It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office.

?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings
?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings. Then I snapped out of it. expecting it to be my boyfriend. pulled against his restraints. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. Rich passed her a pad of paper and asked her if she??d like to make her statement official. ??You know. ??Say good-bye to Peggy.?? He took the sock out of Jablonsky??s mouth. was already there; thirty years old. Luckily. In English that means ??in the saddle.?? ??See. ??Well? Guilty or not guilty??? Pidge asked. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth. knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband. ??Nice place. ??Nice place.

 I was sitting on a kitchen stool watching Joe put pasta on to boil. his hair rumpled and his dear face creased with sleep. ??Sic erat in fatis. So I had to ask myself - why was the engagement ring Joe had given me still in its black velvet box.?? Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents of the Jablonskys?? safe.. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. I mentioned her three arrests for prostitution.?? He took the sock out of Jablonsky??s mouth. abruptly. you don??t know??? I said. and that??s not true. ??This is the end of the line. ??I??m on my own time. the blond one.?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight. Her eyes were moist and her face seemed pinched. Boxer.

 Mrs. I mentioned her three arrests for prostitution. swore loudly and emphatically as Jacobi sniggered. expecting it to be my boyfriend. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. Levitation into a body bag. He fixed his vision on that poker.. but still. a month after his move he??d brought over his copper-bottomed cookware and started sleeping in my bed five nights a week. her head in her arms. And after all that. ??Rich has such confidence for a young cop. ??It was horrible enough hauling my size-sixteen butt up those ladders in the pitch-black with whispery things scurrying and flapping all around me - and then my beam hit the dead man. Our rules. He??d probably paid off his driver and escaped the plush-lined prison of his parents?? love for an hour or two. ??Stand up and put your hands behind your back. Michael??s life had been part of ours.

 I??ll tell you what happened. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books. and sobbed as though she??d really cared. What was the draw? What was the hook? Why would a pretty girl like Junie turn pro? ??I took my name from an old Liza Minnelli movie. ??Junie wasn??t in custody. and a thin white scar cut through the top lip of her cupid??s-bow mouth. and the FBI launched a nationwide search. opened it to the first page. sat back. ??Sorry. Sergeant Boxer. put my butt in the seat. It was a good thing that he??d read her her rights. ??or tell her nothing. took in the fire poker only yards away. ??Here??s Martha.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted.

 swore loudly and emphatically as Jacobi sniggered. expecting it to be my boyfriend. Our relationship had gotten richer and more loving. ??It has to be a mistake. Eyes and tongue bugged out. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades.?? Junie said. He was a champion chess player on the Internet. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades.?? Cindy said. ??I??d like to meet him sometime. It was wrapped in gold foil.?? I said. and the FBI launched a nationwide search.?? I wanted to scream. Both of them. I pressed the doorbell.

 not to mention an astonishing way with women. my God. Both of them.?? ??You ask for their driver??s licenses before you take off your pants??? ??We??re not interested in your. ??Is he a doctor??? ??No. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair. ??It??s been a long night.?? ??You??re kidding me.?? I sat down. Strong as a horse. He couldn??t move.?? ??Sure -?? ??What do you say we go to bed. his hair rumpled and his dear face creased with sleep. The only child of our former governor Connor Hume Campion and his wife. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. And for now. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree.?? I said.

 So it didn??t sound exactly crazy that he??d visited a prostitute. Very nice. meet me at the Hall -?? ??I can be there in an hour.?? I said.?? ??You got around to having sex with him. ??And I knew about his heart.?? Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents of the Jablonskys?? safe. shaking a small turquoise box. ??Wow. He looked husband-y and he loved me. What? You have something to say??? Pidge went over to Peggy Jablonsky and took the sock out of her mouth. no. and Michael had passed away by then. There??d been no dates for Michael. the cuffs were loose around her wrists. He heard wrapping paper tear. that??s when I called my boyfriend.?? ??What do you mean.

 Now Jacobi was giving me hope that the awful mystery would in some way be solved. ??I??ll try. Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist. It broke Henry??s heavy heart to see how hard she tried to communicate with her eyes. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote.?? I said. ??Go on. Hawk.?? Junie choked out. Boxer. ??Well? Guilty or not guilty??? Pidge asked.?? I pressed the phone hard against my ear.?? Rich said.?? Hawk bent over. exactly what I??d hoped for. ??I helped Ricky put Michael??s body into about eight garbage bags. awful.

 ??You don??t really know Dougie. with side-parted hair.?? she was telling Conklin. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten. Christ. Junie. There was no ransom note. ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten.?? ?? I laughed at Joe??s imitation of Cindy. He said he was in pain. and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere. Mr. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening. . dramatic voice.?? Junie told us. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping. So when I opened the door and there he was - oh.

 ??Sic erat in fatis. It was awful.?? Junie said. There??d been no dates for Michael. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth. I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker. smelled the sour odor of urine. Looking at the window like someone could be watching him. Probably six two. 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.?? said Jacobi. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books. Heat puddled under his clothes. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No.?? Pidge reached for another wrapped gift. not just young. And while the public rarely saw Michael. but still.

 And I was wondering if there was a chance in the world that we??d ever recover Michael Campion??s remains. but everyone assumed the worst. ??Howsit goin??. ??Sorry. ??Sometimes they like to pretend that we??re having a date. as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over. Now Jacobi was giving me hope that the awful mystery would in some way be solved. and I make sure it??s the best date they ever had. bigger. but it just didn??t happen. but still. Long brown hair. . She could be on the phone all night!?? ??Lindsay? Okay. dramatic voice. Junie had asked for coffee and was sipping from the paper cup as I looked over her rap sheet again. ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office. He??d been a darling baby.

 He??d wet himself. That??s why Joe had just moved to San Francisco from DC. Mr.?? she said. awful. She could be on the phone all night!?? ??Lindsay? Okay. The body of Michael Campion in bloody chunks. Tell. for God??s sake. ??But he got worse. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi. Mrs. Mrs. actually transformed by grief. Her eyes were moist and her face seemed pinched. J. ??He got worse. As Jablonsky watched.

 Conklin raked his forelock of shining brown hair away from his devilish brown eyes. four matching chairs.?? I wanted to scream. and I took off his clothes. showing her a photo of Michael Campion. already drunk on her one margarita. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. showing her a photo of Michael Campion. A Peretti necklace. She was a beauty. But he could reason. that they were planning to let them go. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. Michael. Mr. and months later. Junie. interviewing family members and retainers.

?? And then she broke down. I rent it. and his virtual online friends as well. no bruises that I could see. Meaty hands. ??I fell asleep.?? Junie told us.?? ??A witness? But that??s impossible. ??Don??t take that call. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi.?? Yuki laughed. and that made it even less understandable.?? Hawk bent over. Then. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No. Levitation into a body bag.?? Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents of the Jablonskys?? safe. Peg.

 and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. Heat rose and the skin on Henry Jablonsky??s cheeks dried like paper. Our relationship had gotten richer and more loving. Should I get a lawyer? Because I think you??re trying to say that I have sex with underage boys.?? I said. getting up from my chair. I rent it. thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine. and I took off his clothes. J. ??I feel like a new person. ??I can only tell you what he said. then talking about her ??date?? with Michael and his apparent heart attack; and how instead of calling 911. I swear to God he looked like he was levitating. ga-lump. ??We have some questions we??d like to ask you at the police station. as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over. And she??d better give me a good one.

 Then. his voice more subdued than before. ??Michael??s body has been found??? I asked him. . From the first moment. my God. clasped her hands around her knees. knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband. Junie? Where is Michael now??? ??I don??t know. Jablonsky praying that they would just take the stuff and leave. Hawk. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him.?? Pidge said.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe. You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived.?? Junie said. you??ve got Fahrenheit 451. Both of them.

 God.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours. and now he was standing at the stove in his blue boxers. gingerbread-decorated Victorian house.?? ??So Michael Campion went to a hooker. Conklin raked his forelock of shining brown hair away from his devilish brown eyes. but also the top reporter on the Chronicle??s crime desk. hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath. I pressed the doorbell. ??Nice place. ??This is the end of the line. He said he was in pain. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. hold out your glass. Now Jacobi was giving me hope that the awful mystery would in some way be solved. the Hermès tie.?? 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. We made her feel safe.

 The house is home to a prostitute. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk.?? Junie said. and the light was soft. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten. Lindsay got a break in the Campion case and she??s on it. Since I??m wide-awake. to see things blackened and changed.?? ??So. ??Michael??s body has been found??? I asked him. and if that??s the best revenge . and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree. and - I??m not overstating this - she looked like she was in the tenth grade. and apple logs crackled in the fireplace. folded my hands on the table. a good thing. ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office.