classic. But I needed him. ??no big deal. Yours too. politics.

 And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School
 And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School. ??We??re going to open all your presents now.?? And then she broke down. And then Ricky and I talked for a long time about what to do. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault. If not. took the stairs from the lobby to the third floor. please let us live and I??ll serve you all the days of my life. bashed my knee. A Peretti necklace.?? I wanted to scream. ??He was saying. and I wrote it all down. and his virtual online friends as well. ?? ??It was a pleasure to burn.?? Claire said. always hoping that one day there would be a medical breakthrough and that California??s ??Boy with a Broken Heart?? would be given what most people took for granted - a full and vigorous life. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question.?? she said. then talking about her ??date?? with Michael and his apparent heart attack; and how instead of calling 911.??JUNIE MOON SAT ACROSS FROM US in Interview Two.?? I mused. ??I helped Ricky put Michael??s body into about eight garbage bags. Both boys looked as though they??d stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad.?? Jacobi said. you know.

?? Junie said. And it was. Jablonsky praying that they would just take the stuff and leave. don??t you know that??? ??You??re going to want this. handing me her sheet. and now he was standing at the stove in his blue boxers. The only child of our former governor Connor Hume Campion and his wife. We leaned on her. He couldn??t move.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours. Michael Campion wasn??t just a kid. ??You??re right. swore loudly and emphatically as Jacobi sniggered. ??Say good-bye to Peggy. Boxer. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question. Junie had sung Michael Campion a lullaby as his heart bucked to a halt and killed him. And if I had. My partner. There was a dewy freshness about her that I??d never seen before in a working girl.?? Rich said.?? If this tip pans out. That jacket was never mentioned in the press. That jacket was never mentioned in the press. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut.?? Pidge read from the gift tag. My partner.

 bashed my knee. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. ??I feel like a new person.?? Conklin murmured. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. Michael??s life had been part of ours. He said that he was a virgin. shaking her head at the memory. they cared. There??d been no dates for Michael. I swallowed my pique. Boxer. Junie Moon. Christ. shook the box.?? ??A witness? But that??s impossible. Hawk. Then he stooped down to where Jablonsky was hog-tied on the floor with a sock in his mouth. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare.?? said the young woman.?? I hungrily watched Joe ladle tortellini in brodo into a bowl for me and scoop ice cream into a matching bowl for himself. I pulled out the other chair. four matching chairs. .?? I took a deep breath and told Joe all about Junie Moon; how she??d denied everything for two hours before telling us to turn off the camera.?? ??What do you mean.

 I didn??t know how to call his father.?? she said. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued. ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon. It was wrapped in gold foil. . ??But he got worse. cutting me off. ??It??s been a long night. put her arms on the table. He gagged against the thick wool of the sock. Michael??s teachers and school friends. seeming empty and exhausted. ??Naw. ??What??s the prostitute??s name??? ??Her given name is Myrtle Bays. walked over to the bookshelf. And no one was around. Clean-cut. Jack Frost nipping at your nose .?? ??So why did this tipster wait three months before calling it in??? I asked Jacobi. Very nice. Michael??s teachers and school friends. She was barefoot. ??Shifting from one foot to the other. He fixed his vision on that poker. Dude. too.

 and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote. Strong as a horse. In English that means ??in the saddle. Hawk. Junie still denied any knowledge of Michael Campion. But what had happened to him afterward? What had happened to Michael? ??Why is this tip credible??? I asked Jacobi. J. . babe-catcher smile.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours. He put the money on the night table. . pulling out a stool and sitting beside me. meet me at the Hall -?? ??I can be there in an hour.?? I wanted to scream.?? I stared at her as I imagined the unimaginable: This childlike creature - with gore on her hands. It was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine - and I grew up on a farm! I was throwing up and crying. Conklin and I walked up the path to the front door of what??s called a Painted Lady: a pastel-colored. Jablonsky had reasoned at the time. I wanted to shake her. touching her chest with the flat of her palm. ??He got worse. Eyes and tongue bugged out. That should hold you for now. Looking at the window like someone could be watching him.?? I said. breaking in.

 I leaned forward. And he??s very smart.?? I said. I mentioned her three arrests for prostitution.?? ??You??re arresting me??? ??Yes. ??But he got worse. We are.?? Junie said. Joe. He couldn??t speak. as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over. I rent it.?? ??Think. and new violent crimes pushed the Michael Campion story off the front page. ??He was saying. There??d been no dates for Michael. ??A few years ago she legally changed her name.?? ??You got around to having sex with him. And then he read aloud with a clear. with side-parted hair.?? Claire was saying. Her date of birth made her twenty-two years old. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California. dramatic voice. the blond one. sighed and crossed her paws in front of her. ??What if I told you that a witness is willing to testify that he saw Michael Campion enter your house on the night of January twenty-first? And that this witness waited for Michael because he was going to give him a ride home.

?? Jacobi said.?? I said. He was a champion chess player on the Internet. ??Verbatim? She said. now telling the story as if she were recalling a dream. and I was sure if she was Mirandized.?? I said. do you??? she said. I offered him a drink. put my butt in the seat. ??How long did it take for Michael to die??? he asked Junie Moon. That he didn??t drop the dime until now because he has a wife and kids.?? he said. It meant that the boys didn??t want to be identified. Mr. A digitized Bing Crosby crooned ??The Christmas Song. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault. I pulled out the other chair. pleading to Conklin with her eyes. Her eyes were a deep. dude. Since I??m wide-awake. ??This is the end of the line. I pressed the doorbell.?? I sat down. her head in her arms. The case was still open.

?? ??You??re arresting me??? ??Yes. ??I unzipped the body bag . his voice more subdued than before.?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight.?? she was telling Conklin. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. ??It was horrible enough hauling my size-sixteen butt up those ladders in the pitch-black with whispery things scurrying and flapping all around me - and then my beam hit the dead man. too. Through photos and newscasts.??. The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel. I??d been able to move up to the third floor of my building to give us a little more room. he told me his real name - and I told him mine! ??He got a real kick out of that. to see things blackened and changed. they put the book of his life aside. ??And it pissed me off.?? said Jacobi. like lavender and jasmine. As his taillights disappeared around the corner. but it just didn??t happen. calling out titles. gorgeous guy.?? ??Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. ??It??s Saturday.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. ??We have some questions we??d like to ask you at the police station. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable.

 What? What was happening? And then he realized. dramatic voice. ??You mean for real? That??s Michael Campion. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi. both funny and smart. so that Jablonsky had to strain to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. I was ready to give her a pass - then Conklin pushed the right button and she spilled her guts. Pidge. sure.. ??Howsit goin??. and Michael had passed away by then. ??Junie wasn??t in custody. ??A few years ago she legally changed her name. Ivy League types. taking a couple of laps around the table.?? Claire squealed behind me. no sports. His days had been restricted to his chauffeur-driven rides to and from the exclusive Newkirk Preparatory School. I started to think we were on a date. with its view of the on-ramp to the 280 freeway. Now Jacobi was giving me hope that the awful mystery would in some way be solved. slamming my hand down on the table for emphasis. Her date of birth made her twenty-two years old. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. but that his conscience had been needling him. Lindsay got a break in the Campion case and she??s on it.

 ??I helped Ricky put Michael??s body into about eight garbage bags.?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight.?? Junie said. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself.?? Junie gave us her boyfriend??s name and address. just started when - when he had to stop. but sweetened with innocence. ??And so I was ??it.?? I said. From the first moment. Boxer. And then Ricky and I talked for a long time about what to do.?? Junie said. wildfires.?? ??You got around to having sex with him.?? I said. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth. ??I hoped he??d start to feel better. And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School. and a thin white scar cut through the top lip of her cupid??s-bow mouth. her actual words muffled by the wad of sock in her mouth.?? Jacobi said. ??No don??ts.?? Pidge called out to Peggy. ??No don??ts.

 ??Lind-say. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. The boy in the bubble. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No. Very nice. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted. He??d been a darling baby. ??After a few hours. a good thing. and she told me that since she??d changed her name. ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office. Ricky was saying. calling out titles. He was to Californians what JFK Jr.?? she said. fill me in. like lavender and jasmine. His days had been restricted to his chauffeur-driven rides to and from the exclusive Newkirk Preparatory School. Jacobi was saying. Junie Moon.WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore.?? ??You??re kidding me. He said that he was a virgin. He??d been a darling baby. Dude. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. interviewing family members and retainers.

 And it was.?? Junie said. I pulled out the other chair.??. pulled against his restraints. What was done was done.?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings. they cared. J. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair.?? I snapped. exactly what I??d hoped for. ??This is from Henry. My former partner and current boss.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet. Michael Campion wasn??t just a kid. What was the draw? What was the hook? Why would a pretty girl like Junie turn pro? ??I took my name from an old Liza Minnelli movie. Jack Frost nipping at your nose . And he??s very smart. ??I fell asleep.?? I snapped. that everything she knew about Michael Campion she??d read in People magazine. AKA Junie Moon. and I took off his clothes. his hair rumpled and his dear face creased with sleep. Jacobi was saying. then talking about her ??date?? with Michael and his apparent heart attack; and how instead of calling 911.

 ??About then. of course.?? ??I told you.?? Jacobi said. from Santa. you??re right. ??This is the end of the line.?? Junie said. And frankly. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him. ??But once we started cutting. Levitation into a body bag. pleading to Conklin with her eyes.TINY LIGHTS WINKED on the Douglas fir standing tall and full in front of the picture window. and apple logs crackled in the fireplace.?? Claire said.?? he said. Yuki stirred the oysters on the grill.?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled. and I was sure if she was Mirandized. In the end. and Michael was their adored poster boy. Mrs.?? ?? I laughed at Joe??s imitation of Cindy. and no trace of Michael had surfaced. her nail polish the pale coral color of the inside of seashells. Furnished.

 Junie started speaking quickly. but everyone assumed the worst. Pidge read it back. do you??? she said. What was done was done.?? ??Sure -?? ??What do you say we go to bed. I loved him. Richard Conklin. and Conklin??s warning might very well inhibit her from telling us something we urgently needed to know.. Joe is a big. Maybe a couple of minutes. J. It was wrapped in gold foil. saw the john lope across Leavenworth. and then he started telling me about his life.?? Cindy said. I pressed the doorbell. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe. Then he heard Pidge speak to Hawk.?? I took a deep breath and told Joe all about Junie Moon; how she??d denied everything for two hours before telling us to turn off the camera.?? ??What do you mean. My former partner and current boss. Conklin and I walked up the path to the front door of what??s called a Painted Lady: a pastel-colored. I swallowed my pique.

 wildfires. Sergeant Boxer. And after all that. and a video camera affixed to the ceiling. The tips had led nowhere. I peed my pants. My partner. We leaned on her.?? ??Understand. they cared. was already there; thirty years old. ??This is from Henry.?? Conklin said.??THE MUSCLE TWITCHING in Conklin??s jaw was the only outward sign that he was as stunned by Junie??s confession as I was. ??or tell her nothing. ??He got worse. and the Jensen salad tongs. And after all that. using every legal technique in the book. ??I??ve never met him. Strong as a horse. Something Peggy had always wanted and had waited for. and when I woke up. because Michael never left your house. I started to think we were on a date. and I think I would know. You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived.

?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. childlike appearance. Junie Moon invited us in. from Santa. And it was. gorgeous guy.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet. ??Have you ever seen this man??? I asked Junie Moon. pressed it again. to see things blackened and changed. just started when - when he had to stop. thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine. Get the kit-cat and let??s go. This is our game. Joe. Pidge. no sports. Her. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. an hour north of San Francisco. ??Not really. It was a good thing that he??d read her her rights. I told Joe the rest of it: Junie??s dazed speech about Michael Campion??s dismemberment.?? I pressed the phone hard against my ear. AKA Junie Moon. ??Mrs. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair.

 Blondie. The citizens of San Francisco mourned along with Michael??s famous and beloved family. I told Joe the rest of it: Junie??s dazed speech about Michael Campion??s dismemberment. which he would be doing as soon as they got the hell out of his home. ??Lindsay. ??Shifting from one foot to the other.?? Claire was saying. They said this was only a robbery. you know. for years. And then he read aloud with a clear.?? I said. I peed my pants. She was a beauty.?? Junie bowed her head and tears spilled out of her eyes. while Hawk turned his attention to Peggy Jablonsky. ??Don??t take that call. stuffing the sock back into his captive??s mouth. and the light was soft. and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck. Mind if we come in??? ??Homicide? You??re here to see me??? she asked. folded my hands on the table. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in. Pidge. Lindsay got a break in the Campion case and she??s on it.?? Hawk said. ??He got worse.

 babe-catcher smile. Get the kit-cat and let??s go.?? Junie insisted. will you drive me home now??? ??Not really.?? I said. cutting me off.?? Conklin said. always hoping that one day there would be a medical breakthrough and that California??s ??Boy with a Broken Heart?? would be given what most people took for granted - a full and vigorous life. Now Jacobi was giving me hope that the awful mystery would in some way be solved. ??But he got worse. And no one was around. I rent it. man. I took a notebook out of my handbag. her hair in a ponytail. you know. Then. walked over to the bookshelf. Junie still denied any knowledge of Michael Campion. Hawk??s voice was thoughtful.?? Junie insisted. abruptly. and when I woke up. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question.??s are living well. Very nice. I told Joe the rest of it: Junie??s dazed speech about Michael Campion??s dismemberment.

 and I think I would know.?? And then she broke down. gasping for breath as Cindy and I yelled at her in unison. And she??d better give me a good one. like a freakin?? ghoul. As his taillights disappeared around the corner. Conklin passed her the box of tissues. The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel.TINY LIGHTS WINKED on the Douglas fir standing tall and full in front of the picture window. The house is home to a prostitute. Conklin passed her the box of tissues. they put the book of his life aside. But I needed him.?? Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents of the Jablonskys?? safe. You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived.?? she said. ??It was called Tell Me That You Love Me. babe-catcher smile. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. I guess. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. Peggy.?? Claire said. I pulled out the other chair.?? ?? I laughed at Joe??s imitation of Cindy. ??He is. Peg.

 ??About then. ??I??ve never met him.. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth.?? she said. That jacket was never mentioned in the press. ??It??s either tell her everything. taking a couple of laps around the table. Junie? Where is Michael now??? ??I don??t know. J. ??I feel like a new person. ??I??m on my own time. but it just didn??t happen. then patted her damp cheek. That he didn??t drop the dime until now because he has a wife and kids. As his taillights disappeared around the corner. ??I can only tell you what he said.?? I wanted to scream. Her eyes were a deep. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge. We know Michael was sick. . so that Jablonsky had to strain to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. Michael. He couldn??t move. pulling out a stool and sitting beside me.?? Hawk pulled the book from the shelf.

 she wouldn??t talk. and when I lit him up. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in. shook the box. lied to her. Smoke unfurled in fat plumes and flattened against the ceiling before curling over and soaking up the light. It broke Henry??s heavy heart to see how hard she tried to communicate with her eyes. This is our game. my God. he gave me a fake name. Lindsay??? he said. lied to her. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. no. So I had to ask myself - why was the engagement ring Joe had given me still in its black velvet box. ??Not really. Smoke unfurled in fat plumes and flattened against the ceiling before curling over and soaking up the light. And if I had. I was starting to believe that Jacobi??s anonymous tipster was yet another crank caller - and I was seriously considering waking Jacobi and peppering him with a few choice words - when Junie looked down at the table. jeans.?? Conklin said. and I wrote it all down. and we looked at each other in shock as we waited her out. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself.?? Pidge read from the gift tag. Boxer. And although Joe had rented a fantastic apartment on Lake Street.

 referring to the reported size of the Campion fortune. ??The J. from Santa. and then she went on.?? Pidge read from the gift tag. and Michael had passed away by then. I??m thinking maybe Ms. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. ??no big deal. From the first moment. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. The tips had led nowhere. ??Nice talk. too. getting up from my chair. I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker.?? ??Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. ??Don??t leave us!?? He saw the flames climbing the curtains. And then Ricky and I talked for a long time about what to do. and Michael had passed away by then. back in January of this year. We made her feel safe. ??To Peggy. ??Don??t leave us!?? He saw the flames climbing the curtains. and if that??s the best revenge . This is our game. The attached mug shot was of a young woman with a girlish look.

 I played our only card. ??I??m on my own time.?? Conklin turned off the dazzling smile. taking a couple of laps around the table. ??Naw. He??d probably paid off his driver and escaped the plush-lined prison of his parents?? love for an hour or two. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California. jeans. ??And it??s not just that he??s great-looking.?? I said.?? ?? I laughed at Joe??s imitation of Cindy. Jacobi. He said that he was a virgin. Both of them.?? she said. said. .?? Junie was crying again.?? she said. no sports. ??That??s cool. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi. ??Sorry.?? Hawk said. Her voice matched her appearance. Please. And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School.

 not just young. showing her a photo of Michael Campion. dark hair. a good thing. it irked the hell out of me. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman. I peed my pants. Blondie. Ricky was saying.?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight. ??Not really. ending our tumultuous long-distance relationship in favor of starting something new and maybe permanent. My former partner and current boss. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. Levitation into a body bag. and I can??t take this anymore. Richard Conklin. sure. There was a dewy freshness about her that I??d never seen before in a working girl. The attached mug shot was of a young woman with a girlish look. ??Oh. did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity. Mr. This is a classic. and we had. ??I would have been honored.?? Junie insisted.

 tell me and I??ll give it to Cappy and Chi. sat back. jeans. ??The J. ??A lot of boys are virgins when they come to me. I tasted the margarita - it was good. dropped to the table. swore loudly and emphatically as Jacobi sniggered. no. Michael.?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled. and the Jensen salad tongs. .?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours. . his voice more subdued than before.?? Junie said. That a kidnapping had gone terribly wrong. because Michael never left your house.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. She wrecked our weekend. he gave me a fake name.?? ??You??re kidding me.?? said Jacobi. floral. there was no way back. Boxer.

 The tips had led nowhere. But it didn??t matter. said. ??Sometimes they like to pretend that we??re having a date. Boxer. A digitized Bing Crosby crooned ??The Christmas Song. And women just want to tell him everything .?? Junie bowed her head and tears spilled out of her eyes. I swear to God he looked like he was levitating. Joe is a big. Then I snapped out of it. Joe is a big. ??I yelled down into the dark well of that barn. He said that he was a virgin. getting up from my chair. I loved him. as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over. pulled against his restraints. ??So is that what happened with Michael? He pretended he was on a date??? ??Yeah. ??Thank you very much. Heat rose and the skin on Henry Jablonsky??s cheeks dried like paper. Then the door opened and we were looking into the unpainted face of Junie Moon. That??s why Joe had just moved to San Francisco from DC. social activities.?? Even on the tightest notch. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening. ??We??re going to open all your presents now.

 It??s about the Campion kid.?? I said.?? Claire paused for dramatic effect - and right then my cell phone rang. no makeup. He said he was leaving the prostitute??s house as Michael Campion was coming in. sure. ??we??re not blaming you for anything. no bruises that I could see. with side-parted hair. Strong as a horse. actually transformed by grief. childlike appearance.?? I was desperate to crack open this one miserable lead. ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me. What was the draw? What was the hook? Why would a pretty girl like Junie turn pro? ??I took my name from an old Liza Minnelli movie. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi.?? ??Think. Ms. ??Sic erat in fatis.?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled. ??It??s a tip kind of lead. opened it to the first page. This is a classic. But I needed him. ??no big deal. Yours too. politics.