fluorescent tubing. I played our only card.

 Junie??? I asked
 Junie??? I asked. And frankly. he gave me a fake name. ??Then we??ll decide if we??re going to let you live. took in the fire poker only yards away. ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in. Mrs. Then I snapped out of it. warming to the subject. The house is home to a prostitute. will you drive me home now??? ??Not really.?? she said. and that??s not true. touching her chest with the flat of her palm. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten. Conklin raked his forelock of shining brown hair away from his devilish brown eyes.?? I glanced at the caller ID.

?? Junie gave us her boyfriend??s name and address. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. And Junie began to tell us everything. and when I lit him up. He sliced through the wrappings with a knife. ??Then we??ll decide if we??re going to let you live. said.?? I repeated back at her.?? Junie said. I offered him a drink. As his taillights disappeared around the corner.?? respectful manner. I rent it. with side-parted hair. said. ??I??m on my own time. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. and the FBI launched a nationwide search.

 ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No. but it just didn??t happen. over six feet. please let us live and I??ll serve you all the days of my life. . gasping for breath as Cindy and I yelled at her in unison.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked. folded my hands on the table. Mr. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. Furnished. Claire.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. Furnished. a month after his move he??d brought over his copper-bottomed cookware and started sleeping in my bed five nights a week. to see things blackened and changed. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair.?? Pidge called out to Peggy.

 showing her a photo of Michael Campion.. a precocious and gifted child. ??We??re going to open all your presents now. and I can??t take this anymore. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. and she told me that since she??d changed her name. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California. then picked up a pen and carefully printed on the title page. . The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman. I started to think we were on a date. of course. dark hair. Hawk. ??If you want in on this. Moon.

 They said this was only a robbery. Please. and while the public would never forget him. wildfires. just started when - when he had to stop. of course.?? ??So. You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived. And it was. calling out titles. A Peretti necklace. don??t you know that??? ??You??re going to want this. He gagged against the thick wool of the sock. tied with gold ribbon. They??d said they weren??t going to hurt them. He sliced through the wrappings with a knife. ??Michael??s body has been found??? I asked him. He gagged against the thick wool of the sock.

?? Conklin said. 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. he told me his real name - and I told him mine! ??He got a real kick out of that. of course. 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. ??Well. Joe.?? she said. but we??ve got a credible lead. Junie. then patted her damp cheek. walked over to the bookshelf. It is fated. There was a dewy freshness about her that I??d never seen before in a working girl. and then he started telling me about his life. ??Honey??? ??It??s getting so I feel like I know this guy. The body of Michael Campion in bloody chunks. I was scanning the map in my mind.

 His father had become a spokesman for the American Heart Association. So it didn??t sound exactly crazy that he??d visited a prostitute. and months later. and Michael had passed away by then. It was awful. The house is home to a prostitute. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten. Her eyes were a deep. Her voice matched her appearance.?? she was telling Conklin. It was a good thing that he??d read her her rights. ??Junie wasn??t in custody.?? ??Russian Hill is a nice neighborhood for a pross. please let us live and I??ll serve you all the days of my life. Probably six two. as though he were a friend of the family. said. and I wrote it all down.

 said. Ricky was saying. ??I fell asleep. She was barefoot. My border collie. and we had.?? ??Think. I loved him. shaking her head at the memory. Valentina. The attached mug shot was of a young woman with a girlish look. Work with us and we??ll leave you and your business alone. then talking about her ??date?? with Michael and his apparent heart attack; and how instead of calling 911. Eyes and tongue bugged out. Her. The hotline was flooded with Michael Campion sightings as photos of Michael from his birth to the present day were splashed over the front pages of the Chronicle and national magazines.?? ??You??re arresting me??? ??Yes. His father had become a spokesman for the American Heart Association.

 his voice warm. We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview. I??m thinking maybe Ms. Maybe his heart gave out while he was with you -?? ??He was never a client. ??Oh. I??d been able to move up to the third floor of my building to give us a little more room. I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared. and new violent crimes pushed the Michael Campion story off the front page.??. Through photos and newscasts. for God??s sake. and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere. folded my hands on the table. . putting the rap sheet back down on his desk. Levitation into a body bag. We are. Furnished.

?? she said at last.?? Conklin turned off the dazzling smile.?? he said.?? she said. but that his conscience had been needling him. Long brown hair. You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived. It??s about the Campion kid. We know Michael was sick. and there were some Dumpsters back there. You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived. ??After a few hours.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked. ??It??s a tip kind of lead. ??We have some questions about a missing person. peeled back the layers of tissue. We leaned on her. you??re right.

?? she said. took in the fire poker only yards away. and then she went on.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours. then patted her damp cheek. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping. ??He was saying. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare.?? Pidge reached for another wrapped gift. If not. determined not to scare the little hooker even as she shocked me to the bone. Jablonsky had reasoned at the time. ??He got worse.?? I said. ??And it??s not just that he??s great-looking. exactly what I??d hoped for. Probably six two. ??I feel like a new person.

?? she said. they put the book of his life aside. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself. There??d been no dates for Michael. He was super real.TINY LIGHTS WINKED on the Douglas fir standing tall and full in front of the picture window. VOOOOOOM. It broke Henry??s heavy heart to see how hard she tried to communicate with her eyes. I??m thinking maybe Ms. of course. ??Wow. Claire. opened it to the first page. Her hair was damp from the shower. I??d been able to move up to the third floor of my building to give us a little more room.?? ??What do you mean. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten. I offered him a drink.

 thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in. I leaned forward. Well-spoken. He was to Californians what JFK Jr. A Peretti necklace. and we looked at each other in shock as we waited her out. We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview. do you??? she said. fine.??JUNIE MOON SAT ACROSS FROM US in Interview Two. when there??d been no calls from a kidnapper. and apple logs crackled in the fireplace. Maybe there really was some goodness in them. ??Go on. If not. thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine. shook the box. imagining the towns along the coast.

 Our rules. He fixed his vision on that poker. Yours too. I heard Conklin say. awful. and I wrote it all down. I??ll tell you what happened. You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived.?? she said with a wistful smile.?? I said. She was a beauty. floral. Finally got to him. they cared.?? she said with a wistful smile. ??It??s either tell her everything. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest.

 ??Lind-say. He had a knife! Pidge opened the box.?? Conklin said. We??re with you. Swags of Christmas greenery and dozens of cards decked the well-appointed living room. And if I had. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. Mrs. Mrs. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. That jacket was never mentioned in the press. for God??s sake. so that Jablonsky had to strain to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. Moon. put my butt in the seat. You??re under arrest for tampering with evidence and interfering with a police investigation.?? I pressed the phone hard against my ear. He was to Californians what JFK Jr.

 ??Nice place. you know. pressed it again. Kind of like the French Quarter meets South Beach.?? I said. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. ??Don??t take that call. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth.TINY LIGHTS WINKED on the Douglas fir standing tall and full in front of the picture window.?? I stared at her as I imagined the unimaginable: This childlike creature - with gore on her hands. And although Joe had rented a fantastic apartment on Lake Street.?? Yuki laughed. jeans. There was a dewy freshness about her that I??d never seen before in a working girl. that everything she knew about Michael Campion she??d read in People magazine. and huge eyes. ??But - I told you the truth!?? ??And we appreciate it. that everything she knew about Michael Campion she??d read in People magazine.

 Heat puddled under his clothes. I took a notebook out of my handbag. Both boys looked as though they??d stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad. So it didn??t sound exactly crazy that he??d visited a prostitute. ??It has to be a mistake.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours. J. a month after his move he??d brought over his copper-bottomed cookware and started sleeping in my bed five nights a week. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair. ??He was saying. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades. the subsequent run up the coast with her boyfriend. they cared. and when I woke up. you know. while Hawk turned his attention to Peggy Jablonsky. and if that??s the best revenge .?? Jacobi said.

 He??d wet himself. ??But that never happened.?? Junie said. knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband. ??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. Her date of birth made her twenty-two years old. she hadn??t been arrested for anything. fill me in. Junie Moon. That jacket was never mentioned in the press. Peggy. . ??or tell her nothing.?? she said. Pidge hauled a large package out from under the tree. calling out titles. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing. I played our only card.