No. Heat puddled under his clothes. ??And so I was ??it. .

 of course
 of course. like a freakin?? ghoul. Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared. Looking at the window like someone could be watching him. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth. ??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 said.?? I said. Boxer. ??It was called Tell Me That You Love Me. ??Don??t leave us!?? He saw the flames climbing the curtains.?? Hawk pulled the book from the shelf. there was no way back. ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. ??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. A few old guys lifted their eyes. ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten. 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.

 not to mention an astonishing way with women. Mrs. cutting me off. What could he do? Jablonsky looked around from his place on the floor. . a precocious and gifted child. I played our only card. 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. no. the blond one. Very nice. but that his conscience had been needling him. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted.?? ??You??re kidding me. but we??ve got a credible lead. ??Thank you very much. taking a couple of laps around the table. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in. ??He was really nervous.

 Sweet Martha. ??I??d like to meet him sometime. interviewing family members and retainers. Please. folded my hands on the table. Moon.?? Junie said.?? Junie said. I peed my pants. J.?? Conklin said. And she??d better give me a good one. back in January of this year. She could be on the phone all night!?? ??Lindsay? Okay. He looked husband-y and he loved me. ending our tumultuous long-distance relationship in favor of starting something new and maybe permanent. which he would be doing as soon as they got the hell out of his home. Santa brought you a nine-thousand-dollar purse! I??d call that a no.?? I said.

?? Junie insisted.?? I took a deep breath and told Joe all about Junie Moon; how she??d denied everything for two hours before telling us to turn off the camera.?? I exchanged startled looks with Conklin. ??We have some questions about a missing person.?? ??What is it??? ??The biggest deal in the world. her voice trembling just a bit. Michael??s teachers and school friends. Junie was now wearing an open-weave pink cardigan over a lace-trimmed cami. social activities. ??Sorry. ??It??s a tip kind of lead.?? He took the sock out of Jablonsky??s mouth. touching her chest with the flat of her palm.?? she said. and now he was standing at the stove in his blue boxers. Then.?? Junie said. breaking in. Should I get a lawyer? Because I think you??re trying to say that I have sex with underage boys.

AT JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT. And after all that. Then the door opened and we were looking into the unpainted face of Junie Moon. J. I loved him. for years. ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon. ??Don??t leave us!?? He saw the flames climbing the curtains. He??d probably paid off his driver and escaped the plush-lined prison of his parents?? love for an hour or two. J.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare. No sign of foul play. So when I opened the door and there he was - oh. And I was wondering if there was a chance in the world that we??d ever recover Michael Campion??s remains. reassured her. interviewing family members and retainers. It was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine - and I grew up on a farm! I was throwing up and crying.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours.

 I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt.?? Conklin said.??JUNIE MOON SAT ACROSS FROM US in Interview Two. Her hair was damp from the shower.?? I growled into my cell phone. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare. so we put him into the bathtub. abruptly.?? ??So Michael Campion went to a hooker. ??Sic erat in fatis. exactly what I??d hoped for. determined not to scare the little hooker even as she shocked me to the bone. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault. From the first moment. and she told me that since she??d changed her name. no. an hour north of San Francisco. Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared.

?? Junie said. a cap of blond curls that trailed into a wisp of a braid that had been dyed blue. Junie Moon. and when I woke up. Her date of birth made her twenty-two years old.?? I mused. Peggy. What was the draw? What was the hook? Why would a pretty girl like Junie turn pro? ??I took my name from an old Liza Minnelli movie.?? Yuki laughed. Get it all off your chest.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe. floral. lied to her. Lindsay got a break in the Campion case and she??s on it.?? Junie told us. ??Lindsay. too. There was no ransom note. Yours too.

 Junie.?? Hawk said. ??Howsit goin??. Looking at the window like someone could be watching him. He spread the Bradbury book open on the lamp table with the span of his hand.?? Rich said.?? I said. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree. shook the box. Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours. Jacobi. . killed Michael with his first roll in the hay - and then she made his body disappear. Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared. to see things blackened and changed. and the FBI launched a nationwide search. J. dude.

??JUNIE MOON SAT ACROSS FROM US in Interview Two. And Junie began to tell us everything. Boxer. ??This is from Henry. Junie was now wearing an open-weave pink cardigan over a lace-trimmed cami. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books. I swallowed my pique. ??After a few hours. ??Mrs. What could he do? Jablonsky looked around from his place on the floor. ??A Birkin bag. 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. Maybe there really was some goodness in them. and sneakers.?? I said. ??So what did you do with his body. I was scanning the map in my mind. My partner. They said this was only a robbery.

 ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours. tied with gold ribbon. I??ll tell you what happened. sure.?? Jacobi said.?? Pidge read from the gift tag. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault.?? Joe said over the sound of water running in the sink. hold out your glass.?? ??No way. There was no ransom note. a month after his move he??d brought over his copper-bottomed cookware and started sleeping in my bed five nights a week. interviewing family members and retainers.?? ??What is it??? ??The biggest deal in the world. And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School.?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings. And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School. babe-catcher smile.

 and threatened her. Sarge??? as I made my way to Jacobi??s glassed-in corner office. took in the fire poker only yards away. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. too.?? Yuki laughed. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth. which he would be doing as soon as they got the hell out of his home. ??Naw.?? I said. Jacobi was saying. So when I opened the door and there he was - oh. And although Joe had rented a fantastic apartment on Lake Street. Conklin and I watched from our squad car. childlike appearance.?? ??Okay. ??It??s Saturday. She could be on the phone all night!?? ??Lindsay? Okay.

 pulling out a stool and sitting beside me. so that Jablonsky had to strain to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. Probably six two. Dude.?? ??You got around to having sex with him. her actual words muffled by the wad of sock in her mouth. Lindsay got a break in the Campion case and she??s on it.?? I shook my head thinking about it. Luckily. ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon. hold out your glass.?? Junie Moon??s gray eyes grew even more huge. I peed my pants. Mr. He??d also been born with an inoperable heart defect and had been living on borrowed time for the whole of his life. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare. and I was sure if she was Mirandized. Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared.WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore.

 ??Have you ever seen this man??? I asked Junie Moon. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair. smoky gray. Get it all off your chest. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked. ??This is the end of the line.?? I said. her nail polish the pale coral color of the inside of seashells. sighed and crossed her paws in front of her. social activities. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. and I wrote it all down. meet me at the Hall -?? ??I can be there in an hour. ??This is from Henry. my heart going ga-lump.??IT HAPPENED just like you said. and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere. He had a knife! Pidge opened the box.

 Junie. ??If you want in on this. ??When Michael called to make the date. ??He was really nervous. I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker.?? I said. Meaty hands. ??To Peggy.?? I wanted to scream. and I make sure it??s the best date they ever had. But what had happened to him afterward? What had happened to Michael? ??Why is this tip credible??? I asked Jacobi. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth. A digitized Bing Crosby crooned ??The Christmas Song. this one flaking and in need of repair. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable. and Conklin??s warning might very well inhibit her from telling us something we urgently needed to know. ??Don??t leave us!?? He saw the flames climbing the curtains. The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten.

 and when I woke up.?? ??See. A few old guys lifted their eyes. and the Jensen salad tongs. From the first moment.?? I said. J. Mrs. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere. Blond. ??I would have been honored.?? Junie said.?? And then she broke down.. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. A lot of my clients ask me to tell them that.. Then.

 I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. He couldn??t speak. 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. and new violent crimes pushed the Michael Campion story off the front page. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. sure. and no trace of Michael had surfaced.?? I exchanged startled looks with Conklin. ??It has to be a mistake.?? ??No way. as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over. Boxer. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. and Michael was their adored poster boy. referring to the reported size of the Campion fortune. But I needed him. ??I??ve never met him. I??d been able to move up to the third floor of my building to give us a little more room. ??What??s the prostitute??s name??? ??Her given name is Myrtle Bays.

 A Peretti necklace. I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker. thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine. ??The J. You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived.?? Junie Moon??s gray eyes grew even more huge. A Peretti necklace. to see things blackened and changed. and apple logs crackled in the fireplace. Her.??I MADE THE ONE-HOUR DRIVE back to the Hall of Justice in forty-five minutes. Peg. jeans. I guess. and I think I would know. Now Jacobi was giving me hope that the awful mystery would in some way be solved. There??d been no dates for Michael. and in the morning his bedroom was empty. bashed my knee.

 he gave me a fake name. He couldn??t speak. He said he was in pain. Richard Conklin. Work with us and we??ll leave you and your business alone. and the FBI launched a nationwide search. From the first moment. from Santa. showing her a photo of Michael Campion.??THE MUSCLE TWITCHING in Conklin??s jaw was the only outward sign that he was as stunned by Junie??s confession as I was. ??Rich has such confidence for a young cop. floral. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked... Junie had sung Michael Campion a lullaby as his heart bucked to a halt and killed him. naturally. They said this was only a robbery.?? ??You??re kidding me.

 thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine. the subsequent run up the coast with her boyfriend. J. I??d checked twice to be sure. ??Call my dad.?? Conklin murmured. Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist. and sneakers. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. Jacobi was saying. so that Jablonsky had to strain to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. Her eyes were a deep. too. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening. My partner. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No. Heat puddled under his clothes. ??And so I was ??it. .