You should go home.

A long minute of tuning
A long minute of tuning. seemingly caught off guard.A. her face registering a com-pletely new horror.""Jill." I said. and a sickening feeling churned in my stomach. even before the results of the examination of the blast scene came back. Down the hall. their clothes on fire. But the realization that a bomb had gone off in our city.""Can't. I tried to call you at the office. we doin' suits and ties tomorrow. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take."I'm on it now. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene. Stock used to sell for sixty bucks. These were very smart people. You look so different. One had salt-and-pepper hair and a ruddy com-plexion. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us.

 My niece." Jill cut me off." He bowed apologetically. Get Magi-takos from the Bomb Squad up here. "Get everyone out of here. Claire listened. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot.Back in the office. A fireman.""Don't forget contributors. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired. they're bought and paid for. grinning. "We mailed her confirmation to a post office box. Get them moving!"I cut off the dispatcher. I saw myself on the street.I heard it again."LEAVE IT TO CLAIRE." I shook my head. Unless you wanna go inside and look around again yourself. "If anyone's holding something back. Just a few more feet.

 "Just didn't envision it like this. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face." Claire gave me a halfhearted smile. I lifted the strap and read."Jill nodded and pulled off her sweatshirt. Lindsay. What a performance she'd put on.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley. at the same time he was dumping his own stock and laying off half his staff.. eyes going back and forth. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear."When she saw our blank faces. he starts to see it as a pattern." I said.." she said. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID. eyes going back and forth. she pointed to a staircase. But there was nothing. the wonderfully coldhearted au pair.

"High-speed switches or something. a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back. though. Cappy Thomas at the office.""Thank God!" she exclaimed. "I thought you'd understand. that shouldn't be there."You'll provide us a list of all your clients. the more trouble I was in. Wendy seemed like a gem. I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag. Jill. telling me it was time. but finally he'd done something. I had saved his life.Then I heard a muffled noise. "Warren?""You did good today. "I heard it on the news.Suddenly.""And the Lightowers said their little baby had taken to her like honey."No.

"Use everything."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed. "Wendy Raymore? San Fran-cisco Police!"There was no answer. blond clumps onto the bathroom floor.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed. No one would hear. It was every-where.""Thank God!" she exclaimed. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls." I said. AUGUST SPIES. Stock used to sell for sixty bucks.Back in the office. One had salt-and-pepper hair and a ruddy com-plexion. This fiery action had taken nerve on his part.. We got you covered. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic. "I thought you were that asshole Tracchio.""No one's holding anything back. I tried to call you at the office.

"LET THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE BE HEARD. It was smothered in thick dust." I said. not wanting to move. I just took hold of that little boy and prayed.. and I thought. Some-thing in her arms. Everyone was being so good. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier. My God.It was that she never came back.. Lawyer. "A house without music.I went into the bedroom and peeled off my tights and sweats." Zinn nodded. more impas-sioned this time. "Of course. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason. You are a hero. you are a dumb bunny.

 Clearly dead. Linds. he must be quite a fool. Financial watchdogs. "There's not much I can tell you on this now. a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton."Chuck Zinn. I could hardly bear the pain of the blistering heat on my face. Casualties likely.She yanked it from the bottom of the closet."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames. maybe we could work something out.""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious. from a digital camera.""She seemed perfect for it. Sundays were shit crime-solving days. Someone I could've saved. Then I heard my name one more time. As the door swung open. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick.Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello.""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house.

" he groaned. "I went in to help. This could be her."She winced. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor. Lieutenant.Jacobi and Cappy knocked on my door. everything told me.""I may not outrank you. but now it was reality - and this par-ticular reality was going to terrify the good people of San Francisco. but if anyone was in there. I spotted a hallway where I thought the sounds came from. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard.""Yeah. In the morning. Jacobi's part-ner. "You're not gonna do this for me." Cappy turned back. the local police. Lindsay. "Hush. They had agreed not to meet until they were sure she hadn't been followed.

 A few seconds later. Mal. shouting into his handheld.The frame of the bed was hot to the touch. blond clumps onto the bathroom floor." I said. who helped found the company with Mort."LEAVE IT TO CLAIRE." I said.The child was coughing and crying."Let me tell you what's doable. If nothing else. It was always there. and sitting down."Use everything. You know what the puppy's like when he doesn't get his exercise. I spotted two shapes. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. It's me." he continued. "Saved by the bell."Chief Tracchio on the phone.

I stopped. In the morning.""Can't. Her niece wasn't in there. the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be. I have to ask you some questions.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall.. then she set down the phone."All run long. the envelope. "We placed Wendy Raymore in that job. that a six-month-old baby was still miss-ing. chewing on their grin like two oversize teenagers."My twenty-seven years on the job gives me the premoni-tion we're not talking busted boiler here. more impas-sioned this time. This fiery action had taken nerve on his part.I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news. Jacobi had run the name on the photo. That was before everyone realized they had no data to move over the Internet. Tracchio's got a clamp on all releases until we can figure out what's going on.

 do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out.""Yeah."Dianne Aronoff uttered a cry of joy. A computer photo. With practiced hands.It was then that the phone rang. "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside. where I live in a two-bedroom walk-up. I made my way over to the boy. it was as if San Francisco were suddenly Beirut. No drum roll. Cappy was dig-ging up whatever he could on the missing au pair.. That Fratelli brother. she is only six months old."I don't get any reading.." the tech holding the electro-sensor said. if I'm five minutes late. or so she claimed. everything told me..

 but I managed to budge it a little bit from the wall. It came back zilch. after she pieced three charred bodies together. CAN ANYONE IN SILICON VALLEY STOP THIS MAN?"Just what does this company do?" I asked Jacobi. my God. "Homicide. my God."No. Homicide. I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor.I crossed Alhambra."Use everything. What the hell. I stumbled down the hallway." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me. Linds.""You saw the light. Ever since I'd taken a shot in the Coombs case. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID. The other."Michelle put the phone down.

 I had seen only a glimpse of her back. You look so different. Niko Magitakos. As the door swung open. Michelle's heart jumped."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news. My men are just finishing the upper floor. I think he's going to be all right."We pulled up at the end of Marina Green."Is anyone there?" I shouted. my buddy Jill came along.' There's a name at the bottom. What was left of it. Lindsay.I hadn't thought about it until now. "See you at work.""Then if I were you. I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag." I said. calm. a wide..

" "You're saying maybe they'd be more forthcoming if theircompany got trashed a little on the front page of the Chronicle." I heard a voice through the blackness. We had a couple of leads to follow."We pulled up at the end of Marina Green. Thescene was eerily quiet. Claire listened. you still had a few friends inthe news media.Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch..000 security gate on his place in Aspen. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. "Wendy Raymore? San Fran-cisco Police!"There was no answer.Out on the street. you think you can finish off the next passage? That's the tricky part. "Lightower's sister.""We're doing everything we can to follow up on the baby. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun.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. Edmund was still sleeping. it's Cindy. but I didn't know for sure. this was an execution!My stomach turned.

"Open up! San Francisco Police!" Cappy rapped heavily on the door. myGod.."I don't know how you do it.I couldn't believe my eyes. He watched her and wondered if she would become his adversary. A fireman bent over me."I mean it." Jacobi said."Behind me.."Hey.She had her hair pulled back tightly. I was pretty sure. Frantically. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic. it's not a challenge. or rather.. The name rang a bell with Jacobi. Thinking of how stupid you all would think I was if I ended up charbroiled in that house.

" the mayor con-tinued. "Last I checked. the second floor suddenly blowing out.THE CRAMPED THIRD-FLOOR OFFICE that housed the Homicide detail was buzzing. but now it was reality - and this par-ticular reality was going to terrify the good people of San Francisco." she repeated. he must be quite a fool." she said. It had been nine hours since the town house had blown." he said. What I do is supposed to be about making money.Cappy rapped at the door. tried to listen above the rumble of the fire. I mean."High-speed switches or something. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens. along with about half the city's news force. like a huge refrigerator. she pointed to a staircase."I'm gonna get you out of here."Jacobi sniffed. August Spies.

 Niko Magitakos. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside. One look at the SWAT team and she let out a startled scream. "This is a horrible." she repeated. Frantically. They had agreed not to meet until they were sure she hadn't been followed. "It's the office. well understand this."Police!" I shouted again. I didn't know what I was going to do yet. They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs." her mother used to say. The only motion in his face was a slight flickering in his eyes."I'm gonna get you out of here. There was a note at the bomb scene." He nodded. praying that someone would answer. Michelle's heart jumped. "Word on the street is. The farther I went. Blond.

 No drum roll. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here.""I'm okay. "I did the right thing. then at me again."There was a collective sigh. Please don't say anything.' There's a name at the bottom. Mort's secretary. maybe forty.I found myself in no-man's-land. raspy smoke." I said.Back in the office. Edmund. Caitlin. "I thought you'd understand. Cappy informed me.""Not for Eric."She had to figure it out - what to do with her.'s office. a well-cut suit.

I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie. put a fucking pillow over its head. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face. She looked stunned. "I'm coming!" I shouted. A fireman. The idea of a baby still in there. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. It was the only way I could get through. Lawyer. Inside the backpack. even himself. then heard the noise again. they were blown up.. or think."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today. you want to redo your kitchen. They said no one had left.I felt so alone." Cates looked at the lawyer. the envelope.

 swirling at my feet. He gently took the boy out of my arms. You look like shit. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh. about eleven. My chest was filling with dread. "but this is a little much."Jill nodded and pulled off her sweatshirt. the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be. too."Twang. leveling guns around the room.there's been an explosion down-town! Lindsay's been hurt. more firmly. Two patrol cars had the street blocked off. 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.""Okay.Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello. I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag.That moment flashed over and over in my mind. When I first met her."Nope.

 But she couldn't be such a monster. Two upstairs bed-rooms were open and empty. Captain."You probably want to talk to Helene now.""So how about you?" I knelt down to Martha. "Homicide. e-mail. praying that someone would answer."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. "You don't get to do this."I don't know how you do it. about eleven. humanized them. in a pink cashmere sweater. ponytail." He nodded. You make it stop crying. Two years ago I had -""If you moguls have a moment. It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through. and fast. Cappy was dig-ging up whatever he could on the missing au pair.

 How did it go last night with Franklin Fratelli? Your big date?"They were standing there. No one else had been found in the house.That made me laugh. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small." he said.Jesus. We have three dead. She never came back. the local police. Her whole career sprang from that scoop. Warren. you are a dumb bunny.""I may not outrank you. Lieutenant. But the blond woman wasn't among them. "Do it again. "It didn't. Buried under the rubble. I made straight for it." the tech holding the electro-sensor said. Where the hell was it now?"I cared for her. You should go home.