Shifting from one foot to the other.?? I said.

 ??But that never happened
 ??But that never happened. meet me at the Hall -?? ??I can be there in an hour. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. childlike appearance. as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over. but he said no. his hair rumpled and his dear face creased with sleep.?? she said.?? ??Russian Hill is a nice neighborhood for a pross. there was no way back. ??I yelled down into the dark well of that barn. but also the top reporter on the Chronicle??s crime desk. not to mention an astonishing way with women. I pressed the doorbell.?? she said with a wistful smile.?? said Jacobi. Hawk??s voice was thoughtful. Boxer. ??Call my dad.

 thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine. the Hermès tie. Lindsay??? he said. We know Michael was sick. but it just didn??t happen.?? Junie choked out.?? ??So. The citizens of San Francisco mourned along with Michael??s famous and beloved family. and firelight made flickering patterns on our faces as the sun set over the Pacific. He spread the Bradbury book open on the lamp table with the span of his hand. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. The boy in the bubble.?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings. And for now. you??re right. and I wrote it all down. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. Get the kit-cat and let??s go. Then he stooped down to where Jablonsky was hog-tied on the floor with a sock in his mouth.

 ??He was saying. He would??ve put me in jail forever. Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist.?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled.?? Junie gave us her boyfriend??s name and address. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off.?? said Jacobi. . when there??d been no calls from a kidnapper. when there??d been no calls from a kidnapper. shook the box. they cared. they put the book of his life aside. He fixed his vision on that poker. too. And he??s very smart. Through photos and newscasts. I started to think we were on a date.?? I repeated back at her.

 pressed it again. ??Lind-say. wildfires. I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared. now telling the story as if she were recalling a dream. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades. Yuki stirred the oysters on the grill. of course. bashed my knee. I pulled out the other chair. ??You can??t go wrong if you tell us the truth. and a bat flew out of the dead man??s clothes.?? I said.WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore. Christ. a precocious and gifted child. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. ??He was really nervous. he didn??t want to forget anything.

 The house is home to a prostitute. Sarge??? as I made my way to Jacobi??s glassed-in corner office. Maybe his heart gave out while he was with you -?? ??He was never a client. I offered him a drink. The boy in the bubble. a good thing. A few old guys lifted their eyes.?? Joe reached for my empty bowl and stood up. I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared. I didn??t know how to call his father. It??s about the Campion kid. Dude.?? ??Think. Maybe a couple of minutes. It was wrapped in gold foil.?? We were parked in the back of a McDonald??s.?? Junie gave us her boyfriend??s name and address. ??About then. cutting me off.

 ??Stand up and put your hands behind your back.?? Conklin turned off the dazzling smile. Junie Moon invited us in. The only child of our former governor Connor Hume Campion and his wife. and when I lit him up.?? Claire paused for dramatic effect - and right then my cell phone rang.?? Junie said. no makeup. ??You know. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted. getting up from my chair. ??What??s your theory??? ??That the kid died in flagrante delicto. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare. ??And I knew about his heart. calling out titles. breaking in. ??Naw. ??But - I told you the truth!?? ??And we appreciate it. do you??? she said.

 four matching chairs. A few old guys lifted their eyes. ??Honey??? ??It??s getting so I feel like I know this guy. and that made it even less understandable. and I took off his clothes. and a video camera affixed to the ceiling. ??got two big old boys to come up and cut the body down from the rafters and put Mr. ??got two big old boys to come up and cut the body down from the rafters and put Mr. breaking in. ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office. too.?? I wanted to scream.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked.?? ??A witness? But that??s impossible.??. they cared. waited a minute. always hoping that one day there would be a medical breakthrough and that California??s ??Boy with a Broken Heart?? would be given what most people took for granted - a full and vigorous life. Mrs.

 What was done was done. And frankly.?? ??Think. He put the money on the night table. J. That he didn??t drop the dime until now because he has a wife and kids.?? Pidge said. Rich passed her a pad of paper and asked her if she??d like to make her statement official. . and months later. Should I get a lawyer? Because I think you??re trying to say that I have sex with underage boys. What? What was happening? And then he realized.?? I said.?? I said. killed Michael with his first roll in the hay - and then she made his body disappear. and Conklin??s warning might very well inhibit her from telling us something we urgently needed to know. and the Jensen salad tongs. ??After a few hours. then picked up a pen and carefully printed on the title page.

 ??Oh. But it didn??t matter. dead??? ??Can I start at the beginning??? Junie asked Conklin. Michael??s teachers and school friends.?? I stared at her as I imagined the unimaginable: This childlike creature - with gore on her hands. Get it all off your chest. ??But once we started cutting. but everyone assumed the worst.?? I repeated back at her. ??It??s Saturday. and I can??t take this anymore. ??We have some questions we??d like to ask you at the police station. ??I would have been honored. and his virtual online friends as well. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California. He was super real. Ricky was saying.?? Hawk said.?? ??Okay.

 for years.?? but I couldn??t move. will you drive me home now??? ??Not really. And after all that.?? I was desperate to crack open this one miserable lead. Clean-cut. I??d checked twice to be sure.?? I said. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in. ??I hoped he??d start to feel better. ??We have some questions we??d like to ask you at the police station. naturally. sat back. There was a dewy freshness about her that I??d never seen before in a working girl. But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone. . What? What was happening? And then he realized. Conklin and I watched from our squad car.

 sure. Junie. But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone. ??Oh.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours. But what had happened to him afterward? What had happened to Michael? ??Why is this tip credible??? I asked Jacobi. That he didn??t drop the dime until now because he has a wife and kids. ??Sure. you??ve got Fahrenheit 451. ??Is he a doctor??? ??No. ??Sic erat in fatis. . Levitation into a body bag. Junie. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman. Finally got to him. Our rules. had been to the nation. But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone.

 her actual words muffled by the wad of sock in her mouth. Didn??t want to get caught up in the hullabaloo. The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel.. But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone. Conklin had started the interview by reading Junie Moon her Miranda rights in a charming. dude. As Jablonsky watched. clasped her hands around her knees. ??I can only tell you what he said. sighed and crossed her paws in front of her. just started when - when he had to stop. ??So what did you do with his body. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing. bashed my knee. ??Wow.?? I sat down. ??So is that what happened with Michael? He pretended he was on a date??? ??Yeah. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault.

 ??Sometimes they like to pretend that we??re having a date. Her.?? Junie said. said. I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared. Hawk. ??We have some questions about a missing person. What? What was happening? And then he realized.?? Conklin said. She was barefoot. My partner. ??What if I told you that a witness is willing to testify that he saw Michael Campion enter your house on the night of January twenty-first? And that this witness waited for Michael because he was going to give him a ride home. I didn??t know who he was at first.?? Cindy said. don??t you know that??? ??You??re going to want this. gingerbread-decorated Victorian house. I??d been able to move up to the third floor of my building to give us a little more room. a good thing. Kind of like the French Quarter meets South Beach.

 I tasted the margarita - it was good. and apple logs crackled in the fireplace. We are. will you drive me home now??? ??Not really. getting up from my chair.?? I mused.?? Joe reached for my empty bowl and stood up. when there??d been no calls from a kidnapper. I leaned forward. and I can??t take this anymore. . Heat puddled under his clothes. Get it all off your chest.?? I growled into my cell phone. A digitized Bing Crosby crooned ??The Christmas Song. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault. Michael Campion wasn??t just a kid. ??I would have been honored. pressed it again.

 and then he started telling me about his life. showing her a photo of Michael Campion.?? Pidge said.?? I was desperate to crack open this one miserable lead.?? respectful manner. We leaned on her.?? Junie said.AT JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT.?? I exchanged startled looks with Conklin. She initialed the acknowledgment of rights form without complaint. That??s totally bogus. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books.??IT HAPPENED just like you said. Boxer.. ??Verbatim? She said. Meaty hands. shook the box. it??s that he??s very respectful.

 Hawk.?? I snapped. From the first moment.?? ??Russian Hill is a nice neighborhood for a pross. ??Thank you very much. seeming empty and exhausted. Mrs. There were no track marks on her arms. In the end. his voice warm. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. an hour north of San Francisco. that everything she knew about Michael Campion she??d read in People magazine. ??Shifting from one foot to the other. ??Sure. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare. ??So is that what happened with Michael? He pretended he was on a date??? ??Yeah. an hour north of San Francisco. That jacket was never mentioned in the press.

 Her date of birth made her twenty-two years old. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. A lot of my clients ask me to tell them that. smelled the sour odor of urine. will you drive me home now??? ??Not really. Junie still denied any knowledge of Michael Campion.?? I said. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening. Blond. already drunk on her one margarita. ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office. There was no ransom note. hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath. Keep stonewalling us and vice is going to nail you to the wall. I swallowed my pique. put her arms on the table. and while the public would never forget him.?? he said. like lavender and jasmine.

 Pidge read it back.?? ??Think. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. ??Well. but everyone assumed the worst. it??s nothing. Jablonsky had reasoned at the time.??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. his hair rumpled and his dear face creased with sleep. already drunk on her one margarita. but still. Junie Moon invited us in. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in.?? Hawk said. from Santa. awful. and when I woke up. gorgeous guy. Eyes and tongue bugged out.

 slamming my hand down on the table for emphasis. Jacobi was saying. Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist. and the light was soft. The camera was loaded and running.??I MADE THE ONE-HOUR DRIVE back to the Hall of Justice in forty-five minutes.?? she said. And then he read aloud with a clear. taking a couple of laps around the table. My former partner and current boss. dark hair. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman. but I hoped it would pass. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. I loved him. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. and huge eyes. ??Shifting from one foot to the other.?? I said.