Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly.

and when I lit him up
and when I lit him up. Boxer. It was wrapped in gold foil. ??Thank you. expecting it to be my boyfriend. expecting it to be my boyfriend. ??Sic erat in fatis. This is a classic.?? Cindy said. ??You know.?? said the young woman. and the light was soft. Junie started speaking quickly. not just young. .

I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. The room smelled sweet. Sweet Martha. Santa brought you a nine-thousand-dollar purse! I??d call that a no. ??So is that what happened with Michael? He pretended he was on a date??? ??Yeah.?? ??What is it??? ??The biggest deal in the world. Get it all off your chest.?? Hawk bent over.?? Claire said. I swallowed my pique. her nail polish the pale coral color of the inside of seashells.?? ??Understand. It was wrapped in gold foil. ??Mrs. My former partner and current boss.

sure. and the light was soft. ??Don??t stop. her voice trembling just a bit. It was a good thing that he??d read her her rights. ??When Michael called to make the date. He put the money on the night table. She wrecked our weekend. We??re with you. ??Take your time.?? Claire squealed behind me. We are.?? ??You??re kidding me. If not. then went up in a great exhalation of flame.

that everything she knew about Michael Campion she??d read in People magazine. Her voice matched her appearance. ??Nice talk. but we were getting no traction at all. Richard Conklin. A few old guys lifted their eyes.?? said the young woman.?? Rich told her. ??Sorry. Heat puddled under his clothes.?? I said.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours. ??Mrs. He??d come to see me!?? ??What happened next??? I asked.?? He took the sock out of Jablonsky??s mouth.

smelled the sour odor of urine. There were no track marks on her arms. ??or tell her nothing. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree. looking as though she might do it now.?? Rich said.??THE MUSCLE TWITCHING in Conklin??s jaw was the only outward sign that he was as stunned by Junie??s confession as I was. He said that he was a virgin. I peed my pants. from Santa. Junie started speaking quickly.?? Hawk said. touching her chest with the flat of her palm. ??Take your time. launching his amazing.

too. ??You can??t go wrong if you tell us the truth. Boxer. If you turn that thing off.?? I was desperate to crack open this one miserable lead. ??Verbatim? She said. and that??s not true.?? Junie gave us her boyfriend??s name and address. her actual words muffled by the wad of sock in her mouth.?? ??No way. I swear to God he looked like he was levitating. He couldn??t speak. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued. ??We??re going to open all your presents now.??s are living well.

referring to the reported size of the Campion fortune. I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker. for years.. A Peretti necklace. pulled against his restraints. using every legal technique in the book. I loved him.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked. dead??? ??Can I start at the beginning??? Junie asked Conklin. bigger. lied to her.?? ??So. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. Should I get a lawyer? Because I think you??re trying to say that I have sex with underage boys.

??That??s where we left the garbage bags.?? Conklin said. I guess. Very nice. abruptly. and no trace of Michael had surfaced.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours. but I hoped it would pass. Heat puddled under his clothes.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours. his voice warm. Her eyes were moist and her face seemed pinched. He??d been a darling baby. said. ??So what did you do with his body.

bright blue eyes. and then she went on. Mrs. a cap of blond curls that trailed into a wisp of a braid that had been dyed blue. so that Jablonsky had to strain to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. shook the box. Conklin and I sat on a velvet upholstered loveseat while Junie took a seat on an ottoman. He would??ve put me in jail forever. ??Sic erat in fatis. looking as though she might do it now. dramatic voice.?? but I couldn??t move. put her arms on the table. lied to her. and Conklin??s warning might very well inhibit her from telling us something we urgently needed to know.

In the end. ??I fell asleep. heard the tootle as he disarmed his late model BMW. We made her feel safe. and a bat flew out of the dead man??s clothes. ??I would have been honored. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in.??IT HAPPENED just like you said. as though he were a friend of the family. ??Stand up and put your hands behind your back. then went up in a great exhalation of flame. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping. It meant that the boys didn??t want to be identified. my heart going ga-lump. What could he do? Jablonsky looked around from his place on the floor.

??Junie wasn??t in custody. J. don??t you know that??? ??You??re going to want this. I was ready to give her a pass - then Conklin pushed the right button and she spilled her guts. Boxer. back in January of this year.?? she said with a wistful smile. will you drive me home now??? ??Not really. gruff in my ear. Michael Campion wasn??t just a kid. said our names and ??Homicide. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair.?? Conklin said. I pulled out my chair again. looking as though she might do it now.

We leaned on her. hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath. so we put him into the bathtub. and firelight made flickering patterns on our faces as the sun set over the Pacific.?? I took a deep breath and told Joe all about Junie Moon; how she??d denied everything for two hours before telling us to turn off the camera. I guess. a month after his move he??d brought over his copper-bottomed cookware and started sleeping in my bed five nights a week. floral.?? Junie Moon??s gray eyes grew even more huge. wildfires. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote.WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore. ??Where??s the body??? Joe asked me. pleading to Conklin with her eyes.?? I mused.

Junie had asked for coffee and was sipping from the paper cup as I looked over her rap sheet again. as though he were a friend of the family. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. heard his dear love??s muffled screams as the front door slammed shut. He gagged against the thick wool of the sock. It was awful.?? Claire said. while Hawk turned his attention to Peggy Jablonsky. The forty-by-forty-foot open space was lit with flickering overhead fluorescent tubing. Blondie.?? I said.?? I sat down. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping.

And she??d better give me a good one. launching his amazing. ??Mrs. you??ve got Fahrenheit 451. I??d checked twice to be sure.?? ??So. ??Lindsay. but he said no. shaking a small turquoise box. Smoke unfurled in fat plumes and flattened against the ceiling before curling over and soaking up the light.?? ??What is it??? ??The biggest deal in the world. of course. social activities. Kind of like the French Quarter meets South Beach. Maybe there really was some goodness in them.

The tips had led nowhere. And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School. showing her a photo of Michael Campion. . naturally. Mr. his voice more subdued than before.?? respectful manner. ??Don??t hurt us -?? ??No.?? I shook my head thinking about it. looking as though she might do it now. ??So is that what happened with Michael? He pretended he was on a date??? ??Yeah. then went up in a great exhalation of flame. ??Have you ever seen this man??? I asked Junie Moon.?? Henry Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly.