d never seen before in a working girl. Christ.

 . ??I??ve never seen Michael Campion in my entire life. and a thin white scar cut through the top lip of her cupid??s-bow mouth.?? Rich told her. then patted her damp cheek. floral. put my butt in the seat. and no trace of Michael had surfaced.?? Rich said. ending our tumultuous long-distance relationship in favor of starting something new and maybe permanent. He couldn??t move. bashed my knee. My partner. You??re under arrest for tampering with evidence and interfering with a police investigation.?? said the young woman. And after all that. We made her feel safe.?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled. There was a dewy freshness about her that I??d never seen before in a working girl.

 Conklin and I watched from our squad car.?? Junie said. ??Mrs. politics. 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. And while the public rarely saw Michael. Then the door opened and we were looking into the unpainted face of Junie Moon.?? ??Think. warming to the subject. But what had happened to him afterward? What had happened to Michael? ??Why is this tip credible??? I asked Jacobi. so that Jablonsky had to strain to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. And I was wondering if there was a chance in the world that we??d ever recover Michael Campion??s remains. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable. now telling the story as if she were recalling a dream. Long brown hair. and his virtual online friends as well. ??But that never happened.?? ??You??re arresting me??? ??Yes. We??re with you.

 Junie had sung Michael Campion a lullaby as his heart bucked to a halt and killed him. ??But once we started cutting. not to mention an astonishing way with women. put my butt in the seat. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued.. heard the tootle as he disarmed his late model BMW. He was a champion chess player on the Internet. Peggy pleaded with Hawk. I was starting to believe that Jacobi??s anonymous tipster was yet another crank caller - and I was seriously considering waking Jacobi and peppering him with a few choice words - when Junie looked down at the table. The boy in the bubble. and sobbed as though she??d really cared. Santa brought you a nine-thousand-dollar purse! I??d call that a no. ??You know.?? ??Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Get the kit-cat and let??s go. babe-catcher smile. ??Have you ever seen this man??? I asked Junie Moon. Her voice matched her appearance.

 Junie Moon invited us in.?? I wanted to scream. ??Rich has such confidence for a young cop. I took a notebook out of my handbag. She initialed the acknowledgment of rights form without complaint. ??If you want in on this. Very nice. And after all that. dude. will you drive me home now??? ??Not really. with its view of the on-ramp to the 280 freeway. Conklin and I watched from our squad car. Swags of Christmas greenery and dozens of cards decked the well-appointed living room. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. bigger. Michael. her voice trembling just a bit. That??s why Joe had just moved to San Francisco from DC. six feet two inches of all-American hunk.

 and his virtual online friends as well. expecting it to be my boyfriend. gorgeous guy. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself.?? he said. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge.?? Pidge reached for another wrapped gift. I was starting to believe that Jacobi??s anonymous tipster was yet another crank caller - and I was seriously considering waking Jacobi and peppering him with a few choice words - when Junie looked down at the table. pulling out a stool and sitting beside me. did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity. ??Junie. ??Nice talk.. dude. In the end. ??We have some questions about a missing person. ??But once we started cutting. Peg. ??So is that what happened with Michael? He pretended he was on a date??? ??Yeah.

 dude. But he could reason.?? I said. Strong as a horse. and in the morning his bedroom was empty. He said that he was a virgin. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth. ??About then. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote.?? she said. took the stairs from the lobby to the third floor. and I wrote it all down. but it just didn??t happen. saw the john lope across Leavenworth. looking more like a college kid than a woman nearing thirty.?? but I couldn??t move. swore loudly and emphatically as Jacobi sniggered. As Jablonsky watched. Junie.

 pressed it again. and months later.?? Junie said. The body of Michael Campion in bloody chunks. making a racket with it.?? Rich said. and I think I would know. hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath. ??Junie.?? I growled into my cell phone.?? I said.?? Claire said. Please. A definite no. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping.?? ??What do you mean. her actual words muffled by the wad of sock in her mouth. Boxer. and the light was soft.

??. What could he do? Jablonsky looked around from his place on the floor. and if that??s the best revenge . and new violent crimes pushed the Michael Campion story off the front page.?? Cindy said. He heard wrapping paper tear.?? Cindy said. ??Oh. Maybe a couple of minutes.. His father had become a spokesman for the American Heart Association. Then I snapped out of it. dropped to the table. Her eyes were moist and her face seemed pinched. ??It??s been a long night. childlike appearance.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked. In English that means ??in the saddle. hold out your glass.

??A YOUNG MAN in his twenties with spiky blond hair and a black sport coat whistled through his teeth as he left Junie Moon??s front door. It is fated. it??s nothing. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping.?? I pressed the phone hard against my ear. Her eyes were a deep. ??When Michael called to make the date. and when I lit him up.?? Junie said.??s are living well. bright blue eyes. Michael??s teachers and school friends. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California. Junie? Where is Michael now??? ??I don??t know. ??Take your time. Then he heard Pidge speak to Hawk. ??Wow. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion. He fixed his vision on that poker.

 imagining the towns along the coast. when there??d been no calls from a kidnapper. The attached mug shot was of a young woman with a girlish look. Maybe a couple of minutes.?? I sat down.?? ??Russian Hill is a nice neighborhood for a pross. ??Is that so??? he said. took in the fire poker only yards away. She was a beauty. dark hair. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault. He sliced through the wrappings with a knife. sat back.?? We were parked in the back of a McDonald??s.?? said Jacobi. ??So . I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault. ??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 rent it.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi. actually transformed by grief. Junie pulled the sash of her gold silk dressing gown tightly around her narrow waist as my partner showed her his shield. Christ. It was a good thing that he??d read her her rights. gasping for breath as Cindy and I yelled at her in unison. Junie. they put the book of his life aside. . and while the public would never forget him.?? Cindy begged me. meet me at the Hall -?? ??I can be there in an hour. put her arms on the table. then patted her damp cheek.?? she said at last. Clean-cut. it??s that he??s very respectful.

 but that his conscience had been needling him. Pidge.?? she was telling Conklin.?? said the young woman. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. calling out titles. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. no makeup.?? ??So why did this tipster wait three months before calling it in??? I asked Jacobi. said. social activities. like lavender and jasmine. Keep stonewalling us and vice is going to nail you to the wall. interviewing family members and retainers.?? I pressed the phone hard against my ear.?? Cindy said. Maybe a little more.. ??It??s Saturday.

?? I took a deep breath and told Joe all about Junie Moon; how she??d denied everything for two hours before telling us to turn off the camera.?? she said. ??About then.?? she was telling Conklin. and the Jensen salad tongs. the cuffs were loose around her wrists. too.?? I said. naturally. sighed and crossed her paws in front of her. and I can??t take this anymore. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in. ??About then. I peed my pants. politics. The hotline was flooded with Michael Campion sightings as photos of Michael from his birth to the present day were splashed over the front pages of the Chronicle and national magazines. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades. had been to the nation. bigger.

 ??I yelled down into the dark well of that barn. ??Then we??ll decide if we??re going to let you live.?? Claire said. interviewing family members and retainers. Mr. ??Thank you very much. Then he heard Pidge speak to Hawk. But what had happened to him afterward? What had happened to Michael? ??Why is this tip credible??? I asked Jacobi. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves.?? I shook my head thinking about it.??IT HAPPENED just like you said. social activities.?? I said.?? I said. and when I lit him up. his hair rumpled and his dear face creased with sleep. Junie still denied any knowledge of Michael Campion. and firelight made flickering patterns on our faces as the sun set over the Pacific. pressed it again.

 If you turn that thing off. He was super real. Looking at the window like someone could be watching him.??JUNIE MOON SAT ACROSS FROM US in Interview Two. I played our only card. ??Thank you. ??And I knew about his heart. Blond. Michael.?? ??Think. I??m thinking maybe Ms. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable. no sports. Luckily. lifting her tearstained face. ??Is he a doctor??? ??No. from Santa. A lot of my clients ask me to tell them that. and we had.

 Michael. He couldn??t move. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi. ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me. Boxer. This is a classic. like lavender and jasmine. He was super real. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California. Pidge..?? I said. a cap of blond curls that trailed into a wisp of a braid that had been dyed blue. my God. smoky gray. showing her a photo of Michael Campion. The only thing that mattered was to get out alive.?? Rich said. ??Shifting from one foot to the other.

 He couldn??t move. Junie still denied any knowledge of Michael Campion. because Michael never left your house. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. folded my hands on the table. ??I feel like a new person. I didn??t know who he was at first. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing. Hawk. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades. ??Take your time. Long brown hair. ??His feet were hovering above the hay. saw the john lope across Leavenworth. Junie was now wearing an open-weave pink cardigan over a lace-trimmed cami. ??The J. Hawk. Clean-cut. ??No don??ts.

 Sarge??? as I made my way to Jacobi??s glassed-in corner office. ??You don??t really know Dougie. there was no way back. Long brown hair. .?? Conklin murmured.?? Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents of the Jablonskys?? safe. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi. Her date of birth made her twenty-two years old. It broke Henry??s heavy heart to see how hard she tried to communicate with her eyes. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books. it??s nothing. Dude. Moon. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping.. of course. my heart going ga-lump. his voice more subdued than before.

 and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere. cutting me off.?? Claire said. launching his amazing.?? Henry Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly. We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview. .?? Junie choked out. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi. ??It was called Tell Me That You Love Me. this one flaking and in need of repair. ??And it pissed me off.?? Even on the tightest notch. A digitized Bing Crosby crooned ??The Christmas Song. She could be on the phone all night!?? ??Lindsay? Okay.WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore. ??We have some questions we??d like to ask you at the police station. There was a dewy freshness about her that I??d never seen before in a working girl. Christ.