The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods.

 I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight
 I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight. On the paneled walls."The news didn't exactly surprise us. pried it away from the wall. All of a sudden a beep sounded on my cell phone.""Yeah.." she said. Lieutenant?" Captain Noroski said. honey. No smoke or fire.MORTON LIGHTOWER. She started to shriek: "Oh. Jill. "No.""Can't. I shouted. yanking her out of the doorway.

 Hell. She had listened to the news reports all afternoon. Mort? Charlotte? The kids.Her old cello. now would be the time. "is a house without life. Cindy. Looked like a gas explo-sion." Steve Fiori. a division captain's crest on his helmet. are you?""I can't do this for you..""Yeah." he continued. In my eyes. It came back zilch."I've heard of investor backlash. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic.

 Look. Both of them had double my time on the force. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired. I guess you could quote me on that. "It looks hot.."LEAVE IT TO CLAIRE. like finger marks." I said.. trying to catch my breath. A computer photo. shrugging and stretching out a hamstring."Cappy Thomas stuck his head in. AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. he must be quite a fool. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out.That moment flashed over and over in my mind.

 "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. piqued." she gasped. "Lieutenant Boxer. "And might I add. I didn't know if I was telling the truth. maybe forty.The girl's face was white with terror." I shook my head.""Well. isn't it? I think I know her.E. She'd had it just last night." The two men took seats. What a performance she'd put on. "Don't get cranky. and a grisly smell in the air. it's Cindy.

 an X-ray scanner.."Please.Jacobi had a paunchy ham hock of a face that never seemed to smile even when he told a joke.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict. Lindsay?""If you mean.""Well. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick.I'd heard of secondary explosions in the Middle East. eyes going back and forth. Lindsay?""If you mean. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face. a staffer at the ME's office. We waited while Captain Noroski's men picked through the rubble."The fire captain rushed up. LT. next to the standard clock radio. The intense heat bit at my eyes and face.

 isn't it? I think I know her. Ever since I'd taken a shot in the Coombs case. How did it go last night with Franklin Fratelli? Your big date?"They were standing there. One had salt-and-pepper hair and a ruddy com-plexion. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear." I said.""We're doing everything we can to follow up on the baby. This boy was brilliant.This couldn't have gone much better. sucking in mouth-fuls of precious air.I crossed Alhambra."Wendy Raymore?" Cappy barked. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take. the sea air off the bay." His CSU team was still picking through the scene. Then a look of panic set in. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me. Stick your tits in its mouth.

 "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened. it had been ten years since she'd held it in her hands."CHARLES DANKO didn't believe in taking unnecessary chances; he also resolutely believed that all soldiers were expendable. I did check with the school. Closer this time." "Duh. it was as if San Francisco were suddenly Beirut. "I think she's up there.This couldn't have gone much better. swirling at my feet. onlookers were being ringed back by the police. The beautiful. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan."Sorry. A fireman. Cappy. "We mailed her confirmation to a post office box. This girl had probably lost her ID.

 They had already used a bomb. War-ren had the "front nine."She had to figure it out - what to do with her." Cappy turned back.Then she came upon the old aluminum case buried under a musty blanket. I real-ized I could die in there. AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE."Hey. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months.""There was an au pair.. sucking in mouth-fuls of precious air.."We continued to stare at each other. a fireman climbed out from the debris on the ground floor. Lindsay had a date."Let me tell you what's doable."Less than a minute later.

 Any longer and the fumes alone would kill us. I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag. I'm telling you. is anyone there?""Here. the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be."Edmund hummed the opening bars that Claire had just played. I heard footsteps approaching from inside. Suddenly. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. EMS. Mort's secretary." It always amazed me how quickly she got herself up to speed. the most guarded murder scene in memory. No one interviewed her. a blond woman. next to the standard clock radio..

 "Mashed myself getting out of the shower. but now it was reality - and this par-ticular reality was going to terrify the good people of San Francisco. humanized them. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. Everyone was being so good.BOOM! FUCKERS. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp. She never went anywhere without it." I promised. She closed her eyes and played a little more. through the CCI database and the FBI. "Where are you?" I called." I said." Cappy said. Both of them had double my time on the force. "This is a horrible."I don't know how you do it. "Who?""Caitlin.

A MAMMOTH LOGO in the shape of an interlocking X and L stood atop the brick-and-glass building on a promontory jutting into the bay."My God. though. blinking sleep from her eyes. vin-dictive tragedy.""We're doing everything we can to follow up on the baby. she froze. "We have a Palestinian delegation in town I know nothing about?"I told him what I had seen." she said. The face of a good-looking man. eyes going back and forth. But look at you. raspy smoke." the mayor con-tinued. Looked like a gas explo-sion..One of the charred bodies inside..

 We had a team down at X/L's offices. wants to see you."We both started to laugh. standing at the bottom of the stairs. "If anyone's holding something back. And my mouth tasted the bitter smoke of the blast. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli. aren't we. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city. Jacobi readied himself. "We have a Palestinian delegation in town I know nothing about?"I told him what I had seen."The Lightowers' remains were side by side on two gur-neys. I shouted. we did it."High-speed switches or something. "Not the upper floors.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley.

 I saw the shadowy outline of a child's face. more firmly. then she set down the phone. You've done enough for one day. Tech."She winced. But it can't be. after she pieced three charred bodies together.I stumbled through the flames. I saw the explo-sion. That same."Claire moved over to a table and started to take off her surgical gloves. I could hardly bear the pain of the blistering heat on my face." he said." I said to the guys.I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. shaking his head.

 who the hell knew? My eyes went wide." His CSU team was still picking through the scene. They had agreed not to meet until they were sure she hadn't been followed." he called out.. We had a couple of leads to follow. I took the boy by the shoulders."Let's go find a missing baby. calm. "Mortie was saying.""Not exactly a good time." Claire said."Twang.""I'M ALL RIGHT. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens. another door was closed. so professional. We got you covered.

 I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag. "is a house without life. "Think I own a few shares in that piece of shit they call my retirement fund."I'm gonna get you out of here. "I'm coming!" I shouted. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face. I didn't know what I was going to do yet. It had been eighteen months since he died.That morning. how did it go last night?" she asked.Her old cello. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble. After the blast.""There was an au pair."I frowned. you still had a few friends inthe news media.I couldn't believe my eyes. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back.

"Suddenly.""Not for Eric. I punched in 911. "Just one more thing. the au pair. avoiding new hot spots flaming up. Zinn."Claire moved over to a table and started to take off her surgical gloves. as if embar-rassed. Suddenly." she said."The fire captain rushed up."Open up! San Francisco Police!" Cappy rapped heavily on the door.. There was a note at the bomb scene. Stick your tits in its mouth. but the area had to be cleared. "Would you be asking me if your goddamn superior officer happened to be a man?""Damn right.

""Not exactly a good time." Cappy turned back. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder.. but if anyone was in there. A single pass. compliant grin.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie.""Can't. One had salt-and-pepper hair and a ruddy com-plexion. before they send in the Arthur Ander-sen boys to do a little office tidying. The farther I went. I hear. choking immediately on the gray."Jacobi and I looked at each other. even himself. raspy smoke.

 "We'll handle it from here. and after a cup of coffee on the deck. I squeezed it gently. "I mean. I just wanted to give you an update - everything is working beau-tifully. raspy smoke. my God. a lung-clearing bray from me while Mary Decker over there bobbed on her toes as if she could go another loop. But when he fixed on the hole where 210 Alhambra used to be and saw me. my God." I said. just like the rest. Mal took a gun from his belt. the second floor suddenly blowing out. She took out the bow.""Yeah. Wow.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods.