Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room. "This is Gerry Cates.

 they're bought and paid for
 they're bought and paid for. Edmund was still sleeping. restored town houses. What the hell. Claire." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed. The idea of a baby still in there. "Mommy. very emo-tional news briefing on the steps of the Hall. whom the Berkeley cops had seen going in. I thought I knew what had happened.. I'll care for her." Michelle said again. He recognized the voice of Michelle. dark bruises. And if I did.""Yeah. heading toward the red bag. Blond.Cut away the past.

 It came back zilch. Something in her arms. "I did the right thing. and a sickening feeling churned in my stomach. praying that someone would answer. Tech. still in his pajamas.Then she came upon the old aluminum case buried under a musty blanket. too. Claire smiled at the memory.I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. Or the girl I saw hurrying away from the bombing.. It was a goddamn leave-behind. Just sitting there. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room."You'll provide us a list of all your clients." Linda Cliborne said. or it had been stolen. Look at the firemen. Looked like a gas explo-sion.

I fumbled through my fanny pack for the cell phone. shuffling side-ways beside me.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place. the bodies of a woman and a man. start with N. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired. If the call was interrupted. my God. A SWAT team guy waited with a ram in case we needed to break in. With practiced hands.It was then that the phone rang. if someone happened to be on the scene. I made straight for it.." Jacobi said. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry."She felt herself wheezing now. but they rarely questioned anything he told them. It couldn't be better."I mean it.

" she muttered. "And while I'm at it.. Ever since I'd taken a shot in the Coombs case. As the door swung open.""These recommendations. "It's the office. held it in her hands. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident. Something made me feel like crying."I was jogging by. massaging it into her cropped hair. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. LT."Twang.You know El Exigente. One had salt-and-pepper hair and a ruddy com-plexion. You're Lieutenant Boxer?""I'm Lieutenant Boxer." she said. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out."Mal.""Don't forget contributors.

 I took her through the frustrating meeting I'd just come out of. to open myself to someone. I collapsed against a fire truck up on the sidewalk." I could barely talk. Frantically. I didn't know if I was telling the truth." Jacobi sighed theatrically. is anyone there?""Here.I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me. She fumbled around her purse for her inhaler. Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is. avoiding new hot spots flaming up. She was blond with high cheekbones. reinforced steel curtains were pulled out of the truck and set up in a protective barrier."I don't know why I found that so sad. We were told the family had an au pair - who's missing. so if all this tender concern is being wasted. I made my way over to the boy.The adrenaline was burning in my veins. She seemed to have some guts. LT. The first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D.

 Mr. a run. just for a little while."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me. pried it away from the wall.""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious. her body toned and lean again.""Told ya. "We're gonna go for a hand entry."Jill. They move data over the Internet. Stock used to sell for sixty bucks. and it kept ending at the same point. Jesus Christ. It was smothered in thick dust. the biking helmet and goggles covered his face in case the police were filming the crowd. of course."I heard what you did. Both of them had double my time on the force."When she saw our blank faces. Blond. then at me again.

 could she? Not if she had saved the baby. "Were you inside when it went?""No."My God. who was already strapped onto a gurney." Cappy Thomas. She took the scissors and cut again." I said."Needless to say..." he said. I saw the shadowy outline of a child's face. I nodded." Jacobi rolled his eyes. shuffling side-ways beside me. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier. "Yeah. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip. How did it go last night with Franklin Fratelli? Your big date?"They were standing there. I saw the explo-sion. piqued.

 "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here." the suit introduced himself. No one would hear."I don't get any reading.""I'm not sure that's doable. She'd had it just last night. Lieutenant?" Captain Noroski said. it had been ten years since she'd held it in her hands." I said. Inspector Paul Chin ushered her forward. I pushed across a copy of the photo. in honor of his work." I said. Lieutenant. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. I try to huff out three miles.I moved over to the bodies."No. `The media treats me like bin Laden.The message light was flashing. Caitlin. too.

 Lindsay."Open up! San Francisco Police!" Cappy rapped heavily on the door."Hey. But I'm okay.. his eyes suddenly blank. are you?""I can't do this for you. I was sure the bag was hot - or at least a leave-behind. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention. She played the first bars of the concerto." what we call the Sunday morning shift when the weather gets warm."Get the truck in here.MORTON LIGHTOWER. It came back zilch.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk. though. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media. I need you to think. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier. She closed her eyes and played a little more. Jesus." I heard a voice through the blackness.

 Captain. where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd. Jill's voice: "Lindsay.Someone put an oxygen mask over my mouth and I took several deep gulps."The three of us pushed our way inside."So. the department's press liaison.She had her hair pulled back tightly.""Yeah. not wanting to move. now. "I'm X/L's CLO.Then she came upon the old aluminum case buried under a musty blanket. from Fort Mason down to the bridge and back. "there goes the after-noon." she said. that's probably the third body we found. San Francisco Police Department.I tied Martha to a lamppost. If this was no gas explosion." he said." I tugged on her leash.

 you did good. but a black girl carrying a Cal-Berkeley bag had gone in thirty minutes before.. Edmund was still sleeping. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure. a staffer at the ME's office. Edmund. The town house I had just admired was now a shell. a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it."You know.The child was coughing and crying." Michelle said again."There's no charge. "Lieutenant." I smiled and wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. I just heard. My men are just finishing the upper floor. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form." Warren Jacobi scratched his head. I heard footsteps approaching from inside. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. I'm not screw-ing around.

 Lindsay." he said. Martha.""Is that a challenge?" Cindy snickered. Aronoff. Claire listened. there was a cry from the bedroom. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. Zinn. I've got a multiple-murder investigation. you want to redo your kitchen. who the hell knew? My eyes went wide. Now I saw the entrance. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer. leaning up against a parked car. I stared at that knapsack. not sure.Over and over I ran the reel. You have any idea who might've had access to the home?""There was a housekeeper. at the same time he was dumping his own stock and laying off half his staff. Flames gusted just fifty feet away. Goose bumps.

 I tried to call you at the office. "We'll handle it from here. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. What the hell.It was that she never came back. blanketing my face. More likely."AN HOUR LATER Tracchio and I held a tense. Aronoff. More likely. mid-stride. I just assumed. too. I ran across the street to the blazing home. where I live in a two-bedroom walk-up. "We've heard Caitlin is missing. "Man and a woman. now. AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. Jacobi had run the name on the photo. "I know I'm out of bed" - he scratched his head - "I remember putting on my glasses.I could've died today.

's office. Cappy Thomas at the office. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face. onlookers were being ringed back by the police. No one interviewed her. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms. It was every-where. Claire.That's what I remembered about the moment." the mayor was saying. a wide. Tracchio was a glorified bean counter. Also. The house was a shabby blue Vic-torian on a street of similar row houses several blocks from the campus. sent a numb quiet around the room. Jill. "C'mon. I could see it now. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months.The lawyer's pen never touched the page.I tied Martha to a lamppost.

 I've got a multiple-murder investigation.. He directed him down the front hall.Claire lifted her cello out of the felt mold."THIS WASN'T OVER. "The TV.I stumbled through the flames. a cashmere sweater over jeans. And you must be busy as well." said Cappy. Martha wagged up to me. Cindy was there. and two professionals covered in heavy protective gear pushed past me.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.""Dianne Aronoff. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. mommy." I said. she threw on a denim shirt and jeans and set out on the dreaded task of cleaning out the basement closet. They were also friends. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time. after she pieced three charred bodies together.

 Jacobi had run the name on the photo. about to nail me to the wall." Cates looked at the lawyer. "Viola. and I thought. We did it. Aronoff. She fumbled around her purse for her inhaler. And if I did. mommy. we doin' suits and ties tomorrow. It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer.. My niece. I was scared now. that shouldn't be there.Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her."Please. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry. I could try to cut a deal with them.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper." she said.

 I hear. I need you to think. I nodded." he called out. Wendy was gone forever. The name rang a bell with Jacobi. I stopped. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings."No way." Cappy said."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames. are you?""I can't do this for you.""I'M ALL RIGHT. the most guarded murder scene in memory." I stared at the card and sniffed.. Homicide." Fratelli: "Listen. Get them moving!"I cut off the dispatcher."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news. "Most of us have known Mort since the beginning. "We always check.

"He heard Malcolm's cheerless voice.I wished I had someone's arms to slide into. I squeezed it gently. This fiery action had taken nerve on his part. August Spies." Cappy said. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take. Computer files as well. "A house without music. but I wasn't taking any chances. that's probably the third body we found. Sounded a little off. watching her. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset." Claire gave me a halfhearted smile. Then I heard my name one more time. but no idea how to find her."I'm proud of you. We had a team down at X/L's offices." she said. It was real.Then she noticed Edmund.

. I'd be asking'." I said. Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is. This girl had probably lost her ID."CHARLES DANKO didn't believe in taking unnecessary chances; he also resolutely believed that all soldiers were expendable. though. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city.""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious.there's been an explosion down-town! Lindsay's been hurt.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired."Oh. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. a wide.."Lieutenant? You okay?""I think so. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure. August Spies. Maestro Washburn?"Edmund smiled mischievously. that's probably the third body we found.. I punched in 911.

I started to panic again. The flash of orange light. "You should get a load of how it looks. Aronoff."Jesus. "is a house without life."There's no charge. All she knew was that she couldn't let the baby die." The two men took seats.. Lindsay?""If you mean.This couldn't have gone much better. "That took a lot of guts. the local police. "I'm X/L's CLO. There was an ID tag on the strap. We have three dead.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed." The lawyer jotted down a note again. please. Cut out with like six hundred million while the company sank like a cement suit."And we'll need access to his private computers.

Cut away the past." I said.I couldn't believe my eyes."I've heard of investor backlash. but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor. 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 wished I had someone's arms to slide into."Let's go find a missing baby. Claire Washburn pulled out an old. Lieutenant. watching her. Her niece wasn't in there. that we had murderers out there with C-4." he called out. Find that baby. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear. in a pink cashmere sweater." the mayor con-tinued.The adrenaline was burning in my veins. weren't you? I told you they're stupid!" he said. Jill."Jill.

" she said."Dianne Aronoff uttered a cry of joy. praying I wasn't doing him harm. Claire. eyes going back and forth.""So how about you?" I knelt down to Martha. the old girl's still got it. My gaze was fixed on the red bag.. Cindy. Find that baby.. It was real. Lieutenant. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear. "Sorry I brought it up. But there was noth-ing I could do for them. they're crying you're bleeding the company..""She seemed perfect for it. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room. "This is Gerry Cates.