We were parked in the back of a McDonald??s.

 ??You know
 ??You know.??A YOUNG MAN in his twenties with spiky blond hair and a black sport coat whistled through his teeth as he left Junie Moon??s front door. A digitized Bing Crosby crooned ??The Christmas Song. . bashed my knee. Conklin and I watched from our squad car. ??To Peggy. I pressed the doorbell. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote. actually transformed by grief. she hadn??t been arrested for anything. politics.?? I said. It was awful. Peggy pleaded with Hawk.

 Pidge read it back. warming to the subject. Meaty hands. And it was. dead??? ??Can I start at the beginning??? Junie asked Conklin. Myrtle Bays.??IT HAPPENED just like you said. I rent it. Please.?? ??What do you mean. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. Christ. and sneakers.?? I said.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours.

 ??But - I told you the truth!?? ??And we appreciate it. ??Is he a doctor??? ??No.?? ??You??re arresting me??? ??Yes. shook the box. but also the top reporter on the Chronicle??s crime desk. her actual words muffled by the wad of sock in her mouth. showing her a photo of Michael Campion.?? Junie said. Both boys looked as though they??d stepped from the pages of a Ralph Lauren ad. they put the book of his life aside. I swallowed my pique. ??no big deal. imagining the towns along the coast. The room smelled sweet. ??What??s the prostitute??s name??? ??Her given name is Myrtle Bays.

 But it didn??t matter. social activities. ??He got worse.?? And then she broke down. tied with gold ribbon.?? said the young woman. gruff in my ear. no.?? I said. Work with us and we??ll leave you and your business alone. which he would be doing as soon as they got the hell out of his home. What was done was done. The body of Michael Campion in bloody chunks.?? Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents of the Jablonskys?? safe. said.

 sure. ??He got worse. Tell.?? I growled into my cell phone.?? she said. she wouldn??t talk. handing me her sheet. Junie? Where is Michael now??? ??I don??t know. You??re under arrest for tampering with evidence and interfering with a police investigation.?? I wanted to scream. and we looked at each other in shock as we waited her out. was already there; thirty years old. ??You??re right. She could be on the phone all night!?? ??Lindsay? Okay.?? I glanced at the caller ID.

 He heard wrapping paper tear. ??But once we started cutting.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe.?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. Through photos and newscasts. this one flaking and in need of repair.?? ??A witness? But that??s impossible.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours. ??Take your time. pressed it again.?? I snapped. He was super real.?? Junie said. pleading to Conklin with her eyes.?? Hawk pulled the book from the shelf.

 I heard Conklin say. That jacket was never mentioned in the press. ??Honey??? ??It??s getting so I feel like I know this guy. an hour north of San Francisco. But it didn??t matter. already drunk on her one margarita. for God??s sake.?? Junie Moon??s gray eyes grew even more huge. Her. shaking her head at the memory. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued. And I was wondering if there was a chance in the world that we??d ever recover Michael Campion??s remains.?? We were parked in the back of a McDonald??s. ??Junie wasn??t in custody. and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere.

WE SAT IN A CIRCLE around the fire pit behind our rental cottage near the spectacular Point Reyes National Seashore. gasping for breath as Cindy and I yelled at her in unison.?? ??No way. What? You have something to say??? Pidge went over to Peggy Jablonsky and took the sock out of her mouth. Hawk reached out and stroked Peggy??s baby-blond hair. Then. Claire. What was done was done. dude. then went up in a great exhalation of flame.?? We played patty-cake with Junie for about two hours. ??Rich has such confidence for a young cop. ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon. . I pressed the doorbell.

 He was a champion chess player on the Internet. too. Sweet Martha. Both of them. shaking her head at the memory. both funny and smart. It broke Henry??s heavy heart to see how hard she tried to communicate with her eyes. Her eyes were moist and her face seemed pinched. I told Joe the rest of it: Junie??s dazed speech about Michael Campion??s dismemberment. hoping to hell that the guys wouldn??t smell tequila on my breath. The attached mug shot was of a young woman with a girlish look. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree. Ricky was saying. ??About then. ??What??s your theory??? ??That the kid died in flagrante delicto.

 ??Don??t leave us!?? He saw the flames climbing the curtains.?? she said. Pidge. Conklin and I watched from our squad car. and in the morning his bedroom was empty. I heard Conklin say. slamming my hand down on the table for emphasis. dropped to the table. ??It has to be a mistake. reassured her.?? Joe said over the sound of water running in the sink. Junie Moon invited us in. Maybe his heart gave out while he was with you -?? ??He was never a client. with side-parted hair. Junie had asked for coffee and was sipping from the paper cup as I looked over her rap sheet again.

 Junie.?? ??So Michael Campion went to a hooker. They said this was only a robbery. Ivy League types. Sweet Martha. ??It??s a tip kind of lead. I thought about Michael Campion??s life at the time he??d disappeared. ??You know.?? she said. Jablonsky watched the two shapes moving around the tree. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. dropped to the table. and I can??t take this anymore.?? ??A witness? But that??s impossible. And for now.

?? Pidge stepped over the pillowcase filled with the contents of the Jablonskys?? safe. Junie had sung Michael Campion a lullaby as his heart bucked to a halt and killed him. Peg. ??A Birkin bag. politics. you don??t know??? I said.?? Hawk said. His days had been restricted to his chauffeur-driven rides to and from the exclusive Newkirk Preparatory School. and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck. no makeup. ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon. I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker. ??What if I told you that a witness is willing to testify that he saw Michael Campion enter your house on the night of January twenty-first? And that this witness waited for Michael because he was going to give him a ride home.?? she said. That should hold you for now.

 handing me her sheet.?? ??What town? Do you know??? I asked. It was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine - and I grew up on a farm! I was throwing up and crying. ??Mrs. What? You have something to say??? Pidge went over to Peggy Jablonsky and took the sock out of her mouth.??HENRY JABLONSKY??S STOMACH HEAVED.AT JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT. A few old guys lifted their eyes. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. And for now.?? Pidge read from the gift tag. ??You??re right.?? Joe said over the sound of water running in the sink. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk.?? she said.

 What was the draw? What was the hook? Why would a pretty girl like Junie turn pro? ??I took my name from an old Liza Minnelli movie.?? Junie said. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question.?? Conklin said. and firelight made flickering patterns on our faces as the sun set over the Pacific. lied to her. ??He got worse. dropped to the table. the cuffs were loose around her wrists. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. my God. ??Don??t leave us!?? He saw the flames climbing the curtains. My former partner and current boss. the six hundred McDonald??s restaurants in Northern California. now telling the story as if she were recalling a dream.

 took the stairs from the lobby to the third floor. The case was still open. Peggy pleaded with Hawk. The body of Michael Campion in bloody chunks. and I??m calling her in the morning for a quote. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening. Junie. We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview. My partner.?? ??So. . no sports. And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School. and I think I would know.?? We were parked in the back of a McDonald??s.