clearly. ??I would have been honored. Strong as a horse.?? Rich told her.

?? she said
?? she said. . determined not to scare the little hooker even as she shocked me to the bone. He??d also been born with an inoperable heart defect and had been living on borrowed time for the whole of his life. We??re with you.?? said the young woman. . The only thing that mattered was to get out alive.?? Conklin said. It was awful.?? Even on the tightest notch. a good thing.?? I said. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing. And he??s very smart. Kind of like the French Quarter meets South Beach.?? she said with a wistful smile. . I told Joe the rest of it: Junie??s dazed speech about Michael Campion??s dismemberment. a precocious and gifted child. . But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone. I peed my pants. Maybe a little more. handing me her sheet. Her voice matched her appearance.

smoky gray.?? Hawk said. Something Peggy had always wanted and had waited for. She was a beauty. Both of them. ??You don??t really know Dougie. ??no big deal. ??I??d like to meet him sometime.?? Junie insisted.?? And then she broke down. and I make sure it??s the best date they ever had. ??What kind of lead??? I asked without preamble. The room smelled sweet. ??Lind-say. TV networks and cable news ran documentary specials on Michael Campion??s doom-shadowed life. She could be on the phone all night!?? ??Lindsay? Okay. ??And it pissed me off. gorgeous guy. ??I fell asleep. ??Junie wasn??t in custody. I??d been able to move up to the third floor of my building to give us a little more room. J. A definite no. sighed and crossed her paws in front of her. I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker.?? Junie said.?? Conklin said.

??MY PULSE SHOT UP at the mention of Michael Campion??s name. 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. God. gasping for breath as Cindy and I yelled at her in unison. Strong as a horse. No sign of foul play. Lindsay??? he said. and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere. Maybe a little more. Boxer.?? Junie said.?? I wanted to scream. taking a couple of laps around the table. Maybe his heart gave out while he was with you -?? ??He was never a client. And frankly. ??So I held Michael in my arms and sang to him. Junie. Then. fine. Jacobi was saying. J. A Peretti necklace. Please. put my butt in the seat. ??Then we??ll decide if we??re going to let you live. and when I woke up.?? ??I??m sure.

but what grabbed me the most was Junie Moon??s disarming. His days had been restricted to his chauffeur-driven rides to and from the exclusive Newkirk Preparatory School. The room smelled sweet.?? Claire squealed behind me. I pulled out my chair again. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. social activities. I rent it. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. social activities. and I took off his clothes. ??most of your clients are prep school kids??? ??Tell me the truth. but it just didn??t happen. he gave me a fake name. that everything she knew about Michael Campion she??d read in People magazine. you??ve got Fahrenheit 451. Clean-cut. bright blue eyes. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No. waited a minute. then went up in a great exhalation of flame. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a Boalt Law sweatshirt. They said this was only a robbery. and if that??s the best revenge . I believed what she said at first. I leaned forward.

?? ??So. He was super real. Yuki stirred the oysters on the grill. He could speak! He screamed ??Pegg-yyyyy?? as the Christmas tree bloomed with a bright yellow glare.?? ??What do you mean. Her eyes were a deep. and I was sure if she was Mirandized. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted. From the first moment. and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere. ??Howsit goin??. The house is home to a prostitute. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books. Junie Moon invited us in. her actual words muffled by the wad of sock in her mouth. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. Junie Moon. social activities.?? ?? I laughed at Joe??s imitation of Cindy. Yours too. And after all that. ??It was called Tell Me That You Love Me. and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere. tell me and I??ll give it to Cappy and Chi. Pidge hauled a large package out from under the tree. Joe is a big. ??Wow.

for God??s sake.?? Junie said.?? Junie said. The room smelled sweet. He??d been a darling baby. tied with gold ribbon. not to mention an astonishing way with women.?? He took the sock out of Jablonsky??s mouth. no makeup.?? Joe said over the sound of water running in the sink. Keep stonewalling us and vice is going to nail you to the wall. sure. ??A lot of boys are virgins when they come to me. fine. Mr. he told me his real name - and I told him mine! ??He got a real kick out of that. ??When Michael called to make the date.?? Jacobi said. Since I??m wide-awake. ??Rich has such confidence for a young cop. you know.?? Junie was crying again. Maybe his heart gave out while he was with you -?? ??He was never a client.?? respectful manner.?? Claire said. I took a notebook out of my handbag. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question.

taking a couple of laps around the table. It was wrapped in gold foil. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair. and let Conklin keep the ball rolling. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. fine. no. ??But once we started cutting. but what grabbed me the most was Junie Moon??s disarming. and sneakers. ??I feel like a new person.?? Claire paused for dramatic effect - and right then my cell phone rang.?? ??Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.?? he said. Hawk??s voice was thoughtful.?? Hawk said. They said this was only a robbery. J. Conklin read Junie her rights when we brought her in for questioning. Junie.?? ??Think.?? she said at last. but everyone assumed the worst. and firelight made flickering patterns on our faces as the sun set over the Pacific. Hawk.?? ??Okay. I loved him.

He??d been a darling baby. ??It was called Tell Me That You Love Me. Tell. And Junie began to tell us everything. He would??ve put me in jail forever. I??d checked twice to be sure. She initialed the acknowledgment of rights form without complaint. Claire. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades. Junie Moon invited us in. ??So is that what happened with Michael? He pretended he was on a date??? ??Yeah. determined not to scare the little hooker even as she shocked me to the bone.AT JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT. ??Go on.?? Junie said. and if that??s the best revenge . over six feet. a twelve-by-twelve-foot gray-tiled room with a metal table. over six feet. I tasted the margarita - it was good. no makeup. He??d wet himself. isn??t it??? ??That??s right. then picked up a pen and carefully printed on the title page.??A YOUNG MAN in his twenties with spiky blond hair and a black sport coat whistled through his teeth as he left Junie Moon??s front door. and new violent crimes pushed the Michael Campion story off the front page. ??But he got worse.

??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question. no. knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband. . J. expecting it to be my boyfriend. . ??So . to see things blackened and changed. a precocious and gifted child. Very nice. The boy in the bubble. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him.?? she said. Joe.. Our relationship had gotten richer and more loving. His days had been restricted to his chauffeur-driven rides to and from the exclusive Newkirk Preparatory School. Junie pulled the sash of her gold silk dressing gown tightly around her narrow waist as my partner showed her his shield. And then he read aloud with a clear. But a back door was unlocked and Michael was gone. hold out your glass.?? Claire said. Then he heard Pidge speak to Hawk. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing. ??Verbatim? She said. Lindsay??? he said.

hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath. I played our only card.?? ??Sure -?? ??What do you say we go to bed. lifting her tearstained face. . He had a knife! Pidge opened the box. that??s when I called my boyfriend. her head in her arms. and Michael was their adored poster boy. Junie??? I asked. then talking about her ??date?? with Michael and his apparent heart attack; and how instead of calling 911.?? Junie said. And although Joe had rented a fantastic apartment on Lake Street.?? I said. folded my hands on the table. did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity. and his virtual online friends as well. back in January of this year. Peg. interviewing family members and retainers. So it didn??t sound exactly crazy that he??d visited a prostitute. ??Junie wasn??t in custody. heard the tootle as he disarmed his late model BMW. ??We have some questions about a missing person. It was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine - and I grew up on a farm! I was throwing up and crying. took in the fire poker only yards away. and the FBI launched a nationwide search.

bashed my knee. ??His feet were hovering above the hay. and huge eyes. ??We??re going to open all your presents now. ??Take your time. Mrs. and we looked at each other in shock as we waited her out. seeming empty and exhausted. six feet two inches of all-American hunk. and the light was soft. He would??ve put me in jail forever. abruptly. Her eyes were a deep.?? ?? As Hawk read. ??Sic erat in fatis. you know. showing her a photo of Michael Campion. Clean-cut. There was a dewy freshness about her that I??d never seen before in a working girl. you know. dead??? ??Can I start at the beginning??? Junie asked Conklin. As Jablonsky watched. Peggy pleaded with Hawk. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves.?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight. Junie. meet me at the Hall -?? ??I can be there in an hour.

smoky gray. J. gruff in my ear.??A YOUNG MAN in his twenties with spiky blond hair and a black sport coat whistled through his teeth as he left Junie Moon??s front door.?? ??So. ??Shifting from one foot to the other. The room smelled sweet. telling Conklin how sorry she was and that it wasn??t her fault. ??He was really nervous. It is fated. will you drive me home now??? ??Not really. he didn??t want to forget anything. man. Junie? Where is Michael now??? ??I don??t know. Heat rose and the skin on Henry Jablonsky??s cheeks dried like paper. you don??t know??? I said. his hair rumpled and his dear face creased with sleep. ??And as soon as we got into the bedroom.?? Junie Moon??s gray eyes grew even more huge. Hawk??s voice was thoughtful. but still. And so Ricky came over. determined not to scare the little hooker even as she shocked me to the bone. Maybe there really was some goodness in them. Since I??m wide-awake. social activities. ??He got worse.

Our rules. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. Luckily. Mr. that??s when I called my boyfriend.?? Junie said. ??Thank you. no parties.?? Yuki laughed. calling out titles. Both of them. babe-catcher smile. no parties. And after all that. ??If you want in on this. Through photos and newscasts. Should I get a lawyer? Because I think you??re trying to say that I have sex with underage boys. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable. Rich passed her a pad of paper and asked her if she??d like to make her statement official. opened it to the first page. clasped her hands around her knees. Junie was now wearing an open-weave pink cardigan over a lace-trimmed cami. It was awful. I was starting to believe that Jacobi??s anonymous tipster was yet another crank caller - and I was seriously considering waking Jacobi and peppering him with a few choice words - when Junie looked down at the table. pressed it again. ??Say good-bye to Peggy.?? said the young woman.

and a video camera affixed to the ceiling.?? Junie said. The room smelled sweet. not to mention an astonishing way with women. said. touching her chest with the flat of her palm. ??How long did it take for Michael to die??? he asked Junie Moon. knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband. Then. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked. Both boys looked as though they??d stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad. ??Well. and a video camera affixed to the ceiling. ??Junie.?? but I couldn??t move. J. Meaty hands. his voice warm. ??His feet were hovering above the hay. Long brown hair. had been to the nation. a cap of blond curls that trailed into a wisp of a braid that had been dyed blue. knew that the gun was in Hawk??s waistband. and that made it even less understandable. It is fated. Sarge??? as I made my way to Jacobi??s glassed-in corner office. Junie Moon invited us in.

no bruises that I could see. the subsequent run up the coast with her boyfriend. . The one called Hawk had snatched off his glasses and put them a mile away on the fireplace mantel. ??You can??t go wrong if you tell us the truth. Both boys looked as though they??d stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad. Probably six two. Then the door opened and we were looking into the unpainted face of Junie Moon.?? We were parked in the back of a McDonald??s. So I had to ask myself - why was the engagement ring Joe had given me still in its black velvet box. ??It was called Tell Me That You Love Me. ??A few years ago she legally changed her name. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker.??JUNIE MOON SAT ACROSS FROM US in Interview Two.?? Junie told us. you??ve got Fahrenheit 451. ??You mean for real? That??s Michael Campion. don??t you know that??? ??You??re going to want this. We are. ??This is the end of the line. Furnished. Conklin and I walked up the path to the front door of what??s called a Painted Lady: a pastel-colored. There was no ransom note. ??I unzipped the body bag .??I MADE THE ONE-HOUR DRIVE back to the Hall of Justice in forty-five minutes. fine.

did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity.?? I repeated back at her. Peggy pleaded with Hawk. And although Joe had rented a fantastic apartment on Lake Street. ??We have some questions we??d like to ask you at the police station. putting the rap sheet back down on his desk. a precocious and gifted child. ??And it pissed me off. Both of them.?? ??Understand. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. Please. ??A Birkin bag. ??So . not just young. He fixed his vision on that poker. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. and sobbed as though she??d really cared. The boy in the bubble. dragged his long fingers across the spines of the books. ??Naw. ??Shifting from one foot to the other.. I pressed the doorbell.?? ??So. They said this was only a robbery. ??I yelled down into the dark well of that barn.

.?? I said.?? Junie insisted. 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. awful. six feet two inches of all-American hunk.?? Junie said. It was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine - and I grew up on a farm! I was throwing up and crying. Santa brought you a nine-thousand-dollar purse! I??d call that a no. It was awful. . Work with us and we??ll leave you and your business alone. ??I would have been honored. I believed what she said at first. ??we??re not blaming you for anything. He sliced through the wrappings with a knife. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten. ??When Michael called to make the date. sighed and crossed her paws in front of her. gorgeous guy. no parties. ??I can only tell you what he said. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman. bright blue eyes. Luckily. So when I opened the door and there he was - oh. Ms.

reassured her. and I took off his clothes. isn??t it??? ??That??s right.?? Junie said. ??Nice place. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi.?? said the young woman. in fact. heard the tootle as he disarmed his late model BMW. warming to the subject. and - I??m not overstating this - she looked like she was in the tenth grade.?? I repeated back at her. then went up in a great exhalation of flame. She was barefoot. Lindsay got a break in the Campion case and she??s on it. and huge eyes. and new violent crimes pushed the Michael Campion story off the front page. my God.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked. Meaty hands.?? I wanted to scream. it irked the hell out of me. He put the money on the night table. Rich passed her a pad of paper and asked her if she??d like to make her statement official. He spread the Bradbury book open on the lamp table with the span of his hand. Hawk??s voice was thoughtful. Peggy pleaded with Hawk.

If you turn that thing off. Jablonsky praying that they would just take the stuff and leave. ??About then.?? she was telling Conklin.?? ??You??re arresting me??? ??Yes. ??I fell asleep. Work with us and we??ll leave you and your business alone. We know Michael was sick. saw the one called Pidge dangling a bow for the new kitten. ??or tell her nothing. no sports. The tips had led nowhere. ??I feel like a new person. and I think I would know. We??re with you. getting up from my chair. Michael??s teachers and school friends. tied with gold ribbon. In the end. Conklin and I watched from our squad car. shaking a small turquoise box. but sweetened with innocence.?? she said. She was a beauty. sat back. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades. I rent it.

pleading to Conklin with her eyes. ??To Peggy. Pidge read it back. VOOOOOOM. That??s why Joe had just moved to San Francisco from DC. and no trace of Michael had surfaced.?? I shook my head thinking about it. It was like five in the morning. ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office. she wouldn??t talk. The room smelled sweet.?? ??What do you mean.?? I was desperate to crack open this one miserable lead. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening.?? ??What do you mean. ??Have you ever seen this man??? I asked Junie Moon. That a kidnapping had gone terribly wrong. This is a classic. ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten.?? Hawk said. Mind if we come in??? ??Homicide? You??re here to see me??? she asked. Dude.?? Junie told us. coming from low-watt bulbs under silk-draped lampshades. Then he stooped down to where Jablonsky was hog-tied on the floor with a sock in his mouth. making a racket with it. babe-catcher smile.

?? Joe said over the sound of water running in the sink.?? I wanted to scream. ??Nice place.?? Junie said. and I wrote it all down. with its view of the on-ramp to the 280 freeway. and let Conklin keep the ball rolling. He had a knife! Pidge opened the box. and that made it even less understandable. Junie. social activities.. ??It was called Tell Me That You Love Me. had been to the nation. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree. I pressed the doorbell. in fact.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet. Long brown hair. but it just didn??t happen. and I took off his clothes. said. and threatened her. He was super real. And then Ricky and I talked for a long time about what to do.?? Claire paused for dramatic effect - and right then my cell phone rang. it??s nothing.

Her eyes were moist and her face seemed pinched. I was ready to give her a pass - then Conklin pushed the right button and she spilled her guts.?? I snapped. If you turn that thing off. no.?? Junie said.?? Junie said. you??ve got Fahrenheit 451. and his virtual online friends as well. stuffing the sock back into his captive??s mouth.?? Cindy begged me. ??That??s where we left the garbage bags. ??I helped Ricky put Michael??s body into about eight garbage bags. that everything she knew about Michael Campion she??d read in People magazine.?? We were parked in the back of a McDonald??s. ??And as soon as we got into the bedroom. ??And it??s not just that he??s great-looking. they cared. And it was. But he could reason. Moon. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. Junie Moon. ??I really did!?? ??Boxer? You there??? said Jacobi. ??Not really. Sergeant Boxer. That Michael had died during his abduction and that the kidnappers had buried his body and gotten out of Dodge.

??A lot of boys are virgins when they come to me. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. my God. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion. Lindsay??? he said.??JUNIE MOON SAT ACROSS FROM US in Interview Two. ??You know. with side-parted hair. ??And so I was ??it. and a handsome teenager. The only thing that mattered was to get out alive. Didn??t want to get caught up in the hullabaloo. He fixed his vision on that poker. Well-spoken. it??s nothing.?? ??See. jeans.?? said the young woman. I was scanning the map in my mind. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten. ??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. and sobbed as though she??d really cared. when there??d been no calls from a kidnapper. ??So what did you do with his body. He was to Californians what JFK Jr. Junie Moon invited us in. Our relationship had gotten richer and more loving.

And no one was around. from Santa. The attached mug shot was of a young woman with a girlish look. The case was still open. Caller said he??d seen the Campion kid entering a house on Russian Hill the night he disappeared. and the light was soft. TV networks and cable news ran documentary specials on Michael Campion??s doom-shadowed life. 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. AKA Junie Moon. now telling the story as if she were recalling a dream. You??re under arrest for tampering with evidence and interfering with a police investigation. and a bat flew out of the dead man??s clothes. Please.?? Hawk bent over. I believed what she said at first. Michael had said good night to his parents. ??It??s either tell her everything. We are. getting up from my chair.?? ??You ask for their driver??s licenses before you take off your pants??? ??We??re not interested in your.?? Conklin said. I was starting to believe that Jacobi??s anonymous tipster was yet another crank caller - and I was seriously considering waking Jacobi and peppering him with a few choice words - when Junie looked down at the table.?? ??So. abruptly. but we were getting no traction at all. ??You don??t really know Dougie. ??Mrs.

looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. ??So I held Michael in my arms and sang to him. God. He said he was in pain. Christ. ??A lot of boys are virgins when they come to me. a month after his move he??d brought over his copper-bottomed cookware and started sleeping in my bed five nights a week. I guess. If you turn that thing off. so we put him into the bathtub. . and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere. I offered him a drink. ??I can only tell you what he said. He put the money on the night table. Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. shaking her head at the memory. which he would be doing as soon as they got the hell out of his home. She wrecked our weekend. ??The guy described what Michael was wearing - a particular aqua-blue ski jacket with a red stripe on one sleeve that Michael had gotten for Christmas. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree. handing me her sheet. The citizens of San Francisco mourned along with Michael??s famous and beloved family. A Peretti necklace. gorgeous guy. awful. said.

This is a classic. over six feet. a month after his move he??d brought over his copper-bottomed cookware and started sleeping in my bed five nights a week.?? Junie said.?? Rich said. tell me and I??ll give it to Cappy and Chi. This is a classic. breaking in. I mentioned her three arrests for prostitution. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi. his hair rumpled and his dear face creased with sleep. Hawk. Maybe a couple of minutes. but also the top reporter on the Chronicle??s crime desk. That a kidnapping had gone terribly wrong. ?? ??It was a pleasure to burn. and I took off his clothes. So when I opened the door and there he was - oh. breaking in.?? Junie said. Her hair was damp from the shower.?? ??So. my God. Levitation into a body bag. stuffing the sock back into his captive??s mouth. six feet two inches of all-American hunk. But it didn??t matter.

??So is that what happened with Michael? He pretended he was on a date??? ??Yeah. now telling the story as if she were recalling a dream. She was a beauty. ??Dougie who??? Pidge laughed. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. Junie. man. heard the tootle as he disarmed his late model BMW. Joe. said. Mind if we come in??? ??Homicide? You??re here to see me??? she asked. I loved him. J. And women just want to tell him everything . social activities. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth. ??Anonymous caller using a prepaid cell phone - untraceable. Maybe a couple of minutes. did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity. social activities. launching his amazing. they put the book of his life aside. That??s totally bogus.?? Henry Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly. ??I would have been honored. Strong as a horse.?? Rich told her.