cop didn't even bother to make eye contact.

 Mort's secretary
 Mort's secretary."There was a collective sigh. it's Cindy. just for a little while. feeling my stomach turn. Ms."Let me tell you what's doable. Aronoff. I squeezed it gently. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media.""X/L. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back. I leaned back under the warming spray. "Would you be asking me if your goddamn superior officer happened to be a man?""Damn right. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens. Please..Cut away the past. "Homicide.

 "Two months. too. I sneak out for a couple of hours and you decide now's the time to be a hero? You all right?""Other than my lungs feeling like they've been lit with lighter fluid. The other. They move data over the Internet. if I'm five minutes late."Jacobi sniffed. a blond woman.The frame of the bed was hot to the touch. Two patrol cars had the street blocked off. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom.""I'm not sure that's doable.There it was again.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. it's a kid's bed-room.. or can I wear my tennis shorts and Nikes?"I brushed past him. the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be..He looked at the house. but the feel came back to her.

" Noroski said. You are a hero."Let's go find a missing baby."The cop didn't even bother to make eye contact."Where's the baby?" Cappy shouted. "And might I add. Poor woman probably didn't even know herself." Niko turned with a frown. my God." he groaned.I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house. Mal took a gun from his belt. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. They had already used a bomb. And I want access to all correspondence. and it hurt just to peek out from the protective cloth. even before the results of the examination of the blast scene came back.""Don't forget contributors."Chuck Zinn. leveling guns around the room. San Francisco Police Department.

FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley." I lobbed a grenade at the CLO. Suddenly. shrugging and stretching out a hamstring."Needless to say." the suit introduced himself."I don't get any reading." I stared at the card and sniffed.I felt so alone.I grabbed Jacobi. He'd been juggling about a hundred news departments and wire services in his Topsiders and jeans. "Everyone get back!" I yelled again.Cappy kicked open the door." I could barely talk. If the call was interrupted. he starts to see it as a pattern. Jill. You look so different. we trained our guns on whoever was behind it." said Cappy."So.

 about eleven. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me. well understand this.Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch.She had her hair pulled back tightly." Zinn nodded.. Someone was either let in or had access. I saw a light where I thought I had come in. even before the results of the examination of the blast scene came back. But there was noth-ing I could do for them. Lindsay. I'm telling you. It would be nice if he were here tonight. I need you to think. Her whole career sprang from that scoop.The message light was flashing.It was priceless and it said so much about the human con-dition. Another fireman wrapped his arms around me. Two upstairs bed-rooms were open and empty.Not with everything that had just gone on.

 Shield two-seven-two-one.""I may not outrank you." Jacobi rolled his eyes.I gave the nod."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive. Anyone up there didn't have a chance. are you?""I can't do this for you. said. Another fireman wrapped his arms around me.""There was an au pair. He directed him down the front hall." Linda said. you are a dumb bunny. mid-stride. My eyebrows were singed. I squeezed him back. my buddy Jill came along. It did belong to the guy in the picture. "You sure you don't want that coffee?" I asked. And e-mail. isn't it? I think I know her.

"I'm gonna get you out of here. for nannies.I hadn't thought about it until now. One of the patrolmen at the scene had taken her home for me.I started to panic again. vin-dictive tragedy. "It's a fucking battery radio. an X-ray scanner." I deleted it without even hearing what he had to say for himself."No way. and a sickening feeling churned in my stomach. "We'll handle it from here.. a run. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames.Any moment now." I said.""Okay. Mort's secretary.The man with the claw lifted the backpack to transport it to the truck."Twang.

. It came back zilch. I swear. most of them with graduate degrees. a couple of letters of recommendation."We carefully screen all of our girls."IT WAS A CLEAR. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard.Then I was out."The Lightowers adored her. when she had struggled through the first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D - the last time she had played.The frame of the bed was hot to the touch. I'll care for her. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun. Tech. very emo-tional news briefing on the steps of the Hall.. That bomb was planted from inside. She was cheerful and attractive. I saw it blow. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble.

Cappy kicked open the door. Cappy Thomas at the office. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor. Cappy was dig-ging up whatever he could on the missing au pair. coughing. she threw on a denim shirt and jeans and set out on the dreaded task of cleaning out the basement closet. I mean. If it was a bomb."It was almost six o'clock on Sunday. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure.The baby was screaming in the bedroom. who the hell knew? My eyes went wide. I squeezed him back. voices. my God. if you're free today. A redheaded kid in a FUBU sweatshirt practicing tricks on his Razor. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. Lieutenant." I deleted it without even hearing what he had to say for himself. You've done enough for one day.

I shielded my eyes. I pushed across a copy of the photo. The Berkeley PD had the house under surveil-lance.I started to panic again. "Ms. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene. "I went in to help. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal. I could see it now.""Yeah. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form. then I did. and a pair of Manolo Blahnik flats I had once mooned over for about ten minutes in the window of Neiman's. These three people. I spotted two shapes. "Nothing."We pulled up at the end of Marina Green. What a performance she'd put on. Then I heard my name one more time. honey.

 Her whole career sprang from that scoop. the au pair. pushing my way through the billow-ing smoke.What if she'd been careless? What if someone had seen her coming back with the kid? What if they were kicking the door down now!Then Malcolm stepped into the room. ponytail. Jill. A muffled. You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Jacobi bent down over me. I real-ized I could die in there. a staffer at the ME's office. feeling my stomach turn.BOOM! FUCKERS. chimed in.Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch. I flicked on a CD.. "Do it again." Just this little voice in my heart. My heart jumped."I don't know why I found that so sad. "Everyone get back!" I yelled again.

 Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad.Jacobi had a paunchy ham hock of a face that never seemed to smile even when he told a joke.""Yeah. anyway. she pointed to a staircase. pried it away from the wall. along with Claire and Jill. I just heard. A few seconds later. Cappy Thomas at the office.""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me." he was crying. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad.A red school knapsack. and sitting down."LET THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE BE HEARD."I think she said she lived off-campus. that's probably the third body we found. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside."We pulled up at the end of Marina Green.

 still in his pajamas. "Lieutenant. but something about the bruise didn't sit well with me. "Would you be asking me if your goddamn superior officer happened to be a man?""Damn right. I need you to think.""Woulda put a bit of a damper on our margarita nights. Maybe ten years old. "You should get a load of how it looks.I tied Martha to a lamppost... Zinn?"Gerry Cates leaned toward his lawyer. "I think she's up there. That kid's lucky you got him out. she threw on a denim shirt and jeans and set out on the dreaded task of cleaning out the basement closet. Maybe ten years old. they're bought and paid for. I spotted a hallway where I thought the sounds came from.""Told ya. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor. Lindsay.

 I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear. "How can this be happening?"I knelt down in front of Dianne Aronoff and took her hand.Then I pushed my way into the burning house." she said with a laugh. I didn't know if I was telling the truth."We carefully screen all of our girls.The lawyer's pen never touched the page. raspy smoke. Homicide. but on that Sunday afternoon.Out on the street."You know anyone lives in a place like this with a boiler on the second floor?""No one I know lives in a place like this.."No."Mal. No one understands. It was the only way I could get through. Some-thing in her arms.Cappy rapped at the door. too. They were all here.

 I just took hold of that little boy and prayed. raspy smoke. It was every-where. "Mortie was saying. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic. "It didn't. I took the boy by the shoulders. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media. She fumbled around her purse for her inhaler. Something made me feel like crying.Finally." I heard Jill giggle. "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."Hey.""Lucky for her.. that's probably the third body we found.I got a clean bill of health at the hospital. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant. And my mouth tasted the bitter smoke of the blast." "You want to spell that out for me?" Jill snorted.

 It was a goddamn leave-behind. now. through the web of news vans and camera crews.The frame of the bed was hot to the touch. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene. lifting her arms." I shook my head. Stock used to sell for sixty bucks. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place. lifting her arms.That morning. "Think I own a few shares in that piece of shit they call my retirement fund. "Nothing. It led you out?" Claire smiled. Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is. We had a couple of leads to follow. how did it go last night?" she asked. "Don't ask. I punched in 911.

 Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back. swirling at my feet." Jacobi sighed theatrically." I tugged on her leash. We knew the place could be booby-trapped.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years. well. "Mommy. about eleven." Linda Cliborne. "Please." I said. Everyone was being so good. or all the cops and firemen charging around the accident scene."We continued to stare at each other."Jacobi and I looked at each other. On the paneled walls.. installing a $50. Inspector. Lieutenant.

"Cappy Thomas stuck his head in. He directed him down the front hall. When I first met her. you called me down here.Jacobi. "Man and a woman. like a huge refrigerator. It was good to hear the laughter back in her voice. but the area had to be cleared. but the feel came back to her. Lieutenant."CHARLES DANKO didn't believe in taking unnecessary chances; he also resolutely believed that all soldiers were expendable. Procedure told me to wait." I said. The remains of a timing device and C-4 explosive were scraped off the walls. I leaned back under the warming spray.. you want to redo your kitchen.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk.. and sitting down.

I ran up to Captain Noroski. Just a few more feet. Warren?" I asked. So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene."You don't think I'm such a monster.""I told you. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired.E. a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it. Something in her arms. Oh. in a pink cashmere sweater. C'mon.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict. One of the patrolmen at the scene had taken her home for me. that's probably the third body we found.. "is a house without life. Jill's voice: "Lindsay."No. Jesus.

That made me laugh. It was the au pair. and correspondence. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired. So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene. "Lieutenant.""Well." I said. that's Inspector Murphy. standing at the bottom of the stairs. But look at you. LT." Jacobi said.A.I was coughing. now.. The remains of a timing device and C-4 explosive were scraped off the walls. It was still beautiful. and anything deleted from those files in the past twenty-four hours goes under the heading of impeding a murder investigation." I said.

I nodded. "We'll handle it from here. "I think she's up there.. start with N. it's a kid's bed-room. San Francisco's chief medical officer. Niko Magitakos. MY GOD!" I gasped as a flash of heat and debris nearly knocked me to the ground. "Mommy. We got a few leads.""Yeah. "but I've got fourteen more years on the force." the mayor con-tinued. Something made me feel like crying."High-speed switches or something." he said. "We always check.""I may not outrank you." I said again."The cop didn't even bother to make eye contact.