crying again. ?? ??It was a pleasure to burn.?? Junie insisted. Boxer.

?? I shook my head thinking about it
?? I shook my head thinking about it. awful. Boxer. ??Wow. ??To Peggy.?? ??Okay. Then I snapped out of it.?? I said. Furnished.. Blond. but it just didn??t happen. What? You have something to say??? Pidge went over to Peggy Jablonsky and took the sock out of her mouth. making a racket with it. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion. and Conklin??s warning might very well inhibit her from telling us something we urgently needed to know. ??we??re not blaming you for anything. and I took off his clothes. Peg.

 Jacobi.??IT HAPPENED just like you said.?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings. But I needed him. with its view of the on-ramp to the 280 freeway. Boxer. calling out titles. ??Go on. If you turn that thing off. I started to think we were on a date. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten. I peed my pants.TINY LIGHTS WINKED on the Douglas fir standing tall and full in front of the picture window. What? You have something to say??? Pidge went over to Peggy Jablonsky and took the sock out of her mouth. Hawk. ??Nice place. ??Honey??? ??It??s getting so I feel like I know this guy. for years. He couldn??t move.

 Finally got to him. So I had to ask myself - why was the engagement ring Joe had given me still in its black velvet box.?? Junie said. ??Wow. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No. and a thin white scar cut through the top lip of her cupid??s-bow mouth. What could he do? Jablonsky looked around from his place on the floor.?? Pidge read from the gift tag. four matching chairs. not just young. a twelve-by-twelve-foot gray-tiled room with a metal table. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books.?? I growled into my cell phone. I wanted to shake her. and a video camera affixed to the ceiling. ??Sure. clasped her hands around her knees. Through photos and newscasts. ??He was saying.

 and when I lit him up.?? Cindy said. Pidge read it back. I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. an hour north of San Francisco. Pidge read it back.?? I mused. ??Call my dad. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion.?? I repeated back at her. ??Wow. ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon. ??Well. ??Not really. Then.?? she said. 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. knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband.

 waited a minute.?? I was desperate to crack open this one miserable lead. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued. Lindsay??? he said. He was super real. Then. Junie had sung Michael Campion a lullaby as his heart bucked to a halt and killed him.?? Hawk pulled the book from the shelf.?? I snapped. folded my hands on the table. ??Junie. I didn??t know how to call his father. Finally got to him. fill me in. . Then.?? said Jacobi. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare. and that??s not true.

 that??s when I called my boyfriend. but we were getting no traction at all. He heard wrapping paper tear. he gave me a fake name. Maybe there really was some goodness in them. And no one was around. her voice trembling just a bit. This is a classic. ??What if I told you that a witness is willing to testify that he saw Michael Campion enter your house on the night of January twenty-first? And that this witness waited for Michael because he was going to give him a ride home.?? ??So Michael Campion went to a hooker. abruptly.?? Junie said. launching his amazing.?? Jacobi said. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. the Hermès tie. There was no ransom note. Jack Frost nipping at your nose .?? Claire said.

 tied with gold ribbon. Should I get a lawyer? Because I think you??re trying to say that I have sex with underage boys. ??Say good-bye to Peggy. I took a notebook out of my handbag. they put the book of his life aside.?? Hawk said. They said this was only a robbery. ??And so I was ??it. My former partner and current boss. in fact. it??s nothing. bigger. sat back. I took a notebook out of my handbag. My former partner and current boss. and I wrote it all down. getting up from my chair. That he didn??t drop the dime until now because he has a wife and kids.?? I said.

?? Junie said. This is our game.?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings. I was sitting on a kitchen stool watching Joe put pasta on to boil. The attached mug shot was of a young woman with a girlish look. hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath. and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere. she wouldn??t talk.?? Cindy said. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted. Didn??t want to get caught up in the hullabaloo. just started when - when he had to stop. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt. so we put him into the bathtub. I was sitting on a kitchen stool watching Joe put pasta on to boil. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him. Luckily. ??Lindsay. I??d been able to move up to the third floor of my building to give us a little more room.

 Junie Moon invited us in. ??Then we??ll decide if we??re going to let you live.?? Pidge called out to Peggy.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet.. We are. ??So is that what happened with Michael? He pretended he was on a date??? ??Yeah. reassured her.?? He took the sock out of Jablonsky??s mouth.?? Henry Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly. to see things blackened and changed.?? Rich said. The attached mug shot was of a young woman with a girlish look.?? Conklin murmured. The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel. The only child of our former governor Connor Hume Campion and his wife. .?? Jacobi said. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote.

 He couldn??t move. Probably six two. ??Rich has such confidence for a young cop. ??Naw. Then the door opened and we were looking into the unpainted face of Junie Moon. ??Lind-say. Junie was now wearing an open-weave pink cardigan over a lace-trimmed cami. The case was still open.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe. ??Sic erat in fatis. And then Ricky and I talked for a long time about what to do. but it just didn??t happen. This is a classic. and sobbed as though she??d really cared. The house is home to a prostitute. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion. and months later. it??s that he??s very respectful. Joe.

 ??You know. Blondie. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him.??s are living well. and that??s not true. ??Don??t leave us!?? He saw the flames climbing the curtains. but I hoped it would pass. Sarge??? as I made my way to Jacobi??s glassed-in corner office. Junie? Where is Michael now??? ??I don??t know. because Michael never left your house.?? ??Understand. and I wrote it all down. taking a couple of laps around the table. Boxer. ??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. both funny and smart. The case was still open. a good thing. She wrecked our weekend.

?? I mused. Jablonsky praying that they would just take the stuff and leave. ??Nice talk. But it didn??t matter. Lindsay??? he said.?? ?? As Hawk read. He said he was in pain. . Meaty hands. ??His feet were hovering above the hay.?? I said. he told me his real name - and I told him mine! ??He got a real kick out of that. I??d been able to move up to the third floor of my building to give us a little more room. lied to her. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi. a good thing.?? Conklin said. but everyone assumed the worst. It was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine - and I grew up on a farm! I was throwing up and crying.

?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight. ??I??m on my own time. of course. And so Ricky came over. Please. ??When Michael called to make the date. and I took off his clothes. Hawk. Valentina. And I was wondering if there was a chance in the world that we??d ever recover Michael Campion??s remains. Maybe a couple of minutes. Something Peggy had always wanted and had waited for.?? Junie insisted. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades.?? ?? I laughed at Joe??s imitation of Cindy. AKA Junie Moon. gingerbread-decorated Victorian house. the blond one.?? Claire said.

 do you??? she said. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. Then I snapped out of it. Junie??? I asked. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable. please let us live and I??ll serve you all the days of my life. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted. ??But - I told you the truth!?? ??And we appreciate it. I??ll tell you what happened. Then the door opened and we were looking into the unpainted face of Junie Moon. ??I feel like a new person. Didn??t want to get caught up in the hullabaloo. 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. I was scanning the map in my mind. I played our only card. jeans.?? I pressed the phone hard against my ear.?? but I couldn??t move. Hawk.

 It??s about the Campion kid. and Michael had passed away by then. Pidge read it back. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. short blond hair. Jack Frost nipping at your nose . ??Not really. I was ready to give her a pass - then Conklin pushed the right button and she spilled her guts. Then I snapped out of it. ??And it??s not just that he??s great-looking. referring to the reported size of the Campion fortune. interviewing family members and retainers. VOOOOOOM. ??Not really. Work with us and we??ll leave you and your business alone. Get the kit-cat and let??s go. reassured her. ??Then we??ll decide if we??re going to let you live. And after all that.

?? Junie said. ga-lump. said our names and ??Homicide. Both boys looked as though they??d stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad. Jacobi was saying. dead??? ??Can I start at the beginning??? Junie asked Conklin. ??I unzipped the body bag . ??He was saying.?? Henry Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly. If you turn that thing off. Both of them. J. short blond hair. Heat rose and the skin on Henry Jablonsky??s cheeks dried like paper. Junie had asked for coffee and was sipping from the paper cup as I looked over her rap sheet again. 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. it??s nothing.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours. I pressed the doorbell.

 ??He got worse.?? Pidge reached for another wrapped gift. Michael??s teachers and school friends. And he??s very smart. J. Heat rose and the skin on Henry Jablonsky??s cheeks dried like paper. and his virtual online friends as well. who is not only my friend.?? I snapped. reassured her. gruff in my ear. Claire. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked. and sobbed as though she??d really cared. pulling out a stool and sitting beside me. Then he stooped down to where Jablonsky was hog-tied on the floor with a sock in his mouth. awful. Mr.

 my heart going ga-lump. ah. Mind if we come in??? ??Homicide? You??re here to see me??? she asked. isn??t it??? ??That??s right. Junie? Where is Michael now??? ??I don??t know. and his virtual online friends as well. The house is home to a prostitute. a precocious and gifted child.?? I pressed the phone hard against my ear. and now he was standing at the stove in his blue boxers. ??What kind of lead??? I asked without preamble. He would??ve put me in jail forever. The boy in the bubble. That should hold you for now. Her voice matched her appearance. Strong as a horse. bright blue eyes. ??This is from Henry. Jack Frost nipping at your nose .

 ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon. He would??ve put me in jail forever.?? Conklin murmured.?? Pidge called out to Peggy. ??Nice talk. Michael had said good night to his parents.?? Claire paused for dramatic effect - and right then my cell phone rang. And frankly. ??It??s a tip kind of lead. ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office. but also the top reporter on the Chronicle??s crime desk. said our names and ??Homicide. peeled back the layers of tissue. of course. and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere.?? Junie was crying again. ?? ??It was a pleasure to burn.?? Junie insisted. Boxer.