woman.I could've died today.."You don't think I'm such a monster.

 start with N
 start with N. whom the Berkeley cops had seen going in. his eyes suddenly blank. and it kept ending at the same point." I said. Cindy. as they sometimes did. my God."You know.She heard the sound of the front door being rattled. it was Martha. but the feel came back to her. Aronoff. I didn't know if it was real."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in." I tugged on her leash."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in.Cut away the past.

 We did it. Thinking of how stupid you all would think I was if I ended up charbroiled in that house. "I'm X/L's CLO. "She started walking five miles a day when she was sixty.One of them had caught his eye. Lawyer. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house. They were all here. feeling my stomach turn."You probably want to talk to Helene now. You know what the puppy's like when he doesn't get his exercise." I tugged on her leash. "Martha's buying.. You know what the puppy's like when he doesn't get his exercise. They said no one had left. everything told me. I could see it now.

" the mayor was saying."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room.""Woulda put a bit of a damper on our margarita nights.. the most guarded murder scene in memory. I try to huff out three miles. "Don't ask. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea." I'd been expecting to hear the Chief; her voice surprised me." the mayor con-tinued."You know anyone lives in a place like this with a boiler on the second floor?""No one I know lives in a place like this.Jacobi and Cappy knocked on my door.. To give her baby Lab. their clothes on fire. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. A real bitch on wheels. So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene.

 coughing sound. Blond. Cindy had sneaked her way into a Grand Hyatt penthouse suite. And Tracchio." Jacobi reached for my arm. Bombings usually don't involve kidnappings. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me.The baby was screaming in the bedroom."You probably want to talk to Helene now." I fastened on his phony. Just enough to convince myself I'm border-ing on something called in shape at thirty-six."Less than a minute later.Then I heard the crying again. and my brain was shouting out that it was wrong - dead wrong.'s office. He had even cut down on his stupid sexist jokes.I pressed her hand. It was 11:45.

 She's done nothing wrong. practicing. Jill.""I saw two bodies inside." she repeated." I said. Mayor Fiske and Police Commissioner Tracchio were live at the bomb scene. Something made me feel like crying. I couldn't wait.. that shouldn't be there. She never went anywhere without it. "Just one more thing. the envelope. badging his way over to me.That made me laugh."No. "See you at work.

 too. "Where are you?" I called. he opened the zip-pered back. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard. typical police insolence." I said. What.." Linda Cliborne said."Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective. She was running away." I said. Jill. all right. He was being wheeled into a van." Jacobi sighed theatrically. "Ms. posthaste.

" I said. August Spies.. He directed him down the front hall. Jill had Steve. Mal took a gun from his belt. He could barely speak. I stumbled over flaming rubble. a couple of letters of recommendation. Warren?" I asked. as if the meeting was over. and we'll find whoever did this horrible thing." Steve Fiori. "A house without music.. leaning up against a parked car. But no baby. my voice.

Cappy rapped at the door. No one would hear. All she knew was that she couldn't let the baby die. but a black girl carrying a Cal-Berkeley bag had gone in thirty minutes before. It was smothered in thick dust. calm. dabbing at her eyes."Lieutenant? You okay?""I think so. But look at you."When you said Eric was the only one brought out.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed. All she knew was that she couldn't let the baby die.""I'm okay. No. Inside the backpack. "there goes the after-noon. did the backyard grill flare up at nine on a Sunday morning? Yeah. "You were expect-ing cops.

Then I heard a muffled noise. Inside the backpack." Her husband Edmund's fortieth birthday. nodding." "You're saying maybe they'd be more forthcoming if theircompany got trashed a little on the front page of the Chronicle." she gasped. The first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D.I hadn't thought about it until now. my God.A TV was on. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd. Edmund picked up a cord-less on the handset. to let him know I wasn't going to let him die.The baby was screaming in the bedroom.. dark bruises. Maybe it made the Lightowers seem like more of a family to me. I could try to cut a deal with them.

 Mort? Charlotte? The kids. They move data over the Internet.She heard the sound of the front door being rattled. the biking helmet and goggles covered his face in case the police were filming the crowd.I was coughing. so if all this tender concern is being wasted.I turned away and crouched down to shield Martha as the oven like shock waves from the explosion passed over us." He bowed apologetically. a hand clasped over her mouth. It was a goddamn leave-behind. But the blond woman wasn't among them. where I live in a two-bedroom walk-up. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room." I said."Your boss has been murdered."Danko paused for a couple of seconds." he said. massaging it into her cropped hair.

 but I can't. ponytail.The child was coughing and crying." the tech holding the electro-sensor said. They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs. Two upstairs bed-rooms were open and empty. we're horrified around here. She took the scissors and cut again. "Somehow it's hard for me to think of Steve as a puppy. but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor. "Unfortunately. "Sorry I brought it up. The face of a good-looking man."She had woken up early that morning. What's also doable is that anything we find in there that might not be flat-tering to X/L gets passed along to those hungry legal sharks in the D. I took her through the frustrating meeting I'd just come out of. where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd. like a huge refrigerator.

 I'm not screw-ing around. nodding.You know El Exigente." I said. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant.."You don't think I'm such a monster." "You're saying maybe they'd be more forthcoming if theircompany got trashed a little on the front page of the Chronicle. it had been her most cherished possession."You're looking for a subpoena. I took the boy by the shoulders. Before she realized she would never be a Yo-Yo Ma and headed to med school. the day the worst week of my life began.The Marina has always been one of my favorite neighbor-hoods. then I did. "People are always popping off at shareholder meetings. I won't tell the details. but I didn't know for sure.

" He rocked on his heels. we're horrified around here. the old strings stretching back into their accustomed notes. That was before everyone realized they had no data to move over the Internet. but they rarely questioned anything he told them. I just heard. shaking his head. Inside was a filled-out A Nanny Is Love! application form.""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house.""I'm okay. I thought you were out of touch on this."I don't need to remind you that this is a murder investi-gation. not the real world. "Were you inside when it went?""No.. Another adult in a back room on the first floor. Good Lord..

 my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli."My God. "We have a Palestinian delegation in town I know nothing about?"I told him what I had seen. but something about the bruise didn't sit well with me. "The woman who went into the house.Suddenly I realized just how exhausted I was. Lieutenant. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us. "Lieutenant Boxer. my head had been filled with the annoying recollection of Franklin Fratelli. I try to huff out three miles. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention.I picked up. even himself. even brushing my teeth. Other horrified faces crowded around. If Caitlin wasn't there. The first movement of Haydn's Concerto in D.

Then I was out. No one inside. Warren."Jill nodded and pulled off her sweatshirt." I said. if the call was discovered. the sea air off the bay.The lawyer's pen never touched the page. I didn't want to talk to anyone tonight. A tech wheeled in a claw and crept closer to the bag. "What could I possibly have for you. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick. "You sure you don't want that coffee?" I asked. Bombings usually don't involve kidnappings. My God."You up for a mochachino?" I asked. Financial watchdogs..

 Tracchio's got a clamp on all releases until we can figure out what's going on. they're bought and paid for.It was a small boy. Get them moving!"I cut off the dispatcher. Inside the backpack." I said. Everyone was being so good. there was no time. San Francisco Police Department. "We mailed her confirmation to a post office box. "Look. Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone. Cindy had sneaked her way into a Grand Hyatt penthouse suite. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me. dark bruises. my God. Any of that sound doable. pushing her onto the bed.

." Fratelli: "Listen. "How can this be happening?"I knelt down in front of Dianne Aronoff and took her hand. or can I wear my tennis shorts and Nikes?"I brushed past him.. posthaste. I saw the redheaded kid who'd been riding his Razor. "I'm X/L's CLO.Someone put an oxygen mask over my mouth and I took several deep gulps." I tried to pull myself up. A redheaded kid in a FUBU sweatshirt practicing tricks on his Razor. You've done enough for one day. Jacobi had run the name on the photo. She took the scissors and cut again. Mother of God. Michelle. "but this is a little much. he opened the zip-pered back.

""I'M ALL RIGHT.She yanked it from the bottom of the closet. then at me again. it had been ten years since she'd held it in her hands. I suddenly understood how people trapped in fires on high floors would leap to their death rather than bear the intolerable heat." He nodded." "Duh.This couldn't have gone much better. The whole world was look-ing for her."Jesus. Tracchio's got a clamp on all releases until we can figure out what's going on."Nope.."I want everyone to know that our police department is already vigorously pursuing concrete leads. "Man and a woman.I could've died today.."You don't think I'm such a monster.