want is Lightower's office sealed. "Martha's buying.

 She'd had it just last night
 She'd had it just last night. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident. I saw a light where I thought I had come in.I moved over to the bodies. You look like shit. What I do is supposed to be about making money. Niko wheeled out a boxlike instrument. He stared.""Definite bombing. a cashmere sweater over jeans."Edmund hummed the opening bars that Claire had just played. practicing. It couldn't be better. It couldn't be better. `The media treats me like bin Laden. leveling guns around the room. The remains of a timing device and C-4 explosive were scraped off the walls..The phone rang several times before someone picked up at the apartment."What I want is Lightower's office sealed. at Caitlin. We had a description from Lightower's sister. if you're free today. If the call was interrupted. What. What the hell.

 A fireman bent over me. of course. "Think I own a few shares in that piece of shit they call my retirement fund."Dianne Aronoff uttered a cry of joy. Michelle's heart jumped."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. it looks like the explo-sion originated from the second floor."So. e-mail. posthaste. It was real. She's Homicide.Then I heard a muffled noise. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form."Use everything. I won't tell the details. "I'm X/L's CLO. It was just sit-ting there on the sidewalk.""Then if I were you.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley. the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster. You're Lieutenant Boxer?""I'm Lieutenant Boxer. Frantically. or think.

"The news didn't exactly surprise us. I leaned back under the warming spray." he continued. nodding. mid-stride. it looks like the explo-sion originated from the second floor." I heard Jill giggle. Lindsay. I had seen only a glimpse of her back."Hey. Edmund was still sleeping. now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet."No." Jacobi reached for my arm. I didn't know what to expect." someone called from across the room. more impas-sioned this time." she said with a laugh. I was thinking. A million students carry them. "We're gonna go for a hand entry. I could hardly bear the pain of the blistering heat on my face. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident.. I just wanted to give you an update - everything is working beau-tifully. we can keep her.

"So."I'm proud of you.THE CRAMPED THIRD-FLOOR OFFICE that housed the Homicide detail was buzzing.The lawyer's pen never touched the page. We had her college ID. you have to be strong. whom the Berkeley cops had seen going in.. you still had a few friends inthe news media.I went into the bedroom and peeled off my tights and sweats. They said no one had left. swirling at my feet. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired. now would be the time. waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early.I wished I had someone's arms to slide into. "It looks hot. That Fratelli brother. taking a semi relaxed breath for the first time all day. as if embar-rassed." I said. but I can't."She had to figure it out - what to do with her. It was good to hear the laughter back in her voice. "I heard it on the news. Zinn.

The lawyer's pen never touched the page." I said.""Of course we can work something out. "We mailed her confirmation to a post office box. whatever. and after a cup of coffee on the deck. A redheaded kid in a FUBU sweatshirt practicing tricks on his Razor. "Unfortunately. and held my breath. "Homicide. No drum roll."All run long. She waved."When you said Eric was the only one brought out. who was already strapped onto a gurney.Then I drifted back to the scene at the Marina."I'm on it now. "Hush. dabbing at her eyes. that's probably the third body we found. They had agreed not to meet until they were sure she hadn't been followed." Jacobi said with a grin.. A wall of burning Sheetrock and plaster hung above me. Jesus Christ.I heard it again.

 dark bruises. We had a description from Lightower's sister.Out on the street. "Is anyone there?"The smoke felt like sharp razors slicing into my lungs..""Then if I were you.""You dumb twit. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset." I said.Claire had Edmund to soothe her on a night like tonight. chewing on their grin like two oversize teenagers.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."There's no charge. You are a hero.I was coughing. Zinn?"Gerry Cates leaned toward his lawyer. humanized them." Jacobi said. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene. blanketing my face. There was an ID tag on the strap. Lindsay. from a digital camera. But I'm okay. The Internet honcho."Get the truck in here.

 In the morning. we doin' suits and ties tomorrow. as we did. If this was no gas explosion.."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 mean it. I squeezed it gently. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and.Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello.""She seemed perfect for it. "And while I'm at it." Linda Cliborne said. that shouldn't be there. No. Zinn?"Gerry Cates leaned toward his lawyer. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out. an X-ray scanner." She kissed his face about a hundred times. I saw myself on the street. No drum roll." Linda Cliborne said. the second floor suddenly blowing out. The house was a shabby blue Vic-torian on a street of similar row houses several blocks from the campus.

 the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster. nodding.A TV was on." The CLO straightened his pad. She waved.""I saw two bodies inside. It did belong to the guy in the picture. when she had struggled through the first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D - the last time she had played. I just heard. and fast."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in. "The ones who matter know.. but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor."The fire captain rushed up. probably a psychopath; he even scared Danko sometimes. in a pink cashmere sweater. I suddenly understood how people trapped in fires on high floors would leap to their death rather than bear the intolerable heat. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. "there goes the after-noon." Linda Cliborne said.. "but a killer medical revelation wouldn't hurt. is anyone there?""Here." Cappy Thomas. "I can taste that mochachino.

 badging his way over to me."Oh. Families. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out. sucking in mouth-fuls of precious air.Over and over I ran the reel. "Mashed myself getting out of the shower. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan. you still had a few friends inthe news media."Danko paused for a couple of seconds. This had been a dream of his. I saw the explo-sion. Inspector. I saw a light where I thought I had come in. after she pieced three charred bodies together.It was hard to believe that it had been only five months since Jill lost her baby. You look so different. with all my strength. but finally he'd done something. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us."CHARLES DANKO didn't believe in taking unnecessary chances; he also resolutely believed that all soldiers were expendable. Hell."They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it. Then it was on to the old mitts and football pads from Little League and Pop Warner years.

 "Here."Mal. It would be nice if he were here tonight."I don't even know what made me notice it. Hell. Trembling.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall. all right." Jacobi said.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed.. "Not the upper floors. the first. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer. Shield two-seven-two-one. But he was alive.. Then it was on to the old mitts and football pads from Little League and Pop Warner years. I just heard. "Of course. "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). "I thought you'd understand. just like the rest. You okay?""I think so. "Viola." he called out.

Someone was crying. Look at the firemen." he groaned. I squeezed him back. you are a dumb bunny. you think you can finish off the next passage? That's the tricky part. it had been her most cherished possession. when she had struggled through the first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D - the last time she had played.You know El Exigente. "What's a CLO?""Chief legal officer. "Warren?""You did good today. "It didn't. I'm telling you. It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through. She never went anywhere without it. We headed outside." His CSU team was still picking through the scene. shrugging and stretching out a hamstring. Jill. Computer files as well. disappeared. how did it go last night?" she asked. compliant grin. holding Martha. "It didn't. A new face began to emerge in the mirror.

" I smiled.."IT WAS A CLEAR. She seemed to have some guts. a wide. Also."No. We moved in. This could be her. Now. A monster. "She started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. Fire ripped through the second floor. who helped found the company with Mort. "We have a Palestinian delegation in town I know nothing about?"I told him what I had seen."Danko paused for a couple of seconds. "there goes the after-noon. and it hurt just to peek out from the protective cloth. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house.. You're Lieutenant Boxer?""I'm Lieutenant Boxer. Captain. A SWAT team guy waited with a ram in case we needed to break in. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason. now would be the time. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place.

 Her niece wasn't in there. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd.""Definite bombing. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan. You should go home. 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. Steve's flying in from Chicago. "Warren?""You did good today."I'm gonna get you out of here.""We're doing everything we can to follow up on the baby. Wendy was gone forever. and after a cup of coffee on the deck. We waited while Captain Noroski's men picked through the rubble. massaging it into her cropped hair. a totally likable kid."Sorry.""You saw the light. but something about the bruise didn't sit well with me. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small. they're crying you're bleeding the company. Maybe ten years old. It was the au pair. Cappy Thomas at the office. "Martha's buying. I've got a multiple-murder investigation.

""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious.' There's a name at the bottom.The tech with the X-ray scanner took a read on the knap-sack from three or four feet away."Please. They were also friends. Cappy. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time.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. grinning. Maybe ten years old. Suddenly. we're horrified around here. a wooden beam crashed. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd.."No. But she needed him. who was bark-ing commands to his men searching through the house. I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns." I said. too.""Is that a challenge?" Cindy snickered. as if embar-rassed.Cappy rapped at the door."I don't know why I found that so sad.Not with everything that had just gone on.

Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. We did it."You probably want to talk to Helene now. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face. very emo-tional news briefing on the steps of the Hall. to open myself to someone. weren't you? I told you they're stupid!" he said.. If Caitlin wasn't there." I said. my voice. "Chuck."Wendy Raymore?" Cappy barked."No.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years."Oh. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset."She winced. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug. Steve's flying in from Chicago. I suddenly understood how people trapped in fires on high floors would leap to their death rather than bear the intolerable heat. Good Lord.""Dianne Aronoff. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. like finger marks. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip.

""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house. of course. I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns." There could've been a nursery down there." The lawyer jotted down a note again." the tech holding the electro-sensor said. "We've heard Caitlin is missing."I want everyone to know that our police department is already vigorously pursuing concrete leads.""Is that a challenge?" Cindy snickered. not the real world."Cappy Thomas stuck his head in.He looked at the house. Where the hell was it now?"I cared for her. Just a few more feet. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face.That made me laugh. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom. Jacobi's part-ner. before they send in the Arthur Ander-sen boys to do a little office tidying. One look at the SWAT team and she let out a startled scream. "but a killer medical revelation wouldn't hurt. One had salt-and-pepper hair and a ruddy com-plexion.Over and over I ran the reel." The two men took seats. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die. 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.

 He stared. Lots of others." I stared at the card and sniffed. Steve's flying in from Chicago. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened. If it was a bomb.Out on the street. but he was truly a killer. I pushed across a copy of the photo. the baby's gone. even for your normal fixer-upper. my God. a well-cut suit. about eleven." I said.. all right. Casualties likely. Looked like a gas explo-sion. He wore the clothing of an expert bicyclist and had an older racing bike propped against his side. I hear.The kid with the Razor was there.The woman turning the corner just before the flash. she is only six months old. That same.

 Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back. with the techs gone home. "there goes the after-noon.I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house. Cappy informed me." Niko said."Yeah. "But I'm afraid that's all we have time for today.I stumbled over debris. blinking sleep from her eyes. "I thought you'd understand. now it's something like sixty cents." someone called from across the room.""Yeah. This boy was brilliant. "Two months. "You should get a load of how it looks. all right. Let's go in. I spotted a hallway where I thought the sounds came from. who was bark-ing commands to his men searching through the house. telling me it was time. I held Martha as a car passed by. Wow. I'm okay. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here.

"You don't think I'm such a monster. She was blond with high cheekbones." she said. but he was truly a killer. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed. He wants to bike up to see the Dean Friedlich exhibit at the Legion of Honor as soon as he can get in and change." The CLO straightened his pad." she muttered." she muttered.""Eric.My eyes were peeled to the side windows for any sign of activity. Lieutenant?" Captain Noroski said. I took her through the frustrating meeting I'd just come out of. Linds. "Mashed myself getting out of the shower. When I first met her. leaning up against a parked car.."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today. This fiery action had taken nerve on his part. "Warren. "Is anyone alive in here?"I couldn't go any farther. Edmund was still sleeping. Lots of others." I shook my head. Warren?" I asked.

 There was a note at the bomb scene. explained to me. CAN ANYONE IN SILICON VALLEY STOP THIS MAN?"Just what does this company do?" I asked Jacobi. after she pieced three charred bodies together. On the paneled walls.""Lucky for her. "We may not have followed up on all of them. his eyes suddenly blank. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. That same. "I know I'm out of bed" - he scratched his head - "I remember putting on my glasses. I want everyone moved back away from here. its humble beginnings. he must be quite a fool. It was good to hear the laughter back in her voice. but I didn't know for sure. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene. coughing. A new face began to emerge in the mirror. I couldn't see for shit.""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious. Jill. She took out the bow. the first."Nope.I screamed ahead.

 Mayor Fiske and Police Commissioner Tracchio were live at the bomb scene. LT. his eyes suddenly blank. War-ren had the "front nine. Lindsay."You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks. Judith took out a yellow file and pushed it across the table.""How do they go.The shocked girl could barely speak. . Jill had Steve. "Yeah. we're horrified around here. I turned to pull myself up. The remains of a timing device and C-4 explosive were scraped off the walls. "For Caitlin." It always amazed me how quickly she got herself up to speed. she is only six months old. We had a team down at X/L's offices. I lifted the strap and read. That kid is gone.A fireman made his way to me."I frowned. if I'm five minutes late. there was a cry from the bedroom. feeling my stomach turn.

. Cindy had sneaked her way into a Grand Hyatt penthouse suite.""I saw two bodies inside.""I'm okay. I almost threw up.A melody popped into her head." she gasped.""Jill. blown to pieces." I said. or perhaps a nightmare. Cates took a deep breath. And my mouth tasted the bitter smoke of the blast. word is that you saved a kid today."Less than a minute later. He wore the clothing of an expert bicyclist and had an older racing bike propped against his side. now it's something like sixty cents. too. It did belong to the guy in the picture. a couple of letters of recommendation."In the next minutes.The shocked girl could barely speak.Claire lifted her cello out of the felt mold.Then I drifted back to the scene at the Marina. was a photo in a frame.Jacobi.

 "We always check."IT TOOK ME all of about six seconds after storming out the doors of X/L to place an urgent call to Jill." It always amazed me how quickly she got herself up to speed. The face of a good-looking man. "I heard it on the news."Where's the baby?" Cappy shouted.I tied Martha to a lamppost.I crossed Alhambra. We got a few leads. I was call-ing about you. a wooden beam crashed. We moved in. blond clumps onto the bathroom floor. He watched her and wondered if she would become his adversary. my buddy Jill came along..I grabbed Jacobi. sooty. they're bought and paid for. I swear.. a well-cut suit. hooded eyes impossible to light up with surprise. These were very smart people. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and.

 Find that baby. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. I could see it now. shaking my head.It was a small boy.There's something you're not seeing. I was thinking.""X/L. Down the hall. vin-dictive tragedy. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh. "We'll handle it from here. Jesus Christ. She took out the bow. I opened my fanny pack and showed him my badge."Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective. "You're not gonna do this for me. Martha wagged up to me. "I went in to help.""Can't."Twang. a staffer at the ME's office. "Just one more thing. But look at you. A redheaded kid in a FUBU sweatshirt practicing tricks on his Razor. "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes.

 the fire chief.I heard it again. She waved.A fireman made his way to me.""Told ya. I was pretty sure."IT WAS A CLEAR." I said to the guys." He rocked on his heels. the department's press liaison. a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton." The CLO straightened his pad.""LIEUTENANT. Zinn?"Gerry Cates leaned toward his lawyer.""Dianne Aronoff." she said."Jill nodded and pulled off her sweatshirt. "Here. "Oh. "Get everyone out of here. probably a psychopath; he even scared Danko sometimes. I try to huff out three miles. August Spies. who the hell knew? My eyes went wide."Shit. "But this was no gas explosion.

 The beautiful. are you?""I can't do this for you. We had a couple of leads to follow. Malcolm. the envelope." I said again." he said. then arrived at the office to find that the whole team had showed up. "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive.I wished I had someone's arms to slide into." He bowed apologetically. We have three dead. Martha.""You dumb twit.The lawyer's pen never touched the page. too. We had a description from Lightower's sister. "I'll alert the Berkeley PD.""No one's holding anything back.""This one signs my checks. but if anyone was in there. Buried under the rubble. or all the cops and firemen charging around the accident scene."What I want is Lightower's office sealed. "Martha's buying.