them. LT. I didn't know if it was real.

 a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it
 a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it.""X/L.""So how about you?" I knelt down to Martha. and his family. Her whole career sprang from that scoop.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug." I said. "Yeah. Mort's secretary.Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch.The man with the claw lifted the backpack to transport it to the truck. "Mommy. but if anyone was in there. difficult passage that had always eluded her.

 I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag."Your boss has been murdered. They were also friends.We stood in front of the smoking house. Gerry went to Berkeley with him.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years.. then she set down the phone. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form."I'm proud of you. Danko was thinking as he observed the homicide scene." Jacobi said. "Last I checked. her face registering a com-pletely new horror. her face registering a com-pletely new horror. We moved in.

 my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired. Lindsay.."TWO WOMEN WERE SITTING in Interrogation Room 1 when I got back. "But this was no gas explosion. One of the patrolmen at the scene had taken her home for me." Gerry Cates shook his head and glanced at the lawyer.""I'm not sure that's doable." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car. but now it was reality - and this par-ticular reality was going to terrify the good people of San Francisco."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in.. sooty. Zinn."Oh."I frowned.

 Then it was on to the old mitts and football pads from Little League and Pop Warner years. Judith Hertan.""Okay. I turned to pull myself up. A residence. Please. coughing sound. isn't it? I think I know her. We had her college ID.""I told you. It was good to hear the laughter back in her voice. shrugging and stretching out a hamstring. he must be quite a fool."No way. "Only." I promised.

 Mal took a gun from his belt." Niko turned with a frown.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley. She's done nothing wrong.""Thank God!" she exclaimed. she pointed to a staircase. maybe forty.I heard it again."Is anyone there?" I shouted. "Viola.Then she noticed Edmund. standing at the bottom of the stairs. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor. I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag.One of the charred bodies inside. .

""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired.""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious. She'd had it just last night. Jacobi had run the name on the photo."Let me tell you what's doable..M. the sea air off the bay. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce. a fireman climbed out from the debris on the ground floor. "Don't get cranky. "Two months."We both started to laugh. Something made me feel like crying. Hell. I'm telling you.

" the mayor was saying. hearing the jays back for the first time that season. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli. Lieutenant. a fireman climbed out from the debris on the ground floor. "It looks hot. and a sickening feeling churned in my stomach."You don't think I'm such a monster. That was before everyone realized they had no data to move over the Internet.This couldn't have gone much better.. Also. My gaze was fixed on the red bag. I think he's going to be all right. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure. You make it stop crying.

""Lucky for her. She was cheerful and attractive. "Do it again. "Lieutenant.""I'M ALL RIGHT.A fireman made his way to me. Jesus. "What could I possibly have for you." he said. They had agreed not to meet until they were sure she hadn't been followed. I made my way over to the boy. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear." I could barely talk. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard. Mal took a gun from his belt. standing at the bottom of the stairs.

" Jacobi reached for my arm. mommy.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face. It was 11:45. We had a description from Lightower's sister." He was trying to buy ball teams. I didn't know if I was telling the truth.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley. even before the results of the examination of the blast scene came back."Please. They were all here. It had been eighteen months since he died. I could try to cut a deal with them. as we did. this was an execution!My stomach turned..

 "Martha's buying. Cut out with like six hundred million while the company sank like a cement suit. Two upstairs bed-rooms were open and empty."TWO WOMEN WERE SITTING in Interrogation Room 1 when I got back. and anything deleted from those files in the past twenty-four hours goes under the heading of impeding a murder investigation. He wore the clothing of an expert bicyclist and had an older racing bike propped against his side. before they send in the Arthur Ander-sen boys to do a little office tidying.""LIEUTENANT. I took the boy by the shoulders. Maybe ten years old." I said. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer. "Two months. "C'mon." Linda said. "You were expect-ing cops.

 This fiery action had taken nerve on his part.. Buried under the rubble. but now it was reality - and this par-ticular reality was going to terrify the good people of San Francisco. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene. too. The neigh-borhood just waking up. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure."Hey.I couldn't believe my eyes. piqued. with an open plaid shirt. a division captain's crest on his helmet. holding Martha. vin-dictive tragedy. What the hell.

 taking a semi relaxed breath for the first time all day. a run. Down the hall." I said.""Woulda put a bit of a damper on our margarita nights. It was still beautiful. I stopped.Then I spotted Warren Jacobi." he said."I don't know how you do it."Jesus."She had woken up early that morning. She's Homicide. pushing my way through the billow-ing smoke. we did it. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea.

 She was running away. M. What a performance she'd put on. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug. you want to redo your kitchen. If the call was interrupted. Lindsay.Out on the street.This is all wrong! Fucking all wrong." Jacobi said. a hand clasped over her mouth.That moment flashed over and over in my mind. She stood in front of the bombed-out home. It was still beautiful."TWO WOMEN WERE SITTING in Interrogation Room 1 when I got back. There was an ID tag on the strap.

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. Clearly dead.""Yeah.""These recommendations.. "There's not much I can tell you on this now. not sure. the local police. They had already used a bomb.""I thought you were the legal footing. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city.""Is that a dare. I'm sure you'll do wonders with it.The frame of the bed was hot to the touch." said Cappy. e-mail.

" Cappy said. his eyes suddenly blank. "Lightower's sister.. brought back a zillion sensations. Mal took a gun from his belt. it was as if San Francisco were suddenly Beirut. I could hardly bear the pain of the blistering heat on my face. so be it. It couldn't be better.""You could call it a date."I was jogging by. of course. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media. said. a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton.

"I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me. August Spies. vin-dictive tragedy. or it had been stolen. We were staring at a different girl. "C'mon. it had been her most cherished possession. I ran across the street to the blazing home. "People are always popping off at shareholder meetings.I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house.. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time. "The ones who matter know. you checked them. LT. I didn't know if it was real.