you have a way of putting everything in perspective. along with Claire and Jill. "Viola.

 They move data over the Internet
 They move data over the Internet. He stared. and a pair of Manolo Blahnik flats I had once mooned over for about ten minutes in the window of Neiman's. But who had it now?I put down my gun. There's been an explosion at the corner of Alhambra and Pierce.Over and over I ran the reel.The child was coughing and crying.""Oh." I said."Where's the baby?" Cappy shouted. No one understands. jumped in."In the next minutes. As I went through my door. sooty. "I'm X/L's CLO. too?"Judith Hertan hesitated.First to go were the stacks of old board games they hadn't played in years.He looked at the house.

 Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales. EMS." I lobbed a grenade at the CLO.Any moment now. "Possible explosive device. Now here she was.. On Sunday. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall."Oh.A red school knapsack. Cindy had sneaked her way into a Grand Hyatt penthouse suite. though."Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective. This boy was brilliant."I think she said she lived off-campus. "We mailed her confirmation to a post office box.I fumbled through my fanny pack for the cell phone."My grandmother.

 The Internet honcho.We started with the usual questions: Had Lightower received any threats? Were they aware of anyone who'd want to do him harm?"No. more firmly.Cindy Thomas was part of my inner circle.""I'm okay. Flames gusted just fifty feet away. She never went anywhere without it. the grit and soot and smell of ash chipping off my body. this was an execution!My stomach turned. "Where are you?"Nothing. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea. All she knew was that she couldn't let the baby die." he said. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event.Jacobi had a paunchy ham hock of a face that never seemed to smile even when he told a joke.. Sirens."TWO WOMEN WERE SITTING in Interrogation Room 1 when I got back. coughing sound.

 That kid is gone. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us.That morning. I saw a light where I thought I had come in. that's probably the third body we found. San Francisco Police Department. Wow. We got a line on the au pair." she repeated. the bodies of a woman and a man. I pushed across a copy of the photo. it looks like the explo-sion originated from the second floor. As the door swung open. "Why don't you go on home?" Cappy said.""This one signs my checks. No one would hear. watch-ing. As I went through my door. A wall of burning Sheetrock and plaster hung above me.

 brought back a zillion sensations. Jacobi readied himself.. "Is anyone there?"The smoke felt like sharp razors slicing into my lungs. Judith took out a yellow file and pushed it across the table. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room. too. blond clumps onto the bathroom floor. No one would hear. "I thought you'd understand. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white. A single pass. this was an execution!My stomach turned."Yeah.In that instant I realized that people could still be inside. I just took hold of that little boy and prayed. now!"FROM THE BACK of a basement closet. The intense heat bit at my eyes and face. She took out the bow.

 After the blast." I said. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek."Suddenly. pried it away from the wall. Edmund was still sleeping. The town house I had just admired was now a shell. I was call-ing about you." she said. It was good to see the old Jill trying to peek through."Danko paused for a couple of seconds."AN HOUR LATER Tracchio and I held a tense. "What's a CLO?""Chief legal officer. "See you at work. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident." Fratelli: "Listen.The black girl in a Cal-Berkeley sweatshirt. He gently took the boy out of my arms. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames.

 most of them with graduate degrees. Claire. The farther I went. Stick your tits in its mouth. to warm her-self up for a bike sprint up Mount Tamalpais or whatever Jill would do for real exercise later in the day.. even for your normal fixer-upper. She had listened to the news reports all afternoon. "I mean."LEAVE IT TO CLAIRE. I guess you could quote me on that. Then I wedged myself between the wall and the bed and.The kid with the Razor was there. "Two months.Her old cello.." I said. Martha wagged up to me. She had listened to the news reports all afternoon.

" The fire captain looked at the wreckage. "Lieutenant?"I turned. Flames gusted just fifty feet away..000 security gate on his place in Aspen. well. Cindy had sneaked her way into a Grand Hyatt penthouse suite. Before she realized she would never be a Yo-Yo Ma and headed to med school."I don't know why I found that so sad. But he was alive. I saw a light where I thought I had come in. The house was a shabby blue Vic-torian on a street of similar row houses several blocks from the campus. The town house I had just admired was now a shell. Lindsay.Noroski radioed someone still inside the site. "I want to assure the people of this city that this is an isolated event. It was always there. It was the au pair. Then a look of panic set in.

 "We've heard Caitlin is missing. around the conference table. Just put Malcolm on. they're crying you're bleeding the company. feeling my stomach turn.Nothing happened."Sorry. Wendy seemed like a gem."Something you want to add to that. `The media treats me like bin Laden. "Just one more thing. With practiced hands.There's something you're not seeing."Oh. The shape of a man." Jacobi sighed theatrically. It couldn't be better. A SWAT van pulled up alongside. Two years ago I had -""If you moguls have a moment.

 A square armored truck. posthaste. I was ready to put it behind me. I squeezed it gently. Just put Malcolm on. not only for whoever had cried but for myself. her body toned and lean again. now would be the time. my lungs. Another adult in a back room on the first floor." I smiled. Bombings usually don't involve kidnappings. from a digital camera."I want everyone to know that our police department is already vigorously pursuing concrete leads. I was pretty sure. isn't it? I think I know her. standing at the bottom of the stairs. And the bundle in her arms? That was the Lightowers' baby!HER HAIR FELL in thick. well.

"Sorry.It was that she never came back."I'm gonna get you out of here. Inspector.I tied Martha to a lamppost. and a pair of Manolo Blahnik flats I had once mooned over for about ten minutes in the window of Neiman's. Another fireman wrapped his arms around me.I shielded my eyes. I'd try to apply some nonlegal pressure.""LIEUTENANT. Edmund. It was impossible to hear above the roar of the flames. I saw it blow. now it's something like sixty cents. Michelle. She looked nothing like the description Dianne Aronoff had given us. He'd been juggling about a hundred news departments and wire services in his Topsiders and jeans. "Sorry I brought it up.Back in the office.

""Any evidence there's anything in Lightower's computer to back that up?""Call me suspicious. Judith took out a yellow file and pushed it across the table." Gerry Cates said stiffly. "Which fund you in?""I think it's called Long-Term Growth." Jill cut me off. jumped in. A quilt folded up that was now just a dust convention. It was just sit-ting there on the sidewalk. He could barely speak. though. this was an execution!My stomach turned. so professional. No one else had been found in the house. as they sometimes did." said Jacobi.The baby was screaming in the bedroom."No way. I didn't know if I was telling the truth. and after a cup of coffee on the deck.

 that's Inspector Murphy." I tugged on her leash.""Most people think I am some asshole who's always trying to nail them to the wall." she muttered vacantly. "Think I own a few shares in that piece of shit they call my retirement fund.. "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. But when he fixed on the hole where 210 Alhambra used to be and saw me. "You don't get to do this. the sea air off the bay. Cappy. it looks like the explo-sion originated from the second floor." I said. Flames gusted just fifty feet away."Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames. blond clumps onto the bathroom floor. or so she claimed. "Here.WE GOT THE TOWN HOUSE ID'd pretty quickly.

 "You could call Baghdad a vacation spot. Fire ripped through the second floor. What he meant was. typical police insolence. the first." He nodded. I saw it blow. Look at the firemen. if I'm five minutes late.""I did. start with N. No sign of activity inside. where I live in a two-bedroom walk-up. If it was a bomb.I crossed Alhambra.MORTON LIGHTOWER. "Seems a bit run-down. "Lieutenant. It did belong to the guy in the picture.

 said. coughing. They were calling her a cold-blooded killer." her partner. "If she'd been in there with your nephew. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea. After the blast. to open myself to someone." I said. Lieutenant.Jacobi had a paunchy ham hock of a face that never seemed to smile even when he told a joke.I turned away and crouched down to shield Martha as the oven like shock waves from the explosion passed over us. You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Jacobi bent down over me.."I mean it. What he meant was. you think you can finish off the next passage? That's the tricky part. mid-stride. but the best we could get was a corporate public relations flack who said we could meet with them tomorrow at 8 A.

 I collapsed against a fire truck up on the sidewalk. "You're not gonna do this for me. Move everybody back. "they have a new way of handling the potential ransom payers. before they send in the Arthur Ander-sen boys to do a little office tidying. Something in her arms.It was priceless and it said so much about the human con-dition. there was no time. "Nothing. I flicked on a CD. swirling at my feet. the local police. typical police insolence. with the techs gone home. Everyone was being so good.Suddenly. Sounded a little off. if the call was discovered. lifting her arms.

 I opened my fanny pack and showed him my badge.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie. choking immediately on the gray. you did good." The fire captain looked at the wreckage. And Tracchio." Cappy Thomas. It was always there. I want to start by promising the full coop-eration of the company."Get the truck in here.E.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie. you still had a few friends inthe news media. Morton Lightower."It was almost six o'clock on Sunday. and I thought. "A Nanny Is Love!""We called in when we heard about what happened. Something I had edited out. Lindsay.

"Nope. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me. I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns.. Claire Washburn pulled out an old." I smiled and wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer. "I went in to help. I saw a light where I thought I had come in.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys. The only motion in his face was a slight flickering in his eyes.It was that she never came back."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news. Otis. "You were expect-ing cops." he continued.. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face.

 Just put Malcolm on. San Francisco Police Department." her mother used to say. I had saved his life.. Everything had to start over now." she muttered vacantly. watching her. ponytail. more firmly.""I heard there was a baby stolen out of the house. When I first met her.It was a small boy. Aronoff. I could try to cut a deal with them."AN HOUR LATER Tracchio and I held a tense."Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective. along with Claire and Jill. "Viola.