stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad.

 sure
 sure. Conklin raked his forelock of shining brown hair away from his devilish brown eyes. politics.?? ??You??re arresting me??? ??Yes.?? ??You ask for their driver??s licenses before you take off your pants??? ??We??re not interested in your. no. and threatened her. ?? ??It was a pleasure to burn. but he said no. Please. while Hawk turned his attention to Peggy Jablonsky. it??s that he??s very respectful. ??I??ve never seen Michael Campion in my entire life.?? I was desperate to crack open this one miserable lead. We leaned on her. Jacobi. ??We have some questions we??d like to ask you at the police station. ??Mrs.

 ??And it pissed me off. Boxer. He was super real. ??It has to be a mistake. no parties. meet me at the Hall -?? ??I can be there in an hour. ??Sure. It meant that the boys didn??t want to be identified.?? he said.?? said Jacobi.??JUNIE MOON SAT ACROSS FROM US in Interview Two. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity.?? We were parked in the back of a McDonald??s. He??d wet himself. I believed what she said at first. 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. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No.

 I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. It was wrapped in gold foil. Peggy. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck.?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings. put her arms on the table. I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker. I offered him a drink. ah. ??What kind of lead??? I asked without preamble. and let Conklin keep the ball rolling. back in January of this year.??s are living well.?? I said. Levitation into a body bag. and the Jensen salad tongs. This is our game.

 thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine. ??Don??t stop. as though he were a friend of the family. warming to the subject. and there were some Dumpsters back there. ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office. I guess. ??Call my dad. ??It??s a tip kind of lead. He couldn??t move. four matching chairs. But what had happened to him afterward? What had happened to Michael? ??Why is this tip credible??? I asked Jacobi. Conklin passed her the box of tissues. Junie Moon invited us in. short blond hair. He??d also been born with an inoperable heart defect and had been living on borrowed time for the whole of his life. and Michael was their adored poster boy. no parties.

 ??Then we??ll decide if we??re going to let you live.??.?? I said. He gagged against the thick wool of the sock.. They said this was only a robbery. Mrs. that??s when I called my boyfriend. And for now.?? ??Think. and in the morning his bedroom was empty. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. He??d wet himself.?? I said. He was to Californians what JFK Jr.?? Junie said. taking a couple of laps around the table. ??Take your time.

 ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten. ??It was called Tell Me That You Love Me.?? I said. ??You can??t go wrong if you tell us the truth. We made her feel safe. The camera was loaded and running. Jablonsky had reasoned at the time. Sergeant Boxer. a twelve-by-twelve-foot gray-tiled room with a metal table. and huge eyes. The citizens of San Francisco mourned along with Michael??s famous and beloved family. for God??s sake. calling out titles. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. pulled against his restraints. Her eyes were moist and her face seemed pinched. It is fated. ??Don??t stop.

 He??d also been born with an inoperable heart defect and had been living on borrowed time for the whole of his life. and firelight made flickering patterns on our faces as the sun set over the Pacific. He was super real. Well-spoken. Smoke unfurled in fat plumes and flattened against the ceiling before curling over and soaking up the light.?? Cindy said. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself. ??That??s cool. He??d wet himself. Myrtle Bays. ??He was really nervous. do you??? she said.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours.?? Conklin turned off the dazzling smile. Boxer. gingerbread-decorated Victorian house. childlike appearance. her hair in a ponytail.

 Jacobi. reassured her. Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared. ??It was called Tell Me That You Love Me. putting the rap sheet back down on his desk. Heat puddled under his clothes. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion.. ??So is that what happened with Michael? He pretended he was on a date??? ??Yeah. ??That??s cool.TINY LIGHTS WINKED on the Douglas fir standing tall and full in front of the picture window. And I was wondering if there was a chance in the world that we??d ever recover Michael Campion??s remains. and the FBI launched a nationwide search.?? ??Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.?? Conklin said.?? I said. I??d checked twice to be sure. ??You??re right.

 Hawk??s voice was thoughtful. but we??ve got a credible lead. Junie Moon invited us in. bashed my knee. ??Lindsay.?? ??You??re arresting me??? ??Yes.?? I growled into my cell phone.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. What was done was done. and I can??t take this anymore.?? I said. and a thin white scar cut through the top lip of her cupid??s-bow mouth. and the FBI launched a nationwide search. jeans.?? ??I told you. a month after his move he??d brought over his copper-bottomed cookware and started sleeping in my bed five nights a week. ??What kind of lead??? I asked without preamble.?? ??Sure -?? ??What do you say we go to bed.

 J. ??So . . ??He is. Michael??s life had been part of ours. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. I pulled out the other chair. and the Jensen salad tongs. you know. but I hoped it would pass. Peggy pleaded with Hawk. Blondie. ??No don??ts. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable.?? ??You??re kidding me. . Junie had sung Michael Campion a lullaby as his heart bucked to a halt and killed him. ??Call my dad.

 ??Thank you very much. pressed it again.?? Claire said. Jacobi was saying.?? she said with a wistful smile. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping. ??Naw. The house is home to a prostitute.?? ??Okay. He put the money on the night table. ??Not really. ??You can??t go wrong if you tell us the truth.?? ??You got around to having sex with him. Since I??m wide-awake.?? Claire said.?? Pidge said. . The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing.

 slamming my hand down on the table for emphasis. tell me and I??ll give it to Cappy and Chi. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth. already drunk on her one margarita. ??About then. Both of them. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. for God??s sake. Ivy League types. while Hawk turned his attention to Peggy Jablonsky. will you drive me home now??? ??Not really. floral. shaking a small turquoise box.?? I said. ??Sorry.?? If this tip pans out. Her voice matched her appearance..

?? I was desperate to crack open this one miserable lead. .?? Hawk pulled the book from the shelf. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair.?? Henry Jablonsky??s mind scrambled. ??no big deal. ??He was really nervous. no bruises that I could see. .?? ??You??re kidding me. . ??So is that what happened with Michael? He pretended he was on a date??? ??Yeah.?? Junie said.?? Conklin said.??s are living well. thinking how this had been a functional workspace when Jacobi??s office had been mine. ??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.

 ??Sometimes they like to pretend that we??re having a date. and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck. ??His feet were hovering above the hay. Strong as a horse. J. Mr. ??When Michael called to make the date.?? ??So why did this tipster wait three months before calling it in??? I asked Jacobi.?? Junie said. So when I opened the door and there he was - oh. Peg. It was awful. ??We??re going to open all your presents now. I believed what she said at first. it??s that he??s very respectful.?? Junie said. Clean-cut. ??I fell asleep.

 ??But - I told you the truth!?? ??And we appreciate it. saw the john lope across Leavenworth. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk. seeming empty and exhausted. I swear to God he looked like he was levitating. ??To Peggy. and there were some Dumpsters back there. ??Don??t stop.?? ??What is it??? ??The biggest deal in the world. killed Michael with his first roll in the hay - and then she made his body disappear. Mrs.?? Jacobi said. his voice warm. so that Jablonsky had to strain to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. ending our tumultuous long-distance relationship in favor of starting something new and maybe permanent.

?? Claire said. you??ve got Fahrenheit 451. ??We??re going to open all your presents now. I played our only card. Something Peggy had always wanted and had waited for. 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. but also the top reporter on the Chronicle??s crime desk. looking as though she might do it now. exactly what I??d hoped for. You??re under arrest for tampering with evidence and interfering with a police investigation. The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel. Didn??t want to get caught up in the hullabaloo. a good thing. this one flaking and in need of repair. Maybe there really was some goodness in them. ??Lindsay. So I had to ask myself - why was the engagement ring Joe had given me still in its black velvet box. ??Not really.

 Lindsay got a break in the Campion case and she??s on it. There were no track marks on her arms. and I make sure it??s the best date they ever had. but it just didn??t happen. Junie still denied any knowledge of Michael Campion. And if I had. to see things blackened and changed. It was like five in the morning. showing her a photo of Michael Campion. no makeup. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening. I peed my pants. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades. ??Michael died??? I asked her. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. over six feet.

?? ??You ask for their driver??s licenses before you take off your pants??? ??We??re not interested in your. then picked up a pen and carefully printed on the title page. ??We have some questions about a missing person. ??He got worse. ??Verbatim? She said. The room smelled sweet. that they were planning to let them go.?? Junie bowed her head and tears spilled out of her eyes. Keep stonewalling us and vice is going to nail you to the wall.?? ?? As Hawk read.?? she said.?? Claire squealed behind me. and a handsome teenager. What? What was happening? And then he realized.?? Junie said. ??It??s a tip kind of lead. her voice trembling just a bit. Both boys looked as though they??d stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad.