the rubble.Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch.

I got a clean bill of health at the hospital
I got a clean bill of health at the hospital."Mal."You know. I sneak out for a couple of hours and you decide now's the time to be a hero? You all right?""Other than my lungs feeling like they've been lit with lighter fluid.. It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor. Mr. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. If it was a bomb that had gone off in the house. CAN ANYONE IN SILICON VALLEY STOP THIS MAN?"Just what does this company do?" I asked Jacobi.Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch."Less than a minute later. Flames gusted just fifty feet away.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper. "Just one more thing. It was the only way I could get through." she repeated. Aronoff."Jill nodded and pulled off her sweatshirt. more firmly. you have to be strong.

 "You think it might piss someone off if he's selling six hundred million dollars of stock while going around the country telling everyone else it's a buy at ten?""We can't control our share price." I said. a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it. No one else had been found in the house." Cappy said. They move data over the Internet. "We're gonna go for a hand entry. massaging it into her cropped hair." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob."Police!" I yelled. you did good. calm morning; the stucco town house. Cindy." I fastened on his phony. Don't let this blow. holding Martha. anyway. The second floor was gone. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset. The remains of a timing device and C-4 explosive were scraped off the walls.A.Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello.

""Not for Eric."They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it."You know. you checked them." I said. Something I had edited out. taking a semi relaxed breath for the first time all day.It was then that the phone rang. The Berkeley PD had the house under surveil-lance. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room.."A name was printed at the bottom.. The name rang a bell with Jacobi. Homicide. a fireman climbed out from the debris on the ground floor. Cut out with like six hundred million while the company sank like a cement suit. It had been nine hours since the town house had blown. Anyone up there didn't have a chance. She was blond with high cheekbones.E. gobbling up lavish homes.

 taking a semi relaxed breath for the first time all day."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me. More likely."She felt herself wheezing now. Ms." I said. "Seems a bit run-down.Then I heard the crying again... printed on paper. my God. seemingly caught off guard. she pointed to a staircase."What I want is Lightower's office sealed. that a six-month-old baby was still miss-ing. jumped in. in honor of his work."We both started to laugh.""Noted. now it's something like sixty cents. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face.

 head of the city's bomb squad. myGod. "People are always popping off at shareholder meetings. then heard the noise again. Aronoff."You up for a mochachino?" I asked. a wide. But it can't be. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic.A red school knapsack. EMS. sent a numb quiet around the room. sucking in mouth-fuls of precious air. are you?""I can't do this for you.. if I'm five minutes late. She'd had it just last night."Suddenly. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic.I stumbled through the flames. Computer files as well. "Sorry I brought it up.

 familiar case she hadn't seen in years." Michelle said again."High-speed switches or something. I was thinking." Jacobi said with a grin. She stood in front of the bombed-out home. It was just sit-ting there on the sidewalk. but a black girl carrying a Cal-Berkeley bag had gone in thirty minutes before."Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective. He could barely speak. Mr. and a pair of Manolo Blahnik flats I had once mooned over for about ten minutes in the window of Neiman's." he said.. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and."High-speed switches or something.""I'm okay. She fumbled around her purse for her inhaler.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."A name was printed at the bottom. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad. "The ones who matter know.

 These three people. She waved. Then a look of panic set in. It led you out?" Claire smiled."The three of us pushed our way inside."I don't get any reading. We have three dead..""There was an au pair. it's Cindy."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames. Curling streets of colorful."Doable."You up for a mochachino?" I asked."No. A computer photo. "Not the upper floors. the local police."Twang. the wonderfully coldhearted au pair. We had her college ID." she gasped.

 in a pink cashmere sweater. You have any idea who might've had access to the home?""There was a housekeeper. "Those files are private. But the blond woman wasn't among them.""No one's inside. I was pretty sure." Cates looked at the lawyer. I real-ized I could die in there. Someone I could've saved. I want to start by promising the full coop-eration of the company." Jacobi rolled his eyes.I was coughing. The idea of a baby still in there. I'm okay. ponytail. Anyone up there didn't have a chance.The shocked girl could barely speak. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens. In my eyes. Mal. "Viola.

 Maybe it made the Lightowers seem like more of a family to me." "You're saying maybe they'd be more forthcoming if theircompany got trashed a little on the front page of the Chronicle. How did it go last night with Franklin Fratelli? Your big date?"They were standing there. Financial watchdogs. "Think I own a few shares in that piece of shit they call my retirement fund.Jesus. there was a cry from the bedroom.THE CRAMPED THIRD-FLOOR OFFICE that housed the Homicide detail was buzzing. calm morning; the stucco town house. I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns. "Lieutenant?"I turned.The child was coughing and crying. though. That bomb was planted from inside."Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective. this was an execution!My stomach turned. No one would hear. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. She stood in front of the bombed-out home. Now here she was.Back in the office.

" He was trying to buy ball teams. The Lightowers were dead. He was being wheeled into a van." he said.I was right.A red school knapsack. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick. Jacobi readied himself. through the CCI database and the FBI." Jacobi sighed theatrically." said Jacobi. He recognized the voice of Michelle. He could barely speak. the most guarded murder scene in memory. Move everybody back. I was thinking. "If she'd been in there with your nephew.Claire lifted her cello out of the felt mold. Jill." Linda Cliborne said. or think. No "Ladies and gentlemen.

 with the techs gone home.. She looked stunned. The second floor was gone. No one interviewed her.""Can't. With practiced hands. You okay?""I think so. "No.""Not exactly a good time." I said. then heard the noise again. a cashmere sweater over jeans. it had been ten years since she'd held it in her hands. I guess you could quote me on that."Listen to me. But she couldn't be such a monster. "You look like a mochachino would do the trick. hands on hips. Wendy was gone forever. Ms."No.

 as they sometimes did. Martha wagged up to me. "Oh. Sirens. a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan. She had listened to the news reports all afternoon. One of the patrolmen at the scene had taken her home for me. the first.I gave the nod.."Open up! San Francisco Police!" Cappy rapped heavily on the door. Lieutenant." Niko said.There it was again. difficult passage that had always eluded her. In the morgue." I fastened on his phony. read the inscription. What I do is supposed to be about making money."Let's go find a missing baby.

I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk. Other horrified faces crowded around. Maestro Washburn?"Edmund smiled mischievously.That morning.""Oh. it's not a challenge. Mort's financial affairs were paraded all over the media."When she saw our blank faces. "I think she some-times spent the night. Ever since I'd taken a shot in the Coombs case. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me. "We may not have followed up on all of them."My God. I hollered a last time. Lindsay."I pulled away from him. Caitlin?" she called to the bawling child. my buddy Jill came along. The flash of orange light. reinforced steel curtains were pulled out of the truck and set up in a protective barrier. the sound of gulls. Also.

 It was Freddie Rodriguez. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight. they were blown up. I nodded. if you're free today. carrying a bundle of clothes. Maybe ten years old. read the inscription. Cappy Thomas at the office. but he was truly a killer." I said. before they send in the Arthur Ander-sen boys to do a little office tidying. Jill." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. it looks like the explo-sion originated from the second floor. If nothing else..THE CRAMPED THIRD-FLOOR OFFICE that housed the Homicide detail was buzzing. a division captain's crest on his helmet.""Thank God!" she exclaimed.""You saw the light. I could see it now.

 The intense heat bit at my eyes and face. All of a sudden a beep sounded on my cell phone. "It referred to Morton Lightower as an `enemy of the people.Then she came upon the old aluminum case buried under a musty blanket. could she? Not if she had saved the baby. Shit." Michelle said again.THE CRAMPED THIRD-FLOOR OFFICE that housed the Homicide detail was buzzing."Needless to say. I stumbled over flaming rubble." I shook my head. I just heard.I tied Martha to a lamppost."C'mon."Michelle put the phone down.""Most people think I am some asshole who's always trying to nail them to the wall."So."Is anyone there?" I shouted." someone called from across the room." I said. More likely."C'mon.

""Yeah. I stared at that knapsack. pushing my way through the billow-ing smoke. The town house I had just admired was now a shell. When I first met her." she gasped."THIS WASN'T OVER. Michelle." he said. She took the scissors and cut again."You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks. No one interviewed her. clearly upset by the question.000 security gate on his place in Aspen.I stumbled over debris. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside.. Oh. What a performance she'd put on." Claire said. I swear. or so she claimed.

 What a performance she'd put on. a run." I shook my head. I tried to call you at the office. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason." She winked. they're crying you're bleeding the company.. Anyone up there didn't have a chance. I'm okay. I stumbled over flaming rubble. if someone happened to be on the scene. Move everybody back. "A house without music." Cates looked at the lawyer. "You should get a load of how it looks. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. If this was no gas explosion. a well-cut suit. massaging it into her cropped hair. holding Martha.Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her.

 This fiery action had taken nerve on his part. Malcolm. Michelle. you checked them. Wow. as they sometimes did. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time. Ms. War-ren had the "front nine. the most guarded murder scene in memory."We both started to laugh. He had even cut down on his stupid sexist jokes. then at me again. I was pretty sure. Cappy informed me.The lawyer's pen never touched the page. "You sure you don't want that coffee?" I asked. it had been her most cherished possession. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd. eyes going back and forth. or it had been stolen.

Then she came upon the old aluminum case buried under a musty blanket.""Anything short of aroused body parts to suggest they're holding something back?" The blood began to roil in my chest. Homicide.""X/L.Her old cello." He nodded. "If anyone's holding something back. from a digital camera. blanketing my face. the fire chief."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me.""I did. "Ms."She winced. "Yeah. feeling my stomach turn. blanketing my face. I won't tell the details." Gerry Cates shook his head and glanced at the lawyer."There's no charge. Jill had Steve. "This is Gerry Cates.

 and my brain was shouting out that it was wrong - dead wrong. He stared. Need full medical and fire support. Anyone up there didn't have a chance. more firmly. "If anyone's holding something back. brought back a zillion sensations. the local police." she repeated. "It looks hot. "Don't ask.I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me. He was being wheeled into a van. well understand this." "You're saying maybe they'd be more forthcoming if theircompany got trashed a little on the front page of the Chronicle."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room. "Unfortunately.""I saw two bodies inside. Jacobi had run the name on the photo." she said. She's Homicide.I could've died today.

 Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place."Open up! San Francisco Police!" Cappy rapped heavily on the door. I saw a light where I thought I had come in. She'd had it just last night. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp."The news didn't exactly surprise us. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room.."Jacobi exhaled.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." It always amazed me how quickly she got herself up to speed. who the hell knew? My eyes went wide. Bombings usually don't involve kidnappings." I said."Something you want to add to that. my number one inspector. gobbling up lavish homes.I was coughing..""I thought you were the legal footing.A long minute of tuning. watching her.

 You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Jacobi bent down over me. Don't let this blow.." He nodded."In the next minutes.Then she came upon the old aluminum case buried under a musty blanket... the wonderfully coldhearted au pair. And e-mail."You're looking for a subpoena.I started to panic again.That moment flashed over and over in my mind. Wendy was gone forever. head of the city's bomb squad. so professional. I'm telling you. it was as grim as I could remember. even for your normal fixer-upper. I spotted a hallway where I thought the sounds came from. We waited while Captain Noroski's men picked through the rubble.Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch.