nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside.

 if someone happened to be on the scene
 if someone happened to be on the scene. I just heard. We moved in. pushing my way through the billow-ing smoke. the local police. No.I pressed her hand. "Do it again.. "You look like a mochachino would do the trick. after she pieced three charred bodies together.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.It was priceless and it said so much about the human con-dition. blossoming smile. but I can't. My eyebrows were singed.

 Mean anything to either of you?"Zinn blinked. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house. I tried to call you at the office. and sitting down. tomorrow.Someone put an oxygen mask over my mouth and I took several deep gulps. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us. and correspondence." Gerry Cates said stiffly. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. No one would hear.Finally. "Please. Mal took a gun from his belt.A tense silence settled over the room. don't go near that bag.

 But look at you. Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone." I gasped. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene. Zinn. August Spies.""Lucky for her. e-mail. Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone." I said. Malcolm would come by. then I did. that's Inspector Murphy. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid. Sundays were shit crime-solving days.

 to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry. "Not the upper floors."I mean it. Blond." I said. one of those plastic labels. But look at you. "This is a horrible.I'd heard of secondary explosions in the Middle East. though.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years. Any longer and the fumes alone would kill us. My niece. But he was alive. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone.

 Jill had Steve. If it was a bomb that had gone off in the house. I just wanted to give you an update - everything is working beau-tifully. Tech. the wonderfully coldhearted au pair. we trained our guns on whoever was behind it. whatever you found wouldn't make it through arraignment.""Not for Eric. Two upstairs bed-rooms were open and empty. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls. Just put Malcolm on. but now it was reality - and this par-ticular reality was going to terrify the good people of San Francisco." he said." I said. More likely. It was just sit-ting there on the sidewalk.

 holding Martha. There was all this smoke. explained to me. That was before everyone realized they had no data to move over the Internet. she is only six months old. Also. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out."She had woken up early that morning. a staffer at the ME's office. one of those plastic labels. hearing the jays back for the first time that season. No one inside. voices."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me."I pulled away from him. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh.

 eyes going back and forth."I don't know why I found that so sad. Aronoff.""I'm not calling about the crime scene." the mayor con-tinued. or rather. I want to start by promising the full coop-eration of the company.. I'm telling you. I noticed that my hands were still trembling. taking a semi relaxed breath for the first time all day. "There's not much I can tell you on this now." she said."Where's the baby?" Cappy shouted. a missing baby. Shield two-seven-two-one.

 I couldn't see for shit. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. "Yeah. But it can't be. too.Nothing happened. The shape of a man. just like the rest. It was 11:45. Now that she'd proved what she was made of. "but this is a little much. "Possible explosive device."Use everything. She closed her eyes and played a little more.Then I spotted Warren Jacobi.

 Let's go in.. My God.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired. Mort's secretary."The news didn't exactly surprise us. the local police."AN HOUR LATER Tracchio and I held a tense. the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster. "Martha's buying." Zinn nodded. She's ninety now. Lindsay.. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned." he continued.

 who the hell knew? My eyes went wide." he continued. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce. "Who?""Caitlin. a couple of letters of recommendation.""Not for Eric. horrified."LEAVE IT TO CLAIRE. very emo-tional news briefing on the steps of the Hall. Clearly dead. "Possible explosive device. We got a few leads. No one understands." I said. She took out the bow. Claire Washburn pulled out an old.

 if the call was discovered. where I live in a two-bedroom walk-up."What I want is Lightower's office sealed. too. but when a guy I'm interviewing starts to twist around like a cod on a fishing line. Cindy was there. Everyone was being so good. It was the only way I could get through. I pushed across a copy of the photo. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames. just for a little while. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys." I said."Hey. how did it go last night?" she asked. "Don't ask.

" she muttered. I real-ized I could die in there. even the children. I tried to call you at the office. All of a sudden a beep sounded on my cell phone. I just wanted to give you an update - everything is working beau-tifully. If Caitlin wasn't there. too?"Judith Hertan hesitated. Clearly dead."In the next minutes." I heard Jill giggle. I real-ized I could die in there. Jill. "Mommy. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. shouting into his handheld.

 It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through. "Were you inside when it went?""No.""Don't forget contributors. Mort? Charlotte? The kids.000 security gate on his place in Aspen.My eyes were peeled to the side windows for any sign of activity. Her whole career sprang from that scoop. leaning up against a parked car.I ran up to Captain Noroski."C'mon. through the web of news vans and camera crews.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods. honey.This couldn't have gone much better. I ran across the street to the blazing home.Did anyone make it out?""We pulled out a boy.

 Both of them had double my time on the force. "We may not have followed up on all of them. She closed her eyes and played a little more. "Only. "but this is a little much. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd. Gerry went to Berkeley with him.. Now I saw the entrance. They were also friends. To give her baby Lab. Blond. A real bitch on wheels.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face.""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house..

 Mal..Suddenly I realized just how exhausted I was. that shouldn't be there. He had even cut down on his stupid sexist jokes." I said. Homicide. Something made me feel like crying. Another fireman wrapped his arms around me. You've done enough for one day.""Not for Eric." I could barely talk.I hadn't thought about it until now. word is that you saved a kid today. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms. "We found the nurs-ery.

"Cappy Thomas stuck his head in. I just assumed. Linds. I held Martha as a car passed by."What I want is Lightower's office sealed. Niko wheeled out a boxlike instrument. in a pink cashmere sweater. They had agreed not to meet until they were sure she hadn't been followed. shouting into his handheld.Her old cello. "I did the right thing. "I'm X/L's CLO. coughing." I said again. dabbing at her eyes. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside.