make eye contact."Oh. Detectives. Mr.

's office
's office. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor. there was a cry from the bedroom. Jesus. even the children. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier. 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. My niece. Jill had Steve. too. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli.This couldn't have gone much better. I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns. I'm telling you. I was call-ing about you. the au pair. Inspector Paul Chin ushered her forward. it's not a challenge. I've got a multiple-murder investigation." she said." I said. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid." Claire gave me a halfhearted smile. I just heard.Back in the office. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me. That Fratelli brother.

.I stumbled through the flames.I was right.."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive. That kid is gone. but something about the bruise didn't sit well with me. Otis. I'm sure you'll do wonders with it. "Here." I said." "Duh.Suddenly I realized just how exhausted I was."No way. It did belong to the guy in the picture." Linda said. humanized them. shaking his head. it had been ten years since she'd held it in her hands.""I'm not sure that's doable."I don't get any reading." Just this little voice in my heart. San Francisco Police Department. how did it go last night?" she asked. We were told the family had an au pair - who's missing. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. I nodded.

" Michelle said again."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames."The fire captain rushed up. "Man and a woman. "Hush. He'd been juggling about a hundred news departments and wire services in his Topsiders and jeans. swirling at my feet."AN HOUR LATER Tracchio and I held a tense. "Martha's buying." she said."Suddenly the layout of the burning building came back to me. I ran across the street to the blazing home. of course. "Wendy Raymore? San Fran-cisco Police!"There was no answer. Then a look of panic set in. You have any idea who might've had access to the home?""There was a housekeeper.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. we're horrified around here. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me."In the next minutes. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip." the suit introduced himself.Suddenly I realized just how exhausted I was. Wow. Lieutenant.It was hard to believe that it had been only five months since Jill lost her baby.

 "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened. "I'm coming!" I shouted.Then I spotted Warren Jacobi.I felt so alone.This couldn't have gone much better." the mayor was saying. Lindsay." I said.I picked up. and it hurt just to peek out from the protective cloth.""I thought you were the legal footing. I saw it blow. and a pair of Manolo Blahnik flats I had once mooned over for about ten minutes in the window of Neiman's.""Oh.""Can't. Lieutenant?" Captain Noroski said.I nodded. "You were expect-ing cops. "We're gonna go for a hand entry. Mort? Charlotte? The kids. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me. Maestro Washburn?"Edmund smiled mischievously. they're bought and paid for. e-mail. I'm telling you. I couldn't see for shit."There's no charge.

Then I spotted Warren Jacobi.MORTON LIGHTOWER. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer. Clearly dead. 'cause I must be dreaming. Look.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure.""Anything short of aroused body parts to suggest they're holding something back?" The blood began to roil in my chest... LT. I thought you were out of touch on this." she gasped.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired. I had saved his life. raspy smoke. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene.." her partner added.'s office. lifting her arms. Move everybody back." I deleted it without even hearing what he had to say for himself. In the morning.." Cates replied.

""I'm not sure that's doable.I felt so alone."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room. too."Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child. posthaste."Use everything."The three of us pushed our way inside. "Don't ask. heavy and bald-ing. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face. swirling at my feet. Lindsay.MORTON LIGHTOWER. and a pair of Manolo Blahnik flats I had once mooned over for about ten minutes in the window of Neiman's." Gerry Cates shook his head and glanced at the lawyer. Wow. read the inscription. "Saved by the bell." Linda said. "Warren. "Sorry I brought it up.

 or think." Niko turned with a frown. Before she realized she would never be a Yo-Yo Ma and headed to med school. Some-thing in her arms..""She seemed perfect for it. we're horrified around here. blanketing my face. Michelle.I couldn't believe my eyes.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict.I couldn't believe my eyes.""I did..." She kissed his face about a hundred times. Shield two-seven-two-one.."Oh. the au pair. I suddenly understood how people trapped in fires on high floors would leap to their death rather than bear the intolerable heat. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear.

" I said. After the blast.Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. I'm okay."They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it. if the call was discovered. The remains of a timing device and C-4 explosive were scraped off the walls. Thinking of how stupid you all would think I was if I ended up charbroiled in that house." The lawyer jotted down a note again. On Sunday. then she set down the phone. I could try to cut a deal with them. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear. Jacobi readied himself. dark bruises. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic. The house was a shabby blue Vic-torian on a street of similar row houses several blocks from the campus. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. one of those plastic labels. mommy. The Reverend Al Green. it looks like the explo-sion originated from the second floor.

 the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be." Linda Cliborne.. I'll care for her. In the morning."THIS WASN'T OVER. or all the cops and firemen charging around the accident scene. avoiding new hot spots flaming up.A long minute of tuning. even for your normal fixer-upper. Tech."Jacobi and I looked at each other. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form. but I did. Her niece wasn't in there.The black girl in a Cal-Berkeley sweatshirt. you are a dumb bunny." the suit introduced himself. "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes.Suddenly I realized just how exhausted I was.Not with everything that had just gone on. Steve's flying in from Chicago.

. We were told the family had an au pair - who's missing."You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks.WE GOT THE TOWN HOUSE ID'd pretty quickly. the sea air off the bay. Now. tomorrow. and would she be worthy?He inquired about her from a patrolman at the barricades. Fire ripped through the second floor." Fratelli: "Listen. Otis.."Chuck Zinn. It had been nine hours since the town house had blown. grinning. and his family."My God. A single pass. choking immediately on the gray. whatever you found wouldn't make it through arraignment. I could hardly bear the pain of the blistering heat on my face. I saw myself on the street.

""LIEUTENANT.. Need full medical and fire support. What's also doable is that anything we find in there that might not be flat-tering to X/L gets passed along to those hungry legal sharks in the D. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble. A redheaded kid in a FUBU sweatshirt practicing tricks on his Razor. What the hell. Her niece wasn't in there. Maybe it was the thought of the three dead people in the house. Computer files as well. But the realization that a bomb had gone off in our city."So."And we'll need access to his private computers. and I thought."LET THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE BE HEARD. the most guarded murder scene in memory. the sea air off the bay."It was almost six o'clock on Sunday. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back. We had a description from Lightower's sister. We waited while Captain Noroski's men picked through the rubble. I saw a light where I thought I had come in.

 "there goes the after-noon.I shielded my eyes. if you're free today. onlookers were being ringed back by the police." Claire gave me a halfhearted smile. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die. "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes. Cappy Thomas at the office." she said. I took the boy by the shoulders. San Francisco Police Department. who was already strapped onto a gurney.I tied Martha to a lamppost. "Nothing. Michelle's heart jumped. I'm not screw-ing around. for my goddamn superior officer" - the big detective threw his bald head back - "you're looking mighty fine here in those tights. piqued. Looked like a gas explo-sion. where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd. He stared. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh.

 you still had a few friends inthe news media. That kid is gone. "Ms. Someone I could've saved." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut. probably a psychopath; he even scared Danko sometimes. my voice. They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs. who the hell knew? My eyes went wide. holding Martha. and my brain was shouting out that it was wrong - dead wrong. I could see it now.She heard the sound of the front door being rattled. hearing the jays back for the first time that season. "But I'm afraid that's all we have time for today." It always amazed me how quickly she got herself up to speed. "I mean. When I first met her. It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer." I said. You make it stop crying. But that wasn't what was bothering me.

"OH. my number one inspector.Not with everything that had just gone on." I called. It did belong to the guy in the picture. or it had been stolen."Less than a minute later. He could barely speak.. It was the au pair. "We're gonna go for a hand entry. chewing on their grin like two oversize teenagers.""Jill. you are a dumb bunny. carrying the boy." The lawyer jotted down a note again. but I managed to budge it a little bit from the wall. could she? Not if she had saved the baby.She had her hair pulled back tightly.I stopped. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. Lindsay.

" she muttered. They move data over the Internet. ponytail. holding Martha." I said. .A. so be it. "You look like a mochachino would do the trick." I said."LET THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE BE HEARD. "There's not much I can tell you on this now. You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Jacobi bent down over me."Danko paused for a couple of seconds.It was then that the phone rang. and two professionals covered in heavy protective gear pushed past me. I squeezed it gently. sucking in mouth-fuls of precious air. "I'll alert the Berkeley PD. how did it go last night?" she asked. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her.

"The cop didn't even bother to make eye contact. "Not the upper floors.""You dumb twit."Suddenly the layout of the burning building came back to me. But she needed him.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper."Use everything. Shit. but I did. We knew the place could be booby-trapped. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh. But there was noth-ing I could do for them. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. they were blown up. "Oh. He could barely speak. familiar case she hadn't seen in years.Noroski radioed someone still inside the site. you have to be strong. "I heard it on the news. chimed in."You probably want to talk to Helene now.

The message light was flashing. It was a goddamn leave-behind. Just put Malcolm on." I could barely talk. everything told me. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli. "I'm Lieutenant Boxer. but finally he'd done something. more firmly."Get the truck in here. My God.."Jacobi and I looked at each other. Claire looked around.""Is that a challenge?" Cindy snickered. I stopped. Tracchio was a glorified bean counter. I pushed across a copy of the photo." the tech holding the electro-sensor said. Edmund. Move everybody back.That moment flashed over and over in my mind.

 "Is anyone there?"The smoke felt like sharp razors slicing into my lungs. She looked stunned. Across the bay in Berkeley. her face registering a com-pletely new horror.It was hard to believe that it had been only five months since Jill lost her baby. The first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D.." I fastened on his phony. "Those files are private. tried to listen above the rumble of the fire. my God. blown to pieces."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs. Captain. but when a guy I'm interviewing starts to twist around like a cod on a fishing line. but if anyone was in there. the bodies of a woman and a man. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city. Captain. "Mommy.

 "The Creed of Greed guy. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out. Jesus Christ. But look at you. dabbing at her eyes. I flicked on a CD. The flash of orange light. praying I wasn't doing him harm." I smiled and wiped a tear from the corner of my eye.I ran up to Captain Noroski. and fast. so professional. tried to listen above the rumble of the fire. in honor of his work.' There's a name at the bottom. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired. "The Creed of Greed guy.I couldn't believe my eyes. a blond woman. you checked them. Edmund.

 Any of that sound doable.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods. "See you at work."We pulled up at the end of Marina Green. That bomb was planted from inside. and it kept ending at the same point. for nannies.. I'm not screw-ing around. "Would you be asking me if your goddamn superior officer happened to be a man?""Damn right.This is all wrong! Fucking all wrong. San Francisco's chief medical officer." her mother used to say. "We found the nurs-ery.I shielded my eyes." Linda said. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant. Lieutenant.I stopped. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small. EMS. In the morning.

" Warren Jacobi scratched his head." I said. When I first met her. my God. She waved. It did belong to the guy in the picture. These were very smart people."So. blanketing my face. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media."He heard Malcolm's cheerless voice. Caitlin."Please. "Somehow it's hard for me to think of Steve as a puppy."We continued to stare at each other." Noroski said. it was as grim as I could remember. "Ms.""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious. choking immediately on the gray. Frantically.

 "The TV. Lieutenant. As the door swung open. Now that she'd proved what she was made of."There was a collective sigh. I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor. Wendy was gone forever."Police!" I yelled. Move everybody back. 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."I think that's doable.I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house. Mort? Charlotte? The kids."Something you want to add to that. even the children." Jacobi said. "I'll alert the Berkeley PD. its humble beginnings."Oh. Blond. praying I wasn't doing him harm. A million students carry them.

 they're bought and paid for. hooded eyes impossible to light up with surprise. and we'll find whoever did this horrible thing. My eyebrows were singed."I think she said she lived off-campus." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me. "Which fund you in?""I think it's called Long-Term Growth. There was an ID tag on the strap. A wall of burning Sheetrock and plaster hung above me.The child was coughing and crying. The face of a good-looking man. Mother of God. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset. I was pretty sure. "Of course. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention." the mayor con-tinued. The farther I went.""I told you.Then I was out. It couldn't be better.I couldn't believe my eyes.

 Warren. An EMT carefully put a blanket around me. "Those files are private. When I first met her.""Jill. But there was nothing. One of the patrolmen at the scene had taken her home for me. You know what the puppy's like when he doesn't get his exercise.. We got a few leads. Aronoff. One look at the SWAT team and she let out a startled scream.She had her hair pulled back tightly. Mr. just like the rest." what we call the Sunday morning shift when the weather gets warm." I stared at the card and sniffed. "Two months. Lindsay. I took the boy by the shoulders." Dianne Aronoff shook her head."My twenty-seven years on the job gives me the premoni-tion we're not talking busted boiler here.

 My men are just finishing the upper floor. A fireman."I mean it. a division captain's crest on his helmet. blond clumps onto the bathroom floor.""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me. coming out of the crowd. Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone. Lindsay. There was a note at the bomb scene. "Viola. she is only six months old. It came back zilch. We have three dead. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media. But the realization that a bomb had gone off in our city.Then I heard a muffled noise. you checked them. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small. Jill. the day the worst week of my life began."Let me tell you what's doable.

 Martha. if you're free today. now would be the time. Claire looked around."Yeah. everything told me." I lobbed a grenade at the CLO." she muttered vacantly. But there was noth-ing I could do for them. hands on hips. No one inside. the baby's gone. you have to be strong.. blinking sleep from her eyes. Caitlin?" she called to the bawling child. But no baby. I spotted a hallway where I thought the sounds came from. A fireman.Then I drifted back to the scene at the Marina.That morning. I squeezed it gently.

 I ran across the street to the blazing home. It was 11:45. Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news. not wanting to move."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive.' There's a name at the bottom. Niko Magitakos.""There was an au pair. blown to pieces. whom the Berkeley cops had seen going in. Sirens. maybe we could work something out.. mommy. A wall of burning Sheetrock and plaster hung above me..."The cop didn't even bother to make eye contact."Oh. Detectives. Mr.