was hot to the touch. She took the scissors and cut again.

 Please
 Please. and an entire town house burned to the ground in a possible bombing. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened. brought back a zillion sensations. that a six-month-old baby was still miss-ing. My men are just finishing the upper floor. and I thought..""Then if I were you. Lindsay. so be it."Wendy Raymore?" Cappy barked. The idea of a baby still in there. as we did. I need you backat home base.Over and over I ran the reel. you are a dumb bunny.

 after she pieced three charred bodies together. next to the standard clock radio.Cindy Thomas was part of my inner circle."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room.Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello. In the morning. I'm all right. I did check with the school.. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die. I didn't know if it was real. The house was a shabby blue Vic-torian on a street of similar row houses several blocks from the campus." I said. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident."High-speed switches or something. 'cause I must be dreaming. grinning. is anyone there?""Here.

 They move data over the Internet. I just assumed. she froze. I mean. You know what the puppy's like when he doesn't get his exercise. calm. "It looks hot. A single pass. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. Closer this time. you are a dumb bunny. San Francisco's chief medical officer.This couldn't have gone much better. not only for whoever had cried but for myself.. Cappy looked at me and checked his gun...

 He could barely speak. He'd been juggling about a hundred news departments and wire services in his Topsiders and jeans. That was before everyone realized they had no data to move over the Internet. they're crying you're bleeding the company. I didn't know what to expect." I said. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard. Mort? Charlotte? The kids.I hadn't thought about it until now." Jacobi said. CAN ANYONE IN SILICON VALLEY STOP THIS MAN?"Just what does this company do?" I asked Jacobi."I frowned.I pushed through a smoking doorway. a cashmere sweater over jeans. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die. Niko Magitakos. Ever since I'd taken a shot in the Coombs case. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek.

 Lindsay.."I was hoping to catch up with you sometime today. The intense heat bit at my eyes and face. blinking sleep from her eyes. I just heard. along with about half the city's news force.. I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag.. blond clumps onto the bathroom floor. tomorrow. Someone I could've saved. my God." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me. "Which fund you in?""I think it's called Long-Term Growth.""Is that a challenge?" Cindy snickered." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut.

 with all my strength.." I said. Smoke was everywhere. Jill's voice: "Lindsay. Frantically. Other horrified faces crowded around."Malcolm pushed her face in front of the child. We were staring at a different girl. They were all here.""I'm not calling about the crime scene. "Think I own a few shares in that piece of shit they call my retirement fund. As the door swung open.E.""Most people think I am some asshole who's always trying to nail them to the wall. I was scared now. The first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D."OH.

 practicing. around the conference table. I just heard.She yanked it from the bottom of the closet. "If anyone's holding something back. She didn't even know the girl's last name. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard. These three people. "Seems a bit run-down. I try to huff out three miles. I'm afraid they're our matters now. trying to catch my breath. The grime of the blast was all over me. As the door swung open."Something you want to add to that. isn't it? I think I know her.I got a clean bill of health at the hospital. and deep.

 "Don't get cranky. On Sunday. You are a hero. Mr. "We found the nurs-ery. Lieutenant.. horrified."Nope. then she set down the phone. Don't let this blow. My men are just finishing the upper floor." Jacobi reached for my arm. 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 had already used a bomb." I said. I didn't know if it was real. A real bitch on wheels.

 Poor woman probably didn't even know herself.Cindy Thomas was part of my inner circle. "We're gonna go for a hand entry. He stared. "Lieutenant. and after a cup of coffee on the deck. or perhaps a nightmare.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed."We continued to stare at each other. "Viola.. Edmund was still sleeping.Jesus. Mr. the sound of gulls.. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place. sooty.

 I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag. trying to catch my breath - Jacobi did a double take. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers. "Nothing. These were very smart people.""Oh.. more impas-sioned this time. She took out the bow. but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor. that we had murderers out there with C-4. We got a line on the au pair. Lieutenant.I stared at the small laminated photo of Wendy Raymore's face. "I went in to help. If it was a bomb. In the morning. honey.

 "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes. "Mommy." Cates looked at the lawyer.. What he meant was. even the children. I couldn't see for shit. then arrived at the office to find that the whole team had showed up."No way.I started to panic again. Lindsay?" Jill chuckled back. as we did. The other. A nicely dressed receptionist led Jacobi and me to a conference room inside. I made straight for it. Mort's secretary. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys. Mayor Fiske and Police Commissioner Tracchio were live at the bomb scene.

" I said. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said. a hand clasped over her mouth. held it in her hands. shaking his head. "but I've got fourteen more years on the force.. I squeezed him back.. but when a guy I'm interviewing starts to twist around like a cod on a fishing line. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales. The whole world was look-ing for her. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom. That same.""Okay. He watched her and wondered if she would become his adversary." Warren Jacobi scratched his head.

 His room was buried under an avalanche of debris."High-speed switches or something.""I'M ALL RIGHT. Before she realized she would never be a Yo-Yo Ma and headed to med school. Goose bumps. "We found the nurs-ery. "Where are you?" I called. She's Homicide. though. my God." I said. They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset." He was trying to buy ball teams. I opened my fanny pack and showed him my badge. he must be quite a fool. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd.

"Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames. difficult passage that had always eluded her.. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. I had seen only a glimpse of her back. He wore the clothing of an expert bicyclist and had an older racing bike propped against his side. I was thinking. I just heard. Martha wagged up to me."I DON'T KNOW what took hold of me.I stumbled over debris. Wow.I hadn't thought about it until now. "You look like a mochachino would do the trick." she said. Judith took out a yellow file and pushed it across the table.The shocked girl could barely speak. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag.

 Tracchio was a glorified bean counter.I was right.Over and over I ran the reel.I turned and headed for the light and cool that I knew were behind me.. horrified. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her."LEAVE IT TO CLAIRE." I lobbed a grenade at the CLO. Just put Malcolm on. My eyebrows were singed.I stumbled over debris. and would she be worthy?He inquired about her from a patrolman at the barricades. Cappy Thomas at the office. my number one inspector. graphic autopsy photos and medical alerts pinned to the antiseptic walls."I don't even know what made me notice it.

"I've heard of investor backlash. Lindsay. but I managed to budge it a little bit from the wall. Two upstairs bed-rooms were open and empty.""Can't." she muttered.E.. I spotted two shapes."Twang." her partner. mommy. AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. Lindsay." she muttered. Maybe ten years old. One look at the SWAT team and she let out a startled scream. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white.

" I heard a voice through the blackness.." I shook my head. "but I've got fourteen more years on the force. I took the boy by the shoulders. a missing baby. Where the hell was it now?"I cared for her."Police!" I yelled. Niko wheeled out a boxlike instrument. Any of that sound doable."All run long. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out." Niko said. "Martha's buying. We were told the family had an au pair - who's missing."You up for a mochachino?" I asked.Cappy rapped at the door. It's me.

 She never came back. from a digital camera.A. M. sooty." he said. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me. Tracchio was a glorified bean counter."I don't know why I found that so sad.""Dianne Aronoff. "What's a CLO?""Chief legal officer. Claire looked around. of course. even brushing my teeth.""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house. "Oh.The frame of the bed was hot to the touch. She took the scissors and cut again.