I MADE THE ONE-HOUR DRIVE back to the Hall of Justice in forty-five minutes.

?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings
?? The kitten pounced into the heap of wrapping paper as the gifts were opened; the diamond earrings. It meant that the boys didn??t want to be identified. Michael??s life had been part of ours. He??d been a darling baby. I saw that Junie was no ordinary hooker. A lot of my clients ask me to tell them that. Michael Campion wasn??t just a kid. He fixed his vision on that poker.?? I said. He couldn??t move. Her eyes were a deep. ??Take your time.??THE MUSCLE TWITCHING in Conklin??s jaw was the only outward sign that he was as stunned by Junie??s confession as I was. ??Thank you very much.?? Pidge reached for another wrapped gift. Her voice matched her appearance. Michael. I started to think we were on a date.

 then patted her damp cheek. Peggy. Conklin raked his forelock of shining brown hair away from his devilish brown eyes. ??Not really. ??Shifting from one foot to the other. I??m thinking maybe Ms. and the eventual body dump behind a fast food restaurant - somewhere. then went up in a great exhalation of flame. That should hold you for now. Michael had said good night to his parents.?? I was the one who had to climb up these rickety old ladders to the top of a hayloft with only a flashlight. Junie Moon wasn??t under arrest. too.?? Junie said. exactly what I??d hoped for. ??I??ll try. her voice trembling just a bit. Jacobi.

 ??A few years ago she legally changed her name. That??s why Joe had just moved to San Francisco from DC. getting up from my chair. ??But - I told you the truth!?? ??And we appreciate it.?? Junie gave us her boyfriend??s name and address. Conklin passed her the box of tissues. smelled the sour odor of urine. I believed what she said at first.?? ??Think. you don??t know??? I said. making a racket with it. not just young.?? she said. I wanted to shake her. J. ??Nice talk. Strong as a horse.?? she said.

 of course. and firelight made flickering patterns on our faces as the sun set over the Pacific. politics. you know. As Jablonsky watched. one of his long legs resting on the edge of Jacobi??s junkyard of a desk. I pulled out the other chair. Lindsay??? he said. Clean-cut. Boxer. ??If you want in on this. Michael??s teachers and school friends. ??Not really. dramatic voice. then picked up a pen and carefully printed on the title page. Both of them. dead??? ??Can I start at the beginning??? Junie asked Conklin. He??d probably paid off his driver and escaped the plush-lined prison of his parents?? love for an hour or two.

 ??And as soon as we got into the bedroom. And it was.?? As Jacobi made room on his desk for the prostitute??s rap sheet. but we??ve got a credible lead. a twelve-by-twelve-foot gray-tiled room with a metal table. diamonds blazing in the dark? Why couldn??t I just say yes? ??What did Cindy tell you??? I asked him. ??we??re not blaming you for anything. and - I??m not overstating this - she looked like she was in the tenth grade. Strong as a horse. ??He got worse. Boxer.?? ??No way. and a thin white scar cut through the top lip of her cupid??s-bow mouth.?? Conklin said. Slap her bimbo face - so I got a grip on myself.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe. ending our tumultuous long-distance relationship in favor of starting something new and maybe permanent. Junie Moon.

 what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. So it didn??t sound exactly crazy that he??d visited a prostitute. and new violent crimes pushed the Michael Campion story off the front page. I mentioned her three arrests for prostitution. dropped to the table. But it didn??t matter. And he??s very smart.?? Conklin said.?? ??So. Ricky was saying. ??Is that so??? he said.?? she said with a wistful smile. Jablonsky had reasoned at the time. meet me at the Hall -?? ??I can be there in an hour. Then the door opened and we were looking into the unpainted face of Junie Moon. ??We??re going to open all your presents now. ?? ??It was a pleasure to burn. My border collie.

 gruff in my ear.?? I wanted to scream.?? said the young woman. saw the john lope across Leavenworth. bigger. and his virtual online friends as well. ??About then.?? Yuki coughed as the tequila went down her windpipe. politics. saw the john lope across Leavenworth.??JUNIE MOON SAT ACROSS FROM US in Interview Two. what would I say? That I was a prostitute? His dad was Governor Campion. and that made it even less understandable. They said this was only a robbery. Junie. and we looked at each other in shock as we waited her out. I took off my baseball cap and shook out my hair. they cared.

 ??Nice talk. an hour north of San Francisco. That a kidnapping had gone terribly wrong. he told me his real name - and I told him mine! ??He got a real kick out of that. J. A definite no. I guess. Michael Campion had been born into incredible wealth. His disappearance was treated as a kidnapping. Mrs. And although Joe had rented a fantastic apartment on Lake Street. bright blue eyes. Sarge??? as I made my way to Jacobi??s glassed-in corner office. Well-spoken. a precocious and gifted child. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening.?? ??I??m sure.?? ??You ask for their driver??s licenses before you take off your pants??? ??We??re not interested in your.

 there was no way back. God. ??It was horrible enough hauling my size-sixteen butt up those ladders in the pitch-black with whispery things scurrying and flapping all around me - and then my beam hit the dead man. and Michael had passed away by then. was already there; thirty years old.?? I repeated back at her. Junie. ??And as soon as we got into the bedroom. ??Jacobi??? Yuki shouted. they cared. ??Sure. ??I fell asleep. I mentioned her three arrests for prostitution.?? Joe said over the sound of water running in the sink. ??You can??t beat Bradbury for an opening.?? Claire squealed behind me. . ??What??s your theory??? ??That the kid died in flagrante delicto.

 launching his amazing.?? Cindy said. ??I would have been honored.?? Junie gave us her boyfriend??s name and address. ghost stories and the first annual getaway of the Women??s Murder Club forgotten. and then we piled the bags into Ricky??s truck. ??Junie.?? she said at last. ??We??re only interested in Michael Campion.?? Yuki laughed. making the night crew hunched over their desks look like they??d just crawled out of their graves. Strong as a horse. Junie was now wearing an open-weave pink cardigan over a lace-trimmed cami. My partner. ??Lind-say.?? I growled into my cell phone. said our names and ??Homicide. and now he was standing at the stove in his blue boxers.

 We didn??t have to Mirandize her for a noncustodial interview. ??Sip it!?? Claire thumped Yuki??s back and continued. She could be on the phone all night!?? ??Lindsay? Okay. It broke Henry??s heavy heart to see how hard she tried to communicate with her eyes. ??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.?? she said at last. The body of Michael Campion in bloody chunks.?? Henry Jablonsky couldn??t see the boys clearly. And it was within walking distance of the Newkirk School. Junie Moon invited us in. and apple logs crackled in the fireplace. she hadn??t been arrested for anything.?? ??Okay. ??But that never happened.??MY PULSE SHOT UP at the mention of Michael Campion??s name. They said this was only a robbery.?? ??Okay.

 but he said no. ??So . and there were some Dumpsters back there. Claire. ??He was saying. My border collie. ??Take your time. Mind if we come in??? ??Homicide? You??re here to see me??? she asked. it??s nothing. Peggy pleaded with Hawk.?? ??So. Ms.?? said Jacobi. ??Nice talk. We leaned on her. Lindsay??? he said. ??Not really. and a handsome teenager.

 fill me in. Conklin passed her the box of tissues. ??This is the end of the line. gruff in my ear.?? Junie said. Boxer. they put the book of his life aside. ??no big deal.?? he said. I was sure that Rich had never seen the movie or read the book. childlike appearance. a twelve-by-twelve-foot gray-tiled room with a metal table. It meant that the boys didn??t want to be identified.?? Pidge called out to Peggy. I loved him. That should hold you for now. ??I hoped he??d start to feel better. I tasted the margarita - it was good.

 ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon. Both of them. I reached up to the video camera and switched it off. shaking her head at the memory. And frankly. That a kidnapping had gone terribly wrong. put her arms on the table. We made her feel safe.?? He took the sock out of Jablonsky??s mouth. ??I hoped he??d start to feel better. So when I opened the door and there he was - oh. and threatened her. ??I hoped he??d start to feel better. ??That??s the sixty-million-dollar question. ??When Michael called to make the date. Moon. no makeup. Our relationship had gotten richer and more loving.

 Jacobi was saying. And frankly. ??It was one of my first cases in the ME??s office. ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon. isn??t it??? ??That??s right. Junie had sung Michael Campion a lullaby as his heart bucked to a halt and killed him. He??d also been born with an inoperable heart defect and had been living on borrowed time for the whole of his life. There were no track marks on her arms. ??Not really. We know Michael was sick.??s are living well. said our names and ??Homicide.?? I hungrily watched Joe ladle tortellini in brodo into a bowl for me and scoop ice cream into a matching bowl for himself. actually transformed by grief. This is a classic. and strode into the squad room looking for Jacobi. and huge eyes.?? And then she broke down.

?? ??You called your boyfriend??? I shouted. ??That??s cool. but it was Lieutenant Warren Jacobi. Heat rose and the skin on Henry Jablonsky??s cheeks dried like paper. and I wrote it all down. We leaned on her. Jablonsky had memorized their faces well enough to describe to a police sketch artist.?? Hawk pulled the book from the shelf. no bruises that I could see. J. folded my hands on the table. Boxer. ??So I held Michael in my arms and sang to him.?? she said. my heart going ga-lump. thinking he??d just gotten home and was checking in. ??Now she calls herself Junie Moon. AKA Junie Moon.

?? I sat down. now telling the story as if she were recalling a dream. not just young. a cap of blond curls that trailed into a wisp of a braid that had been dyed blue. short blond hair. Through photos and newscasts.?? I said. . ??What??s your theory??? ??That the kid died in flagrante delicto. Pidge. did you know that? And he didn??t act like a celebrity.?? ??We drove up the coast a few hours. ??What??s the prostitute??s name??? ??Her given name is Myrtle Bays. It is fated. over six feet. looking up at us with an anguished expression I read as fear and pain. Get it all off your chest.?? ??So Michael Campion went to a hooker.

 But it didn??t matter. Valentina.??THE MUSCLE TWITCHING in Conklin??s jaw was the only outward sign that he was as stunned by Junie??s confession as I was. I swear to God he looked like he was levitating.?? ??What do you mean. She initialed the acknowledgment of rights form without complaint.?? Junie told us. Jacobi. saw the john lope across Leavenworth. for God??s sake. Her eyes were moist and her face seemed pinched. Junie. ??Naw. but also the top reporter on the Chronicle??s crime desk. and then she went on. He??d probably paid off his driver and escaped the plush-lined prison of his parents?? love for an hour or two. I took a notebook out of my handbag.??I MADE THE ONE-HOUR DRIVE back to the Hall of Justice in forty-five minutes.