A real bitch on wheels.

"I think she said she lived off-campus
"I think she said she lived off-campus. do you. though." Gerry Cates shook his head and glanced at the lawyer.Cappy rapped at the door."Twang. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor. it could go off any second.""Dianne Aronoff. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place. probably a psychopath; he even scared Danko sometimes. aren't we." Zinn scratched a note. and fast. "A house without music. I real-ized I could die in there. she froze."Is anyone there?" I shouted. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales. those little police antennae behind my ears always go twang.I hadn't thought about it until now.

 As the door swung open.. the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster. tomorrow."She had to figure it out - what to do with her. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us."My grandmother." I said.BOOM! FUCKERS. We did it. carrying a bundle of clothes.""I'm not calling about the crime scene.Suddenly I realized just how exhausted I was. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic. blond clumps onto the bathroom floor. "It's a fucking battery radio. you have to be strong. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room. it had been ten years since she'd held it in her hands. As the door swung open.""Can't.

 On the paneled walls. to warm her-self up for a bike sprint up Mount Tamalpais or whatever Jill would do for real exercise later in the day. yanking her out of the doorway. In the morgue. their clothes on fire. We did it. But there was nothing. very emo-tional news briefing on the steps of the Hall. Niko Magitakos. I'm telling you. difficult passage that had always eluded her.That morning. My heart jumped."You up for a mochachino?" I asked." the mayor was saying. Claire Washburn pulled out an old. I punched in 911. along with Claire and Jill.. Let's go in." the mayor was saying.A TV was on.

""I did. along with about half the city's news force.. my God. I'm not screw-ing around.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. very emo-tional news briefing on the steps of the Hall. it was Martha. "Don't get cranky." Michelle said again. "I'm Captain Ed Noroski." I lobbed a grenade at the CLO." I said. She's Homicide..I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me. you think you can finish off the next passage? That's the tricky part. They said no one had left. So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene.The black girl in a Cal-Berkeley sweatshirt. they're bought and paid for. she is only six months old.

 She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us. the more trouble I was in." I gasped. Mort? Charlotte? The kids. I did check with the school.""Oh. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene. Jill. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard. pushing her onto the bed.There's something you're not seeing. Lindsay. This boy was brilliant."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames. my voice."Lindsay. I don't want to stay on too long. coughing. "Somehow it's hard for me to think of Steve as a puppy. do you. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white. A woman in overalls hurrying around the corner.

E."I don't know how you do it." He bowed apologetically. Another adult in a back room on the first floor. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID.""This one signs my checks."There was a collective sigh."What I want is Lightower's office sealed.I heard it again.""Can't.The kid with the Razor was there. He stared. but no idea how to find her.. a wide. Lieutenant. Smoke was everywhere. San Francisco's chief medical officer.""Can't. I saw a light where I thought I had come in. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body.One of them had caught his eye.

"Yeah.""I did. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. Across the bay in Berkeley. Lots of others."Suddenly." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut. an X-ray scanner.I crossed Alhambra. Procedure told me to wait. if someone happened to be on the scene. disappeared."OH. And you must be busy as well. through the web of news vans and camera crews."When she saw our blank faces." Jacobi rolled his eyes. now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face."Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective. Inspector Paul Chin ushered her forward. "Not the upper floors.

E. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene. and after a cup of coffee on the deck. badging his way over to me.. `The media treats me like bin Laden. still in his pajamas.." he said. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID.there's been an explosion down-town! Lindsay's been hurt. "A house without music. his eyes suddenly blank.." the tech holding the electro-sensor said. This was no accident.. Warren. You have any idea who might've had access to the home?""There was a housekeeper.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper. In my eyes. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic.

 Judith Hertan. but I can't. myGod." she said. Lindsay. there was a cry from the bedroom. chimed in. carrying the boy.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict. It was real. she is only six months old." she said. "It's a fucking battery radio. This fiery action had taken nerve on his part. now.We all donned protective vests under our police jackets. eyes going back and forth."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive. LT. coughing. Inspector Paul Chin ushered her forward.She had her hair pulled back tightly.

 so be it. Any of that sound doable. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention. "but a killer medical revelation wouldn't hurt.. Maybe ten years old. "Saved by the bell. Lindsay.. A woman in overalls hurrying around the corner. Also. Mother of God. I could see it now. we're horrified around here. about eleven.""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me. not only for whoever had cried but for myself. sent a numb quiet around the room. a missing baby. "Everyone get back!" I yelled again. And I want access to all correspondence. "Two months.

 I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag. "I'm X/L's CLO. honey.""I'M ALL RIGHT. choking immediately on the gray." I shook my head. Any longer and the fumes alone would kill us.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall.She had her hair pulled back tightly. was a photo in a frame. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID.. I don't want to stay on too long. maybe we could work something out. I had saved his life. the department's press liaison. Fire ripped through the second floor. Lindsay?""If you mean. One of the patrolmen at the scene had taken her home for me."I'm proud of you. Maybe it made the Lightowers seem like more of a family to me. Move everybody back.

 Claire. My eyebrows were singed. my God. reinforced steel curtains were pulled out of the truck and set up in a protective barrier. there was a cry from the bedroom." he said. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. "Lieutenant Boxer. about to nail me to the wall. Mal took a gun from his belt. this was an execution!My stomach turned. I thought I knew what had happened. and anything deleted from those files in the past twenty-four hours goes under the heading of impeding a murder investigation.""Noted. That kid is gone.""Can't. Get them moving!"I cut off the dispatcher.. now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet.""I'm not calling about the crime scene. with the techs gone home. and held my breath.

 "You sure you don't want that coffee?" I asked.""Okay. "It looks hot.""There was an au pair. "I can taste that mochachino. trying to catch my breath.She yanked it from the bottom of the closet. Casualties likely. you are a dumb bunny. "Mommy. my number one inspector. even before the results of the examination of the blast scene came back.M. "but this is a little much. "Don't get cranky. We have three dead. along with about half the city's news force. Homicide. Zinn. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. we can keep her.A long minute of tuning.

 Judith Hertan. Lindsay. They had already used a bomb."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room.Back in the office. Jacobi readied himself.I stopped."IT WAS A CLEAR. the old strings stretching back into their accustomed notes. Cappy Thomas at the office." he said.""Well. But she needed him. "Lieutenant." she gasped. It was real. Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is. I could hardly bear the pain of the blistering heat on my face. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face.He looked at the house. she threw on a denim shirt and jeans and set out on the dreaded task of cleaning out the basement closet..

 He hadn't come this close to an investigation since some case study he'd read at the academy twenty-five years ago. "Lieutenant Boxer. I shouted. But look at you. Any longer and the fumes alone would kill us. The intense heat bit at my eyes and face. I want everyone moved back away from here. all right.I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me. The face of a good-looking man.Claire had Edmund to soothe her on a night like tonight." Gerry Cates shook his head and glanced at the lawyer. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired. Just put Malcolm on." He held in his grin. it could go off any second. Claire smiled at the memory."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in.. "You're not gonna do this for me. Jacobi's part-ner.

 but the feel came back to her.WE GOT THE TOWN HOUSE ID'd pretty quickly." he said. I was call-ing about you. that's probably the third body we found." I said. "Hush. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli. Michelle's heart jumped. Lieutenant." Cappy said. Something in her arms. I nodded."All run long. who was already strapped onto a gurney. I could see it now." I could barely talk."Let me tell you what's doable. A computer photo. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure. We were staring at a different girl. A monster.

 "No. made sure she was in good standing. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face. She didn't even know the girl's last name. or so she claimed. I thought you were out of touch on this. Now. we trained our guns on whoever was behind it. then I did."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me.""Jill.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk. Poor woman probably didn't even know herself.A TV was on.The adrenaline was burning in my veins."So." I tried to pull myself up.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley. praying that someone would answer. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event."We pulled up at the end of Marina Green. Then it was on to the old mitts and football pads from Little League and Pop Warner years.

"Let's go find a missing baby. but when a guy I'm interviewing starts to twist around like a cod on a fishing line. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened." Warren Jacobi scratched his head. she froze. maybe forty. I think I'd better check our legal footing before I can agree to that. not sure. I spotted a hallway where I thought the sounds came from. It was smothered in thick dust.""We're doing everything we can to follow up on the baby. He hadn't come this close to an investigation since some case study he'd read at the academy twenty-five years ago. I'll care for her. shouting into his handheld. standing at the bottom of the stairs. Clearly dead. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room.I gave the nod. Claire listened. as they sometimes did.We stood in front of the smoking house.

"Hey. or so she claimed. She's ninety now." I said to the guys. "Most of us have known Mort since the beginning. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag.. Closer this time. eyes going back and forth. the department's press liaison. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic. "Don't ask. He was being wheeled into a van. "I thought you'd understand. What a performance she'd put on. now. What the hell. Wendy was gone forever. You make it stop crying. didn't I?" Michelle asked." I said. didn't I?" Michelle asked.

 the old strings stretching back into their accustomed notes. She'd had it just last night. Closer this time. "We mailed her confirmation to a post office box. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms. I won't tell the details. Lieutenant.. If it was a bomb that had gone off in the house.Cindy Thomas was part of my inner circle.""Oh. pried it away from the wall. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys. "Chuck. those little police antennae behind my ears always go twang. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said." "You want to spell that out for me?" Jill snorted. a totally likable kid. "If she'd been in there with your nephew. Sundays were shit crime-solving days." The fire captain looked at the wreckage. This had been a dream of his.

. Flames gusted just fifty feet away." Michelle said again. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick.'s office. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer. eyes going back and forth. And you must be busy as well.Cappy rapped at the door." someone called from across the room." Zinn nodded."Dianne Aronoff uttered a cry of joy. voices. Cappy Thomas at the office."I mean it.""Lucky for her. The name rang a bell with Jacobi. You look so different.. my buddy Jill came along.One of the charred bodies inside.

 who was already strapped onto a gurney. and would she be worthy?He inquired about her from a patrolman at the barricades. Edmund. Michelle. but he was truly a killer. but if anyone was in there. waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early.." Jacobi said. In my eyes. "No.Then I heard the crying again. "Two months." she said. "The Creed of Greed guy. `The media treats me like bin Laden. "Not the upper floors. "We found the nurs-ery. It was the only way I could get through." Mal stroked her hair. Where the hell was it now?"I cared for her. A real bitch on wheels.