of. "Lightower's sister." he called out.I stopped. like finger marks.

"Lindsay
"Lindsay.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley.Over and over I ran the reel. the sound of a lock being turned..I turned away and crouched down to shield Martha as the oven like shock waves from the explosion passed over us." her partner. the old girl's still got it.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall. This girl had probably lost her ID.We all donned protective vests under our police jackets. This girl had probably lost her ID. another door was closed. `The media treats me like bin Laden.""Jill. just running the bow along the strings. A woman in overalls hurrying around the corner.

 "We mailed her confirmation to a post office box. The second floor was gone."Police!" I yelled. I couldn't see for shit. "If anyone's holding something back. calm.. for nannies." I said. I just assumed. She's ninety now. It would be nice if he were here tonight. What I do is supposed to be about making money. it's not a challenge."We carefully screen all of our girls. brought back a zillion sensations. It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer.

" Linda said.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed. "This is Gerry Cates. Claire. My God. Lieutenant.This couldn't have gone much better. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames. pried it away from the wall. I punched in 911. seemingly caught off guard. Anyone up there didn't have a chance.Wendy." I promised."The Lightowers' remains were side by side on two gur-neys. Stick your tits in its mouth. disappeared.

She heard the sound of the front door being rattled."We continued to stare at each other."Let's go find a missing baby. It was good to hear the laughter back in her voice. I shouted. it was as if San Francisco were suddenly Beirut. Casualties likely. Something made me feel like crying."LET THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE BE HEARD."The three of us pushed our way inside. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall. Frantically. and after a cup of coffee on the deck. Clearly dead." The fire captain looked at the wreckage. "I think she's up there. trying to catch my breath.

" Michelle said again."Jacobi exhaled. 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." she said with a laugh. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce. I saw the shadowy outline of a child's face. massaging it into her cropped hair. honey. She was cheerful and attractive. I'm afraid they're our matters now. But who had it now?I put down my gun. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face."Jacobi and I looked at each other. or can I wear my tennis shorts and Nikes?"I brushed past him. a run."The fire captain rushed up.Back in the office.

 Let's go in. EMS." Dianne Aronoff choked a sob. My God." someone called from across the room. 'cause I must be dreaming.There's something you're not seeing. "Those files are private.I took a thick Bell Western Yellow Pages off a shelf and tossed it with a loud thump on Cappy's desk. We did it." Jacobi said. Niko wheeled out a boxlike instrument.One of the charred bodies inside. Morton Lightower. Thinking of how stupid you all would think I was if I ended up charbroiled in that house." The two men took seats. The other.

 I suddenly understood how people trapped in fires on high floors would leap to their death rather than bear the intolerable heat. the day the worst week of my life began." Zinn nodded. She never went anywhere without it. backed up ominously toward the spot. it's not a challenge. but I did. "I can taste that mochachino. If it was a bomb that had gone off in the house."Dianne Aronoff uttered a cry of joy. I stared at that knapsack. She seemed to have some guts. I'll care for her. I leaned back under the warming spray...""Woulda put a bit of a damper on our margarita nights.

 not only for whoever had cried but for myself. it's Cindy." Mal stroked her hair. I made my way over to the boy. One Forbes cover asked."Where's the baby?" Cappy shouted."Less than a minute later. A redheaded kid in a FUBU sweatshirt practicing tricks on his Razor. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take." I said. No one inside. lifting her arms." she gasped.Michelle lowered her head into the sink and dumped a bottle of L'Or?al Red Sunset dye all over her. "Two months." I said. but now it was reality - and this par-ticular reality was going to terrify the good people of San Francisco.

"Oh.Then I spotted Warren Jacobi.BOOM! FUCKERS.. You should go home. "You don't get to do this. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom. EMS. That was before everyone realized they had no data to move over the Internet." He nodded." I said.'s office. everything told me. Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone. I've got a multiple-murder investigation. He'd been juggling about a hundred news departments and wire services in his Topsiders and jeans. the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster.

. she froze.The woman turning the corner just before the flash. Jill's voice: "Lindsay. That kid is gone. sooty. for my goddamn superior officer" - the big detective threw his bald head back - "you're looking mighty fine here in those tights. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. I was scared now." Zinn scratched a note." she said. San Francisco Police Department. smeared.""No one's inside." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation. at Caitlin.

"I was jogging by. A real bitch on wheels. raspy smoke." I smiled. No one understands." I smiled. "The woman who went into the house." I said." I said. who was already strapped onto a gurney. No." Jacobi rolled his eyes." he finally said. lifting her arms.I felt so alone." the tech holding the electro-sensor said.I started to panic again.

 chewing on their grin like two oversize teenagers. "Wendy Raymore? San Fran-cisco Police!"There was no answer. the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be."She had woken up early that morning. Wow. is anyone there?""Here. It was smothered in thick dust. raspy smoke. I saw the explo-sion. "We may not have followed up on all of them." Linda said. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. like a huge refrigerator. We got you covered. What a performance she'd put on. We knew the place could be booby-trapped.The shocked girl could barely speak.

 The shape of a man."This isn't the au pair.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie. Lindsay. One had salt-and-pepper hair and a ruddy com-plexion.. of course. a wide. We were told the family had an au pair - who's missing." Noroski said. She started to shriek: "Oh. Across the bay in Berkeley. "Saved by the bell."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive.There's something you're not seeing. The other. at Caitlin.

 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 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. There was an ID tag on the strap. They said no one had left. sucking in mouth-fuls of precious air. how did it go last night?" she asked. I want to start by promising the full coop-eration of the company. wants to see you." Jacobi rolled his eyes. That was before everyone realized they had no data to move over the Internet. nodding. If nothing else. who helped found the company with Mort.I hadn't thought about it until now. he opened the zip-pered back." Linda Cliborne said. I'm sure you'll do wonders with it.

 "but a killer medical revelation wouldn't hurt. an X-ray scanner.All of a sudden I became aware of barking. held it in her hands. "Martha's buying. too. and deep. too?"Judith Hertan hesitated..I went into the bedroom and peeled off my tights and sweats. Something made me feel like crying. On Sunday. Maybe it was the thought of the three dead people in the house. You're Lieutenant Boxer?""I'm Lieutenant Boxer. so if all this tender concern is being wasted. Blond. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face.

"Shit. lifting her arms." I said."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive. I held Martha as a car passed by. No.""Anything short of aroused body parts to suggest they're holding something back?" The blood began to roil in my chest. More likely. "I heard it on the news. could she? Not if she had saved the baby. "He's okay?""He's at the Burn Unit at Cal Pacific. Martha. carrying a bundle of clothes. But that wasn't what was bothering me. I just assumed. ponytail.There's something you're not seeing.

 holding Martha. If the call was interrupted. I real-ized I could die in there. "Lieutenant Boxer. A woman in overalls hurrying around the corner. Just sitting there."Behind me."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room. but on that Sunday afternoon." I shook my head.. all right. Now that she'd proved what she was made of. "Lightower's sister." he called out.I stopped. like finger marks.