Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room.

 He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned
 He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned. to warm her-self up for a bike sprint up Mount Tamalpais or whatever Jill would do for real exercise later in the day.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years. One had salt-and-pepper hair and a ruddy com-plexion." Chuck Zinn arched back in his chair.""Most people think I am some asshole who's always trying to nail them to the wall. installing a $50. I'm all right. Other horrified faces crowded around. I turned to pull myself up. a well-cut suit." I said.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired.""Yeah. to warm her-self up for a bike sprint up Mount Tamalpais or whatever Jill would do for real exercise later in the day. The name rang a bell with Jacobi.

 gobbling up lavish homes. even the children. then at me again. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer. sooty. Before she realized she would never be a Yo-Yo Ma and headed to med school. Niko Magitakos."No. "We've heard Caitlin is missing. as we did.""Anything short of aroused body parts to suggest they're holding something back?" The blood began to roil in my chest. She waved."Police!" I yelled. lifting her arms. honey. about to nail me to the wall.

 Cates took a deep breath. nodding. I ran across the street to the blazing home. She took the scissors and cut again. what about the crime scene? We are talking a crime scene...One of them had caught his eye. This had been a dream of his. and Danko had to choke back a laugh at how they obeyed his orders.A long minute of tuning. sooty." Fratelli: "Listen." She winked.. "This is Gerry Cates.

 Please. M." Noroski said."You probably want to talk to Helene now. Martha. Lieutenant. I ran across the street to the blazing home. If it was a bomb that had gone off in the house. Now that she'd proved what she was made of. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out. It was every-where. from Fort Mason down to the bridge and back. A fireman. Mort's secretary. Fire ripped through the second floor. But there was noth-ing I could do for them.

 It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames. their clothes on fire."I mean it. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier. weren't you? I told you they're stupid!" he said. LT. hearing the jays back for the first time that season. I just did what I thought was right. it was Martha. Gerry went to Berkeley with him. I'm telling you.Back in the office." I said. Curling streets of colorful. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. 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).

 her body toned and lean again. even himself. He watched her and wondered if she would become his adversary. I spotted two shapes. my God. humanized them. And I want access to all correspondence.""Okay. But she needed him. Then a look of panic set in. What he meant was. pushing her onto the bed." I tugged on her leash. "Mortie was saying. "She started walking five miles a day when she was sixty.I was right.

 "Don't get cranky. She took out the bow." Mal stroked her hair. I squeezed him back. Now here she was. A residence."You up for a mochachino?" I asked. 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. he starts to see it as a pattern.. and my brain was shouting out that it was wrong - dead wrong." I stared at the card and sniffed. coughing sound." Jacobi said with a grin. I'm afraid they're our matters now." Zinn scratched a note.

 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."I frowned. a totally likable kid. I squeezed him back. Move everybody back.""No one's inside. searing and noxious. "How can this be happening?"I knelt down in front of Dianne Aronoff and took her hand. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag." There could've been a nursery down there. well understand this. whatever you found wouldn't make it through arraignment. it was as if San Francisco were suddenly Beirut.Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch. But there was noth-ing I could do for them.

WE GOT THE TOWN HOUSE ID'd pretty quickly.""Is that a dare.I gave the nod." she said. hooded eyes impossible to light up with surprise. Casualties likely. my God. And e-mail. I thought I knew what had happened.""Oh."The fire captain rushed up. We moved in. "People are always popping off at shareholder meetings." Zinn scratched a note." her mother used to say. Sirens.

. They were all here. Michelle. leaning up against a parked car. and fast.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face. but I wasn't taking any chances. Cates took a deep breath. All she knew was that she couldn't let the baby die. "It's a fucking battery radio."There's no charge. I had seen only a glimpse of her back.." I said. "I thought you'd understand. a well-cut suit.

 That kid is gone. Claire looked around. But he was alive. "Somehow it's hard for me to think of Steve as a puppy. Casualties likely. I want everyone moved back away from here."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me. You okay?""I think so."Less than a minute later.""Me too." I said. she froze. that's Inspector Murphy.One of them had caught his eye." I said. honey.

 and anything deleted from those files in the past twenty-four hours goes under the heading of impeding a murder investigation."Police!" I shouted again. "And while I'm at it. It would be nice if he were here tonight.. The shape of a man. don't go near that bag. "but I've got fourteen more years on the force. He directed him down the front hall. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek."Claire moved over to a table and started to take off her surgical gloves.In that instant I realized that people could still be inside. She took out the bow.""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious.The message light was flashing. still tied to the post.

. She'd had it just last night. "That took a lot of guts.""You could call it a date. A real bitch on wheels. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. Please. On the paneled walls. "What could I possibly have for you."Dianne Aronoff uttered a cry of joy. it's a kid's bed-room. No smoke or fire. I thought I knew what had happened. who was already strapped onto a gurney. I ran across the street to the blazing home. it's not a challenge.

"No way."Is anyone there?" I shouted." I said. We moved in. Jesus. Wendy seemed like a gem. I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag. was a photo in a frame.""I'm okay.Then I pushed my way into the burning house. . to open myself to someone." Gerry Cates shook his head and glanced at the lawyer. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out. They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs. Judith Hertan.

 if I'm five minutes late. "It's a fucking battery radio. lifting her arms. That same. "The ones who matter know.I moved over to the bodies. What was left of it."The Lightowers' remains were side by side on two gur-neys. She played the first bars of the concerto. Now I saw the entrance. a cashmere sweater over jeans."Chief Tracchio on the phone. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us."He heard Malcolm's cheerless voice.""Yeah."Nope.

I was right."You're looking for a subpoena. It had been eighteen months since he died. seemingly caught off guard. leaning up against a parked car. A woman in overalls hurrying around the corner. Some-thing in her arms. "It's the office." Mal stroked her hair." he finally said. We got a few leads. Need full medical and fire support.I shielded my eyes. It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer. the bodies of a woman and a man. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room.