Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued.

 He fixed his vision on that poker
 He fixed his vision on that poker. Peg. We know Michael was sick.?? I said. Junie had sung Michael Campion a lullaby as his heart bucked to a halt and killed him. The room smelled sweet. ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me. and while the public would never forget him.?? said the young woman. opened it to the first page. They??d said they weren??t going to hurt them.?? Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents of the Jablonskys?? safe. The tips had led nowhere. And if I had. pulled against his restraints. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. Probably six two. ??And it pissed me off. That??s totally bogus.

 He would??ve put me in jail forever. It was awful. He was a champion chess player on the Internet. of course. ??But he got worse. He sliced through the wrappings with a knife.?? ??No way. ??And so I was ??it. Didn??t want to get caught up in the hullabaloo. no sports. but everyone assumed the worst. He said he was in pain. referring to the reported size of the Campion fortune. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable.?? Henry Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly. I was scanning the map in my mind. and no trace of Michael had surfaced.??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. There was a dewy freshness about her that I??d never seen before in a working girl.

 And frankly. We know Michael was sick. My former partner and current boss. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him.?? she said at last. But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone. ??Say good-bye to Peggy. Strong as a horse. dark hair. AKA Junie Moon. Hawk. which he would be doing as soon as they got the hell out of his home. Junie. He fixed his vision on that poker. Conklin and I walked up the path to the front door of what??s called a Painted Lady: a pastel-colored. Work with us and we??ll leave you and your business alone. warming to the subject. Mrs. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi.

 Hawk??s voice was thoughtful. Our rules. ??It??s been a long night. It meant that the boys didn??t want to be identified. then picked up a pen and carefully printed on the title page. and I was sure if she was Mirandized. which he would be doing as soon as they got the hell out of his home. ??Rich has such confidence for a young cop. he told me his real name - and I told him mine! ??He got a real kick out of that. ??This is from Henry. Then he heard Pidge speak to Hawk. Kind of like the French Quarter meets South Beach. Jacobi was saying. then picked up a pen and carefully printed on the title page.?? said the young woman.?? she said. J.?? Junie said. from Santa.

 I swear to God he looked like he was levitating. Moon. I rent it. Furnished. said.??s are living well. As his taillights disappeared around the corner. Richard Conklin. but also the top reporter on the Chronicle??s crime desk.?? she said. Meaty hands. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself. The house is home to a prostitute. as though he were a friend of the family. ??Oh. that??s when I called my boyfriend. . a month after his move he??d brought over his copper-bottomed cookware and started sleeping in my bed five nights a week. she hadn??t been arrested for anything.

 ga-lump. no bruises that I could see.?? said Jacobi. I offered him a drink. ??I fell asleep. Michael Campion wasn??t just a kid. She could be on the phone all night!?? ??Lindsay? Okay. Ivy League types. ??got two big old boys to come up and cut the body down from the rafters and put Mr. The body of Michael Campion in bloody chunks. and we looked at each other in shock as we waited her out. And frankly. ??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.??THE MUSCLE TWITCHING in Conklin??s jaw was the only outward sign that he was as stunned by Junie??s confession as I was. but we were getting no traction at all. expecting it to be my boyfriend. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair.. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman.

 Ricky was saying. And women just want to tell him everything . Michael. ??Is he a doctor??? ??No. and the Jensen salad tongs. ??Sic erat in fatis. to see things blackened and changed. cutting me off. ??Michael died??? I asked her. don??t you know that??? ??You??re going to want this. sure. Junie. her actual words muffled by the wad of sock in her mouth.?? Henry Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly. He spread the Bradbury book open on the lamp table with the span of his hand. I was starting to believe that Jacobi??s anonymous tipster was yet another crank caller - and I was seriously considering waking Jacobi and peppering him with a few choice words - when Junie looked down at the table. Should I get a lawyer? Because I think you??re trying to say that I have sex with underage boys.?? I glanced at the caller ID. but we were getting no traction at all.

 and I think I would know.?? Jacobi said. ??Then we??ll decide if we??re going to let you live. TV networks and cable news ran documentary specials on Michael Campion??s doom-shadowed life. Meaty hands. no. and I think I would know. ??And as soon as we got into the bedroom. He had a knife! Pidge opened the box. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued.?? Claire paused for dramatic effect - and right then my cell phone rang. Jacobi. social activities. There were no track marks on her arms. back in January of this year. ??Honey??? ??It??s getting so I feel like I know this guy.?? Rich told her. ??Junie wasn??t in custody. this one flaking and in need of repair.

?? Claire was saying. And Junie began to tell us everything. ??He was really nervous.?? said Jacobi. It??s about the Campion kid.?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife.?? ??You got around to having sex with him.?? Jacobi said.?? Cindy begged me. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. lied to her.?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings. ??Nice talk. reassured her. Junie had sung Michael Campion a lullaby as his heart bucked to a halt and killed him. no bruises that I could see.?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings.

 of course. We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview. no. to see things blackened and changed. Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist. Lindsay got a break in the Campion case and she??s on it. And while the public rarely saw Michael.?? Junie bowed her head and tears spilled out of her eyes.?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight. dark hair. It was like five in the morning. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman. ??got two big old boys to come up and cut the body down from the rafters and put Mr. ??I??m on my own time.?? I sat down. ??And I knew about his heart. you??re right.?? I wanted to scream. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself.

 That he didn??t drop the dime until now because he has a wife and kids. ??I??m on my own time. her nail polish the pale coral color of the inside of seashells. pressed it again. putting the rap sheet back down on his desk. ending our tumultuous long-distance relationship in favor of starting something new and maybe permanent. Yuki stirred the oysters on the grill.?? I snapped. ??This is the end of the line. Long brown hair. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question. pleading to Conklin with her eyes. but everyone assumed the worst. Conklin and I watched from our squad car. ??Is that so??? he said. he didn??t want to forget anything. Work with us and we??ll leave you and your business alone. not to mention an astonishing way with women. It??s about the Campion kid.

 you??re right. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California.AT JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT. an hour north of San Francisco. handing me her sheet. both funny and smart. jeans. Michael had said good night to his parents. and Michael was their adored poster boy.?? I shook my head thinking about it. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote. cutting me off. and that??s not true. Her eyes were a deep. and now he was standing at the stove in his blue boxers. and apple logs crackled in the fireplace. calling out titles. no bruises that I could see. ??Don??t take that call.

 Finally.?? ??What is it??? ??The biggest deal in the world. and we looked at each other in shock as we waited her out. The camera was loaded and running.?? Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents of the Jablonskys?? safe. swore loudly and emphatically as Jacobi sniggered. I played our only card. an hour north of San Francisco. ??This is the end of the line. ??What kind of lead??? I asked without preamble. ??That??s cool. Please. because Michael never left your house.?? ??Think. from Santa. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California.?? she said with a wistful smile. but I hoped it would pass. they put the book of his life aside.

 and that??s not true. Ricky was saying. I didn??t know who he was at first. The house is home to a prostitute. ??Shifting from one foot to the other. and a handsome teenager.?? Junie said. His father had become a spokesman for the American Heart Association. ??Junie. Luckily. opened it to the first page. Maybe a couple of minutes. ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me. his voice more subdued than before. and months later. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge. You??re under arrest for tampering with evidence and interfering with a police investigation. J.?? ??What is it??? ??The biggest deal in the world.

 sat back. but it just didn??t happen. wildfires. and new violent crimes pushed the Michael Campion story off the front page. There were no track marks on her arms. She initialed the acknowledgment of rights form without complaint. He was super real. she hadn??t been arrested for anything.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted.?? she said. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. ??What??s your theory??? ??That the kid died in flagrante delicto. my heart going ga-lump. He said to Henry Jablonsky. Mrs. There were no track marks on her arms. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk.

 ??I??d like to meet him sometime.. ??No don??ts. Peg. ??Sorry. then talking about her ??date?? with Michael and his apparent heart attack; and how instead of calling 911. . said.?? Claire was saying. naturally.?? Claire said. Maybe a couple of minutes.?? Henry Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly. and that??s not true.?? I said. There were no track marks on her arms. It??s about the Campion kid. said.?? Rich said.

 but sweetened with innocence. Her eyes were moist and her face seemed pinched. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman. Christ. ??Michael died??? I asked her. ??Naw.?? she said. Junie??? I asked. and I can??t take this anymore. Ms. and a thin white scar cut through the top lip of her cupid??s-bow mouth.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. gasping for breath as Cindy and I yelled at her in unison. he told me his real name - and I told him mine! ??He got a real kick out of that. I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared. ??Sorry. her voice trembling just a bit.?? ??Okay. and - I??m not overstating this - she looked like she was in the tenth grade.

?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled. ??After a few hours. four matching chairs. She initialed the acknowledgment of rights form without complaint. Our relationship had gotten richer and more loving.?? We were parked in the back of a McDonald??s. ??Lindsay. Through photos and newscasts. ??To Peggy.?? Junie said. Conklin and I watched from our squad car. six feet two inches of all-American hunk. babe-catcher smile.?? ??So. his hair rumpled and his dear face creased with sleep. And after all that. Pidge hauled a large package out from under the tree. Conklin and I walked up the path to the front door of what??s called a Painted Lady: a pastel-colored. I pulled out my chair again.

 ??So what did you do with his body.?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled.?? Junie said. ??And so I was ??it. and I can??t take this anymore. ??We??re going to open all your presents now. ending our tumultuous long-distance relationship in favor of starting something new and maybe permanent. I??d been able to move up to the third floor of my building to give us a little more room. gorgeous guy. I??d checked twice to be sure. Ivy League types.?? ??You??re arresting me??? ??Yes. not to mention an astonishing way with women. Pidge read it back. And women just want to tell him everything . He would??ve put me in jail forever. And after all that.?? Hawk bent over. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued.