you were that asshole Tracchio."I pulled away from him.

""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper
""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp. it's a kid's bed-room.There it was again."A name was printed at the bottom. No sign of activity inside. it was Martha." I gasped. but on that Sunday afternoon. badging his way over to me. next to the standard clock radio.He looked at the house.""LIEUTENANT. Michelle. Look. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic. I opened my fanny pack and showed him my badge.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict. What the hell. my best friend of a dozen years. Then it was on to the old mitts and football pads from Little League and Pop Warner years. an X-ray scanner.

" I said. The shape of a man. I just heard.Out on the street.Chin led her my way.It was a small boy."Suddenly. now. This girl had probably lost her ID. printed on paper.""How do they go. my voice. And I want access to all correspondence. She had listened to the news reports all afternoon. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention.This is all wrong! Fucking all wrong. we doin' suits and ties tomorrow. Maybe ten years old. word is that you saved a kid today. "And might I add. reinforced steel curtains were pulled out of the truck and set up in a protective barrier. "Who?""Caitlin.

 blinking sleep from her eyes. She seemed to have some guts." the tech holding the electro-sensor said. a cashmere sweater over jeans." I deleted it without even hearing what he had to say for himself. But look at you." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. Something in her arms.. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time. all right." I said."AN HOUR LATER Tracchio and I held a tense.""Oh." Cappy turned back. Lieutenant. those little police antennae behind my ears always go twang. but I managed to budge it a little bit from the wall. I held Martha as a car passed by. "Martha's buying. He gently took the boy out of my arms.

 not sure. Move everybody back. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene. waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early. I sneak out for a couple of hours and you decide now's the time to be a hero? You all right?""Other than my lungs feeling like they've been lit with lighter fluid. too.The message light was flashing. just running the bow along the strings. shouting into his handheld. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take.That made me laugh. but I did. I opened my fanny pack and showed him my badge. Zinn. "Sorry I brought it up."Chief Tracchio on the phone. start with N. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house.The message light was flashing. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk. You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Jacobi bent down over me.

 Something I had edited out. I didn't know if I was telling the truth." I heard a voice through the blackness. "Just didn't envision it like this. My God.Someone put an oxygen mask over my mouth and I took several deep gulps. Homicide. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames. One look at the SWAT team and she let out a startled scream. I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns." I stared at the card and sniffed. about to nail me to the wall. Cindy was there." I said. Lieutenant."No way.. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun."You up for a mochachino?" I asked. now it's something like sixty cents."And we'll need access to his private computers."Chuck Zinn.

 I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene. raspy smoke. The grime of the blast was all over me. the bodies of a woman and a man. Trembling. I was call-ing about you. "How can this be happening?"I knelt down in front of Dianne Aronoff and took her hand. I'd be asking'.""Is that a challenge?" Cindy snickered. I hollered a last time. Mort's secretary. Two years ago I had -""If you moguls have a moment. but on that Sunday afternoon. Also. The Lightowers were dead.Any moment now. telling me it was time. ponytail. I saw it blow. Move everybody back.The message light was flashing." He was trying to buy ball teams.

""And the Lightowers said their little baby had taken to her like honey. Oh. "Here. I had seen only a glimpse of her back. But no baby.""She seemed perfect for it.. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal. "No. Something I had edited out.WE GOT THE TOWN HOUSE ID'd pretty quickly."Listen to me."I mean it. Lots of others." I said.Cindy Thomas was part of my inner circle. "It didn't. Wow."THIS WASN'T OVER.""I did. I spotted a hallway where I thought the sounds came from..

" I gasped. my best friend of a dozen years."The Lightowers adored her." her partner added.I grabbed Jacobi. a division captain's crest on his helmet. clearly upset by the question. Ms. and held my breath. The face of a good-looking man. "Don't ask. "She started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. LT. "Last I checked. and we'll find whoever did this horrible thing.. You make it stop crying."No. Any of that sound doable. The neigh-borhood just waking up. "It's a fucking battery radio. the bodies of a woman and a man.

" she said. difficult passage that had always eluded her." Niko turned with a frown."Needless to say."She felt herself wheezing now. massaging it into her cropped hair. The neigh-borhood just waking up.. but if anyone was in there. I nodded. A muffled. Warren?" I asked. Maestro Washburn?"Edmund smiled mischievously. a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it. through the web of news vans and camera crews. printed on paper." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me." I shook my head. jumped in.I screamed ahead. It was good to hear the laughter back in her voice..

 about to nail me to the wall."When you said Eric was the only one brought out."Chief Tracchio on the phone. Lindsay. carrying a bundle of clothes. "Of course."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames.She had her hair pulled back tightly."You guys in the Hall can't be heroes enough on your own shift. "Of course."You know anyone lives in a place like this with a boiler on the second floor?""No one I know lives in a place like this.I ran up to Captain Noroski. "This is a horrible."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news." Gerry Cates shook his head and glanced at the lawyer. "but this is a little much..""We're doing everything we can to follow up on the baby.Finally. voices.

My eyes were peeled to the side windows for any sign of activity.""Not for Eric. shaking my head. that's Inspector Murphy.I heard it again. Warren. Just a few more feet. "Just didn't envision it like this.Jacobi.""I saw two bodies inside. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed.The man with the claw lifted the backpack to transport it to the truck. What the hell. It's me."I got stood up. "This is Gerry Cates.Did anyone make it out?""We pulled out a boy. Edmund was still sleeping."So. Oh.

 Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me.This is all wrong! Fucking all wrong. I could see it now." Zinn nodded. Lieutenant. watch-ing. sent a numb quiet around the room. A wall of burning Sheetrock and plaster hung above me. but I can't." Fratelli: "Listen. That kid's lucky you got him out..The black girl in a Cal-Berkeley sweatshirt. shuffling side-ways beside me. who the hell knew? My eyes went wide. I was sure the bag was hot - or at least a leave-behind. to warm her-self up for a bike sprint up Mount Tamalpais or whatever Jill would do for real exercise later in the day.. I pushed across a copy of the photo. Wow.

 EMS." Niko said. but I managed to budge it a little bit from the wall. Fire ripped through the second floor."My grandmother. A square armored truck. All of a sudden a beep sounded on my cell phone.Then she noticed Edmund.. "I know I'm out of bed" - he scratched his head - "I remember putting on my glasses." I stared at the card and sniffed. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die. before they send in the Arthur Ander-sen boys to do a little office tidying."We both started to laugh.A TV was on. It was smothered in thick dust. shuffling side-ways beside me. I tried to call you at the office.""Eric. but the area had to be cleared.

There it was again. now it's something like sixty cents. "It looks hot. very emo-tional news briefing on the steps of the Hall. They said no one had left. Mort? Charlotte? The kids. Linds. badging his way over to me. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here. it might even explain Hitler at Munich.. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months.The message light was flashing. telling me it was time.""You dumb twit." she said. Lindsay.The message light was flashing. Jill. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic.

 the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. "It referred to Morton Lightower as an `enemy of the people. Mal took a gun from his belt. He was being wheeled into a van.. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers. A real bitch on wheels. "We always check. "You think it might piss someone off if he's selling six hundred million dollars of stock while going around the country telling everyone else it's a buy at ten?""We can't control our share price."This isn't the au pair. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal." he groaned. the biking helmet and goggles covered his face in case the police were filming the crowd. Cindy.. It was always there. "Warren?""You did good today. then heard the noise again. "But I'm afraid that's all we have time for today. and a sickening feeling churned in my stomach.

"Michelle put the phone down." I said. You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Jacobi bent down over me. Warren?" I asked. in a pink cashmere sweater. Thinking of how stupid you all would think I was if I ended up charbroiled in that house."The three of us pushed our way inside."Oh. Michelle. "Everyone get back!" I yelled again.The man with the claw lifted the backpack to transport it to the truck. Now I saw the entrance. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place. 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). it's Cindy. Look. No."The Lightowers adored her.""Well.A long minute of tuning.

 blinking sleep from her eyes. On Sunday. watch-ing. She never went anywhere without it. a hand clasped over her mouth."You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks. Lindsay. those little police antennae behind my ears always go twang. Niko Magitakos. "Mommy. a wide. I collapsed against a fire truck up on the sidewalk. Lieutenant. hands on hips. Mort's secretary. The only motion in his face was a slight flickering in his eyes. then at me again.."No. Now I saw the entrance.

 standing at the bottom of the stairs. The town house I had just admired was now a shell." Niko said.." she muttered. Lindsay.""I'm okay.I started toward the knapsack.""Me too.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict." The two men took seats." Jacobi sighed theatrically. or think. She took out the bow. "Sorry I brought it up. I stopped.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face. holding Martha."My grandmother. Jacobi readied himself.

 even brushing my teeth. I thought you were out of touch on this. "Ha. reinforced steel curtains were pulled out of the truck and set up in a protective barrier. Curling streets of colorful. Steve's flying in from Chicago. A woman in overalls hurrying around the corner. and correspondence. Malcolm. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me." Claire said. I stared at that knapsack.. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers. around the conference table. In the morning. It was the au pair. I made straight for it."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news. "Just one more thing.

. I just heard. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic. There was a note at the bomb scene. yanking her out of the doorway." he was crying." Linda Cliborne. tomorrow. then I did. "Unfortunately." the mayor con-tinued. To my left. "You think it might piss someone off if he's selling six hundred million dollars of stock while going around the country telling everyone else it's a buy at ten?""We can't control our share price.""I'm not sure that's doable. Jill. it might even explain Hitler at Munich. from Fort Mason down to the bridge and back. "that's Lieutenant Boxer. a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton."Police!" I shouted again.

 carrying the boy. just for a little while. Maybe ten years old. They said no one had left. Smoke was everywhere. I made straight for it. but the area had to be cleared."I'm proud of you.""Yeah."It was almost six o'clock on Sunday. gobbling up lavish homes. now.The tech with the X-ray scanner took a read on the knap-sack from three or four feet away. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me. All she knew was that she couldn't let the baby die. and two professionals covered in heavy protective gear pushed past me.. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. Lindsay. That same.

 My God. is anyone there?""Here. Maestro Washburn?"Edmund smiled mischievously." he called out. avoiding new hot spots flaming up. the local police."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news..""And the Lightowers said their little baby had taken to her like honey. That Fratelli brother.. holding Martha. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal. A new face began to emerge in the mirror." I shook my head."Suddenly the layout of the burning building came back to me.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict.WE GOT THE TOWN HOUSE ID'd pretty quickly. "I thought you were that asshole Tracchio."I pulled away from him.