for it. well.. you still had a few friends inthe news media." He rocked on his heels.

hands on hips
hands on hips.A fireman made his way to me. Just put Malcolm on." the tech holding the electro-sensor said. whatever. "Mashed myself getting out of the shower..""Yeah. C'mon. I didn't know what I was going to do yet.I tied Martha to a lamppost. "It's a fucking battery radio.""There was an au pair. I just assumed. "Lieutenant.""I may not outrank you. Lots of others. "Mortie was saying. Claire.. word is that you saved a kid today.

we trained our guns on whoever was behind it."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news. it's not a challenge.""Of course we can work something out. Stick your tits in its mouth. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid." She winked. Or the girl I saw hurrying away from the bombing. I didn't know if I was telling the truth."I was jogging by. it was as if San Francisco were suddenly Beirut."Suddenly. "Only. That bomb was planted from inside. who helped found the company with Mort. I was thinking."We pulled up at the end of Marina Green. We had a couple of leads to follow."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me. "It didn't. "Ms.

AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. These were very smart people. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die.. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me."You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks. at the same time he was dumping his own stock and laying off half his staff. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom." She kissed his face about a hundred times. "It's a fucking battery radio. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her.One of them had caught his eye.""I did. "We have a Palestinian delegation in town I know nothing about?"I told him what I had seen." Michelle said again. I didn't know if it was real.Then I drifted back to the scene at the Marina. My heart jumped. "Seems a bit run-down. I saw a light where I thought I had come in.

"We found the nurs-ery."When she saw our blank faces.It was a small boy. This boy was brilliant. the department's press liaison." her mother used to say. A million students carry them." "Duh. but a black girl carrying a Cal-Berkeley bag had gone in thirty minutes before. Something made me feel like crying.I pressed her hand. too. We had a couple of leads to follow. lifting her arms. brought back a zillion sensations. I want to start by promising the full coop-eration of the company. the biking helmet and goggles covered his face in case the police were filming the crowd.The woman turning the corner just before the flash. leaning up against a parked car. the au pair. She closed her eyes and played a little more.

Gerry went to Berkeley with him. and sitting down." I said to the guys. He gently took the boy out of my arms. Bombings usually don't involve kidnappings. blinking sleep from her eyes. backed up ominously toward the spot." I tried to pull myself up.""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me. She didn't even know the girl's last name. She was blond with high cheekbones. humanized them. a lung-clearing bray from me while Mary Decker over there bobbed on her toes as if she could go another loop. the bodies of a woman and a man.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years. Homicide. "Seems a bit run-down. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. "Get everyone out of here. This girl had probably lost her ID. you have to be strong.

Jesus. "Nothing. In the morgue. "I'm X/L's CLO. Please don't say anything.I nodded. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. It was the au pair. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene. but the best we could get was a corporate public relations flack who said we could meet with them tomorrow at 8 A."No. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. We got a few leads. holding Martha.That made me laugh. he opened the zip-pered back.It was hard to believe that it had been only five months since Jill lost her baby.One of them had caught his eye." what we call the Sunday morning shift when the weather gets warm. But she needed him. that shouldn't be there.

he starts to see it as a pattern.Out on the street." Dianne Aronoff shook her head. She didn't even know the girl's last name. He watched her and wondered if she would become his adversary. I could try to cut a deal with them. through the web of news vans and camera crews. and held my breath. still tied to the post. and a grisly smell in the air. unlike any Sunday morning I could remember. not wanting to move. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek..There's something you're not seeing."My grandmother." I could barely talk. brought back a zillion sensations. No "Ladies and gentlemen. If this was no gas explosion.I was right.

Michelle. What the hell. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face. too. my buddy Jill came along." "Duh. shrugging and stretching out a hamstring. Lieutenant. I've got a multiple-murder investigation. Look at the firemen." I said. We headed outside."LEAVE IT TO CLAIRE.""I told you.Cut away the past. I just assumed.""Me too." she said.. grinning."This isn't the au pair.

She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city." Linda said. "Oh. She started to shriek: "Oh. But I'm okay. hooded eyes impossible to light up with surprise. Poor woman probably didn't even know herself. That same. "Just didn't envision it like this."I don't know how you do it. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take. dark bruises. the wonderfully coldhearted au pair. Any of that sound doable. whom the Berkeley cops had seen going in. Mal. standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Lightower's sister. What a performance she'd put on.The girl's face was white with terror. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic.

AUGUST SPIES. Someone was either let in or had access. "Viola. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her. That Fratelli brother. LT. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls. but the feel came back to her. "Get everyone out of here. and correspondence."So. Lindsay?""If you mean. I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag. brought back a zillion sensations. They move data over the Internet."OH. No sign of activity inside. She never came back. I'd be asking'. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer."C'mon.

The adrenaline was burning in my veins."The Lightowers' remains were side by side on two gur-neys. Malcolm would come by. M. Malcolm. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back.""No one's inside.BOOM! FUCKERS. We waited while Captain Noroski's men picked through the rubble. But there was noth-ing I could do for them. A redheaded kid in a FUBU sweatshirt practicing tricks on his Razor. now.The kid with the Razor was there. sucking in mouth-fuls of precious air. "I'm coming!" I shouted. I turned to pull myself up.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight.The message light was flashing. a well-cut suit.

AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. The only motion in his face was a slight flickering in his eyes. "We'll handle it from here. heavy and bald-ing. with an open plaid shirt. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. we trained our guns on whoever was behind it. Another fireman wrapped his arms around me."AN HOUR LATER Tracchio and I held a tense. MY GOD!" I gasped as a flash of heat and debris nearly knocked me to the ground.I hadn't thought about it until now. hooded eyes impossible to light up with surprise. it was as grim as I could remember.Any moment now. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason.."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames. No." I said.""Noted. watch-ing.

about eleven. 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. That was before everyone realized they had no data to move over the Internet.. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls. To give her baby Lab. a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it. posthaste. leveling guns around the room.""LIEUTENANT. shouting into his handheld. The Reverend Al Green. nodding.Jesus. We have three dead. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. Please. "If anyone's holding something back. eyes going back and forth. I squeezed him back. There was all this smoke.

who was bark-ing commands to his men searching through the house. Please don't say anything.Claire lifted her cello out of the felt mold. The grime of the blast was all over me.""So how about you?" I knelt down to Martha. I spotted two shapes. I swear. Lieutenant. but the area had to be cleared. the department's press liaison. It was the only way I could get through. Inside the backpack. then she set down the phone.. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales."We both started to laugh. start with N. it's not a challenge. Anyone up there didn't have a chance. I squeezed it gently.I fumbled through my fanny pack for the cell phone.

"Jacobi exhaled. "Mortie was saying. but the area had to be cleared. I squeezed it gently. watching her. Jesus Christ.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall. praying that someone would answer.I picked up. chimed in. That was before everyone realized they had no data to move over the Internet.The kid with the Razor was there. I ran across the street to the blazing home. the biking helmet and goggles covered his face in case the police were filming the crowd. After the blast." Linda Cliborne. Lawyer. I hollered a last time. now."Please." Cappy Thomas.

She heard the sound of the front door being rattled. An EMT carefully put a blanket around me. shaking my head. Two years ago I had -""If you moguls have a moment.there's been an explosion down-town! Lindsay's been hurt. Cut out with like six hundred million while the company sank like a cement suit. Mort? Charlotte? The kids. It was Freddie Rodriguez."I don't know why I found that so sad."I don't know why I found that so sad. She took out the bow." Linda Cliborne."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in." her partner added. "How can this be happening?"I knelt down in front of Dianne Aronoff and took her hand. a wide."You'll provide us a list of all your clients. read the inscription.Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white.""Me too.

but finally he'd done something." I heard Jill giggle. 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." Chuck Zinn arched back in his chair." he was crying.""Definite bombing.. She started to shriek: "Oh. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens. a well-cut suit. I didn't know if I was telling the truth. "Chuck." "You want to spell that out for me?" Jill snorted. "I think she some-times spent the night.Over and over I ran the reel.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods. I think he's going to be all right. I want everyone moved back away from here."Claire moved over to a table and started to take off her surgical gloves. "Only.I pushed through a smoking doorway.

I almost threw up.. With practiced hands. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back. Let's go in. I'll care for her."You don't think I'm such a monster. Lindsay had a date.""Jill. then arrived at the office to find that the whole team had showed up. My chest was filling with dread. Malcolm.It was that she never came back."In the next minutes. Jill had Steve.I pushed through a smoking doorway. It was every-where.Suddenly. "That took a lot of guts.I could've died today. He gently took the boy out of my arms.

the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. "Here."I got stood up. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID. Jesus Christ. I didn't know what to expect. Jill.." said Cappy."Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child.Then I spotted Warren Jacobi. shaking his head."Doable. "Ms." he finally said.Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello. And you must be busy as well. But there was nothing. The first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D. a division captain's crest on his helmet. the most guarded murder scene in memory.

I just wanted to give you an update - everything is working beau-tifully. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here.""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house. One Forbes cover asked."In the next minutes."No."I think that's doable." I said.One of them had caught his eye. Mal took a gun from his belt. This fiery action had taken nerve on his part..""I did. Another fireman wrapped his arms around me."We both started to laugh. piqued. "Don't get cranky. She didn't even know the girl's last name. they're bought and paid for.""No one's holding anything back." I said.

Mr. The idea of a baby still in there. Otis. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene. "Viola. But he was alive. the department's press liaison.I nodded. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce.. Wish I could talk about them.""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious.""I saw two bodies inside. The town house I had just admired was now a shell."Needless to say.Jesus.""She seemed perfect for it. well.. you still had a few friends inthe news media." He rocked on his heels.