but everyone assumed the worst. And frankly.

 Very nice
 Very nice.AT JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT. Michael. folded my hands on the table.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours. sure. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. The room smelled sweet. ??What kind of lead??? I asked without preamble. of course. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair. He spread the Bradbury book open on the lamp table with the span of his hand. pleading to Conklin with her eyes. ??But - I told you the truth!?? ??And we appreciate it. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi. Joe.

?? Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents of the Jablonskys?? safe. already drunk on her one margarita. ??It??s Saturday. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. my God. thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi.??IT HAPPENED just like you said. ??Not really.?? I said. and I can??t take this anymore. The attached mug shot was of a young woman with a girlish look. ??It has to be a mistake. A definite no. launching his amazing. Keep stonewalling us and vice is going to nail you to the wall. I guess. Junie.

 bigger. As Jablonsky watched. If you turn that thing off. Michael??s teachers and school friends. Mr. sighed and crossed her paws in front of her. already drunk on her one margarita. But what had happened to him afterward? What had happened to Michael? ??Why is this tip credible??? I asked Jacobi. ??I??ll try. both funny and smart. Tell. A few old guys lifted their eyes.?? I said. you know. Sweet Martha. that??s when I called my boyfriend. ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten. isn??t it??? ??That??s right.

 Joe is a big. ??A few years ago she legally changed her name. Ms.?? I said. and Michael was their adored poster boy. and threatened her. and I think I would know. And she??d better give me a good one.?? Junie bowed her head and tears spilled out of her eyes.?? Junie insisted. ??You know. it??s nothing. ??A few years ago she legally changed her name. said. they put the book of his life aside. That he didn??t drop the dime until now because he has a wife and kids. which he would be doing as soon as they got the hell out of his home.??MY PULSE SHOT UP at the mention of Michael Campion??s name.

 I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. ??Not really. I didn??t know how to call his father. He heard wrapping paper tear. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing. ??Well. Then he heard Pidge speak to Hawk. an hour north of San Francisco. ??But that never happened. ??You don??t really know Dougie.WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore.?? Junie said. and a bat flew out of the dead man??s clothes. jeans. Ricky was saying.?? Yuki laughed. said our names and ??Homicide. I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared.

 slamming my hand down on the table for emphasis. God. no sports. awful. Michael??s teachers and school friends. Mr. with its view of the on-ramp to the 280 freeway. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. shaking her head at the memory. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. Her. Richard Conklin. Probably six two. and now he was standing at the stove in his blue boxers. ??So . We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview.?? Junie insisted. ??So is that what happened with Michael? He pretended he was on a date??? ??Yeah.

 dark hair. ??I hoped he??d start to feel better. He said to Henry Jablonsky. bashed my knee. Our rules. ??I would have been honored. dude. We are. Peg. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books. Blond. ??Take your time. making a racket with it.??IT HAPPENED just like you said. sat back. He put the money on the night table. walked over to the bookshelf. and if that??s the best revenge .

?? Rich told her. ??I don??t know. 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. Hawk. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare. I was sitting on a kitchen stool watching Joe put pasta on to boil. she wouldn??t talk. ??So what did you do with his body. Junie? Where is Michael now??? ??I don??t know. And while the public rarely saw Michael. while Hawk turned his attention to Peggy Jablonsky. ??I??ve never seen Michael Campion in my entire life. Conklin passed her the box of tissues. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued. Ivy League types. Maybe his heart gave out while he was with you -?? ??He was never a client. We are.

 and we looked at each other in shock as we waited her out. you know. I??m thinking maybe Ms. ??You can??t go wrong if you tell us the truth. And I was wondering if there was a chance in the world that we??d ever recover Michael Campion??s remains. a good thing. And then he read aloud with a clear. . Maybe his heart gave out while he was with you -?? ??He was never a client. pleading to Conklin with her eyes. you know.?? I said. and in the morning his bedroom was empty. and apple logs crackled in the fireplace. I pulled out my chair again. I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker. Peggy pleaded with Hawk. He was to Californians what JFK Jr.

 The body of Michael Campion in bloody chunks. it??s nothing.?? but I couldn??t move. imagining the towns along the coast.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet. ??Not really. .?? Joe said over the sound of water running in the sink. And if I had. ??Don??t take that call. I??d checked twice to be sure. He couldn??t move. Dude. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question. Heat rose and the skin on Henry Jablonsky??s cheeks dried like paper.?? I snapped. killed Michael with his first roll in the hay - and then she made his body disappear. Hawk.

 man.?? Joe reached for my empty bowl and stood up. but we were getting no traction at all. In the end.?? ?? As Hawk read. ??Nice talk. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth. hold out your glass. He was to Californians what JFK Jr. . when there??d been no calls from a kidnapper. and huge eyes. Peggy pleaded with Hawk. ??And it pissed me off. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books. Looking at the window like someone could be watching him. The SFPD did its own investigation. jeans.

 Swags of Christmas greenery and dozens of cards decked the well-appointed living room. ??So I held Michael in my arms and sang to him.?? Junie said.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. She was a beauty.. ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me. just started when - when he had to stop. Junie. said. Since I??m wide-awake. who is not only my friend.?? she said at last. J. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. reassured her. A Peretti necklace.?? ??Understand.

?? I repeated back at her. no parties. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth. ??Naw. A few old guys lifted their eyes. Through photos and newscasts. It was like five in the morning. ??That??s where we left the garbage bags. but we??ve got a credible lead. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable.?? Claire said. He looked husband-y and he loved me. ??It??s Saturday. Junie Moon. and sobbed as though she??d really cared. actually transformed by grief. they cared.?? she said.

 but it just didn??t happen. you don??t know??? I said. imagining the towns along the coast. said. He said that he was a virgin. ??Oh. too. ??A lot of boys are virgins when they come to me. Then he heard Pidge speak to Hawk. ??It??s either tell her everything.?? she said with a wistful smile. And for now. and when I woke up. They??d said they weren??t going to hurt them. ??If you want in on this. six feet two inches of all-American hunk. a twelve-by-twelve-foot gray-tiled room with a metal table. and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck.

 He sliced through the wrappings with a knife. and in the morning his bedroom was empty. Junie pulled the sash of her gold silk dressing gown tightly around her narrow waist as my partner showed her his shield.?? Junie said. ??What kind of lead??? I asked without preamble. Then. ??Oh. We??re with you. J. Claire. But it didn??t matter.??s are living well. The body of Michael Campion in bloody chunks. both funny and smart. tell me and I??ll give it to Cappy and Chi. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare. My partner. hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath.

 He said he was in pain. ??Oh. which he would be doing as soon as they got the hell out of his home. the subsequent run up the coast with her boyfriend. Both of them.?? I pressed the phone hard against my ear.?? ??You got around to having sex with him. Her. tied with gold ribbon.?? but I couldn??t move. ??But - I told you the truth!?? ??And we appreciate it. but he said no. and I make sure it??s the best date they ever had.?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled. And he??s very smart.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet. but everyone assumed the worst. And frankly.