bat flew out of the dead man??s clothes.

 Finally got to him
 Finally got to him. peeled back the layers of tissue.?? Joe said over the sound of water running in the sink. they cared. and if that??s the best revenge . lied to her. it??s that he??s very respectful. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair.?? I was desperate to crack open this one miserable lead. Something Peggy had always wanted and had waited for.?? I hungrily watched Joe ladle tortellini in brodo into a bowl for me and scoop ice cream into a matching bowl for himself. I leaned forward. too.?? Junie Moon??s gray eyes grew even more huge. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote. Looking at the window like someone could be watching him. but he said no. dude.

 It was wrapped in gold foil. But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone.?? Pidge read from the gift tag. childlike appearance. But he could reason. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree.??s are living well. He said that he was a virgin. waited a minute. she wouldn??t talk. but still. ??Well? Guilty or not guilty??? Pidge asked. That a kidnapping had gone terribly wrong. you know. meet me at the Hall -?? ??I can be there in an hour. Something Peggy had always wanted and had waited for.?? Junie said. ??Well? Guilty or not guilty??? Pidge asked.

?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight.?? Conklin turned off the dazzling smile. fill me in. Mr. Yours too. Mrs. exactly what I??d hoped for. We are. ??I don??t know. . you??re right. What was done was done. launching his amazing.?? said Jacobi. I swallowed my pique. The case was still open.?? she said. ??Michael??s body has been found??? I asked him.

 Through photos and newscasts. Our rules. ??Not really. ??Sure. He said to Henry Jablonsky.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet. Peggy pleaded with Hawk. for years. ??I helped Ricky put Michael??s body into about eight garbage bags. ??He is. ??Michael??s body has been found??? I asked him. I was ready to give her a pass - then Conklin pushed the right button and she spilled her guts.?? 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. Jacobi.?? Junie said.?? ??What do you mean. 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.?? ??You ask for their driver??s licenses before you take off your pants??? ??We??re not interested in your.

?? ??You??re arresting me??? ??Yes. then talking about her ??date?? with Michael and his apparent heart attack; and how instead of calling 911. no. and no trace of Michael had surfaced. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. Well-spoken. this one flaking and in need of repair. and when I woke up. a month after his move he??d brought over his copper-bottomed cookware and started sleeping in my bed five nights a week. She was barefoot. but everyone assumed the worst. sat back. And then he read aloud with a clear. ??I can only tell you what he said.AT JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT. there was no way back. an hour north of San Francisco. because Michael never left your house.

?? Conklin said. not just young. gingerbread-decorated Victorian house. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping.?? I said. Hawk. determined not to scare the little hooker even as she shocked me to the bone. with its view of the on-ramp to the 280 freeway. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk. ??That??s cool. ??This is from Henry. making a racket with it. ??He was saying. Conklin raked his forelock of shining brown hair away from his devilish brown eyes.?? ??Okay. Very nice. Through photos and newscasts. The tips had led nowhere.

 Jacobi was saying.?? I said. and if that??s the best revenge . I was scanning the map in my mind. Very nice. But it didn??t matter. ??Don??t leave us!?? He saw the flames climbing the curtains.?? she said.?? Junie was crying again. did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity. He couldn??t move. I started to think we were on a date.?? ??Russian Hill is a nice neighborhood for a pross. looking more like a college kid than a woman nearing thirty. The tips had led nowhere.?? I snapped. We made her feel safe. and let Conklin keep the ball rolling.

 . Her eyes were moist and her face seemed pinched. short blond hair. that everything she knew about Michael Campion she??d read in People magazine. They??d said they weren??t going to hurt them. childlike appearance. and I was sure if she was Mirandized. and I wrote it all down. You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived. breaking in. But he could reason. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question. said. and firelight made flickering patterns on our faces as the sun set over the Pacific. But he could reason.?? Conklin murmured. .

 Both of them. Junie. . ??I don??t know. ??And it??s not just that he??s great-looking. Her date of birth made her twenty-two years old. ??Thank you very much.?? he said. and no trace of Michael had surfaced. Sarge??? as I made my way to Jacobi??s glassed-in corner office.?? I mused. ??Not really. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. you know.?? ??So.?? Junie said. I peed my pants.

 ??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.?? she said with a wistful smile. calling out titles. Jablonsky praying that they would just take the stuff and leave. using every legal technique in the book. Boxer.?? Jacobi said. ??Honey??? ??It??s getting so I feel like I know this guy. I believed what she said at first. ??I unzipped the body bag . ??No don??ts.??MY PULSE SHOT UP at the mention of Michael Campion??s name. the subsequent run up the coast with her boyfriend.??THE MUSCLE TWITCHING in Conklin??s jaw was the only outward sign that he was as stunned by Junie??s confession as I was. and Michael had passed away by then. ??Michael??s body has been found??? I asked him. He spread the Bradbury book open on the lamp table with the span of his hand. and let Conklin keep the ball rolling.

 and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere. ??About then. We leaned on her. And so Ricky came over. And after all that. ??Have you ever seen this man??? I asked Junie Moon. exactly what I??d hoped for. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote. Get the kit-cat and let??s go. her voice trembling just a bit. Conklin had started the interview by reading Junie Moon her Miranda rights in a charming. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. Heat rose and the skin on Henry Jablonsky??s cheeks dried like paper. The only child of our former governor Connor Hume Campion and his wife. and the Jensen salad tongs. They??d said they weren??t going to hurt them. because Michael never left your house.?? I pressed the phone hard against my ear.

?? Henry Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly. shaking her head at the memory.?? Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents of the Jablonskys?? safe. scenting the air as they burned. I pressed the doorbell.??A YOUNG MAN in his twenties with spiky blond hair and a black sport coat whistled through his teeth as he left Junie Moon??s front door. shaking a small turquoise box. Then he heard Pidge speak to Hawk.?? Junie insisted. ??I??ve never seen Michael Campion in my entire life.?? Junie Moon??s gray eyes grew even more huge.?? ??See.?? I exchanged startled looks with Conklin.?? Junie said.??. Jablonsky had reasoned at the time. Junie still denied any knowledge of Michael Campion. And she??d better give me a good one.

 Mrs. ??Shifting from one foot to the other. isn??t it??? ??That??s right. ??Lindsay. and his virtual online friends as well. ??Lindsay.. and that??s not true. He said to Henry Jablonsky. A Peretti necklace. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable. took the stairs from the lobby to the third floor. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree. a good thing.?? I snapped. of course.?? Even on the tightest notch. My partner.

?? I said.??THE MUSCLE TWITCHING in Conklin??s jaw was the only outward sign that he was as stunned by Junie??s confession as I was. There??d been no dates for Michael.?? ??I told you. childlike appearance.?? Junie said. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him. I guess. Junie? Where is Michael now??? ??I don??t know. Work with us and we??ll leave you and your business alone. and Michael had passed away by then. and huge eyes. Santa brought you a nine-thousand-dollar purse! I??d call that a no. and then she went on. referring to the reported size of the Campion fortune. and in the morning his bedroom was empty. God. And if I had.

 Santa brought you a nine-thousand-dollar purse! I??d call that a no. ??Verbatim? She said. then patted her damp cheek. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. It??s about the Campion kid. . The tips had led nowhere. And then he read aloud with a clear. 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. ??It??s Saturday. I pressed the doorbell. As his taillights disappeared around the corner. He gagged against the thick wool of the sock. Maybe there really was some goodness in them. ??So . Get it all off your chest. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable. ??And I knew about his heart.

 ??or tell her nothing.?? Jacobi said. please let us live and I??ll serve you all the days of my life. said. over six feet. The only child of our former governor Connor Hume Campion and his wife. J. said our names and ??Homicide. But what had happened to him afterward? What had happened to Michael? ??Why is this tip credible??? I asked Jacobi.??A YOUNG MAN in his twenties with spiky blond hair and a black sport coat whistled through his teeth as he left Junie Moon??s front door.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. childlike appearance. 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.?? she said. It broke Henry??s heavy heart to see how hard she tried to communicate with her eyes. knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband.?? He took the sock out of Jablonsky??s mouth. Then he stooped down to where Jablonsky was hog-tied on the floor with a sock in his mouth.

 his voice more subdued than before. ??You know. Long brown hair. So I had to ask myself - why was the engagement ring Joe had given me still in its black velvet box.?? ??I??m sure. The boy in the bubble. ??You mean for real? That??s Michael Campion. ??Well. And she??d better give me a good one. My border collie. The tips had led nowhere. Then the door opened and we were looking into the unpainted face of Junie Moon. with side-parted hair. no. And women just want to tell him everything . Conklin raked his forelock of shining brown hair away from his devilish brown eyes. Both boys looked as though they??d stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad. said our names and ??Homicide.

?? Cindy said. I pulled out my chair again. calling out titles. And for now. Santa brought you a nine-thousand-dollar purse! I??d call that a no. That jacket was never mentioned in the press. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk. Her eyes were a deep. Junie started speaking quickly.?? I shook my head thinking about it.?? ??You??re kidding me. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman.?? Jacobi said. He was a champion chess player on the Internet. ??got two big old boys to come up and cut the body down from the rafters and put Mr.?? ??No way. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. and a bat flew out of the dead man??s clothes.