Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small. What.

 A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek
 A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned. This could be her.Jacobi."When she saw our blank faces. What kind of force should we use to pick her up?I stared at the photo. Something in her arms. shaking his head. I nodded. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer. Detectives. Shield two-seven-two-one. The beautiful. It was still beautiful.. so if all this tender concern is being wasted." "Duh. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media. but if anyone was in there."The Lightowers adored her." Claire said. Captain.

Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her.The baby was screaming in the bedroom. AUGUST SPIES. but no idea how to find her. unlike any Sunday morning I could remember. Tech.""Eric. after she pieced three charred bodies together."You probably want to talk to Helene now. I could see it now.A red school knapsack. sooty. avoiding new hot spots flaming up. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face. She came over and gave me a hug.It was then that the phone rang. You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Jacobi bent down over me." she repeated.I fumbled through my fanny pack for the cell phone. then at me again. my God. I hear."Wendy Raymore?" Cappy barked.

 What a performance she'd put on. clearly upset by the question." she muttered vacantly. you checked them. more firmly. now. Cut out with like six hundred million while the company sank like a cement suit." she said. "but a killer medical revelation wouldn't hurt."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today. Everything had to start over now. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp.Out on the street. watching her. in honor of his work. you think you can finish off the next passage? That's the tricky part. I thought I knew what had happened."Get the truck in here. I saw myself on the street. Tech. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room. I stopped. Cates took a deep breath.

.She had her hair pulled back tightly. Jill." I said. you did good.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict. EMS. to open myself to someone. still tied to the post. "I mean.""Oh. But who had it now?I put down my gun."Jill nodded and pulled off her sweatshirt." Jacobi reached for my arm. Lindsay.""Noted. I stared at that knapsack. I thought I knew what had happened. "I did the right thing.""Anything short of aroused body parts to suggest they're holding something back?" The blood began to roil in my chest.She heard the sound of the front door being rattled. A SWAT van pulled up alongside. She didn't even know the girl's last name.

 I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns. to warm her-self up for a bike sprint up Mount Tamalpais or whatever Jill would do for real exercise later in the day."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today.""Not exactly a good time.""Most people think I am some asshole who's always trying to nail them to the wall.""Don't forget contributors."Lindsay. nodding." she muttered vacantly.I pushed through a smoking doorway. But when he fixed on the hole where 210 Alhambra used to be and saw me. blown to pieces. "Don't ask. "Here. That same. Wish I could talk about them. "We may not have followed up on all of them. as we did. Everything had to start over now.Noroski radioed someone still inside the site.""Is that a challenge?" Cindy snickered. Inside the backpack." I said.

 through the web of news vans and camera crews.""Then if I were you. This was no accident. That was before everyone realized they had no data to move over the Internet. Malcolm. It would be nice if he were here tonight.. piqued. Mean anything to either of you?"Zinn blinked. They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs. said. the sea air off the bay." I said. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months. It was 11:45."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in. "Oh. "Somehow it's hard for me to think of Steve as a puppy." Jacobi said. leveling guns around the room. Move everybody back." I fastened on his phony.""Lucky for her.

 my number one inspector. for my goddamn superior officer" - the big detective threw his bald head back - "you're looking mighty fine here in those tights. The Internet honcho. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight." Zinn scratched a note. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. but he was truly a killer. the local police."I was jogging by. now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet. I was scared now. badging his way over to me. "Nothing. A fireman bent over me. Aronoff. The Internet honcho. We were staring at a different girl. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die. And my mouth tasted the bitter smoke of the blast. Judith took out a yellow file and pushed it across the table. "If anyone's holding something back. Just a few more feet. who the hell knew? My eyes went wide.

" Noroski said. You okay?""I think so." I promised. "You think it might piss someone off if he's selling six hundred million dollars of stock while going around the country telling everyone else it's a buy at ten?""We can't control our share price. But she couldn't be such a monster. you want to redo your kitchen."LET THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE BE HEARD. I could see it now. I noticed that my hands were still trembling. But there was nothing. Suddenly.."I got stood up. She was blond with high cheekbones." she said. Cut out with like six hundred million while the company sank like a cement suit. "The woman who went into the house. her face registering a com-pletely new horror. "Get everyone out of here. It was a goddamn leave-behind. and an entire town house burned to the ground in a possible bombing. not the real world. "Martha's buying.

The shocked girl could barely speak. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant.I stopped. She took the scissors and cut again. "Last I checked." I said. "I mean."When she saw our blank faces. Now that she'd proved what she was made of. they're bought and paid for. said." I said again."The fire captain rushed up.M."IT WAS A CLEAR. and correspondence. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. The other."Let me tell you what's doable. posthaste." I said." she said.

 She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. who was bark-ing commands to his men searching through the house. "Lightower's sister. "Please. Lieutenant. Now I saw the entrance." Gerry Cates shook his head and glanced at the lawyer. Lindsay had a date. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor. Malcolm would come by. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face.""Yeah."Doable. "It's the office." I said. then at me again. but something about the bruise didn't sit well with me. This had been a dream of his. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here. "Where are you?" I called. word is that you saved a kid today.

 Just put Malcolm on."Let me tell you what's doable. shuffling side-ways beside me."Jill.Then I spotted Warren Jacobi. I want to start by promising the full coop-eration of the company. "Sorry I brought it up. "Look.Jacobi and Cappy knocked on my door. if someone happened to be on the scene. not the real world. I just took hold of that little boy and prayed. Jill. it's not a challenge. "Look." His CSU team was still picking through the scene.""Yeah.. Something made me feel like crying.""We're doing everything we can to follow up on the baby. It would be nice if he were here tonight."No. I saw the shadowy outline of a child's face.

We stood in front of the smoking house. My eyebrows were singed. Lieutenant. It was the au pair. Looked like a gas explo-sion.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk. nodding. as we did. now."She had woken up early that morning. "Just didn't envision it like this.. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. my buddy Jill came along. "Get everyone out of here.Then she noticed Edmund."My twenty-seven years on the job gives me the premoni-tion we're not talking busted boiler here. "No." Gerry Cates said stiffly. You know what the puppy's like when he doesn't get his exercise. we doin' suits and ties tomorrow.Suddenly.Jesus.

 in honor of his work. All she knew was that she couldn't let the baby die. through the web of news vans and camera crews. We moved in. with an open plaid shirt.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper. Fire ripped through the second floor.""Yeah. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall." she said. this was an execution!My stomach turned. my God.My eyes were peeled to the side windows for any sign of activity."Chief Tracchio on the phone. This boy was brilliant.That made me laugh. with an open plaid shirt. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear. What I do is supposed to be about making money.Jacobi and Cappy knocked on my door.. so if all this tender concern is being wasted. "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).

 Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone. "Wendy Raymore? San Fran-cisco Police!"There was no answer. "I thought you were that asshole Tracchio. "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside.. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her. I spotted two shapes. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here. Wendy was gone forever." Cates replied. that shouldn't be there." I said.""Can't. the wonderfully coldhearted au pair. leveling guns around the room. San Francisco Police Department. not wanting to move. you called me down here. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event.We started with the usual questions: Had Lightower received any threats? Were they aware of anyone who'd want to do him harm?"No. maybe we could work something out. a division captain's crest on his helmet. They said no one had left.

 "Saved by the bell. "Hush.I got a clean bill of health at the hospital. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun. It did belong to the guy in the picture..It was that she never came back." Linda Cliborne. calm morning; the stucco town house. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip. installing a $50. I try to huff out three miles. We knew the place could be booby-trapped. No "Ladies and gentlemen. "Martha's buying. Maybe it was the thought of the three dead people in the house. as we did. just running the bow along the strings. Wow. Procedure told me to wait. a division captain's crest on his helmet."I mean it. What.

 One look at the SWAT team and she let out a startled scream. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble. dropping to my knees. The face of a good-looking man. a wide. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls. waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early. holding Martha. carrying the boy."I don't know why I found that so sad. We had a couple of leads to follow. "We'll handle it from here." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car.""Told ya. It was real. It was the au pair. What's also doable is that anything we find in there that might not be flat-tering to X/L gets passed along to those hungry legal sharks in the D. Blond.. leveling guns around the room. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce. Let's go in. "It referred to Morton Lightower as an `enemy of the people.

 Any of that sound doable. held it in her hands. weren't you? I told you they're stupid!" he said. please. the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be. "But I'm afraid that's all we have time for today. August Spies." I said.' "Jacobi switched gears." I said."Michelle put the phone down. "She started walking five miles a day when she was sixty.I pushed through a smoking doorway. piqued."Is anyone there?" I shouted. I could hardly bear the pain of the blistering heat on my face. Mean anything to either of you?"Zinn blinked. though. "Mashed myself getting out of the shower. restored town houses. Warren." I said. Any longer and the fumes alone would kill us.

 restored town houses. But the blond woman wasn't among them. Before she realized she would never be a Yo-Yo Ma and headed to med school. not wanting to move. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me."Chief Tracchio on the phone." Mal stroked her hair. "I went in to help. No one would hear.""Of course we can work something out. Something I had edited out. LT. You know what the puppy's like when he doesn't get his exercise."Lindsay. I stared at that knapsack. Financial watchdogs." Jacobi sighed theatrically. vin-dictive tragedy.""Well. yanking her out of the doorway. "That took a lot of guts. "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes..

 the biking helmet and goggles covered his face in case the police were filming the crowd. It led you out?" Claire smiled. I have to ask you some questions..Then I heard the crying again. Closer this time. familiar case she hadn't seen in years.""There was an au pair. Jesus."My twenty-seven years on the job gives me the premoni-tion we're not talking busted boiler here."Less than a minute later... To give her baby Lab.. I almost threw up.I found myself in no-man's-land. if I'm five minutes late. But the realization that a bomb had gone off in our city. "For Caitlin. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and. Edmund was still sleeping.Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch.

 "She started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. Tech."I'm on it now. Stick your tits in its mouth." Niko turned with a frown. "Where are you?" I called. One look at the SWAT team and she let out a startled scream. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white." I said. But there was noth-ing I could do for them. and a pair of Manolo Blahnik flats I had once mooned over for about ten minutes in the window of Neiman's. Michelle." I said. You okay?""I think so." Linda Cliborne."Chuck Zinn." I smiled. Also. we can keep her. my voice. My gaze was fixed on the red bag. "That took a lot of guts. Clearly dead.

 now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear. I couldn't see for shit. Detectives. a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it."I don't know how you do it. "I mean. everything told me. You should go home. like a huge refrigerator. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason." I promised. Casualties likely. practicing."Jill. Cappy. I held Martha as a car passed by. They were also friends. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales." Just this little voice in my heart. But no baby. But she couldn't be such a monster. I swear.

 "And while I'm at it. My heart jumped. Homicide. carrying a bundle of clothes. Martha."CHARLES DANKO didn't believe in taking unnecessary chances; he also resolutely believed that all soldiers were expendable. "You look like a mochachino would do the trick. "Warren?""You did good today. Now I saw the entrance. "We've heard Caitlin is missing. eyes going back and forth. I swear. who helped found the company with Mort. "Yeah. "Just one more thing. "I thought you were that asshole Tracchio. What a performance she'd put on. next to the standard clock radio. "Which fund you in?""I think it's called Long-Term Growth. we're horrified around here. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. Lindsay. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and.

" The CLO straightened his pad."He heard Malcolm's cheerless voice. Please.I started to panic again.""Thank God!" she exclaimed." "You want to spell that out for me?" Jill snorted. the envelope. C'mon. "But I'm afraid that's all we have time for today.. lifting her arms. Fire ripped through the second floor. I guess you could quote me on that. Mean anything to either of you?"Zinn blinked. I held Martha as a car passed by." he continued. What was left of it. Any longer and the fumes alone would kill us. I swear. A computer photo.""I saw two bodies inside. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small. What.