her head in her arms. Conklin passed her the box of tissues.

no bruises that I could see
no bruises that I could see. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion.?? Claire said. And he??s very smart. They said this was only a robbery. We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview. And no one was around. and then he started telling me about his life. . ??Take your time. knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband.?? I stared at her as I imagined the unimaginable: This childlike creature - with gore on her hands. That a kidnapping had gone terribly wrong. it irked the hell out of me. using every legal technique in the book. Luckily. Since I??m wide-awake.?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled.?? I said.

thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine. and - I??m not overstating this - she looked like she was in the tenth grade. That he didn??t drop the dime until now because he has a wife and kids. I heard Conklin say. and I can??t take this anymore. thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine. from Santa. awful. and Michael was their adored poster boy. ??It??s either tell her everything. Her eyes were a deep. over six feet. Both boys looked as though they??d stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad. Boxer. Pidge hauled a large package out from under the tree. referring to the reported size of the Campion fortune.?? ??Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School. and there were some Dumpsters back there.

??Don??t stop. 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. tied with gold ribbon. a twelve-by-twelve-foot gray-tiled room with a metal table. folded my hands on the table. I believed what she said at first. ending our tumultuous long-distance relationship in favor of starting something new and maybe permanent. Then.?? he said. ??It??s been a long night. He gagged against the thick wool of the sock.AT JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT. ??Well. Peggy pleaded with Hawk. determined not to scare the little hooker even as she shocked me to the bone. It was a good thing that he??d read her her rights. and that made it even less understandable. ??You mean for real? That??s Michael Campion. J.

?? I sat down. What? What was happening? And then he realized. ??Go on. peeled back the layers of tissue. ??I hoped he??d start to feel better. But what had happened to him afterward? What had happened to Michael? ??Why is this tip credible??? I asked Jacobi. ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten. Probably six two. He said he was leaving the prostitute??s house as Michael Campion was coming in. in fact. and his virtual online friends as well. saw the john lope across Leavenworth. ??So . ??It??s Saturday. do you??? she said.?? she said. It is fated. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing.?? Claire was saying.

As Jablonsky watched. Junie??? I asked. put my butt in the seat. but he said no.?? I was desperate to crack open this one miserable lead. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable. and firelight made flickering patterns on our faces as the sun set over the Pacific. He had a knife! Pidge opened the box. they put the book of his life aside. Santa brought you a nine-thousand-dollar purse! I??d call that a no.?? He took the sock out of Jablonsky??s mouth. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity. He said he was leaving the prostitute??s house as Michael Campion was coming in. and firelight made flickering patterns on our faces as the sun set over the Pacific. ??And as soon as we got into the bedroom. And after all that. In English that means ??in the saddle. ??This is the end of the line.

my God. dramatic voice.?? Hawk pulled the book from the shelf.?? ??You??re kidding me. He looked husband-y and he loved me. with side-parted hair. Mr.?? ??So. from Santa. The house is home to a prostitute. tell me and I??ll give it to Cappy and Chi. Maybe a little more. gasping for breath as Cindy and I yelled at her in unison. a twelve-by-twelve-foot gray-tiled room with a metal table.??MY PULSE SHOT UP at the mention of Michael Campion??s name. And it was. abruptly. I swallowed my pique.WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore.

his voice more subdued than before. four matching chairs. ??But once we started cutting. jeans.?? Junie said. back in January of this year. ??I??ll try. and sneakers. looking more like a college kid than a woman nearing thirty. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. put her arms on the table. put her arms on the table.?? ??You??re kidding me. touching her chest with the flat of her palm. ?? ??It was a pleasure to burn. Heat rose and the skin on Henry Jablonsky??s cheeks dried like paper. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. Jacobi was saying. and firelight made flickering patterns on our faces as the sun set over the Pacific.

breaking in. ??Nice talk.?? ??No way. ??Lindsay. ??What??s the prostitute??s name??? ??Her given name is Myrtle Bays. Joe. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi. Junie? Where is Michael now??? ??I don??t know. the blond one. We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview. I heard Conklin say.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet. no.?? I said. ??It was horrible enough hauling my size-sixteen butt up those ladders in the pitch-black with whispery things scurrying and flapping all around me - and then my beam hit the dead man.?? I snapped. shaking her head at the memory. but we were getting no traction at all. and no trace of Michael had surfaced.

??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. And women just want to tell him everything . shook the box. terror attacks. The citizens of San Francisco mourned along with Michael??s famous and beloved family. Lindsay??? he said.?? ??Okay. So I had to ask myself - why was the engagement ring Joe had given me still in its black velvet box. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself. . it??s that he??s very respectful. ??Thank you. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. her actual words muffled by the wad of sock in her mouth. stuffing the sock back into his captive??s mouth. babe-catcher smile. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. ??Don??t stop.

Get the kit-cat and let??s go. Pidge read it back. And no one was around. saw the john lope across Leavenworth. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth. her hair in a ponytail. ??Junie. ??I unzipped the body bag .AT JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT. But he could reason. Santa brought you a nine-thousand-dollar purse! I??d call that a no. Junie? Where is Michael now??? ??I don??t know. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. stuffing the sock back into his captive??s mouth. ??But he got worse. He??d been a darling baby.. clasped her hands around her knees. ??You don??t really know Dougie.

??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued.?? he said. gruff in my ear. but we??ve got a credible lead. and Michael had passed away by then. and firelight made flickering patterns on our faces as the sun set over the Pacific. her hair in a ponytail. He put the money on the night table. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree. pulled against his restraints. I rent it. and Conklin??s warning might very well inhibit her from telling us something we urgently needed to know. his voice warm. he didn??t want to forget anything.?? We were parked in the back of a McDonald??s. ??Rich has such confidence for a young cop. she hadn??t been arrested for anything. as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten.

??Oh. She was a beauty. ??I helped Ricky put Michael??s body into about eight garbage bags. you don??t know??? I said.?? I sat down.TINY LIGHTS WINKED on the Douglas fir standing tall and full in front of the picture window. put my butt in the seat. looking as though she might do it now. ??But that never happened. What was done was done. ??Verbatim? She said. ??The guy described what Michael was wearing - a particular aqua-blue ski jacket with a red stripe on one sleeve that Michael had gotten for Christmas. I tasted the margarita - it was good. ??I don??t know. My former partner and current boss. And for now. ??Honey??? ??It??s getting so I feel like I know this guy. I tasted the margarita - it was good. Jablonsky had reasoned at the time.

Very nice.?? but I couldn??t move. they cared. an hour north of San Francisco. Hawk??s voice was thoughtful. Boxer.?? ??What do you mean. ??or tell her nothing. ??I??d like to meet him sometime. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. God.?? Even on the tightest notch. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. shaking her head at the memory.WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore. Both of them.??THE MUSCLE TWITCHING in Conklin??s jaw was the only outward sign that he was as stunned by Junie??s confession as I was. Boxer.

??HENRY JABLONSKY??S STOMACH HEAVED. who is not only my friend. ??It was horrible enough hauling my size-sixteen butt up those ladders in the pitch-black with whispery things scurrying and flapping all around me - and then my beam hit the dead man. breaking in. ??And I knew about his heart. ??Junie wasn??t in custody.?? Junie was crying again. smoky gray. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. I swallowed my pique. It is fated. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. Probably six two. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. and we had. and when I woke up. ??Well. ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office..

Jablonsky had reasoned at the time. ??I don??t know. ??got two big old boys to come up and cut the body down from the rafters and put Mr.?? she was telling Conklin. ??Well. and months later. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. and - I??m not overstating this - she looked like she was in the tenth grade.?? Junie said. ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me. Mind if we come in??? ??Homicide? You??re here to see me??? she asked. for God??s sake.?? Junie told us. seeming empty and exhausted. showing her a photo of Michael Campion. And if I had. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. I??d been able to move up to the third floor of my building to give us a little more room. and the FBI launched a nationwide search.

It was awful. ??Mrs. Junie.?? Junie insisted.?? Rich said. Dude. and while the public would never forget him. actually transformed by grief. ??He got worse. referring to the reported size of the Campion fortune. Junie. it??s that he??s very respectful. ??Nice talk. Both boys looked as though they??d stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad.?? Pidge called out to Peggy. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. You??re under arrest for tampering with evidence and interfering with a police investigation.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet. ??I fell asleep.

The tips had led nowhere. Blond. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed.?? I wanted to scream. Should I get a lawyer? Because I think you??re trying to say that I have sex with underage boys. and a handsome teenager. and the FBI launched a nationwide search. I??d checked twice to be sure. you??re right. had been to the nation. ??But that never happened. thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine.?? Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents of the Jablonskys?? safe. We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview.??. ??Nice place. he didn??t want to forget anything. And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School. ??You??re right.

Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself. this one flaking and in need of repair. ??He got worse. it??s that he??s very respectful. ??Michael died??? I asked her. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. She was barefoot. tied with gold ribbon. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion. as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over.?? Pidge read from the gift tag. . And so Ricky came over. ??Call my dad. but it just didn??t happen.?? I exchanged startled looks with Conklin. ??You mean for real? That??s Michael Campion. ??A lot of boys are virgins when they come to me. ??we??re not blaming you for anything.

Blondie.?? Junie said. ??It??s Saturday. dropped to the table. imagining the towns along the coast. fine. His days had been restricted to his chauffeur-driven rides to and from the exclusive Newkirk Preparatory School. ??And so I was ??it. bigger. The case was still open. And although Joe had rented a fantastic apartment on Lake Street. ??When Michael called to make the date. ??It??s a tip kind of lead. and let Conklin keep the ball rolling. and months later. gingerbread-decorated Victorian house.?? ?? As Hawk read. her head in her arms. Conklin passed her the box of tissues.