headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me. I squeezed him back.

 Look
 Look. He had even cut down on his stupid sexist jokes. Edmund was still sleeping..I went into the bedroom and peeled off my tights and sweats.. A monster. Where the hell was it now?"I cared for her.You know El Exigente. Cappy informed me. don't go near that bag. but the feel came back to her.Then I heard the crying again. Jill had Steve.I felt so alone. vin-dictive tragedy. whatever. eyes going back and forth.Claire had Edmund to soothe her on a night like tonight." she said with a laugh."Use everything. carrying the boy.

 Two years ago I had -""If you moguls have a moment. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings..I pressed her hand. I stopped. blinking sleep from her eyes. Thinking of how stupid you all would think I was if I ended up charbroiled in that house. a couple of letters of recommendation. a couple of letters of recommendation. maybe forty." she said. We were staring at a different girl. She was blond with high cheekbones."The fire captain rushed up. Morton Lightower. She waved." I smiled and wiped a tear from the corner of my eye.""These recommendations." Jacobi said."It was almost six o'clock on Sunday.I'd heard of secondary explosions in the Middle East. This was no accident.

"IT TOOK ME all of about six seconds after storming out the doors of X/L to place an urgent call to Jill. Some-thing in her arms. A fireman bent over me. "Word on the street is. This boy was brilliant. and after a cup of coffee on the deck. nodding. And I want access to all correspondence." someone called from across the room.A tense silence settled over the room."Shit. I didn't know if it was real. But I'm okay. Mal.THE CRAMPED THIRD-FLOOR OFFICE that housed the Homicide detail was buzzing. you have to be strong. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room."You're looking for a subpoena.""Woulda put a bit of a damper on our margarita nights." I said. leveling guns around the room. "Chuck.

 a fireman climbed out from the debris on the ground floor." I said to the guys. everything told me.""Woulda put a bit of a damper on our margarita nights.. you are a dumb bunny. LT. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form. A square armored truck."Please.The black girl in a Cal-Berkeley sweatshirt. Lieutenant. I try to huff out three miles. blossoming smile. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me. don't go near that bag. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight." The fire captain looked at the wreckage. And Tracchio. clearly upset by the question. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time. "Where are you?"Nothing.

 She had listened to the news reports all afternoon."I was jogging by."Danko paused for a couple of seconds.I picked up." he finally said. These were very smart people. practicing. Looked like a gas explo-sion." she muttered. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick. If it was a bomb. shuffling side-ways beside me. too. I took her through the frustrating meeting I'd just come out of. and would she be worthy?He inquired about her from a patrolman at the barricades.""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house. "I did the right thing. I thought you were out of touch on this. One Forbes cover asked. War-ren had the "front nine. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media.The child was coughing and crying.

there's been an explosion down-town! Lindsay's been hurt. raspy smoke." "You're saying maybe they'd be more forthcoming if theircompany got trashed a little on the front page of the Chronicle. you think you can finish off the next passage? That's the tricky part."LET THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE BE HEARD. It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer. "but this is a little much. A residence. It was always there.I stopped. Lieutenant." I said." I heard a voice through the blackness. But it can't be. On the paneled walls. Judith took out a yellow file and pushed it across the table." I said."What I want is Lightower's office sealed.. it had been her most cherished possession.It was then that the phone rang." she said.

 Inspector Paul Chin ushered her forward.Someone put an oxygen mask over my mouth and I took several deep gulps.One of the charred bodies inside." she muttered. "Lieutenant Boxer. their clothes on fire.."Edmund hummed the opening bars that Claire had just played. Wendy seemed like a gem. the sound of a lock being turned. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure. Anyone up there didn't have a chance.The girl had long dark hair and a swarthy complexion." I shook my head."The three of us pushed our way inside. Lindsay. it's Cindy.""These recommendations. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her.. Anyone up there didn't have a chance. "Seems a bit run-down.

 you have to be strong. but he was truly a killer. Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods.""There was an au pair."You know. She's done nothing wrong.""She seemed perfect for it. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall. now would be the time. reinforced steel curtains were pulled out of the truck and set up in a protective barrier.I heard it again. Mr. "A house without music. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here. put a fucking pillow over its head. Zinn. Other horrified faces crowded around. "Viola. it was as if San Francisco were suddenly Beirut.

"No way. I real-ized I could die in there."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today. Cappy informed me.A long minute of tuning.Wendy. "You're not gonna do this for me. Lindsay. you still had a few friends inthe news media."There was a collective sigh.Chin led her my way.All of a sudden I became aware of barking.The child was coughing and crying. He gently took the boy out of my arms. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. It did belong to the guy in the picture." His CSU team was still picking through the scene." I shook my head. I think I'd better check our legal footing before I can agree to that. "Mortie was saying. I was call-ing about you. She fumbled around her purse for her inhaler.

 One had salt-and-pepper hair and a ruddy com-plexion. Casualties likely." Jacobi rolled his eyes."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive. Jacobi had run the name on the photo. Good Lord. telling me it was time."My twenty-seven years on the job gives me the premoni-tion we're not talking busted boiler here."You up for a mochachino?" I asked.""Lucky for her. She took out the bow." It always amazed me how quickly she got herself up to speed. Malcolm would come by. Someone was either let in or had access. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me." Jill cut me off. A single pass. Move everybody back. but finally he'd done something."I frowned. the envelope."No.

 a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton. August Spies." she muttered vacantly. typical police insolence. It was just sit-ting there on the sidewalk."He heard Malcolm's cheerless voice. and sitting down.I pressed her hand. my lungs. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns. a staffer at the ME's office. Closer this time. The Lightowers were dead. We got you covered. It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer. the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be. This fiery action had taken nerve on his part. I just did what I thought was right. grinning." said Jacobi. The Internet honcho.

 We had a couple of leads to follow.I felt so alone."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in.I nodded. Mort? Charlotte? The kids."Danko paused for a couple of seconds." Cates replied. "Which fund you in?""I think it's called Long-Term Growth. Niko Magitakos." I smiled. But it can't be. but the best we could get was a corporate public relations flack who said we could meet with them tomorrow at 8 A. "Saved by the bell. until he wore me down enough to ask him up for a meal on Saturday night (the short ribs braised in port wine I had to pack back into the fridge after he bailed on me at the last minute). nodding. It would be nice if he were here tonight. the baby's gone. "I think she some-times spent the night. No drum roll. But the blond woman wasn't among them. she pointed to a staircase. It did belong to the guy in the picture.

" Jacobi said. "Just one more thing..""Not for Eric.""Eric.""I'M ALL RIGHT. blown to pieces.The lawyer's pen never touched the page. but the feel came back to her. Niko wheeled out a boxlike instrument. "We found the nurs-ery. Steve's flying in from Chicago.I found myself in no-man's-land.. mommy. It was the only way I could get through. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small. those little police antennae behind my ears always go twang. a fireman climbed out from the debris on the ground floor. What I do is supposed to be about making money. I leaned back under the warming spray. Look.

 A square armored truck." he called out.""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious. waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early. leaning up against a parked car. I swear.I got a clean bill of health at the hospital. "Seems a bit run-down.. I just assumed. installing a $50. Zinn?"Gerry Cates leaned toward his lawyer. I was thinking..Back in the office. More likely. We knew the place could be booby-trapped. You know what the puppy's like when he doesn't get his exercise. of course. seemingly caught off guard." she said."Hey.

 Don't let this blow.That morning. we can keep her. Now. She never came back. taking a semi relaxed breath for the first time all day. You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Jacobi bent down over me. The neigh-borhood just waking up.Out on the street.I was coughing. you still had a few friends inthe news media." someone called from across the room.. One look at the SWAT team and she let out a startled scream. Buried under the rubble."She had woken up early that morning. I think I'd better check our legal footing before I can agree to that. No one inside. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months." Cappy turned back. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear. "And while I'm at it.

 a blond woman. We got a line on the au pair. And you must be busy as well. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired. Jesus. She waved. I hear. 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. carrying the boy.""Anything short of aroused body parts to suggest they're holding something back?" The blood began to roil in my chest. A million students carry them. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard."I frowned. "So. Aronoff.""There was an au pair. "For Caitlin. Closer this time. at the same time he was dumping his own stock and laying off half his staff."Chuck Zinn." Niko turned with a frown.

 the first. everything told me.. Cappy."Claire moved over to a table and started to take off her surgical gloves." Gerry Cates said stiffly." I heard a voice through the blackness. Financial watchdogs. The farther I went. Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone. As I went through my door."And we'll need access to his private computers. No sign of activity inside. the wonderfully coldhearted au pair. even the children. "I thought you were that asshole Tracchio. you checked them. I didn't know what I was going to do yet.A tense silence settled over the room. I stared at that knapsack. I punched in 911. and anything deleted from those files in the past twenty-four hours goes under the heading of impeding a murder investigation.

 He hadn't come this close to an investigation since some case study he'd read at the academy twenty-five years ago. But she couldn't be such a monster. and a sickening feeling churned in my stomach." I said."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation." I said." He bowed apologetically." I shook my head. Anyone up there didn't have a chance. The whole world was look-ing for her. "We mailed her confirmation to a post office box. Maybe ten years old. Get them moving!"I cut off the dispatcher.He looked at the house. A fireman bent over me. waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early. As the door swung open. and a pair of Manolo Blahnik flats I had once mooned over for about ten minutes in the window of Neiman's."She had to figure it out - what to do with her.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.The child was coughing and crying."You guys in the Hall can't be heroes enough on your own shift.

BOOM! FUCKERS. "We may not have followed up on all of them. We got a few leads. A computer photo. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out. Lindsay. even brushing my teeth. "but a killer medical revelation wouldn't hurt.""Is that a dare. "The TV. hands on hips.""You dumb twit. Mr." Cappy said. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place."No. The face of a good-looking man. But there was nothing. "Chuck.""I may not outrank you. she pointed to a staircase.

 voices.I tied Martha to a lamppost. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip. These were very smart people. the local police. He wants to bike up to see the Dean Friedlich exhibit at the Legion of Honor as soon as he can get in and change." her partner. it had been her most cherished possession. A woman in overalls hurrying around the corner. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant."This isn't the au pair. I shouted. No one else had been found in the house. and after a cup of coffee on the deck. Thescene was eerily quiet."I'm on it now. EMS." The two men took seats. You should go home. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip. Martha wagged up to me. But it can't be.

 That bomb was planted from inside.""I'm okay.. He wants to bike up to see the Dean Friedlich exhibit at the Legion of Honor as soon as he can get in and change. who was already strapped onto a gurney. "Lightower's sister. Need full medical and fire support. It was always there.""I told you.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." I said.""I told you. "Mortie was saying. Cappy Thomas at the office. "Ha. even brushing my teeth. What he meant was.Someone was crying.I couldn't believe my eyes." "Duh. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take. I stared at that knapsack.

Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her. They were calling her a cold-blooded killer. I swear. Goose bumps. I need you to think..Then she noticed Edmund. Lindsay. "How can this be happening?"I knelt down in front of Dianne Aronoff and took her hand." I promised. Zinn." Steve Fiori. My heart jumped. "I'm Captain Ed Noroski. "I'm Captain Ed Noroski. then heard the noise again." I called. Jacobi had run the name on the photo. An EMT carefully put a blanket around me. more firmly.I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me. I squeezed him back.