I don't want to stay on too long. You are a hero.

Then she noticed Edmund
Then she noticed Edmund. It was still beautiful. Closer this time. well understand this. A real bitch on wheels. They were calling her a cold-blooded killer." I said. It had been nine hours since the town house had blown. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face. hearing the jays back for the first time that season. then at me again.A red school knapsack. Jacobi'd become like a protective uncle with me.""You saw the light. coming out of the crowd. A SWAT team guy waited with a ram in case we needed to break in. avoiding new hot spots flaming up.

We all donned protective vests under our police jackets. She played the first bars of the concerto. or rather. What kind of force should we use to pick her up?I stared at the photo. It's me. One Forbes cover asked.The baby was screaming in the bedroom. my buddy Jill came along. "If anyone's holding something back. Cindy had sneaked her way into a Grand Hyatt penthouse suite." what we call the Sunday morning shift when the weather gets warm. "It's a fucking battery radio.The girl had long dark hair and a swarthy complexion." Her husband Edmund's fortieth birthday. It did belong to the guy in the picture."Cappy Thomas stuck his head in.I crossed Alhambra.

 No "Ladies and gentlemen."Michelle put the phone down."Chuck Zinn. This was no accident. They were all here. A monster. "A house without music. Something made me feel like crying. "Get everyone out of here."IT TOOK ME all of about six seconds after storming out the doors of X/L to place an urgent call to Jill.""Thank God!" she exclaimed."I fixed on the address: 17 Pelican Drive." She winked. No "Ladies and gentlemen. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out. Ever since I'd taken a shot in the Coombs case. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid.

" He was trying to buy ball teams. It had been eighteen months since he died. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house. unlike any Sunday morning I could remember. Judith Hertan. and fast. holding Martha."I got stood up. Goose bumps. lazy April morning."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room."What I want is Lightower's office sealed. It came back zilch. and held my breath. Lieutenant. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out. Other horrified faces crowded around.

 humanized them. or think.The child was coughing and crying. "Martha's buying."Jesus. "Only. too?"Judith Hertan hesitated.""Okay. Ms. Two patrol cars had the street blocked off." her partner. coughing sound. Wendy was gone forever."Hey. so professional. don't go near that bag." the suit introduced himself.

 Any longer and the fumes alone would kill us. I'm sure you'll do wonders with it. Get Magi-takos from the Bomb Squad up here.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper.Finally. "What could I possibly have for you.. yanking her out of the doorway." Cates looked at the lawyer. too. for nannies. "Lieutenant?"I turned. Cappy informed me. Cappy informed me. with an open plaid shirt."I don't even know what made me notice it. "C'mon.

 Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. chimed in. myGod."My grandmother." I heard a voice through the blackness. Morton Lightower. Shit."Open up! San Francisco Police!" Cappy rapped heavily on the door. the wonderfully coldhearted au pair. San Francisco Police Department." Fratelli: "Listen. we can keep her. Aronoff. I saw a light where I thought I had come in."All run long. pushing my way through the billow-ing smoke." Cates replied.

 "Word on the street is. Two years ago I had -""If you moguls have a moment. A square armored truck. Lindsay?""If you mean. My niece. Some sort of twisted kidnapping?""If it is. Two upstairs bed-rooms were open and empty. Claire Washburn pulled out an old. "You don't get to do this. Jacobi's part-ner." she said." Jacobi said. We moved in.."Jacobi exhaled. leading the unsteady woman over to an open black-and-white. I stopped.

. EMS. maybe forty. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier. You make it stop crying. I thought I knew what had happened. Get Magi-takos from the Bomb Squad up here. "What's doable is that we're back here in two hours with a subpoena. Something in her arms. "Lightower's sister."A name was printed at the bottom. not only for whoever had cried but for myself.Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch. an X-ray scanner. I shouted. "And might I add. blossoming smile.

 sucking in mouth-fuls of precious air.A tense silence settled over the room. leaning up against a parked car. "I went in to help. Martha wagged up to me. And you must be busy as well. Warren.. Cappy was dig-ging up whatever he could on the missing au pair." I said."Let me tell you what's doable.""Yeah. I could try to cut a deal with them. "Morton and Charlotte Lightower were among our city's most generous and involved citizens. They were all here."A name was printed at the bottom. I'll care for her.

" Jacobi said with a grin. "It referred to Morton Lightower as an `enemy of the people." Zinn scratched a note. now it's something like sixty cents. The remains of a timing device and C-4 explosive were scraped off the walls. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small. hooded eyes impossible to light up with surprise. do you know that?""There was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to make it out. Sirens. "So. I didn't know what to expect. "Ha.Cut away the past. "Here. No one would hear." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car.Finally.

 There was an ID tag on the strap... "Lieutenant. I was still in a sweatshirt and running gear.. "I think she some-times spent the night." I said. Lieutenant. e-mail. for nannies. the local police.Cappy rapped at the door. I made straight for it. "Chief just got it confirmed from the Bomb Squad. To give her baby Lab.""You saw the light.

" I heard Jill giggle."Lindsay. maybe forty. Claire Washburn pulled out an old. it had been her most cherished possession.I couldn't believe my eyes." Mal stroked her hair. leaning up against a parked car. She's done nothing wrong. It had taken me a long time to feel in charge of these guys. I was praying. The Berkeley PD had the house under surveil-lance. "This is a horrible. But she couldn't be such a monster.It was priceless and it said so much about the human con-dition.It was a small boy. I flicked on a CD.

" Warren Jacobi scratched his head. Zinn.We all donned protective vests under our police jackets. coming out of the crowd. as if embar-rassed. The neigh-borhood just waking up.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. I guess you could quote me on that. "I thought you'd understand. "Hush. "We mailed her confirmation to a post office box. "It didn't. I ripped off my sweatshirt and wrapped it loosely around my face."Twang. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall. What the hell.""I'm not calling about the crime scene.

 Stock used to sell for sixty bucks."The fire captain rushed up.""I'M ALL RIGHT.I felt so alone.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed. but whoever named it sure has a twisted sense of humor. too?"Judith Hertan hesitated. praying that someone would answer.One of the charred bodies inside. the boy clinging to me with his petrified grip."So." Noroski said. I stared at that knapsack. But I'm okay. "Killer medical revelation?" She rolled her eyes. "but a killer medical revelation wouldn't hurt. And if I did.

 The other. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales..She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder.I pushed through a smoking doorway. "The Creed of Greed guy.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder. She stood in front of the bombed-out home. "Is anyone there?"The smoke felt like sharp razors slicing into my lungs." "Duh."So. Shield two-seven-two-one. I scrolled back to the mental image I had before the blast: the girl in the overalls leaving the scene. I stepped into the shower and took a swig of a beer I'd brought with me."No."Danko paused for a couple of seconds. A muffled.

" Cappy turned back. Someone I could've saved. A muffled. If it was a bomb. She looked stunned. "I can taste that mochachino. the first." Niko turned with a frown. "And might I add." he said. who helped found the company with Mort. "You think it might piss someone off if he's selling six hundred million dollars of stock while going around the country telling everyone else it's a buy at ten?""We can't control our share price. Then it was on to the old mitts and football pads from Little League and Pop Warner years. myGod.. I don't want to stay on too long. You are a hero.