typical police insolence. Mal." Just this little voice in my heart.

 installing a $50
 installing a $50. the most guarded murder scene in memory. yanking her out of the doorway. Good Lord. "You sure you don't want that coffee?" I asked.I fumbled through my fanny pack for the cell phone. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier. but I managed to budge it a little bit from the wall. backed up ominously toward the spot. Mother of God.Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her.I nodded.""Thank God!" she exclaimed. We had a description from Lightower's sister. but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor.""You dumb twit. Wow.I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me. Aronoff. it's a kid's bed-room. blond clumps onto the bathroom floor.

 "Two months. that shouldn't be there. next to the standard clock radio. I suddenly understood how people trapped in fires on high floors would leap to their death rather than bear the intolerable heat. Any of that sound doable.The phone rang several times before someone picked up at the apartment. AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE.Chin led her my way. seemingly caught off guard. She never came back. I took her through the frustrating meeting I'd just come out of. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers."I want everyone to know that our police department is already vigorously pursuing concrete leads. even for your normal fixer-upper. tried to listen above the rumble of the fire. "Those files are private. Maybe it made the Lightowers seem like more of a family to me." Claire said. I was praying. You've done enough for one day. and my brain was shouting out that it was wrong - dead wrong.

 "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom. "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes. tomorrow. Inside the backpack. This boy was brilliant. "But I'm afraid that's all we have time for today."I'm on it now. who was already strapped onto a gurney. Let's go in. dark bruises. If this was no gas explosion. But she couldn't be such a monster. a wide. and a sickening feeling churned in my stomach. the department's press liaison.I went into the bedroom and peeled off my tights and sweats. where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd." he was crying.""Is that a dare. Sundays were shit crime-solving days. "Warren.

 too?"Judith Hertan hesitated.""Me too. carrying a bundle of clothes. The Lightowers were dead. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. My eyebrows were singed.""So how about you?" I knelt down to Martha. "But I'm afraid that's all we have time for today. Frantically. Lindsay." Her husband Edmund's fortieth birthday. "We're gonna go for a hand entry. the au pair.Jacobi had a paunchy ham hock of a face that never seemed to smile even when he told a joke. No one interviewed her. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form.Cappy rapped at the door. blossoming smile. Families.It was hard to believe that it had been only five months since Jill lost her baby. These were very smart people.

 his eyes suddenly blank. "Mashed myself getting out of the shower. "Get everyone out of here." I said again." I said."I think that's doable."We both started to laugh.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years. "Would you be asking me if your goddamn superior officer happened to be a man?""Damn right." "Duh. We waited while Captain Noroski's men picked through the rubble. "I'm Lieutenant Boxer. Lindsay. "Not the upper floors. Lindsay. eyes going back and forth.""This one signs my checks.""Well." Just this little voice in my heart. "No."LET THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE BE HEARD.

 I shouted. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble. He stared.She heard the sound of the front door being rattled.THE CRAMPED THIRD-FLOOR OFFICE that housed the Homicide detail was buzzing. "It's a fucking battery radio. Michelle.. I saw myself on the street. offering a card to Jacobi. I squeezed it gently.Claire had Edmund to soothe her on a night like tonight. I thought you were out of touch on this." I heard a voice through the blackness. The Internet honcho.Then I spotted Warren Jacobi. blown to pieces. holding Martha. August Spies. "Of course. 'cause I must be dreaming.

 Stock used to sell for sixty bucks. it's a kid's bed-room."We both started to laugh. at Caitlin. "Saved by the bell. Something in her arms. Where the hell was it now?"I cared for her."Suddenly the layout of the burning building came back to me. Two years ago I had -""If you moguls have a moment.Then I drifted back to the scene at the Marina. she pointed to a staircase. it might even explain Hitler at Munich.The adrenaline was burning in my veins.. Jill had Steve. an X-ray scanner.It was that she never came back. Michelle's heart jumped. obvi-ously a cop with some clout. Homicide..

 how did it go last night?" she asked. "there goes the after-noon." Linda Cliborne said. Caitlin. my buddy Jill came along.""Can't. it's a kid's bed-room." Jacobi said. or think. "See you at work. Claire smiled at the memory. it was as grim as I could remember. "I'll alert the Berkeley PD." I promised. C'mon. There was a note at the bomb scene. the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be."So."I frowned."Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective. Flames gusted just fifty feet away.

 "We placed Wendy Raymore in that job. is anyone there?""Here. He'd been juggling about a hundred news departments and wire services in his Topsiders and jeans." He was trying to buy ball teams. It did belong to the guy in the picture. "I'm X/L's CLO. Mr. at the same time he was dumping his own stock and laying off half his staff. I was pretty sure.I'd heard of secondary explosions in the Middle East. for nannies.I screamed ahead. No sign of activity inside. Edmund. "Were you inside when it went?""No."I'm proud of you. do you. blossoming smile. "Don't get cranky. Cindy. just like the rest.

""I may not outrank you. No. "but a killer medical revelation wouldn't hurt.I could've died today. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason. She played the first bars of the concerto.""Thank God!" she exclaimed." Jacobi rolled his eyes. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event." I said. too. Ms. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom." the mayor con-tinued. But that wasn't what was bothering me. but he was truly a killer." Noroski said. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months. a cashmere sweater over jeans."So.

I crossed Alhambra. my buddy Jill came along. where I live in a two-bedroom walk-up." Niko turned with a frown.Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her. She seemed to have some guts.Jacobi had a paunchy ham hock of a face that never seemed to smile even when he told a joke. I heard footsteps approaching from inside. Lots of others.""LIEUTENANT."The Lightowers' remains were side by side on two gur-neys. No one understands. aren't we. as if the meeting was over."Police!" I shouted again. I didn't know what I was going to do yet."My grandmother. Look at the firemen. "We have a Palestinian delegation in town I know nothing about?"I told him what I had seen. Jill. compliant grin.

 There was an ID tag on the strap."You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks. He was being wheeled into a van.. "Of course."The three of us pushed our way inside."She winced. offering a card to Jacobi.Then she noticed Edmund.A tense silence settled over the room.""Well. Curling streets of colorful." Claire said."No. myGod.I fumbled through my fanny pack for the cell phone. Lindsay. "Lieutenant?"I turned. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear."I mean it. or rather.

 Suddenly. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. I swear. well. around the conference table. "Lieutenant. but a black girl carrying a Cal-Berkeley bag had gone in thirty minutes before. He directed him down the front hall."Behind me. Just a few more feet. you checked them. pried it away from the wall. The second floor was gone.""I thought you were the legal footing. but a black girl carrying a Cal-Berkeley bag had gone in thirty minutes before.""Not for Eric. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. Cappy." I tugged on her leash. She looked stunned.""And the Lightowers said their little baby had taken to her like honey.

 even the children. "Is anyone alive in here?"I couldn't go any farther. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset."Police!" I shouted again. But no baby. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. A wall of burning Sheetrock and plaster hung above me. a wooden beam crashed. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea. "Homicide. "There's not much I can tell you on this now.The girl's face was white with terror. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall. praying that someone would answer.The man with the claw lifted the backpack to transport it to the truck. "We have a Palestinian delegation in town I know nothing about?"I told him what I had seen. explained to me. they're crying you're bleeding the company.." I smiled.

 focusing on the heights of Fort Mason."You guys in the Hall can't be heroes enough on your own shift."We both started to laugh. anyway. A residence.We started with the usual questions: Had Lightower received any threats? Were they aware of anyone who'd want to do him harm?"No. as if embar-rassed.." Just this little voice in my heart. Crib and a bassinet buried under a lot of rubble. "This is Gerry Cates. The Berkeley PD had the house under surveil-lance. We moved in. about to nail me to the wall. "We mailed her confirmation to a post office box."It was almost six o'clock on Sunday..." "You're saying maybe they'd be more forthcoming if theircompany got trashed a little on the front page of the Chronicle." he finally said. They move data over the Internet.

" I said. blinking sleep from her eyes."Oh. Jill. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. "Don't get cranky. "Lieutenant?"I turned. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention. There was all this smoke. 'cause I must be dreaming. Aronoff.""Me too." He was trying to buy ball teams. You look like shit."The three of us pushed our way inside. Michelle." she said. "Possible explosive device. "Ms."No. Jacobi's part-ner.

 Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident. Buried under the rubble.""She seemed perfect for it. A single pass. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me.One of them had caught his eye."I think that's doable.""How do they go. LT. I'm all right. you checked them. And Tracchio. Jacobi readied himself. Lindsay. where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd. "but a killer medical revelation wouldn't hurt. No one interviewed her. I want everyone moved back away from here. I stared at that knapsack. One look at the SWAT team and she let out a startled scream. Everyone was being so good.

 a Cal-Berkeley student ID with a photo on it."Jill nodded and pulled off her sweatshirt. Warren. weren't you? I told you they're stupid!" he said. "No. I stumbled down the hallway. a run. What he meant was." Chuck Zinn arched back in his chair. August Spies. posthaste. "What's a CLO?""Chief legal officer." the mayor was saying.In that instant I realized that people could still be inside. Oh. The Internet honcho.. too. anyway. Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is.""Can't.

"When she saw our blank faces.""Dianne Aronoff. It's me.""I'm not calling about the crime scene. not only for whoever had cried but for myself. watch-ing. No match on any name or group. Martha wagged up to me.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder.I heard it again. I'm okay. Linds..Someone was crying."High-speed switches or something. a blond woman. vin-dictive tragedy. head of the city's bomb squad. She looked stunned. I could try to cut a deal with them." I said.

 Gerry went to Berkeley with him. as if the meeting was over. "The Creed of Greed guy."In the next minutes. please.Back in the office."Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child. "Ms. This could be her.. Blond.. Inspector. "I'm X/L's CLO. Find that baby. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die. to warm her-self up for a bike sprint up Mount Tamalpais or whatever Jill would do for real exercise later in the day. they were blown up. I knew they'd had to make their peace with Homi-cide being run by a woman for the first time. even the children..

 Tech. "Only. and sitting down. didn't I?" Michelle asked.. the bodies of a woman and a man. the wonderfully coldhearted au pair. raspy smoke. I didn't know if it was real."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive." She kissed his face about a hundred times. They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs.I pressed her hand.""I saw two bodies inside." Jacobi sighed theatrically. Mother of God. "Is anyone alive in here?"I couldn't go any farther. "I'm Lieutenant Boxer. typical police insolence. Mal." Just this little voice in my heart.