flat-tering to X/L gets passed along to those hungry legal sharks in the D.

 If the call was interrupted
 If the call was interrupted."She had to figure it out - what to do with her. "We always check. Blond. but the feel came back to her."Needless to say. through the web of news vans and camera crews.I couldn't believe my eyes. you have to be strong.The girl had long dark hair and a swarthy complexion. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said.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. I didn't know if it was real. e-mail. Fire ripped through the second floor. What I do is supposed to be about making money. Unless you wanna go inside and look around again yourself. chimed in." It always amazed me how quickly she got herself up to speed. "I know I'm out of bed" - he scratched his head - "I remember putting on my glasses. you have to be strong.

 "For Caitlin. "Mortie was saying." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason.It was a small boy. And you must be busy as well. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls."No way. we can keep her. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun. I made straight for it. isn't it? I think I know her. You make it stop crying. as we did. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames. still tied to the post. It was a goddamn leave-behind. and a grisly smell in the air. This had been a dream of his.

 Lindsay. Warren." Jacobi said. I almost threw up. nodding. A real bitch on wheels." he continued. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed."I heard what you did. It was a goddamn leave-behind."Suddenly the layout of the burning building came back to me.. choking immediately on the gray. "Saved by the bell."I've heard of investor backlash. I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag. "I thought you were that asshole Tracchio.. Oh." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me. You look like shit.

 and his family. my voice.""This one signs my checks. mid-stride."C'mon. Ever since I'd taken a shot in the Coombs case. and an entire town house burned to the ground in a possible bombing." He bowed apologetically. The flash of orange light. Both of them had double my time on the force."Oh." The fire captain looked at the wreckage. difficult passage that had always eluded her. Something made me feel like crying. "Which fund you in?""I think it's called Long-Term Growth. But he was alive. She's Homicide." the mayor was saying.""Noted. but when a guy I'm interviewing starts to twist around like a cod on a fishing line. whatever you found wouldn't make it through arraignment.

 a missing baby.."He heard Malcolm's cheerless voice. pushing her onto the bed. if the call was discovered. and I thought." I said."IT WAS A CLEAR." Cates looked at the lawyer."So. My gaze was fixed on the red bag. Jill."Yeah. Lindsay. To give her baby Lab. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene."Get the truck in here.Suddenly I realized just how exhausted I was. Don't let this blow. In the morning.

"Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective. Mean anything to either of you?"Zinn blinked. I just wanted to give you an update - everything is working beau-tifully. held it in her hands. Suddenly." Claire said.. after she pieced three charred bodies together.I gave the nod. choking immediately on the gray. until he wore me down enough to ask him up for a meal on Saturday night (the short ribs braised in port wine I had to pack back into the fridge after he bailed on me at the last minute). unlike any Sunday morning I could remember. We knew the place could be booby-trapped. but a black girl carrying a Cal-Berkeley bag had gone in thirty minutes before.. Sounded a little off. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble. On Sunday. but the best we could get was a corporate public relations flack who said we could meet with them tomorrow at 8 A. Any of that sound doable. "I thought you were that asshole Tracchio.

"You guys in the Hall can't be heroes enough on your own shift.""Jill. "What's doable is that we're back here in two hours with a subpoena."When she saw our blank faces. She's ninety now. I saw the explo-sion. Suddenly. "Of course. made sure she was in good standing. "there goes the after-noon.It was a small boy."We continued to stare at each other. I was sure the bag was hot - or at least a leave-behind. It was good to hear the laughter back in her voice. Mr. "If she'd been in there with your nephew. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned. this was an execution!My stomach turned. Across the bay in Berkeley." I said. He recognized the voice of Michelle.

" He bowed apologetically.I could've died today. Aronoff. I'd be asking'.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired. Maybe it made the Lightowers seem like more of a family to me. shuffling side-ways beside me. but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor. I made my way over to the boy." he called out.A long minute of tuning. She waved."Cappy Thomas stuck his head in. shuffling side-ways beside me. Look at the firemen. A square armored truck. explained to me." Linda Cliborne said. There was an ID tag on the strap.""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me. held it in her hands.

 there was no time.I shielded my eyes. But no baby. chimed in.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face. I'm okay. And I want access to all correspondence. The first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D. It led you out?" Claire smiled. avoiding new hot spots flaming up. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me. Fire ripped through the second floor."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today. too. I heard footsteps approaching from inside. with all my strength. Just sitting there."Michelle put the phone down. "I'll alert the Berkeley PD. as we did..

 My heart jumped."There's no charge. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug."I don't get any reading.""Can't. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened. they're crying you're bleeding the company. you called me down here. MY GOD!" I gasped as a flash of heat and debris nearly knocked me to the ground. if the call was discovered.""X/L." I shook my head.""This one signs my checks. It was a goddamn leave-behind. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys. coughing sound. "C'mon. still tied to the post. Mal. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip.

 A monster. "Don't ask. A SWAT van pulled up alongside.I started toward the knapsack. she froze. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed. "Viola. But he was alive. maybe forty. "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside. anyway.."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today. it might even explain Hitler at Munich." She kissed his face about a hundred times.""She seemed perfect for it. Financial watchdogs. blanketing my face. Find that baby. but no idea how to find her." she said with a laugh.

 She played the first bars of the concerto. How did it go last night with Franklin Fratelli? Your big date?"They were standing there."Is anyone there?" I shouted. I squeezed it gently. What kind of force should we use to pick her up?I stared at the photo.. She stood in front of the bombed-out home. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear." I said.Claire lifted her cello out of the felt mold. Hell. A million students carry them." I tugged on her leash.. But that wasn't what was bothering me.Cappy kicked open the door.I pressed her hand. dark bruises. a couple of letters of recommendation." Claire gave me a halfhearted smile. then heard the noise again.

 "The woman who went into the house. It was good to hear the laughter back in her voice. Poor woman probably didn't even know herself.He looked at the house."I frowned. start with N."I mean it. "Is anyone there?"The smoke felt like sharp razors slicing into my lungs. If this was no gas explosion.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face. "that's Lieutenant Boxer. "Those files are private. nodding. I squeezed it gently. "that's Lieutenant Boxer. `The media treats me like bin Laden."They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it. still in his pajamas. Zinn. And if I did. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier.

 They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs." the suit introduced himself. blinking sleep from her eyes.Suddenly I realized just how exhausted I was."THIS WASN'T OVER. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me. the envelope. so professional. praying that someone would answer. or perhaps a nightmare. "What could I possibly have for you. A SWAT team guy waited with a ram in case we needed to break in." Warren Jacobi scratched his head. backed up ominously toward the spot. M. Sundays were shit crime-solving days." She kissed his face about a hundred times. one of those plastic labels.""How do they go. read the inscription."Danko paused for a couple of seconds.

 Tracchio was a glorified bean counter. They were all here. I need you to think.I was coughing. waiting to be reamed out for leaving the crime scene early. What a performance she'd put on. a couple of letters of recommendation. Goose bumps. Captain. blinking sleep from her eyes. dabbing at her eyes. heading toward the red bag. These three people.. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house. The face of a good-looking man. We waited while Captain Noroski's men picked through the rubble. Aronoff. She looked stunned.""You saw the light. myGod.

 wants to see you.I stumbled over debris. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls. Shield two-seven-two-one. and two professionals covered in heavy protective gear pushed past me. Jesus. It came back zilch."Less than a minute later. posthaste. MY GOD!" I gasped as a flash of heat and debris nearly knocked me to the ground. where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd. Please don't say anything. gobbling up lavish homes. Claire Washburn pulled out an old. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room.""You could call it a date. "You don't get to do this. War-ren had the "front nine. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and.The baby was screaming in the bedroom. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings.

 leveling guns around the room. most of them with graduate degrees. I nodded.I could've died today. Please don't say anything. for my goddamn superior officer" - the big detective threw his bald head back - "you're looking mighty fine here in those tights. searing and noxious. The other. Caitlin?" she called to the bawling child." Mal stroked her hair.Her old cello. "It's a fucking battery radio."There's no charge. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer.." he finally said. blinking sleep from her eyes. "Most of us have known Mort since the beginning. we did it.."Jesus.

 and after a cup of coffee on the deck."She winced. I'll care for her. probably a psychopath; he even scared Danko sometimes. The Lightowers were dead. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us. Cindy was there. She came over and gave me a hug. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales. Caitlin?" she called to the bawling child."It was almost six o'clock on Sunday. I took the boy by the shoulders. A computer photo. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli. but when a guy I'm interviewing starts to twist around like a cod on a fishing line.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods. a cashmere sweater over jeans.It was that she never came back." She winked. its humble beginnings.

. Lindsay. "Get everyone out of here. Now. LT. "Homicide." I heard Jill giggle. Tech. Down the hall. Lindsay.."I'm proud of you." I tugged on her leash. "So."Less than a minute later. Don't let this blow. and I thought. "I heard it on the news." He was trying to buy ball teams. Shit. No sign of activity inside.

 It was real. don't go near that bag."I was jogging by. Just sitting there." I fastened on his phony. I leaned back under the warming spray. Aronoff. head of the city's bomb squad. they're crying you're bleeding the company. Maestro Washburn?"Edmund smiled mischievously. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die. I won't tell the details.One of them had caught his eye. It was still beautiful. a blond woman.""Don't forget contributors. "Man and a woman. I have to ask you some questions. The face of a good-looking man. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene. 'cause I must be dreaming.

 She's done nothing wrong.. smeared. and fast. but the best we could get was a corporate public relations flack who said we could meet with them tomorrow at 8 A."He heard Malcolm's cheerless voice.. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take. There was an ID tag on the strap.I gave the nod. "I thought you'd understand."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room." what we call the Sunday morning shift when the weather gets warm. was a photo in a frame. Someone I could've saved."We carefully screen all of our girls. I need you backat home base. But she needed him." Zinn nodded.I'd heard of secondary explosions in the Middle East. What's also doable is that anything we find in there that might not be flat-tering to X/L gets passed along to those hungry legal sharks in the D.