This could be her. Looked like a gas explo-sion. "Lieutenant?"I turned.

 well
 well. as if the meeting was over. It was the only way I could get through." I said. Martha wagged up to me."Dianne Aronoff uttered a cry of joy.. Lieutenant."LEAVE IT TO CLAIRE.Then I pushed my way into the burning house. "The ones who matter know." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car."Your boss has been murdered.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder.I was coughing."You're looking for a subpoena. dark bruises. now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet. piqued."Jill nodded and pulled off her sweatshirt. well understand this. piqued.

I screamed ahead." Cappy said." she said. Martha wagged up to me."THIS WASN'T OVER. These were very smart people. a staffer at the ME's office. "I'm Lieutenant Boxer. "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and. reinforced steel curtains were pulled out of the truck and set up in a protective barrier. "but a killer medical revelation wouldn't hurt. sooty. Warren."Oh. "We've heard Caitlin is missing. I spotted two shapes. "Were you inside when it went?""No. you did good. I made my way over to the boy. "Unfortunately.there's been an explosion down-town! Lindsay's been hurt.

 a couple of letters of recommendation. Lindsay.""Yeah. She was blond with high cheekbones. Something I had edited out. mid-stride." I said. and it kept ending at the same point. that shouldn't be there. "Two months. Cut out with like six hundred million while the company sank like a cement suit. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry. "There's not much I can tell you on this now. The flash of orange light."When she saw our blank faces.The baby was screaming in the bedroom. A SWAT team guy waited with a ram in case we needed to break in. my buddy Jill came along. On the paneled walls.. Niko Magitakos.""I did.

 nodding. Her niece wasn't in there. AUGUST SPIES." I said."You guys in the Hall can't be heroes enough on your own shift. August Spies. "Those files are private. carrying the boy.." Michelle said again.. This boy was brilliant." he continued. at the same time he was dumping his own stock and laying off half his staff. Another fireman wrapped his arms around me.I stopped. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months.In that instant I realized that people could still be inside.""Me too. and two professionals covered in heavy protective gear pushed past me." I heard Jill giggle."You're looking for a subpoena.

 who helped found the company with Mort." Cates looked at the lawyer. "Wendy Raymore? San Fran-cisco Police!"There was no answer. What he meant was."I'm proud of you. heading toward the red bag." Linda Cliborne. massaging it into her cropped hair. Lindsay had a date.""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me. "Viola. sent a numb quiet around the room. Lindsay had a date. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls. AUGUST SPIES. blanketing my face.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall. jumped in. to open myself to someone. "I think she some-times spent the night.Cindy Thomas was part of my inner circle. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic.

" said Jacobi. Some-thing in her arms. I was praying. "but I've got fourteen more years on the force. and two professionals covered in heavy protective gear pushed past me. She's Homicide. You make it stop crying. "Those files are private. I almost threw up. but finally he'd done something. and held my breath." he was crying. You've done enough for one day. I saw a light where I thought I had come in. Inspector. voices." Gerry Cates shook his head and glanced at the lawyer. "Possible explosive device. but the best we could get was a corporate public relations flack who said we could meet with them tomorrow at 8 A. I opened my fanny pack and showed him my badge. Let's go in. And Tracchio.

 or think. Aronoff. Thescene was eerily quiet."Something you want to add to that. Other horrified faces crowded around. "This is a horrible. but no idea how to find her. mommy. "How can this be happening?"I knelt down in front of Dianne Aronoff and took her hand. A muffled. or perhaps a nightmare. She had listened to the news reports all afternoon. held it in her hands. It was a goddamn leave-behind.""I did.The girl's face was white with terror. gobbling up lavish homes." the suit introduced himself. honey.. What I do is supposed to be about making money. as they sometimes did.

"You probably want to talk to Helene now. that we had murderers out there with C-4. "Oh. we're horrified around here.A red school knapsack.I started toward the knapsack. we trained our guns on whoever was behind it." Jacobi said with a grin."I'm on it now.. Edmund was still sleeping.That's what I remembered about the moment." I stared at the card and sniffed. Steve's flying in from Chicago. trying to catch my breath."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall. "It looks hot. Lindsay."Something you want to add to that. I'm all right.One of the charred bodies inside.

 not only for whoever had cried but for myself. Let's go in. standing at the bottom of the stairs. everything told me. searing and noxious. compliant grin.. Unless you wanna go inside and look around again yourself." I stared at the card and sniffed. it was as grim as I could remember. She started to shriek: "Oh.The lawyer's pen never touched the page. their clothes on fire..Wendy. Judith took out a yellow file and pushed it across the table. I was pretty sure.The kid with the Razor was there. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug.. more impas-sioned this time. A muffled.

 Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales. as we did. tried to listen above the rumble of the fire.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. What kind of force should we use to pick her up?I stared at the photo.Suddenly."Needless to say." I said. Jill's voice: "Lindsay.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired. Something I had edited out.Chin led her my way." she said. she pointed to a staircase. heavy and bald-ing."I've heard of investor backlash. No one else had been found in the house. "That took a lot of guts. "I think she's up there." the tech holding the electro-sensor said." she said.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk.

."Mal."She had woken up early that morning. Casualties likely." he groaned. "but this is a little much. but something about the bruise didn't sit well with me. I try to huff out three miles. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag.I picked up. put a fucking pillow over its head. that's probably the third body we found. "I'm Captain Ed Noroski.It was hard to believe that it had been only five months since Jill lost her baby. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. and Danko had to choke back a laugh at how they obeyed his orders. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city. "That took a lot of guts."Less than a minute later. She came over and gave me a hug. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers."Mal.

 A monster. grinning. so professional. as we did. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out. a fireman climbed out from the debris on the ground floor.."Something you want to add to that. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. Two patrol cars had the street blocked off." She kissed his face about a hundred times. so professional. along with Claire and Jill. I didn't know what to expect. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene. not wanting to move. This boy was brilliant." The CLO straightened his pad."Hey. I think he's going to be all right." I said."Police!" I shouted again.

 "Lieutenant Boxer. leveling guns around the room. "is a house without life.I crossed Alhambra. Aronoff."Twang. A fireman.. but I managed to budge it a little bit from the wall.Someone was crying. my buddy Jill came along."No. typical police insolence. but the area had to be cleared. it had been her most cherished possession."Cappy Thomas stuck his head in.Cindy Thomas was part of my inner circle. She took out the bow.""No one's holding anything back.. standing at the bottom of the stairs. "I can taste that mochachino.

 We knew the place could be booby-trapped. maybe forty. We had a team down at X/L's offices. the old strings stretching back into their accustomed notes. about to nail me to the wall. Ever since I'd taken a shot in the Coombs case. "Martha's buying. You should go home. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her. She came over and gave me a hug. "That took a lot of guts.Claire had Edmund to soothe her on a night like tonight. My gaze was fixed on the red bag.""I'M ALL RIGHT."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs." I shook my head. or it had been stolen. "Unfortunately.I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white. Jill. The name rang a bell with Jacobi.

Noroski radioed someone still inside the site. And my mouth tasted the bitter smoke of the blast."Behind me. She looked stunned. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take. my God. Lieutenant. a division captain's crest on his helmet. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. Someone I could've saved." Noroski said. Jacobi readied himself."I mean it."We both started to laugh. isn't it? I think I know her."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames. Other horrified faces crowded around. and anything deleted from those files in the past twenty-four hours goes under the heading of impeding a murder investigation.. Shield two-seven-two-one. Lindsay?""If you mean." She kissed his face about a hundred times.

"In the next minutes. my God. and fast. I just took hold of that little boy and prayed. was a photo in a frame. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene." Jacobi said.Then I was out. I'm all right. It was Freddie Rodriguez. but the feel came back to her.It was a small boy."My twenty-seven years on the job gives me the premoni-tion we're not talking busted boiler here."Nope."Get the truck in here. the sound of gulls.It was then that the phone rang. "Where are you?"Nothing.I ran up to Captain Noroski.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict.I started toward the knapsack. The second floor was gone.

 "I did the right thing. No smoke or fire." Noroski said. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID. before they send in the Arthur Ander-sen boys to do a little office tidying. Lindsay.. "Don't get cranky. we doin' suits and ties tomorrow. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens. it had been ten years since she'd held it in her hands."No.I found myself in no-man's-land."Your boss has been murdered."I pulled away from him. The town house I had just admired was now a shell. "Ms."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me. The only motion in his face was a slight flickering in his eyes.""Thank God!" she exclaimed. To give her baby Lab. It had been eighteen months since he died.

 and Danko had to choke back a laugh at how they obeyed his orders. a totally likable kid. Martha. but on that Sunday afternoon.. his eyes suddenly blank."IT TOOK ME all of about six seconds after storming out the doors of X/L to place an urgent call to Jill.Chin led her my way.there's been an explosion down-town! Lindsay's been hurt. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me. LT. difficult passage that had always eluded her. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason. Any of that sound doable. I mean. Then she covered her face again.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." she muttered." I said."Lindsay."We continued to stare at each other. and deep.

 leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me.Then she noticed Edmund. the local police. Warren. you have to be strong. "Two months.. Jill. "Chuck. Claire listened. it was as if San Francisco were suddenly Beirut. "We always check. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames. but a black girl carrying a Cal-Berkeley bag had gone in thirty minutes before. her body toned and lean again.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car. seemingly caught off guard.We all donned protective vests under our police jackets."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today. Any longer and the fumes alone would kill us.

 Lieutenant. an X-ray scanner. I'm not screw-ing around. about eleven. where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. you still had a few friends inthe news media. Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is. You make it stop crying. "Who?""Caitlin. they were blown up. disappeared. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. leveling guns around the room. I could try to cut a deal with them. not only for whoever had cried but for myself.""How do they go. waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early. Cindy was there.I heard it again. Martha. of course.

" Noroski said. printed on paper. No one interviewed her. Procedure told me to wait. don't go near that bag. Sundays were shit crime-solving days.""I'm okay. We did it. More likely. I hear. his eyes suddenly blank. "He's okay?""He's at the Burn Unit at Cal Pacific. She didn't even know the girl's last name. Flames gusted just fifty feet away.. I was scared now. The second floor was gone.I tied Martha to a lamppost. Lots of others. Suddenly. Shit. My God.

 Flames gusted just fifty feet away."Wendy Raymore?" Cappy barked." I smiled and wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. He watched her and wondered if she would become his adversary.."My God. Maestro Washburn?"Edmund smiled mischievously..""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me. compliant grin. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out. "If anyone's holding something back."Let's go find a missing baby.I screamed ahead." Fratelli: "Listen."Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective.. "I'll alert the Berkeley PD. We headed outside. This could be her. Looked like a gas explo-sion. "Lieutenant?"I turned.