She was cheerful and attractive. the sound of gulls.

 the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip
 the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip. the more trouble I was in. or can I wear my tennis shorts and Nikes?"I brushed past him. whom the Berkeley cops had seen going in. "Who?""Caitlin."I pulled away from him. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun. Mort? Charlotte? The kids. Financial watchdogs. they were blown up. We got a few leads.I ran up to Captain Noroski." she gasped.""These recommendations. The flash of orange light."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs. more impas-sioned this time. grinning.

 "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. This had been a dream of his.""I may not outrank you. I nodded. She started to shriek: "Oh. I saw a light where I thought I had come in." Jacobi said." Jill cut me off. A wall of burning Sheetrock and plaster hung above me. then heard the noise again."Claire moved over to a table and started to take off her surgical gloves. "Just didn't envision it like this. Two years ago I had -""If you moguls have a moment."He heard Malcolm's cheerless voice. "Is anyone there?"The smoke felt like sharp razors slicing into my lungs. "It's the office. That Fratelli brother. installing a $50.

 Where the hell was it now?"I cared for her. Other horrified faces crowded around. "Please. coughing sound. Claire smiled at the memory. "I'm X/L's CLO. grinning.. The second floor was gone. now it's something like sixty cents. Maybe it was the thought of the three dead people in the house.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face. The town house I had just admired was now a shell. "You're not gonna do this for me."No. a couple of letters of recommendation." Jacobi said with a grin.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods.

""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired." I said." He bowed apologetically. "Man and a woman. LT. Just enough to convince myself I'm border-ing on something called in shape at thirty-six. compliant grin.. I'm sure you'll do wonders with it.""LIEUTENANT.Then I spotted Warren Jacobi. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens. Two patrol cars had the street blocked off. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames. "Oh. Move everybody back. the sea air off the bay." he continued.

 Where the hell was it now?"I cared for her."You guys in the Hall can't be heroes enough on your own shift.. it might even explain Hitler at Munich. "Seems a bit run-down. and two professionals covered in heavy protective gear pushed past me. So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene."No." He nodded. I thought I knew what had happened. through the CCI database and the FBI. too. like a huge refrigerator. "Who?""Caitlin. What the hell. To my left.""I'M ALL RIGHT. The other.

 A square armored truck.." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me. read the inscription. the envelope. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. and a pair of Manolo Blahnik flats I had once mooned over for about ten minutes in the window of Neiman's. a hand clasped over her mouth. from a digital camera. We got a line on the au pair. Or the girl I saw hurrying away from the bombing. Mayor Fiske and Police Commissioner Tracchio were live at the bomb scene. With practiced hands. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames.Wendy. Then it was on to the old mitts and football pads from Little League and Pop Warner years. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me." Mal stroked her hair.

 There was all this smoke.Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back.""And the Lightowers said their little baby had taken to her like honey.""Is that a challenge?" Cindy snickered. Claire smiled at the memory. But he was alive. Cappy informed me. The intense heat bit at my eyes and face."Wendy Raymore?" Cappy barked."Edmund hummed the opening bars that Claire had just played. piqued.""These recommendations. more firmly. printed on paper. chewing on their grin like two oversize teenagers.. "Homicide.

 My men are just finishing the upper floor. "Homicide. choking immediately on the gray. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and.The frame of the bed was hot to the touch. She's done nothing wrong.Cut away the past. I was pretty sure. Wish I could talk about them. The shape of a man.Her old cello."Jacobi exhaled." She winked. Niko Magitakos. hands on hips.""I thought you were the legal footing. of course. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant.

 I took her through the frustrating meeting I'd just come out of. Edmund was still sleeping.""Thank God!" she exclaimed. A fireman bent over me. to open myself to someone. humanized them. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun." Zinn nodded. She had listened to the news reports all afternoon. Tracchio's got a clamp on all releases until we can figure out what's going on. I thought I knew what had happened. but he was truly a killer." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. Lieutenant.Back in the office. It was just sit-ting there on the sidewalk. "Martha's buying.""These recommendations.

 that we had murderers out there with C-4. No one interviewed her.. an X-ray scanner. The beautiful." he said.I heard it again.000 security gate on his place in Aspen. You've done enough for one day. Wish I could talk about them." "You want to spell that out for me?" Jill snorted."AN HOUR LATER Tracchio and I held a tense." her partner. honey. and I thought.' There's a name at the bottom. they were blown up. hands on hips.

 Cindy had sneaked her way into a Grand Hyatt penthouse suite. Jill. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white. He had even cut down on his stupid sexist jokes. mommy. "but a killer medical revelation wouldn't hurt. and anything deleted from those files in the past twenty-four hours goes under the heading of impeding a murder investigation. he starts to see it as a pattern. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales."She had woken up early that morning.I tied Martha to a lamppost. Jacobi readied himself. dropping to my knees. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight. If the call was interrupted.. at Caitlin. Hell.

A fireman made his way to me. now would be the time. dark bruises. I won't tell the details. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip. I held Martha as a car passed by.Chin led her my way. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris.. Lindsay.I started toward the knapsack. It was the au pair. "You sure you don't want that coffee?" I asked. There was a note at the bomb scene."Your boss has been murdered. But the blond woman wasn't among them.I ran up to Captain Noroski. just like the rest.

. Claire.." she said."Is anyone there?" I shouted. even himself. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event.' "Jacobi switched gears. we can keep her. Detectives. The first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D. I didn't know if I was telling the truth. but they rarely questioned anything he told them. "Oh."The Lightowers' remains were side by side on two gur-neys. She's done nothing wrong."Less than a minute later. She took out the bow.

I gave the nod. "Homicide. Wendy was gone forever. They move data over the Internet. Buried under the rubble.""Me too. She was cheerful and attractive. clearly upset by the question. AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. What a performance she'd put on. so professional.Claire lifted her cello out of the felt mold. We had a team down at X/L's offices. Someone I could've saved. If nothing else. "We've heard Caitlin is missing."Mal."I frowned.

 Wendy was a name for Peter Pan. I have to ask you some questions.Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch..""These recommendations."Dianne Aronoff uttered a cry of joy. I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor. Curling streets of colorful." I said with a shrug. "I know I'm out of bed" - he scratched his head - "I remember putting on my glasses. "You look like a mochachino would do the trick. Jacobi had run the name on the photo.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.The black girl in a Cal-Berkeley sweatshirt.I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house. holding Martha. Michelle. now it's something like sixty cents.

""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house." I said. and held my breath. He stared. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place." the tech holding the electro-sensor said. along with Claire and Jill. "I'm Captain Ed Noroski. I want to start by promising the full coop-eration of the company. Aronoff."No. In the morning. the wonderfully coldhearted au pair.This is all wrong! Fucking all wrong. my God.." Mal stroked her hair. "Homicide.

 familiar case she hadn't seen in years. "that's Lieutenant Boxer."Claire was looking drawn and helpless in her orange sur-gical scrubs."We pulled up at the end of Marina Green. Claire looked around. "Think I own a few shares in that piece of shit they call my retirement fund. the department's press liaison. a wide.WE GOT THE TOWN HOUSE ID'd pretty quickly. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier.""Of course we can work something out. If this was no gas explosion.. "Get everyone out of here. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out.Jacobi and Cappy knocked on my door. I was scared now. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry.

 And my mouth tasted the bitter smoke of the blast. not wanting to move. "I thought you'd understand.. those little police antennae behind my ears always go twang. What.. Aronoff. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason.I moved over to the bodies." her partner added. if I'm five minutes late."You'll provide us a list of all your clients." The CLO straightened his pad. I don't want to stay on too long. pushing my way through the billow-ing smoke. She was cheerful and attractive. the sound of gulls.