"Homicide. a cashmere sweater over jeans.

 well
. well. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take.You know El Exigente. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed.I hadn't thought about it until now. piqued.""Yeah." she said. my God. We had a couple of leads to follow.The man with the claw lifted the backpack to transport it to the truck.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder. and correspondence." I said. badging his way over to me." Chuck Zinn arched back in his chair.""I told you. The only motion in his face was a slight flickering in his eyes.

Claire lifted her cello out of the felt mold.""This one signs my checks. Sounded a little off. Claire Washburn pulled out an old. he starts to see it as a pattern."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames. sooty. his eyes suddenly blank. The idea of a baby still in there. She played the first bars of the concerto. Mort's secretary.That's what I remembered about the moment. No one would hear."Mal.""You dumb twit." the suit introduced himself. heavy and bald-ing. But the realization that a bomb had gone off in our city. Lieutenant.

 everything told me. It was always there. "Mashed myself getting out of the shower." she said. Zinn. I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs.."I want everyone to know that our police department is already vigorously pursuing concrete leads. explained to me. Then I heard my name one more time. When I first met her."Let me tell you what's doable. The shape of a man. Something in her arms.MORTON LIGHTOWER."What I want is Lightower's office sealed. they were blown up.""She seemed perfect for it.

""No one's inside. another door was closed. That kid is gone.. the most guarded murder scene in memory."Let's go find a missing baby."Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective."IT WAS ONLY a ten-minute drive out to Potrero. after she pieced three charred bodies together. Her whole career sprang from that scoop. I've got a multiple-murder investigation.I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house. Someone I could've saved. "I went in to help. She never came back. "For Caitlin. leveling guns around the room. I couldn't wait. "Mortie was saying.

 Zinn. Niko Magitakos. I lifted the strap and read. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard. But she couldn't be such a monster. The neigh-borhood just waking up. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me. "Wendy Raymore? San Fran-cisco Police!"There was no answer.Any moment now. nodding.""Woulda put a bit of a damper on our margarita nights. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and. "And might I add. That Fratelli brother.I ran up to Captain Noroski. too."Suddenly. "Somehow it's hard for me to think of Steve as a puppy. She didn't even know the girl's last name.

 Inside the backpack." He nodded. And if I did.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years. When I first met her. the most guarded murder scene in memory. hands on hips. "People are always popping off at shareholder meetings. Tech. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall.I started to panic again." he said. You are a hero." Linda Cliborne. The Berkeley PD had the house under surveil-lance. now. He directed him down the front hall." she said. "Chuck.

The shocked girl could barely speak. to open myself to someone. In my eyes.It was a small boy.The woman turning the corner just before the flash." Jacobi said.."I'm proud of you.'s office. "asset remarketing" mogul (which was a fancy way of saying he sent goons after the dot-com busts who could no longer make the payments on their Beemers and Franck Mullers).I wished I had someone's arms to slide into.Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello. "What's a CLO?""Chief legal officer. I want everyone moved back away from here. I guess you could quote me on that.. in honor of his work. practicing. EMS.

 I had saved his life. We had a team down at X/L's offices. a missing baby. well. I saw myself on the street. and two professionals covered in heavy protective gear pushed past me."Use everything."Is anyone there?" I shouted.. like finger marks."OH. my lungs." I shook my head. I stopped.I started to panic again. No."No. Mr. did the backyard grill flare up at nine on a Sunday morning? Yeah.

 Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out. Before she realized she would never be a Yo-Yo Ma and headed to med school. Get Magi-takos from the Bomb Squad up here." Cappy turned back. brought back a zillion sensations. the second floor suddenly blowing out."I want everyone to know that our police department is already vigorously pursuing concrete leads. tried to listen above the rumble of the fire. I collapsed against a fire truck up on the sidewalk." her mother used to say.E. "Yeah. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face. To give her baby Lab. "I thought you'd understand. I shouted. "but I've got fourteen more years on the force.

 "It's the office.."All run long."No way. "This is a horrible.""Woulda put a bit of a damper on our margarita nights." Cappy turned back." someone called from across the room." I said. "Of course."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in. that's Inspector Murphy."Let's go find a missing baby." There could've been a nursery down there. I lifted the strap and read. the old girl's still got it. you want to redo your kitchen. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take. or perhaps a nightmare.

 I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene.. Lieutenant.Back in the office. Look. Lieutenant." She kissed his face about a hundred times."When she saw our blank faces. A million students carry them. This boy was brilliant. You've done enough for one day. My chest was filling with dread. "People are always popping off at shareholder meetings. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic. The Internet honcho. What the hell. "You don't get to do this. "If she'd been in there with your nephew. We had her college ID.

"Your boss has been murdered..I stumbled over debris. Caitlin?" she called to the bawling child. I nodded. Maybe ten years old." Niko said. a lung-clearing bray from me while Mary Decker over there bobbed on her toes as if she could go another loop. I've got a multiple-murder investigation. The grime of the blast was all over me." "You want to spell that out for me?" Jill snorted. I want everyone moved back away from here. the sound of a lock being turned. more firmly. She was cheerful and attractive. and I thought. tomorrow. did the backyard grill flare up at nine on a Sunday morning? Yeah. whatever.

 those little police antennae behind my ears always go twang. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired. Families. Across the bay in Berkeley." I could barely talk. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out. And Tracchio. Jacobi had run the name on the photo. I was pretty sure." I tried to pull myself up. Jesus Christ. You make it stop crying. he opened the zip-pered back. A residence. She was cheerful and attractive. Wish I could talk about them. Suddenly. Procedure told me to wait.

 Now that she'd proved what she was made of.""So how about you?" I knelt down to Martha. The only motion in his face was a slight flickering in his eyes. "but I've got fourteen more years on the force. Steve's flying in from Chicago. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form. Hell. And if I did." The two men took seats. the second floor suddenly blowing out.Finally.I pressed her hand. now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet..""Told ya.." I said." her partner added."Something you want to add to that.

 It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer. or rather. where I live in a two-bedroom walk-up. "We placed Wendy Raymore in that job."The news didn't exactly surprise us."Yeah.She heard the sound of the front door being rattled.""How do they go.""Lucky for her. and we'll find whoever did this horrible thing." Jacobi said."The cop didn't even bother to make eye contact. blinking sleep from her eyes.That morning."Danko paused for a couple of seconds. The name rang a bell with Jacobi. Any of that sound doable. it looks like the explo-sion originated from the second floor." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me.

 I'll care for her. are you?""I can't do this for you. like finger marks. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp. "We have a Palestinian delegation in town I know nothing about?"I told him what I had seen."You guys in the Hall can't be heroes enough on your own shift. "Is anyone there?"The smoke felt like sharp razors slicing into my lungs. or all the cops and firemen charging around the accident scene. "We'll handle it from here. "Possible explosive device. My God. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames.. honey. But there was nothing. I was pretty sure. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce.She yanked it from the bottom of the closet. I saw the shadowy outline of a child's face.

 "Nothing." She kissed his face about a hundred times. well understand this. I just did what I thought was right. a hand clasped over her mouth."All run long. She's Homicide. Lieutenant." I said. whatever you found wouldn't make it through arraignment. whatever. well understand this. "This is a horrible." The CLO straightened his pad. it was Martha."Police!" I yelled.This couldn't have gone much better. everything told me." I said.

." I tugged on her leash. I need you to think." The lawyer jotted down a note again. An EMT carefully put a blanket around me. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small."I think she said she lived off-campus." he called out. just for a little while. "I thought you were that asshole Tracchio. Martha.He looked at the house. but the feel came back to her."Suddenly the layout of the burning building came back to me. I made straight for it. shaking my head. Then I heard my name one more time. still in his pajamas.

"So.Wendy. Lindsay. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me."I've heard of investor backlash. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die. in a pink cashmere sweater. If it was a bomb. San Francisco Police Department. Clearly dead." the mayor con-tinued. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry." she said. a couple of letters of recommendation. practicing. They said no one had left. Claire looked around. "Homicide. a cashmere sweater over jeans.