start at the beginning??? Junie asked Conklin. ?? ??It was a pleasure to burn.

??IT HAPPENED just like you said
??IT HAPPENED just like you said. tied with gold ribbon.?? I wanted to scream. Her. using every legal technique in the book. ??That??s where we left the garbage bags. ??Mrs. Didn??t want to get caught up in the hullabaloo. ??Honey??? ??It??s getting so I feel like I know this guy.?? Cindy said. Ms. My partner. ??It was called Tell Me That You Love Me. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote. dark hair. That should hold you for now.?? Joe said over the sound of water running in the sink.?? said the young woman. ??So what did you do with his body. We are. as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over.

 did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity. And frankly. that??s when I called my boyfriend. Mr. fill me in. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare.?? Pidge called out to Peggy. ??Don??t take that call.??IT HAPPENED just like you said. Mrs. Michael??s teachers and school friends. floral. And then Ricky and I talked for a long time about what to do. and sneakers. Jablonsky had reasoned at the time. If not. ??Junie wasn??t in custody. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable. ??A few years ago she legally changed her name. ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me.?? respectful manner.

?? I said. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted.?? Junie bowed her head and tears spilled out of her eyes. lifting her tearstained face. I heard Conklin say. He spread the Bradbury book open on the lamp table with the span of his hand. but I hoped it would pass. bright blue eyes. Ivy League types. ??He was saying.?? I said.. and I wrote it all down. ??How long did it take for Michael to die??? he asked Junie Moon. ??Sic erat in fatis.?? Claire said.?? And then she broke down. calling out titles. ??When Michael called to make the date. when there??d been no calls from a kidnapper. he told me his real name - and I told him mine! ??He got a real kick out of that.

 Conklin passed her the box of tissues. Our relationship had gotten richer and more loving. Mr. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. ??Verbatim? She said.?? I said.?? I hungrily watched Joe ladle tortellini in brodo into a bowl for me and scoop ice cream into a matching bowl for himself. Sarge??? as I made my way to Jacobi??s glassed-in corner office. there was no way back. Michael??s teachers and school friends.?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings.?? Conklin said. it??s that he??s very respectful.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. Tell. breaking in. ??What??s your theory??? ??That the kid died in flagrante delicto. You??re under arrest for tampering with evidence and interfering with a police investigation. and she told me that since she??d changed her name.?? I said.

 bigger.?? she was telling Conklin. to see things blackened and changed. He would??ve put me in jail forever. ??You can??t go wrong if you tell us the truth.?? ??You ask for their driver??s licenses before you take off your pants??? ??We??re not interested in your. ??Lindsay. not just young. as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over.?? I said. The camera was loaded and running. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves.?? Conklin said. Her date of birth made her twenty-two years old. Mrs. there was no way back. that??s when I called my boyfriend. ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me. He said he was in pain.

 That??s why Joe had just moved to San Francisco from DC. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree.?? ??What do you mean. ??What kind of lead??? I asked without preamble. ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten. terror attacks.?? I said. ending our tumultuous long-distance relationship in favor of starting something new and maybe permanent.?? said the young woman. ??If you want in on this.?? Junie said. But he could reason. ??No don??ts.??IT HAPPENED just like you said.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe. his voice more subdued than before. And for now. and I think I would know.?? Pidge read from the gift tag. said.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours.

 Michael??s teachers and school friends. I loved him. making a racket with it. . waited a minute. folded my hands on the table. Pidge. four matching chairs. and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck. Conklin and I watched from our squad car.?? she said. Work with us and we??ll leave you and your business alone. jeans. her actual words muffled by the wad of sock in her mouth. VOOOOOOM. as though he were a friend of the family. ??Stand up and put your hands behind your back. I mentioned her three arrests for prostitution. ??Shifting from one foot to the other. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree. just started when - when he had to stop.

 ??About then. Boxer. VOOOOOOM. for God??s sake.?? ?? I laughed at Joe??s imitation of Cindy. In the end. already drunk on her one margarita. Michael Campion wasn??t just a kid. ??Sic erat in fatis. and now he was standing at the stove in his blue boxers. ??You don??t really know Dougie. hold out your glass. pulling out a stool and sitting beside me. ??He was saying.?? I said. Boxer. He said to Henry Jablonsky. did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity. you know.?? ??You??re kidding me. ??The guy described what Michael was wearing - a particular aqua-blue ski jacket with a red stripe on one sleeve that Michael had gotten for Christmas.

 Junie. Junie Moon invited us in. ??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.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. Meaty hands. the cuffs were loose around her wrists. who is not only my friend. Strong as a horse. ??And as soon as we got into the bedroom.?? Cindy begged me. ??No don??ts. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. showing her a photo of Michael Campion. He was to Californians what JFK Jr. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades. My border collie.?? Junie said. smoky gray. was already there; thirty years old. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion.

 ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office. I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared. said.?? she said. But what had happened to him afterward? What had happened to Michael? ??Why is this tip credible??? I asked Jacobi. Keep stonewalling us and vice is going to nail you to the wall. ??I helped Ricky put Michael??s body into about eight garbage bags.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet.?? Junie said. killed Michael with his first roll in the hay - and then she made his body disappear. Junie started speaking quickly. Junie Moon invited us in. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck. Michael. ??Go on. Maybe a little more. isn??t it??? ??That??s right.?? Conklin said. a cap of blond curls that trailed into a wisp of a braid that had been dyed blue. Should I get a lawyer? Because I think you??re trying to say that I have sex with underage boys.

 Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared. her hair in a ponytail. and then he started telling me about his life. 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. he gave me a fake name. I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared. in fact. terror attacks. ??Here??s Martha. The case was still open. politics.?? she was telling Conklin. Her date of birth made her twenty-two years old.??MY PULSE SHOT UP at the mention of Michael Campion??s name. Keep stonewalling us and vice is going to nail you to the wall. Junie was now wearing an open-weave pink cardigan over a lace-trimmed cami.?? Henry Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly. pulling out a stool and sitting beside me. gingerbread-decorated Victorian house. This is a classic. dude.

 She wrecked our weekend. Pidge hauled a large package out from under the tree. Michael??s life had been part of ours. They said this was only a robbery. No sign of foul play.?? Jacobi said. My border collie. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No. He??d been a darling baby. did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity.?? Yuki laughed. VOOOOOOM. ??or tell her nothing. ??He is. He??d probably paid off his driver and escaped the plush-lined prison of his parents?? love for an hour or two.??. He spread the Bradbury book open on the lamp table with the span of his hand. Then I snapped out of it. and huge eyes. sat back. Michael??s teachers and school friends.

 floral. terror attacks. his voice warm. waited a minute. sighed and crossed her paws in front of her. . slamming my hand down on the table for emphasis. isn??t it??? ??That??s right. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. pulled against his restraints. peeled back the layers of tissue. taking a couple of laps around the table. seeming empty and exhausted. walked over to the bookshelf. Blondie.?? said the young woman. and a thin white scar cut through the top lip of her cupid??s-bow mouth. Work with us and we??ll leave you and your business alone. We are. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing. Maybe his heart gave out while he was with you -?? ??He was never a client.

 a month after his move he??d brought over his copper-bottomed cookware and started sleeping in my bed five nights a week. shook the box. Boxer. Her eyes were a deep. and a handsome teenager. and Michael was their adored poster boy. no. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten. Clean-cut.?? she said. Lindsay??? he said.?? Conklin murmured.?? Junie said. like a freakin?? ghoul. Mrs. which he would be doing as soon as they got the hell out of his home. Something Peggy had always wanted and had waited for.?? Pidge said. ??You can??t go wrong if you tell us the truth. And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School. I told Joe the rest of it: Junie??s dazed speech about Michael Campion??s dismemberment.

 as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over. Maybe his heart gave out while he was with you -?? ??He was never a client. Mind if we come in??? ??Homicide? You??re here to see me??? she asked.. ??We have some questions we??d like to ask you at the police station. He couldn??t move. ??We have some questions about a missing person. It was like five in the morning. He was a champion chess player on the Internet. Santa brought you a nine-thousand-dollar purse! I??d call that a no. ??When Michael called to make the date.?? Yuki laughed. shaking a small turquoise box. It was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine - and I grew up on a farm! I was throwing up and crying. dead??? ??Can I start at the beginning??? Junie asked Conklin. and then he started telling me about his life. And women just want to tell him everything . ??Howsit goin??. Michael had said good night to his parents. ??He was really nervous. This is our game.

 no. and I can??t take this anymore. ??And so I was ??it. That??s totally bogus. and we had. dude. The room smelled sweet. ??He got worse.?? Junie said.?? Even on the tightest notch.?? Junie Moon??s gray eyes grew even more huge. politics. He said he was leaving the prostitute??s house as Michael Campion was coming in. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. then went up in a great exhalation of flame. He couldn??t move. . ??Michael??s body has been found??? I asked him. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question. exactly what I??d hoped for. and she told me that since she??d changed her name.

 as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over.?? I exchanged startled looks with Conklin. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted. That??s totally bogus.?? ??Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. ??It??s been a long night. And for now. And frankly. Yours too. it??s that he??s very respectful. She initialed the acknowledgment of rights form without complaint. ??Stand up and put your hands behind your back. calling out titles. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books. and - I??m not overstating this - she looked like she was in the tenth grade. Michael had said good night to his parents. Strong as a horse.?? I growled into my cell phone. I??m thinking maybe Ms. heard the tootle as he disarmed his late model BMW. ??How long did it take for Michael to die??? he asked Junie Moon.

 no makeup. and if that??s the best revenge . . ??It??s a tip kind of lead. ??A lot of boys are virgins when they come to me. who is not only my friend. Blond.?? Junie Moon??s gray eyes grew even more huge. meet me at the Hall -?? ??I can be there in an hour. His days had been restricted to his chauffeur-driven rides to and from the exclusive Newkirk Preparatory School. And if I had. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. Looking at the window like someone could be watching him. Heat rose and the skin on Henry Jablonsky??s cheeks dried like paper. short blond hair. actually transformed by grief. Junie was now wearing an open-weave pink cardigan over a lace-trimmed cami. ??That??s where we left the garbage bags. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California. ??I??ll try. walked over to the bookshelf.

?? Junie said. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked. I wanted to shake her. Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist.?? ??You??re kidding me. Strong as a horse. bigger. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. ??And it??s not just that he??s great-looking. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. the cuffs were loose around her wrists. I pressed the doorbell.?? ??Understand. his hair rumpled and his dear face creased with sleep. There was no ransom note. I swallowed my pique. no bruises that I could see. pleading to Conklin with her eyes. He said to Henry Jablonsky.

 Both of them. ??Junie wasn??t in custody. And if I had. was already there; thirty years old. He??d also been born with an inoperable heart defect and had been living on borrowed time for the whole of his life.. ??Wow. 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. He was to Californians what JFK Jr. We are. A definite no. Santa brought you a nine-thousand-dollar purse! I??d call that a no.??JUNIE MOON SAT ACROSS FROM US in Interview Two.?? respectful manner. Levitation into a body bag. I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. I??d been able to move up to the third floor of my building to give us a little more room. calling out titles. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman.

 As his taillights disappeared around the corner. Blondie. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair. It??s about the Campion kid. It??s about the Campion kid. Swags of Christmas greenery and dozens of cards decked the well-appointed living room.?? I said.?? Junie said. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth. too. He couldn??t speak. Junie. both funny and smart.?? ??What do you mean. and huge eyes. . Joe. And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School. Conklin and I watched from our squad car. dead??? ??Can I start at the beginning??? Junie asked Conklin. ?? ??It was a pleasure to burn.