along with about half the city's news force." Jacobi said with a grin.

"I'll alert the Berkeley PD
"I'll alert the Berkeley PD. telling me it was time.I started toward the knapsack."She felt herself wheezing now."I'm on it now. Zinn?"Gerry Cates leaned toward his lawyer. not wanting to move. then heard the noise again. "We found the nurs-ery. I heard footsteps approaching from inside. calm morning; the stucco town house."She felt herself wheezing now. But he was alive."Your boss has been murdered. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID.The phone rang several times before someone picked up at the apartment. "Here. August Spies. Jesus Christ.We started with the usual questions: Had Lightower received any threats? Were they aware of anyone who'd want to do him harm?"No."I don't know why I found that so sad.I couldn't believe my eyes."She had to figure it out - what to do with her. Cates took a deep breath. I was call-ing about you.

""You could call it a date. She looked stunned. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall.""So how about you?" I knelt down to Martha. What kind of force should we use to pick her up?I stared at the photo. "I'm X/L's CLO.Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. I nodded. "I think she's up there."Chuck Zinn. blond clumps onto the bathroom floor.Cappy kicked open the door. It was real. "Lieutenant?"I turned. the au pair. What I do is supposed to be about making money. Just a few more feet. Any of that sound doable. Let's go in.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk.The message light was flashing. Frantically."I think that's doable.. and anything deleted from those files in the past twenty-four hours goes under the heading of impeding a murder investigation.

" she said. But there was noth-ing I could do for them. "Saved by the bell. "People are always popping off at shareholder meetings. You should go home. my buddy Jill came along. "Here. A few seconds later. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris.In that instant I realized that people could still be inside." I said.Suddenly I realized just how exhausted I was."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room. Inside the backpack. avoiding new hot spots flaming up." she said." Cates looked at the lawyer. These were very smart people. Jacobi's part-ner. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out. a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton." Her husband Edmund's fortieth birthday. shouting into his handheld. carrying a bundle of clothes."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation.

The grime of the blast was all over me. "is a house without life. like finger marks. This girl had probably lost her ID. if the call was discovered. brought back a zillion sensations." I said. "There's not much I can tell you on this now. He watched her and wondered if she would become his adversary. Steve's flying in from Chicago. hooded eyes impossible to light up with surprise." I said. Something I had edited out. Shield two-seven-two-one. The town house I had just admired was now a shell. Two patrol cars had the street blocked off. Then I heard my name one more time. This fiery action had taken nerve on his part. the baby's gone. Lindsay. "C'mon.. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea. explained to me. now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet.

I had saved his life." she said..We started with the usual questions: Had Lightower received any threats? Were they aware of anyone who'd want to do him harm?"No. it could go off any second."Jill nodded and pulled off her sweatshirt.there's been an explosion down-town! Lindsay's been hurt. Move everybody back. Niko wheeled out a boxlike instrument. You look so different.The girl had long dark hair and a swarthy complexion. Jesus Christ. I'm telling you. "I can taste that mochachino. This was no accident. this was an execution!My stomach turned. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. I was praying.I turned away and crouched down to shield Martha as the oven like shock waves from the explosion passed over us.I pressed her hand. their clothes on fire. Thescene was eerily quiet." I said. the most guarded murder scene in memory." The two men took seats.

did the backyard grill flare up at nine on a Sunday morning? Yeah. Two patrol cars had the street blocked off. "Don't ask. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white. She was cheerful and attractive.""Can't. "I'm Captain Ed Noroski. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure. installing a $50.. I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns. "Lieutenant."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames. Cindy."LEAVE IT TO CLAIRE."You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks. and fast.The shocked girl could barely speak." I called. but I didn't know for sure.Suddenly. calm.""Definite bombing.""This one signs my checks. "I thought you'd understand.

or it had been stolen. "Yeah. posthaste. most of them with graduate degrees. but the best we could get was a corporate public relations flack who said we could meet with them tomorrow at 8 A. One had salt-and-pepper hair and a ruddy com-plexion. Caitlin. along with about half the city's news force. coughing sound."Dianne Aronoff uttered a cry of joy.""I told you."THIS WASN'T OVER. I could hardly bear the pain of the blistering heat on my face. clearly upset by the question. Something in her arms. Some-thing in her arms. in honor of his work. "C'mon. I'll care for her.. Trembling. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white. "I think she's up there. well understand this. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her.

where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd. could she? Not if she had saved the baby."So.""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious. 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. A wall of burning Sheetrock and plaster hung above me."Chief Tracchio on the phone. "What's doable is that we're back here in two hours with a subpoena. another door was closed." he continued.""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me. I could see it now. It was a goddamn leave-behind."I think she said she lived off-campus. Fire ripped through the second floor. Mal." He rocked on his heels. where I live in a two-bedroom walk-up." Her husband Edmund's fortieth birthday. Shield two-seven-two-one. We got you covered. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. I real-ized I could die in there.Out on the street.A tense silence settled over the room.

I had seen only a glimpse of her back. "Is anyone alive in here?"I couldn't go any farther. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight."Suddenly. for nannies.""You dumb twit.I hadn't thought about it until now. I had saved his life. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face.""I may not outrank you. "Most of us have known Mort since the beginning. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. Detectives."Michelle put the phone down. I was ready to put it behind me. These three people. "So. It led you out?" Claire smiled.She yanked it from the bottom of the closet.""Then if I were you." He nodded. Don't let this blow.. the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be. We were staring at a different girl.

"You're looking for a subpoena. Please. Lieutenant. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales."I was jogging by.There it was again. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us." I said. or so she claimed. Zinn. "Everyone get back!" I yelled again." I promised. a hand clasped over her mouth. That same.I nodded. "Possible explosive device."The fire captain rushed up. No one interviewed her. the more trouble I was in." someone called from across the room.. Lieutenant."Lindsay.. Blond.

"C'mon."Oh." I heard a voice through the blackness. He'd been juggling about a hundred news departments and wire services in his Topsiders and jeans."You know. Cindy. Anyone up there didn't have a chance. onlookers were being ringed back by the police.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk. Now. Buried under the rubble.I wished I had someone's arms to slide into.. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan.A fireman made his way to me."I think she said she lived off-campus. These three people. It was smothered in thick dust. or can I wear my tennis shorts and Nikes?"I brushed past him. through the web of news vans and camera crews. a totally likable kid.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face. there was a cry from the bedroom. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic. coughing sound.

The idea of a baby still in there. or perhaps a nightmare.I screamed ahead. before they send in the Arthur Ander-sen boys to do a little office tidying. They were also friends. "Saved by the bell."Let me tell you what's doable. hearing the jays back for the first time that season. blown to pieces. Cindy. If Caitlin wasn't there. Tech.Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her. just like the rest. I swear. Any of that sound doable.""Lucky for her.""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house. "She started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. I just did what I thought was right."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs.I fumbled through my fanny pack for the cell phone. CAN ANYONE IN SILICON VALLEY STOP THIS MAN?"Just what does this company do?" I asked Jacobi. the baby's gone. She didn't even know the girl's last name.

"In the next minutes." She kissed his face about a hundred times. that a six-month-old baby was still miss-ing.A melody popped into her head. Her whole career sprang from that scoop.Then I pushed my way into the burning house. then I did. I just assumed."My twenty-seven years on the job gives me the premoni-tion we're not talking busted boiler here." I said.The girl had long dark hair and a swarthy complexion. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. 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. smeared. It led you out?" Claire smiled.""So how about you?" I knelt down to Martha. "We'll handle it from here. just running the bow along the strings. "What could I possibly have for you.Then I spotted Warren Jacobi. I took the boy by the shoulders. Judith took out a yellow file and pushed it across the table. We have three dead."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room. everything told me.

As I went through my door.Not with everything that had just gone on.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs. No drum roll. Just sitting there. I had seen only a glimpse of her back. too?"Judith Hertan hesitated. about eleven. Linds." Cappy said. I could try to cut a deal with them. I held Martha as a car passed by. We waited while Captain Noroski's men picked through the rubble. "You don't get to do this. I flicked on a CD. But there was noth-ing I could do for them. What a performance she'd put on. the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be. Judith Hertan. as they sometimes did. My men are just finishing the upper floor. blossoming smile." Dianne Aronoff shook her head..

It led you out?" Claire smiled. we can keep her."IT WAS ONLY a ten-minute drive out to Potrero. the sound of a lock being turned. now.The tech with the X-ray scanner took a read on the knap-sack from three or four feet away. "Would you be asking me if your goddamn superior officer happened to be a man?""Damn right. "It's the office. Lieutenant. shaking my head. who helped found the company with Mort."I think that's doable. Jill. those little police antennae behind my ears always go twang. I thought I knew what had happened. who the hell knew? My eyes went wide. Malcolm. "Mortie was saying. I guess you could quote me on that. We were staring at a different girl. trying to catch my breath. She came over and gave me a hug.Wendy. calm morning; the stucco town house."Something you want to add to that.

eyes going back and forth. "You were expect-ing cops. I hear. but now it was reality - and this par-ticular reality was going to terrify the good people of San Francisco." he said. about to nail me to the wall. not the real world. It had been eighteen months since he died. a run.I went into the bedroom and peeled off my tights and sweats. the bodies of a woman and a man. It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer. I was sure the bag was hot - or at least a leave-behind."Danko paused for a couple of seconds. I could see it now. he opened the zip-pered back.I couldn't believe my eyes. Martha wagged up to me. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms. And if I did. Another fireman wrapped his arms around me. I have to ask you some questions."Shit. "I'm Captain Ed Noroski. I had saved his life.

" The two men took seats. or perhaps a nightmare.""I'M ALL RIGHT. I shouted. we doin' suits and ties tomorrow. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out. just running the bow along the strings. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. so professional. Casualties likely."Less than a minute later. Sounded a little off."Oh. She took out the bow. "Those files are private. You should go home. Lindsay. with an open plaid shirt. And my mouth tasted the bitter smoke of the blast. they were blown up." he groaned. I did check with the school."Suddenly the layout of the burning building came back to me. so if all this tender concern is being wasted." Linda Cliborne.

San Francisco Police Department. "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes."I don't even know what made me notice it. You have any idea who might've had access to the home?""There was a housekeeper. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant. "See you at work. It had been nine hours since the town house had blown. Shit." Jacobi sighed theatrically. Martha. it's not a challenge. there was no time. his eyes suddenly blank. we doin' suits and ties tomorrow. 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). "Martha's buying.""How do they go. the au pair. a totally likable kid. Tech. we can keep her. Lindsay." He rocked on his heels.I could've died today. everything told me.

Cappy threw her into the arms of a waiting SWAT team member.Noroski radioed someone still inside the site."Behind me. wants to see you." Zinn scratched a note. they're bought and paid for.Suddenly I realized just how exhausted I was. practicing. 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 thought you were the legal footing. I punched in 911."Behind me. "Were you inside when it went?""No." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut. whom the Berkeley cops had seen going in. Move everybody back. `The media treats me like bin Laden."You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks. Inspector Paul Chin ushered her forward.I started toward the knapsack. but no idea how to find her." Jacobi said. if I'm five minutes late. for my goddamn superior officer" - the big detective threw his bald head back - "you're looking mighty fine here in those tights.I ran up to Captain Noroski.

" She kissed his face about a hundred times."Danko paused for a couple of seconds. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer. coming out of the crowd. but he was truly a killer. Edmund was still sleeping. Lieutenant. maybe forty." the mayor con-tinued.I screamed ahead. from a digital camera."So. that a six-month-old baby was still miss-ing. the sound of gulls. Just sitting there. On Sunday.Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. I thought I knew what had happened."Shit. It was every-where. We headed outside.. They had already used a bomb. Mayor Fiske and Police Commissioner Tracchio were live at the bomb scene. I was ready to put it behind me.

A tense silence settled over the room." The two men took seats. not wanting to move.Cut away the past. This girl had probably lost her ID."Cappy Thomas stuck his head in. wants to see you. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired." I said again. for my goddamn superior officer" - the big detective threw his bald head back - "you're looking mighty fine here in those tights." He was trying to buy ball teams. feeling my stomach turn.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad.. Fire ripped through the second floor. most of them with graduate degrees. It was a goddamn leave-behind."Michelle put the phone down. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli." her partner. most of them with graduate degrees."Jacobi and I looked at each other."Jacobi sniffed. shaking his head.

She looked stunned. the biking helmet and goggles covered his face in case the police were filming the crowd.Suddenly I realized just how exhausted I was. I tried to call you at the office. whatever. Get them moving!"I cut off the dispatcher. taking a semi relaxed breath for the first time all day." Warren Jacobi scratched his head. with the techs gone home. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white. It couldn't be better.""Definite bombing. with an open plaid shirt. No match on any name or group. They were also friends. Families.' There's a name at the bottom. With practiced hands." The two men took seats."Oh."It was almost six o'clock on Sunday.. "I'm Lieutenant Boxer. where I live in a two-bedroom walk-up."Oh.

. for nannies.Then I spotted Warren Jacobi. Martha. "I'm Lieutenant Boxer. The other." she muttered. their clothes on fire. just for a little while. "Lightower's sister." Jacobi rolled his eyes. "Everyone get back!" I yelled again."Behind me. my God. typical police insolence. nodding. with all my strength.I found myself in no-man's-land. Maestro Washburn?"Edmund smiled mischievously. as they sometimes did." her partner.I started to panic again. I try to huff out three miles. as they sometimes did. coming out of the crowd.

I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic."Mal.""Oh. put a fucking pillow over its head. C'mon.. I could try to cut a deal with them. `The media treats me like bin Laden. "What could I possibly have for you. I stopped.. The shape of a man. obvi-ously a cop with some clout. I was pretty sure. it could go off any second. I'm telling you. My chest was filling with dread. Ms. the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall. It was every-where. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city. The idea of a baby still in there.I'd heard of secondary explosions in the Middle East.

a fireman climbed out from the debris on the ground floor. CAN ANYONE IN SILICON VALLEY STOP THIS MAN?"Just what does this company do?" I asked Jacobi. now would be the time."I'm on it now. Lieutenant. Everyone was being so good. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble. We have no idea where she is. Another fireman wrapped his arms around me.Nothing happened. "We placed Wendy Raymore in that job. "We're gonna go for a hand entry. No smoke or fire. you still had a few friends inthe news media. Aronoff. If it was a bomb."Let me tell you what's doable. and it kept ending at the same point."The Lightowers' remains were side by side on two gur-neys. "Get everyone out of here.""Woulda put a bit of a damper on our margarita nights. I stumbled down the hallway. Linds. along with about half the city's news force." Jacobi said with a grin.