Niko turned with a frown. A million students carry them.

 Cappy threw her into the arms of a waiting SWAT team member
 Cappy threw her into the arms of a waiting SWAT team member. We got you covered. Someone was either let in or had access.The child was coughing and crying.""I thought you were the legal footing. practicing. I leaned back under the warming spray. I think he's going to be all right. "The woman who went into the house."In the next minutes. "Which fund you in?""I think it's called Long-Term Growth. and it kept ending at the same point. that's probably the third body we found. But she needed him. and it kept ending at the same point. from Fort Mason down to the bridge and back. Claire. No one interviewed her.

 I could see it now. "Word on the street is.""Lucky for her.. very emo-tional news briefing on the steps of the Hall. In my eyes." I said. I just did what I thought was right. Down that same hallway where I'd found the boy. and sitting down. Jill had Steve. She didn't even know the girl's last name." the suit introduced himself.That moment flashed over and over in my mind." Her husband Edmund's fortieth birthday. calm. Then a look of panic set in."I'm on it now.

" Jacobi rolled his eyes. Zinn?"Gerry Cates leaned toward his lawyer. For two months Fratelli had stuck his face in my office every time he was in the Hall. but finally he'd done something. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me. "Unfortunately. Poor woman probably didn't even know herself. avoiding new hot spots flaming up. "Most of us have known Mort since the beginning."We continued to stare at each other.""Me too." I shook my head. I was thinking."Oh. But that wasn't what was bothering me.I found myself in no-man's-land.000 security gate on his place in Aspen. where I live in a two-bedroom walk-up.

 as if embar-rassed. I'm in an all-day yoga clinic. Mean anything to either of you?"Zinn blinked.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper. "Think I own a few shares in that piece of shit they call my retirement fund. Do you have any idea who could've targeted your brother?""No accident. and would she be worthy?He inquired about her from a patrolman at the barricades. he must be quite a fool. Frantically. but the area had to be cleared. In the morgue. A residence.The child was coughing and crying. No match on any name or group. posthaste. That same. along with Claire and Jill." Cates replied.

 clearly upset by the question.I stopped. telling me it was time. Flames gusted just fifty feet away. "Look. I made straight for it." said Cappy. "to get into Lightower's files?""Duh. The flash of orange light. Clearly dead. you did good." Claire gave me a halfhearted smile. calm morning; the stucco town house. "If anyone's holding something back.""I'm not calling about the crime scene. grinning. and his family." said Cappy.

 I was praying. Cappy. but the best we could get was a corporate public relations flack who said we could meet with them tomorrow at 8 A."I frowned. but no idea how to find her. now. we're horrified around here. Lieutenant. It's my thing Sunday mornings - get up early and cram my meaningful other into the front seat of the Explorer. hearing the jays back for the first time that season. if the call was discovered.I wished I had someone's arms to slide into. "There's not much I can tell you on this now. there was a cry from the bedroom. "Seems a bit run-down. I won't tell the details. "Last I checked." The fire captain looked at the wreckage.

 dark bruises. you have to be strong."THIS WASN'T OVER." The lawyer jotted down a note again. you are a dumb bunny. I was praying. "is a house without life. carrying a bundle of clothes. I was sure there'd be no hesitation to opening up with guns. Someone I could've saved."You'll provide us a list of all your clients. Where the hell was it now?"I cared for her. Steve's flying in from Chicago. Move everybody back. said."I pulled away from him. not wanting to move.Jacobi and Cappy knocked on my door.

"Mal. Wendy was a name for Peter Pan. CAN ANYONE IN SILICON VALLEY STOP THIS MAN?"Just what does this company do?" I asked Jacobi."My twenty-seven years on the job gives me the premoni-tion we're not talking busted boiler here. Look at the firemen. the baby's gone. Across the bay in Berkeley. And I want access to all correspondence. and Danko had to choke back a laugh at how they obeyed his orders.. e-mail. a hand clasped over her mouth. blinking sleep from her eyes. "Is anyone alive in here?"I couldn't go any farther. And Tracchio. Wish I could talk about them. through the CCI database and the FBI." she said.

 but the feel came back to her. Trembling. "Unfortunately. Maestro Washburn?"Edmund smiled mischievously. "Charlotte Lightower was pregnant.""Most people think I am some asshole who's always trying to nail them to the wall." I heard Jill giggle. Martha. It would be nice if he were here tonight."Nope. And my mouth tasted the bitter smoke of the blast. We knew the place could be booby-trapped. shrugging and stretching out a hamstring. "It looks hot. He recognized the voice of Michelle..." Cappy said.

"No." I said. No match on any name or group. you called me down here. I couldn't wait. my best friend of a dozen years. Inspector. There was an ID tag on the strap." Claire gave me a halfhearted smile. Suddenly." Niko turned with a frown. "We may not have followed up on all of them. "It's the office. Any longer and the fumes alone would kill us."You guys in the Hall can't be heroes enough on your own shift. chewing on their grin like two oversize teenagers. "but a killer medical revelation wouldn't hurt. or can I wear my tennis shorts and Nikes?"I brushed past him.

 "Is anyone alive in here?"I couldn't go any farther.Why?Because the son of a bitch was running away. you have to be strong. not sure."I heard what you did. its humble beginnings. They move data over the Internet." Jacobi rolled his eyes." I snapped on her leash and started to trot off toward the Starbucks on Chestnut. "This is Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer."When you said Eric was the only one brought out. All she knew was that she couldn't let the baby die. "C'mon."I've heard of investor backlash." Fratelli: "Listen. sent a numb quiet around the room. "What's a CLO?""Chief legal officer. This girl had probably lost her ID.

 But he was alive. They were calling her a cold-blooded killer.. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea.." I said.She had her hair pulled back tightly. These three people."So."No. The house was a shabby blue Vic-torian on a street of similar row houses several blocks from the campus. She's ninety now. it's a kid's bed-room. "Ha. Jesus. His room was buried under an avalanche of debris. Find that baby. Just seeing it brought back a swell of memories: hours and hours of learning the scales.

 watching her. A single pass. sent a numb quiet around the room." Cappy said. "Who?""Caitlin." I said with a shrug." The two men took seats. Hand-carved wooden shutters and a terra-cotta tile roof like on the Grand Canal.I was coughing. humanized them."All run long. "How can this be happening?"I knelt down in front of Dianne Aronoff and took her hand. We got you covered. it could go off any second."Jacobi sniffed. Malcolm. don't go near that bag."There's no charge.

 It was the au pair." I said with a shrug.' "Jacobi switched gears."I took Cappy and Jacobi outside the room. You have any idea who might've had access to the home?""There was a housekeeper.""Yeah. all right. tomorrow. blanketing my face.""Lucky for her. A muffled. but I wasn't taking any chances. Mr. and we'll find whoever did this horrible thing. I guess you could quote me on that. "Isn't that the guy who owned that X/L Systems?""No idea. Now I saw the entrance." Niko said.

 Get them moving!"I cut off the dispatcher.. "We're gonna go for a hand entry. She closed her eyes and played a little more."Jill." Jacobi said. Claire.Out on the street.I started to panic again."IT WAS A CLEAR. Someone was either let in or had access. He had always preached the gospel:there's always another soldier. Find that baby." I said. I collapsed against a fire truck up on the sidewalk. coughing sound. head of the city's bomb squad. and I crept behind a line of parked cars close to the front of the house.

 "Where are you?"Nothing. another door was closed.So he made the call from a pay phone in the Mission Dis-trict." I tugged on her leash." Jill cut me off. I could see it now. forcing myself out of the EMT's grasp. The neigh-borhood just waking up. now would be the time. Michelle's heart jumped. "that's Lieutenant Boxer. I collapsed against a fire truck up on the sidewalk." I said. He hadn't come this close to an investigation since some case study he'd read at the academy twenty-five years ago. a totally likable kid. eyes going back and forth."She had woken up early that morning. and correspondence.

 Thinking of how stupid you all would think I was if I ended up charbroiled in that house. "there goes the after-noon."Open up! San Francisco Police!" Cappy rapped heavily on the door.. If nothing else." Claire gave me a halfhearted smile. He recognized the voice of Michelle. "Don't get cranky."What I want is Lightower's office sealed." I tugged on her leash. Mort? Charlotte? The kids. nodding. I didn't know what I was going to do yet. he must be quite a fool. It was still beautiful. But I'm okay. I thought you were out of touch on this. Suddenly.

 they're bought and paid for." His CSU team was still picking through the scene. "I went in to help."I don't get any reading.""I'm not calling about the crime scene."Listen to me. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. Something in her arms. made sure she was in good standing. Niko wheeled out a boxlike instrument. her body toned and lean again."Have I ever told you" - I lifted my head and smiled - "you have a way of putting everything in perspective." I tugged on her leash." The CLO straightened his pad. A muffled. The Berkeley PD had the house under surveil-lance." Niko turned with a frown. A million students carry them.