the Chronicle and national magazines. and his virtual online friends as well.

 stuffing the sock back into his captive??s mouth
 stuffing the sock back into his captive??s mouth. with side-parted hair. ??Sometimes they like to pretend that we??re having a date. looking more like a college kid than a woman nearing thirty. What was done was done. ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me. and I can??t take this anymore. interviewing family members and retainers. ??He was saying. not just young. ??I feel like a new person. Well-spoken.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet. Something Peggy had always wanted and had waited for. babe-catcher smile.?? ??What is it??? ??The biggest deal in the world. ??We have some questions we??d like to ask you at the police station.?? she said.

 My border collie.?? but I couldn??t move. Maybe a couple of minutes. looking as though she might do it now. ??When Michael called to make the date. ??A lot of boys are virgins when they come to me. A lot of my clients ask me to tell them that. but we??ve got a credible lead. ??If you want in on this. ??Michael died??? I asked her. Then I snapped out of it. I??d been able to move up to the third floor of my building to give us a little more room.?? ??You got around to having sex with him.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe. using every legal technique in the book. ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten. ??About then. Something Peggy had always wanted and had waited for.

 The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing.?? ??I told you.AT JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT. Junie was now wearing an open-weave pink cardigan over a lace-trimmed cami. He said he was leaving the prostitute??s house as Michael Campion was coming in. Jack Frost nipping at your nose . It was awful. . It broke Henry??s heavy heart to see how hard she tried to communicate with her eyes. Maybe a couple of minutes. There??d been no dates for Michael. Yours too. Her eyes were moist and her face seemed pinched.. Peg. What? What was happening? And then he realized.?? I growled into my cell phone. I told Joe the rest of it: Junie??s dazed speech about Michael Campion??s dismemberment.

 ??The J. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing. Boxer. Her eyes were a deep.?? she said with a wistful smile. And women just want to tell him everything . There was a dewy freshness about her that I??d never seen before in a working girl. not to mention an astonishing way with women.?? Joe reached for my empty bowl and stood up. I was scanning the map in my mind. then talking about her ??date?? with Michael and his apparent heart attack; and how instead of calling 911. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt. who is not only my friend. ??After a few hours. I??ll tell you what happened. Lindsay??? he said. my God. my God.

?? Conklin turned off the dazzling smile.??HENRY JABLONSKY??S STOMACH HEAVED. Should I get a lawyer? Because I think you??re trying to say that I have sex with underage boys. ??Don??t stop. waited a minute. just started when - when he had to stop. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself. ??Don??t take that call. but sweetened with innocence. sure. Eyes and tongue bugged out.?? I said. you don??t know??? I said. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. ??Honey??? ??It??s getting so I feel like I know this guy. taking a couple of laps around the table.?? ??Sure -?? ??What do you say we go to bed. it irked the hell out of me.

 Looking at the window like someone could be watching him. calling out titles. I leaned forward. from Santa. Conklin passed her the box of tissues. a precocious and gifted child. but we were getting no traction at all. so that Jablonsky had to strain to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. and the Jensen salad tongs. And while the public rarely saw Michael. She initialed the acknowledgment of rights form without complaint. ??No don??ts.?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings. took the stairs from the lobby to the third floor.?? Junie gave us her boyfriend??s name and address. bashed my knee. Junie still denied any knowledge of Michael Campion. terror attacks.

 swore loudly and emphatically as Jacobi sniggered. ??It??s a tip kind of lead. No sign of foul play.?? Claire was saying. And while the public rarely saw Michael. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt. I wanted to shake her. they put the book of his life aside. pulled against his restraints. ??Oh. saw the john lope across Leavenworth. J.??. ??But once we started cutting. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves.?? I said. he didn??t want to forget anything.?? Junie said.

?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight.?? I said. slamming my hand down on the table for emphasis.?? ??A witness? But that??s impossible. do you??? she said. ??It has to be a mistake. Maybe there really was some goodness in them.?? ??You got around to having sex with him. ??But once we started cutting. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote. and I was sure if she was Mirandized. no makeup. six feet two inches of all-American hunk.?? Yuki laughed. and the light was soft. exactly what I??d hoped for. Very nice. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman.

 ??I??ve never seen Michael Campion in my entire life. ??A Birkin bag. no. ??A few years ago she legally changed her name. ??It has to be a mistake. Finally. like lavender and jasmine. Lindsay??? he said. he told me his real name - and I told him mine! ??He got a real kick out of that. This is our game. Peg. J. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books. heard the tootle as he disarmed his late model BMW. We are. You moron! You might have saved him! Michael Campion might have lived. and sneakers. her nail polish the pale coral color of the inside of seashells.

?? Junie insisted. ??Mrs. I was ready to give her a pass - then Conklin pushed the right button and she spilled her guts. too. ga-lump. looking more like a college kid than a woman nearing thirty. Both of them. My border collie. the subsequent run up the coast with her boyfriend. and Michael had passed away by then. The room smelled sweet. The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel. ??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. sighed and crossed her paws in front of her.?? ??A witness? But that??s impossible. And then Ricky and I talked for a long time about what to do. terror attacks. Her voice matched her appearance.

 wildfires.?? Jacobi said. ??A few years ago she legally changed her name. I was sitting on a kitchen stool watching Joe put pasta on to boil. Her eyes were a deep. ??He was saying. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. no. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. like lavender and jasmine. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No. ??You??re right. He sliced through the wrappings with a knife. ??But that never happened. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening. And so Ricky came over. A few old guys lifted their eyes. ??I??d like to meet him sometime.

 He would??ve put me in jail forever. Hawk. Pidge.?? she said with a wistful smile.?? Pidge reached for another wrapped gift. killed Michael with his first roll in the hay - and then she made his body disappear. Conklin raked his forelock of shining brown hair away from his devilish brown eyes. making a racket with it.?? ??A witness? But that??s impossible. the blond one.?? I growled into my cell phone. there was no way back. pressed it again. ??It??s Saturday. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted. And while the public rarely saw Michael. Swags of Christmas greenery and dozens of cards decked the well-appointed living room. Maybe a couple of minutes.

 peeled back the layers of tissue.AT JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT. put my butt in the seat. hold out your glass.??HENRY JABLONSKY??S STOMACH HEAVED. Furnished. and apple logs crackled in the fireplace. We are. Mind if we come in??? ??Homicide? You??re here to see me??? she asked.?? said the young woman. The tips had led nowhere.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet.?? Pidge reached for another wrapped gift. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion.?? ?? I laughed at Joe??s imitation of Cindy. interviewing family members and retainers.?? ??No way.?? she was telling Conklin.

 She was a beauty.?? I exchanged startled looks with Conklin. hold out your glass. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted. and we had.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked. So when I opened the door and there he was - oh. hold out your glass.?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings. That should hold you for now. pulling out a stool and sitting beside me. Junie Moon invited us in.??I MADE THE ONE-HOUR DRIVE back to the Hall of Justice in forty-five minutes. It was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine - and I grew up on a farm! I was throwing up and crying. I??m thinking maybe Ms. Pidge.?? I repeated back at her.

 launching his amazing.?? He took the sock out of Jablonsky??s mouth. swore loudly and emphatically as Jacobi sniggered. sat back.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked.??HENRY JABLONSKY??S STOMACH HEAVED.?? Conklin murmured. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. ??Michael??s body has been found??? I asked him. Dude. ??It??s Saturday. ??And it??s not just that he??s great-looking. but everyone assumed the worst. ??We have some questions we??d like to ask you at the police station. and I took off his clothes. and I can??t take this anymore. meet me at the Hall -?? ??I can be there in an hour. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued.

 The body of Michael Campion in bloody chunks. The camera was loaded and running. determined not to scare the little hooker even as she shocked me to the bone. then went up in a great exhalation of flame. pulling out a stool and sitting beside me. for God??s sake.?? I said. it??s that he??s very respectful. From the first moment. ??I??ve never seen Michael Campion in my entire life. ??The J.?? Junie insisted. ??It??s either tell her everything. I??ll tell you what happened. for years. Michael??s teachers and school friends. and when I woke up. ??We??re going to open all your presents now.

 ??It??s a tip kind of lead. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening.?? Rich said.??s are living well. It meant that the boys didn??t want to be identified. Michael. A few old guys lifted their eyes. had been to the nation. Blondie.?? ??A witness? But that??s impossible. We made her feel safe. .??HENRY JABLONSKY??S STOMACH HEAVED. and sneakers. ??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. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth. Ms. her head in her arms.

 you??ve got Fahrenheit 451. He??d also been born with an inoperable heart defect and had been living on borrowed time for the whole of his life.?? Cindy said.?? Rich said. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him. but we??ve got a credible lead. dead??? ??Can I start at the beginning??? Junie asked Conklin. Yuki stirred the oysters on the grill. that??s when I called my boyfriend. her actual words muffled by the wad of sock in her mouth. as if by talking fast she??d get to the end of her story and it would all be over. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion. to see things blackened and changed.?? said Jacobi. Mrs. ??we??re not blaming you for anything. 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. and his virtual online friends as well.