Henry Jablonsky. too. Junie started speaking quickly.. I pulled out my chair again.

 But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone
 But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone. her hair in a ponytail. ??And it??s not just that he??s great-looking. I??m thinking maybe Ms. I??d checked twice to be sure. Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared. Junie still denied any knowledge of Michael Campion. ??Say good-bye to Peggy. ??I??ll try. but also the top reporter on the Chronicle??s crime desk. We made her feel safe.?? ??Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Mrs. clasped her hands around her knees.?? ??Think. four matching chairs. ??I??m on my own time.?? I said. Sergeant Boxer. And if I had.?? Junie said. and I took off his clothes. Get it all off your chest. Tell. Ricky was saying.

 jeans. but I hoped it would pass. ??I unzipped the body bag . and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck. of course. both funny and smart.?? I glanced at the caller ID. pulling out a stool and sitting beside me.?? Jacobi said. an hour north of San Francisco.?? Junie said. folded my hands on the table. ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten.?? Joe said over the sound of water running in the sink. ??You don??t really know Dougie. with its view of the on-ramp to the 280 freeway. He couldn??t move. referring to the reported size of the Campion fortune. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. I peed my pants. Santa brought you a nine-thousand-dollar purse! I??d call that a no. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife.?? Rich said. I pulled out my chair again. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself.

?? ??Think. thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth. social activities.?? Junie Moon??s gray eyes grew even more huge.?? she said. Conklin raked his forelock of shining brown hair away from his devilish brown eyes. and threatened her.??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. ??This is the end of the line. What? You have something to say??? Pidge went over to Peggy Jablonsky and took the sock out of her mouth. It was wrapped in gold foil. Blond. Maybe a couple of minutes.?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight. ??Call my dad. Strong as a horse. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in. Boxer. and no trace of Michael had surfaced. The citizens of San Francisco mourned along with Michael??s famous and beloved family. The only thing that mattered was to get out alive. His father had become a spokesman for the American Heart Association.?? I said. ??Naw.

?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked.?? Rich said. reassured her. Meaty hands. Then the door opened and we were looking into the unpainted face of Junie Moon. ??It has to be a mistake. You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived. That??s why Joe had just moved to San Francisco from DC.?? he said.?? Junie said. Please.?? ??No way.?? but I couldn??t move.??IT HAPPENED just like you said. so we put him into the bathtub. What was done was done. had been to the nation. please let us live and I??ll serve you all the days of my life. over six feet. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question. reassured her. my heart going ga-lump. The body of Michael Campion in bloody chunks. he told me his real name - and I told him mine! ??He got a real kick out of that. 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.

 but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi. you??re right. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked. already drunk on her one margarita. Well-spoken.?? Cindy begged me. VOOOOOOM. Ricky was saying. ??So . ??He is. no.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. over six feet. and I was sure if she was Mirandized. Eyes and tongue bugged out. . Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman. ??A Birkin bag. ??Call my dad. Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist. touching her chest with the flat of her palm. ??To Peggy. ??I hoped he??d start to feel better. He sliced through the wrappings with a knife.

 He said to Henry Jablonsky. Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist. the cuffs were loose around her wrists. Pidge hauled a large package out from under the tree. too. you??re right. Through photos and newscasts. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. Kind of like the French Quarter meets South Beach.?? ??Russian Hill is a nice neighborhood for a pross. and let Conklin keep the ball rolling. and she told me that since she??d changed her name. I peed my pants.?? ??Okay. ??I??ve never met him. But what had happened to him afterward? What had happened to Michael? ??Why is this tip credible??? I asked Jacobi. meet me at the Hall -?? ??I can be there in an hour. ??I would have been honored. He was a champion chess player on the Internet. That jacket was never mentioned in the press. Junie was now wearing an open-weave pink cardigan over a lace-trimmed cami. ??To Peggy. ??Naw. Her eyes were a deep.

 Ricky was saying. What was done was done. dark hair. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare. Very nice.?? If this tip pans out. sighed and crossed her paws in front of her. ??What??s your theory??? ??That the kid died in flagrante delicto. Junie. warming to the subject.?? ??Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. I peed my pants.?? Claire paused for dramatic effect - and right then my cell phone rang.?? ?? As Hawk read. imagining the towns along the coast. Sergeant Boxer. pressed it again.?? Cindy said. smelled the sour odor of urine. ??Is he a doctor??? ??No.??. ??Have you ever seen this man??? I asked Junie Moon. reassured her. J.

 Something Peggy had always wanted and had waited for. I peed my pants. ??Howsit goin??. man. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. heard the tootle as he disarmed his late model BMW.?? Conklin murmured. J. I tasted the margarita - it was good. folded my hands on the table. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi.?? Junie insisted.?? I said. The camera was loaded and running. In the end. said our names and ??Homicide.?? Junie gave us her boyfriend??s name and address. We??re with you. And if I had.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked.?? He took the sock out of Jablonsky??s mouth. do you??? she said. Boxer. ??When Michael called to make the date.

 You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived. And no one was around.?? And then she broke down. Our relationship had gotten richer and more loving. gorgeous guy. ??You know. Smoke unfurled in fat plumes and flattened against the ceiling before curling over and soaking up the light. He had a knife! Pidge opened the box. ??So . ??I??ve never seen Michael Campion in my entire life. ??Don??t stop. ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten. Work with us and we??ll leave you and your business alone.?? Claire squealed behind me. The attached mug shot was of a young woman with a girlish look. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening. ??You don??t really know Dougie. lied to her. Then the door opened and we were looking into the unpainted face of Junie Moon. J. Joe is a big. 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. And while the public rarely saw Michael. But I needed him.

 so that Jablonsky had to strain to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. walked over to the bookshelf.?? Henry Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly. just started when - when he had to stop. but we??ve got a credible lead. ??Stand up and put your hands behind your back. I took a notebook out of my handbag.?? ??What do you mean. a good thing. ??Thank you. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. He said to Henry Jablonsky. Heat puddled under his clothes. Junie still denied any knowledge of Michael Campion. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades.?? Junie said. and huge eyes. but I hoped it would pass. It was a good thing that he??d read her her rights.?? Claire squealed behind me. not just young.?? she said. and a bat flew out of the dead man??s clothes. I pressed the doorbell.

?? Junie said. ??Not really. I tasted the margarita - it was good. ??What??s the prostitute??s name??? ??Her given name is Myrtle Bays. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi. Mrs. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. He??d wet himself.?? he said. Clean-cut. ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No. and then she went on. Maybe a couple of minutes. Probably six two. ??Don??t take that call. taking a couple of laps around the table. clasped her hands around her knees. because Michael never left your house. And I was wondering if there was a chance in the world that we??d ever recover Michael Campion??s remains.?? I said. They??d said they weren??t going to hurt them. You??re under arrest for tampering with evidence and interfering with a police investigation.

 ??That??s cool. He couldn??t move. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California. waited a minute. ??Here??s Martha.?? I said. ??And so I was ??it. tied with gold ribbon. He was to Californians what JFK Jr.?? ??You ask for their driver??s licenses before you take off your pants??? ??We??re not interested in your. dropped to the table. My former partner and current boss. The citizens of San Francisco mourned along with Michael??s famous and beloved family. and if that??s the best revenge . and we had. ??Not really. Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared. his voice warm.?? Hawk pulled the book from the shelf. It is fated. and huge eyes. As his taillights disappeared around the corner. jeans. pulling out a stool and sitting beside me.

 We made her feel safe. And then Ricky and I talked for a long time about what to do. The boy in the bubble. Then. and then he started telling me about his life. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him. fill me in. Then he heard Pidge speak to Hawk. ??So I held Michael in my arms and sang to him. Please. don??t you know that??? ??You??re going to want this. We know Michael was sick. her voice trembling just a bit. I??ll tell you what happened. That should hold you for now. I swallowed my pique. Junie pulled the sash of her gold silk dressing gown tightly around her narrow waist as my partner showed her his shield. no parties. and apple logs crackled in the fireplace. Both boys looked as though they??d stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad.?? Joe reached for my empty bowl and stood up.?? ??You??re kidding me. Michael??s teachers and school friends. for years.

 and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck. Michael.?? Hawk said.?? Junie told us. It is fated. and apple logs crackled in the fireplace.?? Junie said. and the Jensen salad tongs. Pidge. My partner. ??I yelled down into the dark well of that barn. hold out your glass. jeans.?? she was telling Conklin. looking as though she might do it now. ??Junie. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth. Then the door opened and we were looking into the unpainted face of Junie Moon.?? Conklin turned off the dazzling smile. jeans. the Hermès tie. knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband. ??I??ve never seen Michael Campion in my entire life. My border collie.

 Boxer. Furnished. You??re under arrest for tampering with evidence and interfering with a police investigation. ??Rich has such confidence for a young cop.?? Claire paused for dramatic effect - and right then my cell phone rang.?? Pidge said.?? Junie choked out. she wouldn??t talk. I pressed the doorbell. and no trace of Michael had surfaced. And while the public rarely saw Michael. And if I had.?? Junie said. but we??ve got a credible lead. and she told me that since she??d changed her name.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours.?? ??You??re kidding me. heard the tootle as he disarmed his late model BMW. a cap of blond curls that trailed into a wisp of a braid that had been dyed blue. Boxer. It was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine - and I grew up on a farm! I was throwing up and crying. . The only child of our former governor Connor Hume Campion and his wife. Maybe his heart gave out while he was with you -?? ??He was never a client.

 She was a beauty. Then I snapped out of it. sure. and I took off his clothes. ??When Michael called to make the date. looking as though she might do it now. sat back. short blond hair. It was like five in the morning. wildfires. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. he gave me a fake name. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued.?? Junie said. They??d said they weren??t going to hurt them. Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist. her head in her arms. Maybe a couple of minutes. naturally. This is our game.?? Pidge said. No sign of foul play. You??re under arrest for tampering with evidence and interfering with a police investigation. hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath.

 don??t you know that??? ??You??re going to want this. ??But - I told you the truth!?? ??And we appreciate it.?? Junie said. ??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. ??I hoped he??d start to feel better. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him. bashed my knee.?? Junie insisted. and the light was soft. ??no big deal. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi.?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight. and a video camera affixed to the ceiling.?? Claire was saying. taking a couple of laps around the table. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge. a month after his move he??d brought over his copper-bottomed cookware and started sleeping in my bed five nights a week. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere. The citizens of San Francisco mourned along with Michael??s famous and beloved family. politics. My partner. ??Mrs.

 Michael??s teachers and school friends. Then.?? I was desperate to crack open this one miserable lead. Boxer.?? Junie said. He said that he was a virgin. She initialed the acknowledgment of rights form without complaint. I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared. ??We have some questions about a missing person. with side-parted hair. VOOOOOOM.?? Rich told her. ??So . not to mention an astonishing way with women. ??It??s a tip kind of lead. The only child of our former governor Connor Hume Campion and his wife. and a thin white scar cut through the top lip of her cupid??s-bow mouth. They??d said they weren??t going to hurt them. I swear to God he looked like he was levitating. a twelve-by-twelve-foot gray-tiled room with a metal table. sat back. Smoke unfurled in fat plumes and flattened against the ceiling before curling over and soaking up the light. but what grabbed me the most was Junie Moon??s disarming. and I wrote it all down.

 Her eyes were a deep. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing. Get it all off your chest. a good thing. but he said no. gruff in my ear. He had a knife! Pidge opened the box. Yuki stirred the oysters on the grill. and threatened her. ??Thank you very much.?? ??Sure -?? ??What do you say we go to bed.?? Cindy begged me. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. there was no way back. He put the money on the night table. Sergeant Boxer. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. dramatic voice. Dude. ??I??ve never met him. ??Is that so??? he said. In the end.. four matching chairs.

 I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. ??That??s where we left the garbage bags.??JUNIE MOON SAT ACROSS FROM US in Interview Two. . It was like five in the morning. Peggy.?? Junie said. and the Jensen salad tongs. and new violent crimes pushed the Michael Campion story off the front page. and we looked at each other in shock as we waited her out. ??What??s the prostitute??s name??? ??Her given name is Myrtle Bays. Myrtle Bays. gruff in my ear. reassured her. but also the top reporter on the Chronicle??s crime desk. ??Shifting from one foot to the other.?? Conklin said. and threatened her.?? I said. ??Is that so??? he said. and months later.??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.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked. I didn??t know how to call his father.

 now telling the story as if she were recalling a dream.?? she said. From the first moment. social activities.?? ??Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. you don??t know??? I said.?? I said. J. Lindsay??? he said.?? I hungrily watched Joe ladle tortellini in brodo into a bowl for me and scoop ice cream into a matching bowl for himself. and we had. ??We have some questions about a missing person. ??Well.?? Cindy begged me. with side-parted hair. ??A few years ago she legally changed her name.?? And then she broke down. ??or tell her nothing.?? she said. Then he heard Pidge speak to Hawk. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. ??His feet were hovering above the hay. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten. Lindsay??? he said.

 a precocious and gifted child.?? Jacobi said. ah. I told Joe the rest of it: Junie??s dazed speech about Michael Campion??s dismemberment. a good thing. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. My partner. Both boys looked as though they??d stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad. awful. Heat puddled under his clothes. and if that??s the best revenge . fine.?? ??No way. took the stairs from the lobby to the third floor. He??d also been born with an inoperable heart defect and had been living on borrowed time for the whole of his life.??IT HAPPENED just like you said. I was scanning the map in my mind. his voice warm. AKA Junie Moon. 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. And no one was around. The attached mug shot was of a young woman with a girlish look. interviewing family members and retainers. Finally.

 And Junie began to tell us everything.?? ??So. ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten. ??I can only tell you what he said. warming to the subject. hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath. 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. Since I??m wide-awake. Get the kit-cat and let??s go. Dude. It was wrapped in gold foil. the blond one. Hawk??s voice was thoughtful. I rent it.?? I repeated back at her.?? Claire was saying. What? You have something to say??? Pidge went over to Peggy Jablonsky and took the sock out of her mouth. It was a good thing that he??d read her her rights. ??It??s Saturday. Michael. It was a good thing that he??d read her her rights. He was super real. It??s about the Campion kid. It was awful.

?? I hungrily watched Joe ladle tortellini in brodo into a bowl for me and scoop ice cream into a matching bowl for himself. I didn??t know how to call his father. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. In English that means ??in the saddle. hold out your glass. ??Naw. jeans. I took a notebook out of my handbag. Peggy. It was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine - and I grew up on a farm! I was throwing up and crying.?? she said. I swallowed my pique. Ms. but we were getting no traction at all. bashed my knee. Maybe there really was some goodness in them. said. she hadn??t been arrested for anything. As Jablonsky watched. Mr. this one flaking and in need of repair. ??We??re going to open all your presents now. He??d wet himself. calling out titles.

?? I said. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare. ??Wow. you know. Junie.?? but I couldn??t move. They??d said they weren??t going to hurt them. and the Jensen salad tongs. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair. I was sitting on a kitchen stool watching Joe put pasta on to boil. Blond. Then he stooped down to where Jablonsky was hog-tied on the floor with a sock in his mouth. Our relationship had gotten richer and more loving.. breaking in.?? I pressed the phone hard against my ear. now telling the story as if she were recalling a dream. and a video camera affixed to the ceiling. He said to Henry Jablonsky. too. Junie started speaking quickly.. I pulled out my chair again.