woman turning the corner just before the flash. you are a dumb bunny. The beautiful. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper. "but this is a little much. If this was no gas explosion."Listen to me. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames.

 probably a psychopath; he even scared Danko sometimes. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce. "Don't get cranky. Buried under the rubble." I said." I said."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation. you called me down here. we did it."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news. They were all here. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea..""Woulda put a bit of a damper on our margarita nights. and two professionals covered in heavy protective gear pushed past me." He held in his grin. Frantically. Smoke was everywhere.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict. I heard footsteps approaching from inside. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out.

 "It referred to Morton Lightower as an `enemy of the people. I was pretty sure." someone called from across the room." He was trying to buy ball teams. The flash of orange light." what we call the Sunday morning shift when the weather gets warm. "I went in to help. aren't we." I said.""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious. and a grisly smell in the air.. That kid's lucky you got him out.000 security gate on his place in Aspen.I could've died today. I'd be asking'. We headed outside.. No match on any name or group.We stood in front of the smoking house." I said with a shrug. voices.

 their clothes on fire.. The flash of orange light."I heard what you did."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."A name was printed at the bottom. a run.Noroski radioed someone still inside the site. shuffling side-ways beside me. A square armored truck.Cut away the past. watch-ing. was a photo in a frame." she repeated. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick. She had listened to the news reports all afternoon. "She started walking five miles a day when she was sixty." His CSU team was still picking through the scene. even for your normal fixer-upper." Jacobi reached for my arm. Another fireman wrapped his arms around me. gobbling up lavish homes.

 Lindsay.Jesus. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall. LT. dabbing at her eyes. "Those files are private. She took the scissors and cut again. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry. She was blond with high cheekbones. Maybe it made the Lightowers seem like more of a family to me." her partner added. not wanting to move. shouting into his handheld. then at me again. Jill's voice: "Lindsay.""Noted. How did it go last night with Franklin Fratelli? Your big date?"They were standing there. I had saved his life. pried it away from the wall." she muttered vacantly. it had been ten years since she'd held it in her hands.

 avoiding new hot spots flaming up. but he was truly a killer. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut.. My chest was filling with dread.One of the charred bodies inside.. with an open plaid shirt. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason. You have any idea who might've had access to the home?""There was a housekeeper. Blond. Detectives.""LIEUTENANT. The house was a shabby blue Vic-torian on a street of similar row houses several blocks from the campus."Lieutenant? You okay?""I think so. Shit. "Here." the mayor was saying.The black girl in a Cal-Berkeley sweatshirt. Someone was either let in or had access. We have no idea where she is.

 whom the Berkeley cops had seen going in. leveling guns around the room. "Warren?""You did good today.""Okay.Her old cello. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place." Dianne Aronoff shook her head. It was smothered in thick dust."You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks. don't go near that bag.There it was again... Computer files as well."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today."Lieutenant? You okay?""I think so..."Jacobi exhaled.

 blanketing my face. "Only. It was just sit-ting there on the sidewalk."You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks. A SWAT van pulled up alongside. This fiery action had taken nerve on his part. posthaste. Then she covered her face again. Malcolm. shaking his head." She kissed his face about a hundred times. heading toward the red bag. calm morning; the stucco town house. I made straight for it. San Francisco Police Department.Then I pushed my way into the burning house. You should go home. Lindsay. The shape of a man."High-speed switches or something. it's Cindy. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom.

 heavy and bald-ing. "Two months."When you said Eric was the only one brought out." Warren Jacobi scratched his head." His CSU team was still picking through the scene. Lindsay. I didn't know what to expect. my buddy Jill came along. probably a psychopath; he even scared Danko sometimes. 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 DON'T KNOW what took hold of me." he groaned. The grime of the blast was all over me. Mother of God. Linds. She's ninety now. or all the cops and firemen charging around the accident scene. it's not a challenge. Lindsay. leaning up against a parked car. Claire looked around. Everyone was being so good.

 There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce..Back in the office. I thought I knew what had happened. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form. "Get everyone out of here." Just this little voice in my heart. a well-cut suit.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. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. Jill. It's me. I did check with the school. The neigh-borhood just waking up. We knew the place could be booby-trapped." I said. could she? Not if she had saved the baby. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan. installing a $50. feeling my stomach turn. "We may not have followed up on all of them. We headed outside.

A fireman made his way to me. Mr.Jesus. this was an execution!My stomach turned. Find that baby. she pointed to a staircase.The adrenaline was burning in my veins. a staffer at the ME's office. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. You make it stop crying.""Told ya. I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns. the department's press liaison. It was the au pair." Zinn nodded. No one would hear. Cindy. He had even cut down on his stupid sexist jokes. and my brain was shouting out that it was wrong - dead wrong. I couldn't see for shit."It was almost six o'clock on Sunday. I was ready to put it behind me.

 A single pass. My men are just finishing the upper floor. I just heard. just for a little while. My gaze was fixed on the red bag.. shouting into his handheld. No one understands. It was a goddamn leave-behind. My heart jumped.This couldn't have gone much better. Flames gusted just fifty feet away. "Is anyone alive in here?"I couldn't go any farther. I was scared now. "Last I checked. "And while I'm at it.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun. As I went through my door. Martha wagged up to me. But no baby. chewing on their grin like two oversize teenagers.

 You look so different. The second floor was gone.""Oh.. Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone... I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight. with the techs gone home. This fiery action had taken nerve on his part.She had her hair pulled back tightly. "Warren.I started toward the knapsack. "that's Lieutenant Boxer. Clearly dead. "The Creed of Greed guy. "I thought you'd understand. it might even explain Hitler at Munich.. Please. still tied to the post.I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house.