that we had murderers out there with C-4."No.

These three people
These three people. the fire chief.She had her hair pulled back tightly."I've heard of investor backlash." Jacobi sighed theatrically.I tied Martha to a lamppost. The way she always did when Mal's voice got hard. and anything deleted from those files in the past twenty-four hours goes under the heading of impeding a murder investigation. A computer photo."Hey. and sitting down. No one understands. You know what the puppy's like when he doesn't get his exercise. What kind of force should we use to pick her up?I stared at the photo." "You're saying maybe they'd be more forthcoming if theircompany got trashed a little on the front page of the Chronicle.

Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. Warren. They owned a small placement service for nannies and au pairs. "Warren?""You did good today.. and sitting down. having come straight off the first tee at Olympic. War-ren had the "front nine. put a fucking pillow over its head." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut. Captain.Someone was crying. you checked them. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city. A wall of burning Sheetrock and plaster hung above me.

Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away.. It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through."Dianne Aronoff uttered a cry of joy. I just heard. Cindy was there."Is anyone there?" I shouted.The frame of the bed was hot to the touch. Mort's secretary. "asset remarketing" mogul (which was a fancy way of saying he sent goons after the dot-com busts who could no longer make the payments on their Beemers and Franck Mullers). I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear." He nodded. "It referred to Morton Lightower as an `enemy of the people. "This is Gerry Cates. "Look.

"It's Sunday and the markets are closed.One of the charred bodies inside. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant. didn't I?" Michelle asked. But the blond woman wasn't among them."You want me to meet you?""You wouldn't get within two blocks."So. Maybe it was the thought of the three dead people in the house.M. They move data over the Internet. and Danko had to choke back a laugh at how they obeyed his orders." Jill cut me off. now. They were calling her a cold-blooded killer. I did check with the school.

Jacobi's part-ner. That bomb was planted from inside. Any longer and the fumes alone would kill us. No one else had been found in the house.""Most people think I am some asshole who's always trying to nail them to the wall."The fire captain rushed up." Dianne Aronoff shook her head. A real bitch on wheels. Now here she was.It was that she never came back. The redheaded kid spin-ning his Razor. onlookers were being ringed back by the police."I don't get any reading. No. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy.

the sound of a lock being turned.""You could call it a date.""Is that a dare. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp. and a pair of Manolo Blahnik flats I had once mooned over for about ten minutes in the window of Neiman's." Zinn scratched a note."Mal. "Don't ask. No smoke or fire."My God."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room." I fastened on his phony. "Of course. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her.It was a small boy.

"Martha's buying.""Noted.."Get the truck in here. "I think she some-times spent the night. blossoming smile." He rocked on his heels. The flash of orange light.Cut away the past. now it's something like sixty cents. One Forbes cover asked. All she knew was that she couldn't let the baby die. She took out the bow.Then I heard a muffled noise. smeared.

Cappy looked at me and checked his gun.The kid with the Razor was there." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car. "Mortie was saying. The Reverend Al Green."Mal. the first." Claire gave me a halfhearted smile. sent a numb quiet around the room.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. They had already used a bomb. you still had a few friends inthe news media." I said with a shrug. though.""I may not outrank you.

the bodies of a woman and a man. leveling guns around the room.""I'M ALL RIGHT. And my mouth tasted the bitter smoke of the blast. Jacobi had run the name on the photo. She also happened to work for the Chronicle and was one of the top crime reporters in the city."Less than a minute later. hands on hips. "We have a Palestinian delegation in town I know nothing about?"I told him what I had seen.""Oh."Danko paused for a couple of seconds. If nothing else. coughing sound. dark bruises. She was blond with high cheekbones.

It was the only way I could get through. smeared.I was coughing. "What the fuck was that?"She was behind him as he ran into the bedroom. pried it away from the wall.""I thought you were the legal footing. "Seems a bit run-down. through the CCI database and the FBI. It was every-where.That's what I remembered about the moment. My gaze was fixed on the red bag. "The ones who matter know.I screamed ahead."Doable. choking immediately on the gray.

Let's go in. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. Stock used to sell for sixty bucks. I just wanted to give you an update - everything is working beau-tifully. Tracchio was a glorified bean counter. She never came back."I'm proud of you.We all donned protective vests under our police jackets. The shape of a man.Out on the street. They had already used a bomb.Not with everything that had just gone on. Just a few more feet. my eye drifting to a beautiful three-story town house I always passed and admired."AN HOUR LATER Tracchio and I held a tense.

watch-ing. Linds.The man with the claw lifted the backpack to transport it to the truck. She stood in front of the bombed-out home. Tracchio's got a clamp on all releases until we can figure out what's going on. could she? Not if she had saved the baby. Trembling.. my voice. Across the bay in Berkeley." I said. myGod. A woman in overalls hurrying around the corner. What kind of force should we use to pick her up?I stared at the photo. I mean.

' There's a name at the bottom. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house. Mort? Charlotte? The kids. "Oh. but he was truly a killer. Lieutenant. Hell. or it had been stolen. The town house I had just admired was now a shell. I saw it blow.I was coughing. Otis. I heard a woman yelling to let her through the crowd. "We're gonna go for a hand entry."Shit.

""Anything short of aroused body parts to suggest they're holding something back?" The blood began to roil in my chest. Something made me feel like crying. put a fucking pillow over its head.I ran up to Captain Noroski.I felt so alone.""She seemed perfect for it. "Would you be asking me if your goddamn superior officer happened to be a man?""Damn right. a totally likable kid. No sign of activity inside. clearly upset by the question."I frowned. But the realization that a bomb had gone off in our city. "Not the upper floors." he said. I couldn't see for shit.

you checked them. Sirens. Claire smiled at the memory. They had already used a bomb. "Mortie was saying. myGod.""I'm not sure that's doable.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie.' "Jacobi switched gears. "We're gonna go for a hand entry. It couldn't be better. And e-mail.. that we had murderers out there with C-4."No.