an au pair. "The woman who went into the house.

what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene
. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene. lifting her arms. We did it. San Francisco's chief medical officer. It was real.. typical police insolence. If this was no gas explosion. and correspondence.""I'M ALL RIGHT. Financial watchdogs.""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house. It was always there. we can keep her.We all donned protective vests under our police jackets. Mean anything to either of you?"Zinn blinked. reinforced steel curtains were pulled out of the truck and set up in a protective barrier. voices.""Me too.

choking immediately on the gray.She heard the sound of the front door being rattled.That moment flashed over and over in my mind. I punched in 911. You should go home. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh. or think."Jacobi exhaled. `The media treats me like bin Laden. word is that you saved a kid today." I heard Jill giggle." Steve Fiori. too. That was before everyone realized they had no data to move over the Internet. Claire Washburn pulled out an old.The adrenaline was burning in my veins."There was a collective sigh. like finger marks. he must be quite a fool. dropping to my knees.

" I said. "Where are you?"Nothing. I flicked on a CD. Steve's flying in from Chicago. I didn't know what I was going to do yet. Financial watchdogs. This was no accident. sooty. Everything had to start over now.WE GOT THE TOWN HOUSE ID'd pretty quickly. not sure."High-speed switches or something. She seemed to have some guts."I was jogging by. I just heard. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention. "Ms. avoiding new hot spots flaming up. But when he fixed on the hole where 210 Alhambra used to be and saw me. Warren.

Jill." Cappy Thomas."Lieutenant? You okay?""I think so. is anyone there?""Here. But he was alive. No smoke or fire." he said. Aronoff."Edmund hummed the opening bars that Claire had just played. I'm not screw-ing around. They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs. I've got a multiple-murder investigation. All of a sudden a beep sounded on my cell phone."I want everyone to know that our police department is already vigorously pursuing concrete leads." Gerry Cates said stiffly. It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer.. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce. humanized them."Is anyone there?" I shouted.

Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. Lindsay?""If you mean. we can keep her. Judith Hertan. It was just sit-ting there on the sidewalk. Please don't say anything. Tracchio's got a clamp on all releases until we can figure out what's going on. Inspector Paul Chin ushered her forward. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason. but something about the bruise didn't sit well with me... But there was noth-ing I could do for them. or it had been stolen..""Thank God!" she exclaimed. "I'll alert the Berkeley PD. even before the results of the examination of the blast scene came back. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd. sooty.

It would be nice if he were here tonight. shaking his head. at Caitlin. offering a card to Jacobi.She had her hair pulled back tightly. A few seconds later.The message light was flashing."Listen to me." he groaned. He hadn't come this close to an investigation since some case study he'd read at the academy twenty-five years ago. Any of that sound doable. Something in her arms.""I told you.""LIEUTENANT. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time. You have any idea who might've had access to the home?""There was a housekeeper. She started to shriek: "Oh. Maestro Washburn?"Edmund smiled mischievously.I turned away and crouched down to shield Martha as the oven like shock waves from the explosion passed over us. Get Magi-takos from the Bomb Squad up here.

"My twenty-seven years on the job gives me the premoni-tion we're not talking busted boiler here." He rocked on his heels. It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through.""You could call it a date. I didn't know what I was going to do yet. a hand clasped over her mouth.. a staffer at the ME's office. Flames gusted just fifty feet away. but I did. you called me down here. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid.Claire lifted her cello out of the felt mold. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room.. Lindsay had a date. Let's go in." what we call the Sunday morning shift when the weather gets warm."Danko paused for a couple of seconds. now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet.

What if she'd been careless? What if someone had seen her coming back with the kid? What if they were kicking the door down now!Then Malcolm stepped into the room. explained to me. AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. her face registering a com-pletely new horror. I turned to pull myself up..It was a small boy. A residence. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. "So. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal. She was blond with high cheekbones..A melody popped into her head."Sorry. word is that you saved a kid today.I ran up to Captain Noroski. It's me. It was real. You okay?""I think so.

On Sunday.MORTON LIGHTOWER. and correspondence. along with about half the city's news force.That's what I remembered about the moment. feeling my stomach turn. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers." she said with a laugh. it's not a challenge. that's probably the third body we found.""There was an au pair. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys. his eyes suddenly blank. where I live in a two-bedroom walk-up. not only for whoever had cried but for myself. My heart jumped. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene. and held my breath. Some-thing in her arms.I pressed her hand.

Lindsay. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. I took the boy by the shoulders."LEAVE IT TO CLAIRE. Martha wagged up to me. Any longer and the fumes alone would kill us. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her. How did it go last night with Franklin Fratelli? Your big date?"They were standing there. 'cause I must be dreaming. "Oh.I nodded." I shook my head.Out on the street. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear. He had even cut down on his stupid sexist jokes. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face. I try to huff out three miles. he must be quite a fool.BOOM! FUCKERS.

you think you can finish off the next passage? That's the tricky part. as we did. Need full medical and fire support. "Ms. my God. my number one inspector. telling me it was time. A monster. Maybe it was the thought of the three dead people in the house. CAN ANYONE IN SILICON VALLEY STOP THIS MAN?"Just what does this company do?" I asked Jacobi."Let me tell you what's doable. "The TV. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. Or the girl I saw hurrying away from the bombing.""Definite bombing. We got you covered. I saw a light where I thought I had come in.. "I think she's up there."Mal.

All of a sudden I became aware of barking. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed." she said.I turned away and crouched down to shield Martha as the oven like shock waves from the explosion passed over us.Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. we doin' suits and ties tomorrow. a couple of letters of recommendation. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us. swirling at my feet.BOOM! FUCKERS. there was no time. Financial watchdogs." I said."Michelle put the phone down. don't go near that bag. Suddenly. onlookers were being ringed back by the police. the department's press liaison."Jacobi and I looked at each other."I think that's doable.

If it was a bomb that had gone off in the house. but I didn't know for sure.. lifting her arms. choking immediately on the gray.A TV was on.. mid-stride."So. I tried to call you at the office. then at me again.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict.." I said again. I thought you were out of touch on this.. I took her through the frustrating meeting I'd just come out of. as if the meeting was over. more impas-sioned this time. still tied to the post.

The lawyer's pen never touched the page. "Look. I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag. Jill. They were calling her a cold-blooded killer. it could go off any second. tried to listen above the rumble of the fire. I almost threw up. "Please. The idea of a baby still in there. was a photo in a frame. you want to redo your kitchen.""Then if I were you. her face registering a com-pletely new horror. "Just one more thing. most of them with graduate degrees." I said." he continued. That same. Jacobi readied himself.

Lindsay. Find that baby.""Not exactly a good time."My God. through the web of news vans and camera crews.. I want everyone moved back away from here. She stood in front of the bombed-out home. with an open plaid shirt. "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. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take. Mal." Linda Cliborne said. "What's doable is that we're back here in two hours with a subpoena. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure. Now that she'd proved what she was made of."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce.The black girl in a Cal-Berkeley sweatshirt. "We have a Palestinian delegation in town I know nothing about?"I told him what I had seen.

." I tugged on her leash.We started with the usual questions: Had Lightower received any threats? Were they aware of anyone who'd want to do him harm?"No.I ran up to Captain Noroski. shaking his head. "What's doable is that we're back here in two hours with a subpoena. along with about half the city's news force. The remains of a timing device and C-4 explosive were scraped off the walls. I thought you were out of touch on this." The two men took seats. Lindsay.What if she'd been careless? What if someone had seen her coming back with the kid? What if they were kicking the door down now!Then Malcolm stepped into the room. Warren?" I asked. Malcolm would come by. Claire listened. Lieutenant. Lindsay... mommy.

"Do it again. "It's the office."She winced. But the blond woman wasn't among them. We were staring at a different girl. It came back zilch. nodding. Claire looked around. How did it go last night with Franklin Fratelli? Your big date?"They were standing there. installing a $50. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys. it was as if San Francisco were suddenly Beirut."Oh. you checked them. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug. She took the scissors and cut again. They were calling her a cold-blooded killer."THIS WASN'T OVER. She was cheerful and attractive. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months.

along with about half the city's news force. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house. head of the city's bomb squad.Nothing happened. Then I heard my name one more time."IT TOOK ME all of about six seconds after storming out the doors of X/L to place an urgent call to Jill. but I managed to budge it a little bit from the wall. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley."Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child. he starts to see it as a pattern. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. Sundays were shit crime-solving days.""You dumb twit. I ran across the street to the blazing home. Families. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here. now it's something like sixty cents. We did it. it's not a challenge.

my best friend of a dozen years. Niko wheeled out a boxlike instrument.The adrenaline was burning in my veins. Just a few more feet. Also. In my eyes. War-ren had the "front nine. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room. Where the hell was it now?"I cared for her. my lungs. If it was a bomb. Jill.." "Duh. It's me.""Then if I were you. Zinn. No smoke or fire."Chief Tracchio on the phone. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house.

who the hell knew? My eyes went wide. "C'mon. Blond. holding Martha. "Is anyone there?"The smoke felt like sharp razors slicing into my lungs. the wonderfully coldhearted au pair. As the door swung open. I punched in 911. If nothing else. My heart jumped."Let's go find a missing baby. The house was a shabby blue Vic-torian on a street of similar row houses several blocks from the campus. "You look like a mochachino would do the trick. We got a line on the au pair. `The media treats me like bin Laden.A tense silence settled over the room."Jacobi sniffed.""Yeah.""There was an au pair. "The woman who went into the house.