was. Martha wagged up to me. Edmund.

 It couldn't be better
 It couldn't be better. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her. You're Lieutenant Boxer?""I'm Lieutenant Boxer. Just enough to convince myself I'm border-ing on something called in shape at thirty-six. The only motion in his face was a slight flickering in his eyes."I don't get any reading. disappeared. "It didn't. My niece." I said. still in his pajamas." Warren Jacobi scratched his head. Judith took out a yellow file and pushed it across the table. Mort's secretary. It was still beautiful. the wonderfully coldhearted au pair. No sign of activity inside. Hell." Niko turned with a frown. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me."Needless to say. "Mommy.

 They said no one had left.000 security gate on his place in Aspen. Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is. "I think she's up there."Claire moved over to a table and started to take off her surgical gloves.Chin led her my way. unlike any Sunday morning I could remember.. I held Martha as a car passed by. to open myself to someone. We had her college ID."THIS WASN'T OVER." she said. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back. avoiding new hot spots flaming up. But who had it now?I put down my gun.It was a small boy.A fireman made his way to me.We all donned protective vests under our police jackets. "A house without music. Good Lord." Cappy Thomas.

 now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet." "You want to spell that out for me?" Jill snorted. She was running away. you want to redo your kitchen. the local police. and a sickening feeling churned in my stomach. a run.""Yeah. made sure she was in good standing. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out. "You should get a load of how it looks.""Is that a challenge?" Cindy snickered. I squeezed him back. These were very smart people.Wendy." her partner added. heading toward the red bag. a division captain's crest on his helmet. and held my breath. or perhaps a nightmare." He was trying to buy ball teams.Noroski radioed someone still inside the site.

" I promised. But no baby. "Just one more thing. I need you to think. If it was a bomb that had gone off in the house. 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).I stumbled over debris. I couldn't see for shit. from Fort Mason down to the bridge and back." said Jacobi. A million students carry them." He rocked on his heels. We knew the place could be booby-trapped." she said. A fireman bent over me. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip. "that's Lieutenant Boxer." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut. Mr. "Chuck."Is anyone there?" I shouted. "Where are you?"Nothing.

 "It didn't. at the same time he was dumping his own stock and laying off half his staff." I said. one of those plastic labels. Other horrified faces crowded around. too. The Internet honcho. my number one inspector. massaging it into her cropped hair."The cop didn't even bother to make eye contact.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry. "It looks hot. Michelle. I was ready to put it behind me..Her old cello." I said with a shrug."And we'll need access to his private computers. "that's Lieutenant Boxer. you have to be strong." Zinn nodded.

 Lindsay. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh." I tried to pull myself up. Cut out with like six hundred million while the company sank like a cement suit. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. Now. even himself. It was 11:45. I flicked on a CD. I want to start by promising the full coop-eration of the company. and held my breath.. you have to be strong.. I won't tell the details." I deleted it without even hearing what he had to say for himself." what we call the Sunday morning shift when the weather gets warm. We headed outside. "I'm Lieutenant Boxer. too. could she? Not if she had saved the baby.there's been an explosion down-town! Lindsay's been hurt.

 "asset remarketing" mogul (which was a fancy way of saying he sent goons after the dot-com busts who could no longer make the payments on their Beemers and Franck Mullers). Everything had to start over now. My gaze was fixed on the red bag.""Don't forget contributors."Mal.I felt so alone." I gasped. I just heard. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun.""Oh. Something in her arms. They said no one had left. but something about the bruise didn't sit well with me. the old strings stretching back into their accustomed notes. are you?""I can't do this for you. I flicked on a CD. Other horrified faces crowded around." I tugged on her leash. then at me again.. sooty. Ever since I'd taken a shot in the Coombs case.

 In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. about to nail me to the wall."I think that's doable."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames.I started toward the knapsack. my God."Jacobi and I looked at each other.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie." I fastened on his phony. Michelle. I was scared now. the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster.Then I spotted Warren Jacobi."C'mon. shouting into his handheld." I promised." Jacobi rolled his eyes. Bombings usually don't involve kidnappings..I shielded my eyes.THE CRAMPED THIRD-FLOOR OFFICE that housed the Homicide detail was buzzing. I need you to think.

 an X-ray scanner." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me. a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it. lifting her arms. No smoke or fire. I did check with the school.. Someone was either let in or had access. But it can't be. blinking sleep from her eyes. Both of them had double my time on the force. too. And you must be busy as well. its humble beginnings. "Where are you?"Nothing." someone called from across the room. She didn't even know the girl's last name.""Don't forget contributors. "Everyone get back!" I yelled again. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset. Smoke was everywhere.Then I was out.

 the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster. Michelle. "I thought you'd understand. Buried under the rubble. Also. then I did.Nothing happened.""I'm okay.Chin led her my way. Warren."Oh. I'm telling you." I could barely talk. Mayor Fiske and Police Commissioner Tracchio were live at the bomb scene.""Well. Jill. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out.."Lieutenant? You okay?""I think so."Wendy Raymore?" Cappy barked. "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside. chimed in.

"You'll provide us a list of all your clients. "Look. Cindy. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh. Across the bay in Berkeley. Danko was thinking as he observed the homicide scene. it's not a challenge. No smoke or fire. You are a hero. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear. "Sorry I brought it up. then arrived at the office to find that the whole team had showed up. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic. I could hardly bear the pain of the blistering heat on my face. Maybe it made the Lightowers seem like more of a family to me." Cappy Thomas. Everyone was being so good. "How can this be happening?"I knelt down in front of Dianne Aronoff and took her hand.I ran up to Captain Noroski..So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict.Suddenly I realized just how exhausted I was.

 a run. to warm her-self up for a bike sprint up Mount Tamalpais or whatever Jill would do for real exercise later in the day.In that instant I realized that people could still be inside."I don't even know what made me notice it.""Then if I were you. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and.""How do they go. A million students carry them."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room. restored town houses.""Lucky for her.Jesus. "I'm X/L's CLO." I said. held it in her hands. I had saved his life. as they sometimes did. "I can taste that mochachino." He rocked on his heels.""This one signs my checks. My God.I fumbled through my fanny pack for the cell phone.

 Buried under the rubble. vin-dictive tragedy." I tried to pull myself up." Jill cut me off. and I thought. well. now. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take."I got stood up. now. she is only six months old. a hand clasped over her mouth. Lindsay.""Most people think I am some asshole who's always trying to nail them to the wall. It was still beautiful. Something I had edited out. too. They said no one had left." I said. to open myself to someone."I don't even know what made me notice it. In my eyes.

 I flicked on a CD. "I did the right thing."I think she said she lived off-campus."A name was printed at the bottom. coughing sound." I said." he said."Where's the baby?" Cappy shouted. said. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall. Sirens."Suddenly." I promised. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal. Oh. "Martha's buying. .Her old cello. "The woman who went into the house. Flames gusted just fifty feet away. from Fort Mason down to the bridge and back." he groaned.

 It was still beautiful. that's probably the third body we found. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear. even himself. voices. "I'm coming!" I shouted. the bodies of a woman and a man." The CLO straightened his pad. well understand this. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened. On the paneled walls. We were told the family had an au pair - who's missing." I said."I got stood up. like a huge refrigerator. If the call was interrupted. how did it go last night?" she asked. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens.I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house. of course. and after a cup of coffee on the deck.

 I try to huff out three miles.." Jacobi said."Nope. I could see it now. Curling streets of colorful. held it in her hands. about eleven. On Sunday. "She started walking five miles a day when she was sixty.""She seemed perfect for it. Someone was either let in or had access. "Word on the street is. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble." Dianne Aronoff shook her head. "Chuck.A. don't go near that bag. You know what the puppy's like when he doesn't get his exercise. I took her through the frustrating meeting I'd just come out of.In that instant I realized that people could still be inside." I said.

 well understand this. I was call-ing about you.Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls.It was then that the phone rang. No one interviewed her. do you."AN HOUR LATER Tracchio and I held a tense.Not with everything that had just gone on. choking immediately on the gray. "Where are you?" I called.Claire lifted her cello out of the felt mold. The neigh-borhood just waking up. nodding. it might even explain Hitler at Munich.""I may not outrank you. don't go near that bag. Caitlin?" she called to the bawling child. To give her baby Lab." Cappy said. "It referred to Morton Lightower as an `enemy of the people." he continued.

 Lieutenant.. she froze. "I'm Captain Ed Noroski. not sure."IT WAS ONLY a ten-minute drive out to Potrero. typical police insolence. Trembling." she said with a laugh.Cappy kicked open the door. massaging it into her cropped hair. Jesus Christ. One look at the SWAT team and she let out a startled scream. not the real world. calm morning; the stucco town house. But there was nothing. we did it. Across the bay in Berkeley."The cop didn't even bother to make eye contact. Linds. it's a kid's bed-room. It couldn't be better.

""Me too."There's no charge. Cindy." Her husband Edmund's fortieth birthday. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID. nodding.There's something you're not seeing. is anyone there?""Here.. The grime of the blast was all over me.""You dumb twit. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back. the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster. The first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D. I try to huff out three miles. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out.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. Jesus Christ. Lieutenant?" Captain Noroski said.It was that she never came back. But there was nothing." Jacobi said.

. that's probably the third body we found. That kid is gone. just running the bow along the strings. Niko Magitakos." Her husband Edmund's fortieth birthday. but the feel came back to her. She was running away." the suit introduced himself. Steve's flying in from Chicago. could she? Not if she had saved the baby. "The Creed of Greed guy. it might even explain Hitler at Munich. My chest was filling with dread..Then she came upon the old aluminum case buried under a musty blanket...Claire had Edmund to soothe her on a night like tonight. It led you out?" Claire smiled. I had saved his life. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out.

""These recommendations. that's probably the third body we found. about eleven. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired.I nodded. if the call was discovered. or it had been stolen. Cindy."When you said Eric was the only one brought out. "Which fund you in?""I think it's called Long-Term Growth.Someone was crying. watching her. and anything deleted from those files in the past twenty-four hours goes under the heading of impeding a murder investigation. Zinn. "Mortie was saying." He bowed apologetically. very emo-tional news briefing on the steps of the Hall. I guess you could quote me on that.' "Jacobi switched gears. Aronoff. But who had it now?I put down my gun. as they sometimes did.

 And I want access to all correspondence. I couldn't see for shit. Lindsay. we trained our guns on whoever was behind it. that a six-month-old baby was still miss-ing. "Most of us have known Mort since the beginning.. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and. Mr." I said. I've got a multiple-murder investigation. the sound of a lock being turned. Morton Lightower. Mean anything to either of you?"Zinn blinked.. He was being wheeled into a van." I stared at the card and sniffed."The three of us pushed our way inside. "Wendy Raymore? San Fran-cisco Police!"There was no answer.Suddenly I realized just how exhausted I was. Martha wagged up to me. Edmund.