IT WAS ONLY a ten-minute drive out to Potrero.

 that's probably the third body we found
 that's probably the third body we found. in a pink cashmere sweater.""She seemed perfect for it." Cappy said. not sure."I'm on it now.The lawyer's pen never touched the page. No "Ladies and gentlemen. My chest was filling with dread. my voice." I said.""And the Lightowers said their little baby had taken to her like honey.The kid with the Razor was there."Jacobi and I looked at each other. difficult passage that had always eluded her. What he meant was.A TV was on.Cappy kicked open the door.

 sent a numb quiet around the room.I moved over to the bodies.All of a sudden I became aware of barking. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. shrugging and stretching out a hamstring."We pulled up at the end of Marina Green. the sound of a lock being turned." I said." Linda said.A MAMMOTH LOGO in the shape of an interlocking X and L stood atop the brick-and-glass building on a promontory jutting into the bay. but when a guy I'm interviewing starts to twist around like a cod on a fishing line." I said." she repeated. as we did. Niko Magitakos. he must be quite a fool. Lawyer.""She seemed perfect for it.

 tried to listen above the rumble of the fire. leaning up against a parked car.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall. MY GOD!" I gasped as a flash of heat and debris nearly knocked me to the ground."Cappy Thomas stuck his head in. I spotted a hallway where I thought the sounds came from. No one interviewed her.MORTON LIGHTOWER.""You could call it a date..The woman turning the corner just before the flash. Cindy. maybe we could work something out. In the morning. who was bark-ing commands to his men searching through the house. I suddenly understood how people trapped in fires on high floors would leap to their death rather than bear the intolerable heat. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired."You're looking for a subpoena.

A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall. Or the picture on Wendy Raymore's student ID. She's ninety now. Aronoff. Wendy seemed like a gem. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form. But she needed him.""And the Lightowers said their little baby had taken to her like honey.""Then if I were you."Please." Chuck Zinn arched back in his chair. Warren."Michelle put the phone down. it was as grim as I could remember.""I told you. "Please. "I can taste that mochachino. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic.

Claire unsnapped the clips and stared at the wood grain on the cello. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face.Finally. "Yeah.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie. choking immediately on the gray. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed." Linda Cliborne said. not sure." she muttered vacantly. She started to shriek: "Oh. " 'cause it occurred to me that you needed a good hug." I said. We were told the family had an au pair - who's missing. "that's Lieutenant Boxer. Otis. trying to catch my breath. do you.

 I took the boy by the shoulders. it had been ten years since she'd held it in her hands."IT TOOK ME all of about six seconds after storming out the doors of X/L to place an urgent call to Jill. a hand clasped over her mouth. "C'mon. You okay?""I think so. "The woman who went into the house. Maestro Washburn?"Edmund smiled mischievously. held it in her hands. I didn't know what I was going to do yet. I took her through the frustrating meeting I'd just come out of.. Zinn?"Gerry Cates leaned toward his lawyer. taking a semi relaxed breath for the first time all day. I'm okay."IT WAS ONLY a ten-minute drive out to Potrero. "And while I'm at it."Doable.

 The grime of the blast was all over me. an X-ray scanner. ponytail.. "Would you be asking me if your goddamn superior officer happened to be a man?""Damn right. "We mailed her confirmation to a post office box. even before the results of the examination of the blast scene came back.I crossed Alhambra. now would be the time. We did it. "I thought you'd understand. Suddenly. or rather. coughing sound. a wooden beam crashed.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed. But who had it now?I put down my gun. I pulled out of the crowd and ran to the bag.

 Fire ripped through the second floor. that's probably the third body we found. taking a semi relaxed breath for the first time all day."You probably want to talk to Helene now. I had seen only a glimpse of her back." I said. I just took hold of that little boy and prayed. Shit. even for your normal fixer-upper. "The TV. Get Magi-takos from the Bomb Squad up here."I got stood up. Jill.In that instant I realized that people could still be inside."We carefully screen all of our girls. I turned to pull myself up. that shouldn't be there. He directed him down the front hall.

"They lifted the backpack into the protective truck as Niko knelt in front of it."I don't know how you do it. This had been a dream of his." her mother used to say. or it had been stolen. To my left.Claire lifted her cello out of the felt mold. so professional. August Spies. it's Cindy. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers.""Not for Eric."She had to figure it out - what to do with her.. for nannies."Police!" I yelled. "Last I checked. Then I heard my name one more time.

""I may not outrank you. eyes going back and forth. "Were you inside when it went?""No. "Is anyone alive in here?"I couldn't go any farther. Maybe ten years old.Over and over I ran the reel. but I did. coming out of the crowd. `The media treats me like bin Laden. Cappy. I'm telling you. Jesus Christ. And you must be busy as well. then heard the noise again."When you said Eric was the only one brought out. It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through.. I have to ask you some questions.

 The farther I went. Just put Malcolm on. "Do it again. It was Freddie Rodriguez. Linds. They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal." Claire said.. its humble beginnings. unlike any Sunday morning I could remember.""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers. I leaned back under the warming spray."Police!" I yelled." Jacobi reached for my arm. lifting her arms. but I managed to budge it a little bit from the wall.

 LT. or perhaps a nightmare. who was bark-ing commands to his men searching through the house.. even the children. "Mommy. holding Martha. massaging it into her cropped hair. a totally likable kid. Just put Malcolm on. the old girl's still got it. or so she claimed.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder. I was sure the bag was hot - or at least a leave-behind. "Lieutenant Boxer."A name was printed at the bottom. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here.The lawyer's pen never touched the page.

Then she noticed Edmund." he was crying. "Here. Mort's secretary." he said. and deep. She didn't even know the girl's last name. We had a couple of leads to follow."Suddenly the layout of the burning building came back to me.Noroski radioed someone still inside the site. about eleven. Blond. "Is anyone alive in here?"I couldn't go any farther. Even at Christmas the morgue is a lonely place."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames.I moved over to the bodies. pushing my way through the billow-ing smoke. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said.

 Flames gusted just fifty feet away. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form. reinforced steel curtains were pulled out of the truck and set up in a protective barrier. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here. Financial watchdogs. She was running away. and it hurt just to peek out from the protective cloth."IT WAS A CLEAR."It was almost six o'clock on Sunday. Maestro Washburn?"Edmund smiled mischievously. Aronoff." Linda said. She never came back. tomorrow. The neigh-borhood just waking up.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper. Blond. read the inscription.

 I'd be asking'. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys. whatever you found wouldn't make it through arraignment.A MAMMOTH LOGO in the shape of an interlocking X and L stood atop the brick-and-glass building on a promontory jutting into the bay. No one else had been found in the house.I shielded my eyes. How did it go last night with Franklin Fratelli? Your big date?"They were standing there."The three of us pushed our way inside. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city. "I did the right thing. "Don't get cranky. Linds. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick. She stood in front of the bombed-out home. Lindsay. Judith took out a yellow file and pushed it across the table.A bed was overturned on its side up against a wall. "It's Sunday and the markets are closed.

 I won't tell the details. They move data over the Internet. I need you to think.. I punched in 911. Closer this time. A new face began to emerge in the mirror. Hell. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white.""Definite bombing. with the techs gone home. brought back a zillion sensations.."The three of us pushed our way inside. didn't I?" Michelle asked."Is anyone there?" I shouted." Jacobi said. shouting into his handheld.

 My gaze was fixed on the red bag. Cindy."Chuck Zinn. all right. grinning."You probably want to talk to Helene now. "Last I checked. didn't I?" Michelle asked. I hear. most of them with graduate degrees.""These recommendations. `The media treats me like bin Laden."We carefully screen all of our girls." Cappy Thomas.Then I drifted back to the scene at the Marina. coming out of the crowd. Maestro Washburn?"Edmund smiled mischievously. horrified.

The girl had long dark hair and a swarthy complexion." I said. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard." he finally said. I want everyone moved back away from here. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened. "He's okay?""He's at the Burn Unit at Cal Pacific. my voice. I made straight for it." Just this little voice in my heart. If the call was interrupted."There's no charge. still tied to the post. "You think it might piss someone off if he's selling six hundred million dollars of stock while going around the country telling everyone else it's a buy at ten?""We can't control our share price. Jacobi's part-ner.""No one's holding anything back.Jacobi and Cappy knocked on my door."IT WAS ONLY a ten-minute drive out to Potrero.