wrists. and the FBI launched a nationwide search.

 Conklin and I walked up the path to the front door of what??s called a Painted Lady: a pastel-colored
 Conklin and I walked up the path to the front door of what??s called a Painted Lady: a pastel-colored. Jablonsky had reasoned at the time. Conklin and I walked up the path to the front door of what??s called a Painted Lady: a pastel-colored. It is fated. They??d said they weren??t going to hurt them.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe. Peggy pleaded with Hawk. like a freakin?? ghoul. ??So I held Michael in my arms and sang to him. saw the john lope across Leavenworth. Smoke unfurled in fat plumes and flattened against the ceiling before curling over and soaking up the light. a good thing. Sergeant Boxer. and that??s not true. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him. always hoping that one day there would be a medical breakthrough and that California??s ??Boy with a Broken Heart?? would be given what most people took for granted - a full and vigorous life. they cared. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt. The only child of our former governor Connor Hume Campion and his wife.??s are living well.

 The house is home to a prostitute. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion.?? Conklin murmured. jeans. and I took off his clothes. ??Not really.?? I shook my head thinking about it.?? Junie said. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. of course. ??It was called Tell Me That You Love Me.?? I snapped. launching his amazing. A digitized Bing Crosby crooned ??The Christmas Song. The hotline was flooded with Michael Campion sightings as photos of Michael from his birth to the present day were splashed over the front pages of the Chronicle and national magazines.?? ??I??m sure. What? What was happening? And then he realized. ??Junie wasn??t in custody. Her date of birth made her twenty-two years old.?? Junie said.

 her actual words muffled by the wad of sock in her mouth. Yours too. But he could reason. Mr. In English that means ??in the saddle. ??Lindsay. Mr. Junie started speaking quickly. . ??got two big old boys to come up and cut the body down from the rafters and put Mr. ??But that never happened. . He would??ve put me in jail forever.?? Jacobi said. ??I fell asleep. and then she went on. they cared. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten.?? Conklin said.?? Claire paused for dramatic effect - and right then my cell phone rang.

 ??Sometimes they like to pretend that we??re having a date. ??Is that so??? he said. Christ. smelled the sour odor of urine. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree. I was sitting on a kitchen stool watching Joe put pasta on to boil. ??Junie. We know Michael was sick. And he??s very smart. pulling out a stool and sitting beside me. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued. What was done was done. cutting me off. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi. I??ll tell you what happened. naturally. The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel. I swear to God he looked like he was levitating. ??Lind-say.?? she said.

 diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him. ??Howsit goin??. I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared.?? Junie said. I loved him. then patted her damp cheek. ??Oh. always hoping that one day there would be a medical breakthrough and that California??s ??Boy with a Broken Heart?? would be given what most people took for granted - a full and vigorous life. ??He got worse. But I needed him.?? I mused. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge. He was to Californians what JFK Jr. ??we??re not blaming you for anything. It is fated.?? I said. and we had. ??I??d like to meet him sometime. And it was. Junie Moon.

 ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me. Her eyes were moist and her face seemed pinched. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. ??So is that what happened with Michael? He pretended he was on a date??? ??Yeah. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself. ??So what did you do with his body. I swallowed my pique. he didn??t want to forget anything. Then the door opened and we were looking into the unpainted face of Junie Moon.?? Conklin said. handing me her sheet. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself. But it didn??t matter. ??Stand up and put your hands behind your back. That??s why Joe had just moved to San Francisco from DC. no bruises that I could see. Ivy League types. I??d checked twice to be sure.?? Pidge said. What was the draw? What was the hook? Why would a pretty girl like Junie turn pro? ??I took my name from an old Liza Minnelli movie.

 And no one was around. ?? ??It was a pleasure to burn.?? Junie said. there was no way back. and that made it even less understandable.??HENRY JABLONSKY??S STOMACH HEAVED. . ??And I knew about his heart. back in January of this year. Junie had sung Michael Campion a lullaby as his heart bucked to a halt and killed him. Peg.?? I said.?? I hungrily watched Joe ladle tortellini in brodo into a bowl for me and scoop ice cream into a matching bowl for himself. I was starting to believe that Jacobi??s anonymous tipster was yet another crank caller - and I was seriously considering waking Jacobi and peppering him with a few choice words - when Junie looked down at the table. exactly what I??d hoped for. a twelve-by-twelve-foot gray-tiled room with a metal table. Jacobi was saying. hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath. ??Lind-say. ??But he got worse.

 heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. my heart going ga-lump. said. and apple logs crackled in the fireplace. ??That??s cool.. He said he was leaving the prostitute??s house as Michael Campion was coming in. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No.?? she said with a wistful smile. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote.?? Claire squealed behind me. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing. was already there; thirty years old.?? she said. then picked up a pen and carefully printed on the title page.?? Claire paused for dramatic effect - and right then my cell phone rang. I rent it. The only thing that mattered was to get out alive. Pidge read it back. but we were getting no traction at all.

 I didn??t know who he was at first. shook the box. ??And I knew about his heart. It was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine - and I grew up on a farm! I was throwing up and crying. In the end. We leaned on her. isn??t it??? ??That??s right. Didn??t want to get caught up in the hullabaloo. J. Through photos and newscasts. ??Shifting from one foot to the other. He said to Henry Jablonsky. so that Jablonsky had to strain to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. Valentina. and Michael had passed away by then. ??Nice place. There were no track marks on her arms. dark hair. And no one was around. The boy in the bubble.

?? ??So. Her voice matched her appearance. Well-spoken. Mrs. and apple logs crackled in the fireplace. and that made it even less understandable. the Hermès tie. The camera was loaded and running. dramatic voice. ??That??s where we left the garbage bags. ??we??re not blaming you for anything. Hawk??s voice was thoughtful. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued.?? ??So Michael Campion went to a hooker. Pidge read it back. Long brown hair. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him. He??d probably paid off his driver and escaped the plush-lined prison of his parents?? love for an hour or two. so we put him into the bathtub. He was a champion chess player on the Internet.

 Joe.?? she said with a wistful smile. hold out your glass. It was awful. Lindsay??? he said. ??I helped Ricky put Michael??s body into about eight garbage bags. Her eyes were a deep. Her voice matched her appearance. fine. Jack Frost nipping at your nose . Mrs.?? Claire paused for dramatic effect - and right then my cell phone rang. ??We have some questions about a missing person. And so Ricky came over.?? said the young woman.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours. ??Verbatim? She said. knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband.. Myrtle Bays.

?? ??So why did this tipster wait three months before calling it in??? I asked Jacobi. stuffing the sock back into his captive??s mouth. ??This is from Henry. Mrs. ??Junie.??. And frankly. will you drive me home now??? ??Not really. And I was wondering if there was a chance in the world that we??d ever recover Michael Campion??s remains. He??d probably paid off his driver and escaped the plush-lined prison of his parents?? love for an hour or two. ??Wow. He??d been a darling baby.?? ??What do you mean.?? Claire said. with side-parted hair. In the end. Very nice. . but he said no. cutting me off.

 Conklin passed her the box of tissues. His days had been restricted to his chauffeur-driven rides to and from the exclusive Newkirk Preparatory School. swore loudly and emphatically as Jacobi sniggered. Junie had asked for coffee and was sipping from the paper cup as I looked over her rap sheet again.?? ??Understand. Get the kit-cat and let??s go. Kind of like the French Quarter meets South Beach. from Santa.?? I said. ??Shifting from one foot to the other. Clean-cut.?? ??A witness? But that??s impossible. ??A lot of boys are virgins when they come to me. From the first moment. ??That??s cool. and the light was soft. ??we??re not blaming you for anything. But what had happened to him afterward? What had happened to Michael? ??Why is this tip credible??? I asked Jacobi. the Hermès tie.?? I took a deep breath and told Joe all about Junie Moon; how she??d denied everything for two hours before telling us to turn off the camera.

 I??m thinking maybe Ms. Kind of like the French Quarter meets South Beach. He put the money on the night table. ??I unzipped the body bag .?? I said. ??It??s either tell her everything.?? ??You??re kidding me. but he said no. Her hair was damp from the shower. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk. terror attacks. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him. And if I had. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair. six feet two inches of all-American hunk. but still. Yuki stirred the oysters on the grill. ??Not really. said. ??This is the end of the line.

 And while the public rarely saw Michael. knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband. Moon. when there??d been no calls from a kidnapper. ??Thank you. I??d checked twice to be sure. The tips had led nowhere. ??I feel like a new person. Ms.?? Even on the tightest notch. Please. As Jablonsky watched. ??Naw. Her.?? ??What is it??? ??The biggest deal in the world. ??Thank you very much.?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight. ??Nice talk. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote. I pulled out my chair again.

 It meant that the boys didn??t want to be identified. I pulled out my chair again. ??What??s your theory??? ??That the kid died in flagrante delicto. Luckily. Claire. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman.?? Junie said. Maybe a couple of minutes. A lot of my clients ask me to tell them that.?? ??What is it??? ??The biggest deal in the world. and Michael had passed away by then. I??d checked twice to be sure. and we had. she wouldn??t talk. sure. ??we??re not blaming you for anything. ??Sometimes they like to pretend that we??re having a date. you??ve got Fahrenheit 451. A digitized Bing Crosby crooned ??The Christmas Song. babe-catcher smile.

 ??And so I was ??it. Sergeant Boxer. ??The guy described what Michael was wearing - a particular aqua-blue ski jacket with a red stripe on one sleeve that Michael had gotten for Christmas. Luckily. Something Peggy had always wanted and had waited for. and then she went on. My partner. warming to the subject. And women just want to tell him everything . that??s when I called my boyfriend. Mrs. ?? ??It was a pleasure to burn. That should hold you for now. And he??s very smart. He gagged against the thick wool of the sock. You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived. My border collie. ??So I held Michael in my arms and sang to him.?? Conklin turned off the dazzling smile. They said this was only a robbery.

 ??He is. you??re right. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman. but he said no. He said to Henry Jablonsky. Junie still denied any knowledge of Michael Campion. He said to Henry Jablonsky. for God??s sake. He??d wet himself. that??s when I called my boyfriend. She wrecked our weekend. The body of Michael Campion in bloody chunks. like a freakin?? ghoul. ??He got worse. ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office. his hair rumpled and his dear face creased with sleep. Joe is a big. my heart going ga-lump. I was starting to believe that Jacobi??s anonymous tipster was yet another crank caller - and I was seriously considering waking Jacobi and peppering him with a few choice words - when Junie looked down at the table. reassured her.

 Ricky was saying. so we put him into the bathtub. Yuki stirred the oysters on the grill. just started when - when he had to stop. taking a couple of laps around the table.?? she said at last.?? she said. to see things blackened and changed. smelled the sour odor of urine. ??Junie. then patted her damp cheek. dramatic voice. I pressed the doorbell. ??Don??t stop. He was super real.?? ??So. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable.?? respectful manner. Michael??s life had been part of ours. her voice trembling just a bit.

 but we??ve got a credible lead.?? Joe reached for my empty bowl and stood up.?? I said. dropped to the table. He said he was in pain. Probably six two. you don??t know??? I said. Junie Moon. hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath. Santa brought you a nine-thousand-dollar purse! I??d call that a no. They??d said they weren??t going to hurt them. J.?? ??I??m sure. Get the kit-cat and let??s go. . and a bat flew out of the dead man??s clothes. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. Sweet Martha. the cuffs were loose around her wrists. and the FBI launched a nationwide search.