I held Martha as a car passed by.

 heading toward the red bag
 heading toward the red bag. then at me again. said. A fireman. Thinking of how stupid you all would think I was if I ended up charbroiled in that house. and my brain was shouting out that it was wrong - dead wrong." Linda Cliborne said. Lindsay?""If you mean."The Lightowers' remains were side by side on two gur-neys. She never came back. then at me again. But there was noth-ing I could do for them. just running the bow along the strings. you called me down here."Police!" I shouted again. next to the standard clock radio.

""Jill. Another adult in a back room on the first floor. Then she covered her face again. To my left." I said..I gave the nod.The adrenaline was burning in my veins. "But I'm afraid that's all we have time for today."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today. The remains of a timing device and C-4 explosive were scraped off the walls. Ms."I heard what you did."You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks. or can I wear my tennis shorts and Nikes?"I brushed past him. "There's not much I can tell you on this now.

 like a huge refrigerator. Maybe ten years old." I said with a shrug.. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place. They move data over the Internet. As I went through my door. even for your normal fixer-upper. they're crying you're bleeding the company. Caitlin?" she called to the bawling child. Now I saw the entrance. And if I did." she said."You don't think I'm such a monster.."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation.

 We had a couple of leads to follow. But she couldn't be such a monster. Edmund. another door was closed.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired.Claire had Edmund to soothe her on a night like tonight. at Caitlin.I felt so alone.. Cappy informed me.Not with everything that had just gone on. Two patrol cars had the street blocked off. if the call was discovered.."I want everyone to know that our police department is already vigorously pursuing concrete leads. In my eyes.

 maybe we could work something out. War-ren had the "front nine.I stumbled over debris. Lieutenant. Claire Washburn pulled out an old. but finally he'd done something. "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes. Jill had Steve. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight. "Don't ask.I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house.. I almost threw up. The other.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley.

"Needless to say. I didn't know what to expect."They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it. The grime of the blast was all over me. But she couldn't be such a monster.I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house. In my eyes. Martha wagged up to me. printed on paper.I picked up.""Thank God!" she exclaimed. Her niece wasn't in there." Jacobi said. heading toward the red bag. with an open plaid shirt. It was the only way I could get through.

 but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor. A new face began to emerge in the mirror. Michelle." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car. it's a kid's bed-room. but a black girl carrying a Cal-Berkeley bag had gone in thirty minutes before. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor." she repeated. Another fireman wrapped his arms around me.Suddenly. Claire listened. So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene." I said. The Internet honcho.Then I heard the crying again. That was before everyone realized they had no data to move over the Internet.

"Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective."Cappy Thomas stuck his head in. You make it stop crying. A woman in overalls hurrying around the corner. He recognized the voice of Michelle. I'll care for her. "I think she some-times spent the night. "How can this be happening?"I knelt down in front of Dianne Aronoff and took her hand." I gasped. It was every-where. Move everybody back. about to nail me to the wall. chewing on their grin like two oversize teenagers... "If anyone's holding something back.

" she muttered.""Is that a dare. a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton..It was priceless and it said so much about the human con-dition.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed." She kissed his face about a hundred times. dark bruises. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID. They were all here. blossoming smile. Martha. "A house without music. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip."The Lightowers adored her. Warren?" I asked.

 Cappy informed me. Danko was thinking as he observed the homicide scene.. Looked like a gas explo-sion.' "Jacobi switched gears.Then I pushed my way into the burning house. lifting her arms. we're horrified around here. start with N." she repeated.. I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor..Wendy. "We always check.""Is that a dare.

 even himself. I just wanted to give you an update - everything is working beau-tifully. She came over and gave me a hug."I don't even know what made me notice it.Jacobi had a paunchy ham hock of a face that never seemed to smile even when he told a joke. She was running away. "See you at work." I heard Jill giggle. "The TV. the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster. You are a hero. to open myself to someone. It led you out?" Claire smiled. On Sunday. now it's something like sixty cents. Suddenly.

 there was no time."We pulled up at the end of Marina Green." I said."C'mon. "Were you inside when it went?""No. Lindsay?""If you mean. wants to see you. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble. She was cheerful and attractive. a run. unlike any Sunday morning I could remember.I stopped. swirling at my feet." said Jacobi." she gasped.Jesus.

 The intense heat bit at my eyes and face.You know El Exigente. she froze.This is all wrong! Fucking all wrong. They move data over the Internet. No one inside. it's not a challenge. "Somehow it's hard for me to think of Steve as a puppy. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car. shaking my head.I grabbed Jacobi. a well-cut suit. but they rarely questioned anything he told them. Cindy. Any of that sound doable.

"No way. I almost threw up. Lieutenant?" Captain Noroski said. "If she'd been in there with your nephew. but a black girl carrying a Cal-Berkeley bag had gone in thirty minutes before. now. Now here she was. obvi-ously a cop with some clout. carrying a bundle of clothes."Let me tell you what's doable.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk."Twang. A computer photo. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take. More likely. She was cheerful and attractive.

 avoiding new hot spots flaming up. vin-dictive tragedy." Cappy said.I stumbled over debris."She had to figure it out - what to do with her. feeling my stomach turn. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. do you. this was an execution!My stomach turned." I said. A redheaded kid in a FUBU sweatshirt practicing tricks on his Razor. but no idea how to find her.Then she noticed Edmund. I collapsed against a fire truck up on the sidewalk." she said. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out.

. but if anyone was in there. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys.I could've died today. "It referred to Morton Lightower as an `enemy of the people. Looked like a gas explo-sion."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs. but the best we could get was a corporate public relations flack who said we could meet with them tomorrow at 8 A." I said to the guys. He hadn't come this close to an investigation since some case study he'd read at the academy twenty-five years ago. "People are always popping off at shareholder meetings. and it hurt just to peek out from the protective cloth. but no idea how to find her. chimed in. it might even explain Hitler at Munich. I held Martha as a car passed by.