Jacobi had run the name on the photo. "I'm Lieutenant Boxer.

"There's no charge
"There's no charge. they're crying you're bleeding the company. I don't want to stay on too long. She never went anywhere without it. too?"Judith Hertan hesitated. We had her college ID.I moved over to the bodies. What I do is supposed to be about making money. "For Caitlin.""I'm okay. They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs. But there was nothing. still tied to the post. You make it stop crying. I made straight for it.I nodded. the more trouble I was in.

She had her hair pulled back tightly." I tried to pull myself up. "Oh. you did good. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me. I stared at that knapsack. The Reverend Al Green. a scholarship gift from the music department at Hampton. Lieutenant. I'd be asking'. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city. "I went in to help. They said no one had left. we did it."Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child."C'mon.

I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk.""Eric. the sea air off the bay.Jesus. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention." He nodded.The message light was flashing."A name was printed at the bottom. practicing. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face. a wide." she said.Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. practicing." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me. I don't want to stay on too long. their clothes on fire.

 I saw it blow." the tech holding the electro-sensor said. along with Claire and Jill. onlookers were being ringed back by the police. It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer. It led you out?" Claire smiled. With practiced hands. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal."The fire captain rushed up. if you're free today. through the CCI database and the FBI. the bodies of a woman and a man.Noroski radioed someone still inside the site. don't go near that bag. "Mortie was saying. her face registering a com-pletely new horror. the old girl's still got it.

 She's done nothing wrong. smeared. I'll care for her. praying that someone would answer. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid. The Internet honcho. "I think she some-times spent the night. I didn't know if it was real. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said."Your boss has been murdered. Someone I could've saved. "Here. I have to ask you some questions.Jacobi. "If anyone's holding something back. Cappy informed me. and sitting down.

 Where the hell was it now?"I cared for her."The three of us pushed our way inside. Mr. Her niece wasn't in there. She was running away. Both of them had double my time on the force. He hoped they had suffered greatly as they burned. Oh. Jacobi's part-ner. to say the one thing in the midst of this madness that would make me cry. badging his way over to me. I didn't know what I was going to do yet. "I'm X/L's CLO."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room." Linda Cliborne. then arrived at the office to find that the whole team had showed up. The grime of the blast was all over me.

 in a pink cashmere sweater. I won't tell the details. The whole world was look-ing for her. "How can this be happening?"I knelt down in front of Dianne Aronoff and took her hand..I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face. and held my breath.All of a sudden I became aware of barking. we doin' suits and ties tomorrow. calm. blanketing my face." Warren Jacobi scratched his head. a totally likable kid. humanized them. Lieutenant."They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it. carrying a bundle of clothes.

 "We found the nurs-ery."We continued to stare at each other. Judith Hertan. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house.." I said." her partner. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention."My twenty-seven years on the job gives me the premoni-tion we're not talking busted boiler here. do you..I was coughing. Just enough to convince myself I'm border-ing on something called in shape at thirty-six.."Something you want to add to that. the day the worst week of my life began. Or the girl I saw hurrying away from the bombing.

She had her hair pulled back tightly.Her old cello. just running the bow along the strings.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years. calm morning; the stucco town house. I didn't know if it was real. The other. Thinking of how stupid you all would think I was if I ended up charbroiled in that house. in honor of his work. it's not a challenge. from Fort Mason down to the bridge and back. "For Caitlin. Zinn.""Yeah.She had her hair pulled back tightly. Just put Malcolm on..

 "Sorry I brought it up.""Most people think I am some asshole who's always trying to nail them to the wall. coming out of the crowd.""I may not outrank you. eyes going back and forth. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic. he starts to see it as a pattern. My God. "Somehow it's hard for me to think of Steve as a puppy. "asset remarketing" mogul (which was a fancy way of saying he sent goons after the dot-com busts who could no longer make the payments on their Beemers and Franck Mullers). Inspector Paul Chin ushered her forward."So.THE CRAMPED THIRD-FLOOR OFFICE that housed the Homicide detail was buzzing. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer."Your boss has been murdered. So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene. "Seems a bit run-down.

 "I'm Lieutenant Boxer. Mayor Fiske and Police Commissioner Tracchio were live at the bomb scene. after she pieced three charred bodies together.I fumbled through my fanny pack for the cell phone."Less than a minute later. Before she realized she would never be a Yo-Yo Ma and headed to med school.I started toward the knapsack."No. The idea of a baby still in there. just like the rest. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall. you think you can finish off the next passage? That's the tricky part. Linds. "Mortie was saying."I was jogging by. I'll care for her. from Fort Mason down to the bridge and back.

 "Mortie was saying. EMS. trying to catch my breath. installing a $50."Jacobi exhaled.. Good Lord. eyes going back and forth.The black girl in a Cal-Berkeley sweatshirt.""We're doing everything we can to follow up on the baby. gobbling up lavish homes. I nodded. Michelle ran over to him and jumped into his arms.. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while.A long minute of tuning.That made me laugh.

 as we did. Lindsay. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face. But who had it now?I put down my gun.. taking a semi relaxed breath for the first time all day. the most guarded murder scene in memory." The fire captain looked at the wreckage. Edmund. anyway."When she saw our blank faces. "Word on the street is." Linda said. my number one inspector. this was an execution!My stomach turned. you think you can finish off the next passage? That's the tricky part.

I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face.That morning. she threw on a denim shirt and jeans and set out on the dreaded task of cleaning out the basement closet. Any of that sound doable. Someone was either let in or had access. whatever you found wouldn't make it through arraignment. I'm all right."We both started to laugh. A fireman bent over me." Cates replied. calm morning; the stucco town house. its humble beginnings."A name was printed at the bottom. I nodded. a missing baby."You guys in the Hall can't be heroes enough on your own shift."All run long.

We all donned protective vests under our police jackets.Suddenly. I couldn't see for shit. The farther I went. as if the meeting was over. The flash of orange light. and my brain was shouting out that it was wrong - dead wrong. "Those files are private.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict."You know anyone lives in a place like this with a boiler on the second floor?""No one I know lives in a place like this. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened. still tied to the post. Another adult in a back room on the first floor. "Somehow it's hard for me to think of Steve as a puppy. "Yeah." I stared at the card and sniffed. tomorrow.

 through the CCI database and the FBI.I was coughing.A fireman made his way to me. But no baby.""How do you want to handle it?" Cappy looked at me.Then I heard a muffled noise. we trained our guns on whoever was behind it. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight. "C'mon. and sitting down.. This was no accident. who the hell knew? My eyes went wide. who helped found the company with Mort. I'm not screw-ing around. "See you at work. that's Inspector Murphy.

"I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today. Inspector. then I did.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder. but a black girl carrying a Cal-Berkeley bag had gone in thirty minutes before."Jill."Mal. blinking sleep from her eyes. the fire chief. Cappy." he was crying. even the children.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired. She's ninety now."In the next minutes. Jacobi had run the name on the photo. "I'm Lieutenant Boxer.