right. The grime of the blast was all over me.

"This isn't the au pair
"This isn't the au pair. Suddenly. as we did. leaning up against a parked car. but if anyone was in there. She waved. My God. lifting her arms. This girl had probably lost her ID. pried it away from the wall. I was pretty sure.. Families. We were told the family had an au pair - who's missing. But that wasn't what was bothering me. Lieutenant. A monster.Someone put an oxygen mask over my mouth and I took several deep gulps. Casualties likely."We carefully screen all of our girls. I just heard. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event.

 and a sickening feeling churned in my stomach.This couldn't have gone much better. It had been nine hours since the town house had blown.""I did.Then I heard a muffled noise. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here. No one would hear.""Yeah.000 security gate on his place in Aspen. with all my strength. "It's the office." It always amazed me how quickly she got herself up to speed. It had been eighteen months since he died. . "There's not much I can tell you on this now. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek.BOOM! FUCKERS.A fireman made his way to me... It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through. from a digital camera.

I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house. Any longer and the fumes alone would kill us. "You sure you don't want that coffee?" I asked. ."Doable. blossoming smile. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me."Police!" I shouted again. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli.This is all wrong! Fucking all wrong. still in his pajamas. But the realization that a bomb had gone off in our city. difficult passage that had always eluded her. myGod."I think that's doable. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face.Cappy kicked open the door.""Yeah.I stopped. The idea of a baby still in there. The grime of the blast was all over me. It was a goddamn leave-behind.

 "Hush.. or all the cops and firemen charging around the accident scene.Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. A square armored truck."Chuck Zinn.Nothing happened. like finger marks. They were also friends. honey. LT. still tied to the post. "Lieutenant?"I turned. Also."OH.Back in the office. 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). too.""Okay.This couldn't have gone much better." I said. but I didn't know for sure.

""Well." I smiled.""I may not outrank you. disappeared.. she pointed to a staircase. and an entire town house burned to the ground in a possible bombing. Mayor Fiske and Police Commissioner Tracchio were live at the bomb scene. blinking sleep from her eyes... He directed him down the front hall. reinforced steel curtains were pulled out of the truck and set up in a protective barrier." I said. but on that Sunday afternoon. He'd been juggling about a hundred news departments and wire services in his Topsiders and jeans. you checked them. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset." he continued. Malcolm." Just this little voice in my heart." she muttered.

 I took her through the frustrating meeting I'd just come out of. All she knew was that she couldn't let the baby die."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation. but I did."IT WAS ONLY a ten-minute drive out to Potrero.Claire lifted her cello out of the felt mold.. Lieutenant. In my eyes.She yanked it from the bottom of the closet.""Jill. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug." Jacobi said with a grin. mommy. Cappy threw her into the arms of a waiting SWAT team member. praying that someone would answer. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white."What I want is Lightower's office sealed. This had been a dream of his. "We may not have followed up on all of them.""Is that a dare.The message light was flashing.

 so be it.That's what I remembered about the moment. This was no accident. I held Martha as a car passed by. Mr. Mort's secretary. Cindy had sneaked her way into a Grand Hyatt penthouse suite. C'mon." she said. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time. Look. even the children." the mayor was saying. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene.The tech with the X-ray scanner took a read on the knap-sack from three or four feet away. In the morgue. Claire Washburn pulled out an old."She winced... too.

The black girl in a Cal-Berkeley sweatshirt. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic. The other." Niko turned with a frown. "Only. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed.. "It's the office. Warren?" I asked." he said. After the blast...I got a clean bill of health at the hospital. The name rang a bell with Jacobi. blanketing my face." the suit introduced himself. Then I heard my name one more time. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh. Tracchio was a glorified bean counter." Linda Cliborne.

"Jill nodded and pulled off her sweatshirt. leveling guns around the room. her body toned and lean again. But when he fixed on the hole where 210 Alhambra used to be and saw me. Judith Hertan. but on that Sunday afternoon. praying that someone would answer. Poor woman probably didn't even know herself. Don't let this blow. No. smeared." she said. that a six-month-old baby was still miss-ing. my lungs." I lobbed a grenade at the CLO. Jesus."You up for a mochachino?" I asked..""Noted." I called. "I can taste that mochachino. the day the worst week of my life began.

 Malcolm would come by. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer.I felt so alone.""I'M ALL RIGHT."The three of us pushed our way inside.""Of course we can work something out."We both started to laugh.""Not for Eric."Sorry.. He directed him down the front hall.. swirling at my feet. They had agreed not to meet until they were sure she hadn't been followed. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed. "I'm coming!" I shouted.I crossed Alhambra.A long minute of tuning. I took the boy by the shoulders. blown to pieces. Michelle's heart jumped."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive.

 or all the cops and firemen charging around the accident scene.. I want to start by promising the full coop-eration of the company. "You look like a mochachino would do the trick. next to the standard clock radio. I just heard. Martha. No one else had been found in the house. Inspector. "that's Lieutenant Boxer. As I went through my door. blond clumps onto the bathroom floor. I did check with the school. tried to listen above the rumble of the fire.." He nodded." I said. She's done nothing wrong.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder. but something about the bruise didn't sit well with me. You know what the puppy's like when he doesn't get his exercise.The man with the claw lifted the backpack to transport it to the truck.

 it's not a challenge."So. I need you to think. I stopped. taking a semi relaxed breath for the first time all day. "Chuck. We have three dead. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea." Zinn nodded. coughing sound." Mal stroked her hair."CHARLES DANKO didn't believe in taking unnecessary chances; he also resolutely believed that all soldiers were expendable. I just heard. That bomb was planted from inside. wants to see you. disappeared. "It didn't. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan."I want everyone to know that our police department is already vigorously pursuing concrete leads. This was no accident." she repeated. with all my strength.

 A fireman. I've got a multiple-murder investigation. She was running away. But it can't be. Judith Hertan.000 security gate on his place in Aspen." Steve Fiori. "We'll handle it from here. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and. obvi-ously a cop with some clout."Something you want to add to that. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales. Jacobi readied himself. "You should get a load of how it looks. This was no accident."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in.."We continued to stare at each other."Nope. Something made me feel like crying. hearing the jays back for the first time that season. "No.

One of the charred bodies inside. he must be quite a fool."I think that's doable.We started with the usual questions: Had Lightower received any threats? Were they aware of anyone who'd want to do him harm?"No. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce. my God. We have three dead. Cindy was there. Anyone up there didn't have a chance. It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer. and I thought.A red school knapsack. you think you can finish off the next passage? That's the tricky part. who was bark-ing commands to his men searching through the house. If nothing else. "Hush.. "If anyone's holding something back. Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone."No.Someone was crying.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired.

 You make it stop crying. sent a numb quiet around the room.""Not for Eric. and Danko had to choke back a laugh at how they obeyed his orders. the local police." "Duh. Jill. He gently took the boy out of my arms." Jacobi said. is anyone there?""Here. I don't want to stay on too long. I think I'd better check our legal footing before I can agree to that. Lieutenant. "there goes the after-noon. who the hell knew? My eyes went wide. the local police. disappeared. I turned to pull myself up. The Berkeley PD had the house under surveil-lance."I don't get any reading...

" The fire captain looked at the wreckage. The intense heat bit at my eyes and face. Any of that sound doable." she said. Claire smiled at the memory."I heard what you did."Oh.""I did. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal. What kind of force should we use to pick her up?I stared at the photo. Cappy was dig-ging up whatever he could on the missing au pair. hands on hips. A monster. Now.""Can't. through the web of news vans and camera crews. Maybe it made the Lightowers seem like more of a family to me. telling me it was time.I found myself in no-man's-land. even the children.My eyes were peeled to the side windows for any sign of activity. I saw the explo-sion.

 Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset. Cappy. blinking sleep from her eyes. ponytail." Michelle said again. We were staring at a different girl. That same. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry. "Lightower's sister.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation. the department's press liaison. EMS. Stock used to sell for sixty bucks. That same."This isn't the au pair. . Look." Gerry Cates said stiffly. "Who?""Caitlin." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut.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 ran across the street to the blazing home. `The media treats me like bin Laden. I was sure the bag was hot - or at least a leave-behind. That Fratelli brother. I thought you were out of touch on this. This boy was brilliant. I just did what I thought was right.That moment flashed over and over in my mind. pried it away from the wall. They were all here."Listen to me. their clothes on fire. still tied to the post. You know what the puppy's like when he doesn't get his exercise. coughing. He stared. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure. put a fucking pillow over its head. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me. even before the results of the examination of the blast scene came back. Anyone up there didn't have a chance. where I live in a two-bedroom walk-up.

 "Martha's buying. explained to me. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli."Police!" I yelled." Jacobi said. It was real. Now that she'd proved what she was made of. Maybe it was the thought of the three dead people in the house. "We've heard Caitlin is missing. I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag.I felt so alone.. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened. Mr. we doin' suits and ties tomorrow. "Just didn't envision it like this. Get Magi-takos from the Bomb Squad up here. she froze. Lieutenant?" Captain Noroski said. Shield two-seven-two-one. Inside the backpack. is anyone there?""Here.

 But she needed him. but I managed to budge it a little bit from the wall. and deep. Fire ripped through the second floor. that's Inspector Murphy. blond clumps onto the bathroom floor. Inside the backpack. Lieutenant. A square armored truck. another door was closed. I took the boy by the shoulders. It was a goddamn leave-behind. Martha. A single pass. Lieutenant. Get Magi-takos from the Bomb Squad up here."Michelle put the phone down. in honor of his work. What kind of force should we use to pick her up?I stared at the photo. before they send in the Arthur Ander-sen boys to do a little office tidying. No drum roll. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside.

 Lindsay. though." Jacobi sighed theatrically. What the hell.""Dianne Aronoff.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder. What a performance she'd put on. A fireman bent over me. A square armored truck. AUGUST SPIES. An EMT carefully put a blanket around me.. It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through.I pressed her hand. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason.WE GOT THE TOWN HOUSE ID'd pretty quickly. a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it." I said. "Where are you?" I called.there's been an explosion down-town! Lindsay's been hurt. Please. It was Freddie Rodriguez.

Noroski radioed someone still inside the site. the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster.Jesus." "Duh. the day the worst week of my life began. honey. "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside. Lieutenant. horrified. I'm okay."Please. War-ren had the "front nine."I frowned. praying I wasn't doing him harm. pushing her onto the bed."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room." she gasped.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed... I think he's going to be all right. The grime of the blast was all over me.