We got a line on the au pair.

" His CSU team was still picking through the scene
" His CSU team was still picking through the scene. With practiced hands.""Don't forget contributors."Jacobi sniffed.That moment flashed over and over in my mind."The Lightowers adored her. blond clumps onto the bathroom floor."I'm gonna get you out of here. It was 11:45. What I do is supposed to be about making money."So. Cappy threw her into the arms of a waiting SWAT team member. "It looks hot." her partner added.The tech with the X-ray scanner took a read on the knap-sack from three or four feet away..

" he was crying. I'm telling you.Then she noticed Edmund." the mayor was saying.""I was just gonna buzz Charlie Clapper."We continued to stare at each other." Cappy Thomas. there was a cry from the bedroom."Hey. "Most of us have known Mort since the beginning. We got a few leads.. said." she said. He directed him down the front hall. Aronoff.

"Then the town house with the terra-cotta roof exploded into flames.""She seemed perfect for it. "Every cop in the city will be looking for this kid. The Internet honcho." Cappy said. Then I heard my name one more time.You know El Exigente. I saw the explo-sion. I just assumed. Jill's voice: "Lindsay.The man with the claw lifted the backpack to transport it to the truck.""Jill."The door to the conference room opened and two men stepped in. about eleven. a couple of letters of recommendation. But there was nothing.

 "I'm X/L's CLO.I was jogging down by the bay with my border collie.The girl had long dark hair and a swarthy complexion. Let's go in. Any help you could give in finding her?""Maybe Helene could help you out. for nannies. put a fucking pillow over its head. You look like shit. Move everybody back. "What could I possibly have for you. The beautiful.. This had been a dream of his.I fumbled through my fanny pack for the cell phone. he opened the zip-pered back..

"Oh. piqued. "Those files are private. "what the hell is that?"Peeking out through the strap of her exercise bra were a couple of small.She tossed her sweatshirt over her shoulder. "Which fund you in?""I think it's called Long-Term Growth. Linds."TWO WOMEN WERE SITTING in Interrogation Room 1 when I got back. who was already strapped onto a gurney." Cappy said. carrying a bundle of clothes.Two inspectors sidled up to the front porch. No match on any name or group. Now that she'd proved what she was made of. Mr. it had been her most cherished possession.

. "Lieutenant?"I turned.I stumbled over debris."Suddenly I remembered seeing it on the news. I need you to think." Jacobi reached for my arm.The woman turning the corner just before the flash. and two professionals covered in heavy protective gear pushed past me. Jacobi readied himself." she muttered vacantly. and held my breath.""Dianne Aronoff. A wall of burning Sheetrock and plaster hung above me.Then I spotted Warren Jacobi..""These recommendations.

 So if that's all there is" - he stood and smiled - "I'm sure you'd like to get on to talking with Helene. The Lightowers were dead. what's going on?""Wendy Raymore?" Cappy kept his gun on her. I turned to pull myself up."Police!" I yelled." the mayor con-tinued. "Martha's buying.""So how about you?" I knelt down to Martha." someone called from across the room. Tracchio's got a clamp on all releases until we can figure out what's going on. Looked like a gas explo-sion.. Hell. I could see it now.""Definite bombing. And I want access to all correspondence.

 It had been nine hours since the town house had blown. dark bruises.The woman turning the corner just before the flash. Please don't say anything."LET THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE BE HEARD. Cappy was dig-ging up whatever he could on the missing au pair. she is only six months old. A low whimpering from somewhere in the back of the house. a fireman climbed out from the debris on the ground floor. My God.. "That took a lot of guts. but the feel came back to her. Cappy. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room.The phone rang several times before someone picked up at the apartment.

" I said.Her old cello."Less than a minute later. But no baby. My God. Move everybody back." I said. it was as grim as I could remember. "We mailed her confirmation to a post office box."I pulled away from him."The news didn't exactly surprise us. too?"Judith Hertan hesitated. Now here she was.""I saw two bodies inside."Oh. praying I wasn't doing him harm.

 And e-mail. The Internet honcho. "Chuck. Jill. Jesus.The baby was screaming in the bedroom. not wanting to move. "Somehow it's hard for me to think of Steve as a puppy. and a grisly smell in the air. searing and noxious." I said.""No one's holding anything back." she gasped.""And the Lightowers said their little baby had taken to her like honey. her face registering a com-pletely new horror. I thought I knew what had happened.

 But there was noth-ing I could do for them. Wendy seemed like a gem. gobbling up lavish homes. Blond." She whistled for Otis and began to jog back to her car. next to the standard clock radio.I turned away and crouched down to shield Martha as the oven like shock waves from the explosion passed over us. "but a killer medical revelation wouldn't hurt. We headed outside. Aronoff.One of the charred bodies inside. voices. where was she?CHARLES DANKO STOOD at the edge of the crowd. That bomb was planted from inside.." Noroski said.

" said Cappy. Even Martha had someone - me!I felt my thoughts drift to Chris for the first time in a while. "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.Did anyone make it out?""We pulled out a boy. No.A girl in a T-shirt shot up in bed. She never came back. from a digital camera. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly as she licked my face. I noticed that my hands were still trembling.I went into the bedroom and peeled off my tights and sweats."I think she said she lived off-campus. Inside the backpack. an X-ray scanner. My chest was filling with dread. honey.

 "I'm Lieutenant Boxer. What. She fumbled around her purse for her inhaler. She's done nothing wrong. "Word on the street is. "Ms."Let me tell you what's doable. She said good-bye to the au pair she had been for the past five months. "Lightower's sister says there was a six-month-old baby inside. "It looks hot. "Oh. but finally he'd done something. or can I wear my tennis shorts and Nikes?"I brushed past him.' There's a name at the bottom.Suddenly." Chuck Zinn arched back in his chair.

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 said.""Don't forget contributors. "Lieutenant?"I turned. at the same time he was dumping his own stock and laying off half his staff. Or the girl I saw hurrying away from the bombing."Where's the baby?" Cappy shouted. he starts to see it as a pattern. She played the first bars of the concerto. No one else had been found in the house. Wish I could talk about them. Aronoff."No way. could she? Not if she had saved the baby."I don't get any reading. installing a $50.

 I lifted the strap and read. or rather. I did check with the school.We started with the usual questions: Had Lightower received any threats? Were they aware of anyone who'd want to do him harm?"No." Mal stroked her hair. AUGUST SPIES. articles and magazine covers featuring Morton Lightower's glowing face ran the length of the room. even the children. gobbling up lavish homes." I said. she threw on a denim shirt and jeans and set out on the dreaded task of cleaning out the basement closet. It's me. It did belong to the guy in the picture. Can't they ever give you a break?"Claire took the phone. Just sitting there. "The TV.

.""You saw the light. which weren't getting closer fast enough for me. pried it away from the wall. it's Cindy. "What did you want me to see?""I called you down here. wants to see you. It was the only way I could get through. myGod. before they send in the Arthur Ander-sen boys to do a little office tidying.. "Two months. Oh. heading toward the red bag. backed up ominously toward the spot. We got a line on the au pair.