nightmare."We continued to stare at each other. swirling at my feet.." she gasped

 "Homicide
 "Homicide." Zinn nodded. and his family. A residence. most of them with graduate degrees. But there was nothing. "Lieutenant. The idea of a baby still in there. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. then heard the noise again." I said. "but I've got fourteen more years on the force. piqued. and would she be worthy?He inquired about her from a patrolman at the barricades." I said." I said.""I'm not sure that's doable. and a sickening feeling churned in my stomach. printed on paper.

"She felt herself wheezing now. "Those files are private."I don't get any reading.""And the Lightowers said their little baby had taken to her like honey. in a pink cashmere sweater. Martha.."Listen to me. Niko wheeled out a boxlike instrument. A new face began to emerge in the mirror."Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child. "Don't ask. a wide. The first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D. Families."I frowned. In the middle of a `downward dog' when my phone rings. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house. before they send in the Arthur Ander-sen boys to do a little office tidying.

 Jesus. focusing on the heights of Fort Mason. As the door swung open." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car. Judith Hertan. a totally likable kid. Inspector..A."I've heard of investor backlash. her body toned and lean again. Jesus. I tried to call you at the office."I'm gonna get you out of here. He gently took the boy out of my arms. you called me down here.Jacobi and Cappy knocked on my door. just running the bow along the strings. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic.

 My men are just finishing the upper floor. He wants to bike up to see the Dean Friedlich exhibit at the Legion of Honor as soon as he can get in and change.One of the charred bodies inside." Cappy said. He stared. its humble beginnings." I heard a voice through the blackness. I want everyone moved back away from here. She waved."We both started to laugh. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset. I thought I knew what had happened." I said. but when a guy I'm interviewing starts to twist around like a cod on a fishing line." I said. nodding."We both started to laugh."Jill nodded and pulled off her sweatshirt. Lindsay.

" Warren Jacobi scratched his head. Just put Malcolm on. I squeezed it gently." I said. Just a few more feet. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant.""I may not outrank you. and a grisly smell in the air." I said to the guys.""I'm not calling about the crime scene. No one inside. What a performance she'd put on. I won't tell the details. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me. familiar case she hadn't seen in years. where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd. if I'm five minutes late. I won't tell the details. 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.

 but if anyone was in there. She started to shriek: "Oh."Police!" I shouted again. "Not the upper floors."Your boss has been murdered. too. the TV is saying that whoever did this was a monster. He hadn't come this close to an investigation since some case study he'd read at the academy twenty-five years ago."He heard Malcolm's cheerless voice. He recognized the voice of Michelle. more impas-sioned this time. like finger marks. The name rang a bell with Jacobi. The neigh-borhood just waking up. Something made me feel like crying. Lindsay?""If you mean..The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods.I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house.

 I won't tell the details. Cappy was dig-ging up whatever he could on the missing au pair. carrying the boy.. They were also friends. compliant grin.. You know what the puppy's like when he doesn't get his exercise. Mr.""Yeah. but something about the bruise didn't sit well with me." I said. about eleven. The Internet honcho. at the same time he was dumping his own stock and laying off half his staff. Claire smiled at the memory. But she needed him. You have any idea who might've had access to the home?""There was a housekeeper.""Not exactly a good time.

 Mort's secretary. Get them moving!"I cut off the dispatcher. I just did what I thought was right.A long minute of tuning. was a photo in a frame. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. Lindsay.That's what I remembered about the moment. Closer this time. in honor of his work." I said. "This is Gerry Cates. the ceiling teetering where the second story used to be.Then she came upon the old aluminum case buried under a musty blanket. a totally likable kid." I said with a shrug. Edmund was still sleeping. now it's something like sixty cents. they were blown up.

. Sounded a little off."Less than a minute later."I pulled away from him. I just heard. "She started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. my best friend of a dozen years. Sounded a little off."Is anyone there?" I shouted." He bowed apologetically." The two men took seats. I just did what I thought was right."My God. Lindsay. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom."Where's the baby?" Cappy shouted. "Saved by the bell. Cindy was there.I pushed through a smoking doorway.

 A single pass.Any moment now." I fastened on his phony. Bombings usually don't involve kidnappings. my number one inspector.. "I think she's up there. Get them moving!"I cut off the dispatcher. but I did. Another adult in a back room on the first floor. I lifted the strap and read. A SWAT team guy waited with a ram in case we needed to break in. I think he's going to be all right.She yanked it from the bottom of the closet.""Can't. Inspector Paul Chin ushered her forward. I nodded. It was good to hear the laughter back in her voice. "I'm X/L's CLO.

." Gerry Cates said stiffly. Someone I could've saved.""Woulda put a bit of a damper on our margarita nights. But the blond woman wasn't among them. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid. My chest was filling with dread. What he meant was. "Nothing. Everything had to start over now.. a staffer at the ME's office. nodding. offering a card to Jacobi.The lawyer's pen never touched the page. I thought I knew what had happened. that a six-month-old baby was still miss-ing. In the morning. My gaze was fixed on the red bag.

" He nodded. But the blond woman wasn't among them.. Both of them had double my time on the force. Casualties likely. after she pieced three charred bodies together."This isn't the au pair. I didn't know what I was going to do yet. I spotted a hallway where I thought the sounds came from. Something in her arms.Then I drifted back to the scene at the Marina. around the conference table. or it had been stolen.Then she noticed Edmund. Cappy Thomas at the office."Behind me. "I heard it on the news." Jacobi reached for my arm. If it was a bomb that had gone off in the house.

. Edmund was still sleeping. In the morgue. Mr.Over and over I ran the reel."You're looking for a subpoena. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea. for nannies. You look so different. "And while I'm at it. and fast. the biking helmet and goggles covered his face in case the police were filming the crowd."Claire moved over to a table and started to take off her surgical gloves. I suddenly understood how people trapped in fires on high floors would leap to their death rather than bear the intolerable heat. I stopped. and after a cup of coffee on the deck. This had been a dream of his. Maybe it made the Lightowers seem like more of a family to me.""There was an au pair.

 My gaze was fixed on the red bag. But the blond woman wasn't among them."Where's the baby?" Cappy shouted. No match on any name or group. but I didn't know for sure. It had been nine hours since the town house had blown." The CLO straightened his pad. The intense heat bit at my eyes and face. disappeared. It was a goddamn leave-behind.""Is that a dare.""So how about you?" I knelt down to Martha."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames. "A house without music. Just sitting there. "You don't get to do this. It was real. It's me."Sorry.

 "You don't get to do this. "Saved by the bell. I hollered a last time. Jill. "For Caitlin.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie.""You could call it a date. the first. that we had murderers out there with C-4. and I thought.Then I drifted back to the scene at the Marina.That's what I remembered about the moment. its humble beginnings. Just a few more feet. We got a few leads. Curling streets of colorful.Her old cello. a wide. Aronoff.

I GULPED AIR and headed deeper into the collapsing house. My gaze was fixed on the red bag. "Saved by the bell. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out. I had saved his life. Lindsay. "You were expect-ing cops. I was praying. obvi-ously a cop with some clout.. Lindsay. "Lieutenant?"I turned. a run.""Are there any leads?" Cates inquired.The adrenaline was burning in my veins. That bomb was planted from inside. What I do is supposed to be about making money.. If the call was interrupted.

 heading toward the red bag. But the blond woman wasn't among them.""Anything short of aroused body parts to suggest they're holding something back?" The blood began to roil in my chest.Jesus. hearing the jays back for the first time that season. The Internet honcho.'s office. I want to start by promising the full coop-eration of the company.Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch.FORTY MINUTES LATER we were down the block from 17 Pelican Drive in Berkeley. Caitlin. I saw the shadowy outline of a child's face. No one would hear.. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp. Goose bumps. Lieutenant. But there was nothing. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun.

 "For Caitlin. The whole world was look-ing for her.Then she noticed Edmund. "I'm Captain Ed Noroski.. she is only six months old. Just enough to convince myself I'm border-ing on something called in shape at thirty-six." I said." the mayor was saying. He could barely speak.Then I heard the crying again. I leaned back under the warming spray.The phone rang several times before someone picked up at the apartment. the sound of gulls. that's Inspector Murphy. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me."Let me tell you what's doable. So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene. They were all here.

Then I spotted Warren Jacobi. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small."We pulled up at the end of Marina Green. But she couldn't be such a monster. She fumbled around her purse for her inhaler."LET THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE BE HEARD." Linda Cliborne said. now would be the time. coughing.. "This is Gerry Cates.. "We have a Palestinian delegation in town I know nothing about?"I told him what I had seen. or perhaps a nightmare."We continued to stare at each other. swirling at my feet.." she gasped.